121: Chapter 121 You want me to save you? Fine! I'll send you on your way!

Opening a blind box in the pipeline?

Buy one, get one free!

This damn underground pipeline is just like a nesting doll, layer after layer, endless.

Qin Feng's scalp tingled, and his whole body instantly entered the highest state of alert.

That blonde bombshell from just now was already troublesome enough, with more schemes than a sieve, and now another one pops up?

He ignored the new distress signal and instead focused one hundred percent of his attention on the surrounding environment.

That knocking sound came from the direction he had blasted.

It wasn't far, but...

Qin Feng immediately ordered the bionic spider to switch to high-precision acoustic detection mode and sneak silently towards the source of the sound.

The 3D structural map transmitted back by the bionic spider was quickly constructed in his mind.

The situation was even worse than he had imagined.

Between him and that new "neighbor" was a section of completely collapsed and deformed pipeline.

The shockwave caused by the airstrike had forcibly squeezed that section of heavy alloy pipeline into a twisted mess, and it was packed with a large amount of concrete rubble and twisted steel bars, leaving almost no gaps.

Getting across was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Dong... dong... dong..."

The knocking and cries for help were intermittent, becoming weaker and weaker, as if they would extinguish at any moment.

Qin Feng frowned, controlling the bionic spider to push an acoustic probe, thinner than a spider's silk, laboriously through the gaps in the rubble.

"Zzz... zzz..."

A weak life signal was captured by the probe.

It was a living person, and their vital signs were rapidly fading.

"Switch to infrared thermal imaging."

Qin Feng ordered in his heart.

A faint light shone from the tip of the probe, and through the gap, he saw the scene on the other side.

It was a space even narrower than his, with a gaunt figure in a white research suit curled up in a pile of rubble.

Judging from the thermal imaging silhouette, it should be an elderly man; his chest was heaving violently, and every breath seemed incredibly difficult.

An unarmed researcher?

A flash of doubt crossed Qin Feng's eyes.

In this kind of military base, the value of a researcher is sometimes higher than that of a Special Forces unit.

He restrained his impatience, not responding immediately, but continuing to observe.

The old man seemed to sense the faint vibration, and using his last bit of strength, he raised his hand and knocked on the metal pipe beside him.

"Dong dong... dong... dong dong dong..."

It was a standard military distress signal.

[I am... Ivanov... Victor Ivanov...]

Intermittent Morse code came from the other end of the pipeline.

Ivanov?

Never heard of him!

And the name is so long; he definitely isn't anyone important.

Just as Qin Feng was about to abandon this trouble, the knocking from the other end of the pipeline suddenly became urgent.

["red giant"... data... is with me...]

[Core... data... must... be taken out...]

Ivan clearly mistook Qin Feng for a companion; it seemed he had only just woken up and didn't know much.

Qin Feng's pupils contracted sharply!

The core data of the "red giant" mineral vein!

The value of this thing was simply immeasurable!

It wasn't just mineral deposit data; it was the cornerstone of all Bear Country's strategic deployments in this region!

If he could get his hands on it, it would be equivalent to digging up the ancestral grave of the Yang Country's Southern Theater!

He was going to be rich! If he pulled this off, wouldn't his military merit skyrocket?

Qin Feng's heart instantly heated up.

But immediately, he calmed down again.

Saving him meant performing a second demolition.

In these already extremely unstable underground ruins, causing another explosion was no different from lighting fireworks next to a gunpowder barrel; if one wasn't careful, everyone would really end up meeting God together in an orderly fashion.

The risk was too great.

Forget it!

Staying alive is what matters!

Let the secret of the "red giant" be buried here forever; that wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Just then, the system popped up.

[System Mission: Obtain "red giant" data and successfully bring it back to the Military Region.]

[System Reward: Final settlement based on mission completion.]

[System Prompt: Because the host successfully triggered a hidden side mission, you have obtained "Bear Language Proficiency".]

Swoosh!

An incredibly detailed amount of linguistic information instantly flooded into Qin Feng's mind, from pronunciation to grammar, from slang to military terminology, as if he had grown up in Bear Country since childhood.

Good grief!

Now there was no need to use that damn Morse code to play the "you knock, I guess" game.

Thus, Qin Feng cleared his throat and asked in standard Bear Country language.

"Is the data on you?"

"Yes."

Ivan's voice was very weak, barely a whisper.

"It's... it's on my USB drive, as long as you take me out..."

Old fox.

Qin Feng controlled the bionic spider's micro-probe to scan Ivan.

Sure enough, in the inner pocket of his white lab coat, there was a small bulge, exactly the shape of a USB drive.

"Okay! Don't get excited, conserve your energy, I'll find a way to get you out."

Qin Feng's voice was filled with convincing sincerity.

He began to deliberately stall for time, soothing the old man with words while secretly controlling the bionic spider to remotely copy data from the USB drive.

The tips of the bionic spider's appendages extended two data probes finer than hair, silently piercing through the fabric of the lab coat and precisely connecting to the USB drive's port.

[Data copying... 10%... 50%... 99%...]

[Copy complete.]

"Ha! I've thought of a brilliant plan!" Qin Feng's voice suddenly became excited.

"Re... really?" Ivan's voice was filled with the excitement of having survived a disaster.

"Of course."

The smile on the corner of Qin Feng's mouth became somewhat cold.

The next second, he changed his command.

The bionic spider's two probes that had just finished the data transfer instantly changed their form, becoming as hard and sharp as steel needles.

Swoosh!

The two probes, without hesitation, plunged deep into the carotid artery of Ivan's neck.

A stream of warm blood gushed out, staining the white research coat red.

Ivan's eyes widened, the expression of hope still frozen on his face, his body twitched twice, and then he completely ceased to breathe.

He died with his eyes wide open.

[Ding! Killed one enemy senior engineer, host receives fixed military merit: 50 points.]

[Military Rank: First-Class Sergeant (50 / 10000)]

[Ding! Obtained "red giant" core data, mission completion assessment in progress... Assessment complete! The system gives you a thumbs up; please keep up the good work, Host, and conquer the globe soon!]

"..."

Qin Feng looked at the "gives you a thumbs up" prompt, his eyelid twitching wildly.

"I told you, this system is definitely a cultist!"

After a crazy rant, he retracted the bionic spider, but he became more cautious in his heart.

In this damn pipeline, God knows how many more "neighbors" are hiding.

"Ghost, go, search!"

A black shadow darted from his feet, like a drop of ink merging into the darkness, instantly disappearing into the depths of the pipeline.

Now...

Qin Feng turned around, his cold gaze falling on the blonde bombshell who was still unconscious.

The trouble wasn't finished yet.

He walked over to Lanna and squatted down.

The woman was still in a coma, running a high fever, barely breathing, and still muttering to herself.

Qin Feng's curiosity was piqued, and he leaned in to listen carefully.

"Don't kill me... please... I will repay you..."