Bai Ye licked his lips, looking at the crystal people, feeling a bit troublesome.
If it were just Bai Ye, it would be convenient; he could directly charge through. But the problem was that charging through alone was useless. He needed to cover everyone else as they entered Laboratory No. 3.
Furthermore, it wasn't just about charging; it was also about protection.
Allen, Davis, and Gonzales were alright. Ji Ruyue's combat ability was limited to holding a gun and firing, and her marksmanship was average.
Of course, this wasn't the most troublesome part. They didn't lack Ji Ruyue's firepower. The trouble was that Ji Ruyue was fragile and needed careful protection.
Bai Ye took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a fierce attack to see if he could carve a path.
Just then…
Bang!
A gunshot suddenly rang out!
The next moment, a crystal person's head exploded, pierced by a bullet that created a large hole. It then toppled to the side.
Bai Ye's eyebrows twitched as he looked at a tall building in the distance.
"Yimi?"
Bai Ye murmured, his brow furrowing as he pondered what that guy's intentions were.
Bai Ye had never been able to figure out Yimi's stance. This guy had killed Li Chengjie, and his actions suggested he was on their side, or at least had a similar stance.
However, when Bai Ye had clashed with Yimi, he had tentatively tried to make contact, but Yimi had refused.
If their stances were truly the same, Bai Ye felt there was no reason for Yimi to give up the opportunity to cooperate.
Whether it was the natural cooperation of shared stances or the strength Bai Ye had displayed, it shouldn't have led Yimi to refuse.
Therefore, Yimi was likely still in an adversarial position.
But now, he had intervened by killing a crystal person, clearly intending to help clear a path.
"What is this guy up to?"
Bai Ye felt a headache coming on.
Bai Ye was very confident in his ability to handle the hidden missions and restricted zones of the Ruined City.
After all, Bai Ye had been to the Ruined City in his previous life and had successfully completed the hidden mission, earning the qualification to initiate the wish mission.
But now, Yimi's appearance was clearly an X-factor, making things less clear.
However…
As Bai Ye's thoughts raced, he immediately leaped forward, unleashing a powerful slash with his Jing Lei Zi Dian.
Regardless of Yimi's true intentions, their immediate goal was the same: to get Allen and the others into Laboratory No. 3.
Zzzzz!
A flash of electricity struck forward, and Bai Ye's sword severed a crystal person's arm. He then followed up with a punch to the crystal person's chest.
Crack!
With a surge of electricity, the crystal in the crystal person's chest exploded, and the entire being instantly shattered into pieces.
As the surrounding crystal people closed in on Bai Ye again…
Bang!
Yimi fired again, and another crystal person's head exploded.
At the same time…
A massive red magic array suddenly appeared ahead, and a crimson fire dragon emerged from the center of the array, soaring forward.
Magic…
Bai Ye narrowed his eyes. As expected, there were two people with Yimi. Yimi himself didn't possess magic area abilities; the one skilled in magic was someone else.
No, Bai Ye thought it would be more accurate to say there were at least two of them.
Typically, a two-person team would almost always adopt a visible and hidden approach. Since Yimi and the magic-user had revealed themselves, it was possible they had a third person hidden.
It was even possible that Yimi had a small team.
Meanwhile…
Allen approached Bai Ye, looking confused and wary. "Isn't this the person who attacked us in the abandoned factory?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Yes!"
Allen frowned. "What do they mean by this?"
Bai Ye replied, "I don't know what they mean. However, when comparing the two, being surrounded by those robots and crystal people is clearly a worse situation. So, no matter what they intend, at least for now, they can help us reach Laboratory No. 3 faster."
Allen pondered for a moment, finding Bai Ye's words reasonable. He immediately waved to the others. "Move, forward!"
The fire dragon charged ahead, igniting the surroundings in a blaze. The robots on the street exploded, and the crystal people's bodies cracked under the impact of the explosions.
Bai Ye followed, his dual swords constantly slashing, cutting down the shattered crystal people.
Allen, while firing, asked Gonzales, "Where is Laboratory No. 3?"
Gonzales replied, "Continue down this street. There's a white domed building; that's Laboratory No. 3."
Davis remarked, "Given the current situation, the Rhine Corporation is most likely problematic. Why would they build a laboratory so openly?"
"I don't know if they built it openly, but…" Gonzales shrugged as he fired, "They're openly recruiting androids for experiments, so what else wouldn't they do openly?"
Ji Ruyue sneered, "Hmph, the wealthy district is Rhine Corporation's territory, so they naturally have no scruples. They find experimental subjects from the slums; they don't consider people outside that wall as human!"
The others shrugged.
As androids living in the slums, none of them liked the Rhine Corporation. However, life was often unavoidable. After all, the Rhine Corporation controlled a vast amount of resources beneath the wasteland.
Gonzales also disliked the Rhine Corporation, but when they recruited experimental subjects, he was tempted.
It wasn't that Gonzales lacked backbone, but they offered too much.
With the addition of Yimi and his companion, their forward progress finally picked up speed.
Originally, Bai Ye had to choose between protection or charging, and he could only pick one. Even with the ability to teleport using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, it was difficult to cover both fronts.
Now, that worry was gone, and Bai Ye could focus solely on charging.
Of course, Bai Ye also suspected Yimi might have ulterior motives.
For example, using this "alliance" to make him lower his guard, with the actual target being someone in the group.
But despite his thoughts, Bai Ye made no move.
Or rather, if Yimi truly made such a move, it would also be a test for Bai Ye.
Let Yimi kill one person. As long as Allen didn't die, at most the completion of the hidden mission would decrease slightly, but Bai Ye could definitively determine Yimi's stance and whether their mission was a dual mission, an overlapping mission, or an adversarial mission.
Just then, the domed building that Gonzales had mentioned finally appeared before them. As it was a newly constructed building, it was particularly conspicuous, signifying…
Laboratory No. 3!
…