Eddie Wu Tan was about to remind the driver that Jing Ming Qiu’s convoy had driven onto landmines pre-planted by the terrorist organization.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Continuous explosions erupted from beneath the vehicles. Eddie Wu Tan instinctively ducked and curled into a ball, preparing for the impact.
The other Afghan soldiers mirrored his actions, clustering together and nervously eyeing the vehicle doors, ready to jump out.
However, what happened next completely exceeded their expectations.
Despite the series of explosions, the vehicle body only vibrated slightly, not even as much as the cars they usually drove.
Meanwhile, the terrorists hidden on both sides of the road watched in disbelief as three heavy trucks drove straight into the minefield and sped away, sparks flying. Their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
“Boss,” one terrorist nudged the burly middle-aged man next to him, “Am I seeing things? They just drove right over them!”
The middle-aged man slapped him hard on the head. “You’re not mistaken! Those guys drove right over them! These must be the Dragon Country’s latest troop carriers. Our homemade mines aren’t strong enough. Go find the Doctor and get anti-materiel mines!”
“O-okay!” The terrorist who had been hit rubbed his head and got up from the ground. Just as he was about to retreat, his vision suddenly went black. He looked up to see a dark gun barrel pointed at his forehead.
“Don’t, don’t shoot, I surrender!”
As soon as he raised his hands, he was knocked unconscious by a rifle butt.
The burly man, sensing something was wrong, quickly raised his gun to retaliate. Before he could even fire, a sharp pain shot through the back of his neck, and he collapsed, trembling.
“Thank you! Professor Jing for your help.” Ling Kai cupped his hands towards Jing Ming Qiu, then pulled a rope from his pocket, pressed the burly man’s arms down, and tied him up.
After they had dealt with all the terrorists together, Ling Kai looked at the heavy truck, which was now just a fading silhouette, and sighed.
“If you hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have believed it. A truck pieced together from junk could drive over landmines and move forward!”
Jing Ming Qiu shrugged indifferently. “Just some crudely made primitive landmines, nothing to worry about. Leave the interrogation to you, I’ll be heading off.”
It turned out that Jing Ming Qiu and his team had discovered the buried landmines long ago. Ling Kai had wanted to disarm them, but Jing Ming Qiu didn’t want to waste time and, trusting his system, had ordered them to drive over them.
While the ambushing terrorists were distracted by the convoy, Jing Ming Qiu and Ling Kai led their men in a surprise attack, capturing them all without firing a shot.
Jing Ming Qiu continued to lead the convoy forward. After another twenty kilometers, the muddy, uneven dirt road disappeared, replaced by a desert of vast, rolling sand dunes.
The desert was fraught with peril; places that appeared safe might conceal deadly quicksand beneath the surface.
Eddie Wu Tan proactively approached Jing Ming Qiu, offering to help guide them.
Jing Ming Qiu pointed to the driver’s cabin and smiled as he declined, “No need. The human eye has its limitations; radar is much more reliable.”
Eddie Wu Tan followed Jing Ming Qiu’s gaze to a large screen displaying the road ahead in meticulous detail.
“What, what is this? Can you give me one?” Eddie Wu Tan exclaimed involuntarily.
Jing Ming Qiu looked puzzled. “Isn’t it already on your vehicles? Why would I give you one?”
Eddie Wu Tan thought Jing Ming Qiu was angry and quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry, I got too excited! Desert terrain changes unpredictably; a strong wind can completely alter the landscape.”
“Every year, many people get lost in the desert because of this, or accidentally fall into quicksand. With this, their chances of survival could be greatly increased.”
“Please, I beg you, sell this to us. No matter the price, we’ll pay anything if you’re willing to sell it!”
Hearing this, Jing Ming Qiu finally understood his intention.
“Oh, you want to buy this? It’s not suitable for you; it’s too large. If you need it for everyday use, I can make a batch of small civilian-grade detectors, similar in size to a regular phone, for easy carrying.”
“Thank you, thank you! Thank you so much!”
Eddie Wu Tan hadn’t expected Jing Ming Qiu to not only not be angry but also to thoughtfully offer to improve it. Not wanting to disturb them further, he bowed repeatedly, offering profuse thanks before leaving.
The convoy continued to speed forward. After leaving the pitted and muddy road, their speed not only didn’t decrease but actually increased, quickly reaching a hundred kilometers per hour!
Half an hour later, the convoy stopped in front of a low sand dune. Jing Ming Qiu disembarked first, followed closely by the other Dragon Country soldiers. Eddie Wu Tan finally climbed out of the vehicle with his men.
Eddie Wu Tan cautiously approached and, mimicking the way others addressed him, said, “Professor Jing, we’ve scouted this area. It’s just ordinary wasteland.”
“This is no ordinary wasteland; it’s the entrance to the Bayer Pharmaceutical Laboratory.”
As he spoke, Jing Ming Qiu took out a handheld computer and pressed a few buttons. With a tremor in the ground, the sand dune silently split open, revealing a massive metal door.
“Let’s go,” Jing Ming Qiu beckoned to Eddie Wu Tan. “Set up the cameras and be ready to expose all this evidence to the world!”
Upon hearing this, Eddie Wu Tan quickly and cautiously raised his mobile phone, activating its camera function.
Jing Ming Qiu glanced at his old, battered phone, his brow furrowing. He casually bought a high-spec camera from the system and handed it over. “Your precision is too low; use this one.”
“Oh, okay!”
Eddie Wu Tan took the camera, which looked very valuable, and held it carefully, unsure which button to press.
Seeing his bewildered state, Jing Ming Qiu, not wanting to waste any more time at the entrance, released the mechanical arm from his back. With a series of dazzling operations, he transformed the camera into a drone.
Then, Jing Ming Qiu took the lead and rushed inside.
Because Jing Ming Qiu had used a virus provided by the system to hack into all the laboratory's cameras and defense systems, the people inside were unaware that someone had infiltrated. The security personnel were still leisurely sipping hot coffee in the guardroom.
Therefore, Jing Ming Qiu and his team encountered little resistance, charging directly into the core area where human experiments were conducted.
The moment they pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the operating theater, a wail of agony, almost beyond human sound, immediately reverberated out.
Jing Ming Qiu had never heard such a horrific cry and couldn’t help but shiver.
Just then, a bald old man, his clothes soaked in blood, heard the door open. Muttering in annoyance, he poked his head out. “Didn’t I tell you not to disturb me while I’m conducting experiments…”
“You! Who are you? How did you get in!”
Upon noticing the intruders, the bald old man began speaking to stall for time while secretly retreating.
Jing Ming Qiu didn’t answer. Instead, he quickly scanned the dense rows of culture tanks nearby, his killing intent intensifying as he looked at the various human organs within.
With a crisp “click,” taking advantage of Jing Ming Qiu’s momentary distraction, the bald old man retreated to the wall and forcefully pressed a red button.
An ear-piercing alarm blared as four thick steel plates descended from above, encasing the operating theater.
“I don’t know how you got in,” the bald old man’s smug voice echoed from within. “These are meter-thick bulletproof steel plates. Even if you bomb them with rockets, you won’t be able to break them.”
“The security forces will be here any moment. Conveniently, I’m short on a few test subjects. I’ll have them spare your life so you can obediently become part of my masterpiece! Hahahahaha!”
The bald old man was in the midst of a maniacal laugh when the steel plates that had just descended suddenly began to vibrate…