The KR plan was located on the fifty-second floor underground. Bai Qi really couldn't agree with Desmond's taste. He had turned a perfectly good floor into something resembling the Zerg hive in StarCraft. The ground, walls, and ceiling were covered in a blood-red substance, like creep, with large, tumor-like growths resembling cocoons embedded in the walls. Among them were a few pale purple, bubble-like objects. The sight alone was extremely unsettling.
As they proceeded to the KR plan's laboratory, Desmond constantly spoke to Bai Qi about the difficulties he had encountered in his experiments and how hard he had worked, staying up countless nights to perfect the plan and finally create a finished Superman clone.
Desmond's intention was simple: to use this to seek credit from Bai Qi and offset his current work failures. However, Bai Qi ignored him, remaining silent the entire way, merely listening to Desmond's incessant chatter in his ear.
Soon, they arrived at a large metal door.
"My lord, please wait a moment."
With that, Desmond hurried forward, entered a series of authentication codes, and the metal door slowly opened. Desmond turned around and gestured for Bai Qi, who was behind him, to enter.
As Bai Qi entered, Desmond quickly followed and began operating a control panel.
Then, the lights in the cultivation pod in front of them illuminated. Inside, a male figure, about ninety percent similar to Superman, slept peacefully. He was dressed in a snow-white solar suit with a large 'S' emblem on the chest.
"Doctor, who is this?"
At that moment, a voice called out from the depths of the laboratory, and a black woman carrying a file emerged.
Desmond looked at her and introduced her to Bai Qi, "My lord, allow me to introduce Dr. Spence."
"Dr. Spence, this is an inspector sent by the board of directors."
"Hello."
After hearing Desmond's introduction, Dr. Spence politely greeted Bai Qi.
"Hello, Dr. Spence."
After a brief exchange, Dr. Spence stated she had other matters to attend to and excused herself, leaving Desmond to continue explaining to Bai Qi.
"This is the clone we cultivated using Superman's genes. We call him Superboy. He has been in cultivation for sixteen weeks. The solar suit allows him to absorb radiation from the yellow sun at all times. The three imps equipped are able to forcibly instill education into the clone through telepathy."
Bai Qi stepped forward and carefully examined Superboy in the cultivation pod, then looked down at the information displayed on the panel.
"Um, my lord, besides the KR plan, there are a few other experimental plans on this floor. Perhaps I could show you?"
Desmond knew the special nature of the KR plan, and besides, there wasn't much else to see without opening the cultivation pod.
Bai Qi had wanted to copy all the data from this place, but thinking that his actions might displease other members of the Illuminati, he gave up and left the room with Desmond, heading to the laboratory of the next research project.
However, as soon as Bai Qi and Desmond left, the elevator doors on the fifty-second floor opened, and Calder, Kid Flash, and Robin stepped out, greatly shocked by their surroundings.
The three ran out of the elevator and pressed onward until they reached a fork in the road.
Calder looked at Robin and asked, "Which way should we go?"
Robin, also clueless, replied, "Yeah, Hall of Weirdness One? Or Hall of Weirdness Two?"
"Hey!"
Just as the three were hesitating about which path to take, Yong Huo emerged from the left passage. Upon seeing them, he said nothing and raised his left hand. Two dark green barrels beside him floated up and were pressed forward, flying towards the three.
Boom!
The two barrels flew over Kid Flash's head and exploded upon impact with the fleshy walls.
Robin tried to retaliate by throwing a ring-shaped dart, but it froze before reaching Yong Huo and fell to the ground. Yong Huo then controlled the barrels again, throwing them at the two, forcing them into another passage.
Seeing the three escape, Yong Huo did not pursue but stood at the elevator door, watching them leave.
At that moment, the elevator doors opened again, and Guardian, with several members of The Claws, arrived.
Yong Huo, with an expression of "I just got here and they already ran off," said, "Stop! They went towards the KR plan."
Guardian didn't waste words, ran out of the elevator, and led The Claws directly towards the KR plan's laboratory.
Kid Flash, relying on his speed advantage, was still running the furthest ahead. He collided head-on with Dr. Spence, who was emerging from the laboratory. Even though Kid Flash tried his best to brake, he still slid and knocked Dr. Spence to the ground.
Getting back up, Kid Flash had no time to inquire about the other person's condition. If he didn't react quickly, the metal door in front of him would close.
Without thinking, he grabbed a nearby gas cylinder and used it to block the door.
Screech!
The gas cylinder was squeezed and deformed, but it managed to temporarily block the closing door.
"Brothers, hurry!"
After the three entered the laboratory and saw Guardian and The Claws catching up, Kold even remembered to kick away the gas cylinder blocking the door.
Once the door was fully closed, Robin used his hacking skills to forcibly lock the door from the inside, ensuring that no one outside could get in.
"We're trapped."
Calder looked around. There was no way out, not even a ventilation shaft in sight.
"Uh... guys, come look at this."
Kid Flash pressed a button on the control panel, and the cultivation pod in front of them lit up again, revealing Superboy to the three.
After discussion, the three made the most correct choice at that moment: to contact the Justice League. However, unfortunately, they were on the fifty-second floor underground, too deep for their message to get through.
Meanwhile, outside the door, Guardian stood guard with a group of The Claws, while Dr. Spence struggled to crack the door's security, with little success.
Upon hearing the news, Desmond's heart sank. He handed Bai Qi over to another lab assistant and rushed over.
"They're still inside?! With the weapon?"
"The door can't be opened."
"Get some Titans down here to force the door open, quickly!"
"They've already departed."
Desmond was frantic. The board of directors was touring the laboratories not far away. If they discovered such a commotion in Cadmus under his management, his life would likely be forfeit.
He whispered to Guardian in front of him, "You know, once we go in, we absolutely cannot let them leave alive."
Although Guardian was controlled by imps and loyal to Cadmus, he still possessed basic judgment.