Chapter 28: The Unexpected NPC
“Loud, loud, what are you shouting about?!”
Just as we were chatting happily, a few annoying voices suddenly came from not far away. Turning around, we saw a group of guards glaring at us.
“Ah! Who cares what I'm saying here, huh? Look at your pathetic faces. Are you jealous that I'm so handsome?” While everyone was enjoying their chat, we suddenly heard the guard's voice, which was very unpleasant, and the fire in Glasses flared up immediately.
“Damn, I've seen narcissists, but never anyone as self-absorbed as you. There really is every kind of person among infiltrators.” Sitting across from us were a dozen or so guards, speaking with great disdain.
“Haha, that's enough talking. Don't be obsessed with me, I'm just a legend!” Hearing the opponent's ridicule, Glasses pretended not to notice at all, and casually took it as a compliment.
“Forget it, stop arguing!” The guard who was quarreling with Glasses still wanted to say something, but suddenly a voice emerged from among the crowd. It sounded very authoritative, and for a moment, everyone went silent.
Looking at him, my heart skipped a beat: could this person be the captain of the guards?
Gaara seemed to have noticed my thoughts and said to me, “This person is called 'Gun God' and is sort of the commander of the guards! In the game, every five people form a small group. It seems over there they had three groups, though some were eliminated by ghosts. That means the other side has three group leaders, but that guy is the overall commander of the guards and has considerable authority among them.”
Gun God? What a powerful name. If he can become the overall commander of the guards, he must be quite skilled.
Gun God looked over, though slightly restrained on purpose, I could still see a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes: “Could you please keep it down? If it's so noisy, we can even hear it over here. How are we supposed to discuss things?”
“Sorry, we will be careful, but please don't shout recklessly either. Only if everyone behaves this way can we all get along.” Gaara's implication was that we would be careful ourselves, and they shouldn't meddle here.
After everyone quieted down, I finally had the chance to take a look around the place we were in. This place looked very large, and there were many machines around whose purposes were unknown, though all of them were inactive.We stayed in a small space, and over there was a dim corridor, leading who knows where. Since this place counted as the basement of District 13, the surroundings were all gloomy. Looking at those machines gave me a sense of a secret base. At this moment, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Hei Ju Shen looking at me with a serious expression: "Melancholic, come with me." Saying that, he walked toward the straight path ahead. What's going on? So mysterious? Watching Hei Ju Shen's back, I quickly followed him. "Melancholic!" I heard Ailo shouting from behind: "This is the underground base of District 13. The surroundings are connected in all directions, and there are many branching paths. Don't wander too far!" "Hey, I'm asking, buddy, what exactly is this about? Let me clarify first, I don't have that kind of hobby!" Following Hei Ju Shen into a slightly larger room, he looked rather somber. This left me completely puzzled; just a moment ago, he was fine, so what happened now? Hei Ju Shen turned around, his brows tightly furrowed: "Melancholic, I'm asking you… where's the bullet? Why isn't the bullet with you guys?" Bullet? Sweat, I really forgot to mention this. But the bullet has already turned into a ghost, so how should I answer him? Uh, I stammered a little: "Well, about the bullet… it's a bit…" Seeing my awkward expression, Hei Ju Shen sighed: "Forget it, this isn't your fault! It really was my mistake before. I shouldn't have been so stubborn, and I was too careless, which caused the bullet to get infected. Actually, even if you hadn't told me, I would have known. When I saw that the bullet wasn't among you, I already knew about its transformation." "I'm really sorry…" I didn't even know how to comfort him. The bullet situation was indeed regrettable. Just as the two of us fell into a melancholic mood over the bullet and didn't know what to say, a sound suddenly echoed in the dark room. 'Beep, beep, beep!' This sound? It sounded like it came from an electronic component. Where was it coming from? The machines here should have already stopped working. We began curiously searching around. This sound sounded very familiar, and the strangest part was that it seemed to be right next to you, constantly 'beeping, beeping, beeping.'The Black Sniper suddenly stopped, looking a bit dazed: "How frustrating, that sound seems to be coming from your backpack!" What? From my backpack? What the heck? I emptied the contents of my bag and saw a strange device about the size of a mobile phone constantly flashing, with its small light blinking in sync with the beeping.
This thing is... a life detector?! Right, I remember now, this is the life detector that Rockman gave me before the game, mainly used for locating Dr. Koro, the creator of the bioweapon.
It is said that this device can be used to track traces of Dr. Koro, such as his voice, his scent, or even fibers from his clothing. When carried, it does not make a sound, and during the escape, I had long forgotten about it. But now, this tracker for Dr. Koro has been beeping non-stop, which must mean…?
We, the Black Sniper and I, were stunned on the spot. Does this mean that Dr. Koro, the creator of the bioweapon, is nearby?
It must be! I remembered that Rockman said Dr. Koro is the creator of the bioweapon, and finding him would come with a huge reward! The Black Sniper and I were instantly ecstatic. That's right, once we find this NPC Dr. Koro, we can get great rewards.
We immediately followed the detector's guidance and moved forward slowly. I was beyond thrilled; I didn't expect that by sheer luck we would encounter the most important NPC in the game here! Hehe, after nervously escaping the whole way and sacrificing so much, it finally paid off.
Soon, we found the target. Seeing the large pile of debris blocking the way, the Black Sniper and I immediately started clearing it without a word. “So dirty! Are these things hundreds of years old? Dr. Koro really knows how to hide!”
"That's what I call smart! With this foul-smelling trash blocking the way, forget people—even a hunting dog wouldn't be able to find him!" After our cleanup, the debris in front of us was tossed aside, revealing a small door.
The Black Sniper walked over and tried to pull it, but the door seemed to be tightly shut, not making a sound at all.I looked him up and down, and said to Hei Ju Shendao: "Don't bother, the door seems to be made of pure steel, it can't be opened by human strength alone. However, these are all operated by a machine switch. If I want to open this iron door, I first need to find where the switch is."
"It seems so, but where is the switch for the door?"
Walking closer, I noticed there was also a keypad lock on the door, with numbers 1 to 9 arranged in order. It looked like the correct code had to be entered to open this door. How could we possibly know the code? But if we want to open the door, I suppose we should politely get the owner's consent.
I believe that as long as Dr. Ke Luo himself is still hiding behind this door, the door can definitely be opened. I knocked on the iron door with the butt of my gun and shouted, "Doctor, is Dr. Ke Luo inside? We are mercenaries here to rescue you!"
After knocking dozens of times, finally there was a response from inside: "Which mercenaries are you, how do you know I'm hiding here?" Damn, the old guy is pretty cautious, otherwise maybe he would have let a few ladies lure you out.
"We are from the Infiltrator Mercenary Guild, sent by Captain Lock to rescue you, Doctor. It is safe now!"
"Infiltrator mercenaries? Hmm, as long as you're not from the Guardian sect it's fine!" While he was speaking, the iron door suddenly clicked open, and an elder wearing a white lab coat and reading glasses came out. Damn, this must be the creator of the biochemical virus, the culprit, Dr. Ke Luo.
Dr. Ke Luo sized up Hei Ju Shen and me, and after a while, he said with an air of authority: "Strange, why are there only the two of you mercenaries? Where are the other teams? I won't go with you if there are less than ten people."
Ah, the moment I saw this virus creator, I was filled with anger. He is still playing big shots here in front of me, really shameless! I stepped forward, intending to give him a good beating, but seeing he was an old man with gray hair and a beard, and following the Chinese tradition of respecting elders, I restrained myself.
Hei Ju Shen looked equally annoyed by this old man, but didn't dare make a move. He snorted and said, "Everyone else is staying elsewhere. Don't worry, we have plenty of people, protecting just you is more than enough."“What kind of attitude is this of yours?” The old fellow glanced at Black Sniper God, thinking about hurrying to the safety of the main force. He then said, “I'm in a good mood right now, so I won't bother arguing with a low-ranking soldier like you. Just take me to your team leader!” Hehe, a low-ranking soldier? The captain of the prestigious 'Blackwater Company' team being mistaken for a low-ranking soldier made Black Sniper God extremely angry, but he couldn't bring himself to take action against the old man. He let out a big humph and walked away. But Dr. Luo smirked and said to me, “This guy must be a newbie, really no manners!” Manners? I think you're not much better. If it weren't for the fact that we're all outstanding young people of good character in the new century, you would have become a national treasure long ago! (End of chapter)