“Moreover, as long as we can withstand the pressure and fully break through and develop the fourth one within this time...”

Seeing that Su Mo was lost in thought, Hou Congwen misunderstood and began to comfort him quietly.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to explain what the fourth technological explosion actually was.

Suddenly, everything in front of them went dark.

The lake, the pavilion, the open space... all vanished.

In their place was a simple room only ten square meters in size.

“Huh, why is the power out?”

“There’s an emergency power supply in the courtyard. Even if it can’t handle the virtual realm, it should still be able to provide lighting, right?”

In the windowless, dark room, the eerie blue emergency lights overhead were already on.

Hou Congwen stood up, gave a slightly embarrassed smile, and then walked outside, angry.

Research work allowed no room for the slightest carelessness. A single power outage could well wipe out a researcher’s flash of inspiration. When no disaster had struck, this kind of mistake was simply outrageous!

“The logistics department is getting worse and worse. I told the director long ago not to let the Chen Clan get involved. They can’t even clean up the messes they make, yet they want a hand in the Academy of Sciences. It’s unbelievable.”

“Let’s see what excuses you have left today.”

Clearing his throat, Hou Congwen muttered curses under his breath as he straightened his back and walked out.

Although he wasn’t the one who had broken the record, the name “Hou Congwen” was still prominently displayed on the list.

Riding that lingering momentum, before he even reached the door, Hou Congwen had already rehearsed in his head his entire speech for the logistics department, which he had always disliked. This time, setting everything else aside, he would work with the other researchers to remove the Chen Clan, this cancerous growth, from the Academy of Sciences and create a healthy research environment. Otherwise, if these pests stayed inside, the earlier “disaster” would happen again sooner or later.

“Management office, put me back in charge of logistics!”

Hou Congwen picked up the emergency phone by the door, dialed the numbers and said it repeatedly.

Strangely, the building management office downstairs, which usually answered at once, was completely silent today, just like when the power went out.

There was nothing he could do. He dialed three times in a row and confirmed that the management office had shut down.

Hou Congwen could only use the dim light to laboriously open the mechanical lock of the explosion-proof glass door, push it open a small gap and squeeze out.

“Qiu Hong, what’s going on? Is the logistics department incompetent? How could they cut the power in broad daylight?”

“Find me a phone that works. I want to give those parasites from the Chen Clan a good talking-to. Aren’t they...”

After two steps, Hou Congwen bumped into Qiu Hong, who was rushing toward him, and immediately began to curse.

Unfortunately, before he could finish, Qiu Hong, who was usually extremely well-behaved, acted very strangely. He suddenly raised a hand and covered Hou Congwen’s mouth, then pushed him forward and pressed him roughly against the side wall of the glass spiral walkway!

“Qiu... let go...”

Qiu Hong was a strong man who ran errands and did odd jobs every day. Hou Congwen was weak and frail from sitting in the research room all day. He struggled a few times under Qiu Hong’s hold but still could not break free right away.

“Researcher Hou, don’t speak. Look behind you.”

Qiu Hong pressed his hand harder over Hou Congwen’s mouth, lowered his voice and whispered something in his ear.

“What’s next, mmph?”

Hearing the whisper clearly, Hou Congwen, no fool, instantly realized that things might not be as simple as he had thought.

Unfortunately, before he could turn around and look back...

Boom!

A sudden, violent roar rang out, nearly rupturing his eardrums.

At the same time, it felt as if a red-hot branding iron had flown over his head, leaving a distinct burning sensation.

“Kill! Murder!”

“Guns? Who dares to fire a gun inside the Academy of Sciences!”

Only a second ago, Qiu Hong’s whisper had seemed to echo in his ears.

The next second, the exploded head, like a watermelon smashed open with a hammer, spilled all over the ground.

Face splattered with blood, Hou Congwen collapsed to the ground like a madman, trembling all over as if he had Parkinson’s disease.

The sound was familiar, and so was the feeling... he was no stranger to it. In virtual reality he had been forced to experience this feeling of a bullet whizzing past dozens, even hundreds of times. But this time was different. This was reality. There was only one life, and no resurrection as in virtual reality. If you were dead, you were completely dead!

“This is an operation conducted by the Northern Military Region. All unauthorized personnel must retreat immediately, or they will be responsible for any casualties!”

“This is the first warning!”

A cold, emotionless voice sounded from behind.

Hearing those familiar words, Hou Congwen’s trembling abruptly stopped.

The next second, he looked up blankly.

Before his eyes...

the three floors were now filled with tall, fully armed murlocs warriors who had appeared out of nowhere.

They were all muscular, dressed in black robes, with ferocious expressions, and gave off a nauseating, strong fishy smell.

In their hands was the Dragon Fang assault rifle, the most powerful individual weapon developed by the Academy of Sciences. On their bodies was the most powerful personal protective gear, the Hope Assault Device, which the Academy of Sciences was still testing and supplied only to a few military regions.

All of it had originally been meant to deal with a powerful external enemy. But at that moment, their guns were pointed at their target. It was indeed the laboratory with only one gap showing! They had turned on their own people!

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