Lin Xian was both shocked and intrigued upon hearing this: "So if that candle burns for a month, you can live here for 12 months?"
Zhou Lei nodded.
"What kind of candle burns for a month?"
Zhou Lei: ...
"Nonsense, Brother Lin, let me burn his candle ahead of time!" Brother Huo said bluntly.
"I... I really didnât lie to you!!!" Zhou Lei pleaded as he heard this: "The people of Holy Revelation told me that I would die if I left Star Abyss, because my life is in their hands. They also coveted the effect this Taboo Item has on me, which is why the Deep Red World placed me here. Actually, I know Iâm just a pawn of the Deep Red World and Holy Revelation; otherwise, how could I survive here for so long... Captain Lin, donât you agree?!"
Qian Suxun squinted his eyes: "This does explain why the radar couldnât find him, and how he managed to survive in the Star Abyss for so long. Another Taboo Item, huh."
Zhou Leiâs words sounded bizarre, but the logic was plausible. Besides, Lin Xian saw no reason for Zhou Lei to lie about this issue because Lin Xian didnât care about the Deep Red Worldâs and Dawn Cityâs conspiracies, research data, or why Zhou Lei was here. His only concern was the imminent cleansing plan; otherwise, all the intelligence and research data would be meaningless.
So Lin Xian said directly: "Since your work is so important, you must know where the Deep Red Worldâs cleansing device is, right?"
"Cleansing device? What cleansing device?" Zhou Lei looked confused as he heard this.
"To incite the Abnormal Bodies to riot and cleanse the whole city," Lin Xian quickly said, "You canât tell me you donât know!"
Zhou Lei immediately reacted and looked at Qian Suxun and Shi Zhi beside Lin Xian, hastily saying, "Theyâre from Silent City, right? Arenât you here to steal the research data?"
"Donât change the subject."
Zhou Lei panicked: "Iâm not changing the subject, thereâs simply no cleansing device here because the purpose of the Abnormal Body riot isnât because of you guys. We... ah, damn, the Deep Red World has been targeting the Silent City people for a long time, but that isnât the Deep Red Worldâs main goal!!"
Zhou Leiâs words made everyone, including Mochizuki Masashi, who was standing in the main control room of the West Mountain bunker, change their expressions.
Zhou Lei looked up at the clock in the control room and quickly said: "Actually, I donât know much. But the purpose of the spatial disturbances that have happened here several times wasnât targeting you. The Deep Red World was using some kind of contraption or Taboo Item for Star Abyss expansion, madly filling it with lives, and many died. Every time that device activates, all Abnormal Bodies in Star Abyss No.5 riot. Didnât it happen just the day before yesterday, fighting all night from here to the marshy edge of Butuo Lake to the west? Didnât you feel it?"
Lin Xian took a cold breath: "What did you say?!"
Butuo Lake was precisely where the Joint Trainâs current frontline was located. He immediately exchanged looks with Qian Suxun and KIKI, and everyone seemed to understand something.
The so-called cleansing plan was precisely the Deep Red World inciting Star Abyssâs abnormal expansion by using the Fish-tailed Lion Statue, triggering an internal disturbance within Star Abyss!
Qian Suxun frowned and said through the communicator
"Shinji, the situation is more complicated than we thought."
"Oh, I know what you guys want!!" Zhou Lei saw the expressions of Lin Xian and the others and reacted immediately, hurriedly saying: "Every time they plan such an expansion, I receive a command here to go into silent mode, disconnecting the main control room from the upper research lab. So, if I receive the order, you can hide here safely as long as there are no Dark Marks."
Lin Xian took a deep breath, his face completely darkening. Given the situation, they simply couldnât stop the Star Abyss riot.
It seemed Zhou Lei might not even know that the Deep Red Worldâs research triggered Bioform 01, nor that the command he received this time was likely the last one.
Lin Xian looked at the time; 40 minutes had passed. They only had 20 minutes left.
"Xun, Lin."
Mochizuki Masashiâs voice came through: "Quickly check the overall backup information; there must be complete content here."
Lin Xian and Qian Suxun looked at each other and immediately prepared to act.
"Code." Lin Xian pointed to the blue information cabinet and said to Zhou Lei.
Fear flashed in Zhou Leiâs eyes: "Captain Lin, if I tell you, youâre not going to kill me, right?"
"Your life is hanging by a candle, you live here every day, arenât you afraid of death?" Lin Xian retorted.
Zhou Leiâs eyes dimmed, hearing the meaning in Lin Xianâs words. He seemed deflated, murmuring: "Verification code 5A6H0, Captain Lin, after you get the data, let me live in this damned place for a few more days, alright?" As he spoke, tears flowed, and he began to sob uncontrollably, "This damn apocalypse has tormented me to the point of looking neither human nor ghostly, but I really want to live a few more days, sob sob sob..."
Meanwhile, Lin Xian and Qian Suxun ignored his wailing and successfully retrieved the entire backup from inside, prompting the ACS robot and Grace to link up again and start extracting useful information.
[Taboo Item SIID-04: Fish-tailed Lion Statue]
[Location Found: Lion City]
[Physical Characteristics: Three gigantic sculptures standing 16 meters tall, lion-faced with fish tails, the statueâs eyes emit a red glow of fear]
[Evaluated Feature One: Direct visual observation causes a massive invasion of the Power of Fear and results in Instant Teleportation to the observerâs position.]