Chapter 308: An Interesting Game

Chapter 308: An Interesting Game

Liang Yue called Ye Xiaotian to a corner where they could avoid surveillance.

Using her conversational skills, she first tested Ye Xiaotian’s attitude toward West Hill Base.

After listening, Ye Xiaotian’s eyes filled with hatred as he gritted his teeth. “Teacher Liang, they don’t treat us like humans at all! They use us like lab rats!”

“You can’t imagine what we went through in that lab!”

As he recalled the events of that day, Ye Xiaotian’s body started trembling uncontrollably.

He poured out the story to Liang Yue as if venting his pain.

It turned out that West Hill Base had long discovered that people might awaken Superhuman abilities under extreme conditions.

So the first step in their experiments was to torture these individuals in various ways, pushing them to the brink of death repeatedly.

This included suffocation for two minutes, electric shocks, spinning, and dozens of other methods.

If none of these triggered any abilities, it proved the person had no latent talent.

Yet, even then, they didn’t let the test subjects go.

“The final method was to implant mutated cells into our bodies.”

Ye Xiaotian said this as he instinctively touched his chest.

“If we could survive the rejection reaction and not be devoured by the mutated cells, we could live and gain powers similar to those of the mutants.”

“But the price is permanent damage to the body, and even our lifespan gets reduced.”

Tears welled up in Ye Xiaotian’s eyes, and his hatred for West Hill Base was unmistakable.

Liang Yue, feeling heartbroken, gave him a comforting hug. She then looked into his eyes and asked seriously, “If you had the chance to leave this place, would you take it?”

Ye Xiaotian hesitated for a moment before his eyes lit up with hope. He nodded decisively.

“I’d love that! I dream about it!”

“Destroying this hellhole would be even better!”

Liang Yue was relieved. “Alright, if that’s the case, I need your help.”

Due to a shortage of manpower, Ye Xiaotian had been reassigned to patrol near the Second Life Pod.

Each day, there was a period when he would patrol near the Information Department.

With his cooperation, it would be much easier for Liang Yue to enter the Information Department.

Once she crossed that door, for someone like her—formerly a special agent—planting a small chip in the computer would be a breeze.

---

Meanwhile, Zhang Yi and his group had been staying in the shelter for a day when they received a call from Chen Xinian.

Chen Xinian asked, “Zhang Yi, a day has passed. What’s your answer?”

Zhang Yi smirked disdainfully. “My answer hasn’t changed. It’s impossible for me to submit!”

Chen Xinian’s expression darkened.

“Fine, you brought this on yourself! Just wait to be destroyed along with your Shelter!”

With that, Chen Xinian didn’t bother saying anything more and ended the call.

Zhang Yi’s face remained calm, but he knew that Chen Xinian’s refusal to negotiate meant that the threat of missiles was likely real.

“Well, let it be.”

Zhang Yi lounged back on the sofa, feeling rather indifferent.

If the Shelter was lost, so be it. As long as he stayed alive, that was what mattered.

He had people, resources, and the world was vast—there were plenty of places to go.

Zhang Yi’s strength was in his ability to let go. As long as he could survive, many things in life could be compromised.

However, just as he was preparing to give up on the Shelter, he received a message from Liang Yue.

“I’ve done what you asked. Now I hope you’ll keep your promise and help us escape from here.”

Zhang Yi glanced at his phone and immediately sat up straight from the sofa.

“She succeeded?”

He had only given Liang Yue a Trojan chip as a test, without holding much hope for her success.

But she had really pulled it off. As expected of a former special department bodyguard!

Without hesitation, Zhang Yi headed to Lu Keran and Yang Xinxin’s room and pushed the door open.

“Xinxin, great news! Our plan worked!”

The two girls were surprised by Zhang Yi’s sudden entrance, but after hearing his words, they understood why he was so excited.

Yang Xinxin’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

As a top-tier hacker, being able to hack into the highly secure system of a Shelter was an immense achievement for her!

“Alright, I’ll get to work right away!”

She moved her wheelchair over to her workstation, where Zhang Yi had already set up the computer.

Her fingers danced across the keyboard like she was playing a piano.

Zhang Yi didn’t bother trying to make sense of the complex characters on the screen. He simply stood behind Yang Xinxin, waiting for her to finish.

Not long after, her hands stopped moving.

She raised her head proudly and said to Zhang Yi, “Brother, I’ve completely taken control of West Hill Base’s network!”

Zhang Yi was a bit shocked. “That fast?”

It had only taken ten minutes for Yang Xinxin to completely dominate West Hill Base’s network?

He felt like it was too good to be true—this success had come so suddenly.

Yang Xinxin snorted. “If they’d been connected to the public network instead of using a closed system, I would’ve hacked them even faster.”

“All I needed was the key to open the door.”

“Technically speaking, those technicians can’t compare to me.”

After all, she was the kind of hacker capable of leaving her mark on Grey Palace’s official website!

Zhang Yi raised his eyebrows and smiled. “True. People working in the government aren’t always the best at what they do.”

Top-tier computer experts are more often found in private companies, where the pay and career prospects are better than in government jobs.

And without strong connections, it didn’t matter how skilled a technician was—they’d have little room to advance.

So most government agencies outsourced their software projects.

Naturally, the tech staff at West Hill Base couldn’t match up to a world-class hacker like Yang Xinxin.

Zhang Yi leaned on her wheelchair, peering at the computer screen.

“Will they detect our intrusion? And can we see everything on their network?”

Instinctively, Zhang Yi’s head moved closer to Yang Xinxin’s, making her blush. She lowered her head and said softly, “I have the highest level of control over West Hill Base’s network now. It’s like we’re watching them from a god’s-eye view.” ṛἁ𝐍ȰᛒΕᶊ

“We can see everything they do, but they won’t notice us.”

Zhang Yi’s smile deepened.

“Great! Now we can uncover all their secrets.”

He pointed to the screen. “Quick, pull up all the missile launch data. I want to know if they were bluffing.”

That was the issue weighing most on Zhang Yi’s mind.

Yang Xinxin’s fingers danced swiftly across the keyboard again, and soon she pulled up the information Zhang Yi wanted.

“According to our investigation, West Hill Base doesn’t have the authority to launch missiles.”

Yang Xinxin said.

Zhang Yi let out a small sigh of relief.

But he quickly asked, “Is there any chance they could request external support? Like asking a major military district to launch them?”

Yang Xinxin immediately began searching through West Hill Base’s communications records.

After sifting through layer after layer of data, she finally found something crucial.

The communication was between West Hill Base’s leader, Chen Xinian, and someone in Jinling, hundreds of kilometers away from Tianhai City.

“Old Zhu, I need a favor. Help me launch a missile strike on a target in Tianhai City.”

“Old Chen, are you sure? I can only do this once.”

“I know. I’ve thought it through. I’ll have the coordinates sent to you later. Let’s set the time for tomorrow night at 12.”

“Hahaha, no problem.”

---

Hearing this conversation, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.

Jinling was home to the Jiangnan District, one of the six major military districts in China.

They wielded immense military power, far beyond what Tianhai City could muster.

Zhang Yi quickly urged Yang Xinxin, “Check if they’ve already sent the coordinates for the Shelter!”

Yang Xinxin didn’t say a word. Her expression was serious as her hands flew over the keyboard.

Soon, a smile spread across her face.

“Brother, we’re in luck. They haven’t sent the coordinates yet!”

After the apocalypse, most communications infrastructure had been destroyed, making it impossible for regular people or organizations to use precise coordinate systems.

However, critical state institutions were an exception.

For example, the major military districts had access to the Nebula System, allowing them to use military satellites for precise targeting.

West Hill Base didn’t have this authority. This was a safeguard that higher-ups put in place to limit the power of local forces.

So, for West Hill Base to get the exact coordinates of Zhang Yi’s Shelter, they would need to go through multiple verification processes.

And since West Hill Base still operated like a government agency, their procedures were slow and inefficient.

As a result, the process was still stuck with Chen Xinian’s secretary, Ge Rou.

Zhang Yi sighed with relief.

At that moment, Yang Xinxin turned to him, her face lighting up with a mischievous smile.

“Brother, shall we play an interesting game?”

“Hmm? An interesting game?”

Zhang Yi blinked.

Seeing Yang Xinxin smile like that, he knew someone was about to suffer.

Don’t be fooled by her paralysis—her mind was sharper than ten ordinary people put together.

In the Shelter, aside from Zhang Yi, everyone else had been played around by her.

Squinting playfully, Yang Xinxin suggested with a warm smile, “Why don’t we change the missile target to West Hill Base? Let them blow themselves up. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Author's Note