Although he agreed, the captain clearly did not trust Wu Min'er. As he watched Wu Min'er enter the control room, he imdiately issued an order.
"Send more Shadow Force troops and seal off this entire area. Also, notify the general!"
Xiao Buli hastily retreated to the inner control room, which was hertically sealed on all sides and very sturdy. It had only one watertight hatch as an exit, probably designed to protect it in case of an explosion in the outside experints. This now worked to Xiao Buli's advantage.
Xiao Buli was about to close the iron door when Wu Min'er followed him inside. He hesitated for a mont but then stepped aside to let her in, closing the sealed chamber's door behind them. He felt sowhat relieved but knew this was not the ti to relax. The soldiers were waiting right outside, and stepping out of this door would still an certain death. His only reliance at this point was Qin Shimoon, but who knew what status this Qin Shimoon actually had within the organization, or whether he could serve as a bargaining chip at all.
He glanced at the control room. The room wasn't large, adorned with nurous monitors on the walls, seemingly used to observe the experintal progress. On many pieces of equipnt and the sealed iron door, he could see the emblem of a black dragon with a crown coiled around a sword. Xiao Buli had seen this emblem countless tis in this base; it was obviously the organization's emblem. Combined with the seeming military background of the organization, Xiao Buli wondered if this could be the legendary Dragon Group.
Although the thought seed bizarre, it was not beyond the realm of possibility.
Through the monitors, he could see waves of troops securing the area, their numbers growing. There were many soldiers in special combat gear, including not only ordinary soldiers and the invisibility-capable Phantom Soldiers he had encountered before, but also soldiers wearing heavy-duty bulletproof suits, carrying reinforced explosion-proof shields, and holding over one-ter long extended electric batons— probably players who had obtained close-combat abilities in the ga.
There were also a few camouflaged snipers with police dogs by their side, likely players of the hunter type.
Watching more and more special troops appear made Xiao Buli's scalp tingle—things were seriously getting out of hand.
"I'm sorry, Xiao, it's my fault you're involved," Lu Xinying said, her gaze fixed on Wu Min'er, her face devoid of any real apology.
"Damn, what's the use of saying this now? Better say goodbye to your Wu now. If we go out and get riddled with bullets, there'll be no chance left."
Lu Xinying turned back to look at Wu Min'er, who sighed, "Why did you co?"
"I—I ca to save you," Lu Xinying stamred with excitent.
Wu Min'er shook her head. "It's no use, I've signed a Soul Contract. If I leave, they can kill anywhere. Otherwise, do you think I would have stayed here all this ti?"
Xiao Buli said irritably, "See, what did I say earlier?"
"No, there must be a way! There has to be a way to save you and get you out," Lu Xinying insisted, rushing over to Qin Shimoon, "Tell , what does it take for Wu to leave? There must be a way to break the contract, right?"
A cunning glint flashed in Qin Shimoon's eyes, as if weighing her options, she suddenly smiled charmingly, "You're right, there is indeed a way to break the contract."
"Really? How?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"You—" Lu Xinying pressed his dagger against Qin Shimoon's throat fiercely, "Don't think I won't kill you."
"I believe you, why wouldn't I? A person cornered will do anything. But if you kill , you'll have to join in death. You'd never see your Wu again then. I believe you're not that stupid."
Lu Xinying was left speechless, "Hmph, you're right, I don't dare kill you, but I could scar your face."
His dagger traced Qin Shimoon's smooth, fair cheek, but Qin Shimoon remained unmoved. "No matter, I can just have another plastic surgery."
"You—!" Lu Xinying faltered once again, "Then I'll gouge out your eyeballs!"
Qin Shimoon said, "I bet that hurts a lot, you should try it. Maybe it will really make submit. But be careful with your strength," she pointed to her own eyes, "because you only have two chances."
Qin Shimoon's voice was calm, as if discussing sothing that wasn't going to happen to her at all. Faced with such nonchalance, Lu Xinying was left without recourse. Naturally, he wasn't going to gouge out eyes; if he failed, all possibility of negotiation would be lost.
He looked towards Xiao Buli for help.
Xiao Buli, however, seed to have been deep in thought. "Xiao, what do we do?" Lu Xinying asked pitifully.
Xiao Buli ignored him. He did have a thod, but it was a bit unreliable. Unless absolutely necessary, he wasn't willing to resort to it—but it seed there were no other options left. Maybe he could test the waters a little.
"Are you constructing the Six Realms Gate?" he suddenly asked.
Qin Shimoon seed surprised by his question but still nodded, "That's right."
"But your Six Realms Gate can't operate normally."
Qin Shimoon nodded again, "That's right, so it seems you heard everything."
Xiao Buli nodded, "Yes, so is it because there's no suitable drive core?"
Instinctively, Qin Shimoon felt that Xiao Buli's question had a purpose, so she answered again: "Yes, we've made several with modern technology, but they are all useless; it seems that we need the Energy Core from the ga."
"Did you find that thing in the ga?"
"We found several, but what's the use of having more? Without the Six Realms Gate, we can't bring things from the ga into reality."
Qin Shimoon sighed, "The current situation has ford a paradox: we need the Six Realms Gate to transport the Energy Core out of the ga, but we need the Energy Core to build the Six Realms Gate. It's an unsolvable dilemma." After speaking, she added as if talking to herself, "It's strange how Li Jian initially managed to build it."
Xiao Buli said, "I know, and I also have a way to solve your problem."
Upon hearing this, Qin Shimoon's eyes lit up, thinking to herself that it must be so. She had had a vague feeling when Xiao Buli first asked his question, but it was still sowhat unbelievable. However, hearing Xiao Buli's confidence now, she was still surprised.
Yet, seeing Xiao Buli's serious expression, she felt that he was not lying.
A hint of a smile flickered at the corner of her mouth, and Qin Shimoon said, "How about we make a deal? You help us transport the Energy Core out, and I'll release the three of you, including dissolving Wu Min'er's Soul Contract."
Xiao Buli nodded, "Good idea, but the only problem is, why should we believe your promise?"
Just as Qin Shimoon was about to employ her persuasive skills, Wu Min'er suddenly spoke up coldly from the side, "Make her sign a Soul Contract as well."
A flicker of panic flashed across Qin Shimoon's eyes upon hearing this. Xiao Buli had been carefully observing her expressions and imdiately noticed her psychological shift.
"Have her sign a Soul Contract too. If she fails to fulfill the agreent, her soul will be in the hands of the contract holder, which is you. This way, she wouldn't dare go back on her word because if you hold her Soul Contract, you can kill her at any ti."
"Good idea," Xiao Buli said, looking at Qin Shimoon, "So what do you think?"
"I'm afraid I can't give you a definitive answer, as I am not the real Controller of this base."
"I can give you a definitive answer. I agree to your terms." A voice suddenly rang out in the room, and everyone turned in surprise to look. The monitor screen had switched to another image, showing an old man in a black military uniform, eyes fiercely fixed on the four people inside the room.
Xiao Buli took a good look at the man. Although he could only see the upper body, Xiao Buli could tell that this person was extraordinary.
With a commanding appearance and stern expression, his hair was neatly white despite being over fifty, creating an impressive aura of a veteran military man.
"Who is he?"
Qin Shimoon hesitated for a mont, unsure whether to reveal his identity, but the old man had already introduced himself, "My na is Huo Guangxiong, the leader of the Ancestral Dragon, but you can call General Huo."
Xiao Buli was montarily stunned, "Ancestral Dragon? Isn't it the Dragon Group?"
"Dragon Group? What is that?" General Huo clearly didn't understand why Xiao Buli asked that question.
Xiao Buli shook his head awkwardly, "Nothing, just talking to myself," thinking he shouldn't disclose everything to the other party.
"So, you've heard our conversation," he said, not particularly afraid of General Huo, and got straight to the point.
"Yes, I heard everything clearly, and I very much agree with your proposal. Colonel Qin Shimoon, sign the contract with them. For the greater cause, it's a sacrifice well worth making. I will have the contract sent over."
Qin Shimoon showed an incredulous expression at this, "But—".
"There are no buts. A soldier must obey orders. For our ultimate goal, necessary sacrifices are inevitable."
Desperation appeared in Qin Shimoon's eyes, a despair that made Xiao Buli feel a bit puzzled. Was a Soul Contract really that dreadful?
Suddenly biting her lip, Qin Shimoon said, "All right, let's sign the contract."
Seeing Qin Shimoon agree, General Huo visibly relaxed and added, "Besides the contract, if you need anything else to transport the Energy Core out, just let know."
After so thought, Xiao Buli had a flash of inspiration and said, "There's plenty we need. I'll give you a list; just bring everything on it." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to recomnd it at Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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