Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 173 - 165 Human Bureau Covert Operation 2

Chapter 173: 165 Human Bureau Covert Operation 2

"Do I look like I’m twelve years old?"

In a few months, I’ll be twenty. Even if this man had poor vision, he wouldn’t mistake a nearly twenty-year-old youth for a twelve-year-old child. He must be joking.

Although that was my first thought, I didn’t truly believe he was making a joke. There was no need for him to tell such an easily verifiable lie. Moreover, when I spoke, I realized something was off about my voice.

I tried to look down at my body, but my movement was restricted by restraints. Even this slight motion made me feel that something was wrong with this body. It felt strange, weak, and the sensation of muscle movement was disjointed. It was like reaching for an unopened bottle of Coke on the table without looking and finding it’s been stealthily half-drunk, knowing something was amiss the moment you felt its weight.

Could my body really have taken on the appearance of a twelve-year-old?

"These Human Bureau bastards, they really have no restraint," the strange male voice said with hatred.

My attention was immediately drawn: "Human Bureau?"

"Right, you must be a normal kid just caught up in our battle, so you wouldn’t know what the Human Bureau is," the stranger said. "Simply put, the Human Bureau is an evil organization that likes to capture people for human experimentation, and this place is their den."

This is the Human Bureau’s secret base? Did I not come to the wrong place?

But how could a Human Bureau base look like this? The old base I’d seen before was clearly a modernized research facility, and although it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, there was only dust and cobwebs. One could imagine it was once a place that emphasized cleanliness.

And now, a place splattered with bloodstains and chaotic noise, suffocatingly hot and exuding an aura of barbaric madness, it couldn’t possibly relate to scientific experiments. Rather than a research institution, it looked more like a terrifying slaughterhouse.

Even considering that, the scene I observed through Lu You’s vision was entirely different in style. Although it was hazy, what I saw was clearly a more modern technological environment.

"Hey, what are you doing!" the stranger turned to speak to the "prison guard" beside him, "Isn’t the Human Bureau purported to stand for secular society against the future rule of Luo Mountain? You could capture us, demon hunters, but why snatch up ordinary kids too? Don’t tell me you want to dissect him as well? Heartless beasts!"

"Shut up!"

The "prison guard" kicked the base of the cross disdainfully and said, "Do you still think you’re some high and mighty Transcendent? You’re nothing but a lab rat waiting to be processed, and yet you dare spout off... Lab rats don’t need tongues; do you want me to help you remove yours?"

"If not for the Mana binding, with just you, this dog..." the stranger glared at the "prison guard" with bloodshot eyes.

"Oh, I’m so scared, the great demon hunter is glaring at me! — Huh, do you think glaring at me will let you escape?" the "prison guard" sneered, "Don’t even mention you, even that Lu Chan has been captured by us. To hold a being of the achieved level like him, the security of this base has been taken to the highest level. Even he can’t escape with wings, so what can you, a mere Residence Level, hope to achieve?"

The stranger retorted: "You really think it’s down to the Human Bureau’s prowess? Although I don’t know why Chen Long betrayed us, without him on your side, you’re nothing but small fry. With one achieved level Evil helping to defeat another achieved level Evil, is this the human technology strength the Human Bureau wants to show? That’s laughable!"

The "prison guard" replied with disdain: "Keep barking, loser. No matter how much you howl, a loser is a loser, and soon you’ll be begging for mercy."

As I listened to their conversation, I also parsed some incredible information.

Lu You captured?

And not just captured but via Chen Long’s betrayal... But wasn’t that something that happened two years ago?

The stranger had mentioned the Human Bureau "using one achieved level to defeat another achieved level," considering the "prison guard’s" words, it was clear in his perception that both Chen Long and Lu You were at the achieved level. However, Chen Long is clearly at the Great Success Rank now, while Lu You is at most at the Bad Level. This perception only held true two years ago.

Could it be that I had traveled back to the time when Lu You was captured and imprisoned by the Human Bureau and had entered the body of an unknown twelve-year-old child? But all I wanted was to transport myself to the Human Bureau’s secret base... wait, this development feels strangely familiar.

Mazao had also initiated a transport with a bowl back in the Doomsday Era and somehow ended up in my peaceful era, seemingly entering another body... Does this mean I’ve encountered something similar? But I didn’t use Space Transfer; I used Flame Transmission. Moreover, this place doesn’t look anything like the old Human Bureau base where Lu You was confined.

Countless mysteries filled my mind.

Looking around at the scene that resembled a horror game setting, although I was acutely aware that I had important things to do, I couldn’t help feeling excited. It was clear that I had been unexpectedly drawn into some bizarre phenomenon.

Additionally, since I’ve somehow been swapped into a different body and identity, can I no longer use my superpowers?

With a nervous heart, I tested my strength.

— It still worked as normal.

I was reassured, but for some reason, I suddenly felt a bit disappointed.

In truth, I had been afraid of losing my superpowers.

It wasn’t because I feared injury or death—I was well aware of these possible consequences; nor was it because I feared becoming weak. What I truly feared was the inability to continue on adventures.

Of course, if I died, the adventure would end. And since I wasn’t afraid of dying, I shouldn’t fear such a thing. Strictly speaking, what I feared was being forced to end the adventure too soon after setting out. It was like reading a novel hidden in a desk drawer during class and knowing the last page would eventually come, but not wanting it to be confiscated by the teacher right after flipping open the first page.

As soon as I boarded the ship into the tempestuous waves, I had prepared myself for being swallowed by the storm, but I wanted to enjoy the waves more, not just taste a bit of sweetness before the ship broke and I perished. To me, my superpowers were like a sturdy and reliable ship, a guarantee for more magnificent adventures.

The problem was that the ship I was now boarding seemed too reliable, as steady as if moored on solid ground, no matter the turmoil of the waves outside. Therefore, sometimes, I couldn’t help but fantasize about a scenario where I couldn’t use my superpowers.

I could set limitations on myself, but when facing real adventures, I wanted to be able to exert "all-out effort" using my spiritual power, so unless I was forced to, not being able to use my powers seemed meaningless.

I collected my thoughts and then closed my eyes, using heat perception to observe my surroundings.

The first thing I observed was myself within this scenario.

Just as the strange man had pointed out earlier, I truly did look like a twelve-year-old child.

However, the body I had entered didn’t seem to be that of a stranger’s child. It looked extremely familiar, identical to how I looked when I was twelve, perhaps thirteen at most. Of course, I didn’t have a photograph to compare with at the moment, and relying solely on memory may not uncover any discrepancies. But no matter how I thought about it, this face was the same as when I first entered junior high, roughly the same age as Mazao.

Why have I become like this? Could it be that this is actually a parallel universe, and I’ve crossed into another self’s body?

Or is it possible that I had been kidnapped to the Human Bureau at the age of twelve or thirteen, and the reason for awakening my superpowers at fourteen was because I underwent human experiments at the Human Bureau, and later forgot about this experience?

Numerous possibilities exploded in my mind, but all lacked clues and evidence, so I could only shift my focus to the next target.

The "prison guard" mentioned earlier that Lu Youxun had also been captured and brought here, so he must be tied to a cross somewhere.

I scanned with my heat perception and yet did not find Lu Youxun’s figure.

Could it be that he was moved separately to another location?

With this thought, I extended the range of my heat perception.

Since I was able to effortlessly cover the old base of the Human Bureau and its surrounding areas with my perception, covering this place, which doesn’t look like a research facility, should also be easy, and finding a specific individual here should be no problem.

However, my perception encountered resistance.

The walls of this dim corridor seemed to have been set up to hinder the spread of my perception, reminiscent of the Barrier at Zhu’s mansion. Especially behind the iron doors on both sides of the corridor, these were places difficult for perception to penetrate. It made sense, given that this was a "secret base," and it would necessarily have counter-surveillance mechanisms, with the Human Bureau’s dark scientific research being something that cannot be exposed to the light.

To forcibly invade these counter-surveillance mechanisms was possible, but like the Barrier at Zhu’s mansion, forcing my way in would cause the mechanisms to shatter, which could likely alert the administrators of this place. At that time, my existence would probably be discovered, which wouldn’t be advantageous for the subsequent covert operations.

What covert operations, I’ve been captured right from the start—such a ludicrous thought flashed through my mind. However, being mistaken for an ordinary person now was actually a very good disguise.

It’s better to stay low and observe the situation without a clear understanding of the full picture.

Meanwhile, I tried to sense the "Firefly" I had left at the Luoshan Office.

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