This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 578: Plan 03

Chapter 578: Chapter 578: Plan 03

"Task..."

Gazing at the person in front of her, Little Lamb’s eyes reflected confusion and fear, uncontrollably shuffling backward.

Seeing her reaction, Night Ten put away the bloodstained knife and scratched his helmet.

"Don’t be scared by my appearance, I’m actually a good guy... uh, alright, I know that’s not very convincing."

Had it been him, if someone went on a killing spree in his neighborhood one day, grabbed his arm, and told him to come along, he’d probably wet himself too.

That the girl hadn’t burst into tears showed that her mental resilience wasn’t bad at all.

However, the problem was that regarding the current situation, he really didn’t know how to explain it—he himself was utterly baffled.

According to the original plan, he should have arrived at the servant quarters not far away by carriage. After getting off, he’d sneak to the pavilion undetected and whisk the person away.

But things had deviated from the initial plan right from the start.

The carriage had suddenly stopped halfway, and then the coachman had rushed into the carriage, insanely pouncing on him.

Night Ten had initially intended to subdue the assailant, but it turned out to be futile. The man wouldn’t listen at all and even tried to grab his weapons.

With communication impossible, Night Ten had no choice but to twist the man’s neck then jumped out of the carriage and headed straight for the pavilion at the corner of the estate.

However, upon reaching the pavilion, he soon realized that things were not as simple as he had imagined; all the people in the pavilion had become like that coachman.

Almost the moment he entered the pavilion, those people detected his presence and swarmed toward him like zombies.

Had it not been for Old White delivering the exoskeleton to a place near their settlement before starting the operation, and that rebellious officer later bringing the exoskeleton here, escaping from the clutches of those "zombies" would surely not have been an easy task.

Frankly, he was still clueless now, having no idea what had happened.

The only certain thing was that something dire had occurred in this estate—at the whole settlement, perhaps.

Perhaps, before entering the settlement, they ought to have conducted a more thorough investigation.

Clearly, someone had set their sights on them and had taken advantage of their plan to trap them.

While Night Ten was pondering how to explain, the girl who was lying dazedly in Little Lamb’s arms suddenly fluttered her eyelashes. As if awakened by the surrounding noise, she let out a sluggish murmur.

"I’m hungry..."

That bizarre sound that suddenly wafted over made both people in the basement feel a bone-chilling cold, as if they had fallen into a fifty-degree-below-zero ice cave.

Yinyin opened her mouth exaggeratedly, even turning her gums out, biting fiercely at Little Lamb’s neck like a wild beast that hadn’t eaten for a week.

Little Lamb was completely dumbfounded, frozen in place without moving.

Watching the gaping maw about to bite down, a gun barrel abruptly forced its way into that mouth, pushing the sprawling Yinyin back.

"Ah!!"

Out of Yinyin’s mouth came a frenzied roar as her vein-bulged hands continually reached forward, her bloodthirsty pupils seemed like they would tear her apart.

"You crazy thing... What’s wrong with you?! Get away from her!" Night Ten, looking at the girl who appeared to be scared witless, couldn’t help but shout after breaking out in a cold sweat himself.

Damn.

Even with danger bearing down, she didn’t even dodge, just closed her eyes tight.

Had he arrived two minutes later, there probably would’ve been a mangled corpse lying here instead!

Watching Yinyin’s ferocious struggle and the gun barrel propped in her mouth, Little Lamb suddenly seemed to snap back to reality, rushing forward and clinging onto his leg, crying out with a hint of weeping in her voice.

"Don’t... don’t shoot!"

Looking at Little Lamb’s earnest pleading, Night Ten clenched his teeth and ultimately couldn’t bring himself to do it. He turned off the safety, grabbed the girl who had turned into a zombie, and dragged her to one side to tie her hands and feet with plastic rope.

Yinyin, bound at the hands and feet, struggled on the ground, her eyelashes brimming with dust, and her pretty face twisted into a snarl. At that moment, she was like a frenzied beast, baring her teeth and emitting a hissing growl.

"She’s turned into a ’zombie’... just like those outside, like those Eaters. Damn it, what else have these bastards planted besides Nago?"

Night Ten stood up and glanced at the struggling girl, then turned to look at Little Lamb kneeling on the ground.

"No time to explain, I’ll be brief, and whether you believe me is up to you. Your dad paid a sum of money, asking us to get you out of here. Now what you need to do is stick close to me, and I’ll get you out of here! Of course, if you don’t listen obediently, I’ll have to tie you up and take you away just like her, got it?"

If he could, he really didn’t want to do this. Dealing with those outside who were like Eaters was troublesome enough, and his ammo wasn’t unlimited.

He had reason to suspect that it wasn’t just the people in the estate who had transformed into that ghastly state; the whole settlement might have suffered the same fate, and he had no idea what he might encounter later on.

Fortunately, although the girl didn’t seem too bright, she was calm enough. Even after a dreadful scare, she hadn’t lost her ability to communicate and was still able to converse normally.

Looking at the man covered in blood, Little Lamb nodded, her face pale.

"Understood... I’ll follow you. Please, I’m begging you to save Yinyin..."

Glancing at the girl tied up like a rice dumpling against the wall, Night Ten’s face showed a troubled expression.

"Save... how the hell do we save her."

To put it bluntly, he had no clue what exactly had happened to these people.

Use tape to seal her mouth and take her back?

It wasn’t out of the question.

But he was just one person; having one liability was trouble enough, and dragging along another one would be too much even for him.

Swallowing hard, Little Lamb struggled to maintain her composure, her voice trembling.

"I... might know why everyone has turned out like this."

"Hmm?" Night Ten glanced at her.

Seeing that the person was willing to listen, Little Lamb patiently continued.

"This villa... is a very important place in the manor. A very long time ago it was the main building of the manor, but after the new big house was built, this place was used by the master to hold some important guests under house arrest."

A hint of surprise rose in Night Ten’s eyes.

This didn’t sound like something a six-year-old child would say.

Could she even understand the concept of a hostage at her age?

"And then?" he asked.

Little Lamb went on.

"Because this place is so important... there are many people guarding it. Some servants, although they wear the attire of servants, are actually not servants but the master’s trusted aides. To put it bluntly, it’s even safer here than in the main building. That’s also why the master is so reassured about this place. If I went anywhere else, a lot of people would hurry to look for me, but if I’m here, even if I disappeared for a while, no one would care..."

"So, you mean if there are any secrets that need to be hidden from view, your master would most likely keep them here?" Night Ten stroked his chin, pondering as he spoke.

Whether it was for protection or surveillance, this indeed seemed like the most secure choice, and the hostages living in the annex could also serve as a smokescreen.

Deploying men in a separate area would be more conspicuous.

Little Lamb nodded nervously.

"Yeah... don’t you find it strange? Such an important place has such a large basement, but it’s only used for storing odds and ends. In fact, nobody really piles the things they need for daily use in here, and the dust on the boxes is quite thick."

Night Ten lifted the flashlight and glanced around, trying to spot some clues from the vicinity, but no matter how she looked, this place just seemed like a very ordinary basement.

However, just as Little Lamb had said, having such a vague and undefined space in such a significant location was indeed suspicious.

Even if it was dug out previously and no longer needed now, they should have found a way to bury it or seal it off completely, right?

Yet the master of the manor had not done so.

"Then... Yinyin told me there’s an iron door in the basement of the annex, and if you hide there, absolutely no one will find you. Then she snuck me in here."

"Actually... I felt this was not very good. If we accidentally saw something we shouldn’t have, something very bad might happen. But I really couldn’t stop her, so I had no choice but to follow her down here."

"After we came down, she said she heard some sounds, then led me forward... and we really did find that door."

Night Ten swallowed hard.

"What’s behind that door?" he asked.

Little Lamb shook her head, her face filled with regret.

"I don’t know... Yinyin wanted to open the door, but she fainted not long after she grabbed the handle. She slept for a very long time, and when she woke up, she had changed into this state. I guess it must have something to do with the sound behind that door... but I couldn’t hear the sound she mentioned at all."

Night Ten frowned and said,

"I didn’t hear it either."

That shouldn’t be.

His perception was very high, and even the slightest, faintest sound would be infinitely amplified by his keen sixth sense and instinctively analyzed.

If there really were any sounds there, they wouldn’t escape his intuition.

However, suspiciously, he had perceived nothing at all.

"... I believe Yinyin wasn’t joking. She really heard something and followed the sound to that door. If we can get in there and turn off whatever is making the sound, she should return to normal, right?"

After that, Little Lamb grabbed Night Ten’s arm and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Please, I beg you... save her."

To be honest, Night Ten wasn’t too keen on complicating things further.

Especially since the plan had gone off the rails from the start, and he had no idea what the situation was like on Fang Chang’s side.

With so many variables occurring from the start, the main objective to "control the farm owner" might already have failed. Under these circumstances, the safest choice might be to evacuate immediately with the secondary objectives to minimize losses.

Staying in the basement for too long wasn’t a good idea, as the only way out could easily be blocked by pursuers who might arrive soon.

What if there was actually nothing behind that door?

After all, if it was truly that important, why were there no guards, not even a lock, allowing two children to easily find their way to it and almost manage to open it?

And yet, seeing the pleading eyes of that NPC, he eventually bit the bullet and made up his mind, knocking on his helmet with his right fist.

"... Fang Chang, what’s the situation on your end?"

There was no response in the communication channel, just static noise.

This wasn’t simply a lack of signal, it resembled being interfered with by something.

Night Ten cursed silently, tapped his helmet with his index finger to turn off the communication channel, then looked at the girl whose eyes were filled with pleading.

"Think it through, you only have one life... this is no joke. I hope I don’t have to hear any nonsense like ’how could this happen’ or ’I might have heard wrong’ later."

He didn’t care if he died.

After all, he had a life every three days.

Failing to bring someone back safely might be somewhat disappointing to the Luoyu Brothers, but given the circumstances, he believed they wouldn’t hold it against him too much.

Little Lamb nodded seriously.

"Yeah... I’ve thought it through."

Night Ten nodded back and took a deep breath.

"Well, I’ll just have to trust what you say."

"Thank you..."

Watching the little girl sincerely thanking him, Night Ten urged.

"It’s too early to say that, take me over there."

"Okay!"

Little Lamb nodded anxiously and took the lead running in front.

Night Ten followed her, and the two walked through the dark basement for a while before they quickly came across the rusty metal door hidden behind some wooden crates.

The mottled rust on the handle had crept into the crack of the door, causing one to wonder how long it has been since anyone had visited this place.

"This is the place..." Looking at the rusty door, Little Lamb timidly retreated behind him.

Night Ten stepped forward, reached out to grip the rusty door handle, tugged and felt it heavy, so he harnessed the strength of his exoskeleton and pulled forcefully backward.

The heavy door panel would be too much for a six or seven-year-old girl, but for him clad in exoskeleton, it felt as light as paper.

Accompanied by the cringe-inducing squeaking sound, the rusty iron door was easily pulled open by him, revealing the corridor behind it.

"Wow... was it really unlocked?"

The corridor behind the door was clean and tidy. The floor was covered with metallic tiles, and the walls were painted with cement gray. Compared to the basement outside and the rusty iron door, this hallway seemed like an entirely different world.

Seeing the corridor that led to an unknown destination, Night Ten’s face instantly showed a surprised expression, and his eyes grew excited as he turned to look at Little Lamb.

"Wait for me here... If someone comes in, run into the door immediately."

Little Lamb nodded vigorously, responding earnestly.

"Okay!"

Assured by her response, Night Ten didn’t delay any further. He raised his weapon and cautiously entered the door, following the clean and tidy corridor further ahead.

The place resembled a clinic, as well as a laboratory. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see an array of equipment and science fiction-esque display screens.

Various signs indicated that the place was abandoned, and it seemed to have happened only recently.

It was uncertain whether they left in a rush without time to pack or if there was simply no need; the display screens were still on, and some of the lab equipment was still working, emitting indecipherable buzzing sounds.

Night Ten was increasingly astonished.

It was hard to imagine such a research facility being located in an inconspicuous plantation.

Could the expenditure for this facility really be afforded by a mere farm owner?

This cost much more than building a beautiful house.

He entered one of the laboratories.

Night Ten looked at the nearest screen and saw that the blank interface had nothing on it, indicating that whatever was inside must have been erased.

Leaving the laboratory, Night Ten continued to explore along the hallway. He soon reached the room located at the far end of the corridor.

As he entered, he was immediately shocked by what he saw.

A huge metal cylinder sat in the center of the room, connecting the floor and the ceiling, and thick data cables, as thick as forearms, extended outward from its base, connecting it to other devices on the walls and in the room.

This thing looked familiar.

After getting a clear look, Night Ten’s eyes widened in astonishment, and a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

"... A Mind Interference Device?!"

This thing was almost exactly the same as the one he had seen on the outskirts of Qingquan City before. Even the main structure hadn’t changed; only the connected peripherals had been modified!

"Could it be this thing that caused those outside to go mad... Hiss, no, isn’t this thing supposed to be useless on humans with higher cognitive levels?"

It couldn’t be said to be completely useless, but its effect was very limited, so limited that it could only influence people’s subjective decisions on insignificant matters. For instance, when hesitating whether to buy or not, it could influence the choice to buy or not.

For major decisions that affect one’s life, society, or even the future of civilization, this device would have almost no effect.

Otherwise, when this technology was first developed, it wouldn’t have been used just for advertising. The entire United Human might have been overthrown by this advanced technology.

Suddenly, Night Ten remembered something critical.

"Nago... right?"

Under normal circumstances, the Mind Interference Device didn’t work on people; it could at best be used to drive away variants with lower cognitive levels within a large area.

But if someone ate a Nago fruit and entered a state of God Travel...

"Good grief... so the so-called ’Gospel’ is actually this thing?!"

Other settlements might also be hiding something similar!

Thinking about it, Night Ten couldn’t help but feel a chill on his scalp.

However, now was not the time to think about these.

Approaching the terminal device connected to the metal cylinder, Night Ten pulled out a data line from his VM and after some searching, finally found the right port and plugged it in.

The Alliance’s Expedition Team provided hacking programs to players with a Job Level of LV3 and above, which included basic functions such as breaking through firewalls, gaining access control, and retrieving data.

This hacking program was primarily designed for civil security systems from the pre-war era.

Although, most of the time, such general-purpose small programs weren’t reliable, especially since the VM’s hardware couldn’t support the massive computational requirements. However, considering that even the door lock here seemed to have been neglected, it was worth a try.

The entire settlement fell under the coverage of this Mind Interference Device.

If his speculation was correct, theoretically, every "believer" here served as the eyes for the Bishop hidden within the Holy Land. Even the farm owner himself had become an unwitting puppet of the Torch Church.

All the concealment was for outsiders; for those living here, there was no need for any disguise or protection at all.

The Mind Interference Device was the best defense in itself.

Should anyone accidentally wander in, like what happened today, they needed only to "turn off" the unwelcome visitor’s consciousness and let her pass out.

Night Ten stared at the VM screen, nervously calculating the time in his head.

He needed to take as much data as possible but also had to consider the pressure his teammates were under at this moment.

If there were no results within 2 minutes, he would just stick C4 to that metal cylinder, set the timer, and physically destroy this research facility.

Perhaps in response to his deepest call, in the final ten seconds of the countdown, a pale blue pop-up window appeared in the center of the VM screen.

[Read-only access obtained.]

[Obtaining operational access...]

Upon seeing these words, Night Ten, who had almost given up, was so surprised that he nearly cheered out loud.

"Fuck! Can it really work!?"

Bishop Yin Fang, you’re amazing!

Of course, it might be Xiao Qi who’s amazing!

A simplistic user interface appeared on the screen of the terminal ahead, and even though the dense characters were incomprehensible to him, the plugin installed on VM automatically translated them into language that players could understand.

The copying program was executing automatically.

Although most of the data had been deleted, there were still some remnants that had been excavated and organized.

While waiting for the small program on VM to obtain the operational permissions to shut down the Device, Night Ten opened one of the sorted files, and a line in the title quickly caught his eye.

"...Plan 03?"

What the hell is this?

The title revealed nothing.

Driven by a hint of curiosity, Night Ten extended his index finger, swiped on the screen, and quietly read out the summary part of the file.

"...Upon assessing a risk of the plan being compromised, relevant research units must immediately cease ongoing research, destroy experimental data, and initiate Plan 03."

"Experiment content: Test and record the clinical response and combat value of subjects under the stimulation of the Plan 03 signal band... Motherfucker, are these people even human?"

Night Ten’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

What the hell kind of combat value is this...

They’re just a bunch of Eaters!

And chances are, they’re not even as badass as the Eaters—at least those don’t need supplies and can live a long time without eating anything.

Of course, that wasn’t the point.

The point was, just to verify some trivial matter, they didn’t hesitate to sacrifice this settlement of fifty thousand people...even though the settlement had already pledged allegiance to them.

Those bastards...

What on earth do they take people for!?

Wait a minute—

Suddenly, Night Ten noticed a detail.

Although personnel from this research facility had been evacuated, if Plan 03 was also part of the experiment, surely someone had to stay behind to record and collect the results?

Otherwise, wouldn’t the experiment be for nothing?

Almost at that moment, a bone-chilling coldness crawled up his spine.

Not having the time to carefully discern where the chill was coming from, Night Ten almost reflexively raised his gun toward the doorway and, without thinking, pulled the trigger.

Even though there was nothing there!

"Rat-a-tat-tat—!"

The orange flame spewed out from the muzzle, lurching toward the empty doorway.

But something eerie happened next. The storm of bullets seemed to hit an invisible air wall, creating sparks and opening up concentric ripples of transparency.

The outline of an exoskeleton appeared in the air.

The man, who took a full burst solidly, staggered backward and almost didn’t stay upright.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected that despite being equipped with near-flawless optical camouflage and having lowered his footsteps, his whereabouts would still be revealed.

Barely steadying himself, the man raised his gun to return fire. However, after firing two shots, a gust hit his face.

It was a short knife covered in blood.

Almost instinctively, he raised his arm to protect his head. Although this move saved his life, it also meant his arm took a solid hit.

"Ah—!!"

The knife blade chopped through the exoskeleton’s armoring, cut through the flesh, and hacked into the man’s radius bone, causing him to let out a pained scream as blood and sweat poured out.

As he pressed the man to the ground, Night Ten pulled the knife out with a click and aimed the rifle at the man’s head, grinning viciously as he sneered.

"Nice move... I was just looking to catch one alive, and here you have delivered yourself right to me."

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