The night was quiet as the group of five moved intermittently, hiding carefully in the shadows of the bushes.
On the campus road, two middle-aged men in gray security uniforms patrolled silently, and the cameras on the utility poles along the way were frosted over one after another.
Once they were far away, Wade gestured behind him. "It's clear. The cameras can't see us for now. Where to next?"
Cate crouched behind him and pointed to the northeast of The Woods. "We can only enter from that side now... Follow me." She stood up and jogged out.
Wade followed, while Luke, Jordan Li, and Andre trailed closely behind, following their every step.
Two minutes passed. Behind a rockery, Luke and Jordan Li lay in wait, keeping a careful watch.
Cate took off her gloves and pressed her hand against a female security guard's neck. "Hand over the sensor card and tonight's access code."
Wade raised his hand and made a grasping motion, knocking down a guard who had rushed over at the sound. Andre pulled a large bundle of pre-cut iron wires from his waist and flicked a few out; the wires immediately bound the hands and feet of two other guards.
The group cooperated in an orderly fashion, like a close-knit team.
But suspicion was like a quietly spreading virus; everyone kept a few steps away from Cate.
Buzz—
Cate swiped open the underground stairs hidden beneath the rockery and looked at everyone with a complex expression. "Let's go."
Wade's feet left the ground as he floated to her side. "Look at you, you're quite the deterrent."
Cate snorted coldly. "This is the northeast detention area entrance. Sam is in Room 3 of the northwest detention area..."
The alloy door closed behind them. Luke leaned against the wall and asked in a low voice, "Then wouldn't it be more convenient to enter through the northwest entrance for the rescue?"
"You're not trying to lead us into a trap by intentionally taking the long way, are you?"
"I wanted to go that way too." Cate wiped her swollen eyelids and turned to look at Wade with great resentment. "But the northwest entrance was triggered by an unknown cause the night before last and the gate was locked. I don't know if it's been repaired yet."
"We have to walk from the northeast area to the central experimental area, and then head to the northwest area."
Wade casually manipulated the cold mist to obscure the cameras in the hallway. "It's just a detour, right? As long as the five of us stay together and act as one, no one can stop us."
"Then we'll proceed as planned." Luke and the masculine Jordan Li brushed past Cate and took the lead of the group.
This was the rescue formation they had discussed beforehand. Luke and Jordan Li were responsible for clearing the way and blocking attacks; Wade would knock out anyone they encountered, set up silent barriers, and keep an eye on Cate; Andre would bring up the rear.
Wade looked at the closed detention rooms on both sides and swallowed. "Who do you think is locked up in here?"
"These rooms hold students with mental issues and those whose powers are out of control... Sage Grove just wants to help them." Cate put on her gloves and spoke softly.
Behind them, Andre mocked in a low voice, "Heh... Help? I'd say they're doing experiments. There's nothing to hide."
Cate's expression became agitated as she crossed her arms and retorted loudly, "We can't just let these people out to cause trouble on campus, can we? They... they're really not normal and very dangerous. I've seen it with my own eyes!"
Wade smiled. "If you lock someone in a room for months and give them drugs that make them groggy, who wouldn't go crazy?"
Two fully armed security guards just poked their heads around the corner. "You, you guys..."
He raised his hand and pressed down slightly. The eyes of the two men immediately lost focus, and they slumped to the ground without a sound.
Andre immediately stepped forward, his fingers moving slightly. The slender metal wires lunged out as if they were alive, binding the two guards tightly.
The team fell silent again; the infiltration was going unsettlingly smoothly.
Cate was like the most precise radar, always able to predict the positions of the surveillance cameras and guide the direction of their advance.
In the empty corridor, only the pale halo of the lights and the suppressed breathing of the group remained.
"This damn place is as big as a maze... how much further?" Andre muttered in a low voice, playing with his wires.
Cate pointed to the circular glass door ahead. "Ahead is the central experimental area. Go through it, turn right, and that's the northwest area passage."
Luke snorted and turned his head. "You'd better not lead us the wrong way."
The glass door slid open silently.
The scene of the central experimental area unfolded before their eyes: dozens of cylindrical cultivation tanks emitted a low hum, with blurred biological tissues soaking inside; thick pipelines interlaced on the ceiling, flowing with eerie green fluorescent liquid.
A few researchers in white coats were either napping on their desks or staring at computers, tapping away at keyboards.
Wade's eyes shifted slightly, and those researchers slumped onto their keyboards and desks without a word.
Wade carefully examined various documents. "Quick, take pictures of all of this. This is evidence, and it's also our protective charm. With these, they'll have to think twice if they want to hold us accountable afterward."
Luke was the first to take out his phone and start filming, and Andre and Jordan Li immediately followed suit.
For a moment, the only sounds in the experimental area were the "click" of phone cameras and the rustling of turning pages.
Wade walked to the filing cabinet, took out a thick file labeled "Gene Fusion and Modification," and his gaze quickly swept across it.
[Supe Gene Enhancement Project... Concentrated spinal enhancement fluid, code name: "Medulla Injection"
Developer: Vought International Bio-Weapon Department, derivative product of secret project "Synaptic Shackle"
Core Ingredients: High-purity compound v concentrated extract, Supe spinal nerve tissue stem cell lysate, γ-Neural Link Enhancement Factor
Core Efficacy:
1. Directional Amplification: Can precisely bind to the user's existing superpowers, increasing power intensity by 30%-50% in the short term.
2. Synaptic Reinforcement: Repairs synaptic wear caused by long-term use of compound v, alleviating "power overload sequelae."
3. Near-Death Activation: For Supes with fading powers or severe injuries, it can restart power gene expression via direct spinal injection, with a 15% success rate.
Usage Restrictions and Side Effects:
Compatibility Threshold: Only effective for Supes who were "injected with compound v at birth and survived for over 5 years." Ordinary humans or temporary compound v users will suffer 100% spinal chain necrosis after injection.
Addictive Dependency: A "cliff-like drop" in power occurs within 36 hours after the first injection, forcing the user to continue injecting. Long-term use leads to spinal deformation and dull neural perception.
Mental Erosion: Each injection reduces the emotional control threshold by 30%]
Wade's pupils constricted slightly, and a huge wave surged in his heart: 'Great! A way to increase the power intensity of potions... Now I have a reference.'
"Hey, Frankenstein," Jordan Li's voice came from behind him, "did you find some treasure of a thesis?"
"I've taken plenty of evidence." Wade closed the file, tossed it back into the cabinet, and shook his phone. "It's all gibberish—compounds, synapses... it's giving me a headache. I just know they weren't up to anything good."
"Come on, do you really want to be a scientist?" Andre put away his phone and urged impatiently, "Hurry up, it's time to save him."
"Enough, let's go." Cate couldn't help but urge, "The patrol security in the other three areas check in periodically. Once the alarm goes off, we won't be able to get away!"
Her warning immediately tightened the atmosphere of the team.
No one joked anymore; the team moved silently and quickly through the central experimental area, heading toward the northwest detention area.
The passage became narrow and oppressive again.
"We're here, this is it!" Cate stopped in front of a cell labeled "NW03."
Luke stepped forward, not even waiting for Cate to use her ability or find a key.
He gave a low growl, and his large hand, glowing with golden flames, pressed hard against the cold alloy door!
Sizzle—!
The piercing sound of melting metal accompanied by white smoke rang out, and the heavy door lock was instantly melted away.
He violently tore open the distorted door and cast a burning gaze into the room.
Empty.
There was no Sam, only furniture, posters, and a dead silence.
"Where is he?" Luke roared with a trembling voice, and the golden flames around him suddenly exploded. The roaring wave of fire pushed everyone away.
"You lied to me again!!!" He was like a human bomb, crashing in front of Cate in an instant, his large hand grabbing her throat and slowly lifting her up!
"Ugh... cough..." Cate's feet left the ground, her eyes bulged, and she couldn't make a sound.
"Luke, stop! Calm down, let's talk this out!" Jordan Li growled and stepped forward, stretching out his bulging arms to try and stop him.
"Get lost! Don't you get it yet?" Luke's free left fist glowed with orange-red flames as he made a move to swing. "She's been acting from the very beginning!"
"Over and over again, over and over again!" He roared hoarsely, "Tell me! Where did you put Sam?! Or is this just a trap?!"
"Luke, let go... Cate is going to die!" Andre struggled to crawl up and lunged forward to hold him back.
At this critical moment.
Wrrr—!!!
A sharp, high-frequency, ear-piercing sound wave, like billions of red-hot steel needles, pierced into their skulls from all directions.
Thick white mist suddenly sprayed from the vents on the ceiling, filling the entire space.
"Ah—!" Andre and Jordan Li were the first to be hit, clutching their heads and falling to their knees with screams, their bodies twitching uncontrollably.
Luke's grip on Cate's throat loosened, and the surging flames around him flickered wildly like a light bulb with a bad connection, flashing on and off.
He tried to gather energy to resist, but the sound wave specifically targeted the mental concentration of Supes, instead causing the energy in his body to run wild and out of control.
Luke arched his body in pain, let out an unwilling roar, and fell heavily.
Cate gasped and walked a few steps before collapsing by the door like a broken puppet, completely losing consciousness.
Wade held out the longest. In the surge of sound waves and mist, he pressed his hands tightly over his ears, his body trembling violently as he fought bravely against the invisible attack.
"Ugh—damn it!"
He stumbled and flew out, seemingly wanting to use his last bit of strength to rush out of the room, but his body went limp and he hit the ground instantly.
Bang!
The dust rose slightly.
At the doorway, Wade fell right on top of Cate, as motionless as the others.
The piercing sound wave continued to hum, and the white mist enveloped the entire area.
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