death of hope

Chapter 1056 "Psionic Storm" (129) Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road

The security guard disconnected the communication, and the channel instantly erupted in chaos:

"What do we do now? Everything's in complete chaos!"

Electrician Hideaki Anno complained loudly, "Hey Leon, you're the leader, say something and give me some advice!"

"Don't...don't panic! It's okay!"

Li Ang was sweating profusely with worry, but he still pretended to be calm and said defiantly, "There's still time, as long as we hurry... we can do it..."

"Stop talking! Something's up! Let me interject!"
The surveillance footage showed that after killing the station chief, the group went straight to the office area, ransacked the place, took a lot of documents, disassembled the computer cases, removed the hard drives, and even stole CDs from the safe.

"I see... I understand a little better now..." Researcher Katsuhiro Otomo said as if waking from a dream.

"Ryan was here to steal the data from Project Zero. Higashiyama Ruriko was the middleman between Ryan and the company's higher-ups. They brought elite corporate warriors from headquarters and eliminated the old director and his guards... I guess that's what the gunshots earlier were about..."

"Stop! Stop! Don't say anything! What's the point of making wild guesses now?!"
The power struggles among the company's top brass have absolutely nothing to do with us common folk! The biggest problem right now isn't finding the truth behind the director's death, but rather those ruthless individuals… they're getting closer and closer to us!

At that moment, static came through the channel:
"Hey! You in the blue overalls! I'm talking to you! Hands up!"
What are you doing, sneaking around in the electrical room?! Confess! Are you in cahoots with Joseph? Are you working with Sony?
Who cares if it is or not? The boss said to shoot any suspicious person you see!
No! No! I surrender! I have elderly relatives at home…

Da da da!
ah!"

·
Gunshots and screams came one after another from the channel.

Finally, there was the sickening metallic crunch of military boots stomping on brass cartridge cases.

The team members instantly realized what had happened and sighed repeatedly.

"Who is this...? They've been caught..."

Li Ang raised his arm to check the tablet and found that one of his team members' vital signs had flattened out. He dejectedly announced:

"Mr. Anno has sacrificed his life..."

When electrician Hideaki Anno was damaging the distribution box, he was caught by a company soldier who happened to be passing by and shot dead without any explanation.

With the first casualty in the squad, it wouldn't be surprising to see a second or third. The rest of the team were on tenterhooks, and the atmosphere in the channel became one of fear and sorrow, shrouded in gloom.

Li Ang asked, "Hey! Hey! Brother Tomino! Could you please check the surveillance footage to see their location and let us know so we can all avoid them in time?"

"I can't see anything here..."

"His nephew... after killing Anno, he became even more vigilant, shooting at any camera he sees... We're all in danger..."

"Damn it... I can't delay any longer... I can only guess..."

·
Li Ang chose a route that was theoretically the safest and least likely to be blocked.
Together with a cleaner and a researcher, they cautiously pushed the biochemical waste cart through the corridor flashing red WARNING lights, with danger lurking around every corner.

The sound of rapid, clattering keyboards could be heard coming from the channel:

"I've already planted a Trojan virus on the server. The rest is up to you. I need to run... while I still can..."

"What the hell did you say?!"

The cleaner flew into a rage: "You're abandoning everyone and running away?! You son of a bitch!" The engineer, hearing this, also got angry: "Watch your mouth! You janitor!"

I'm just a cybersecurity nerd, that's all I can do! Did you expect me to grab a weapon, go downstairs, and fight those corporate warriors to the death?

"If you want to run away, then run away! Stop pretending!" the cleaner said sarcastically. "Hmph! As the old saying goes, 'The righteous are often from the lowly, while the ungrateful are often from the learned.'"
You white-collar workers look down on us blue-collar workers from the bottom of your hearts, don't you? Run, Tomino-kun, tuck your tail between your legs and run!

"Damn it! Go eat shit! You country bumpkin! With your junior high school education, you're only fit to sweep floors and clean toilets!"

·
Under immense pressure, people's tempers flare up easily. A cybersecurity engineer and a cleaner started hurling insults at each other in the chat, cursing each other's ancestors. A researcher tried to reason with them.
"Hey, you two, are you even capable?! You're about to die, and you're still spouting this melodramatic nonsense about class conflict. Just shut up already!"

"Mr. Tomino, you're still in the server room, right..." Li Ang said softly.

"I'm still...packing my things and getting ready to run away...I'm sorry...I admit I'm scared..."

"No need to apologize, Mr. Tomino. For someone as highly paid as you to help me like this is more than enough. I only have one last request: could you please unlock all the cages holding the test subjects?"

The engineer paused for two seconds, then asked, "Why is that...? Didn't you just want to rescue Zero...?"

"I admit I had my own selfish motives, but it suddenly occurred to me that since things have already blown up, why not give more innocent people a chance, a chance to regain their freedom? That shouldn't be too difficult for you, Mr. Tomino."

Cybersecurity engineer Yuuki Tomino sighed, "It's not difficult... just add a few dozen lines of code to the Trojan program..."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

"All right…"

The cleaner's tone softened: "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have yelled at you just now..."

"Sigh...don't say anything more, I'm coding right now...I'll leave as soon as I'm done, take care..."

·
The three of them pushed the biohazard truck and ran wildly.
Because all the security doors that were locked by the alarm had been unlocked by the Trojan virus, after two more turns, he could return to the main passage and head straight for the elevator. The deceased electrician Anno had already taught Li Ang how to forcibly start the elevator, and hope was just around the corner.

Suddenly… came the heavy footsteps of military boots treading on the stainless steel floor from ahead.
Li Ang's heart skipped a beat! There were no more side paths to give them room to avoid it.

A group of fully armed corporate warriors, armed with automatic rifles, aimed their laser sights at the three men's foreheads.
"Report! Suspicious person spotted! Don't move! Hands up!"

"Wait, don't shoot! I recognize this guy! Isn't he Teacher Qiao's sidekick?"

Ryan Elsson squeezed through the corporate warriors, his white lab coat stained with blood, and grinned sneer:
"Hey Li, what's with you three all rushing around like that? Where are you going? You all look like kids caught doing something naughty, hahaha~"

The corporate soldier respectfully made way for them: "Boss, we've caught three suspicious individuals!"

Higashiyama Ruriko strolled over at a leisurely pace.

Her fair hands moved with the agility of a circus clown, tossing the automatic pistol and magazine back and forth like two toy balls.

"Tsk tsk tsk~ What a coincidence, isn't that the handsome nobleman from Vilnius?"

Liulizi caught the pistol steadily, and with a 'click,' she inserted the magazine. Her beautiful face revealed a ruthless killing intent.
The gun barrels were pointed at a large trash can marked with a biohazard symbol, which the three men were pushing.

"You three rushed out in such a hurry, are you hungry and want to eat breakfast?"
What good stuff is inside?

Open it and take a look!