Courtyard House: My Long and Hard Body Makes Me Play with All the Women in the Courtyard

Chapter 408 Striving for a Chance of Survival

Su Ting's words silenced everyone, each person quickly weighing the pros and cons in their minds.

"Let's... keep looking for clues. Maybe there are other exits or other resources we can use," Lin Yue suggested, not wanting to appear too pessimistic about the decision.

“Alright, but we need to hurry. This place seems to be getting more and more unsafe.” Zhao Feng nodded in agreement, his eyes still warily scanning the surroundings.

Li Ming returned to the console, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "There are some documents here about security access control systems; perhaps we can find a way to disable the barrier."

"Give it a try, but be careful," Su Ting cautioned.

After searching for a while, Li Ming finally found a function that looked like an unlock command. "Let me try it." He took a deep breath and pressed the execute button.

Several seconds passed, but the invisible barrier remained unresponsive. Li Ming frowned and began entering another string of commands into the terminal.

At the same time, alarms suddenly sounded throughout the space, and red lights flashed incessantly. A strong sense of oppression filled the air.

"This is bad!" Su Ting said in a low voice, "Time is running out, we must make a decision as soon as possible!"

Zhao Feng walked to Su Ting's side and said, "You just said we should try to find a way out, but now it seems that the only option left is to accept reform."

A hint of helplessness flashed in Lin Yue's eyes, and she sighed softly, "Although I'm very scared, if this is the only way to survive... I think I'm willing to try."

Su Ting nodded. "Then it's settled. But in any case, we need to ensure our safety before undergoing the modification. X-01, if we choose the modification, can you guarantee our safety?"

X-01's voice came through the loudspeaker: "Choosing to modify you is your best option. I promise to do everything in my power to protect you and minimize the risks."

Zhao Feng clenched his fist, making up his mind. "Alright then, we believe you. I hope everything goes well."

With his permission, the robotic arm stopped moving, and the surrounding lights gradually softened.

Just then, a new voice suddenly came from the corner of the control room. "Wait a minute!" It was a child's voice full of childish innocence.

Everyone turned around in surprise, only to see a little girl in a tattered lab coat emerging from a hidden cubicle. Her eyes were clear yet held a hint of determination.

"Who are you?" Lin Yue stepped forward and asked.

The little girl blinked. "My name is Xiao Qing, and I'm one of the test subjects here. Are you really going to accept that terrible modification program? I can help you escape from here."

Su Ting looked at Xiao Qing, "How did you know we were trapped? And when you said you could help us escape, what specific method did you mean?"

After looking around, Xiao Qing pointed to a ventilation duct to the side. "This base has many secret passages that no one knows about. As long as we go through these ventilation ducts, we can bypass surveillance and escape from the base."

"But is this reliable?" Zhao Feng frowned and said, "If those robots discover us, we're doomed."

"Don't worry. I've escaped successfully several times, and I've returned safely every time." Xiao Qing patted her chest confidently.

Seeing this, Su Ting pondered for a moment, then looked up at everyone, "In that case, why not listen to her opinion? Compared to blindly modifying her, perhaps this escape route is more reliable. What are your thoughts?"

Lin Yue nodded. "I think we should give it a try. It's always good to give ourselves another chance."

So they followed Xiao Qing through the narrow ventilation ducts. Despite the many difficulties along the way, the four of them managed to reach a secret exit outside the base safely thanks to their mutual support.

However, just as they were about to take the final step, they heard hurried footsteps in the distance...

"Hide quickly!" Zhao Feng whispered a reminder.

The group immediately pressed themselves against the wall, holding their breath. They saw several men in black uniforms, weapons in hand, rush past the doorway, seemingly searching for something.

Chapter 409 Secret Base

Once the footsteps faded into the distance, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Feng peeked outside, and after confirming it was safe, whispered, "Shall we go now?"

Su Ting nodded. "Be quick and don't make any noise."

They quickly passed through the exit and entered the wilderness outside the base. The night was as black as ink, with only a few stars twinkling faintly in the distant sky.

Xiaoqing led everyone along a secluded path, occasionally looking back to check for any movement behind them. "We need to find a place to hide," she said. "There are still patrolling robots around here."

"Where do we go?" Lin Yue asked, her voice trembling slightly. She was clearly still caught up in the tension from just now.

“There’s a dense forest not far ahead where we can hide for a while,” Xiao Qing replied. “And there’s also a secret base there that I used to store food and water.”

“Sounds good.” Li Ming nodded in agreement. “Let’s hurry on our way; time is of the essence.”

The group continued onward, passing through a patch of low bushes, and finally arrived at a dense grove of trees. It was indeed very secluded; the trees were dense and their foliage abundant, almost completely blocking out the moonlight.

"Is this the place you were talking about?" Zhao Feng asked.

“Yes,” Xiao Qing nodded, “follow me.” She nimbly moved among the trees and soon found an entrance cleverly hidden by branches and vines.

The group followed her inside. It was a small cave, big enough for five people to hide in. "There's some dry food and water here," Xiao Qing said, pointing to a pile of supplies in the corner.

"That's wonderful." Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Xiao Qing."

"Don't let your guard down just yet," Su Ting cautioned. "We still need to figure out who those people are and what they're looking for."

“I have an idea,” Li Ming said. “If we could find the base’s surveillance system, we might be able to find some useful information.”

“But we’re already wanted, how can we go back?” Lin Yue asked worriedly.

“There’s no need to go back,” Li Ming explained. “I can try to remotely infiltrate the base’s network system from here and retrieve the video footage.”

"Can you do it?" Zhao Feng asked.

"I can give it a try." Li Ming took out a small device he carried with him and began to operate it.

A few minutes later, he saw the view inside the base on the screen. "Look, this is the control room," he said, pointing to a section of the screen. "They don't seem to have noticed we've left yet."

Suddenly, several people in black uniforms appeared on the screen, one of whom was pointing at the screen and shouting loudly, looking extremely nervous.

“Damn it,” Li Ming frowned. “They may have discovered the ventilation shaft.”

"We need to get out of here quickly," Su Ting said immediately. "Xiao Qing, is there a faster way to get to the outside world?"

Xiao Qing thought for a moment, "There is an abandoned mine to the south, and there is a secret passage there that leads directly to the town at the foot of the mountain."

“Okay, let’s go now,” Su Ting decided. “We can’t let those people find out where we are.”

“Wait a minute,” Lin Yue suddenly said, “we need to prepare some food and water, just in case.”

“That’s right,” Zhao Feng agreed. “Take more food for the road, and things to keep warm.”

Everyone quickly packed their essential supplies and left the temporary shelter. They walked through the dense forest, heading south. Along the way, Xiao Qing constantly reminded everyone to be careful and pay attention to their surroundings.

"We're almost there," Xiaoxin said softly after walking for about an hour.

Sure enough, they soon saw a cliff faintly visible ahead, where the legendary mine was hidden.

"This is it," Xiao Qing pointed to a hidden entrance. "We need to be careful; I heard there are some old mechanical traps inside."

Chapter 410 A Clever Trap

“Then we need to be even more careful.” Su Ting tightened his grip on his weapon. “Everyone stay alert, and retreat immediately if anything happens.”

The group entered the mine one by one. The entrance was narrow and dark, with only the beams of flashlights illuminating the way forward. As they went deeper, they began to see various old pieces of equipment, and a faint smell of rusting metal filled the air.

"This mine is really old," Li Ming sighed. "Hopefully, those traps won't be too sensitive."

"Try to stay behind me; I'll avoid obvious traps," Xiao Qing said as she cautiously scouted ahead.

After walking for a while, they came to a fork in the road. "Left or right?" Zhao Feng asked.

"The left side leads to the exit, but it's a longer route; the right side is closer, but I've heard there are more traps there." Xiao Qing frowned, seemingly making a difficult choice.

“Time is life,” Lin Yue said. “I think we should go to the right. Although it’s more dangerous, we’ll get to safety faster.”

Su Ting nodded: "Agreed. And given our current situation, speed is a key factor."

"Okay, then I'll choose the right path." Xiao Qing took a deep breath. "Everyone, follow my lead."

After traveling a distance in the right direction, we indeed discovered many cleverly placed small traps.

Some had simple tripwires, while others contained small traps. If Xiao Qing hadn't been experienced and quick-witted, she probably would have already triggered several dangerous situations.

Just as everyone began to relax, a slight noise suddenly came from not far away. "Stop!" Xiao Qing commanded in a low voice.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they immediately stopped in their tracks. "What's wrong?" Lin Yue asked softly.

"Listen... it sounds like someone is following us."

The group held their breath, listening intently to the sounds around them. Sure enough, a few seconds later, faint footsteps could be heard again.

"Could it be that the pursuers have caught up?" Li Ming said nervously.

“Possibly.” Su Ting’s expression was grim. “We need to find a hiding place quickly.”

At that very moment, a series of hurried and irregular footsteps echoed through the mine, clearly indicating that someone was rushing towards them in a panic.

"Quick! Get to that corner over there!" Xiao Qing pointed to a recessed area next to the right wall. The five people quickly squeezed into the shadows and turned off all the lights.

Before long, several men in black appeared in the field of vision, carrying flashlights. They walked around searching every possible place where people might appear.

One of the men in black stopped as he passed the small corner, using his gun to clear away some rubble and debris, but finding nothing amiss, he continued onward.

Only after the group had completely left did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we weren't discovered," Zhao Feng said, patting his chest lightly.

“However, it seems the enemy doesn’t know exactly which road we’re on,” Lin Yue thought for a moment and said. “Perhaps we can use this opportunity to bypass their blockade.”

“It is indeed an opportunity,” Li Ming added, “but we must be extremely careful.”

“Now is not the time to think about these things,” Su Ting said firmly. “The most urgent thing is to find an exit and escape from here as soon as possible.”