Of course I trust you. Let's not talk about anything else, just look at how you killed a Tyrant Mammoth alone in the wild two days ago. I know that you're not someone who has just entered Heaven Realm, so you won't be a burden to anyone, "Shen Yupeng said.
"But when we fight in the lair, we don't just have to consider our fighting strength. We also have to consider the collateral damage.
"The environment in the lair is complicated, and there's a lot of people. There are all sorts of gray industries and underground workshops everywhere, so it's full of unexpected variables.
"Over the decades, many of the robbers hid in the lair after committing crimes outside. They held hundreds of thousands of lair citizens as hostages, and even the secret police couldn't do anything to them.
"Based on the mastermind's plan, he's pretty sinister and has no humanity. He won't let go of the chance to turn hundreds of thousands of lair citizens into meat shields or even some sort of ticking time bomb.
"I'm not worried that he will run away.
"Even if the mastermind really manages to escape this time, there will come a time when he will be captured.
"I'm just worried that the enemy will decide to fight to the death with us and bring out all their firepower in the depths of the lair. Then, they'll fight a shocking battle against our capture squad. At that time, there might be more than one thousand or even ten thousand casualties among the innocent citizens.
"We agreed to Saber Jin Wanhao's request so readily and didn't send the secret police, abnormal beast research department, or the Red Dragon Army's proper fighting force into Golden Tooth Lair partly because of this.
"If the lair is turned upside down with proper military force and collapses countless houses and kills thousands of citizens, it might trigger a chain reaction that will make the Survival Committee's prestige and financial situation even worse.
"The crisis management personnel from the insurance companies can be considered mercenaries. At the very least, in name, they don't have much of a relationship with the Survival Committee, so they can have more space to move around.
"If … something no one wants to see really happens, the government will have an extra buffer to handle the situation.
"But you've just entered Heaven Realm, and your future is bright. There's no need for you to step into this mess. If the enemy really detonates the toilet in Golden Tooth Lair, you'll be blown up — Um, what's that?!"
Meng Chao understood what Shen Yupeng meant.
If the capture squad led by the Heaven Realm superhuman fought to the death against the Vortex in the lair, it would be like two Tyrant Mammoths leading two monster hordes to charge at each other. It would be very difficult for them to do so without harming the innocent.
No matter how careful the captors were, the Vortex would definitely not care about human lives. In fact, it might have intentionally caused mass casualties to shake the humans' will and unity.
It was precisely because of this that Meng Chao had to enter Golden Tooth Lair and face the Vortex!
"I've never been an official investigator of the abnormal beast research department. I'm just a normal citizen of noble character, kind-hearted, and passionate about contributing to Dragon City."
"With my status, I won't cause any trouble if I enter the lair."
Shen Yupeng stared at him for a long time.
She saw the burning light in his eyes.
After thinking about it for a while, she could only nod and say, "Alright. Right now, Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong and the others are in a temporary base near Golden Tooth Lair. They're organizing their equipment, familiarizing themselves with the team, and coming up with a plan. I can bring you there.
"But I'll tell you the ugly truth first. Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong is the direct commander of this squad. Most of the members in the capture squad are his old friends from the hunter circle, and they have great teamwork. That's why they can trust each other with their backs. I can't be certain that they'll be willing to bring you along.
"If he doesn't agree, I won't be able to force him."
"Got it."
Meng Chao nodded readily. "I'll do my best to make Senior Zhou agree!"
They had no time to waste. They immediately set off.
The two robbers had tapping and locating chips implanted in their wounds. They might wake up at any moment and sneak into the lair.
And these two positioning chips were very likely to be discovered by the scheming mastermind behind the scenes.
The captors did not have a lot of time.
Meng Chao and Shen Yupeng used non-motorized paragliders to fly. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived near Golden Tooth Lair. There was a large building that looked like a huge bunker.
Decades ago, during the era when zombies ran amok, this place was one of the largest granaries and recycling food production bases in Dragon City.
As the zombie crisis calmed down and the borders of the city continued expanding, this place was gradually abandoned. It was dismantled, and only an empty warehouse was left behind.
At that moment, this place became the joint command center for the adjudicator court and research department to focus on the Deification Capsule case.
There were nearly one hundred computers set up in one corner of the warehouse. A large group of trained data analysts and investigators were focused on contacting and monitoring the situation in Golden Tooth Lair.
The other corner was filled with all kinds of advanced equipment, weapons and ammunition with fierce firepower.
At the center of the warehouse was a complicated and incredibly fragile 3D maze made of a lot of glass and steel pipes.
The vice director of the abnormal beast research department, Nie Chenglong, had personally rushed to the frontlines to supervise the battle.
He did not reject Meng Chao's request to join the capture squad. He just looked at Meng Chao with great interest. "Why?"
Meng Chao thought about it for a while and said, "Last time, during the Noble Descent Hotel ambush, I fought against the mutated Demonic Air Ripping Eye. When I killed it, I was also affected by its brainwaves. In my daze, I seemed to be able to see some fragmented images.
"At that time, I didn't remember what those scattered images meant. Now that I think about it, they seem to be images of the lair.
"I think … No, I believe that the abnormal beast is definitely plotting something big in the depths of Golden Tooth Lair. I can only 'see' more things when I reach the depths of the lair.
"Sometimes, we can't figure out the answer to a riddle because we're not close enough to the riddle. I want to get close to the abnormal beast's scheme. That's all."
"Alright!"
Nie Chenglong's expression changed. "I have to say, Meng Chao, you're the most suitable person I've ever met to become an investigator and explorer. Come with me!"
Nie Chenglong brought Meng Chao to the center of the warehouse. They were in front of the seemingly messy and fragile 3D maze.
The main body of the 3D maze was made up of intersecting steel pipes. They were stacked on top of each other until they reached the ceiling of the warehouse that was more than thirty meters tall.
The steel pipes were not neatly arranged like scaffolding in construction sites.
Instead, they crisscrossed with one another, tearing the entire three-dimensional space into pieces.
The intersecting steel pipes formed countless winding and narrow tunnels.
There were irregular mirrors and transparent glass embedded in some of the tunnels. As light refracted and reflected, the 3D maze became twice as complicated because of the mirrors.
The places that were not embedded with mirrors had wind chimes and balloons filled with water that were heavy.
The slightest movement would cause the wind chimes to let out clear and pleasant sounds. The balloons would also easily fall and shatter.
More than ten veteran fighters who were famous in the hunter circle, including Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong, were climbing up and down in the 3D maze. They moved around and moved as if they were flying.
Occasionally, someone would not be able to dodge in time and touch the wind chimes or shatter a mirror. They would immediately be mocked mercilessly by the people around them.
The veteran hunters were just warming up.
But they naturally exuded the air of someone who had been through hundreds of battles and was not stingy.
This kind of atmosphere formed a small circle that belonged exclusively to the elderly. It was not something that a greenhorn could easily blend into.
"They're doing adaptive training."
Nie Chenglong saw Meng Chao's puzzlement and explained, "There's no need to doubt the fighting strength of veteran hunters like Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong. Right now, the biggest problem isn't that they don't have enough fighting strength, but that their fighting strength will overflow.
"If they get into the depths of the lair and get into a killing frenzy, they will activate a powerful spirit energy magnetic field. Then, they won't be able to hit the mastermind but will destroy the illegal buildings that are more than eighty stories tall. That would be bad.
"That's why they put together this thing at the last minute to simulate the environment of the lair. The narrow tunnels formed by steel pipes are the alleys in the lair. You can think of the wind chimes as the warning system set by the mastermind. As for the balloons filled with water, you can think of them as the heads of the innocent citizens in the lair."
Meng Chao looked at the balloons all over the ground and suddenly felt that the operation was more troublesome than he had imagined.
"What, did you notice that the lair is in trouble?"
Nie Chenglong smiled wanly. "If it weren't so troublesome, we would have leveled the lair decades ago. There's no way it would have remained until today.
"It's not too late to change your mind. You can stay here and monitor the capture operation in real time. If necessary, you can provide support to the capture squad. It'll be the same."
"No need."
Meng Chao gritted his teeth and whispered, "At most, when I reach the depths of the lair, I'll just obediently follow behind Senior Zhou and the others. I'll just observe them in the dark and not move a single finger."
"Alright. As long as Zhou Chong agrees to it, I have no objections."
Nie Chenglong smiled. "You're pretty lucky. In the past, I was friends with Zhou Chong in the wild, and I even saved his life once. Young man, if you want to make a name for yourself, he'll definitely give you a chance — Old Fish!"
Nie Chenglong shouted at the top of the 3D maze.
Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong was originally curled up in the depths of the 3D maze.
When he heard the shout, he was like a compressed spring that was released. With unbelievable agility, he shot out of the gaps between the steel pipes, glass, wind chimes, and water balloons. Then, like a feather in a vacuum, he landed on the ground with great agility.
"I'll introduce you to a super newbie. You know him, Meng Chao?"
Nie Chenglong grinned. "You're pretty lucky. The higher-ups are paying a lot of attention to the Deification Capsule case, and they've decided to send this star of hope that the abnormal beast research department has been secretly training to help you complete the capture. You must understand that Meng Chao was the one who killed the mutated Demonic Air Ripping Eye during the Noble Descent Hotel ambush!"
Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong frowned a little. He looked at Nie Chenglong, then at Shen Yupeng beside him. He thought about it, extended three fingers, and gestured at the 3D maze behind him with his chin.
"Three minutes," Zhou Chong said.
"If he can crawl in and last for three minutes without being captured, I'll bring him into the lair."
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