The rage that erupted in Lam Minh's chest was like a volcano, yet his face became unusually cold. He didn't roar, didn't break down the door and charge in. He knew that an impulsive action now would only alert the entire base and could endanger the children.
His anger had transformed into something else, something more terrifying: a ruthlessness calculated down to the last detail.
He stepped back from the small window, forced himself into the shadows, and took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart. He forced himself to think.
This laboratory was undoubtedly the most heavily guarded area. A direct assault was the worst option. He needed to disable the base's entire defense system first. He had to ensure that when he made his move, not a single one of them could escape, and not a single distress signal could be sent out.
He turned and continued to move through the darkness, but his objective was now clearer than ever. The central control room.
He passed through other corridors. He saw prison cells, inside which were captured ASEAN soldiers, their faces gaunt and desperate. He saw warehouses filled with medical equipment and strange chemical containers.
Every scene he witnessed only made the fire in his heart burn brighter.
Finally, after some searching, he found it. A large room protected by two four-armed "Holy Children" standing guard on either side of the door. The door was made of the thickest alloy and had a complex electronic locking system. This was definitely the central control room.
Lam Minh hid in a dark corner, observing. He couldn't attack the two guards directly. They would trigger the alarm instantly. He needed to lure them away from their posts.
He looked around, searching for a "prop." He saw an electronic control panel for the corridor.
An idea sparked.
He used a tiny wisp of spiritual energy and shot it at the control panel, causing a slight flicker in the corridor's lighting system.
Fzzt... fzzt...
The lights flickered a few times then returned to normal.
"What was that?" one guard said.
"Probably just a problem with the electrical system. Ignore it," the other replied.
But Lam Minh continued. He caused another flicker, this one lasting longer.
"Dammit! Again?" the first guard said, annoyed. "I'll go check it out. You stay here and guard."
He walked towards the control panel, leaving his post.
This was the opportunity Lam Minh had been waiting for.
The moment the first guard was out of the second guard's line of sight, Lam Minh acted.
He shot out of the darkness like a ghost. His speed was so fast that the remaining guard had no time to react.
He didn't use his sword. He used his bare hands. One hand clamped over the guard's mouth, while the other delivered a sharp chop to the back of his neck.
CRACK!
The guard's cervical vertebrae snapped. He died without making a sound. Lam Minh gently supported his body and dragged it into the shadows.
The first guard, after checking the control panel and finding nothing unusual, returned.
"There's nothing. It's probably just..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence before he noticed his partner's post was empty. He was stunned, looking around in confusion.
"Where did you go...?"
Those were his last words.
Lam Minh appeared behind him and, using the guard's own dagger, made a clean slice across his throat.
After dealing with the two guards silently, Lam Minh stood before the control room door.
He didn't have time to study the complex locking system. He used the simplest and most effective method.
He placed his hand on the door and channeled his spiritual energy into it.
CRACKLE!
The entire mechanical and electronic system inside was destroyed by the domineering spiritual energy. The door popped open.
Inside, three technicians were sitting in front of a series of screens. They were stunned when they saw the door open and Lam Minh walk in.
Lam Minh gave them no chance to press the alarm button. Three needles condensed from spiritual energy flew out, striking the foreheads of the three technicians with perfect accuracy.
The control room was seized.
Lam Minh quickly sat down in the main chair. He was no Minh Thu, but with his basic knowledge and superhuman learning ability, he quickly grasped the system.
He found and disabled the base's entire alarm system.
He sealed all exits, including the underwater entrance and the secret escape routes.
He cut off all external communication lines.
Now, this base was completely isolated from the world. It had become an iron cage, a tomb.
And he was the god of death presiding over this tomb.
With his work done, Lam Minh stood up. He didn't return to the laboratory immediately.
He went to the base's central broadcasting room.
He picked up the microphone and took a breath.
Then he spoke, his ice-cold voice echoing through every corner of the base via the speaker system.
"HELLO, YOU FILTH OF THE 'SACRED CULT'. I AM LAM MINH. THE GAME OF HIDE-AND-SEEK IS OVER. NOW, LET'S PLAY A NEW GAME. THIS GAME IS CALLED... 'COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION'."
A deathly silence enveloped the entire base, followed by absolute panic.
The silent fury of Lam Minh had finally erupted.
...
"THIS GAME IS CALLED... 'COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION'."
Lam Minh's ice-cold voice echoed through the metal corridors, seeping into every prison cell, every laboratory.
After a moment of deathly silence, the entire base erupted into chaos.
"What? An intruder has gotten inside?"
"Impossible! Where is our defense system?"
"He's in the broadcasting room! Get there and capture him!"
The patrolling "Holy Children," the prison guards, the mutant scientists, all poured out of their rooms, weapons in hand, rushing towards the central command area.
Their initial fear was quickly replaced by indignation and inherent arrogance. They were "perfect creations," the superior race. How could they let a "pure-blood human" sneak into their den and provoke them like this?
A "Holy Child" with grayish skin, who looked like a commander, roared into the internal comms. "All squads, assemble! He's alone! Surround him and tear him to pieces for me! He's in the central area!"
Dozens of "Holy Children" from all over the base, with cultivation levels ranging from Early Foundation Establishment to Peak, began to converge, forming pincers, tightening the encirclement around the control room area. They believed that with their overwhelming numbers, they could easily crush this foolish intruder.
They had no idea that the prey they were surrounding was a hunter, smiling in the darkness.
In the broadcasting room, Lam Minh had already put down the microphone. He had no intention of staying here and waiting for them.
He had achieved his purpose: to cause chaos and focus all the enemy's attention in one direction.
He silently left the control room, disappearing into a ventilation duct in the ceiling. He moved through the base's complex ventilation system like a rat, without a sound.
He didn't go far. He just moved to a nearby position, a place where he could observe the entire corridor leading to the control room.
He saw groups of "Holy Children" charging forward aggressively. They searched every room, kicked down every door. Their arrogance made them lose the caution of dangerous mutants, leaving only a pack of wild beasts frantically searching for their prey.
"What a bunch of idiots," Lam Minh muttered, shaking his head.
He didn't make a move. He just watched silently. He was waiting.
Waiting for something else.
He knew that in this base, besides these brave-but-brainless "Holy Children," there must be a real commander. Someone smart and calm enough to realize the abnormality in his actions.
And he didn't have to wait long.
While the crowd was in chaos, a figure slowly appeared at the end of the corridor.
It was a middle-aged man, wearing an old but very clean white lab coat. He didn't have any mutant features. He looked exactly like an ordinary scientist, even appearing a little weak.
But when he appeared, all the roaring "Holy Children" suddenly fell silent and parted, respectfully making way for him.
"Deacon!" they all bowed their heads in unison.
Lam Minh narrowed his eyes. There he is. The big fish I was looking for.
The Deacon paid no attention to his subordinates. He just silently looked towards the control room, a strange glint in his eyes.
"What an interesting play," he muttered to himself, his voice gentle but sending a chill down one's spine. "Attack the control room, seal the base, then use the PA system to provoke and gather us all here. The purpose isn't a direct confrontation. The purpose is to... separate us from some other place."
He turned his head, his sharp gaze looking back in the direction he had just come from.
The direction of the laboratory.
"FOOLS! ALL OF YOU, BACK TO LABORATORY NO. 3! PROTECT THE 'PRODUCTS'!" he suddenly roared, his composure gone, replaced by panic.
He had realized it. Lam Minh's entire act was just a feint. His real target was the children in the laboratory.
The "Holy Children" were stunned, then they also quickly turned and rushed back towards the lab.
But it was too late.
While everyone was being drawn to the center, Lam Minh had silently circled out of the ventilation system and returned to the corridor leading to the laboratory.
The corridor was now completely empty.
He stood before the steel door, wasting no time. He used the strength of a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator to directly destroy the door's hinges.
BAM!
The door collapsed.
Inside, the mutant scientists looked at him in horror. They were about to press the emergency alarm button.
But Lam Minh's speed was faster.
Spiritual energy needles were once again shot out, precise and deadly. One by one, they fell, not even having time to scream.
Lam Minh stepped inside, looking at the children tied to the operating tables, his eyes filled with pain and rage.
He quickly used his sword to cut the ropes, removing the tubes from their bodies.
"It's okay now. You're all safe," he said, his voice trying its best to be gentle.
The children, after a moment of terror, saw him, a human just like them, and burst into tears.
Lam Minh hugged the nearest child, comforting them.
He knew he didn't have much time. The "Holy Children" and that Deacon were about to return.
He looked at the children. Nearly twenty of them. There was no way he could get them all out of here by himself.
He had to stay, to hold off the enemy.
He put the child down and looked at them, his eyes full of determination.
"Listen to me," he said. "I'm going to stay here and fight. You all, follow this path. Go straight to the end of the corridor, there will be a hole in the wall. Crawl through it, then just keep going straight in the tunnel, and you'll get outside. Run, don't look back. Someone will come to save you. Promise me, okay?"
He pointed to the tunnel he had dug. The only way out.
The children nodded through their tears.
Just then, the sound of rushing footsteps and roars echoed from the end of the corridor.
They had arrived.
Lam Minh turned around, stood blocking the laboratory doorway, and gripped his Thuan Thien sword tightly.
He looked down the dark corridor where the enemy was charging, a cold smile on his lips.
"Alright. Now, it's time for the real 'reckoning'."
He was ready for a fight to the death, to protect the innocent sprouts behind him.