Chapter 25: The First Encounter with the Hydra

Page 1 of 3

Only Lin Xiaosu remained in place.
With the gun in his hand and the keen insight of Heaven’s Way, he neutralized every unpredictable threat around him.
It was the only method available to him.
His physical skills were his weakness.
He could not even leap across a five-meter-wide ditch.
If he moved, he would expose his shortcomings and give the enemy an opening. Thus, his best strategy was to stay on the hillside, monitoring the entire battlefield, shooting at any sign of movement.
Ten minutes!
A full ten minutes passed.
Number 88 let out a long howl, cleaving down with a dagger to dispatch the formidable foe who had fought him for so long, and strode up to the little house.
Chang Ye pointed her finger outward, touching the air; when she struck, there was nobody ahead, but as her fingertip arrived, a figure suddenly appeared, slashing at her finger with a knife.
Though Chang Ye’s finger found its mark, it seemed to lack any lethal force. Yet, her fingernail flicked, sending forth a faint wisp of mist.
The enemy instantly collapsed.
Poison!
It was her specialty.
Lin Xiaosu saw everything clearly and was filled with awe.
The bamboo grove trembled suddenly. Crescent Moon soared from the grove, vaulted over the rooftops, and landed before the hut, her face full of pride. “Instructor, I took down seven people! Each one is worth a hundred points—that’s seven hundred points just for this, my total score is secure!”
Her gaze shifted to Lin Xiaosu on the distant hillside, her delight growing. “Lin Xiaose, you’re still in the same place? Even a tortoise would at least crawl to the edge of the ditch…”
Whoosh!
Chang Ye stepped into the air, heading straight for Lin Xiaosu.
Number 88 turned and entered the hut behind him.
Chang Ye reached Lin Xiaosu. “Come, I’ll take you over!”
She grabbed his hand, and in the next moment, they crossed the ditch and arrived before the hut. Lin Xiaosu felt his feet never touched the ground the whole way.
They entered the hut together.
From the outside, it looked no different from any rural cottage, but it must have been different, for the toughest enemy—a fierce old woman—had guarded its entrance all along.
Once inside, they traversed the front, middle, and rear rooms, each indistinguishable from a countryside house, until they saw what set it apart: at the rear, where the house adjoined the mountain, a cabinet had been turned, revealing a door behind it.
The door was already open.
Inside, everything changed completely.
It was clean and orderly, like a modern control room.
A long row of machines flashed red and green lights.
At the center, a computer; in front of it, a middle-aged man lay collapsed on the floor. Crescent Moon was at the computer, sweat pouring down her face, her fingers flying across the keyboard…
On the computer screen, lines of code scrolled upward at lightning speed.
Between the code, images of two crossed skulls appeared, the face of a devil, accompanied by eerie laughter.
Within that laughter, a percentage indicator glowed: 93%, 94%…
It increased every five seconds or so…
“The emblem of Hydra!” Chang Ye’s heart leapt. “They’re destroying the computer files! Crescent Moon, hurry…”
Crescent Moon’s speed obviously increased, but the percentage of destruction still relentlessly approached 100%.
Number 88’s forehead bulged with veins…
He knew how important the research data was, but as they broke into the secret chamber, the enemy triggered the self-destruct protocol.
Only six percent left—half a minute!
Could they solve this in thirty seconds?
Could they leave behind a secret research base’s data for Hidden Dragon?

Page 2 of 3

Moments later, the percentage reached 96%, then 97%!
“No time! Retreat!” Number 88 ordered sternly.
Once the computer’s self-destruct began, it would not only destroy the computer’s storage—in keeping with Hydra’s usual methods, the explosion would take out the entire base.
Fifteen seconds—just enough to escape.
Chang Ye instinctively reached for Lin Xiaosu, her reflex in emergencies always to protect him first.
But she grasped only air.
At some point, Lin Xiaosu had already moved to the left wall.
In just over ten seconds, the place would explode.
No time to waste!
Chang Ye darted across ten meters…
Meanwhile, Lin Xiaosu swept his hand across the wall…
Click!
Another door opened under his hand.
Number 88’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Come!” Lin Xiaosu called, leaping down.
Whoosh!
Three figures jumped after him almost simultaneously.
The stone slab above closed.
A thunderous roar shook the earth, the control room above was torn apart, sand and stone poured downward, riding a terrifying blast wave that swept up all four of them, slamming them against the stone wall at the rear.
In the moment Lin Xiaosu was involuntarily hurled against the wall,
A figure appeared behind him, suddenly wrapping him in her arms, turning to shield him against the stone.
Lin Xiaosu felt the warmth of soft jade and fragrant embrace.
Chang Ye!
Chang Ye shielded him with her body against the shockwave of the explosion!
This impact brought a startling twist—Lin Xiaosu’s lips brushed against her flowing hair.
With just a touch, his lips felt numb, his whole body felt foreign.
A moment before, he was savoring the unique pleasure of soft warmth, the next, all his senses faded, even the “silver fish” in his mind seemed to sink into the mire, slowly losing itself.
Poison?
She was poisonous, and he had been poisoned by her?
How ironic!
Perhaps this was Lin Xiaosu’s last shred of consciousness…
Then, his lips slowly regained feeling, and he realized there was a pill in his mouth. Centered on this pill, his nerves gradually revived.
At last, the “silver fish” of his consciousness broke free from the mire and returned.
His whole body was able to move again.
The dust settled, and Chang Ye’s bright eyes looked at him in the darkness. “Are you alright?”
“I don’t seem hurt.”
Chang Ye let out a long breath. “Walk a few steps, Number 88 and Crescent Moon may have found something.”
They walked side by side through a natural cave, light appeared ahead.
It was the faint glow from Number 88’s Hidden Dragon suit; beneath it lay a person, dressed in a wetsuit.
“Another enemy?” Chang Ye scanned the cave, which was fully visible, filled with many boxes, but none large enough to hide anyone.
“This must be the last one!” Number 88 pointed at the man. “When the explosion sounded above, he tried to escape, but I stopped him!”

Page 3 of 3

“It was ‘us’! We stopped him! Instructor!” Crescent Moon called, emphasizing “us,” afraid her contribution would be overlooked.
“This is where they stored all sorts of specimens?”
“Yes!” Number 88 replied. “I’ve checked four boxes already—they’re all gene samples. I must admit, Comrade Xiaosu deserves first merit!”
Just seconds from the explosion, the standard protocol required them to escape the control room.
Run as far as possible.
Had they done so, the blast would have buried the specimen chamber beneath the rubble, and no one would ever guess its existence, nor the value of its contents, equal to the research data above.
But Lin Xiaosu thought of it.
And, in a desperate moment, opened the hidden door, letting them secure the most valuable target of their mission.
Crescent Moon pouted in the darkness, thoroughly displeased. She wished to highlight herself and belittle Lin Xiaose, but how could she? She actually admired him; false words simply wouldn’t come out…
Chang Ye said, “If this man tried to flee, he must have the most important sample. Have you checked his pack?”
“About to!” Number 88 reached for the man’s wetsuit.
“Wait!” Lin Xiaosu interjected.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Lin Xiaosu said, “The most important sample may be highly unusual. Be careful—if there’s anything alive, you must react immediately.”
Of all present, only he knew there was something in the samples that defied conventional logic—the white snake.
He had been tracking this white snake.
After Number 325 subdued it, these people took it.
It was sent to this specimen chamber, and now was on the person before them.
If the white snake lashed out, even Number 88 would be in trouble.
Even if it didn’t kill Number 88, if it escaped into a crack, it would be a major loss. They had to remember, Number 325 had nearly died to capture it.
Number 88 gave him a deep look. “Step back!”
Chang Ye and Lin Xiaosu stepped back.
Crescent Moon protested inwardly, “It’s just a specimen, you’re making it sound terrifying. I doubt you have any professional knowledge…”
Despite her words, she stepped back.
Because Number 88 had given the order.
She could act brazenly before Lin Xiaosu, but defying Number 88’s command was unthinkable.
Her lifeline was firmly in Number 88’s hands.
Number 88 cautiously opened the wetsuit, and inside the pouch, there was only one item—a metal tube.
Number 88 held the tube as if defusing a bomb, slowly opening it. A plume of white vapor emerged, cooling the cave by several degrees. Inside was a frozen white snake and a cluster of grapes.
The white snake lay motionless, seemingly dead or perhaps hibernating.
Chang Ye gently tapped the snake, frowning. “Its scales are incomparably hard and uniquely formed. If its scales all open, its crawling speed would be astonishing.”
“That’s why this special sample bottle is made of G95 material!” Number 88 placed the snake and the grapes inside, preparing to seal it again.
“Wait!” Chang Ye said. “Don’t keep the grapes with the snake.”
Number 88 reopened the bottle, took out the grape cluster, and closed the lid.
“What are these grapes?”
“Not grapes, but seeds of the mutant ‘Green Orchid’ that Number 325 extracted from its bud—his trophy.” Chang Ye took them and said, “I’ll bring them back for research.”
She was a master of botany.
Within the Hidden Dragon team, she ranked among the top three.
Botanical research was her primary duty.
Chang Ye produced a smaller bottle similar to the sample tube and placed the grape cluster inside.