Chapter 272: Questioning and Roaring

"Deputy Captain, what do we do next?"

With Qiong Xuan and the others all off hunting Jian Changsheng, the remaining enforcers in the base were now under Han Meng's command. They looked at the figure holding a kerosene lamp in the darkness and asked.

Han Meng was silent for a moment before speaking, "How many people are left now?"

"Excluding those pursuing the intruder, there are fourteen left."

"Two of you follow the researchers and try to restore power first. The others, follow the original shift rotation and guard every checkpoint and floor." Han Meng’s voice sounded slowly, "Do not let your guard down. We cannot guarantee that all intruders have left yet. Stay alert to your surroundings at all times, understand?"

"...Yes!"

The enforcers immediately followed Han Meng’s deployment and headed to their respective floors. Just then, as if remembering something, Han Meng spoke again:

"What about that Chen Xin?"

"Chen Xin... he was patrolling here earlier, but I don't think I've seen him since just now..."

"...I see." Han Meng’s brow furrowed slightly. "What about Dr. Yi?"

"Dr. Yi? He seems to have just finished that experiment, told the others to dispose of the body, and went back to drink and rest..."

Hearing this, a flash of murderous intent crossed Han Meng’s eyes. He took a deep breath, barely suppressing his rage.

"Alright, you go back to work."

As the others dispersed, Han Meng’s grim gaze turned toward the end of the corridor, and he began to walk in that direction.

Unlike the other researchers, Dr. Yi’s dormitory was on the third floor, supposedly for the convenience of conducting experiments and monitoring test subjects. Han Meng walked through the dim corridor by the light of the kerosene lamp and stopped in front of a door.

Just as he was about to knock, he heard a woman’s panting from behind the door, followed by Dr. Yi’s heavy, frantic gasps.

Something was happening behind that door...

The moment he heard the sound, Han Meng’s pupils contracted slightly.

In that instant, a series of images flashed before Han Meng’s eyes: the test subjects in the third-floor rooms tortured beyond recognition; Dr. Yi holding a bottle of white liquor, laughing drunkenly; Zhao Yi’s corpse being pushed toward the incinerator covered by a sheet; the white-coated figure turning to flirt and indulge with a woman right after finishing an experiment...

Finally, he saw the young man in the gray cotton coat in the first row of the public gallery, standing up abruptly and unfurling a banner:

【Han Meng is innocent!】

The fire in Han Meng’s heart burned ever brighter; even his emotional control was nearly failing him now. He gripped the crumpled file on Zhao Yi tightly—words like "Survivor," "Nineteen years old," and "Died five hours after entering the base" constantly stung his heart!

He clenched his right fist and slammed it into the door in front of him!

BANG—!!

It sounded like a cannon shell exploding within the base, and splintered wood sprayed outward!

Behind the door, the stark-naked Dr. Yi, his face flushed with drink, had been pinning a similarly naked female doctor to the bed. Hearing the sudden explosion, he turned his head in shock to look outside...

A figure in a black trench coat stood amidst the swirling dust, holding a kerosene lamp, his gaze cold and bone-chilling!

"Han Meng?! What the hell are you doing??!" Dr. Yi’s eyes regained a sliver of sobriety before he flew into a rage!

WHOOSH!

He felt a blur before his eyes, and the black-clad figure grabbed him by the throat, lifted him off the bed, and slammed him heavily against the wall!

The female doctor was stunned; she let out a scream and dove under the covers, curling into a ball like a frightened rabbit.

"What... are you doing??" Han Meng gritted his teeth and spoke coldly.

"What the hell am I doing?! What the hell does it have to do with you??!" Dr. Yi cursed, "Who the hell are you? You were told to protect the base, and you're protecting it by coming here?? It’s not your job to police vice, is it? Besides, it’s consensual, what business is it of yours?!"

"You personally killed a nineteen-year-old child, and now you turn around to get intimate with a woman. Do you not have a shred of guilt or pity in your heart??"

"I’ve killed countless test subjects!! Don't talk to me about nineteen! I’ve even killed ten-year-old children! Are you going to avenge them too???" Dr. Yi was completely unfazed by Han Meng’s murderous intent. "Come on! Use your gun and blow my head off! If you don't kill me today, you’re a fucking coward!!"

The two men’s roaring immediately attracted a large crowd. The white-coated researchers were stunned to see the naked Dr. Yi pinned to the wall by Han Meng.

"You think I don't dare??"

The murderous intent in Han Meng’s eyes burned hotter. He reached back, drew his gun from his waist, and pressed it against Dr. Yi’s forehead. "You’re a lunatic! Drinking while conducting human experiments... In your eyes, human life isn't life at all! What do you take them for?? A show to entertain you while you drink?? Or a side dish for your liquor?!"

"I drink?! So what if I fucking drink?! Huh???"

"Do you know how many human experiments I’ve conducted??! Five thousand, four hundred and thirty-two!! Thirty percent of them were elderly! Thirty percent were children! And thirty percent were sickly wretches sold by their families to wait for death! I watched them slowly turn into monsters! Into lunatics! And then turn into who-knows-what before dying in front of me!!"

"Have you seen the pain and despair in their eyes?! Have you heard the eerie wails they let out before they died?! You haven't even seen a single complete experiment! What right do you have to point fingers at me here??!"

"Five thousand, four hundred and thirty-two experiments! Five thousand, four hundred and thirty-two lives!! I spent fifteen years! I poured everything I had into this! What do you think we got in the end??"

"Nothing!!! We didn't get a single fucking thing!!"

"It’s not just my fifteen years! My teacher! My teacher’s teacher!! And their teachers... We’ve been researching in this sunless base for over three hundred years! Trying to find the cause of scientific regression! Trying to extend the life of Lord Aurora! Trying to find a glimmer of hope for humanity... but it’s useless, isn't it??"

Dr. Yi, as if gone mad, spread his arms and roared hysterically in his drunken state:

"Over three hundred years!! How many generations have we burned through! How many lives have we sacrificed! We haven't achieved even the slightest result!!"

"Even when we could still use our advanced instruments and equipment back then, we couldn't even analyze a single strand of hair from Lord Aurora... Those medical devices! Those electronic components! Those damn internal combustion engines and signal towers! And even the simplest, most basic electronic camera—we built them! But they just don't work!!"

"You think my daily work is scientific research?! Wrong!! I’m telling you! My daily work is conducting one meaningless experiment after another! Watching one life after another die in front of me! Or turn into some monster and get killed!"

"We know it’s all meaningless!! But we can't stop!! Because if we stop, all of humanity can only wait for death!!!"

"You tell me!! Besides drinking, what else can I do??"

Under Dr. Yi’s near-manic roaring, Han Meng stood frozen in place.