Read Novel Full Chapter 148 147 11
148: 147 (11) 148: 147 (11) Afterwards, it was said that ever since that Lantern Festival, no one had ever seen the Prime Minister or the Little Imperial Uncle again.
Some said they had hidden their identities and drifted on a lake; others claimed they roamed freely across the world with changed appearances.
More extravagant rumors even said they had ascended to immortality, floating away on clouds, never to linger among mortals again.
The Emperor angrily denounced these tales as nonsense, ordering people to search for them everywhere, but to no avail.
As the years passed, he gradually gave up, wasting away in despair.
After the reforms of the laws, the dynasty prospered, and the people lived in peace for 170 years, putting an end to that chapter.
… Among the ruined, desolate high-rise buildings, a few mutated, giant, bone-gnawing rats scurried by, small stones rolling into narrow cracks.
The sky was bleak, and the daylight was blindingly bright.
Gu Yuan endured a wave of dizziness from the world’s transfer, struggling to sit up.
He held his temples while propping his body with one hand, looking around, then frowning deeply.
He seemed to be trapped in a strange prison.
The space was extremely confined, yet not dark.
Instead, the walls were painted in a lifeless white.
Under the cold, white lights, the entire place looked bleak and hopeless.
When Gu Yuan moved his body, he realized that his hands and feet were bound by shackles made of a special alloy.
Any slight movement triggered a sharp electric shock, numbing his limbs.
The shocks weren’t enough to incapacitate him, but the numb feeling and pain were mentally tormenting.
Even after enduring many hardships, he felt a deep unease in this situation.
A sense of dread weighed heavily on his heart.
He tried to stand up, only to be hit by another intense shock.
The electricity surged through his bones and muscles, blurring his vision with a white mist, and he fell to his knees, weakened.
A faint taste of blood rose in his throat.
Gu Yuan opened his mouth to call out but couldn’t make a sound immediately.
After taking a couple of breaths, he managed to sit up straight, his unease growing.
The two of them had been thrown into the Refining Space together.
But now, he was no doubt, alone, with no idea of Lu Zhiguang’s situation.
His concern deepened as he checked his body’s stats for any special abilities.
His mind scanned over the normal data.
He was then startled when he noticed something, his eyes widened at the sight of his hands.
His hands were visibly smaller.
Under the harsh light, they looked unmistakably like the hands of a teenager.
Realizing the situation was clearly wrong, Gu Yuan steadied himself, familiarized himself with his abilities, clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and released a powerful electric current to destroy the wires connected to his shackles.
He tried to break free but was yanked back by the resilient alloy.
The shackles left noticeable cuts on his wrists.
Suppressing the sharp pain, Gu Yuan closed his eyes.
His strength was limited by his smaller form.
He had inexplicably become a teenage boy.
Although he could use his electric abilities to disrupt the wires, he couldn’t break the shackles designed to restrain berserk zombies.
He slowly repositioned himself and peered as far as he could, still gasping for breath while hugging his thin arms.
His own situation wasn’t as concerning; it was Lu Zhiguang he worried about.
The two were separated.
If something unexpected were to happen, they couldn’t support each other in this evidently high-level, apocalyptic world, where danger lurked at every turn.
As he tried to break his shackles, his gaze drifted toward the door.
The narrow cell was equipped with a thick metal door with a password, the ventilation windows are the size of hands, sealed by railings, and a silver metal plaque with the number “9” hanging next on the side.
Time ticked away, and the dead silence and bleak lights eroded his willpower.
What made it even more depressing was what he saw… several teenagers locked up in the cell were all test subjects, and their numbers were on the metal tag.
Every once in a while, suitable subjects are selected for new human experiments.
In this apocalyptic world, laws were long abandoned.
Well-established labs wielded power akin to small bases, and keeping test subjects like livestock was a common sight.
However, what he saw here was undoubtedly one of the most depraved.
Immunity to zombie viruses, new drug testing, limb regeneration, mutation catalysis… And there were more classified experiments carried out on the subjects here, each one a grueling ordeal.
The teenagers, numb from countless tests, barely retained their consciousness, let alone their ability to speak or cooperate.
Gu Ai tried reaching out to join forces with them but only met with fearful, evasive eyes.
As night fell, his escape plan remained unsuccessful.
Gu Yuan’s anxiety grew.
He was nearly ready to force his way out.
At this time, he saw a delicate green vine sprouting and slipping in through the bars.
The tender bud stretched out, cautiously glancing around before turning to him.
He stayed in the corner of his cell.
A glimmer of hope lit up in Gu Yuan’s eyes as he sat up.
The sprout also noticed him and nearly darted over but stopped just in time, waving its leaves cheerfully instead.
Gu Yuan revealed a smile in his eyes, waving back at the vine.
The thin vine slid into the lock, fiddling with the code.
A “click” sounded, and the door swung open.
At the door stood a smaller version of Lu Zhiguang, whose eyes lit up when he saw Gu Yuan.
“Zhiguang, are you okay?” Seeing him, Gu Yuan’s worries vanished as he straightened up, carefully propping his body up.
“Be careful… This place is odd.
There might be traps…” “It’s fine.” Lu Deng replied casually, quickly approaching him.
His vine slipped into the shackles and unlocked them with ease.
The shackles that had tormented him all day were powerless against one move from Lu Deng’s abilities.
Gu Yuan stared at the youth, stunned.
Lu Deng then threw himself into his arms, inspecting him thoroughly.
“Zhiguang, Zhiguang… I’m fine, don’t worry…” The teenager’s hands were cold but nimble as they meticulously checked every part of his body, seemingly ready to carry him out at a moment’s notice.
Gu Yuan hugged him back, softly reassuring him.
Just then, Lu Deng’s hands brushed over his chest with focused intensity.
Realizing what Lu Deng was checking for, Gu Yuan’s smile faded slightly, though he said nothing.
He wrapped him tightly in his arms, kissing his forehead gently.
“I wasn’t taken for any experiments, Zhiguang.
Don’t worry.” Lu Deng gradually relaxed, meeting his gaze, and gripped his sleeve.
Gu Yuan often wore a robe with wide sleeves, making his little lover develop the habit of holding onto his sleeves, unwilling to let go.
Gu Yuan let him hold on, reassuring him with a gentle squeeze.
“I haven’t received any examination objectives.
What is this place, and what’s our mission?” “This is the apocalyptic world, the Dark Doctor’s lab.” Reaching out a steady, warm hand, Lu Deng stealthily led him out of the cell.
“I also haven’t received any tasks… but I can guess.” In the apocalypse, nothing was more important than survival.
Gu Yuan followed behind him without saying a word.
Watching the teenager in front of him skillfully navigate through the thick darkness, his heart fluttered faintly and he couldn’t help but look back over his shoulder.
They passed one cell after another; each was illuminated as bright as daylight, those glaring lights.
The expressionless teenagers were trapped behind thick iron bars, motionless.
Standing or sitting as though, unless touched, they would remain unmoving indefinitely.
Noticing Gu Yuan’s actions, Lu Deng stopped, turning back to look at him with a hint of confusion.
“Those…” Gu Yuan hesitated, unsure how to refer to the teenagers, and lowered his voice before speaking, “Can we help them escape?” Lu Deng tilted his head slightly, not responding immediately, silently gazing in the same direction as him.
The light was a harsh white, cold as if without a trace of any warmth.
Gu Yuan’s heart gave a sudden, faint jolt, and he took a step forward, just about to say something, but Lu Deng gently shook his head.
“We can’t take them with us.” These were not actual standard data but rather projections of memory data… A shadow of long-forgotten events, memories deliberately avoided.
Those people had been left behind in an explosion that destroyed the entire base, and what they saw now was merely the leftover images from that time.
He had previously spent some time in the Refining Space and was very familiar with its layout.
But everything in front of them was not the normal sequential steps of fighting over monsters and clear levels.
Instead, it was precisely the same as the scene from his memories.
“These are just illusions.
We can’t stay here.
We need to leave as soon as possible.” Lu Deng tightened his grip on Gu Yuan’s hand, took a deep breath, lowered his head, and spoke softly, “If I’m not mistaken, we have five days left before this place is destroyed in an explosion caused by a failed secret experiment.” When he was cast into this world, all those hidden memories had resurfaced in his mind.
Nothing in the research center could stop him.
He knew every detail of the setup here and was fully prepared for whatever was to come.
He had easily broken free, following the numbered cells along the way, and sure enough, he found Gu Yuan trapped inside.
That they would be placed together in his own memory world made him wonder what the main system was testing for and whether it would lead to a crisis as life-threatening as what his fathers had faced.
He wasn’t certain.
“Zhiguang?” Seeing the dazed look in his eyes, Gu Ai’s unease deepened.
He took a step forward, reaching out to touch him, when a sharp whistling sound cut through the air from behind.
A guard had spotted them, yelling as he activated the alarm and pulled the trigger toward them.
Lu Deng’s gaze was still slightly distant, but his reaction was quick.
With his free hand, he yanked Gu Yuan away, using his power to transform a seed into a sharp leaf blade, which he held as he lunged forward, swiftly striking down the guard.
No blood spilled.
The guard’s figure dissolved into a stream of data, quickly vanishing.
At that moment, a strange mechanical voice sounded simultaneously in their minds.
“Congratulations on entering [Refining Space].
This is a cooperative mode, with the highest difficulty scenario extracted based on database content.
Please work together to complete the task of [Surviving for Three Years].
Upon successful completion, you will receive a ‘Real World Physical Combination Package’ and permission to enter the real world.” Their eyes met, and both felt a subtle tremor in their hearts.
While Lu Deng was still processing this, Gu Yuan scooped him up into his arms with sharp eyes and agile movements, swiftly wrapped him in his coat, and leaped upward.
Gu Yuan leaped up and agilely avoided the infrared sensors with controlled and nimble movements.
He pulled open the iron fence with one hand and climbed out with Lu Deng in his arms.