Chu Huaying was not surprised by Xiao Lou's answer. She nodded to Xiao Lou and said, "When I sneaked out of the lab just now, I marked each fork in the road with a spider dagger. I can lead everyone back the way we came."
She paused, looked at Lu Jiuchuan, and said seriously, "But are you sure you want to go to the lab? There are a lot of advanced Zerg there. The seven of us are definitely no match for them. I only managed to sneak out thanks to the Invisibility Cloak... Are your cloaks still usable?"
Lu Jiuchuan shook his head helplessly: "It's already been used."
Chu Huaying frowned: "So, you're planning to force your way in?"
Xiao Lou looked into her eyes and said seriously, "Our mission in this secret room is to end the clone project and destroy the related laboratories. We have no choice but to go; this is our only chance." He turned to look at Yu Hanjiang and asked softly, " Hanjiang, what do you think?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "The Zerg problem must be solved. Hua Ying, lead the way."
Chu Huaying stopped hesitating and simply said, "Okay, come with me."
She turned and walked forward, with six people quickly following behind her.
The underground insectoid caves are damp and cold, with extremely narrow passages that can only accommodate one adult at a time. Most of the area is only about 1.7 meters high, so people taller than 1.8 meters have to walk with their backs bent.
Lu Jiuchuan followed closely behind Chu Huaying, then Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou, Shao Qingge, and Ye Qi. Tang Ci brought up the rear of the group, summoning a drone to survey the surrounding environment at any time.
When they arrived at the fork in the road ahead, they indeed saw a spider-shaped mark on the wall.
This mark is very special; a deep mark was carved into the hard stone—only Chu Huaying's S-rank weapon [ Spider Dagger ] could carve such a deep mark on the stone wall.
Lu Jiuchuan glanced back at Yu Hanjiang, then gestured with his chin, indicating that he should look at the markings on the wall. Yu Hanjiang focused his gaze on the spider markings without saying a word.
Chu Huaying warned, "Everyone, watch your step, the path here is not easy to walk on."
The cave is filled with countless winding paths, enough to make anyone with a poor sense of direction dizzy. This confirms Xiao Lou's earlier speculation that the underground labyrinth of the Zerg cave is indeed a "spider web" structure. Without a guide, it would take them a whole day to explore such a vast underground labyrinth on their own.
Chu Huaying said that she escaped from the laboratory and marked the way with a dagger. Now, she is following the spider marks back the way she came, so she doesn't have to worry about getting lost.
She led everyone through more than a dozen forks in the road, turning left and right.
After a brief moment of joy, she stopped at a three-way intersection and whispered, "It's just ahead."
The six immediately perked up their ears. At the fork in the road, Chu Huaying chose the left path. The group followed her for a few steps, and the cave in front of them suddenly opened up. The narrow passage that could only accommodate one person had become a cave of about twenty square meters. The spacious space was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and you could even hear the breathing of your teammates next to you.
A metal door appeared in front of the cave. Chu Huaying pointed to it, indicating with her eyes that it was the location of the laboratory. Lu Jiuchuan strode to the door and asked, "How do we open this door?"
Chu Huaying said, "They opened it using a pattern lock."
She walked to Lu Jiuchuan's side, stretched out her index finger and drew a shape on the door, and the door opened.
Lu Jiuchuan looked into the room—it was a wide passageway. Compared to the uneven floor in the cave, this place had clearly been carefully renovated. The floor was covered with smooth tiles, and lights were on in the ceiling. Some sophisticated instruments were neatly arranged inside, making it look like a human scientific laboratory.
Chu Huaying said, "These should be instruments for extracting genes. The laboratory is very large, with several rooms inside, which are experimental areas for soaking clones. I was locked inside after being anesthetized."
Lu Jiuchuan turned around and nodded to Yu Hanjiang, and several teammates quickly followed.
Just as Tang Ci, who was at the back of the group, entered the laboratory, the door behind him suddenly closed. Chu Huaying was about to explain when, before she could even turn around, she felt a sharp pain in her neck—
A flash of white light appeared in her vision, followed by a dizzying spin. Her head rolled to the ground, and her eyes happened to see her own neck, which had been cleanly severed.
Chu Huaying gaped in shock: "??!!"
Yu Hanjiang held a sharp military knife in his hand, his eyes cold as ice, and Chu Huaying's terrified face was reflected in the blade.
Without hesitation, he chopped off Chu Huaying's head with a single stroke!
Yu Hanjiang held a military knife in his right hand and took a card holder from Chu Huaying's pocket with his left.
Almost simultaneously, the ceiling of the laboratory suddenly opened up, revealing a black hole, and countless red crystals, shaved into sharp arrows, fell like a torrential rain!
The dense barrage of arrows hitting people would definitely turn them into hedgehogs in an instant.
In an enclosed space, there is nowhere to escape.
Xiao Lou shouted "Retreat!" and the six people instantly turned into light and disappeared.
One second later, the six of them returned to the place where they had just met Chu Huaying.
The cave was eerily quiet; he could clearly hear his own rapid heartbeat. Ye Qi, pale-faced, exhaled and said in a trembling voice, "That was too dangerous, and..."
"Clone led us into a trap... Luckily, Professor Xiao had prepared an escape route beforehand. Before following her, she left Li Qingzhao's mark. Otherwise, we'd be riddled with bullets by now."
The brothers Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang were very in sync. With just a glance from Jiuchuan, Yu Hanjiang knew that this Chu Huaying was fake. So, he and Xiao Lou staged a play to lull Clone into a false sense of security and take back Chu Huaying's card holder.
Hunter's plan to lure everyone into a trap using clones has failed once again.
Yu Hanjiang handed the card holder he had just received to Lu Jiuchuan and said, "Brother Jiu, Hua Ying's card holder has been stolen by them, and Spider Dagger is actually in Clone's hands. Hua Ying may be in great danger now."
Xiao Lou said, "I guess the real Hua Ying has already escaped."
Ye Qi asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"
Xiao Lou analyzed, "If she is unconscious, Hunter can easily lock her in that trap laboratory we just saw. We spend a lot of time navigating the maze and finally find her, but since she is unconscious, we can't be sure if she is real or not. If Hunter then activates the mechanism, we will not only have to dodge the rain of arrows, but also protect the unconscious Chu Huaying. The probability of being wiped out will be even higher."
Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes and agreed, " Professor Xiao is right. If we hadn't discovered that Chu Huaying was problematic, we wouldn't have left Li Qingzhao's mark in advance and teleported away. We might have really been trapped in that laboratory."
Xiao Lou looked at his teammates and said, " Hunter's decision to send a fake Chu Huaying to lead the way is not a safe one. As CEO Shao said, once we see through the fake Huaying, it will be easier to prepare in advance."
Yu Hanjiang understood his meaning and said, "You mean, since the real Hua Ying has already escaped, the Hunter is worried that we will encounter the real Hua Ying first, so he sent a fake one to lure us into a trap?"
Xiao Lou nodded: "Otherwise, there's no need for him to send a fake Chu Huaying to guide us. Letting us figure things out on our own, wandering through the maze for hours, and then dealing with us when we're exhausted would give him a better chance of winning."
Xiao Lou's teammates all agreed that his analysis made sense.
If Chu Huaying hadn't suddenly escaped, Hunter really wouldn't have needed to go to the trouble of sending a fake one to mislead everyone. Simply controlling the real one and luring everyone to the rescue would have made it much easier to lure Xiao Lou and the others into the trap.
Lu Jiuchuan said with a grim face, " Hua Ying is definitely still in this maze. We need to find her as soon as possible."
Xiao Lou said, "Let's try going in another direction."
Just now, the fake Chu Huaying led them around in circles, ending up in a trap. The real laboratory is definitely in another direction. However, there are just too many underground passages in the Spider Cave, so Xiao Lou can only try to navigate in the opposite direction based on his memory.
The group walked forward for a while.
After turning more than a dozen corners, Lu Jiuchuan heard very light footsteps coming from the other side of the corridor. He held his breath, and just as the other person approached, he suddenly reached out, decisively grabbed the person's shoulder, and forcefully pulled them towards him—
The person who was forcibly dragged over was actually Chu Huaying.
She paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and said, "Ninth Brother... Professor Xiao? What are you doing here?"
Lu Jiuchuan released her and laughed, "It was actually you?"
He glanced back at Yu Hanjiang, who understood and walked up to Chu Huaying, asking in a low voice, "Did you escape from the lab?"
Chu Huaying said, "I don't know if that place is a laboratory. They locked me in a sealed room. I took advantage of their inattention, knocked out the two Space Pirates guarding me, and escaped." She frowned slightly, looked around, and said, "The maze is so winding that I'm dizzy and can't find the exit."
Xiao Lou asked, "Then can you find your way back?"
Chu Huaying thought for a moment and said, "It should be fine. After I ran out, I just went left at every fork in the road, and to go back the way I came, I just kept going right." She looked at Xiao Lou with some surprise: "What, you're going back?"
Xiao Lou explained, "We need to find the clone lab as soon as possible. The place where you're being held is very likely the lab. Could you please lead the way?"
Without hesitation, Chu Huaying immediately turned around and led the way.
After passing several intersections, another door appeared before them. Chu Huaying led everyone to the door and opened it, saying, "This should be it..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Jiuchuan suddenly twisted her arm, shoved her into the secret room, and slammed the door shut.
Almost as soon as the door was closed, a deafening explosion rang out from inside the house!
Xiao Lou and his group of six teleported back to the spot where they had just met Chu Huaying. Ye Qi's lips were deathly pale. He clenched his fists, barely suppressing his anger, and said, "Another clone! How many fakes are there?"
Xiao Lou looked at him helplessly and said, "Has Xiao Ye ever played Minesweeper?"
Ye Qi was taken aback: "You mean..."
Xiao Lou nodded—using clones to eliminate traps is like playing Minesweeper on a computer.
Once all the traps have been eliminated, what remains is naturally the real laboratory.
Xiao Lou's face was grave as he looked at Lu Jiuchuan: "Ninth Brother, you absolutely cannot admit the mistake."
Lu Jiuchuan nodded: "Don't worry, I 've known Chu Huaying for so long, and she always covers for me during the Weekly Secret Chamber. How could I not be able to tell the difference between her and a fake?"
Although Ye Qi didn't know how Ninth Brother distinguished between them, he, Shao Qingge, Xiao Lou, and Yu Hanjiang hadn't had much contact with Chu Huaying, so they couldn't tell the difference between truth and falsehood and could only rely on Ninth Brother's eyes to make a judgment.
Anyway, Ninth Brother looked back at Yu Han
Jiang's gaze speaks for itself; that's enough for everyone.
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, "Let's continue. I wonder how many Chu Huaying he'll send to interfere with us."
******