Chapter 135: The Laboratory
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
Fire erupted from the muzzle. The monster, weakened by the assault, was kicked away by Mason.
Mason rolled, half-kneeling on the ground, and began firing. The creature was incredibly fast; an ordinary person's reaction time probably couldn't keep up with its movement.
Although Mason wasn't primarily known for his marksmanship, he was still a skilled marksman compared to the average person. He frantically pulled the trigger, large sprays of blood erupting from the monster's body. Soon, the creature, mortally wounded, lost its ability to move and
collapsed to the ground, covered in blood.
"Splash splash splash!"
Before Mason could relax, several more splashes occurred, and four or five monsters leaped out of the underground river, blocking their path.
At this moment, Princess Nuala and the others, having heard the commotion, arrived from behind, drawing their weapons and assuming combat stances.
These monsters looked somewhat similar to the two-headed demons Mason had seen on the Scottish island.
They were simply much larger and more ferocious, with a cluster of sharp fangs in their gaping maws, four eyes on their skulls, and a scarlet tongue that seemed to be sensing something.
"Everyone be careful, this monster's body structure is different from ordinary animals. Remember to attack its head, preferably through the eyes straight to the brain."
After saying this, Mason changed his magazine and pulled the trigger.
The monsters were not only agile but also thick-skinned; stray bullets did not cause fatal wounds. By the time all the creatures were completely eliminated, the accompanying elven warriors were almost all dead.
Princess Nuala looked sorrowful, but now was not the time to grieve. After a short rest, she continued forward.
The defenses of the entire underground complex were not very tight. They advanced cautiously, and soon arrived at a place that resembled a laboratory. There, Princess Nuala also discovered the imprisoned elves.
However, Mason searched back and forth several times and found a row of sealed chambers in a corner of the laboratory.
Sleeping among the rows of robust soldiers with their eyes closed, James Barnes was conspicuously absent.
The entire laboratory exuded an eerie atmosphere; so many experimental instruments couldn't possibly be operated by just one or two people, yet Mason saw not a single researcher in the vast facility.
He flipped through the experimental records on the table, finding James Barnes's file.
After reading it, Mason slammed his fist on the table.
"Damn it!"
"Too late!"
Mary had modified Nazi biological experiments, participating in numerous trials. The Winter Soldier Mason had encountered with Ivanovich was one of the experimental products from an earlier batch.
The sum of all the experimental results finally yielded her desired improvement—the so-called perfect Winter Soldier!
Powerful, cold-blooded, loyal!
And James Barnes was the true ultimate result of this experiment!
"Sir, you'd better come and take a look."
Mason was lost in thought when Agent One suddenly interrupted him. He followed Agent One to the other side of the laboratory, where there was a hidden room.
Mason turned on the interior lights and peered through the glass door. In the small, less than 200-square-foot room, countless gruesome corpses were piled up.
They were all wearing white lab coats, clearly staff members. Remembering the experimental data he'd seen earlier, Mason had a theory.
It seemed Mary had completed her experiment; after processing the data, she no longer needed anyone else's assistance, so she gathered all the researchers together and killed them all.
Just then, he heard Princess Nuala's weeping from the other side of the laboratory. Mason quickly walked towards the sound, but before he could get close, he was stopped by the fierce Mr. Wink.
"Stay there, human!" Mr. Wink's gaze towards Mason was filled with endless grief and murderous intent.
"Let him in, this is none of his doing," Princess Nuala sobbed from inside the room.
Mason went inside and found three elves lying on the examination tables. They had been repeatedly dissected; their bodies were mangled beyond recognition, and most of their tissues and organs were missing.
"A total of 17 clan members were captured, plus the three here, making a total of four dead."
"But I only found nine of them in the holding cells. I can't find the other three anywhere."
"The other clan members don't know where the other three went either."
Mason sighed and placed a hand on Princess Nuala's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find them."
Princess Nuala wiped away her tears and looked up at Mason. "What about your friend? Have you found him?"
Mason shook his head. "I'm too late. He was taken for enhancement, and he probably doesn't even recognize me now."
Just then, a voice suddenly came from the speaker in the laboratory. "Tsk tsk, some uninvited guests. Are they here to provide me with new test subjects?"
"Great master, let my creations play with them for a while," Mary said in a sultry voice.
"They haven't even been field tested yet since they were completed."
"Haha, well, you should be grateful, because you'll have the chance to witness the terror of the Winter Soldiers!"
As soon as Issa Gregory finished speaking, the sealed chambers placed in the corner suddenly opened, the liquid inside drained, and tall, cold-faced soldiers stepped out.
"Agent One, go test their strength."
Hearing Mason's order, Agent One flipped a table and slammed it down on the head of a soldier standing in front of him.
Facing Agent One's attack, the soldier nimbly dodged to the side, then quickly closed in and punched Agent One in the ribs. A flash of pain crossed Agent One's face, and he dropped the table and elbowed back.
The two quickly became entangled in combat. In terms of strength, Agent One clearly had the advantage, but the soldier was agile, attacking from multiple angles. Just then, another soldier joined the fight.
Two fists can't beat four hands, and Agent One quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.
Mason nodded internally. The bio-soldiers, enhanced by Mary, were incredibly powerful, almost on par with the Winter Soldier from the movies.
Agent One could hold his own against one, maybe two, but would be overwhelmed by three.
He was determined to take this experimental base. If he could copy the experimental data from Mary and give it to Dr. Zola, combined with Hydra's previous enhancement projects, he should be able to significantly improve the capabilities of the original nine agents,
making them truly capable of operating independently.
At this point, Agent One was showing signs of defeat, so Mason didn't hesitate any longer and shouted,
"Fall back!"
He plunged into the battle.
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