When the two of them entered this area, they believed they had prepared themselves mentally. They thought that no matter what scene appeared inside, they would be able to control their inner emotions and wouldn't lose their cool.
But when they saw the sight of what should have been the testing area—even though they had been vaguely informed of the situation by others—the two of them were rendered speechless by the scene before them.
What they saw was a room resembling a morgue; there was nothing else in this room except corpses. They saw all sorts of bodies soaked in unknown liquids, floating powerlessly in specimen jars that filled the room like so many dead fish.
"These animals... who on earth gave them the nerve to dare do these things in this city!"
Ch'en's body trembled uncontrollably. Her hand gripped Chi Xiao, which was slung behind her, with a death grip. She tried her best to remain calm, but the murderous intent in her eyes could not be hidden.
She, Ch'en Hui-chieh, had served in the Lungmen Guard Department for many years, and during that time, she had encountered countless bastards and villains. Because of these cases, she believed that no matter what kind of situation she faced, she could maintain sufficient composure. But now, she realized she couldn't.
Right now, she desperately wanted to find the mastermind responsible for this tragedy, then use her blade to finely mince them into meat sauce and plaster it onto the head of that Ursus supervisor from Rhine Gold.
As for Jeanne beside her, not a single expression could be seen on her face at this moment. However, an aura resembling the awakening of some terrifying prehistoric beast gradually coiled around her body. That aura was like the roar of a mad dragon created by rage. Currently, Jeanne was like the incarnation of hatred itself; even her breath made those around her shudder involuntarily.
One of her hands was resting on the hilt of her Catherine sword, which had turned black. At this moment, she desperately wanted to light a fire and reduce this entire place and the researchers within to absolute ash.
Hoshiguma looked at the two women, both seething with rage, and couldn't help but sigh. She knew exactly that this would happen. Or rather, having spent many years rolling and crawling through the slums, she herself wanted to punch every one of those people into a pancake upon seeing this scene. It would be a miracle if the two of them could remain peaceful.
"Have all the researchers hiding here been caught? I want to know which scholar dared to do such a thing!"
Ch'en scanned the surroundings and realized she didn't see a single Rhine Gold staff member. But how could such a massive laboratory be empty! The blood flowing from the corpse on the nearby operating table hadn't even coagulated yet! Furthermore, the people who had fled earlier didn't seem to include anyone who looked like a researcher. These people must be hiding here; which hidden corner had they crawled into?
"The vast majority have been caught. Our people took them to a corner, intending to have a good 'discussion' with them about the situation here..."
When Hoshiguma spoke, she intentionally emphasized the word "discussion." It sounded as if she was secretly regretting not participating in that "friendly" discussion herself. If she had gone, with her years of experience in the underworld, she could guarantee those people would remember who their ancestors were without causing any particularly obvious injuries.
Hearing this, Jeanne concentrated on listening to her surroundings. With her exceptional hearing, she could indeed hear some faint sounds, as if someone's mouth had been stuffed shut. From those subtle screams and the various noises nearby, it seemed the LGD officers responsible for the interrogation weren't exactly in a good mood either; they were likely being quite heavy-handed!
"Most of the researchers have been apprehended now. Only one person managed to escape using unknown means; that supervisor should be with him." Swire, seeing Ch'en and the other two walk in, began to explain the specific situation of the place.
One could tell from her expression that Swire was very unhappy that someone had escaped. But after seeing this situation, few people could keep their moods from being affected.
"That doctor is named Donald Rohm, the primary manager of this classified research lab. In fact, even the so-called supervisor of this company has less say here than this doctor."
As she spoke, Swire handed the intelligence report to the three of them. The photo on it showed a yellow-haired Feline. Although he was a researcher from Columbia and information on him was very scarce, Swire had still used her network to dig up everything this guy had ever done.
"When this guy was working at Rhine Lab in Columbia, he spearheaded a type of experiment involving the Infected. He secretly went to the slums to use the people there directly as samples..."
Swire read the information from the file, trying her best to restrain herself from shouting out in anger in a place like this.
"He was fired because his experiments caused an unknown riot among the Infected in Columbia. Later, he was recruited by Rhine Gold and joined the company as a senior researcher... [Yan Profanity], why won't this guy just die already!"
Seeing such a light punishment, Swire couldn't help but curse. She couldn't understand why Columbia had let this guy go after he had done such a thing. Furthermore, how did this guy enter Lungmen? Why had the LGD never heard of such a dangerous individual? Could he have smuggled himself in as well?
Because the data had just arrived, Swire had immediately brought it over for them to see, so she hadn't known the contents herself. Now that she had read it, Swire felt her blood pressure soaring.
"Is it possible to know exactly what he did? If even Columbia glossed over it so vaguely, it seems it wasn't a small matter."
Jeanne looked at the reason for his dismissal: causing a riot among the Infected? Was Columbia really trying to fool people that much? They were even hiding the detailed circumstances of the time. Who would believe that Columbia hadn't been involved in this at all? It was likely another experiment they had secretly supported, and when things went sideways, they used this researcher as a scapegoat.
"I don't know. No matter how much I check, I can't find the specifics of what happened. It seems there are quite a few powerful forces involved behind him!" Swire shook her head. Information on this guy was extremely hard to find. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to resort to every possible method, eventually relying on a well-informed friend to track him down.
If she went through official channels, she couldn't find anything useful. Even if she asked her family's local enterprises, their answer was always that they had never heard of him. This was quite ridiculous; this guy caused a riot in Columbia, yet there was no valuable information about him at all! What exactly did he do back then?
"Then we'll just have to ask the man himself! He hasn't run far yet; we can still bring him to justice if we go now!"
With that, Jeanne walked straight toward the largest laboratory. Right now, the target was likely hiding in a secret room in the corner—which was nothing to Jeanne! Don't even talk about hiding in a secret room; given the heinous crimes this guy had committed, Jeanne would dig him out even if he hid inside the sun!
If only for the sake of the innocent souls of the Infected who had died miserable deaths because of him, there was absolutely no possibility of Jeanne letting him go!
Ch'en watched Jeanne walk toward a specific spot and followed closely behind. At the thought that the person who caused all this tragedy still existed, her grip on Chi Xiao grew tighter and tighter. As for Swire and Hoshiguma, they said nothing upon seeing Ch'en like this. The two of them followed behind the other two, weapons in hand, walking toward the lab with murderous intent.
After arriving at the lab, Jeanne glanced at the surroundings. She took out her pitch-black sword and gestured against a wall, tracing a pattern the size of a double door. As the sword drew on the steel wall, it didn't make a single sound, showing just how sharp the blade was.
"This is the place, Officer Ch'en! Just use your Chi Xiao to hack out a door!"
As the words fell, Chi Xiao unsheathed from Ch'en's hand in an instant. With several flashes of sword light, the pattern was sliced clean from the wall.
Inside was a secret room, and the three people within indeed included the Ursus supervisor and that animalistic Dr. Donald. The three people on the opposite side also wore very strange expressions.