Chapter 443: Exploring Stonecutter's Mountain At Night

The road went all the way north, leading them toward Stonecutter’s Mountain north of Jerusalem. It was an industrial zone similar to those high-tech industrial parks.

Moving along the road, the members of Meteor Rock Guild moved as fast as they could. Although there were people like Qimu Xi and Will, who had not enhanced their bodies before within their group, there were others to help them. Lun Tai carried Qimu Xi as he ran while Xia Xiaolei carried Will. Thus, their speed of travel was not too slow.

It took them only around seven to eight minutes before the industrial park appeared before their eyes. Flat shaped industrial units exuding an industrial atmosphere filled the park.

“We are close!” Lun Tai shouted to raise the group’s morale. He also glanced at Roddy. Roddy continued to put some distance between him and the others; while he appeared no different, a careful look by Lun Tai revealed that there was something different with Roddy.

He could feel that Roddy’s rate of breathing had begun turning ragged.

The members that have enhanced their bodies with the Genetic Enhancement Serum before possessed physical attributes far superior to that of average humans. Running at full speed for seven to eight minutes only caused sweat to trickle down the foreheads of Lun Tai, Qiao Qiao and the others, their rate of breathing stable. Roddy, on the other hand, had begun to pant.

Lun Tai determined that Roddy was attempting to hide that fact. He was forcing himself to his limit so that they would not become distressed.

In the night, the industrial units were silence and dark and the illumination was faint. It seemed there were only sporadic points of illumination available, which casted a silent atmosphere upon the entire industrial park.

The scene was quite spooky. However, considering the fact that this was part of the instance dungeon, Lun Tai reasoned that the system must have cleared the area of ordinary humans as it had done with Jerusalem.

They continued running until they reached the edge of the industrial park. Fence walls could be seen there. Clearly, the level of security here was not low. There were fence walls, surveillance cameras and keep out signboards.

Lun Tai quickly pulled out his tools. He cut a way through the fence wall and led the others inside.

They rushed into the nearest industrial unit and saw that the large industrial unit was empty. Unexpectedly, this industrial unit did not have a single machine.

“This looks like a vacant industrial unit.” Lun Tai glanced around and found the power switch. However, after pulling it, there was no response. It seemed as though the power to this industrial unit had been cut off.

Lun Tai furrowed his brows and turned to look at Qiao Qiao and Roddy. Roddy did not say anything and leaned against the wall with both hands placed on his knees as he lowered his head and gasped for breath.

Qiao Qiao said in a hushed tone, “I will go check the surroundings to see if we can find a car.”

“Don’t go alone. Xiaolei, go with her! From now onward, don’t move alone!” After saying that, Lun Tai nodded toward Xia Xiaolei, who replied, “I understand. Keep an eye on safety and our position. Once there is any danger, call out immediately.”

Qiao Qiao moved over and looked at Roddy. She said in a heavy voice, “Hold on!”

Roddy looked up and forced out a laugh. “Don’t worry. I have no plans on dying early. Don’t forget, I am going to become the godfather of you and Xiaolian’s first child.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes turned red. She quickly turned around and moved out to search for a car. Xia Xiaolei, with a gun in his hand, followed her.

“Qimu Xi, be on the alert and keep an eye on the door!” Lun Tai gave the order to Qimu Xi. Next, he had Soo Soo look after Will – there was an advantage in the industrial unit being empty. There were only two entry and exit points and no windows for the unit. It did not require many people to defend.

After that, Lun Tai turned to Roddy. As he leaned closer, Roddy shook his head. “Don’t come too close.”

“How do you feel?”

Roddy smiled bitterly. “Not too good.” He pointed to his chest and said, “I am having difficulty breathing and my chest feels tight. I feel like I had just finished a marathon.”

After giving it some thought, Lun Tai brought out a medical kit from his Storage Watch.

“I will do it myself.” Roddy gestured for Lun Tai to back away before taking the thermometer from the kit to measure his temperature. He also picked up the other devices for his blood pressure and conventional paper strip tests.

“Body temperature at 41 degrees, heart rate… … 45 per minute.” Roddy gave another bitter smile. “No wonder I feel a little dizzy. My heart is beating so slowly. There must be a lack of blood somehow. A low blood pressure and a high fever at the same time. That is weird.”

After considering his options, Lun Tai brought out a healing substance for Roddy, who hesitated a moment before swallowing it down.

Next, Roddy lifted his arm to reveal that he was wearing something similar to an i-watch. He started its recording function and looked at the time before quickly speaking up, “Infected by an unknown virus. It has been 19 minutes and my body temperature has increased while my blood pressure dropped. Blood cell indices temporarily unknown. From what I can personally feel, my strength has declined and breathing has become more difficult. But for now, I am still able to think clearly.”

“What are you doing?”

“Making a record,” whispered Roddy. “If I die, I can at least leave a recording. If anyone else gets infected, it might prove useful somehow.”

“… … you…”

Roddy sighed. He then raised his head to look Lun Tai in the eyes and said in a hushed tone, “Just now, Qiao Qiao was around so I did not say anything. However, you should be clear that our present situation is very bad. It has been 20 minutes since I was infected. So, I only have 70 minutes left and we still haven’t found any information or clues about this.”

After a pause, Roddy continued in a whisper, “Don’t forget, those virulent zombies earlier were all Awakened ones! They were not ordinary humans, but an entire guild of them was done in!”

Lun Tai was lost for words. After grasping around for something to say, he finally said, “Don’t say that.”

“Fine, maybe a miracle will appear.” Roddy sighed. “Who the Hell could have guessed that something like this would happen in a [B] class instance dungeon?”

Lun Tai clenched his fists tightly and a heavy feeling of remorse grew within his heart…

…

Qiao Qiao ran quickly through the industrial units. Whenever she encountered a locked door, she would kick it down.

So far, she had already searched through three industrial units but was unable to find any vehicles. This result made her anxious and furious.

Among all the members of their guild, Roddy was the earliest to befriend her. Even more so compared to Chen Xiaolian. They were both good friends to begin with. At present, seeing Roddy infected by the virus made it impossible for her to say calm.

Quickly find a vehicle and hurry over to Tel Aviv. When the new quest is issued, we might find the clues to find the antidote. That was what Qiao Qiao was thinking.

Xia Xiaolei followed closely behind Qiao Qiao. Naturally, Xiaolei could sense Qiao Qiao’s anxiousness. Truth be told, he was also feeling the same thing.

“Sister Qiao Qiao! Up front!” Xia Xiaolei suddenly turned his flashlight and pointed it in the northeast direction.

Qiao Qiao looked over and saw a small three-storey building around 50 metres away. It was situated behind an industrial unit and took up quite a bit of space despite only having three storeys.

They saw that they were facing the back of the building.

“That place must be the office for management. There might be a parking lot there!” said Qiao Qiao as her eyes lit up.

She quickly rushed over with Xia Xiaolei following right behind her.

Qiao Qiao ran quickly and Xia Xiaolei was only barely able to keep up with her. However, after running a distance of roughly 20 metres, Xia Xiaolei suddenly turned tense. He felt a chilling breeze blowing at the back of his left side and he jerked his head back. He seemingly saw a silhouette flash through the industrial park there.

It was very vague and he was unable to be certain if he actually saw it.

He narrowed his eyes and looked carefully but found nothing.

“Xiaolei! What are you dawdling about for? Hurry!” Qiao Qiao, who was in front, found that Xia Xiaolei had slowed down and she quickly shouted for him. Xia Xiaolei shook his head and dashed after her.

According to his personal radar, there was no abnormality.

Did I make a mistake? Or maybe it is just a stray cat?

Xia Xiaolei was a little boy from the mountains after all. He was still young and had not experienced much in the big cities.

This high-tech industrial park was equipped with a high level of security. Under normal circumstances, creatures like stray cats and dogs would never appear here.

The two of them reached the back of the building. However, Qiao Qiao, who was too anxious, had no desire to go around to the door in front. She simply smashed her way through the glass wall and Xia Xiaolei followed behind her.

Somewhere around tens of metres behind them, up on the roof of an industrial unit was a curled up silhouette. The silhouette’s body hugged the surface of the roof tightly. Within the darkness, its two eyes that were different in colour stared at the two disappearing figures.

One of the eyes was green in colour while the other was red.

…

After rushing into the building, Qiao Qiao and Xia Xiaolei ran through a corridor to the front side of the building. When they reached there, Qiao Qiao became disappointed… the entrance was there and so was the industrial unit, outside the building. However, the parking lot they were hoping to see was not there.

“Check the basement! There might be an underground parking garage!” Qiao Qiao turned around to look at the signboard in the lobby. A few seconds later, a trace of joy appeared on her face. “This is a production industrial unit for a pharmaceutical company and this place is their research and development centre. Those who get to work here are certainly people with high-income. I am certain we will be able to find a vehicle here! Hurry! Let us go find the parking garage!”

…

Lun Tai checked the time anxiously. Finally, he got a call from Qiao Qiao through the guild channel.

“Lun Tai! We found a vehicle, but… … the vehicle is a little damaged. Xiaolei and I have no way of repairing it. Bring Roddy over! With his mechanical skill, he might be able to start this thing up! We are presently northwest of your current position. Just head northwest after going out the door and you will see a three-storey building. We will be waiting for you in the lobby. Hurry!”

After receiving the message, Lun Tai replied with a “I got it.” He felt slightly relieved.

Roddy looked up at Lun Tai. “I received it as well. Let us go.”

Lun Tai called Qimu Xi over. Then, together with Soo Soo and Will, they left the industrial unit.

Will appeared fearful. However, with Lun Tai leading him, he was able to calm himself down somewhat. Even so, his face remained very pale.

“Don’t be afraid. We will protect you.” Lun Tai reached out with his big hands and patted Will on the head.

Bringing the others with him, Lun Tai was able to quickly find the building that Qiao Qiao mentioned. They rushed into the lobby and found Qiao Qiao and Xia Xiaolei waiting there.

“Come! Downstairs! I found a basement where there is a vehicle for us!”

After saying that, Qiao Qiao led them into a corridor. There at the end of the corridor was a security door.

As Qiao Qiao was leading them toward the security door, Will, who was beside Lun Tai, suddenly gave a sharp scream.

The little kid gave a high-pitched scream of terror and he shuddered before jumping toward Lun Tai’s back. He shrank his trembling body.

“What is it?” asked Lun Tai with a frown.

Will pointed toward the security door. “Th… the…. There! It is there! It is right there!”

Lun Tai stepped forward with a frown on his face and looked forward. There was nothing before the security door, not a figure in sight.

However, Qiao Qiao, who was beside him, suddenly tensed up.

She recalled something… … Will could see… … ‘invisible things’!

…