Chapter 173: 173, Disappeared experiment subject

The 113 Wall has become a vast ruin, the once-prosperous city that symbolized human civilization now reduced to ashes and smoke, rats, wild dogs, and wild cats lingering here in search of food, and in just a few dozen days, weeds have already sprouted from the cracks in the cement ground.

Yet even the rats, wild dogs, and wild cats move with caution, as if evading something terrible and unknown.

Suddenly, a small team of Qingshi combat personnel in black tactical uniforms emerged from a narrow path, their weapons held at the ready, fully armed.

The large wild cats and dogs immediately fled in panic upon seeing them, and the leader of the tactical unit made a hand signal, followed by two operatives rushing forward to probe the movements behind the massive obstacle.

The obstacle was a collapsed building.

Everything unfolded in silence, and the two vanguards signaled: no targets.

The tactical unit advanced again, and if viewed from above, the thirty-person squad resembled a colossal puma, inching forward like a creeping beast into the battlefield.

As they passed, the rear quickly filled with numerous organized tactical units, some carrying heavy weapons, and others tasked with constructing defensive fortifications.

Such infiltration formations were scattered across the northwest sector of the 113 Wall, part of Qingshi Qing Yun's First Tactical Regiment, along with remnants of the Seventh Tactical Regiment previously led by Qing Huai, now absorbed into his forces.

Qing Huai had perished in a prior ambush by experimental bodies, and now the Seventh Regiment existed only in name, its strength consumed by Qing Yun to expand his own.

Should this operation succeed, he could entirely supplant Qing Zhen's position within the Chairman's circle.

The consortium's refusal to compromise with individuals stemmed from its own formidable regenerative capacity; the Chairman's faction believed an individual's influence within the consortium was negligible, and such a vast collective of interests could only endure by trusting in organizational power, not individual prowess.

Qing Yun, positioned at the rear of the battle sequence, coldly observed the screens in the command vehicle, each displaying the progress of a tactical unit.

All proceeded smoothly, yet Qing Yun found it peculiar—the ruins were too quiet.

He turned to the middle-aged man beside him: "Deputy Li, your unit was ambushed here before?"

"Indeed," Deputy Li nodded. "The experimental bodies suddenly severed our infiltration sequence midway, dividing the battlefield in two. They knew the terrain intimately and possessed terrifying combat strength; ordinary bullets barely inflicted lethal damage. You must be cautious to prevent another ambush."

Qing Yun nodded: "Rest assured, I'm not Qing Huai. I'm waiting for them to come out."

Yet the massive tactical sequence pressed forward without encountering a single experimental body, and the city now lay unnervingly silent.

Human corpses often lined the roads, a testament to the devastation wrought by the earlier catastrophe.

The human-faced worms had vanished after attacking here, and according to intelligence, this place had become the experimental bodies' domain.

But where were the experimental bodies?

A voice crackled over the comm channel: "A massive surface fissure has been discovered, with climbing marks along its edge—likely where the experimental bodies are hiding."

"Send two tactical units to investigate," Qing Yun ordered.

The frontline commander hesitated before replying: "If they encounter the experimental bodies below, not a single one may return alive."

Qing Yun frowned: "Tactical units need not think. You will execute my will."

"Understood," the comm channel responded, its tone now calm.

Deputy Li dared not speak, unsure which unlucky souls had been dispatched.

Yet he knew returning to the 111 Wall would mean facing a military tribunal, and rather than sympathize with others, he might as well pity himself—or redeem himself in this battle. If Qing Yun could vouch for him, perhaps he could shift all blame onto the late Qing Huai.

Everyone had expected wails and gunfire from beneath the fissure, but silence persisted.

Suddenly, a frontline voice reported: "This underground cavern was once the experimental bodies' nest, forcibly excavated into a massive cave—but there's not a single one left!"

Qing Yun furrowed his brow—where had the experimental bodies gone?!

Then another voice over the comm: "In this cavern, there's a small laboratory, as if the experimental bodies moved their equipment here, and there are used syringes on the ground?!"

The words left everyone stunned, for in their minds, these experimental bodies were beasts, not beings capable of conducting experiments.

Qing Yun spoke coldly: "Retract the formation. There's likely no experimental bodies here. Bring back all syringes and equipment to the 111 Wall for sample analysis—I must know what they injected into themselves!"

After severing the comm channel, Qing Yun lifted his satellite phone to report the situation to the Chairman's faction at the 111 Wall. Now, the 113 Wall had become a ghost town, and no one knew where the thousand experimental bodies had vanished.

Yet the fact that the experimental bodies could conduct research and even self-administer serums was too shocking to comprehend.

The Chairman's faction fell into contemplation upon receiving the news, unsure of its implications.

Suddenly, a secretary entered the meeting room: "Qing Zhen has disappeared—he left the Wall in a convoy just moments ago. We suspect he was among them."

A member of the Chairman's faction scowled: "You can't even keep track of a Qing Zhen?!"

Another replied: "We must thoroughly investigate how Qing Zhen evaded surveillance. There must be a hidden pawn aiding him, or he couldn't have escaped so silently."

"Seems Qing Zhen wasn't idle either," someone sighed.

The elder asked calmly: "Which direction did the convoy head?"

"Toward the 109 Wall," the secretary replied.

"Isn't that Li's Wall? Could Qing Zhen be defecting?" someone wondered. "I suggest we pursue him immediately—Qing Zhen knows too many consortium secrets. If he defects to Li, it could deal us a devastating blow."