Chapter 54

The two of them descended the ladder and, upon reaching the bottom, found the space suddenly opening up into a vast underground hall. The ceiling was lit with fluorescent lights, illuminating the entire basement brightly. The two exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

Xu Mo quickly regained his composure, took Luo Ci by the hand, and walked along the wall to the right. On the other side of the basement were separate rooms, with lights shining through the windows. Xu Mo and Luo Ci walked quietly and silently.

When they reached the room next to the corridor, they crouched low and passed by the window. The door of the adjacent room was open, and Xu Mo stopped to take a look inside. There was a large window between this room and the previous one, and next to the window was a shelf with many bottles of medicine, medical supplies, and instruments.

Standing at the door of this room, they could faintly hear movement from the adjacent room, indicating that someone was inside. Xu Mo pulled Luo Ci and quietly entered the room, hiding behind the shelf. They crouched by the window and peered inside.

The window was a frosted glass, with a small gap on the left side. Through this gap, Xu Mo and Luo Ci could see into the room. In the center of the room was a surgical table, and lying on it was An Jing. Her hands, feet, and neck were restrained, and a cloth gagged her mouth, preventing her from making any sound.

Seeing her, both Xu Mo and Luo Ci were taken aback. She struggled continuously, but her limbs were locked, rendering her efforts futile. From their angle, they could see her side profile, her face filled with anger and fear, her eyes fixed on the two people in front of the surgical table.

The two people appeared to be doctors, wearing white coats and masks, making it impossible to see their faces. One of them rolled up An Jing's sleeve, wrapped a tourniquet around her arm, and then tapped her arm a few times, causing her veins to bulge. The other person held a syringe, inserted it into a glass bottle, and drew out a brownish-yellow liquid, expelling the air before approaching An Jing. He pressed her arm, felt her veins, and wiped them with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball, preparing to inject her.

An Jing's fear intensified, and she struggled even more, her eyes pleading for them to stop. However, the person paid no attention and inserted the syringe into her arm, injecting the entire brownish-yellow liquid into her body. He then pulled out the needle and wiped her arm with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.

An Jing's struggles became more violent, causing the entire surgical table to shake. A few minutes later, her body suddenly convulsed violently, her eyes rolled back, and she lay still on the table.

Xu Mo and Luo Ci looked at each other, puzzled about what the brownish-yellow liquid was and why it was injected into An Jing. After An Jing calmed down, the two doctors seemed to become more nervous, standing beside the surgical table and staring at her without blinking.

Soon, An Jing's body twitched, and then began to convulse violently. Her eyes opened, but they were lifeless. As her convulsions worsened, the surgical table shook as if it might fall apart at any moment.

The two doctors exchanged glances and bent down to hold her, one of them even pressing his entire body on her abdomen. An Jing's convulsions gradually weakened and finally stopped. She lay still on the table, and the two doctors released her, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief.

The person who had injected the syringe was sweating, clearly having been extremely nervous. He wiped his face with a few tissues and sighed deeply.

At this moment, the other person asked, "Is it done?"

The person who had injected the syringe picked up a water cup from a nearby glass table, drank some water, and checked his watch before saying, "Wait five more minutes."

Xu Mo and Luo Ci were filled with doubt, unsure of what had been injected into An Jing and what had happened to her. The scene was too bizarre, and both were filled with fear, lying still by the window, not daring to move.

The five minutes felt like an eternity to them. Finally, the person who had injected the syringe checked his watch again and nodded to the other person.

The other person reached under a table next to the surgical table and pulled out a dingy, old bell. The bell was so old that it was hard to tell what material it was made of.

Holding the bell, he looked at the person who had injected the syringe, who checked his watch again and nodded solemnly. It was clear that both were extremely nervous.

Xu Mo and Luo Ci were so tense that their hearts felt like they were about to burst. Luo Ci, watching the person's actions, couldn't help but tremble, leaning heavily on Xu Mo, her body weak and powerless, needing his support to stand.

Xu Mo glanced down at her, suddenly remembering something, and quickly covered her mouth. If she were to scream in fear, it would be over for them.

Xu Mo looked up again at the person holding the bell. The person placed the bell next to An Jing's ear and gently shook it, producing a muffled, hoarse sound, the same sound that Xu Mo and Luo Ci had heard outside the metal house.

As the bell rang, An Jing's eyes suddenly opened. Her body stiffened, as if trying to sit up, but the restraints on the surgical table prevented her from doing so.

She struggled involuntarily, and the person who had injected the syringe pressed a button on the side of the surgical table. The locks on her neck, wrists, and ankles clicked open, and An Jing sat up.

She sat straight on the surgical table, motionless, her face expressionless, her eyes vacant and lifeless.

Luo Ci struggled in Xu Mo's grip, her breathing becoming heavy. Fortunately, Xu Mo had covered her mouth, preventing her from making a sound. Her face was pale, almost lifeless, and she seemed to be in a state of shock.

Xu Mo realized that the drug the two had injected into An Jing had turned her into a living dead. He thought of the "zombies" he had seen earlier. They were not zombies at all but living people whose minds had been controlled by drugs, losing their will and acting according to others' commands, with no self-control.

In that moment, he felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss. Despite his calm breathing, his body was cold. He had never seen such an evil scene in his life and was momentarily stunned.

At that moment, the door of the adjacent room opened, and two men in their thirties walked in. One was short and thin, and from his build, it seemed he was the one who had blown the whistle in the courtyard, luring the "living dead" to surround them.

The other was tall and muscular, with a fierce and menacing appearance.

The two men walked in and glanced at An Jing. The short man looked at the person who had injected the syringe and asked, "Doctor Lan, how is she? Was it successful?" He nodded toward An Jing.

His voice was hoarse and eerie, and if heard in the dark without seeing him, it could easily be mistaken for a ghost.

Doctor Lan replied, "It's going well, but we still need to teach her conditioned reflexes. Her mind is already clouded, and only her instincts remain. She must learn that the sound of the whip is for driving her away, and the sound of the whistle is for summoning and commanding her."

The short man rubbed his hands and laughed, "That's easy, leave it to us." His laugh was sharp and unpleasant, like the cawing of a crow.

Doctor Lan looked at him and asked, "What about the others? Have you caught them?"

The short man chuckled awkwardly, "The others are temporarily missing, but don't worry. Jia Lao San is leading the 'dogs' to chase them. It's only a matter of time before we find them."

The "dogs" he referred to were clearly the living people whose minds had been controlled.

Doctor Lan glanced at him and said coolly, "Make sure nothing goes wrong. If the lady is angered, neither of us will be able to bear the consequences. Zhao Zhan's case is a precedent."

The short man's expression turned serious, and he said, "Doctor Lan is right." He paused and then asked tentatively, "What punishment did the lady give Zhao Zhan for failing to steal the Dream Powder formula?"

Doctor Lan sighed, "How can we guess the lady's thoughts?"

The short man looked at An Jing and suddenly thought of something, asking, "Will it be like her?"

Doctor Lan followed his gaze and sighed again, "If it were only like her, it would be better. But I fear..." He didn't finish his sentence, sighing deeply, his expression filled with fear and sorrow, as if he were feeling the pain of a fallen comrade.

The others were affected by the mood and remained silent for a long time.

Xu Mo, hearing this, immediately understood, "These people are indeed part of the same group as the one surnamed Zhao. But who is this 'lady' they speak of with such reverence?"