223 Chapter 223: Mei (2/2)
”We should hurry. We don't know how much longer before they realize we're here…if they haven't already known there are intruders.”
”Yeah.”
The three of them left the lab and proceeded to the next one. There were quite a few rooms to choose from, so they decided to start with the nearest one, just after the door they left. Cautiously proceeding toward the door, Shun Yin waited for Glen to unlock the door, and then he pushed it open slowly and carefully.
The chamber beyond was dark, but the lights automatically came on when they stepped inside. It was surprisingly empty despite its size. The room was vast, almost like a cavern that was almost as wide as a football field.
There were several shelves with data stacks, but there weren't anything else inside the room. Rather, it resembled more of an arena…one of the training arenas that Vermillion High had for students' use.
”What kind of place is this?” Shun Yin wondered out loud, looking around in disbelief.
”Looks like a training arena to me,” Glen remarked, confirming his opinion. However, Shun Yin still had his doubts.
”Why would they need a training arena in a place like this?”
”How would I know? You should ask the Assassins, not me.”
”Nothing from your data?”
At Shun Yin's question, Glen retrieved his smartphone. The search program was still running, judging from the scrolling holographic screen that was projected to hover a few centimeters above the phone. Glen scratched his head as he skimmed through the data, but didn't find anything.
Then the holographic screen stopped scrolling. Glen's eyes widened as he read through the data, and Shun Yin quickly hurried over with Mei by his side.
”What's the matter?”
”Well, I don't know what exactly they use this room for, but my program has found out what they were trying to do with Mei here.” Even as Glen spoke, he used his fingers to expand and enlarge a specific window in the holographic screen, which featured a photograph of a black-haired Mei and several lines of text. Shun Yin leaned close to read and his eyes narrowed when he scanned through the main points of the text.
”Fucking bastards!”
”Yeah…” Glen sounded just as outraged as he stared at the hologram. ”These bastards were experimenting on her with the spirit summoning technology that our pals in the research division cooked up. Do you remember you told us how Angie was boasting about manifesting spirits in our dimension by sealing them into weapons? Well, these fucking Assassins had the bright idea to manifest spirits inside humans…using humans to host the spirits.”
”They're trying to create human weapons with the power of spirits. Of monsters.” Shun Yin was utterly horrified by the atrocity. ”And to achieve that, they have conducted human experiments. Abducted people and…”
”Surgically enhanced them, and tried to put a spirit in their bodies.” Glen glanced at Mei worriedly. ”They tried to turn her into a mermaid…a siren, by placing a water spirit inside her body. It didn't work out, and the spirit sealed inside her is slowly killing her. If we don't get it out, she will really succumb in a month or two.”
”We have to get her out of here and let your father know about this. The authorities…your clan elders.”
”Yeah. Let's see if we can get more information first. I don't know what's in the other rooms, but it's possible they are conducting other experiments…”
Before Glen could finish his sentence, the door to the vast chamber flew open. Both Glen and Shun Yin instinctively jumped back as something smashed into the floor they were standing on, penetrating the reinforced material and protruding upright. Shun Yin had managed to grab hold of Mei and carry her along with him to safety, and now he placed her on her feet and herded her behind him, standing in front of her protectively.
”Stay back,” he instructed her.
”…you're right. Looks like a couple of rats snuck in.”
A hooded figure stepped forward, her voice dripping with amusement as she stared at the two high school students from underneath the shadows her cloak cast upon her face. A second, burly cloaked figure remained behind her, bristling with hostility.
”Assassins,” Shun Yin hissed, stating the obvious. The female Assassin shrugged, even as she continued to hold the daggers in her hand.
”Intruders.” She paused for a moment as she tilted her head to study them, and then a hint of recognition entered her voice. ”I know you both. Aren't you that boy that Lady Angelica is in love with? The one that Ying Bu Si and the Grand Master wants to recruit? And the other…you're the son of Henry Porter, aren't you?”
”Wow…I'm so honored that you know me,” Glen responded dryly. Shun Yin, on the other hand, merely drew his sword in silence.
”Looks like we'll have to fight our way out.” He took a deep breath. ”I'll take the big guy. Can you handle the girl? Be careful…if she's an Assassin, then it's possible that her daggers are poisoned.”
”Will do.” Glen cocked his head with a smile. ”I don't know whether I should be glad that you're giving me the girl, though.”
”Heh.” The female Assassin giggled. ”It seems like you're misunderstanding something. Your opponent isn't us.”
”…eh?” both Shun Yin and Glen exchanged puzzled glances, but the female Assassin ignored them. Instead, she nodded to the huge figure behind her, who produced what looked like a remote control. He then pressed a red button.
There was a mechanical clang at the back of the massive room, and the walls on the far end began to slide open as gears clicked and whirred. Deep behind the wall, something enormous stirred. Shun Yin caught a glimpse of red eyes glowing in the darkness…
…and then something roared thunderously as it leaped out of its prison, its deafening voice sending reverberations throughout the vast room.