northernbook Chapter 485: Escape
Chapter 485: Escape
The basement was filled with all kinds of experimental equipment, test tubes, beakers, alcohol lamps... piled up messily on the table. There were rows of metal shelves on the wall, filled with glass containers, and some strange biological specimens were soaked in the containers. Some specimens could be vaguely identified as human organs, but most of them were twisted, indescribable pieces of flesh floating in the turbid liquid, which made people shudder.
Zhang Ling's match burned out, and the basement fell into darkness again. He quickly lit another match and continued to observe the surrounding environment. He noticed that there were some documents and materials piled in the corner of the basement, and perhaps he could find some useful information from them.
Just then, a slight sound of footsteps came from a distance, breaking the silence in the basement.
"Someone is here!" Lao Hu said in a low voice, his hands tightly gripping the Mauser pistol at his waist.
Zhang Ling also heard the footsteps, and he quickly extinguished the match, and the basement fell into darkness again. The two leaned against the cold wall, holding their breath, and listened carefully to the footsteps.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and there seemed to be more than one person.
"Tap, tap, tap..." The sound of leather shoes hitting the ground echoed in the empty basement, and it was particularly clear.
Zhang Ling's heart was beating violently, and he felt his palms were full of sweat. He held the dagger tightly, ready to fight at any time.
Suddenly, a beam of strong light pierced the darkness and illuminated the entrance to the basement. Two islanders in white coats appeared at the door, holding flashlights and rifles in their hands.
"Who is it?!" one of the islanders shouted.
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu did not answer, they knew that once exposed, they would be dead.
The two islanders walked into the basement cautiously, guns raised, and shone their flashlights around, seemingly looking for something.
"Strange, I clearly heard someone coming in just now..." said a little islander.
"Could it be a rat?" said another islander.
"No way, mice don't make that much noise."
The two islanders continued to search the basement, and their footsteps were getting closer and closer.
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu hid in a dark corner, not daring to move. They knew that this was a matter of life and death, and they would be discovered if they were not careful.
Suddenly, a small islander stopped near the corner where they were hiding.
"There seems to be something here..." He shone the flashlight into the corner.
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu's hearts were in their throats, and they were ready to fight to the death.
At this critical moment, a loud noise suddenly came from the distance, and the entire basement shook.
"What's going on?!" The two islanders were startled and quickly turned around and ran towards the entrance.
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu took advantage of this opportunity and rushed out from the corner.
"Don't let them run away!" Zhang Ling shouted and chased after the two islanders.
Lao Hu followed closely behind, the Mauser pistol in his hand spurting out angry flames.
"Bang! Bang!" Two gunshots were heard, and a little islander fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the other islander quickly turned his gun around and shot at Zhang Ling and Lao Hu.
"Da da da..." Bullets whizzed past Zhang Ling and Lao Hu's ears, hit the wall, and splashed sparks.
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu dodged the bullets and continued to chase forward.
At the entrance to the basement, another islander had already run to the door. He was about to open the door and escape when suddenly a hand reached out from behind and covered his mouth.
The islander struggled desperately, but the hand was clamped tightly around his mouth like an iron clamp, preventing him from making any sound.
Then, a sharp dagger pierced his back.
The islander's eyes widened and his body slowly fell to the ground.
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu chased to the door and saw the little islander lying on the ground. They couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Finally solved..." Old Hu said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Zhang Ling walked to the body of the islander, squatted down, and searched a bunch of keys from him.
"It seems that this is the key to Unit 731..." Zhang Ling looked at the key in his hand and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, a shrill scream came from deep in the basement...
The rusty iron door made a creaking sound, and Zhang Ling and Lao Hu held their breath and entered the basement. A pungent smell of medicine hit them in the face, choking their throats and making them cough a few times. It was pitch dark in the basement, and the damp and cold air seemed to be frozen.
"What the hell is this place?" Old Hu cursed in a low voice, covering his nose, "The smell is worse than a toilet!"
Zhang Ling ignored Lao Hu's complaints, took out a lighter, and carefully polished the flint. The faint flame flickered, illuminating a corner of the basement. What came into view were rows of metal shelves filled with all kinds of strange glass containers. Some biological specimens were soaked in the containers, which looked particularly strange under the light of the fire. Some specimens could be vaguely identified as human organs, but most of them were distorted and deformed biological tissues that could not be recognized at all.
Lao Hu approached a container and observed it carefully by the light of the fire. In the container was a huge heart, with dense blood vessels on the surface, still beating slightly.
"Damn, this thing is still jumping!" Lao Hu exclaimed, and took a few steps back. "This islander is really fucking perverted!"
Zhang Ling frowned, he felt that there was a huge secret hidden in this basement. He held up the lighter and slowly scanned the surrounding environment. In addition to those disgusting specimens, he also saw some experimental equipment, scalpels, tweezers, test tubes, etc., scattered on the table, as if someone had just used them.
Suddenly, a light sound of footsteps came from a distance, breaking the silence in the basement.
"Someone!" Old Hu said in a low voice and grabbed Zhang Ling's arm.
Zhang Ling quickly blew out the match, and the basement fell into darkness again. The two held their breath and listened attentively for the footsteps. The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and seemed to be coming towards them.
"What should we do?" Lao Hu asked nervously, his palms full of sweat.
Zhang Ling didn't say anything, he motioned for Lao Hu to hide behind a metal rack. The two of them pressed tightly against the rack, not daring to move.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and finally, a figure in a white coat appeared in their sight. With the dim light in the corridor, they saw that the man was wearing a pair of glasses and holding a folder in his hand, seemingly checking something.
"It's a Xiaodao man!" Lao Hu whispered, "Should we kill him?"
Zhang Ling shook his head, signaling Lao Hu not to act rashly. They didn't know the situation yet, and any rash action would only alert the enemy. They needed to first figure out what secrets were hidden in this basement.
The islander walked to a laboratory table, put down the folder, and began to fiddle with the instruments on it. Zhang Ling and Lao Hu hid behind the shelf, quietly observing his actions.
The islander seemed to be conducting some kind of experiment. He poured some liquid into a test tube and heated it with an alcohol lamp. After a while, the liquid in the test tube began to boil and a white smoke came out.
Suddenly, the lights in the basement came on, illuminating the entire room. Zhang Ling and Lao Hu were startled, thinking to themselves that something was wrong.
The islander turned around and saw Zhang Ling and Lao Hu hiding behind the shelf. He was stunned at first, and then a look of horror appeared on his face.
"Who are you?" he shouted in Japanese. "How did you get in?"
Zhang Ling and Lao Hu looked at each other and realized that they had been exposed.
"Baka!" Old Hu suddenly rushed out from behind the shelf and grabbed the islander by the collar. "Tell me! Where is this place? What are you doing?"
The little islander struggled and kept shouting "Help".
Zhang Ling walked forward, snatched the folder from the islander's hand, and flipped through it. In the folder were some experimental records, which recorded some data and results of human experiments.
"Human experiment?" Zhang Ling's face turned gloomy. "These beasts!"
He closed the folder and looked at the islander, his eyes filled with anger.
"Tell me! How many human experiments have you done here?"
The islander was trembling with fear and kept speaking Japanese, but Zhang Ling couldn't understand a word he said.
"Lao Hu, do you speak Japanese?" Zhang Ling asked.
Lao Hu shook his head, "I can only talk!"
Zhang Ling sighed, it seemed that he could only use the most primitive method. He grabbed the islander's hair and dragged him to a laboratory table.
"If you don't tell the truth, I'll let you have a taste of these experimental equipment!"
Zhang Ling picked up a scalpel and waved it in front of the islander. The islander was so frightened that he finally spoke a few words.
"I said...I said..."
"Say!"
"This... this is the biological and chemical weapons research base of Unit 731..."
"Biochemical weapons?" Zhang Ling and Lao Hu looked at each other, both of them were shocked. They didn't expect that such a terrible secret was hidden in this basement.
"Keep talking!" Zhang Ling said sternly.
The islander continued with a trembling voice, "We...we are researching a kind of...potion that can give people super powers..."
"Superpower potion?" Zhang Ling's heart moved. Could this be the legendary chance to "reborn from the ashes"?
He continued to ask: "Is this medicine...really effective?"
The islander hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "It's effective... but... the side effects are huge..."
"What side effects?"
"It will...it will turn people into...monsters..."
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the corridor, accompanied by shouting in Japanese.
"Oh no! Someone is coming!" Lao Hu exclaimed.
Zhang Ling pushed the islander to the ground and said to Lao Hu, "Go!"
The two quickly rushed out of the basement and returned along the sewer ditch.
The dirty liquid in the gutter covered Zhang Ling's calves, and the stench made him want to vomit. Behind him, Lao Hu's breathing became heavier and heavier. It seemed that the old guy was almost at his limit.
"Old Hu, hold on, we're almost at the exit!" Zhang Ling said gritting his teeth.
"Damn it, you little island devils, I'm going to blow your tortoise shells up sooner or later!" Old Hu responded with curses, with a hint of weakness in his tone.
Finally, they saw a faint light at the exit. Zhang Ling climbed out first and then reached out to pull Lao Hu up.
The two men collapsed to the ground, breathing in the fresh air deeply, as if they had survived a disaster.
"Lingzi, what exactly is this Unit 731?" Old Hu asked after he recovered.
Zhang Ling shook his head. "I don't know the details. I just know that they were doing human experiments and they were totally unscrupulous!" He thought of the shocking experimental records in the folder, and his stomach churned again.
"Damn, these bastards!" Old Hu spat fiercely, "If I knew Japanese, I would beat the shit out of those little Japs!"
Zhang Ling took out the folder he had snatched from the islander from his pocket and flipped through it again in the dim light. He couldn't understand a single word of the densely written Japanese, but the human anatomy diagrams and experimental data gave him a chill.