Xiao Lou and his group mostly learned about the old captain of the Space Pirate gang from Uncle Qin; the official database contained very little information about him.
Tang Ci retrieved the database and said, "More than 20 years ago, this man named Rhode Bell was the Luoke Empire's most wanted criminal. He was also on the wanted lists of all the countries in the Strand Federation. It is said that he was elusive and frequently intercepted passenger ships, committing all sorts of evil deeds. No one knows anything about his background; all that is said is that he was the most powerful Space Pirate."
Xiao Lou looked at the photo on the LCD screen—the man had long blond hair and deep, dark eyes. When he slightly narrowed his eyes, he looked like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
Tang Ci said, "I searched through all the databases, and all he left for the federal countries was a name called Rhode Bell and this photo."
Looking at the photo, Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "This person has been wanted by the Federation countries for so many years but has never been caught. He must be quite capable. If it weren't for General Lin leading the fleet to wipe out the Zerg and accidentally running into the Space Pirate gang, resulting in a direct confrontation, he might still be able to continue escaping through interstellar space. These elusive Space Pirates are very difficult to deal with."
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: " General Lin took him back and tortured him, but found that no matter how serious his injuries were, they could heal quickly. It was probably this amazing healing ability that attracted the attention of several experts, which is why they thought of extracting Rhode Bell's genes and adding them to the clone project."
Ye Qi exclaimed, "This guy was wanted for so many years, and he actually survived after being captured by General Lin. He even survived escaping the Empire with General Lin and falling into the deep sea—he really has a lucky life!"
Lu Jiuchuan said jokingly, "This vitality is practically as tough as an unkillable cockroach."
Tang Ci said seriously, "This person is not only lucky, but also very intelligent. If he really stays on Zerg Planet, we need to carefully consider how to deal with him." Tang Ci looked at Xiao Lou and asked, " Professor Xiao, do you have any good ideas?"
"Let me think…" Xiao Lou stroked his chin, lost in thought. After a moment, he said, " We must make good use of the 30 minutes of Invisibility Cloak. After we land on Zerg Planet, Mr. Tang should use the drone to take a map of the entire mine as soon as possible. We will split into three groups according to the map, put on our protective armor, and use the Teleportation Card and Lightness Skill Card to thoroughly search all the mines that have been mined by Space Pirate. Once we find the entrance, we will immediately use the team voice headset to notify our teammates to assemble."
"If the Invisibility Cloak still has time left, we can continue to infiltrate the lab to rescue Hua Ying; if the cloak has failed, we must be prepared to fight the Space Pirate at any time."
" The Space Pirate gang has hundreds of members, including the cunning old captain Rhode Bell. With the Zerg Queen and the high-ranking Zerg she trusts, we are outnumbered by six, and our chances of winning are extremely low. So everyone must not linger in battle, use more control cards, control the situation while running away, and destroy the lab immediately after rescuing Hua Ying."
"To avoid us getting trapped in the lab, I'll leave the Spirit Fox mech in the safest place and activate Peach Blossom Spring inside its cockpit. Once the mission is complete, everyone will retreat to Peach Blossom Spring and quickly leave Zerg Planet."
Xiao Lou looked at his teammates helplessly as he said this: "Time is running out, and I can't think of a better way."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Let's leave it at that. We only have half an hour left. If we can't find the location of the clone lab before the Invisibility Cloak expires, and it attracts the surrounding Zerg, then we'll be in trouble. Let's keep a Peach Blossom Spring as a backup plan. Even if the mission fails, we can at least retreat and avoid total annihilation."
Lu Jiuchuan agreed, saying, " The teleportation card can teleport 50 meters at a time, which is enough for us to turn the area around the mine upside down in half an hour. The key question is, after entering the clone lab, if we have a head-on conflict with the Space Pirate group, will relying solely on control work?"
Xiao Lou looked at Ye Qi, who was standing next to him listening attentively: "Xiao Ye, take out all the cards with crowd control skills from your card holder and organize them."
"Okay!" Ye Qi hurriedly flipped out his card holder. He had been drawing instrument cards ever since he entered Secret Room World, from the flute and guitar at the beginning to the guzheng, erhu, and piano later on. Not long ago, he even drew the king of instruments: the suona.
He had never used many of these musical instruments.
Ye Qi said, " Guitar and Guzheng can both put you to sleep in a wide area, Suona can cause widespread confusion, and the control time of the piano is related to the length of the piece I play. I can control it for a maximum of 10 minutes. It should be noted that once I start playing the piano, teammates within 100 meters can move, but cannot use skills. Other targets cannot move or use skills."
During the stampede at Sun City's concert, Ye Qi controlled the situation by playing the piano on stage. This card actually has the longest control time so far, but its range is only 100 meters, and teammates will also be affected and cannot use the card. This point needs to be made clear in advance to avoid any misunderstandings.
Xiao Lou took out a card and said, "My [ Bai Juyi ]'s last two skills, Song of the Pipa and Song of Everlasting Sorrow, can both control a large area. If Bai Juyi is used in conjunction with Xiao Ye's instrument cards and used continuously... it should be able to control the area for about 15 minutes."
Lu Jiuchuan said, "Fifteen minutes should be enough time for us to rescue Hua Ying, right?"
Tang Ci said expressionlessly, "Do you think that, given The Diamond-Suit Guardian's personality, they would dig up a simple laboratory that can be seen from one end to the other? Even if we find the entrance to the clone laboratory, there's a high probability that it will be another maze."
Lu Jiuchuan couldn't help but yell "Damn it!": "I almost forgot, Diamonds is the one who loves to cause trouble. Fifteen minutes is a very tight time in a maze. And this maze is even more dangerous than the one in Merfolk Clan... At least in Merfolk Clan we had Old Mo who knew the terrain to lead the way. This time, we're completely in the dark, feeling our way across the river."
Xiao Lou was also helpless: "There's nothing we can do. We still can't clear the game until we solve the Zerg Planet problem."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Yu Hanjiang said, "Don't be discouraged. Chu Huaying shouldn't just be lying there unconscious waiting for us to rescue her. Maybe she can help us solve some problems."
Lu Jiuchuan stroked his chin: "That's true. Hua Ying is quite strong. I don't believe she'll surrender easily. If she wakes up, rescuing her will be much easier."
Just then, the clear, youthful voice of the mecha Spirit Fox rang in everyone's ears: "Master, we are about to reach the finish line. There are 3 minutes left. Please prepare to land."
Xiao Lou glanced at the dot on the navigation map, took a deep breath, and said, "We're almost there. I'll leave Spirit Fox outside Zerg Planet, and we'll land using the Lightness Skill Card."
Yu Hanjiang opened the card holder Old Gui had given them, handed the set of pen, ink, paper, and inkstone to Lu Jiuchuan, and said, "Brother, your Vermilion Bird is too conspicuous flying in the sky. We'll use Old Gui's brush later to take Mr. Tang with us. Do you know how to operate his brush?"
Lu Jiuchuan took the card: "Of course, when I was on the same team as Old Gui, we often exchanged cards."
Yu Hanjiang then handed Liu Qiao's [ Light as a Swallow ] card to Shao Qingge: " CEO Shao, your teleportation card and Ye Qi's teleportation card can only teleport horizontally. Take the Lightness Skill Card and land."
Shao Qingge nodded, took out a card and handed it to Yu Hanjiang: "After we land, Xiao Ye and I will scout ahead. The teleportation card can be used to bring people along. One card is enough for the two of us. You can take this one and bring Professor Xiao. It will be faster."
The two exchanged cards.
As everyone was talking, Spirit Fox had already crossed the dark clouds surrounding Zerg Planet. On the monitor ahead, the familiar Zerg creep appeared. Xiao Lou stared at the monitor and quickly adjusted the mech's position until a large group of mines appeared in the field of vision. Only then did Xiao Lou press the pause button and say to Spirit Fox, "Wait for us here and be prepared to evacuate at any time."
The spirit fox replied, "Yes, Master."
Xiao Lou puts the ring that activates Spirit Fox on his hand, summons Tao Yuanming, and places the entrance to Peach Blossom Spring in the cockpit.
He opened the cockpit. The mine beneath his feet was covered with precious red crystals, which, when connected, resembled a sea of fire. The scorching air made Xiao Lou's chest feel heavy. The average temperature here was as high as 68 degrees Celsius, and the ground temperature exceeded 90 degrees Celsius. They simply couldn't put their feet on the ground.
Tang Ci distributed the protective armor to everyone to put on, and Xiao Lou had everyone check the team's voice headsets.
While heavy metal armor can withstand high temperatures, it makes people clumsy.
Fortunately, they could use cards. Xiao Lou made a gesture to his teammates through his transparent helmet, and Yu Hanjiang immediately hugged his waist and used the [ Light as a Swallow ] card to jump down.
Meanwhile, Shao Qingge and Ye Qi, Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci also landed using cards.
Xiao Lou's voice came through the headphones: "Everyone, go invisible."
The six people dressed as "astronauts" simultaneously used the Invisibility Cloak at the moment of landing, so that neither the people nor the insects on Zerg Planet would be able to detect them.
Jumping from thousands of meters in the air to Zerg Planet, the feeling of weightlessness during freefall made Ye Qi exclaim, "This is even more thrilling than bungee jumping!"
They were so high up, and they landed on the ground in less than half a minute. If it weren't for the card cushioning, all six of them would have been smashed to pieces.
Ye Qi steadied himself, still shaken.
Tang Ci quickly replied, " The drone monitoring reports that there are six mines here with signs of mining. CEO Shao and Ye Qi check the two on the left, Captain Yu and Professor Xiao in the middle, and Ninth Brother and I will go to the right."
Xiao Lou said, "Okay, let's get started."
The six people split into three groups. Under the dual protection of the Invisibility Cloak and protective mechs, they didn't have to worry about the crystals on the ground burning their feet or being discovered. Using Teleportation Cards, the six people moved like the wind and began a carpet search of the six mines.
Soon, Ye Qi's voice came through the earpiece: "We haven't found anything here." Lu Jiuchuan replied, "Neither have I."
Xiao Lou: "Keep searching."
After a moment, Shao Qingge said, "We've searched both mountains on the left, but there's nothing there."
Lu Jiuchuan's voice also came through the earpiece: "No abnormalities found on the right side."
Everyone pinned their hopes on Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang's group. Just then, Yu Hanjiang suddenly stopped and said, "Look, 30 degrees to the right front."
Xiao Lou followed his gaze and saw a strange, large pit between the two mines, where scorching flames burned continuously. The surrounding ground was covered with fiery red lava, which flowed into rivers, scorching the parched earth.
Xiao Lou was slightly taken aback: "This is... a volcano?"
Yu Hanjiang shook his head: "It looks like a volcano, but it's just an illusion."
Xiao Lou suddenly felt a force pulling him from his waist. It was Yu Hanjiang using the Lightness Skill Card to fly him to the "volcano" crater. Upon closer inspection, Xiao Lou realized it was indeed an illusion!
This isn't a volcano at all, but rather a large accumulation of fiery red crystals. The river-like "magma" is an illusion created by the red crystals being ground into powder and then pooling together. From a distance, it looks very much like an "erupting" volcano, with flames forming rivers...
Coincidence,
Was it man-made?
Xiao Lou said without hesitation, "This must be Rhode Bell's doing! The Zerg are most afraid of fire. He faked a volcano here and then built an underground laboratory nearby. Ordinary Zerg would be too scared to approach, thus ensuring absolute secrecy."
The informed high-level Zerg knew that these were not fire, but a type of ore, so they had nothing to fear.
Yu Hanjiang said, "Let's go take a look."
They were wearing heat-resistant protective armor, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
The two walked to the very center of the "volcano" crater, which was formed by a large amount of minerals with extremely high color purity. It turned out to be the entrance to the clone laboratory.
Xiao Lou immediately notified everyone through the voice headset, and the other four people also rushed over.
Opening the entrance, which resembled a volcano but was actually like a manhole cover, revealed a long, straight underground passage with an elevator that led directly underground. Of course, they couldn't activate the elevator and attract attention. Xiao Lou whispered into the earpiece, " Lightness Skill, go down. Captain Yu and I will lead the way, Ninth Brother will bring up the rear, and Shao Ye will be in the middle. Don't bump into each other."
The group jumped down the tunnel one by one and landed gently on the ground.
The underground was pitch black, without a single ray of light. The dark environment, coupled with the damp and cold air, resembled the underground tunnels where Spade 8 encountered the Zerg, which reminded Xiao Lou of some unpleasant memories.
The Zerg have excellent night vision and prefer damp, cool places. Therefore, it's perfectly normal for the laboratory built on Zerg Planet to have an environment that caters to their preferences.
But it was difficult for the six of them to find their way. They were just ordinary humans, and in the pitch black, they couldn't see anything.
To make matters worse, everyone simultaneously heard the indifferent voice of the little girl Diamonds: "Welcome to the Zerg cave. Good luck."
Lu Jiuchuan almost cursed out loud—this brat, making two mazes in one instance, is that even acceptable?!
One appears in the sea, and another underground, and it's a pitch-black maze, forcing everyone to feel their way through the walls like blind people.
Yu Hanjiang whispered a reminder: "The cloak has 3 minutes left."
Xiao Lou: "..."
This is simply adding insult to injury.
In three minutes, in a pitch-black maze, how could anyone possibly find the lab, let alone Chu Huaying?
Completely in the dark, Xiao Lou was under immense pressure. He took a deep breath and said with a forced smile, "We can't find the lab in the maze in 3 minutes. Let's just use the luminous pearl for lighting. Xiao Ye, be ready to take control at any time. Everyone, take off your bulky protective armor to make things easier."
Ye Qi immediately took off his armor and took out several crowd control cards, holding them in his hand.
Xiao Lou took out the luminous pearl to illuminate the surrounding environment—the walls of the Zerg cave were pitted and the road was winding, but fortunately the ground was relatively flat.
He led everyone forward a few steps, and soon they came to the first fork in the road.
Xiao Lou marked the path on the wall, turned left, and soon came to another fork in the road. Xiao Lou continued marking the path, turned left, and after a few steps, there was still another fork in the road…
One minute later, Xiao Lou reluctantly stopped at the fork in the road.
He had encountered eight forks in the road along the way. The number of forks in this insectoid cave was beyond Xiao Lou's imagination, and it was so complicated that it was like a spider web.
Oh, right... spider webs!
Xiao Lou felt a chill: "The Zerg labyrinth... could it be a spiderweb-like structure?"
Lu Jiuchuan suppressed the urge to grab the little diamonds girl and beat her up, and frowned, saying, "A spider web maze? A spider web with countless paths, which one is the right one?"
Xiao Lou guessed, "Perhaps the lab is in the very center of the spider web? Let's try heading towards the center."
The group followed Xiao Lou around a corner.
Just then, a series of footsteps sounded in the cave... it sounded like a woman's high heels.
Everyone immediately held their breath. Xiao Lou hurriedly put away the luminous pearl, but then heard the other person ask softly, "Ninth Brother, Professor Xiao, is that you?"
—That's Chu Huaying's voice.
Lu Jiuchuan raised an eyebrow, reopened the luminous pearl, and walked around the corner.
Chu Huaying was indeed standing in the passageway. Her face was pale, there was blood at the corner of her mouth, her hair was disheveled, and she looked extremely haggard. Lu Jiuchuan hurriedly went over and reached out to help her: "Are you injured?"
Chu Huaying bit her lip and said, "It's nothing, just a superficial injury. I escaped while they were in a meeting..."
Lu Jiuchuan turned to look at Yu Hanjiang and winked at him. Yu Hanjiang stepped forward and asked, " Hua Ying, do you know the location of the laboratory?"
Chu Huaying nodded: "Yes. Are you going to the lab?"
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Yes, please lead the way."