"Did he meet Xu Ruina and Shirley?" Zhang Chen asked.
Mo Ran, familiar with Xu Ruina and Shirley, directly accessed her memories. However, reading a sniper's memories was not as smooth as her own; it was more like watching a playback, requiring a process of recollection.
"Yes, he met Xu Ruina and Shirley, and it was about an hour ago!"
"Xu Ruina had bandages wrapped around her hands, perhaps to avoid startling everyone."
"Strangely, the people at this epidemic prevention center seemed to know Xu Ruina, and they were very shocked by her appearance."
"Xu Ruina and Shirley have already been taken into the center's building."
"Since the sniper belonged to the military system, and it was a different system from the epidemic prevention center, his understanding of the internal affairs was limited."
"Due to the distance, he couldn't hear what they discussed!"
Upon hearing Mo Ran's words, Zuo Nan frowned and said, "The people here know Xu Ruina? Are you sure? They're not from the same world, how could they know each other?"
Zhang Chen waved his hand and said, "I remember Yang Haishan's notebook mentioned that these few planes are highly similar to the Water Blue Star world!"
"This means it's highly possible that people who exist on Water Blue Star also fully exist in this world!"
"It's just that after the zombie baptism, it's unknown how many survived!"
"Xu Ruina was a senior researcher at Raven Laboratory, and this epidemic prevention center is controlled by the Gene School. They are all from Raven Laboratory, so it's understandable that they would know each other!"
Zuo Nan said with a sudden realization, "So that's how it is..."
Xiao Bai and Mo Ran were confused by the talk of parallel worlds and identical people. They had only recently arrived in this world and still had much to learn, so they couldn't contribute to the conversation.
"Mo Ran, dispose of this body, and we'll go straight in. Try not to cause trouble. We're here to find someone and seek guidance, so let's minimize unnecessary friction!" Zhang Chen said.
"Okay, Dad!" The bearded sniper gave a mischievous smile and walked towards an empty corner.
In a short while, Mo Ran rejoined them. The person Mo Ran had possessed had died the moment they were taken over, so when Mo Ran left the body, there would be an extra corpse.
"Are you done with everything?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Of course!" Mo Ran licked the blood from the corner of her mouth and said with a grin.
Zhang Chen didn't ask for further details and led the group towards the epidemic prevention center's building. Between the city wall and the building, there was a small plaza. Currently, hundreds of soldiers had gathered on the plaza, equipped with grenade launchers, rocket launchers, assault rifles, riot shields, and even heavy machine guns. Two tanks guarded the building on either side, their muzzles fixed on Zhang Chen and his group, presenting a formidable, defensive posture.
Zhang Chen slowly raised his hands and said, "We mean no harm. We are researchers from Raven Laboratory, working with Senior Researcher Xu Ruina in the same team!"
"We request to see the person in charge of the epidemic prevention center. We have important... experimental subjects to deliver!" The mention of experimental subjects was a spur-of-the-moment idea from Zhang Chen. While scientists might not be moved by sentiment, the prospect of valuable experimental material would surely pique their interest. At the very least, they would come to see for themselves.
As for who the experimental subject would be... Zhang Chen glanced at the people beside him: Xiao Bai, Mo Ran, and Zuo Nan. Without hesitation, Zhang Chen placed his hand on Zuo Nan's shoulder and patted it firmly. How could he possibly use his precious daughter as experimental material!
"Hey!" Zuo Nan's eyes welled up, but there was nothing he could do. He had to go along with Zhang Chen's decision, as he lacked the ability to resist. Moreover, in a world with such low-level power, they wouldn't be able to do much to him if they truly wanted to.
As expected, shortly after Zhang Chen spoke, the main entrance of the epidemic prevention center's building opened. A middle-aged woman wearing glasses emerged. She looked Zhang Chen and his group up and down, then focused her gaze on Zuo Nan, examining him thoroughly. Her expression was filled with doubt, as if she were thinking, "This man doesn't seem particularly special."
"Go ahead, little white rat, show them how special you are!" Zhang Chen said, patting Zuo Nan with a smile.
"Alright..." Zuo Nan smiled helplessly, then with a flash, appeared on top of a tank, and with another flash, appeared beside the middle-aged woman.
His ability to teleport instantly rendered the soldiers and weaponry filling the courtyard like mere toys. The disparity in strength was immediately apparent! The middle-aged woman felt a gust of wind, and Zuo Nan was suddenly beside her. She looked at Zuo Nan in alarm, then turned her head to Zhang Chen and said, "Alright, we've never encountered an esper like this before. You may come in!"
As she spoke, the woman immediately pulled out a pair of black handcuffs and cuffed Zuo Nan's hands. In reality, Zuo Nan could have easily dodged such a slow movement, but as he was now the "little white rat," he had to adhere to the rules. After being cuffed, Zuo Nan clearly felt the flow of bio-energy within him being obstructed. He instinctively activated his teleportation ability, this time targeting the woman's other side. However... nothing happened! The black handcuffs had restricted his bio-energy usage! This made Zuo Nan somewhat panicked, and he looked at Zhang Chen for help.
Zhang Chen smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, we won't let such a rare little white rat like you get into trouble!"
"We'll go see Senior Researcher Xu Ruina first, and then we'll come back to see you!" Zuo Nan looked at Zhang Chen with a pleading expression and reluctantly nodded. Several burly men in gray uniforms immediately appeared, one on each side, and took Zuo Nan away.
The middle-aged woman said slowly, "If you're looking for Researcher Xu, then follow me!"
"However... Researcher Xu's condition isn't very good, so you should be prepared!"
Zhang Chen nodded and followed the middle-aged woman with Mo Ran and Xiao Bai. The group arrived at a hidden elevator and descended directly to the fifteenth basement level. As expected, these Raven Laboratory people loved working underground. Exiting the elevator, they saw sturdy men in gray uniforms everywhere along the corridors, seemingly the lab's security guards.
Not long after Zhang Chen walked forward, someone rushed out from a nearby laboratory, colliding head-on with the middle-aged woman, scattering documents everywhere. Zhang Chen casually glanced at the clumsy individual and his expression suddenly froze! This person was... Tang Houde, the one he had seen in the holographic image in the first walled city!