The two finally arrived near the research institute, thanks to Xiao Liu's rapid excavation.
Xiao Liu sniffed the ground incessantly, "This smell is really unpleasant, but it's definitely the master's scent."
Lu Heng...
"How far are we from this smell now?" Lu Heng sniffed himself, but apart from the damp smell of the earth mixed with some plant roots, Lu Heng could not smell anything else.
"We are directly below that smell. Should I break through now?"
"No, dig a little further," Lu Heng quickly stopped him. If it broke through now, the soil he had just poured with liquid would fall all over him.
Although it was matter from his own body, Lu Heng did not want those things to fall on him again.
Xiao Liu nodded and continued to lower its body, waving its claws forward.
Soon, it touched a hard object. After digging a few times, it said to Lu Heng beside him, "Master, the soil here has become hard. It will be difficult to dig."
Lu Heng shone a lamp forward. It was not soil, but an artificial structure, a concrete structure.
He tentatively tapped on it with his hand, wanting to see if it was hollow behind. If it was hollow and there was no other matter, Lu Heng wouldn't mind digging through here.
First, using his mind-reading ability, Lu Heng carefully searched for the thoughts of humans around. This was the Longcheng Research Institute, and other buildings were relatively far away. It was also midnight, and ordinary families should not have anyone awake at this time.
However, after probing for a few minutes, Lu Heng did not hear any human thought activity. Either the research institute personnel had also rested, or the underground area was quite vast, and they were currently in a remote location.
"It's hollow behind. You can also see if this material is easy to dig."
Concrete was not something that existed in the other world. This was a good opportunity to see if the giant rat's excavation of concrete was effective.
Receiving Lu Heng's command, Xiao Liu exerted more force with its right claw. Immediately, its claw tips were covered with a layer of metal, as if its claws had been given a manicure. However, this manicure had a cold, eerie sheen that was not pleasant to look at.
With its claws covered in metal, it struck the concrete. The concrete was like tofu, and the giant rat quickly dug a pit. However, this strike did not penetrate the wall.
It seemed the wall had been reinforced. Even underground buildings before the apocalypse did not have such thick walls. Lu Heng knew that except for some underground air-raid shelters, the standard for underground walls in ordinary residences was not high.
After digging continuously for four or five more times, the wall was pierced by Xiao Liu.
Seeing that no light was emanating from the small hole, Lu Heng's heart, which had been hanging, finally settled.
It seemed this was not a place people frequented, otherwise, there would be lighting.
Since there were no humans on duty and it was not a place people frequented, Lu Heng was no longer afraid of being discovered. As long as Xiao Liu was careful and did not make too much noise, there should be no problem.
However, just as he was thinking, Xiao Liu's digging made some noise.
"Clang!" The sound of a heavy object falling on a metal substance interrupted Lu Heng's thoughts.
He suddenly came back to his senses and looked at Xiao Liu, who was about to strike again.
This guy still hadn't realized that it had caused trouble. It seemed wild creatures were just not good enough. To survive long in the human world, they still needed to be tamed.
"Xiao Liu, retreat quickly."
"Oh, is the hole I dug big enough?" Xiao Liu obediently retreated, communicating with Lu Heng through its thoughts.
"Yes, don't make any more noise. We'll wait here for a while."
It was better to wait. If there were any changes inside, Lu Heng could knock out anyone who came, preventing more people from being alerted.
Fortunately, after waiting for a while, Lu Heng and the others did not hear anyone approaching.
After waiting for another two minutes, Lu Heng controlled the underground plant roots to wrap around the hole that had just been broken through, to prevent them from making noise by bumping into any concrete blocks when they passed through.
Glancing at Xiao Liu beside him, Lu Heng pondered for a moment. He decided to put this country bumpkin back into his space. If the unsophisticated creature made any more noise, it would be troublesome.
"You go back first."
"Go where..."
Before Xiao Liu's question could be answered, its body disappeared into the cave, leaving only the excavated hole as proof of its recent presence.
Lu Heng took out a spotlight and shone it into the dark hole. The lighting effect was not very good. Although he could see in the slightly dark areas, Lu Heng, accustomed to using lights to see, chose to use illumination to observe the surrounding environment as his first option.
However, looking in from the hole, the visible range was too narrow. Lu Heng directly controlled the roots covering the ground to extend several lights into the interior.
Soon, light emanated from the hole. Lu Heng poked half of his body out to observe the situation inside.
It was a storage room, so it was understandable that no one was there at this time. He looked down again at the place where the sound had just come from.
A not-small piece of concrete had fallen onto a metal shelf. Fortunately, the shelf was not too low, otherwise, the sound might have been even louder.
Ignoring the fallen concrete, Lu Heng found a place to stand. Then, with one hand on the edge of the hole, he gently landed inside the storage room with a surge of strength.
He rummaged through the room for a long time but found nothing useful. The resources in this Longcheng research laboratory were not abundant. Logically, the resources in these places should be the best, but the items in this room were extremely scarce. Many of the supplies seemed to have been dug out from somewhere and were not clean.
After examining the environment of this room, Lu Heng turned off all the lights. Then he walked to the door and turned the doorknob with his right hand.
Hmm, it didn't turn. There was nothing special about the items inside, yet it was still locked. This surprised Lu Heng.
However, after gaining the metal ability, Lu Heng was no longer resistant to door locks. Holding the doorknob, he activated his body's ability and controlled the internal structure of the lock.
Soon, the lock emitted a slight vibration. Lu Heng turned the doorknob again, and the door, as expected, was opened by Lu Heng.
Lu Heng did not blindly probe outside. Judging by the numerous surveillance cameras installed on the ground floor, there should also be many surveillance devices inside.