Chapter 162 The Louis Institute

Yang Dian and Nid were dejected. The exploration team they had gone to rescue belonged to the Louis Institute, and the commission had also come from the Louis Institute. After Han Xiao left, the two of them rested for a while and cautiously explored, finally finding their target in the small valley where the exploration team had disappeared.

However, all the members of the exploration team had been infected with the Death Mutation Virus and mutated, bone spurs protruding all over their bodies, turning them into frenzied beasts, beyond salvation.

The exploration team leader barely retained a trace of clarity and handed a metal box to the two of them, saying that it was important material that could be used to research an antidote to the Death Mutation Virus, asking them to take it back to the institute.

The two could only reluctantly abandon the exploration team, who were beyond help, and leave the restricted area with the box. On the way, they encountered an accident and were attacked by a horde of beasts. To protect the metal box, they didn't hesitate to use their bodies as shields, finally escaping with luck, covered in wounds. Fortunately, the box was intact.

Dragging their exhausted bodies, they returned to Kanros by plane. Yang Dian and Nid came to the institute with feelings of guilt. Failing to save the exploration team weighed heavily on their minds, and they were prepared to be blamed by the institute, feeling that they had failed the trust of the client.

A bespectacled man, dressed as if he were a high-level staff member, stepped out of the elevator and hurried towards Yang Dian and the other, his face filled with hope.

"You two heroes, you're back." He said enthusiastically.

Nid said apologetically, "Mr. Rocket, I'm sorry, we weren't able to complete the mission."

The bespectacled man, Rocket, changed his expression. "Did they all perish?"

"I'm sorry, they were infected with the virus, and we were powerless to help," Yang Dian said, unable to look at Rocket's sorrowful face.

"It's not your fault…" Rocket took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. This posture made Yang Dian and Nid feel very uncomfortable. Nid took out the metal box and said, "This is a memento that the exploration team asked us to hand over to you. Inside is important material that can solve the source of the Death Mutation Virus!"

Rocket took the metal box, stroking it, and said in a sad tone, "Alas, if only they could come back too. This is their achievement, and we will never forget it. If we make the finished product, we must name it after them."

The two deeply agreed, their eyes a little hot. Yang Dian sighed, "They are heroes. Not being able to save them will be my lifelong regret."

"You're too kind. Without you, their hard work would not have been handed over. You have done your best, don't blame yourselves for this. If you don't mind, we can provide you with free treatment," Rocket said gratefully.

"No need, we can't trouble you any more." The more grateful Rocket seemed, the more ashamed Yang Dian and Nid felt. They hurriedly waved their hands, refused the invitation, and helped each other leave, their backs very straight, full of pride.

Rocket pushed up his glasses and watched the two leave, then stepped to Han Xiao's front and put on a smile. "Hello, do you have any business you want to entrust to our institute?"

Han Xiao smiled, opened the metal box, and showed Rocket the mutated heart.

"This is a heart infected with the Death Mutation Virus. The material is a very powerful individual."

Rocket's eyes lit up, and he piled on a smile. "Please come with me."

Rocket led the way, and Han Xiao followed him into the elevator and arrived on the thirteenth floor. After opening the door, he saw a long white corridor with laboratories on both sides. The windows were two-way, so you could see inside from the outside. Some laboratories had people doing experiments, while some rooms stored experimental instruments and materials. There were also researchers chatting in groups in the hallway.

The thirteenth floor was one of the Louis Institute's experimental floors. Rocket led the way while saying, "The Death Mutation Virus has always been an important project for our research, but we have been stuck in a bottleneck, lacking active materials. This heart is very important to us, and maybe we can make a potion in one go. As usual, after the potion is completed, you can get a copy of the finished product. Of course, if you want other rewards, that's no problem either."

"No need, I want the potion." Han Xiao said calmly, pointing to the metal box in Rocket's hand, which Yang Dian and Nid had handed over. "I thought you already had the materials."

"This? Hehe, this is also quite important." Rocket smiled, not going into detail.

Arriving at a large biological laboratory, Rocket stopped and said, "Please wait outside. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter the laboratory."

Han Xiao gave the box to Rocket, and Rocket walked into the laboratory with the two boxes, talking to a high-level staff member who seemed to be the laboratory supervisor. The two boxes were opened on the table. Han Xiao saw from afar that the other box contained a snow-white egg, but he didn't know what kind of creature it was.

Rocket and the lab supervisor were talking in low voices. Han Xiao's ears twitched, and with his level 55 senses, he took in the conversation between the two from afar.

Lab Supervisor: "The people from the exploration team, are they all dead?"

Rocket: "Yes, those two heroes didn't save anyone."

"It's good that the things were handed over. It doesn't matter if people die. With this heart, we can make the potion soon. What did those two 'heroes' say?"

"They felt sorry for betraying our trust, hehe. Hiring these superheroes is much more cost-effective than hiring mercenaries. As long as we give them some good reasons, they will even work for us for free, which saves me a budget."

"You didn't slip up, did you?"

"Of course not. They're so stupid and naive. A few lies made them almost cry with emotion. These so-called heroes are the easiest to coax. Praise and gratitude can make them dizzy. When they left, they thought they had done a great thing. I almost couldn't hold back my laughter."

"Don't offend superheroes, try to befriend them."

"Don't worry, I left a good impression on them. Next time, if there's anything that requires risking their lives, we can still find them. As long as we make up a good reason, they definitely won't refuse."

Han Xiao's eyes flashed, but he remained calm and waited quietly.

Before long, Rocket finished the conversation and returned to the door, saying with a polite smile, "It will take a day to manufacture the potion. If you don't mind, we can provide a room for you to rest. The potion will be delivered to you as soon as it's completed."

"Okay." Han Xiao had no objection.

The two took the elevator to the living area floor. Han Xiao was assigned to a guest suite. Rocket told him not to run around in some areas and then left on the pretext of having something to do.

Han Xiao observed the room for cameras and found two, so he took out his computer, hacked into the network, controlled the room's cameras, and set the still images to loop.

Then, without any politeness, he directly hacked into the institute's database and browsed through the various research projects.

With Intermediate Programming at max level, his hacking skills were enough to breach most of the planet's network firewalls. Except for the six nations' classified information, Germinal's headquarters, the dark web core, and the key networks of some other major forces, a small institute could not stop him. It was like entering an uninhabited area, and he did not trigger the institute's network alarm. After reading it, he would clear the traces, and no one would know that he had invaded the network.

Opening the institute's project files, projects flashed across the screen one by one.

"Green Lizard Potion, Mad Bull Hormone, Thunderclaw Beast Extract, Stone Grouper Plague Pathogen…"

Many of the names were potions that players had obtained in his previous life. After watching for a while, he finally saw the Death Mutation Virus project, which was fully named [Death Mutation Virus Enhancer]. In the project's detailed records, there were allocations from various consortiums. This was an experiment to enhance physical fitness. As for the Death Mutation Virus antidote that Rocket had told Yang Dian and Nid, the institute had not conducted any research in this area at all.

Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and he quickly typed on the keyboard, implanting a program.

ps: (Taking a day off tomorrow to organize the outline and adjust my schedule)