<h4>Chapter 1468: Chapter 1776: North County Research Institute (5)</h4>


    "Don’t act rashly," Ling Chen signaled to Tang Yuan to hold back for now; they hadn’t yet located Zhu Hong and Chen Quan, and acting hastily would be too risky.


    Time passed second by second, and those research personnel seemed extremely busy, as if they were preparing something. Soon after, they all rushed towards the passage in the depths of the grave chamber. In the blink of an eye, the massive main tomb chamber was empty.


    Entering the main chamber, Ling Chen looked around. Beside him, Tang Yuan asked quizzically, "What’s going on? Where did all those people go?"


    "No idea, let’s find the control room first." Saying this, Ling Chen pointed to another passage, "Let’s head over there."


    Having spent a long time in the grave chamber before, the two were quite familiar with the surroundings here. There were only so many rooms inside the chamber, so finding their way wasn’t difficult.


    Before long, Ling Chen discovered the location of the control room. However, what troubled them was that there were surveince cameras outside the control room, along with several men in suits guarding it. If they took action, it would certainly cause a bigmotion and alert the others in the chamber.


    If Chen Quan arrived, they’d be in trouble.


    After some thought, Ling Chen pulled out his phone and sent a message to Zhu Qing.


    Soon, there was a reply.


    "Sir Chen and the others will arrive at the research institute in about ten minutes; we’ll act in ten minutes," Ling Chen said. As long as Chen Junfeng and the rest arrived in time, they wouldn’t need to worry about Chen Quan.


    Ten minutes might not seem long, but for Ling Chen and Tang Yuan, it felt endless. Looking at his phone, Zhu Qing had just texted that they had arrived outside the research institute.


    Taking a deep breath, Ling Chen nodded to Tang Yuan beside him, "It’s time to move." As his words fell, Tang Yuan didn’t hesitate, brandishing his dagger and charging straight ahead. Meanwhile, Ling Chen followed closely, swiftly entering the control room.


    While Tang Yuan’s skills were enough to deal with these people, it wasted too much time, and Ling Chen had to step in to help. Despite losing all his martial arts prowess, he still retained years of experience and skill, and handling one or two enemies was still manageable.


    Inside the control room, there were three staff members in total. Ling Chen kicked the door open, sending one staff member flying to the ground. Before the other two could react, Ling Chen swiftly moved behind them, pped his hands together from both sides, causing their heads to collide violently, and in an instant, they passed out.


    Having taken care of the staff in the control room, Tang Yuan also finished the battle outside the door.


    After regrouping, Tang Yuan nced at the equipment in the control room and said, "You keep an eye on the outside. I’ll look for the program to open the main door."


    Ling Chen nodded, turning around to head outside. However, before he reached the door, all the lights in the grave chamber suddenly dimmed, even the equipment in the control room lost power. The surroundings were pitch ck, like reaching out into darkness.


    "What’s going on?"


    "No idea, seems like...a ckout?"


    Tang Yuan spoke in a deep voice, "Why would there suddenly be a power outage? Those people just went to the powerpany; could it be rted to their earlier actions?"


    "Don’t panic, let’s wait and see, maybe the power will be restored soon." As his words fell, emergency lights on the walls of the control room suddenly lit up, including the emergency lights in the chamber and passage.


    Tang Yuan couldn’t help but curse, "How could such an important research institute not have a backup power supply?"


    Ling Chen nced outside the control room and said, "Old Tang, I think we better leave quickly, the noise just now definitely caught their attention."


    "What about the door? It’s not open yet."


    "Forget it, saving our lives is the most important thing now."


    Leaving the control room, Tang Yuan followed Ling Chen, quickly heading towards the outside of the chamber.


    As they were about to reach the chamber exit, Ling Chen suddenly stopped abruptly in front, looking solemnly ahead.


    At the chamber exit stood ten men, lined up shoulder to shoulder, forming a wall.


    Damn! Still a step too slow.


    Ling Chen furrowed his brows, slowly backing away.


    "Old Tang, you head back to the control room. If the poweres back on, open the institute’s main door immediately."


    "What about you?"


    "I’ll stay and hold these people off for you."


    "No way! Your body’s in such a poor state, let me stay instead."


    Ling Chen shook his head, "Stop arguing with me, you know more aboutputers than I do, you better go. I’m afraid I can’t open that door. Don’t worry, I’m still young and don’t want to die. Now go!"


    Upon hearing this, Tang Yuan felt helpless and reluctantly headed back.


    "Tsk tsk! Never thought I’d see you here," said a familiar, teasing voice. Ling Chen looked closely, seeing Zhu Hong approaching apanied by a middle-aged man.


    "Dean Yi, let me introduce you to Ling Chen; I don’t know if you’ve heard of him, but he’s quite a well-known figure in Beijing."


    Dean Yi? Hearing this title, Ling Chen sized up the middle-aged man and asked, "You’re Yi Haisheng?"


    "You know me?"


    "Not personally, but I’ve heard of you."


    "Ling Chen, where’s your partner? Call them out; I’m sure you’re not alone." Zhu Hong said coldly.


    Ling Chen shrugged and replied lightly, "He left me to save himself. Zhu Hong, it’s been a while, you’ve really changed a lot." Back when he saw Zhu Hong at the secret prison, his body had undergone a bizarre transformation, making him unlike any normal person. In such a short time, Zhu Hong’s body seemed to have returned to normal.


    "Curious, aren’t you? If you’re interested, I can exin slowly, we have enough time after all."


    "Since that’s the case, why don’t you tell me about the cell culture liquid? Back in Beijing, you risked danger trying to get your hands on it, so it must be very important to you."


    "You’re right!" Zhu Hong nodded, "It is indeed very important to me. Through Ling Gengqiu’s severed limb, we made great discoveries in our research. Afterwards, I decided to personally participate in the experiment. Fortunately, my luck was good; the experiment was sessful. However, I discovered the experiment brought side effects to my body, causing changes over time. To suppress this change, I must take the cell culture liquid to maintain my body. I’m sure you’ve seen what I look like without taking it for a long time."


    Squinting slightly, Ling Chen said, "You just mentioned the experiment was sessful. If you don’t mind, can you tell me more about it? For example... your body’s changes, it mustn’t just be about strengthening, right?"


    Zhu Hongughed heartily and pointed to his face, "Don’t you think I’ve gotten younger?"