Hu Lushou plopped down on the stool. He glanced back at his truck and then at the Gatling in front of him. Before he could speak, Lin Xian said directly: "No need to guess; the batch of Starfire 26 automatic tactical rifles sold to you were made directly by me. I didn’t raid the armory, because I am the armory."
"Oh my god!!!" Hu Lushou was dumbfounded, staring at Lin Xian in terror, stammering: "You... your ability is just too extraordinary."
Lin Xian’s expression turned slightly serious. He wasn’t in the mood to joke and said, "Alright, the stuff’s here, speak."
Hu Lushou’s gaze shifted. He looked at Lin Xian silently. His expression was quite complex. He thought for a moment, then signaled to Sun Chang, and the two of them walked over together, saying: "Well... okay, actually I don’t know much. At the time, I was locked inside that research institute, just like you saw, participating in that ’Hatter’ game. Of that batch, only Sun Chang and I survived."
As he said this, Hu Lushou’s shrewdness was gone from his expression, and his gaze grew heavy.
"So you grabbed the supplies and then teamed up to form a convoy?" KIKI asked.
Hu Lushou seemed somewhat resistant to recalling events in the research institute: "At that time, I thought I was surely going to die. Who knew that after winning, they would actually give us so many supplies."
He looked at Lin Xian seriously and said: "When we first got into that research institute, we were kept locked up. There were quite a few survivors. As far as I know, not everyone participated in the same games or experiments as us. That research institute was very mysterious. The things they studied were quite advanced—superpowers, Abnormal Bodies, human anomalies, and night invasions. It seemed more advanced than the Federation’s Underground City labs. We all had this feeling..."
Hu Lushou solemnly said: "That they have been researching the darkness for at least over ten years."
Lin Xian and KIKI’s expressions tightened at these words. He remembered what Director Ding had told him inside, and now it seemed even more confirmed through Hu Lushou’s mouth.
"How is that possible, Apocalypse Day just happened less than half a year ago. How could they have been researching for more than ten years?"
Hu Lushou shrugged and said with a wry smile: "I don’t know. We’re just guessing. Such a large research institute isn’t even known in our Federation system, which is also quite surprising."
"What’s surprising about that?" KIKI asked.
Hu Lushou replied with integrity: "Our Yuxiang Ship operates as a military unit with the Federation’s highest airspace authority, yet it crashed into the research institute’s sky screen at low altitude. It’s strange that such a large base is not marked in our system. You can’t tell me such a base was built in just three months, can you?"
Lin Xian fell silent at these words. He had previously asked Hua Xiaoling about this. She had told him that the research institute used to be a huge military project in cooperation with the Federation. He had always felt something was off, and hearing Hu Lushou now, he realized that the Dragon Transport Ship’s collision was indeed bizarre. A Federation ship should know the location of such cooperative units.
It now looks like the SIID Foundation is not aligned with the Federation or the Phoenix Society.
"As for that woman named Tan Meng you mentioned, I really don’t know her. What’s happened to her?" Hu Lushou asked.
KIKI said: "She was placed inside some kind of submersible, entering the Shijiu Lake experiment. And as far as I know, she should be a Superpower User."
Hu Lushou frowned at this, shaking his head:
"What kind of strange experiment is that? If she won the game, didn’t she leave?"
"That’s why I’m asking you." Lin Xian said indifferently.
"I really don’t know about that." Hu Lushou spread his hands: "Honestly, even I find it unbelievable that we managed to leave. Maybe they thought she had other value. After all, you mentioned she had superpowers and was possibly quite good-looking, haha."
Lin Xian’s gaze deepened at these words. Indeed, that woman named Tan Meng was somewhat attractive, had a good temperament, and also possessed the ability to fly.
"That’s all." Hu Lushou said directly: "I’ve told you everything I know."
He looked at Lin Xian: "Now I understand why they invited you in, brother; such extraordinary superpowers surely promise a bright future, but logically, you should know more inside than I, a prisoner, do. Is what I know of any use to you?"
Lin Xian stood up: "Indeed, it’s not much use. Tell your people to prepare the supplies I need and deliver them to the cargo station over there."
When Hu Lushou saw Lin Xian getting ready to leave, he got a little anxious: "Hey, we agreed on four Gatlings, don’t back out, us Dragon Country folks don’t deceive our own!"
"I won’t. It’s yours. If we meet again, let’s work together." Lin Xian said to KIKI as he turned to leave.
At this moment, Hu Lushou suddenly called Lin Xian: "Wait, I, Lao Hu, don’t like doing deceitful business. I happen to have some intel here. You plan to head out from the northeast two lines. Although it has nothing to do with the Foundation, it’ll surely be useful for you, and I’ll give it to you for free. How does that sound?!"
Lin Xian stopped, speaking with some curiosity: "Oh, what intel?"
Hu Lushou then stepped closer, his eyes flickering, and he spoke in a mysterious, hushed voice to Lin Xian and KIKI