Chapter 180: The Scientist Studying Demons

Chapter 180: The Scientist Studying Demons

After ending the call, Lu Heng placed the visa bracelet back into his inventory and changed his base of operations to avoid exposing his whereabouts.

Today marked the 9th day since entering the Abyss Battlefield.

According to the description of the main quest, this Abyss Battlefield event would last for 15 days.

Therefore, in 6 days, they could return.

Although the Xavier Matrix and Black Feather Spirit issues remained unresolved, these were not mandatory tasks.

If they couldn't be resolved, they could be temporarily abandoned.

The real task to focus on was the one posted in the Abyss Battlefield.

Every time Su Mu Yu entered the Abyss Battlefield, she carefully read the quest prompts, contemplated the task content, and extracted useful information.

After completing each task, she would review it once more.

She checked the quest and reminded them, "We still have 6 days. We need to consider how to complete the task, as it's related to divine energy. Other matters are secondary."

Lu Heng opened the task panel and reviewed the completed tasks.

Among the three main quests, the first and second ones were already completed.

The third main quest was to survive for 15 days, which didn't require much thought; they just needed to stay alive until the time was up and then choose to return.

This could also be inferred from the requirements of the main quests.

Although this Abyss Battlefield world had a danger level of 5, the actual task danger level was below 5.

With the main quests effectively completed, the next consideration was the challenge quests.

There were three challenge quests:

[1. Source Essence Battle: Complete the Source Essence fusion and obtain the second transformation job.]



[2. Find the source of the Abyssal pollution and eliminate it.]



[3. Join one of the three major factions and complete faction-issued tasks.]



The first challenge quest had already been completed by Lu Heng before entering, and Su Mu Yu had also finished it.

Only Lin Ze Yu was yet to obtain the second transformation job source essence, so they needed to keep an eye on him.

The third challenge quest, joining a faction, was also completed, but there were still faction tasks to follow up on.

The last and most crucial challenge was to find the source of the Abyssal pollution and eliminate it.

So far, the source of the Abyssal pollution remained unknown.

However, the "thing" that devoured four corpses in the Gas District might be a clue.

If that "thing" was indeed a demon, or even a demon that had undergone mechanical modification, as speculated, then tracking this demon could lead them to the source of the Abyssal pollution.

...

Although Lu Heng felt that the Gas District case was unrelated to Xavier Matrix, it was just a speculation that needed further verification.

So, Lu Heng considered revisiting Xavier Matrix's Botanical Garden to investigate for demon traces and uncover the secrets of the Black Feather Spirit.

The next morning, Lu Heng used the Transformation Orb to change into a Siks, then accompanied Liorana Sexes to the Botanical Garden for an investigation.

The reason for the transformation was to avoid unnecessary trouble from the Siks officials and to gain Liorana Sexes' cooperation.

Due to the previous battle, Xavier Matrix's Botanical Garden had suffered severe damage.

Half of the house was missing.

The plants in the garden were badly damaged, and there was little need to salvage them.

Only a broken flowerpot lay under the garden wall, protected by the wall, preserving the plant within.

Although only two leaves remained, the root system was intact.

Lu Heng walked over, picked up the goose-yellow plant resembling a caltrop, wrapped it in some mud, placed it in a container, and held it in his palm, intending to take it back and see if it could be nurtured.

At that moment, another group entered the garden, led by a Descension Faction Siks, accompanied by three members of Alex Austin's team.

The American team had not come in full force; only three members were present.

Alex Austin surveyed the area and noticed Lu Heng holding a plant, so he asked the Descension Faction manager beside him, "Is that within the regulations?"

The Descension Faction manager immediately pointed at Lu Heng and questioned, "Who are you? Items at the scene cannot be touched."

Liorana Sexes stepped in front of Lu Heng and retorted, "Nelson, since when do you have the authority to question my employees?"

This Nelson was the 3rd city manager of the Descension Faction, a high-ranking member but not a leader.

Liorana Sexes, on the other hand, was the 1st leader of the Exodus Faction. Although the Exodus Faction was not as strong as the Descension Faction, Liorana Sexes held a higher position.

Nelson emphasized, "Items at the scene cannot be touched or taken away. Is there a need to discuss this?"

Lu Heng placed the goose-yellow caltrop back on the half-collapsed wall and remained silent.

Alex Austin approached, inspected the plant and container briefly, found nothing unusual, and let it go.

As he passed by Lu Heng, their eyes met for a moment, and both experienced a fleeting change in their gazes.

However, there was no follow-up, and they brushed past each other without turning back.

Liorana Sexes wanted to get away from Nelson, so she waved to Lu Heng and together they entered the basement of the courtyard.

This basement was Xavier Matrix's laboratory.

There were three floors underground, filled with various experimental materials and mechanical parts.

However, all the data had been wiped clean, so the official Sikes had no access to any experimental data.

Lu Heng walked around the basement, not searching for experimental data but for traces related to demons.

On the second floor of the underground laboratory, he discovered something unusual—a pair of demon claws and horns.

Liorana Sexes also noticed the demon horns and said, "As expected, Xavier Matrix is indeed connected to demons. There are traces of demons in his laboratory."

Lu Heng put on gloves and picked up the demon horns for inspection.

They were indeed demon horns, and nearby were some experimental tools and several demon claws.

It was clear that Xavier Matrix had been researching demons.

However, there didn't seem to be any signs of Abyssal pollution here.

Based on past experiences, places that had been polluted by the Abyss would always leave traces.

Therefore, Lu Heng didn't think that the presence of demon horns in the laboratory was enough to prove that Xavier Matrix was connected to the Abyssal pollution; it only indicated that he was researching demons.

In a world invaded by the Abyss, it was only natural for scientists to study demons.

If scientists weren't allowed to research demons, how could a civilization find ways to counter them? Unless there was evidence linking Xavier Matrix to the source of the Abyssal pollution, researching demons shouldn't be a reason for conviction.

In the underground laboratory, Lu Heng found a few pieces of armor similar to the Black Feather Spirit's, which he picked up and examined. They were outer shells for the shoulder area of battle armor, but he couldn't discern anything special about them.

As for the functional modules of the Black Feather Spirit, none were found in the underground laboratory.

Additionally, Lu Heng discovered a microscope in the laboratory specifically designed for observing plant cells. On it was a piece of plant leaf tissue that had withered.

After examining everything, the Descension faction manager, Nelson, entered the room with Alex Austin.

Liorana Sexes turned and asked Lu Heng, "Have you finished your inspection?"

Lu Heng nodded and followed her out of the underground laboratory.

Back in the courtyard, Lu Heng looked around but found no other clues. Finally, he took the golden prickly pear from the wall.

...

In the antigravity car, Liorana Sexes asked, "Did you find any clues? Can you tell me now why you wanted to help Xavier Matrix? This man is a madman who will stop at nothing in his research, and his laboratory contains demon horns and claws, and I don't understand why you want to help him."

Lu Heng, holding the plant in his hand, replied, "I don't see any problem with researching demons. To find ways to deal with demons, we need to study them."

Liorana Sexes stared at Lu Heng's face and said sternly, "Your answer is dangerous, and I'm starting to regret giving you visas."

Changing the subject, Lu Heng asked, "What was your intention in guiding me to investigate Xavier Matrix?"

The initial clues about Xavier Matrix were provided by Liorana Sexes.

However, she didn't have evidence to prove that the case in the Gas District was connected to Xavier Matrix, but she directed the investigation towards this mad scientist.

In fact, Lu Heng had been suspicious from the start, but he followed her guidance and began investigating Xavier Matrix.

The third challenge quest in the Abyssal Battlefield was to complete a faction quest.

The investigation of Xavier Matrix was the faction quest given by Liorana Sexes.

Despite his suspicions, he followed her request and started searching for Xavier Matrix.

Liorana Sexes hadn't anticipated that this alien human would find Xavier Matrix so quickly.

In response to Lu Heng's questioning, Liorana Sexes remained silent.

Lu Heng continued, "Do you want something from Xavier Matrix? I think it's best if you tell me the truth. The Descension faction also wants something from him. If you don't tell me the truth, I can't guarantee that this item won't fall into their hands."

Liorana Sexes narrowed her eyes and asked, "Do you have a way to find Xavier Matrix?"

Lu Heng didn't answer her question but looked down at the golden prickly pear in his hand.

After a while, Liorana Sexes said, "I need his research data on mechanical angels. It's a technology that even the military covets, and it's very important. Moreover, information shows that he possesses a unique technology that has never been seen before."

In truth, Lu Heng had already guessed the answer.

The battle mechanical angels created by Xavier Matrix could single-handedly take on thousands of drones and sink antigravity fighters.

If it weren't for Alex Austin's appearance, the Sikes military's capture operation for Xavier Matrix would have never succeeded.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end