16 Going Back

Yang Feng rode in Yang Ao's military helicopter and left.

Knowing that people from the empire were coming, Lin Qing didn't stay any longer, as he didn't want to be recruited by them yet.

Furthermore, he had previously threatened these researchers. If a few of them were to report him to the higher-ups later, the people from the capital might come and kill him.

"Old Huang, let's retreat!"

A puff of black smoke spurted out as Lin Qing pushed his accelerator and ran away. Huang Quan also sped up and followed him. After three evolutions, his speed had increased to 90 km/h.

A few minutes after the two of them left, a fleet of military helicopters flew over. There were 15 pitch-black helicopters whose sides were lined with cold muzzles and golden shells.

The researchers waved their hands and shouted. They almost cried when they saw them.

"Who is Professor Chen?" A group of soldiers wearing camouflage uniforms and armed with machine guns alighted from the helicopters. The leader of the group had a high military rank and wore black sunglasses.

"I am Professor Chen." Chen Chong stood up.

"It's been hard on you. The empire sent me to receive you. Get in the helicopters. I'll bring everyone back to the capital."

Chen Chong turned around and looked at the research institute with a frown. "Then what about the equipment here? Should we take them with us?"

"Sorry, we can't take them. The best way to handle them is to destroy them."

"No!" A group of researchers immediately rejected him. Wang Xiaoming's objection was the loudest. "The equipment here is priceless. They are too precious. We can't destroy them."

"We can't destroy them," Chen Chong said in a low voice. "With the current conditions, it will be extremely difficult to build another batch of equipment like this."

It was difficult to get a set of such equipment in peacetime, let alone now.

Once the equipment was destroyed, they might not be able to completely replicate this set of equipment anymore.

"What should we do then? We can't possibly get our soldiers to move the equipment back over multiple journeys, right?"

"There's no need to move the equipment. After all, normal steel beasts won't be able to break through the research institute's main entrance. There's also a sealed explosion-proof door in the basement that no one can enter. When the time is right, we can come back again."

"I have no objections if you're willing to do this. Get in the helicopters. Let's not waste any more time."

The scientific research equipment here couldn't be used by steel beasts. Moreover, the equipment was worse than a pile of scrap metal in the eyes of ordinary people. No one would want them even if they were left here, so there wasn't much point in destroying them.

…

In a small district, Huang Quan looked at Lin Qing in confusion. "Aren't we running away? Why are you squatting here?"

"What do you know?" Lin Qing slapped the back of Huang Quan's head. "Can they take away the research equipment?"

"Nonsense. Of course, they can't take the equipment away. Even if they do, who knows how many journeys they'd have to make."

"Then, do you want a weapon?"

"Of course!"

"That's it." Lin Qing smiled mysteriously. "After they leave, we'll steal the equipment and find the materials. Then we'll kidnap Wang Xiaoming to make weapons for us."

"Hehehe, this is a good idea."

Apart from the equipment being useful in the future, Lin Qing also had selfish motives for taking them away. After all, he didn't want a weapon like the Flame Devil to fall into the hands of warmongers.

The capital was also in chaos right now, as there were many ambitious and ruthless people who wanted to rise up in this chaotic world.

They didn't know that Wang Xiaoming had created the Flame Devil yet. But the moment they found out, they might head back to retrieve the equipment. After taking away the data and equipment, it wouldn't be long before a second and third Flame Devil were born.

It was one thing to use such weapons to kill steel beasts, but it would be too scary if someone used them to kill Motorbots who didn't obey them and satisfy their ambitions.

Half an hour later, after confirming that the people from the empire had left, Lin Qing and Huang Quan sneaked to the research institute.

Seeing that Lin Qing was about to chop down the door with his sword, Huang Quan waved his hand. "Leave such a small matter to me. Using the Flame Devil is a waste."

He threw a punch, and the bulletproof glass door shattered into pieces.

The awkward thing was that the two of them didn't go in. Instead, they stood rooted on the spot while looking at each other.

"This door is a little small." Huang Quan turned his head. "Should I punch a few more times?"

Lin Qing was 18 meters tall and couldn't enter, let alone the 20-meter-tall Huang Quan.

"Forget it. I'm afraid you'll destroy the building with a few punches. You'll destroy all the equipment inside before we can take them out. Step back and let me do it."

Lin Qing pulled out the Flame Devil and extended the blade. A red blade appeared. He retreated a few meters before swinging it at the roof of the research institute.

Rip!

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out while the stench of something burning spread. Then the research institute was dug open, revealing its internal structure.

The surface of the roof was made of tiles, but there was a layer of steel plates underneath it. Huang Quan now understood. "I was wondering why the steel beasts couldn't break in after so many days. So it was because of this 'tortoise shell'."

"Cut the crap and get to work."

Lin Qing put away his sword and started to tear down the research institute from top to bottom. The two of them worked together, and soon, only the ground of the research institute was left.

Lin Qing observed the steel-plated basement door. Then after consuming a few crystals to replenish his energy, he took out his sword again and gently made a cut in the door. He ignored the red-hot metal in the door and used his hand to tear open the steel-plated door.

The entrance was getting bigger and bigger. It was not until dark that they saw the equipment in the research institute.

There were hundreds of computers, huge machines that were three to four meters tall, various crystal tubes, and sealed boxes of resources in the room.

"Put the equipment in the back of my truck. Start moving," Lin Qing said to Huang Quan after turning into the heavy truck. Ten minutes later, there were only a few packets of instant noodles left in the underground research institute.

"Where are we putting these things? We can't keep bringing the equipment with us, right?" After leaving the research institute, Huang Quan ran out of the city with Lin Qing.

"It's impossible for us to bring the equipment along. Let's find a place to bury them first. We can come back to retrieve them later."

Afterward, they found an abandoned semi-trailer truck. Lin Qing took out its trailer and put all the equipment inside before digging a hole to bury it.

The roads at night were not safe, but they were not in a hurry to travel, so they found a place to rest and left Shenbei City the next day.

The next stop was Handong Province, a first-tier province in the country with a permanent population of 60 million.

…

As the two trucks sped through the highway, Huang Quan asked, "Lin Qing, is there something in Qingzhou that you're in a hurry to go there?"

"It was important at first, but it's not important now."

Previously, he had wanted to go to Qingzhou to seek protection. After all, his strength was limited, and it was easy for him to die if he wandered around. But it was different now. After all, he had broken through to adulthood and obtained the Flame Devil. Now, he was not weak at all and could kill anyone that stood in his way.

"Since it's not important, let's go for a round of killing steel beasts in Handong. It's important for us to increase our strength as soon as possible. After all, it won't be easy to kill steel beasts once they evolve."

Yang Feng had already returned, and Huang Quan had entrusted the care of his parents to him, so he wasn't worried about his family. All he wanted to do now was to increase his strength and gain a foothold in the Cataclysm.

After spending this period of time with Lin Qing, he had observed that the Cataclysm was getting worse every day, and his sense of crisis was getting stronger by the day. Without absolute strength, he wouldn't even have the right to survive in the future.

"Haha, since you've said so, I will definitely risk my life to play with you." Lin Qing turned around, got off the highway, and then drove in another direction.

In the early stages of the Cataclysm, very few people had the intention to hunt steel beasts. First, no one knew that crystals could let them evolve. Second, they might not even be able to protect their lives and would be grateful if steel beasts didn't seek trouble with them. Who would dare to take the initiative to look for steel beasts?

It was the same for the empire's military, whose primary mission was to ensure the safety of the citizens. They were already badly battered from the lack of food and the cold.

Since Huang Quan wanted to hunt steel beasts, Lin Qing would support him. Furthermore, he also wanted to increase his strength. It would be safer for the two of them to work together.

After entering Handong, they didn't go straight to the provincial capital. Instead, they planned to start with sweeping the remote city areas.

However, they encountered trouble the moment they stepped into the area. Roadblocks surrounded the road, and dozens of Motorbots stood by the roadside with unfriendly gazes.