Chapter 267: 135 Plan Inside and Out_2

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The fields that were once ready to yield a bountiful harvest on both sides of the road were now replaced by patches of ash, with drones and small attack boats patrolling everywhere as if guarding against something.

There were also many sentry posts along the road, and the defense had become extremely tight.

Since this was Dr. Nardo’s vehicle, the path was naturally unobstructed.

Nardo said, “Some unknown reason caused the plants to wither, most likely because of my underground research.”

He glanced at the two officers in front of him but said nothing further.

“Let’s discuss this at my research center. Hera, eight years ago, it wasn’t that I took over your research results. I had to protect you and published your results under my name.”

Hera frowned at Nardo, “What about the missing months of my memory?”

Nardo said, “I personally performed the removal surgery on you.”

“This is a father’s love for his daughter, right?”

“Yes, you can resent me, but it was the only way to protect you,” Nardo looked at Hera with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, “I was impulsive earlier, and now I regret bringing you back. You were supposed to have left safely…”

“I remember what happened there.”

Hera whispered,

“Professor Pat, and your research topics, I remember them all.”

Nardo was somewhat shocked, “That’s impossible!”

Hera calmly explained,

“Sample one is capable of reproduction; Professor Pat’s research was on how to induce sample one to produce continuously.

“Your research focused on how to induce sample one to hatch a special sample capable of reproduction.

“The project I participated in back then was how to achieve inter-regional communication between sample one and ordinary samples.”

Nardo suddenly felt that his daughter before him was very unfamiliar.

“Hera, you…”

“Take me back, Father. I have something to ask Professor Pat.”

She looked out the window, her gaze distant.

“They have already begun brewing a disaster, haven’t they?”

“No, you couldn’t possibly remember these,” Nardo still murmured.

Hera snorted, slightly lost in thought as she stared out the window.

She, of course, hadn’t remembered.

But by understanding Professor Pat’s and her father’s original areas of expertise, she could easily deduce this information.

The scenery outside the car window changed to the low buildings of a small town and the worried old people gathered at the town’s entrance.

The sky began to narrow.

They drove into an underground parking lot and, at the other end, passed through a disguised wall, entering a heavily guarded arched cavern.

The metal-armored vehicle stopped before the final sentry post.

Professor Pat’s voice came through the walkie-talkie in the guard’s hand:

“Oh, Nardo, why did you bring Hera back? She doesn’t need to be involved again.”

Professor Pat seemed somewhat annoyed.

Inside the car, Nardo glanced at Hera and immediately said, “Professor, I believe Hera is indispensable to our experimental project. This isn’t just a father’s bias. I’ll show you her recent research results.”

Pat’s tone became somewhat agitated, “This isn’t any glorious affair! Nardo! There’s no honor here! You need to learn to protect your family!”

“But Professor…”

“Professor,” Hera suddenly spoke, “I have already forgiven your hasty attempt to subdue me back then.”

Pat fell silent.

Several guards’ fingers were close to the biological safety of the laser rifle.

Professor Pat spoke again, his voice becoming somber:

“Nardo, I hope you don’t plead with me a second time. I’m just a researcher here; I’m not in charge of administrative management.

“Bring her in… remember to go through the screening, it’s a necessary step.”

The guard put away the walkie-talkie, and the security gate in front slowly opened.

Nardo glanced at Hera, explaining in a low voice, “Professor Pat’s wording is a bit confused… there’s no pleading, just a regular work submission.”

“I understand,” Hera nodded, continuing to look out the window.

An increasing amount of details were transmitted to an external receiver through her contact lens.

…

The unmanned taxi traveled normally on the express lane of the Ring Star Highway.

In the back seat, Yang Ming sat upright, continually tapping on the projection screen in front of him as if working on document processing.

On the screen, photos lay layered, gradually unveiling the mystery of that secret base before him.

Just the deployment and those meters-thick security gates…

Lyu reminded him, “Boss, there’s a high risk in a solo incursion; sufficient individual heavy firepower is also necessary.”

“What do you think about the recording Hera left me, Lyu?”

“She’s very smart, even smarter than we anticipated.”

Lyu sighed,

“She’s quite a talent, but her identity is too complex. She’s already prepared herself that once she returns to that base, she won’t be able to leave safely again.

“She’s pinning her hopes on you, Boss. She’s using you.”

Yang Ming pondered, “Using me? How’s she using me?”

“She wants to exploit the greedy trait you’ve shown, Boss.”

Lyu analyzed carefully,

“If you truly were a Federal Agent and executed the plan she set, acquiring the intelligence, escaping abroad, and then threatening the New Federation for a fortune, such a thing is very likely to happen. She’s betting on this possibility.”

Yang Ming laughed, “So you mean she’s been trying to deceive me all along?”

“You’re both using each other.”

Lyu softly clicked his tongue,

“Her disadvantage is that her intelligence and information are completely suppressed by us; she’s merely a research-obsessed scientist.

“She doesn’t know your true identity, Boss, nor does she know we’ll deliver this intelligence directly to the Sherman Empire.

“As long as she continues with this plan, we always hold the advantage.”

Yang Ming shrugged, “This will be my least rewarding victory… she has started the screening.”

A few new pictures popped up.

Hera, with the help of two female staff members, entered the full-body scanner, clutching the backpack in her hand the entire time.

After stepping out of the scanner, she removed the accessories she was wearing, and the camera spot on her pendant-like network terminal had been covered with signal interference patches, leaving it with only basic functionalities like projection and storage.

This contact lens did not escape detection either, but apparently, the security personnel here didn’t notice anything unusual. (The contact lens had a structure of two layers, the main body and a film. When Hera removed the lens, she would stick the film to her fingertip, waiting to reapply it once the substance analysis was completed and reassembled.)

The subsequent images showed that the contact lens was once again worn by Hera.

‘These are my contact lenses.’

Yang Ming seemed to hear Hera’s voice explaining to the staff.

A few minutes later, Hera entered the underground base.

Yang Ming’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

It finally began.

In a certain sense, this was to be his first encounter with the Space Worm Clan.

“””