Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

Chapter 571 Underground Workshop

Wow!

Zixuan was startled again.

"I'm not saying this to be mean, Miss Clementine, aren't you afraid of alerting the enemy by doing this?" Zi Xuan lowered her voice, her urgent tone tinged with helplessness.

Claire turned back and smiled again, "So what? The bigger the commotion, the more afraid they are. To me, these thieves are just ordinary people without even a contract. I'll kill as many as they come."

Zhao Heng stepped through the melted iron gate, and what came into view was a huge workshop.

The underground workshop was far larger than they had imagined; the floor was covered with white tiles, and under the dim, flickering gaslight, a chilling scene was revealed:

The cold metal table, the scattered tools, the rusty cage... all exuded a stench of blood that even disinfectant could not mask.

"An experimental base?" Zhao Heng frowned.

Clementine stopped in the middle, looking around.

The metal table was stained with old blood, and the scattered tools, also broken, were neatly piled in the corner. It was more like a room storing discarded equipment than a laboratory.

The three of them suppressed the nauseating smell and thought carefully.

"An abandoned laboratory? This place really is a hidden gem," Zixuan said.

“The intelligence from Diablo’s exploration mentioned that this is less than a third of what we’re here. It will go even deeper into the distance, and laboratories like this are probably extremely rare,” Zhao Heng said.

Clementine chuckled lightly: "What's there to be afraid of? Aren't your two friends still here, as well as that tiger uncle and the knights? They've already laid an ambush near all the strongholds and hidden exits. Even if they try to escape, we'll wipe them all out."

Upon closer reflection, we have to thank Diablo. The Memory Stone he gifted contained the locations of almost all these hidden outposts throughout the glacier, and even rough sketches of their internal structures. This "gift," though from a demon, was chillingly precise.

As she spoke, Claire looked up at the ceiling and said, "Although we knew this beforehand, such a large scale, and the fact that it has been so deeply rooted in the glacier for so long, must have involved insiders."

“The possibility of collusion between insiders and outsiders is very high,” Zhao Heng said in a deep voice. “Without the cover or tacit approval of internal forces, it would be impossible for a facility of this size to exist for so long under the noses of the Holy Knights and the Guard Regiment.”

Clementine nodded: "That's right, so let's go! This time we must wipe out these menaces in one fell swoop!"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless footsteps came from all around.

"It seems the rats have been alerted." Clementine was not alarmed at all; instead, she gave a cold smile.

Dozens of armed men wielding sharp knives poured out from the four doors at the front of the room. They were dressed in haphazard clothes, but moved swiftly, clearly trained thugs.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass on private property!" the scarred man at the head of the group shouted sternly.

"Private restricted area? Hmph." Claire glanced around and sneered.

Too lazy to say anything more, she simply summoned her scythe.

"Huh, are we just going to start fighting?" Zixuan was taken aback.

“Of course, fists speak louder in these situations, and besides…” Claire smiled, a dangerous glint in her eyes, “I’ve been looking for someone to vent my anger on!”

Before she finished speaking, she appeared like a ghost, her scythe drawing a blazing arc as she aimed straight for the scarred man's throat.

The other party was clearly not expected that this seemingly petite girl would attack so ruthlessly and swiftly, and hurriedly raised his knife to block.

Oh!

A cold glint flashed, accompanied by the sound of wind being cut, and before the man could react, his head had already fallen to the ground.

The other thugs were stunned when they saw this.

Although they had weapons in hand, everyone froze in place, their faces filled with terror, in the face of the ruthless act of beheading someone in an instant.

At that moment, Clementine smiled, drew her scythe, and turned back: "Anyone else who's not afraid to try? Those who know what's good for them, step back!"

The thugs hesitated for a moment, but remembering that killing the outsiders was a death order from above, they gritted their teeth, roared, and charged forward with their knives raised.

"You're courting death." Clementine's smile grew colder as she flicked her wrist, the scythe wreathed in flames slicing a crimson arc through the crowd.

Before the thugs at the front could even touch the hem of her clothes, their ankles were entangled in thorns, and they were thrown heavily to the ground. Their clothes were then burned by flames, causing them to scream in agony.

Seeing this, Zixuan felt helpless.

She sighed softly, "So, can we not be so impulsive...?"

Zhao Heng brandished his gun: "Since things have already come to this, let's finish this quickly and force our way through!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he dashed off like an arrow. Zixuan shook her head, and had no choice but to raise her staff and cooperate: "Alright, although it's a bit reckless, I'll play along to the end!"

Zixuan raised her hand, and a blazing red light shone from the tip of her staff, sending several fire arrows piercing the air.

……

Meanwhile, deep within the experimental site, two researchers in white lab coats were recording their research findings using test tubes and "samples" on a table.

At that moment, a fully armed samurai in red armor, accompanied by six or seven samurai dressed as wanderers, approached them.

"How's it going? Any progress on the experiment?"

The researcher put down the test tube and shook his head: "Not yet. According to the experiment, the virus's activity is extremely unstable. It will fall into a semi-dormant state in low temperature environment, and high temperature will directly cause the strain to collapse. Moreover, the glacier has a contract, so the virus's effect is still weakening and cannot achieve the expected infection and spread effect at all."

The researcher wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with fear.

The samurai raised his hand and grabbed the researcher by the neck, the force so strong that the researcher's face instantly turned red: "Useless! After wasting so many resources and capturing so many children for live experiments, this is the result you give me?"

"M-My lord, spare me!" the researcher struggled desperately. "The environment of the glacier is too special! The elemental concentration here is completely different from other areas, and the virus simply cannot adapt... Moreover, the children's physical condition is weaker than we expected; many of them won't survive more than three days..."

"Nonsense, otherwise why would I have chosen this place to cultivate the virus!" The samurai released his grip, and the researcher fell to the ground, finally able to catch his breath. "Back then, if that woman hadn't ruined our ancestor's plans and cut off the supply, this virus would have been completed and used on the battlefield long ago. This is the 'Black Death,' capable of completely corrupting even evolved contractors. If we had it, why would we have been hiding underground in recent years!"

“But children have weak antibodies, so even if we use them in experiments, we won’t see any effect,” the researcher shouted, lying on the ground.

“Yes, even if you’re going to do research, you should at least find a few young, strong, and healthy people to do it,” another researcher said.

But the next second, he was overwhelmed by the samurai's imposing aura.