I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 377 Betrayal

Chapter 377 Betrayal
Sha, sha, sha,

"Couldn't you have widened this passage a little more?"

Is it possible that you're the fattest one among us?

In the dark underground passage, several people were crawling forward like pupae in the narrow dirt.

"Don't make a sound, or you'll alert the guards."

As a girl's voice rang out, the argument ceased, leaving only the rustling sound of her crawling forward.

Despite being hundreds of meters underground, their extraordinary strength was enough to pierce through the soil and rocks. Their formidable physical abilities allowed these young men and women to climb through narrow passages for extended periods without experiencing oxygen deprivation or exhaustion. However, inner anxiety was inevitable. The previous conversation had helped to regulate their mindset. Fortunately:
"arrive!"

A glimmer of light appeared ahead, instantly energizing the group who had been crawling for a long distance in the darkness.

The ventilation duct's air exchange window was gripped by ten fingers, with slight force.

Steel can be deformed like clay.
As the twisted mass of 'metal' was moved away,

A head of short, tousled hair was revealed, followed by the face of a young man with dark circles under his eyes, who cautiously scanned the area.

"Safety,"

After Xia Yin, who was the first to climb out of the passage, confirmed that no one was there, she turned to look at the passage.

"you"

"Move aside, I'm coming out."

A pair of chubby hands reached out from both sides of the ventilation duct, and then exerted force:
Gaa, gaa gaa~~
Amidst the creaking of metal, the poor ventilation duct was forcibly pried open, and a chubby figure crawled out.

"Tsk, now that you've done this, we can all walk out standing up."

The third girl who came out squatted down and spoke.
Indeed, after the fat man in second place forcefully pushed them aside, it became much easier for those behind them to walk.

"His hair was full of dirt,"

Immediately after emerging, Yijiang lowered her head, patted her spiky hair with both hands, and a pile of fine dirt fell down.

"Never mind all that, let's move on to Xiaocang."

Another boy turned his head and looked at the girl with twin braids.

Which way should we go?

This is an abandoned passage, with only emergency lights emitting a greenish glow: digging directly to the ground more than 200 meters below ground level would be too difficult. According to the plan, they would first escape from the living area and then leave this underground laboratory through the ventilation ducts.

"follow me,"

Brushing the dirt and dust off her clothes, the girl named Ogura took the lead and walked forward along the abandoned passage.

The other boys and girls, covered in dust and dirt, immediately followed.

Freedom, a new life!

We'll be there soon!

"Hey, what are you guys planning to do after you go out?"

"I'll go see my mother first."

Xia Yin, with her messy hair and dark circles under her eyes, was the first to speak.

"Only two people from our family escaped here. We hope she has recovered."

To pay for medical expenses, the boy 'voluntarily' became a volunteer; it's unknown whether his mother has recovered after this period of time.
"I envy you so much, my family is all gone."

The chubby guy picked up the conversation, saying he was "recruited" as cannon fodder by the local gang; then he was sold—no, "labor dispatched" to the research department as a volunteer.

"my words"

Before Yijiang with his spiky hair could finish speaking,

The girl with twin braids walked up to a large metal door.

"alright,"

"We can talk about it later."

Place your finger on the card reader, and with a flash of electricity, the metal door in front of you slides open to the sides.

"Kokura's abilities are really convenient,"

"It's practically the nemesis of modern technology!"

Others praised it, but some noticed something amiss:

"This door is so thick?"

Under the dim light of the emergency lights, a group of people passed through the metal gate and didn't go far.

boom!
The metal door behind them closed automatically.

"Xiaocang, you can even control it remotely—"

Light,

Blazing white light,

The sudden light

The light from all directions made these boys and girls, who were used to the dimness, instinctively raise their hands to shield their eyes.

???

tap tap tap,

Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The sudden burst of light blinded them, but the sound of rapid footsteps and heavy metal objects hitting the ground made the boys and girls instinctively assume a defensive stance.

"Ogura—"

I blinked hard, forcing my eyes to adjust to the light;

A spiky-haired boy named Yijiang anxiously tried to find someone he cared about, but froze in place.

"Stop yelling,"

Standing amidst a group of fully armed superhuman soldiers and superhuman officers in power armor, the girl with twin braids disdainfully patted the dust off her clothes.

"The fugitives' play-acting time is over. Next up:"

"Experiment time!"

???

"here it is"

"Ogura, you betrayed us?!"

The other teenagers, whose eyes had adjusted to the bright light, also questioned him in a mixture of shock and anger.

No matter how precocious or intelligent they were, they never imagined that their long-time 'leader' was actually a traitor!

"Ha, you can only blame your stupidity."

As the light overhead illuminated the spacious laboratory, the metal walls and ceiling gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen, clearly constructed from an extremely thick alloy. Opposite them stood numerous fully armed superhuman soldiers, superhuman officers clad in heavy power armor, and a mocking young woman.

"Don't you know that there must be police informants among the prisoners in prison?"

"Don't underestimate the power and intelligence of the government. Do you really think your childish prison break methods will get you out of here?"

The girl raised a finger, her mockery evident.

"The only one who can gain freedom is me."

"And you—"

crackling

A flash of lightning,
A girl had already circled around to the back of Ogura, her clenched fist aimed at the back of her head!

Her ability is 'electric acceleration,' though it doesn't reach the speed of 'Black Flame,' which is invisible to the naked eye; but it's still enough to bypass these 'dog-level' superhuman soldiers—

Snapped,

Kogura, the target, snapped his fingers.

Pfft

Fresh blood gushed from his mouth!

The girl who sped up behind her trembled, as if she had been struck in the chest by an invisible fist, and collapsed weakly to the ground.

"Scarlett!"

"How is this going?"

"Isn't your ability 'electromagnetic interference'?!"

Witnessing this scene, the remaining boys and girls gaped in astonishment; even Scarlett, the fastest among them, didn't know how she had fallen.

"Tsk tsk tsk~~"

"You poor fools, let me reveal the answer to you." With one foot planted on the head of a girl named Scarlett, amidst her trembling limbs and the spreading blood, Ogura explained smugly:

“There are bombs planted near your hearts.”

? !
"Only a few grams,"

Amidst the pale faces of the others, Xiaocang's smile grew even more unrestrained.

"Enough to blow your hearts out."

Even for extraordinary beings, the heart remains a vital organ: normally it is protected by muscles, bones, and spiritual energy. But what method can be used to defend against an explosion originating from within?
"When is this?"

"They planted bombs in our bodies, you bastards!"

"Hey, Ogura, give me a chance."

While the others were filled with shock and anger, a teenager stepped forward with his hands outstretched.

"Let me join you, even if it means going to the battlefield—"

"Think beautifully!"

The girl with twin braids waved her hand dismissively.

"Your fate is to die here!"

? ?
As the boy's expression froze, the girl named Ogura pointed to the people beside her, who were wearing exoskeletons and looked like tall, robotic superhuman officers.

"The experiments here are nearing completion, and now only the final practical test remains."

"Your opponents are them, so struggle as much as you want—"

Only then can we collect experimental data under extreme conditions!
A red dot appeared on the group of people; it was the crosshair of the infrared sight on the weapons held by the superhuman soldiers and officers.

"let's start."

With a wave of her hand, the smiling girl unleashed a specially designed armor-piercing bullet!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The core area of the underground laboratory.

"Peak movement speed reaches 75 meters per second, strength is sufficient to lift a five-ton weight, and skin can withstand 5.56 rifle bullets."

In the command center of the laboratory, a doctor in a white coat was talking animatedly about the battle unfolding on the screen.

"Gentlemen, please look at this experimental subject who possesses 'limb regeneration'—"

The man in the white coat pointed to the fat boy on the screen. He was covered in blood and had clearly taken a lot of bullets; yet he still charged into the group of soldiers and knocked away those fully armed 'E-' level superhuman soldiers.

Even during the fierce battle, bullets were squeezed out of his wounds by his muscles.
The wound then healed on its own, leaving no trace in no time.

"Its cells possess the ability to divide indefinitely, and can heal injuries in a short period of time by consuming 'spiritual energy'."

"Impressive ability, Doctor, very good."

In the command center, specially processed electronic voices rang out, coming from a 'big shot' from the upper echelons of the Commonwealth.

"But can you be sure you'll acquire the specified abilities?"

Another electronic voice questioned,

As the era of the extraordinary continues to advance, these high-ranking individuals are no longer satisfied with merely surpassing the 'E-level' power of ordinary people; instead, they crave even stronger extraordinary power and the direct acquisition of extraordinary abilities—ideally, abilities that can be specified to them!

Many of its combat abilities are naturally quite good for most superhumans.

But for the powerful and wealthy, it's useless; what they need are defensive, life-saving, and support capabilities!

Go to the battlefield?
Are you kidding?
Their accumulated wealth over generations,

Isn't it all for the sake of always being superior to others?
Soldiers only need to charge into battle and risk their lives, while politicians have many more things to consider: when to negotiate, where to extract money, and how to gain the greatest benefit.
Therefore, abilities like 'limb regeneration' are definitely top-tier extraordinary abilities in the eyes of the powerful and wealthy.

"We are currently researching this topic."

"But as you gentlemen have seen, we have gained valuable experience in the mass production of D-class superhumans."

The "experience" that the white-coated doctor talks about is built on the corpses of thousands of failed experiments, but he doesn't care, nor do the big shots hiding behind the internal network.

"The combat capabilities demonstrated by these experimental subjects are sufficient to deal with low-intensity supernatural disasters."

"I'm sure you gentlemen also need bodyguards and soldiers like these."

Even to acquire such power oneself!

"Well done, Doctor."

"Funding, supplies, volunteers. We will provide everything."

Even after processing, you can still hear that air of someone who has long held a high position.

"Just go for it,"

"Your cause is just,"

"The laws of the entire Commonwealth grant you sacred power."

"Yes!"

Two officers in white coats raised their hands in a military salute.
Whether it is just or not is debatable, but the state and the law are on their side, so it is undoubtedly 'sacred'!
"Next, after collecting the data, we'll dispose of these experimental samples."

"Won't something unexpected happen?"

An electronic voice asked hesitantly,
This was met with a calm reply from the doctor wearing black-rimmed glasses.

"Don't worry, sir. The extraordinary world also has its rules."

“Spiritual power does not appear out of thin air, but comes from a strong body and spirit; these experimental subjects can only unleash power at most at the D+ level, and do not have the potential to cause accidents.”

Their research found that, in order to verify this conclusion, many test subjects who died in extreme fear were indeed able to unleash greater power, but this power always has a limit.

If there are no limits, then what's the point of training? Just wait for death to come, or for your loved ones to be killed and you to go insane.

No matter how intense the emotion, it is impossible to generate more than 30% of the spiritual power of the original body.

However, this is only the general case; if there is external interference:
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"let me go."

Bang!
Xia Yin, with her tousled hair and dark circles under her eyes, hadn't finished speaking.
He was grabbed by the head by a superhuman officer wearing power armor and slammed hard onto the metal ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After being slammed repeatedly, a series of small dents appeared on the metal floor.

A large metal hand lifted the bloodied and mangled boy, and fresh blood continued to drip from his green surgical gown.

Ultimately, these teenagers were only D-rank, equivalent to the "wolf-level" in Japan. They lacked any real combat experience, relying entirely on haphazard punches. Furthermore, Xia Yin's "small clone" ability offered no advantage in combat, making it easy to understand why they were easily defeated by experienced E+-rank superhuman officers in power armor.

Pfft

"Ah~~!!"

On the other side, the chubby boy's hands and feet had been severed, leaving only a clump of flesh wriggling on the ground.

His regenerative abilities can only heal small wounds; this limb loss is beyond his capabilities.

The worst off was another boy whose ability was 'claw transformation'. After tearing apart several superhuman soldiers, he was riddled with bullets by concentrated fire.

"Asshole!!"

He was pinned to the ground by two superhuman officers.
With her spiky hair, Yijiang raised her head, her angry gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on the girl with twin braids.

"Ogura! Why did you betray us?!"

Were all the laughter and promises we made just lies?

However, the girl who was playing with the 'acacia' in her hand didn't even glance at him.

Answer me! Answer me!

'idiot,'

'Of course, it's because you're weak. If you had power, she'd immediately show a completely different face.'

A voice rang in Yijiang's ears as he struggled, leaving the boy unsure whether it was a real voice or a hallucination.

"Want power?"

"If you want it, I'll give it to you—this cursed power."

crackling and popping

To the astonishment of the two superhuman officers, thick bolts of lightning suddenly erupted from the boy they had been suppressing.

BOOM!! BOOM!!
The next second, two figures were sent flying backward and crashed into the ceiling.