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Chapter 122 Double Trap
Su Wanqing's brows furrowed even more. The news Lin Feng brought weighed heavily on her heart like a stone.

The unusual activity of zombies in the Northwest region was no accident. She walked to the control panel and said to Lu Zhao, "Immediately try to contact Xiao Ran to confirm his location and situation."

Lu Zhao's fingers flew across the keyboard, and various codes flashed on the screen.

A few seconds later, he shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face.

"Communication is interrupted and a connection cannot be established. I tried scanning with the positioning system, but... the signal is blocked by some kind of interference source, and I cannot accurately locate Xiao Ran's position."

Su Wanqing's breathing became somewhat rapid. She knew that Xiao Ran had always acted in a solitary manner, and that he had chosen to act alone in order to obtain intelligence on the black market.

Now, we can't contact him, and the number of zombies in the northwest region has surged, so the situation is not optimistic.

"Activate the barrier material generated by the jade bracelet and transport it to the northwest region."

Su Wanqing decisively gave the order. "Even if we can't directly locate Xiao Ran, we can at least provide him with some defense."

Lu Zhao nodded and replied, "Understood."

Just as the two were anxiously waiting for the barrier materials to be ready, the communicator suddenly rang.

A deep voice came from within: "Su Wanqing, it seems you care a lot about your former special forces soldier."

Su Wanqing's face instantly turned ashen. She recognized the voice; it belonged to a black market merchant named Duke.

A ruthless and manipulative individual skilled in power politics.

"Duke, what are your men up to in the Northwest region?" Su Wanqing asked coldly.

"What am I doing? I'm just providing some... services."

Duke's voice was full of sarcasm. "Mr. Xiao Ran chose to go to that coordinate point to obtain intelligence. As for what happened there, that's beyond my control."

"Coordinates?" Su Wanqing's heart skipped a beat. She remembered a coordinate point that Xiao Ran had mentioned when he left, saying it was intelligence provided by the black market and might contain samples of the zombie virus.

Is Xiao Ran in danger right now?

"What exactly do you want?" Su Wanqing asked, trying her best to control her emotions.

“It’s simple,” Duke said. “Abandon the operation at the coordinate point and hand over all the information you have about the jade bracelet. In return, I guarantee Mr. Xiao Ran’s safety.”

Su Wanqing sneered inwardly. She had long known that Duke wouldn't let Xiao Ran off easily.

This guy's goal wasn't to obtain intelligence at all, but to use Xiao Ran to force her to reveal the secret of the jade bracelet.

"You're dreaming!" Su Wanqing rejected Duke's offer without hesitation.

"It seems you still value that former special forces soldier quite a bit." Duke's voice turned cold.

"Alright, since you're so uncooperative, I can only wish Mr. Xiao Ran good luck. I hope he can escape from the encirclement of those... new friends on his own."

A piercing noise came through the communicator, then silence.

Su Wanqing clenched her fists tightly, her anger almost uncontrollable.

……

The coordinates point is a long-abandoned underground warehouse. The interior of the warehouse has been transformed into a complex maze, with narrow, dark passages and various discarded items piled up everywhere.

Holding a modified assault rifle, Xiao Ran carefully navigated the maze-like passages.

The map in his hand showed that the fixed sample area was just ahead, but according to the actual situation, the layout of the area was completely different from that on the map.

"Damn it, the intelligence from the black market is utterly worthless," Xiao Ran cursed under his breath.

He felt that his actions had been misled by the black market; this was not an ordinary sample storage point at all, but a trap.

Suddenly, a low growl came from the darkness. Xiao Ran immediately stopped, raised his rifle, and cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

"What is that?" he muttered to himself.

Before long, a group of figures emerged from the darkness. These figures were not ordinary zombies, but were covered with a thick layer of black armor, moved with extraordinary agility, and emitted a nauseating stench.

"A new type of mutated zombie!" Xiao Ran was shocked. He had never seen this type of zombie before, and their attack methods were completely different from those of previous zombies.

These zombies move in groups, relying on each other to form an impenetrable encirclement.

Several zombies launched the first attack, opening their blood-red mouths and lunging at Xiao Ran.

Without hesitation, Xiao Ran pulled the trigger, and the bullets accurately hit the zombies' heads, knocking them to the ground.

However, more and more zombies kept pouring in, their numbers so great that it was despairing.

Xiao Ran fired as he retreated, trying to escape the zombies' encirclement.

"A bunch of beasts!" Xiao Ran roared, his rifle firing furiously, scattering the surrounding zombies. However, there were simply too many zombies; they surged forward like a tide, completely surrounding Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran's ammunition was being consumed at an increasingly rapid rate, and his physical strength was gradually failing.

Just when he was feeling desperate, his communicator suddenly rang.

It's Duke's voice.

"Mr. Xiao Ran, I'm sorry to say, but your situation doesn't look too good."

Duke's voice was full of mockery. "However, if you're willing to cooperate with me, I can send someone to pick you up."

A look of disgust crossed Xiao Ran's face. He knew what Duke's proposal meant.

"Duke, don't even think about using me!" Xiao Ran said coldly.

"It seems you're still stubbornly clinging to your old ways," Duke sighed.

"In that case, I can only watch helplessly as you are devoured by these...new friends."

Another piercing noise came through the communicator, and then the connection was lost.

Xiao Ran was filled with anger and helplessness. He knew he was in a desperate situation.

Just as the zombie was about to devour him, Xiao Ran suddenly remembered the special items he was carrying.

He quickly pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it at the horde of zombies.

The smoke grenade exploded, instantly releasing a large amount of thick smoke. The smoke spread, obscuring the zombies' vision.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xiao Ran activated the tactical vest he was wearing, triggering the built-in stealth device.

Using his invisibility, he quickly weaved through the horde of zombies and ran toward the warehouse exit.

Although the zombies had lost their sight, they were still able to track Xiao Ran's location thanks to their keen sense of smell.

While dodging the zombies' attacks, Xiao Ran searched for a chance to escape.

He used the terrain's complexity to navigate the maze-like passages, constantly changing direction in an attempt to escape the zombies' pursuit.

After a fierce struggle, Xiao Ran finally escaped from the warehouse.

He was covered in blood and his clothes were tattered, but his eyes remained firm.

"Duke, I won't let you succeed!" Xiao Ran said in a low voice.

"I will definitely find out your conspiracy and make you pay the price!"

……

Base laboratory.

Lu Zhao kept trying to repair the damaged jade bracelet, his fingers flying across the various instruments.

Su Wanqing paced anxiously in the laboratory, her face filled with worry.

She kept checking the time, hoping the barrier materials could be prepared as soon as possible to provide some support for Xiao Ran.

"Lu Zhao, how's the progress?" Su Wanqing asked.

"The energy circuit of the jade bracelet is severely damaged, and it will take some time to repair."

Lu Zhao replied, "Moreover, when I was trying to locate Xiao Ran, I discovered that some kind of signal interference was interfering with our communication and positioning systems."

Su Wanqing's heart tightened. She immediately said, "Increase the detection of the interference source immediately and find out where it comes from."

“Okay.” Lu Zhao nodded and continued with the technical analysis.

A few minutes later, Lu Zhao suddenly said, "I've found the source of the interference."

Its location is in the northwest region, very close to Xiao Ran's coordinates.

Su Wanqing's expression grew even more grim. She realized that Duke was likely using interference to prevent them from contacting Xiao Ran, and in doing so, to control the situation.

"Activate the barrier material generated by the jade bracelet. We must stop the zombies in the northwest region no matter what," Su Wanqing gave the final order.

Without further hesitation, Lu Zhao immediately initiated the barrier material generation process.

A powerful energy was released from the jade bracelet, quickly forming a huge barrier in the northwest region.

The barrier temporarily stopped the zombies from moving towards the base, and also bought Xiao Ran some time.