Star Hunter.

Chapter 286 You're trying to pin this on me? I'll make you jump into the latrine!

Chapter 286 You're trying to pin this on me? I'll make you jump into the latrine!

As the saying goes, once something happens, something else happens. After a new auxiliary safe zone was established not far from Xilin's safe zone, more people came to request that an auxiliary safe zone be established around Xilin's safe zone.

It has to be said that Neo's safe zone has an excellent geographical location, remaining unscathed after several natural and unnatural disasters. Of course, everyone understands that many people value Xilin's overall capabilities. Look at the surrounding equipment, the bullets they used to fight the white rat bio-beasts, and the gear they wore. It's obvious that there are highly skilled personnel here.

Unlike outside, no one here has any stockpiled goods when they arrive. You could say that you've returned to a primitive environment after just one night's sleep. It is in this kind of environment that the "wealth" of Xilin can be better shown.

Trying to steal it?

Whether it's open or covert, they definitely can't beat Xilin and his group.

Besides some temporary groups formed elsewhere, there are also some individuals who are still scattered and have expressed interest in joining after learning about the situation here.

The more people there are, the harder it is for those ferocious beasts to set foot on this mountain. Everyone who has undergone this mysterious test here has countless lives on their hands; they are all ruthless characters. Everyone also knows that in this environment, sticking together increases the chances of survival. At first, there was no one trustworthy enough to form a core group, but as Xilin's side emerged, everyone began to sincerely gather here.

There were many Black Vipers among them, each with their own expertise, and they also provided a lot of supplies and materials that the safe zone urgently needed. As the person in charge, Xilin led Heidou and others to begin the construction of the defenses in this area.

The establishment of any regiment requires technology and talent. Xilin gathered these people, each with their own strengths, and assigned them tasks to different individuals. In just three days, two more sub-safe zones had been added to this hilltop. The system construction of these two sub-safe zones was completed by Xilin and Heidou, among others. Even if one had doubts about Xilin's identity and motives, one had to admit that Xilin indeed had the ability to better arm this area.

Therefore, the new recruits respected Xilin primarily because they viewed him as a highly skilled technician, much like how the Empire viewed members of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Many were skeptical of the rumor that Xilin had one-shotted twelve white rats, and some warmongers even challenged him to a duel. However, they were quickly driven away by others; didn't they see Xilin busy setting up protective equipment?! A duel could wait; naturally, the construction of the safe zone was the top priority.

Neo was the owner of the safe zone, but unwittingly, Xilin had become the decision-maker in this area. The Black Viper members all knew it was difficult to reason with Neo, that lunatic, and since Xilin could handle things, no one wanted to waste their breath arguing with him. The non-Black Viper test subjects knew that their own kind would be easier to talk to; after all, not everyone could accept Black Viper in a short time. Certain rumors circulating in the Empire had already shaped many people's minds. If Guan Feng and Gu Chang'an hadn't told Xilin not to view Black Viper with his previous attitude, Xilin would probably have been as wary of Black Viper as they were.

Hei Dou wiped the sweat from his forehead. He directed Tu Ba and the others to place the things they had brought in the designated locations. After seeing the satisfactory results displayed on the testing device in his hand, he gave a "good" gesture.

The combatants provided the physical labor, while Hei Dou and his team provided the technical and intellectual support.

"It's almost done. Three of the four surrounding security zones are already completed, and the third one, which was just added today, is under construction," Black Bean told Xilin.

Xilin glanced at the completed test data and nodded. "Take a break first. If it doesn't work today, we'll hold off for now. I'll go check on Neo first." With that, Xilin looked at Tuba not far away. He made a gesture to remain on guard, and after receiving a positive reply, Xilin went to Neo's safe zone, which was now the so-called core safe zone on this hill.

Neo was in the lab analyzing the drug's efficacy and hadn't noticed the arrival of Cilin at all. When Neo was conducting experiments, he was almost completely focused on his work and paid no attention to anything else.

Besides Neo, Sirin also gained access to this lab, a privilege Neo himself had granted. Neo believed that everyone else here, except for him and Sirin, was below the intelligence level of a chimpanzee and not worth considering.

Looking at the drug efficacy results displayed on the screen, Xilin asked, "The drug has been manufactured?"

Neo was startled, but upon seeing it was Sirin, he continued with his work. "It's been manufactured, but it's not very stable and needs improvement; otherwise, its medicinal effects will be limited."

Neo frowned the entire time he spoke. Lately, many people had been eyeing his safe haven, but Neo had no interest in arguing with those he considered to be on par with chimpanzees in terms of intelligence and willpower. Xilin had presented a plan, and Neo had been busy with it recently.

Neo used to dislike studying white rat bio-engineered beasts. These research subjects, which resembled secondary excrement, were something that Neo, who had a twisted "cleanliness obsession" in some aspects, found distasteful. However, his recent contact with them had indeed aroused a lot of Neo's curiosity. When he saw Sirin's experimental plan, Neo was already eager to get started and even boasted that he could complete it within three days.

Unexpectedly, three days passed, and it was still unsuccessful. Although the drug was manufactured, it did not have the effect he had imagined, so in Neo's eyes, it was a failure.

The saying goes, "The more setbacks you face, the more courage you become." Neo is a master at this kind of work; unless he succeeds, he will put everything else aside and focus solely on this task.

"Is the molecular formula still the same as in the theory?" Xilin asked. After giving the experimental plan to Neo, he and Black Bean had been busy arming the security zone and hadn't inquired about the progress or results of the plan.

Neo pulled up the protein molecule diagram of the drug and pointed to three places. "These three places are not stable enough, and the molecules cannot be folded to achieve the theoretical effect. I have made a few modifications." With a finger movement, Neo pulled up another diagram. "This is the modified one. Two places have been resolved, and the stability has been verified, but there is still one place that is not working."

  

Based on the results of the analysis and tests, as well as the sequence and quaternary structure of the entire active macromolecule, Xilin and Neo worked together in the lab all night and finally obtained a stable theoretical molecular diagram the next morning. After synthesis, the molecule was verified. This newly revised molecule is much more stable than the previous ones, and its efficacy also satisfied Xilin and Neo.

"Finally finished!" Neo began to record the experiment, as was his habit.

Xilin used the synthesizer next to him to synthesize a portion of the finished product. He said to Neo, "Get some rest after you're done recording."

Despite his weak constitution, Neo hadn't rested for over three days. He disliked hormone injections and IV fluids to maintain his stamina, only eating irregularly. His complexion wasn't great, but the obvious relief and joy after the successful experiment made him look a little more energetic.

"Of course I know that, you don't need to remind me. By the way, don't let any other irrelevant people come in and disturb me!"

"OK."

Xilin took the synthesized medicine and walked out of the safe zone. He glanced around and then his gaze fell on a silly cat that was idly fluttering around, picking at a feather that had fallen from Ovi's body.

"Hulu, come here!"

Hearing Xilin's call, the gray cat, its feathers already ruffled from its fluttering, ran to Xilin, jumped onto Xilin's shoulder, and stuck the now-disfigured feather into Xilin's hair.

"Haha, Xilin, you're so silly!"

Xilin flicked the feathers off his hair and tugged at the gray cat's whiskers. "The item is ready. Time to go deal with those little rats."

The gray cat's eyes lit up when it heard this. It was bored out of its mind, so having something to do was definitely a good thing.

Xilin spoke with Heidou, instructing him to take care of things here and give the necessary instructions.

"Are you going to find that shady guy?" Gu Xin asked.

"Okay, I can handle it alone. I'll signal you if needed. Just keep watch here. If anyone makes any unusual moves, don't hold back."

"Of course I know that. But, wouldn't it be too dangerous for you to go alone, cough, just you and Huru?" Gu Xin changed his mind in time before the gray cat could glare and explode.

What have those people who lured the twelve white rats here been plotting these past few days? Xilin is definitely going to take care of them before they can act. If someone treats me well, I'll treat them even better; if you throw shit at me, I'll give you a cesspool in return.

"It's alright, I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, send a signal if you can't hold on any longer. We have a lot of people here, so dealing with those people won't be a problem."

Xilin shook his head. "The other side has a hypnotist who can control a ferocious beast. It's difficult to deal with them by manpower alone."

Although he didn't know exactly what Xilin was going to do, Gu Xin knew that Xilin was a man of skill, so he didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he smiled and said, "I really want to know what will happen to them."

"No problem. If all goes well, I'll send a signal to you so Black Bean can receive the image and you'll be able to see it. This will also serve as a warning to anyone with ulterior motives."

Gu Xin shuddered. He hadn't known Xilin for long, but he already thought highly of him. Even Tu Ba and Er Ti were deeply wary of Xilin. This young man always managed to surprise people.

"Alright, I'll wait here for good news."

Xilin and Gray Cat's departure did not attract much attention. The construction of the safe zone was still underway. Although there were only five days left until the deadline given by Guan Feng, no one would stop construction even if there was only one day left, because every moment of construction on the safe zone was their chance to survive.

In another location, some distance from Neo's safe zone, where the newly manufactured detectors by Sirin and his team would also be undetectable.

There are three people here. One of them is the target who tricked Xilin and his group that day. The other two have been brainwashed, or rather, they have been deeply hypnotized. This is a kind of deep, irreversible hypnosis that is explicitly prohibited by the Empire. In other words, even if the hypnosis is lifted, people who have been hypnotized by this method will become demented and will not be able to return to normal. All their memory cells have been cleared, the original memories have been forcibly removed and new memories have been implanted, and they are completely used by the manipulator.

The hypnotist preserved the two individuals' skill memories, allowing them to use their original skills to fight off enemies as before, but other skills were no longer their own.

Xilin had Heidou investigate, and it turned out that there were still quite a few Black Viper members remaining in this large area, so these two people were probably not Black Viper members.

Besides these two people, there were some strange beasts and white rats around, as well as advanced bio-soldiers. Such a hypnotist was indeed very advantageous here. With these beast puppets, he did not have to worry about being attacked by other beasts.

That day, it was this person who hypnotized twelve white mice and tricked Xilin and his team. Unexpectedly, the twelve planned white mouse bio-beasts were instantly killed by Xilin.

This person is resting now; deep hypnosis is quite energy-consuming. The stronger the willpower of a person, and the more powerful the creature, the more energy hypnosis requires. He just hypnotized three more white mice. Now he can catch his breath.

The expansion of the safe zone in Xilin has made it famous throughout the region, and many people have chosen to join them. However, this hypnotist is plotting to seize the safe zone for himself. He plans to orchestrate an attack by puppeteers and puppet beasts, then hypnotize the core personnel there to take over the area.

Before arriving here, Xilin and Gray Cat split up and released a newly synthesized drug over a large area centered on this region. This drug is a special inducer that excites the white rat bio-beasts and drives them to search for the source of the drug.

The net has been cast. All Xilin can do now is wait.

Using beasts to control beasts is the best way right now, isn't it?

The deeply hypnotized mice, due to changes in their brain regions, did not exhibit any stress or other stimulating reactions to the drug, and thus remained quietly in place. They showed no response whatsoever to the drug released by cilime. And because it was a specially formulated drug designed for mice, the bio-soldiers and ferocious beasts also showed no abnormal reactions. The hypnotist trusted his pets completely, sitting there calmly and resting.

The gray cat's ears twitched, signaling to Xilin: Coming!

Xilin had also noticed the commotion coming from a distance, and he and the gray cat quietly hid there to watch the hypnotist's movements.

Finally, the hypnotized white rats and ferocious beasts, turned into puppets, began to realize what was happening and emitted sharp warning cries.

The hypnotist awoke with a start, looked around, pulled out a gun from one of the hypnotized individuals, stepped back, and had the puppets protect him.

Behind him was a cave. If the puppets couldn't hold out, he would simply close the cave. He needed to get through this first; if the puppets were killed, he could just hypnotize them again. He wasn't worried about that; at worst, he'd just have to expend more effort.

The first white mouse ran this way. It was clearly agitated. The hypnotist frowned, puzzled, as he looked at the excited white mouse. He could tell that this white mouse was not hypnotized, but why would such an agitated white mouse run straight this way?

Regardless, let's deal with this white rat first.

The hypnotist instructed three puppet white rats to go up and solve the problem. The three white rats did not disappoint him. Soon, amidst the screams of the white rats, the first white rat was bitten to death by the three of its own kind.

But this was just the beginning. One after another, more and more white rats began to appear. This was not only due to the release of the drug by Xilin, but also because of the sharp cries of the white rats fighting. These cries acted as a catalyst for the drug, making the white rats behind them even more excited. Their bodies swelled up and they ran faster and faster, as if they couldn't wait.

Xilin gave the gray cat a look.

Upon receiving the order, Gray Cat began sending messages to Black Bean, who was far away in the safe zone.

On the safe zone side, after receiving the signal from the gray cat, Black Bean took out a projector and transferred the signal.

The image projected above is the scene that the gray cat sees.

The puppeteer panicked when he saw the increasing number of white rats in a state of agitation. He didn't understand why this was happening, so he sent out all the bio-engineered beasts and the more than twenty hypnotized white rats, leaving only the two brainwashed people to guard the cave entrance and protect him.

The bio-soldiers and ferocious beasts were completely powerless against the white rats in this state. Several bio-soldiers were torn to pieces as soon as they went up, and the large claws turned them into mincemeat in just a few stomps.

What truly captivates the audience is the contest between the two bio-engineered white rats. Both sides consist of hyperactive white rats, but since hypnosis inevitably affects their potential, the naturally hyperactive bio-engineered white rats are slightly more skilled than the hypnotized ones under excessive stimulation. Initially, the hypnotized white rats have the advantage due to their numbers, but gradually, more and more white rats gather here from other places—ten, twenty, thirty…

The sight of the white rat bio-beasts tearing each other apart was chilling. These guys were indeed excellent bio-beast weapons. The impacts, bites, claws, and kicks sent their thorns flying everywhere, and the surrounding stone walls were already covered with a layer of broken thorns.

The situation gradually turned one-sided, and the hypnotist decided to hide in the cave. Before going in, he felt something hit him, but since he didn't see any injury, he didn't pay attention to it. What he didn't know was that what hit him was a soft bullet filled with drugs fired by Xilin. When the bullet hit the hypnotist, it broke and released the drugs, which stuck to the hypnotist's body.

Therefore, the white rat bio-beasts that are now rushing forward only have eyes for the hypnotist standing in the cave.

The hypnotist instructed two puppets to block the cave and retreat deeper into it. However, the digging power of rats should not be underestimated, let alone the white rat bio-beasts in this state.

One, two... The white rat bio-beasts that rushed over one after another began digging into the hole after dealing with the puppets.

The gray cat seized the opportunity to dart into the hole, after all, it had a difficult task—to broadcast live.