The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

Chapter 234 Human Nature: Jiang Chuan and Jia Er engage in a confrontation.

boom!
Xia Xiangyang kicked open the long-sealed iron gate of the abandoned subway station, sending up a cloud of dust.

The dark stairwell came into view. Liu Shuo stepped forward and nodded: "Shall we go down?"

Xia Xiangyang pulled aside Liu Shuo, who wanted to be the first to go in, and went down first.

Song Chen handed over command of the team to Xia Xiangyang.

As the group walked downhill, Xia Xiangyang asked Liu Shuo:
Are you familiar with this place?

"Give me a brief overview of the situation."

Liu Shuo hesitated for a moment: "It's been too long, I don't remember very clearly."

"But I remember it wasn't complicated inside, just keep going down."

"Once we get down there, maybe we'll remember something."

The downward staircase was piled with all sorts of discarded junk, and occasionally the squeaking of mice could be heard.

Just moments ago it was a bustling city center, but stepping down these stairs, I felt a sense of disorientation, as if I were cut off from the world.

The squad advanced cautiously, their footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell, their flashlight beams flickering wildly in the darkness...

We quickly arrived at the platform via the stairs.

Xia Xiangyang glanced at Liu Shuo: "You stay here."

Then, he looked at his team members and said, "Next, we'll search along both sides of the railway tracks..."

"We split into two groups and searched carefully to both sides."

"Report immediately upon discovery of any problems..."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Liu Shuo raised his hand, interrupting Xia Xiangyang:
"that……"

"I... I remember a little bit."

"This is a transfer station... so there's more than one floor."

“Besides the first layer, there is a second layer.”

He pointed to an old sign that read "No Entry" not far away.

It didn't look like it led to a deeper area until the flashlight beam shone directly on it, revealing a dilapidated plaque that read "Transfer to Line 3".

Xia Xiangyang glanced at him, but he didn't bring many people. Since this was Lu Bin's base camp, splitting into two teams would be fine, but splitting into four teams would be a bit of a stretch.

After reporting the situation to Song Chen, Song Chen made a decision.

The other search teams will arrive as soon as possible to provide support, while Xia Xiangyang's team will temporarily conduct a search on the first basement level.

Xia Xiangyang and his men jumped off the platform, their footsteps quickly fading away to the sides.

……

Zhong Huahua and the others were not allowed to follow the search team, and out of trust in these experts from headquarters, they did not insist on following and stayed where they were.

Just as Song Chen had arranged, they were cooperating with the police officers to maintain control.

"Move back a bit! Stand back a bit!"

"There's nothing to see here! Don't push! Be careful not to get hurt!"

Cao Zhiqiang's bald head and fierce appearance were not suitable for interacting with the public, so this task was assigned to Ai Zhe and Liang Cheng.

Zhong Huahua, Song Xi, and Tang Songming, who couldn't speak Mandarin well, stood behind Cao Zhiqiang, anxiously awaiting news, hoping to learn as soon as possible that Jiang Chuan had been rescued.

But Zhong Huahua seemed unwilling to wait any longer.

She suddenly spoke, abruptly saying:

"I still... want to go and see what they're like."

It seems that after a lot of mental preparation, they still made the decision.

Tang Songming looked at her and said, "If we go, we will only cause more trouble. It is better to wait here."

After Tang Songming finished speaking, Song Xi nodded.

Seeing Song Xi nod, Tang Songming felt that this girl had finally come to her senses.

Unexpectedly, Song Xi immediately said, "I want to go too."

So what do you nod to?

Zhong Huahua pointed to the street corner in the distance and said, "I remember Liu Shuo led those people that way."

"Let's go over there now."

Song Xi nodded: "Okay."

The two girls hit it off immediately, their eyes sparkling, and before they even finished speaking, they had already started moving.

Tang Songming was taken aback and quickly stopped him: "Wait!"

He glanced warily at Teacher Cao Zhiqiang, and only felt a little more at ease when he realized that Cao was standing not far away but hadn't heard their conversation because of the noise.

Then, Tang Songming lowered his voice and said:

"If they leave, it will be difficult to help them; why should we leave?"

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we waited here for Brother Jiang's triumphant return?"

After listening, a look of confusion flashed in Song Xi's eyes.

It was obvious that she didn't understand much.

However, although Song Xi wanted to go, her obsession was clearly not as strong as Zhong Huahua's.

So it was Zhong Huahua who ultimately decided whether or not to go on this trip.

Tang Songming was also looking into Zhong Huahua's eyes, but he couldn't see even the slightest bit of confusion in the girl's eyes.

His resolve was absolute, clearly indicating that he was determined to leave.

Is this still the same timid and hesitant Zhong Huahua?

Although he didn't know exactly what had changed her, Tang Songming understood that it was pointless to say anything now.

Tang Songming sighed, and knowing he couldn't stop them, he said, "Let's go! Let's go!"

The three-person team immediately blended into the crowd and headed in the direction the abandoned subway station exploration team had left.

After the three of them thought they had disappeared without a trace, Cao Zhiqiang "accidentally" turned around and discovered that they were missing. He then immediately reported this and, under the pretext of retrieving the three-man team, also went after them.

……

One hundred meters outside the abandoned subway station.

Cao Zhiqiang stopped Zhong Huahua and her two companions, who were walking quickly toward the entrance.

"How could you leave the group without permission?!"

"This isn't a school, so we can't guarantee your safety. What if you really encounter danger?"

Faced with Mr. Cao Zhiqiang's stern rebuke, Zhong Huahua remained silent.

Tang Songming was also somewhat helpless. Teacher Cao caught up so quickly, which clearly meant he knew they were leaving. So why didn't he stop them then? His intentions were too obvious, almost to the point of being an open secret.

Song Xi said, "How could we encounter danger? Aren't those Class 2 and 4 soldiers clearing mines up ahead?"

This line of reasoning is too simplistic, and the reasoning is even less tenable.

After all, there's no point in coming to participate in the search if there's no danger.

They weren't really here for sightseeing.

But Cao Zhiqiang said, "That makes sense."

"Then let's go there together."

Upon hearing this, Tang Songming's expression became even more helpless.

Zhong Huahua had already turned around and walked down the stairs.

In fact, Cao Zhiqiang came here partly out of concern that problems might arise. The organization's headquarters had just experienced internal turmoil. Although Xia Xiangyang was very capable, even comparable to Li Tou'er... Jiang Chuan's situation was indeed special, and other unforeseen events were inevitable.

Thinking about it more deeply... it's hard to imagine that Mr. Zhou was completely unaware of this internal strife.

Especially since he, the top-ranking official, hasn't returned yet... then we have to consider whether the turmoil caused by Lu Bin was possibly happening with Mr. Zhou's tacit approval.

So, are there still people in Xia Xiangyang's team who harbor ill intentions towards Jiang Chuan?

It's hard to say.

Especially after learning that there were two underground levels, which might slow down the search mission, he became even more determined to come and check it out. Although his rank of A4 might not be much compared to A2, his presence would force some people to consider the impact he would have.

This would at least prevent a situation where Jiang Chuan was not actually dead, but someone watched him die.

But he couldn't say this out loud, so he deliberately let Zhong Huahua lead the two of them this way...

The guard at the kicked-open door recognized Cao Zhiqiang. He had also received news that reinforcements would be arriving. Although he felt it was strange that Cao Zhiqiang had brought three students, he did not stop them and let them into the subway station.

The group of four descended the steps and headed into the darkness.

Cao Zhiqiang, who had already planned to enter the subway station, took out a flashlight and a communication headset he had prepared, and with the help of Xia Xiangyang's team...

……

In the laboratory.

"Time is up."

"Jiangchuan."

Lu Bin sat calmly to the side. He took out a cigarette, but after thinking about it, he put it back.

The cloned embryo had begun to develop normally without any unexpected oversights, so once these four hours were over, Jiang Chuan's death was imminent.

He was very curious about how Jiang Chuan, who had created so many near-miraculous events, would react this time.
Jiang Chuan also opened his eyes. He looked at Lu Bin, seemingly calm, but in reality, his heart was in turmoil.

"Before I die, I want to know more things."

Lu Bin shook his head: "No."

"Don't delay any longer."

"Someone has already come in looking for you."

"Let's get started."

He could have just killed him, but he couldn't control his curiosity.

At this point, what kind of response can this child possibly make?
When victory is assured, it's only natural to indulge in a little recklessness.

Classic, overconfident decisions like "Sell the accessory and keep only the three-star, five-cost card," "Can you kill me with seventeen cards?" and "5v1, kill him!" are typical examples of how humans want to amplify their pleasure when enjoying the fruits of victory.

Lu Bin has already toned it down considerably.

He just wanted to see what Jiang Chuan would do, so he reminded him that "time's up."

However, for Jiang Chuan... facing the opponent's "three-star five-cost", and looking at his own three-cost card, he felt that the opponent hadn't played too much.

After learning from the other party that "reinforcements have arrived," Jiang Chuan felt a surge of hope.

However, Lu Bin's cautiousness and rationality disgusted Jiang Chuan.

At that moment, he could have said something like, "I'll give you three moves," "I'll let you run for two minutes," or "If you can compose a poem in seven steps, I won't kill you," but he didn't.

Faced with impending death, Jiang Chuan was still struggling, but in essence, he was no longer so afraid.

Do your best and leave the rest to fate.

Staying calm is the only way to have a chance of survival.

After several close calls, Jiang Chuan's mental fortitude had been honed, seemingly for this very moment.

Jiang Chuan forced a smile and asked, "Are you really that cruel? The last vestige of curiosity in a dying person?"

Lu Bin chuckled: "If you don't give it a try, I might have to take action."

Jiang Chuan had now fully activated his flow state and perception domain, pushing his perception to its limit.

He continued to try to stall for time: "You really do look a lot like that Guo Wenjie from before."

"Don't you have the habit of listening to someone's last words?"

Helpless, Lu Bin stood up and strode towards Jiang Chuan.

But as soon as he took the first step, he sensed something was wrong.

Was I not moving forward at all? Was I just standing still?

Seeing this, Jiang Chuan felt somewhat more confident. Even someone as strong as Jia Er couldn't influence the change in space. He had already expanded the space around Jia Er, so no matter how strong Jia Er was, as long as Jia Er couldn't reach him, there was still hope for him.

This is Jiang Chuan's first move. If this move succeeds, it will buy at least half an hour of time.

They tried their best to maintain this expansion of space, but it could only last for half an hour at most.

But at that moment, Lu Bin's voice came through:
"I see."

As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body began to swell.

Although Jiang Chuan didn't know, Cao Zhigang was instantly defeated by Lu Bin in that same state.

"Is this your last struggle, Jiang Chuan?"

"It's not bad, but it's somewhat disappointing."

Jiang Chuan had already turned over and stood up, but his vision was blurry. In Flow 2 state, he was wary of Lu Bin's next move.

As Lu Bin's body turned ashen, transforming into a giant with a blue face and fangs... Jiang Chuan's pupils contracted slightly.

In his blurred vision, the other party's actions were completely beyond his expectations!
Just as Jiang Chuan was pondering how to deal with it, Lu Bin's voice came again:
"This spatial ability is indeed very useful."

"However, there are naturally limits to the space you can extend."

"Jiang Chuan... to what extent can you extend this space?"

The next second, he assumed a running posture.

The next moment, this towering figure, resembling a hungry ghost from hell, suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Chuan!
Teachers Cao Zhigang and Cao Zhiqiang were the largest and most robust people Jiang Chuan had ever seen, but Lu Bin at this moment was like a wall!

But this wall broke through the spatial lock at an absolute speed, as if it were teleporting!
Before Jiang Chuan could react, the fist, as big as a boulder, roared down towards Jiang Chuan's head!
Without a doubt, this punch was meant to kill Jiang Chuan!

Jiang Chuan didn't have time to move. He still had a surprised expression on his face, and his body subconsciously tried to dodge, but the difference in speed made it seem as if Jiang Chuan was playing a slow-motion scene!
This is the strength of a second-class player!

The essence of spatial locking is to loop through a specific point in space, allowing the location to repeat. If the speed isn't too fast, Jiang Chuan can react and continuously stack space to achieve a state of spatial locking. However, if the speed is so fast that Jiang Chuan can't even react, then naturally he won't be able to cope.

But the next moment, Lu Bin's expression changed.

The expected sensation did not occur, nor did the expected sound of the skull cracking.

His enormous fist suddenly stopped in front of Jiang Chuan, seemingly about to strike Jiang Chuan, but it was just a hair's breadth away from going any further.

This was Jiang Chuan's second-line preparation.

This is a spatial wall that surrounds you for defense.

The spatial wall also utilizes expanding space, continuously repeating spatial cycles around oneself to achieve the effect of making the target unreachable. This requires no reaction speed or recognition; it only requires continuous repetition of spatial cycles, making it an absolute defense. However, because it is "continuous," this technique is extremely energy-consuming.

However, the consumption of resources is no longer a problem for Jiang Chuan.

Survival is the top priority.

Taking advantage of that split second, Jiang Chuan finally had a chance to react and quickly dodged.

Just as Jiang Chuan dodged, the fist exerted force again, breaking through Jiang Chuan's spatial ability once more.

Although the punch missed, the gust of wind that brushed past his ear made Jiang Chuan realize that if it had landed, no matter where it hit, it would have been a certain death.

"This is good..."

Upon hearing this praise, Jiang Chuan naturally had no time to say anything more; he was simply calculating how long he could maintain the spatial wall...

Fifteen minutes at most.

(End of this chapter)