Chapter 18 — My House Is 42 Degrees Hot, Turns Out It's A Horrifying Plot

“This is my son.”

His voice was hoarse.

“Five years ago.”

“He has an extremely rare disease.”

“The doctor said it couldn't be saved anymore.”

“Just when the whole family was almost desperate.”

“There is a group of people coming.”

“They say they have an advanced experimental treatment.”

“Could have saved my son's life.”

“We believe.”

“Borrow from all relatives and friends.”

“Give them all the money.”

His knuckles were white. Because it's too tight.

“Then…”

“My son is dead.”

“Died on their operating table.”

“They said the test failed.”

“Then give me some money.”

“Tell me to shut up.”

“Tell me to pretend like nothing ever happened.”

“They say their research is great.”

“Do not let outsiders disturb you.”

His eyes were red.

“I always wanted to know.”

“Who are they anyway?”

“I always wanted to know.”

“What did they do to my son?”

Uncle stopped for a moment. Then turned to look at me. Look at the silver hard drive in my hand.

“Until I saw that.”

“I'm just starting to understand.”

“That project name.”

“I can't forget it for the rest of my life.”

“They call it…”

My heart felt like someone was choking me. It was all predetermined long ago. We are not strangers who met by chance. But two survivors. Two people's lives were ruined by the same group of demons. Two people carry the same blood debt.

“They won't forgive us.”

I looked at the rapidly receding scene outside the window. Uncle Ly's eyes became extremely determined.

“We're not running anymore.”

He suddenly turned the steering wheel. The car left the highway. Turn onto a small, secluded road. A road that doesn't even exist on the map.

“We will go find them.”

“Find their lair.”

“Burn everything to ashes.”

The sound of the dump truck engine rang low in the quiet dawn. Like the roar of a wounded animal. Rushing towards the final battlefield. Where there are only two endings. Or they die. Or we die. The sunrise is like a gray blade. Tearing across the eastern horizon. Uncle Ly's profile face in the early morning light. Tough as a rock. His eyes were bloodshot from staying awake. Still staring ahead. As if it were possible to penetrate the fog of time. Seeing the place that had haunted him for the past five years.

“Their headquarters is located in an abandoned biopharmaceutical factory.”

His voice sounded hoarse. Like the sound of rusty gears grinding together.

“Deep in the Yen Son mountains.”

“That was the last place I saw my son.”

My heart aches. I can imagine. For the past five years. Every day every night. How he lived in torment and longing.

“That place is very strictly guarded.”

Uncle continued. As if talking to me. Just like reminding yourself.

“From the outside it looks like a dilapidated factory.”

“But underground.”

“They were hollowed out a long time ago.”

“I've only ever been to the upper deck.”

“Their reception room.”

“And the real world of Lazarus…”

“It's all underground.”

“More behind, I can't get in.”

This cold metal box. This has now become our only weapon. Also the only map.

“Maybe I have a way.”

I opened it again laptop out. Connect the hard drive to the computer. The screen lights up. The data management interface appears again. I don't watch those disgusting videos and documents anymore. I started reviewing the system files. Find information about network architecture and physical location hidden deep in the source code layer. Vuong Cuong's mining mine. Just a tiny heat sink node in their giant network. Central server. Their real brains. Must have a fixed physical address. I am like a tireless miner. Frantically digging through the endless sea of data. Time passes every second. The dump truck drove deeper into the mountains continuously. The phone has completely lost signal. We feel separated from the world. Rushing towards an unknown, dangerous abyss.

“Found it!”

I suddenly shouted. In a system log, there are dozens of layers of encryption. I found an IP address. A physical server address on the internal network. Also attached is a detailed diagram of the third basement. With all security system arrangements. Infrared sensor. Pressure-sensitive floor. Everything appears clearly. Vuong Cuong. That cocky crazy guy. Because we want to conveniently maintain remotely. Saved an entire copy of the system on my terminal. Even if he was dreaming, he wouldn't expect it. That exact copy. It became a death warrant that destroyed the entire organization. Uncle Ly stopped the car in a dense forest. The two of us looked at the diagram on the screen. Fall into silence. More giant. Much scarier than I imagined. Three basement floors. Deep nearly one hundred meters underground. The bottom floor is marked:

“Core culture area.”

That's where they make "replacement parts".

“How do we get in?”

“Intruding directly is like committing suicide.”

Uncle Ly pointed to a point on the diagram.

“It is the main outlet of the ventilation system.”

“Located on a cliff behind the factory.”

“Extremely discreet.”

“Also the only security blind spot in the entire base.”

In his eyes. The fire of revenge is burning fiercely.

“We'll go in from there.”

“I'm going to find the server room.”

“Bring all their evidence to light.”

He hesitated. The voice trembled.

“I'll go down to the core culture area.”

“I want to see it with my own eyes.”

“What did they eventually turn my son into?”