Their armor was bulletproof, yet after a volley, none were harmed. Zhou You anticipated this and smirked. During his next attack, he infused his bullets with internal energy, piercing through the killers, leaving them with faces of shock and terror.

"How is this possible?" Their armor was supposed to withstand bullets. They were overconfident. The difference in bullet power between the two rounds was astonishing. Half of their team was eliminated instantly. The remaining killers turned to face Zhou You cautiously.

Zhou You smiled, "Did you forget something?"

As Zhou You fired his gun, he also mentally controlled twelve flying knives to strike from behind. They crisscrossed at high speed, ambushing the killers. Either struck by bullets or knives, the snow was soon dotted with red.

"You're a psychic controller!" Only psychic controllers could manage so many knives simultaneously while also shooting. A regular expert with internal energy couldn't do this.

"So, will you surrender? If you do, I can spare your lives." Zhou You was always looking for talent. If he could have these skilled assassins hunt for him in the Yun Lan mountains, they could bring him a considerable profit. Ren Zhiyuan was truly wasteful. Not only did he waste resources on the lab, but he also used such powerful experts as mere assassins. No wonder he's poor.

The remaining five slowly backed off. They were no match for Zhou You. Their best options were either to split and distract him while trying to kill Lin Shuqing, although the success rate was slim, or to retreat in unity, hoping at least half would survive.

"Retreat!"

The five split up to escape. Zhou You pursued and saw a car approaching from ahead. Four individuals jumped out, each intercepting an assassin, leaving Zhou You with the last one.

A minute later, Zhou You washed his flying knives and daggers in the snow. He stood up and asked Shao Qi, "How did you come from that direction?"

The man who entered was none other than Shao Qi, accompanied by his three bodyguards. Except for Shao Qi, the others looked quite beaten up, suggesting that whatever was on the floor below them was indeed formidable.

Shao Qi glanced at the corpses on the ground and countered, "Who are these men? We should have left one alive for questioning."

Lin Shuqing, still in shock from Zhou You's impressive display, responded, "I recognize them. They work for Ren Zhiyuan. They're the ones responsible for supplying the usual test subjects."

"Professional assassins." Zhou You pulled back the armor of one of the bodies, revealing a face aged around forty. It was expressionless, but scarred, indicating a man who'd seen life and death.

"Such a waste," he remarked.

Shao Qi took a brief look and said with a frown, "An assassin of this caliber wouldn't have achieved such skill without at least a decade of training. It seems Ren Zhiyuan's ambitions predate his arrival at the Jiangnan base."

Chapter 103: Making a Bet

"Come, get in the car. I know where they've gone," Shao Qi beckoned Zhou You to join him in the car before throwing Lin Shuqing into the trunk. "Stay put and keep out of sight. There must be many who want you dead."

Resigned to his fate, Lin Shuqing curled up in the trunk, striking up a conversation with Zhou You, "Isn't your colleague a bit too rough? Hasn't anyone ever complained about him?"

"We're not customer service reps. Who would complain? Plus, those who force him to take action probably end up dead anyway," Zhou You said with a chuckle, before leaning in to ask Shao Qi, "Am I right?"

Zhou You noticed a thin scratch on Shao Qi's chin, only visible up close. He hissed, "What the hell is in that sub-level that even you got injured?"

Miao Miao, in the process of bandaging her arm wound, didn't flinch a bit. Hearing Zhou You's comment, she rolled her eyes and turned to him, "Mr. Zhou, is our leader the only one you notice?"

Zhou You blinked, "Of course not. I saw the beautiful Miss Miao in front too."

Miao Miao wasn't hesitant about undressing in front of a car full of men; she'd been bared more than once while receiving emergency medical care. However, she thought she had some allure to men, unless the two at the back were not interested in women.

"Ignore her. They're frustrated because they couldn't defeat the three monsters," came a voice.

Zhuo Hao, who was driving, retorted, "Boss, we're not frustrated. We managed to get out alive, just a bit disgusted."

Miao Miao nodded gravely, "You didn't see them. Those monsters were neither fully human nor animal. Horrifying to look at and impervious to weapons. It's baffling how they came to be."

From the trunk came a tempting voice, "Curious? I can make you powerful too, if you can stomach the monstrous consequences."

"Shut up! What's with all the chatter from a prisoner like you?" Miao Miao wondered aloud why they were even keeping such a liability alive when disposing of him would be more convenient, especially since all researchers from the underground lab were no good.

"Hey, did you guys create those monstrosities? Are you even human? Don't you fear your loved ones might end up as test subjects?" Seeing the mutated humans was a traumatic experience for all – they were once living beings!

Lin Shuqing remained silent. At first, he had been supportive; science and technology seemed the way to change one's destiny. In the absence of governing by force, wouldn't technological advancement be the next best thing?

It was a noble aspiration, but sacrifices along the way were inevitable. However, Lin Shuqing's resolve weakened after witnessing the horrors in the lab, which led him to choose a path involving bacterial experiments.

Li Yanqing and Mi Ai skied their way to the dump. There was no sign of the military personnel, and it was too dark to discern much in the distance.