American comics: I am full of martial virtues and I love to be kind to others.

Chapter 676 A Lighter Punishment!

Sure enough, there was a gap in the barbed wire fence at the back gate, just big enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. The reconnaissance team was standing beside the gap; seeing Lynn and the others approach, they immediately signaled for them to pass quickly. Lynn was the first to squeeze through the gap sideways, landing lightly with a slight bend, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily. After confirming there was nothing amiss, he gestured to the team members behind him. The team members and officers then squeezed through the gap one by one, quickly gathering at the back entrance of the factory.

The back door of the factory was a dilapidated iron gate, rusty and ajar. Dim light could be seen through the crack, and faint voices could be heard coming from inside. Lynn gestured for his team to stop. He slowly walked forward, pressed his ear against the iron gate, and listened carefully to the sounds inside.

"What a boring day. There's not a soul in sight outside. I wonder how things are going with Boss Karen." A rough, hoarse voice came through, tinged with impatience.

"Who knows? The boss told us to keep an eye on this place and not make any mistakes. We just need to do our jobs and don't need to worry about anything else," another voice said calmly.

"That's true. Those test subjects are all locked up on the second floor, with special personnel watching over them, so they can't escape. By the way, have you heard? Some of those test subjects have already started to mutate, and they look particularly terrifying. Yesterday, I went to the second floor to deliver water and accidentally saw one. I was almost scared to death."

"Don't talk nonsense. Those were injected with drugs. Isn't mutation normal? As long as we keep an eye on them and don't let them escape, we'll all be fine. If anything goes wrong, we'll all die."

Listening to the conversation inside, Lynn understood—these two men were likely guards from the first-floor watchtower, responsible for guarding the factory's back door and the first-floor warehouse. He gave a wink to the two team members beside him, who nodded and slowly circled around to either side of the iron gate, preparing for a surprise attack.

Lynn took a deep breath, shoved open the iron door, and two team members rushed in, their assault rifles pointed at the guard room. He shouted, "Don't move! Drop your weapons!"

The two guards in the cell were startled and jumped to their feet, instinctively reaching for their assault rifles. However, the team members were already aiming at them, and they didn't have time to move. "Who...who are you? How did you get in?" one of the guards asked, his face pale and his voice trembling, his eyes filled with fear.

“Federal Agent,” Lynn said coldly as he entered the cell, “drop your weapons immediately, put your hands behind your head, and crouch down! Otherwise, we’ll shoot!”

The two guards looked at the guns in Lynn and his team members' hands, and then at the fallen guard at the gate. They knew they had nowhere to escape, so they could only slowly put down their weapons, put their hands on their heads, squat on the ground, and tremble uncontrollably.

"Jason, you take two men and keep an eye on these two guards. Search the warehouse on the first floor, take control of all the experimental equipment and reagents inside, and don't let anyone touch them. Also, check if there are any other guards on the first floor," Lynn said to Jason.

"Understood, Captain!" Jason nodded immediately, and with two team members, tied up the two guards, dragged them to the corner, and began searching the warehouse.

Lynn led the remaining team members and officers towards the stairwell. The stairwell was made of concrete, dilapidated and covered in dust and debris, creaking underfoot as if it might break at any moment. The stairwell was dark, with only a faint light filtering in from the stairwell entrance. A faint smell of medicine mingled with the dusty odor, making it somewhat unpleasant.

"Attention everyone, the second floor is the experimental area. There are guards and experimental personnel, as well as experimental subjects locked in glass chambers. Be very quiet and try not to disturb them. Prioritize rescuing the experimental subjects," Lynn said in a low voice to the people around him.

The team members and police officers nodded, gripped their weapons tightly, slowed their pace, and followed Lynn up the stairs step by step.

Reaching the top of the stairs to the second floor, Lynn stopped and cautiously peeked out, surveying the surroundings. The second floor was a vast space, with over a dozen transparent glass capsules in the center. Each capsule contained a person, their faces haggard, eyes vacant, and covered in tiny tubes connected to nearby experimental equipment. Indicator lights on the equipment flashed and beeped. Around the capsules were various complex experimental apparatuses, and lab reports and vials of reagents were scattered on the tables. The air was thick with the pungent, unpleasant smell of chemicals.

On one side of the glass chamber, three lab technicians in white lab coats were intently recording data, oblivious to Lynn and the others at the stairwell. A short distance away, four guards, armed with assault rifles, patrolled the area around the chamber, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

"The two officers on the left, go and deal with the patrolling guards. Be quick and don't make a sound. The officer on the right, go and control those three lab personnel. Don't let them resist or damage the experimental equipment. The rest of you, come with me and rescue the experimental subjects in the glass chamber!" Lynn whispered, quickly assigning tasks.

"understand!"

Following Lynn's instructions, the team members and officers immediately split into three groups and moved in stealthily. The two officers on the left, crouching low, quietly circled behind the patrolling guards. A flash of cold steel gleamed in their hands as they swiftly covered the guards' mouths. With a light slash, both guards collapsed instantly, without a sound. Before the other two guards could react, the team members pointed guns at their backs and shouted, "Don't move! Drop your weapons!"

The two guards froze, slowly lowered their weapons, covered their heads with their hands, turned around, and saw Lynn and the others. Their eyes were filled with fear, and they dared not say a word.

The officers on the right rushed to the experimenters, surrounding them and pointing their guns at them: "Don't move! We are federal agents. Stop the experiment immediately and put your hands on your heads!"

The three experimenters were startled and looked up abruptly. Seeing the police officers surrounding them, their faces turned deathly pale, and the pens in their hands fell to the ground with a clatter. "I...we were coerced," one of the older experimenters said, his voice trembling. "Karen threatened us with our families. We had no choice but to do these experiments. Please don't hurt us."

“We won’t hurt you,” Lynn said, his tone softening as he approached. “As long as you cooperate with us, stop the experiments, tell us how to unlock the glass chamber, and how to stop injecting the subjects, we will protect your safety.”

The older researcher immediately nodded and said, "Okay, okay, we'll cooperate! The glass chamber is locked electronically; it's on the control panel over there. Just enter the password to open it. To stop the injection, just press the red button on the control panel, and all the injection tubes will stop working." He pointed to a control panel not far away and said urgently.

Lynn looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a black control panel covered with buttons and displays, with indicator lights flashing. He said to one of his teammates, "Go, do as he says, stop the injection first, then unlock all the glass chambers."

"Understood, Captain!" The team member nodded immediately, strode to the control panel, and pressed the red button as instructed by the senior researcher. Instantly, all the injection tubes on the glass chambers stopped working, and the beeping sounds from the instruments ceased. Only the breathing of the researchers and guards remained in the second-floor space. Then, the team member entered the password. With a series of clicks, the locks on more than a dozen glass chambers opened, and the doors slowly rose. A pungent odor, a mixture of chemicals and sweat, assaulted the senses, making it almost suffocating.

The experimental subjects inside the glass chamber slowly raised their heads upon hearing the door open, staring blankly outwards with expressionless faces, as if they had lost consciousness. Their bodies were abnormally weak; some were so thin they were just skin and bones, some were covered in needle marks, and others had slightly mutated skin, displaying an abnormal color.

“Don’t be afraid, we’re here to rescue you,” Lynn said gently as he walked to a glass capsule. He reached out and gently took the hand of a young boy inside. The boy’s hand was cold and trembling slightly. He slowly raised his head, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes. His lips moved, but no sound came out. He just gripped Lynn’s hand tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Quickly, help them out, give them some water, check them over, and if any are seriously injured, give them first aid immediately," Lynn said to his team members and officers.

The team members and police officers immediately sprang into action, carefully helping the test subjects out of the glass chamber, giving them water, checking their bodies, and providing basic first aid to the severely injured. Most of the test subjects were too weak to stand and could only lean on the team members, their eyes filled with fear and confusion, yet also with a faint glimmer of hope—they knew they were finally saved.

"Captain, there's movement on the third floor. It seems a guard has spotted us. We can hear footsteps!" Jason's voice came through the earpiece, his tone urgent.

Lynn's eyes instantly sharpened with alertness. He said to his teammates, "You guys continue rescuing the test subjects and take good care of them. I'll take two people to the third floor to check out the guards and the remaining test subjects!"

"Understood, Captain!"

Lynn, leading two team members, quickly ran towards the third-floor staircase. The third-floor staircase was even more dilapidated than the second, with cracks everywhere, making it shaky and unstable. Just as they reached the third-floor staircase, they heard hurried footsteps and shouts: "Something's wrong! Someone's broken in! Quick, grab your weapons and guard the staircase!"

Lynn's eyes narrowed, and he gave a signal to the two team members beside him. The two nodded and rushed out first, their assault rifles pointed forward. He shouted, "Don't move! Drop your weapons!"

The third floor was a rest area with a dozen or so simple beds, on which clothes and miscellaneous items were scattered. At that moment, five guards, armed with assault rifles, rushed towards the stairwell. Upon seeing Lynn and the others, they immediately raised their guns and aimed them at them, and a standoff ensued.

"Who are you? How dare you barge in? Don't you want to live?" The head guard, a tall man with a hideous scar on his face, roared fiercely, gripping his gun tightly, ready to fire at any moment.

“Federal Agent,” Lynn said coldly, “Karen has been captured, and your base has been destroyed. Stop resisting, lay down your weapons, and surrender. That way, you might receive a lighter sentence!”

"Boss Karen's been captured?" The scarred guard paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes before turning fierce. "Impossible! Boss is so powerful, how could you capture him? Don't try to fool me! Brothers, open fire, kill them!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the scarred guard pulled the trigger first. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Bullets flew towards Lynn and the others. Lynn immediately pulled his teammates behind the bed. The bullets hit the bed with a "thud" sound, and wood chips flew everywhere.

"Counterattack!" Lynn shouted, peeking out from behind the bed. He aimed his assault rifle at the scarred guard, pulled the trigger, and the bullet struck the guard's arm precisely. The scarred guard screamed and dropped his gun.

Seeing this, the other guards panicked and opened fire, but in their confusion, they missed their targets. Using the beds as cover, Lynn and his team continued to fight back. After several shots, two more guards were hit and fell to the ground. The remaining two guards were terrified and tried to escape, but were caught by the team members and shot in the leg, falling to the ground unable to move.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I surrender, I surrender!" The two guards lay on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, begging Lynn and the others for mercy.

Lynn walked up to them, her tone icy: "Where are the remaining experimenters?"

“In…in the room inside,” one of the guards said, his voice trembling. “There are two more lab personnel who have been resting in the room and haven’t come out.”

Lynn nodded and said to one of his team members, "Go to the room inside and keep those two lab technicians under control. Don't let them destroy anything."

"Understood, Captain!" The team member nodded immediately and quickly went into the room inside.

Soon, the team members came out with two lab technicians in white coats. They were pale-faced, their eyes filled with fear, and they covered their heads with their hands, not daring to speak.

"Is everyone under control?" Lynn pressed the headset and asked Jason.

"Captain, the first-floor warehouse has been searched, and a large amount of experimental equipment and reagents have been found and are under control. The two guards are also on guard. All the experimental subjects on the second floor have been rescued, and the three experimental personnel and four guards are also under control. There have been no casualties." Jason's voice came through, his tone tinged with excitement. (End of Chapter)