Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 521 The Polluted City (15)

The search of the deserted fourth floor was quick, as there weren't many rooms on that floor to begin with. Adenauer immediately eliminated any areas on the fourth floor where the password might be located, but he found no sign of it. Therefore, the password for the backup generator must be located at the entrance to the fifth floor.

However, Adenauer was in no hurry to return to the third floor to reunite with veteran policeman Juan and the questionable Madison. Using the contractor's equipment, he could closely monitor their every move. Currently, the two were hiding in the stairwell, conversing on a rather conflicting topic: they felt themselves in imminent danger, yet couldn't leave their protection. It was a meaningless conversation, and Adenauer dismissed it as background noise as he continued his search of the fourth floor.

Although the fourth floor of the hospital was empty, there were many personal belongings in each ward, which showed that there were indeed people living on this floor. Using the contractor's equipment to scan the surroundings, Adenauer detected multiple echo messages. However, in order not to attract attention, Adenauer did not directly activate the echo system, but only played the echo message images inside the device. After combining the multiple echo messages together, Adenauer discovered that an hour before the rainstorm, when their prison van was still on the road, a team of armed units, similar to the corpses seen on the third floor, escorted the people originally on the fourth floor away from here.

"Residual heat source signal detected."

However, just outside a room on the fourth floor, the contractor's equipment detected some residual heat. Upon entering the room, they discovered that the residual heat signal was coming from a table next to the bed. More precisely, it was a coffee pot on the table.

"There's still some warmth..."

I touched the coffee pot; it was still warm. This kind of coffee pot needs electricity to keep it warm. The fact that there was no electricity on the fourth floor meant the coffee inside had been brewed recently. A coffee pot without electricity couldn't function on its own; someone must have used it. The fact that there was no electricity on the fourth floor meant this coffee pot wasn't originally there. Within the entire hospital, only the fifth floor had electricity, so it was likely taken from there. However, the contractor's equipment hadn't detected any life signals on those two floors, so the only person who could be connected to this coffee pot was the woman on the fifth floor, inexplicably wearing revealing lingerie and collapsed in the server room.

There was no rush to get to the fifth floor. Although the fire escape outside the hospital building also connected to the fifth floor, the entrance also required a data card and identity verification. Adenauer didn't want to expose Madison's secret too early. After all, she didn't know that he was monitoring her and Juan's actions. She might subconsciously say something she shouldn't. Besides, the fourth floor hadn't been searched yet, so perhaps they could find some useful clues.

However, the fourth floor was empty, so the search was quick. Adenauer finished searching the floor in about ten minutes, but apart from the coffee pot, which was beginning to cool, he found nothing else. So he prepared to return the way he had come, notifying the veteran police officers, Juan and Madison, to come to the fourth floor.

"Approaching convoy of armed vehicles detected."

However, just as Adenauer reached the window where the fire escape was located, the contractor's equipment suddenly detected a convoy entering the town. Based on their direction of travel, their destination seemed to be the town hospital. These men were heavily armed, their equipment nearly identical to that of the corpses of the squad found on the third floor. However, unlike the already eliminated squad, these men were equipped with standard firepower. They looked more like regular troops preparing for battle.

According to Adenauer's analysis, the most valuable item in the small town hospital was probably the server room on the fifth floor. The armed convoy approaching the small town hospital was likely there to retrieve something from the server room. Adenauer recalled Madison's expression upon seeing the dead team. At the time, Madison's expression had shown a hint of relief, but then a frown quickly formed.

Madison's expression seemed to indicate that while she knew who these men were, she didn't seem to like them. That's why she expressed relief after they were eliminated. However, she also seemed to know that their deaths would attract more men, hence her frown. While she didn't know exactly when, Madison probably knew reinforcements would arrive soon. If they could find a way to exploit this situation, perhaps they could proactively force Madison to hand over the route to the fifth floor of the hospital.

But directly saying it wasn't an option. He wasn't concerned with Madison's reaction, but rather the players who might be watching his dungeon livestream. After all, from their perspective, they had no idea an armed convoy had entered the town through the rainstorm. He either had to let them see the convoy or provide a plausible explanation. This was a problem, as he couldn't directly question Madison. After all, Madison had never told him or Juan about the data card in his breast pocket.

But at this point, Adenauer suddenly realized something. When he'd held Madison hostage at the police station, he'd searched her, but he hadn't found the data card. He'd barely left Madison and Juan's side, except when he'd gone out to look for fuel, and now. He'd been monitoring them using the contractor's equipment. But since he wasn't completely focused on them, it was still possible for Madison to find an opportunity to make some subtle moves.

Adenauer considered it carefully. Madison had only two chances to obtain the data card that could lead to the fifth floor of the hospital: one at the home of medical examiner Vincent, and the other when she was arming herself on the third floor. If she had obtained the data card at the medical examiner's home, it would mean that the medical examiner was also likely connected to the hospital's secrets. If she had obtained the data card while touching the body, it would mean that Madison was in cahoots with the armed men, but judging by their attitude, that seemed unlikely.

Based on the current intelligence, it's likely that Madison found the data card in Vincent's home. Adenauer carefully considered Madison's actions. While he was out looking for fuel, Madison briefly left Juan's side, using the excuse of needing to use the restroom. While she did enter the forensic pathologist's bathroom, she remained in the hallway for less than half a minute after exiting. This is likely when she retrieved the data card. Madison likely discovered that the forensic lab was unable to complete its work and, deducing that she might be heading to the hospital, temporarily obtained the data card. Perhaps she was hoping to obtain something from the hospital.

If this were the case, she would definitely seek an opportunity to escape alone, temporarily detaching herself from the veteran officer, Juan, and head to the fifth floor of the hospital to retrieve what she wanted before returning to them. After all, she couldn't leave town on her own in this situation. Especially since, unbeknownst to her, an armed convoy was approaching the hospital. In this case, Adenauer decided to return later to ensure Madison's operation went smoothly.

"Juan... I... feel a little uncomfortable in my stomach..."

"Are you okay Madison?"

"It's okay... Maybe I was a little scared. I need to go to the bathroom..."

"I'll go with you. The hospital isn't safe."

"I.."

"Don't worry, I'll be guarding outside."

"Thanks.."

Sure enough, Madison seemed to have found the right opportunity and made an excuse to get Juan away. The reason why she agreed to let Juan take her to the bathroom was, firstly, to avoid suspicion, and secondly, because the bathroom was big enough. If Juan stood guard at the door and didn't go in, he could hardly hear any sound from inside, and she would have the opportunity to slip away.

After helping Madison clear the restroom and making sure it was safe, veteran policeman Juan left the women's room and went to the door. As they entered the restroom and made sure it was safe, Madison deliberately opened the window inside. The sound of the heavy rain would mask her presence, and Juan outside wouldn't notice her leaving. Of course, that presumably meant Madison was quick enough to avoid arousing Juan's suspicion. At least until she got what she wanted.

But there was one thing that Adenauer was curious about: how Madison would get around Juan. There was no fire escape outside the third-floor restroom. To exit through the window, one would have to risk climbing a nearby water pipe or a raised area on the building's edge. Furthermore, due to the hospital's structural design, even if Madison had excellent athletic ability, she wouldn't be able to climb from this location to the fifth floor in torrential rain.

Soon, Madison climbed out of the window she had opened before, but she did not climb up. Instead, she clung to the windowsill and moved sideways to a room on the left. Then, under the cover of the heavy rain, she shot and broke the glass. Then she immediately entered the ward, quietly passed through here and bypassed Juan, and came to the private elevator on the third floor.

Madison quickly passed the private elevator's biometric identification and entered the elevator. He used the data card with ease, and after the elevator closed, he quickly went to the fifth floor. It seemed that Adenauer's previous analysis was correct, and Madison did know the inside story.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the fifth floor. After getting off the elevator, Madison didn't stop for a moment and went straight to the server room. After entering the room, she immediately found the half body and was shocked. Then she approached the body and turned her face over. From Madison's puzzled expression, it can be confirmed that Madison did not know this woman.

After entering the server room, Madison walked straight to one of the servers. She didn't intend to take or damage anything, but instead pulled out her data card and downloaded something onto it through the terminal inside. While waiting for the download, Madison went to a nearby room that looked like a presidential suite. She entered the door's code with familiarity, pushed it open, and walked in. Judging by her familiarity with the room, Madison must have frequented it.

Madison walked straight into the bedroom, at the back of the house. She reached behind the bed and pressed a button. The wardrobe next to it immediately made some noises. After opening the wardrobe, Adenauer discovered a secret compartment containing some cash and a document bag. Madison opened the bag and pulled out the contents. It wasn't a document, but another data card. After removing the card, Madison restored the compartment to its original state. Then, she quickly left the room and returned to the server room.

The download seemed to be complete, but Madison did not take back the data card immediately. Instead, she put the data card she had just found from the secret compartment on it. According to the detection of the contractor's equipment, Madison copied the downloaded content on the second data card. After completing the copy, Madison took back the two data cards and hid them in different places on her body. After that, she used the terminal in the computer room to execute the server's clearing program and began to delete all the data in the server. The deletion took ten minutes. Madison did not stay to wait for the program to be executed, but immediately returned the same way and prepared to return to the third floor via the private elevator.

At that moment, the surveillance terminal at the elevator entrance suddenly sounded an alarm. Using the contractor's equipment, Adenner captured the footage. It showed the armed convoy he had spotted arriving on the first floor of the hospital, and the footage showed them effectively clearing out the frantic townspeople. Madison must have noticed someone else had arrived at the hospital. Before entering the private elevator, she manipulated the terminal, unlocking something. The contractor's interception revealed that Madison had used the terminal to activate a secret exit near the underground morgue, leading to a sewer maintenance facility. This private elevator provided direct access to the morgue. It seemed Madison was planning to abandon him and Juan and escape on her own.