Chapter 144 Infiltrating X''s Base


    Spencer climbed down the tree quietly andnded on a lower branch. The other man was relieving


    himself right below. The man had a cigarette between his lips. After zipping up his pants, he walked


    back to the clearing, humming and puffing smoke.


    Not far from where he was, arge truck filled with jade was parked to the side of the forest path. A


    man sat in the driver''s seat while a couple of men guarding the precious cargo looked around with


    vignt eyes.


    Spencer jumped off the tree and quietly followed the man.


    "Hey, you sure took your time in there! Come on! We''re going to bete! Hurry up!"


    "Yes! I''ming! I''ming! I can''t even catch a break!" Nevertheless, he quickened his pace at the


    prompt of his peers. He knew his boss''s temper very well. Recently, he even noticed that he was more


    prone to outbursts. If they got inte because of him, he didn''t know if he could walk out of his sight


    alive.


    Spencer kept a considerable distance from the man he tailed. Once he was near the truck, he picked


    up a small stone and tossed it to the opposite direction, hitting a tree with perfect precision. Its sound


    echoed loudly in the stillness of the forest.


    "Who''s there? Show yourself!" The man screamed with fear as he turned around. Taking out his


    weapon, he aimed it at the darkness behind him.


    "What''s going on out there? What''s taking so long?" The man in the driver''s seat stepped out of the


    truck and joined his tremblingrade. "Who''s there? Show yourself! Come out and face us, you


    coward!"


    The two waited for a while without moving. Hearing no other sound save for their own breaths, one of


    them concluded,


    "I guess it was nothing." The driver hit him on the back of his head and shouted, "Why are you making


    a fuss over nothing? Are you blind or deaf? You must be both, you useless oaf! Get back there!"


    Cursing under his breath, he then marched towards the truck.


    The man could only follow, scratching his head. "Must be a cat or a dog or something..."


    The two of them got back and, after exchanging some words with the guards, drove off to X''s secret


    base.


    The sound of the truck''s engine and the wind hitting its dashboard broke the silence in the forest.


    At this point, no one noticed the man clinging to the bottom of the truck, intending to infiltrate X. It was


    Spencer.


    Inside X''s base, a watchtower was lit up, casting a strong beam of light on every dark corner of the


    Soon enough, the truck found its way to the base''s gates, where it was stopped for inspection.


    Hiding underneath the vehicle, Spencer could hear the conversation between the driver and the guard


    manning the entrance.


    "We''re from Mine 10. We''re here to deliver these ores dug upst week. We are asked to bring them


    here tonight."


    "You there!" the guard called out to his men. "Inspect the cargo!"


    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    "Yes, sir!"


    Spencer heard steady footsteps rushing onto the vehicle, followed by a rustling sound, as if men were


    shifting the contents of the truck. After a while, someone shouted, "All checked, sir! Clear!"


    "Okay. Show me your permits."


    "Ah, yes!"


    A few seconds passed before the guard finally gave his approval. "That seems to be about it. You can


    go inside now."


    The inspectionsted nearly twenty minutes. Spencer couldn''t help but sigh, understanding how tough


    Charles handled security. At the same time, he sneered at how useless it all was, considering he was


    able to get in without getting caught.


    He heard as the gates creaked open and felt the car''s engine starting. After several turns, the truck


    came to a halt at its intended destination. Spencer was thankful to hear that the engine had finally


    stopped buzzing. Several people got off and someone shouted, "Unload everything here!"


    Sensing that the men were upied with the cargo, he took the opportunity to drop onto the ground


    and prepared to crawl out.


    As it was impossible to carry the ores by hand, the back of the truck was opened and a mobile


    conveyor belt was pushed to transfer the cargo onto the loading deck. Seeing that the conveyor belt


    cast a huge shadow under the watchtower''s piercing light, Spencer carefully rolled out from under the


    truck.


    There were all sorts of buildings inside X''s base, from warehouses toboratories. Guards were


    positioned in every corner, giving him little space to hide.


    Once he confirmed that the porters around the truck were busy unloading the jade, he took his chance


    and sneaked to the opposite direction. asionally, he would run into jade ores stacked high all over


    the grounds, behind which he would pause to hide and observe. When a couple of patrolmen making


    their rounds got too near him, he ran towards the building at the center of the base.


    "Is there any update on the new drug?" From the base''s control room, two people walked out and


    chatted casually.


    Spotting them, Spencer immediately hid behind a parked car. He was about to move away when he


    recognized one of the figures, a man who wore a sling around his arm. It was Francis, the leader of


    Charles'' henchmen, who tried to kill him when he rescued Celine. Beside him was an older man with


    sses who wore a whiteb coat.


    "Well, it''s still in the trial phase. But..."


    "But what?" Francis frowned.


    "There''s a lot that can go wrong with this new form. We can''t just introduce it to the market. We


    need more time."


    "What do you mean? We have only one year to finish this project." Francis pressed, "How much time


    do you still need? What side effects are we talking about?"


    "Well... I''m afraid we still need around three years." The doctor sighed as he continued, "Three of the


    test subjects were killed thest time we administered the drug. One of them even went mad. Only one


    subject actually lost his memories."


    Spencer narrowed his eyes. ''They actually did trial on humans?''


    "Lost his memories, huh?" Francis muttered before he turned quiet.


    "Why isn''t our boss here tonight?" the doctor asked.


    "What do you think?" Francis replied.


    "Is it because of that Fiona?" The doctor scowled as he spoke. "Because of that woman, he has been


    too anxioustely. He has been in talks with the higher ups of T Country. He''s been pressuring us to


    speed up the development of the new drug."


    "Because he wants to use this drug on her."


    ''What? Use it on Fiona?'' A shiver ran down Spencer''s spine. ''Does Charles want to erase Fiona''s


    memories? Is this his n to make her his?''


    "He is serious this time! He risked everything, even exposing his own identity and endangering the


    honor of the Wen family for nothing."


    "No, he still has control over Fiona, and that''s the most important thing. I just don''t know if Spencer has


    found out about it yet."


    Hearing these words, Spencer felt as if he had been punched in the gut.


    Was Francis talking about the baby in Fiona''s belly? His hands turned white as he clenched his fists.


    "Given the state of things, he can''t just give up Fiona."


    ''What a joke!'' Spencer gritted his teeth. ''Well, he won''t have her unless I give her up! And I would never


    give up on Fiona!''


    Right then, a man came from the warehouse and walked up to Francis. "Sir, the new batch of jade has


    been loaded and moved. Would you like to see it?"


    "Okay." Francis nodded. At the same time, Spencer decided that he had to move if he wanted to stay


    under cover. As soon as Francis started walking in the direction of the warehouse, he took his step.


    The wholepound seemed eerily silent.


    "Wait!" Before Francis continued, he winked at the man standing next to him and nced at the spot


    where Spencer had just stood. The man readily took out his gun.


    Spencer''s body froze. He could feel Francis'' burning gaze. Despite there being a car hiding him from


    sight, he felt as if he was utterly exposed. ''Am I discovered?"


    Suddenly, the loud sound of a truck engine broke the tension.


    The newly unloaded truck was driving by. Despite nerves, Spencer thought quickly. It was now or


    never! He made up his mind to follow the truck and escape. The truck was driving closer and closer to


    him.


    After a nod from Francis, the man next to him jumped to the other side of the parked car. "Hands up..."


    But he saw that he was pointing his gun at nothing. "Sir, there''s no one here!" He turned around and


    walked back to his superior.


    "No one?" ''Was I being paranoid?'' Francis watched nkly as the truck drove by. It was almost at the


    gates when he furrowed his brows and shouted, "Stop that truck!"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Stop the truck! Close the gates! Don''t let anyone out!"


    But the truck had driven past the gates before the driver noticed the signal to stop. With a loud


    screeching sound, the vehicle reached a halt and its trembling passengers stepped out. The driver


    asked in a fearful tone, "What''s wrong, sir? What happened?"


    Francis, who had sprinted after them, didn''t answer. He took the gun from the man beside him and


    squatted down to inspect the underside of the truck.


    There was nothing. ''Huh?''


    Francis looked around before he finally waved his hand. "You can go now!"


    "Yes, sir!" The men from Mine 10 looked and felt relieved to be back on the truck. "Hurry up! Quick!" a


    voice ordered the driver.


    The vehicle''s engine started again. The driver mmed on the elerator and shot out onto the road


    like an arrow released from a bow.


    "I thought I was going to die!" he eximed as he drove.


    "Did the captain think there was someone hiding under the car?" hispanion asked.


    "Maybe."


    "What a terrible day! First, I thought I was being followed in the forest, and just now, we barely got out


    of the base alive!"


    "Don''t move!"


    Before they could turn, they felt a sharp object against the side of their heads. Looking at the rearview


    mirror, both of them saw a man sitting in the narrow gap behind their seats. His hands held knives to


    their temples.