Bai Ye licked his lips, looking at the crystal people, feeling a bit troublesome.
If Bai Ye were alone, it would be convenient and he could just charge through. But the problem was that Bai Ye charging through alone would be useless; he needed to cover everyone else entering Laboratory Number Three.
Moreover, it wasn't just about charging through, but also about protection.
Allen, Davis, and Gonzales were acceptable. Ji Ruoyue's combat ability was limited to holding a gun and firing, and her marksmanship was mediocre.
Of course, this wasn't the most troublesome part. They weren't lacking Ji Ruoyue's firepower. The troublesome part was that Ji Ruoyue was fragile and needed careful protection.
Bai Ye took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a fierce attack to see if he could carve a path.
Just then...
*Bang!*
A gunshot suddenly rang out!
In the next instant, a crystal person's head suddenly burst open, pierced by a bullet that created a large hole. It then toppled to the side.
Bai Ye's eyebrows twitched as he looked towards a tall building in the distance.
"Yimi?"
Bai Ye murmured, his brow furrowed, wondering what that guy's intentions were.
Bai Ye had never been clear about Yimi's stance. This guy had killed Li Chengjie, so he seemed like he should be an ally, or at least have a similar stance.
However, when Bai Ye had encountered Yimi, he had attempted to make contact, but Yimi had refused.
If their stances were truly the same, Bai Ye felt that the other party would have no reason to refuse an opportunity to cooperate.
Whether it was the natural alliance of shared stances or the strength Bai Ye had displayed, it shouldn't have led to rejection.
Therefore, Yimi was most likely hostile.
But now, he had taken action to kill a crystal person, clearly helping to clear the path.
"What is this guy up to?"
Bai Ye felt a slight headache.
As for the hidden quests and forbidden zones in the Ruined City, Bai Ye was very confident in his ability to handle them.
After all, Bai Ye had been to the Ruined City in his previous life and successfully completed the hidden quests, earning the qualification to activate the wish quest.
But now, Yimi's appearance was clearly an x-factor, making things less clear.
However...
While Bai Ye's thoughts raced, he immediately leaped forward, his Thunder and Lightning Blades slashing down with force.
Regardless of Yimi's true intentions, at least their current goal was the same: to get Allen and the others into Laboratory Number Three.
*Sizzle!*
A current flashed and struck forward. Then, Bai Ye severed a crystal person's arm and followed up with a punch to its chest.
*Crack!*
As the current surged, the crystal in the crystal person's chest shattered, and the entire being instantly disintegrated.
As the surrounding crystal people closed in on Bai Ye once more...
*Bang!*
Yimi fired again, and another crystal person's head exploded.
At the same time...
A massive red magic circle suddenly appeared ahead, and a crimson fire dragon emerged from the center of the magic circle, soaring forward.
Magic...
Bai Ye squinted. As expected, there were two people on Yimi's side. Yimi himself didn't possess any magical area-of-effect abilities; the one skilled in magic was someone else.
No, Bai Ye felt a more accurate judgment was that there were at least two of them.
Typically, a duo would adopt a visible and hidden approach. Now that Yimi and the magic-user had revealed themselves, there was a possibility that a third person was hiding.
It was even possible that Yimi had a small team.
At the same time...
Allen approached Bai Ye, looking confused and wary. "Isn't this the person who attacked us in the abandoned factory?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Yes!"
Allen frowned. "What do they want?"
Bai Ye replied, "I don't know what they want. However, when comparing the two, being surrounded by those robots and crystal people is clearly a worse situation. Since that's the case, no matter what they intend, they can at least help us reach Laboratory Number Three faster."
Allen pondered for a moment, finding Bai Ye's words reasonable. He immediately waved to the others, "Move forward!"
The fire dragon charged ahead, igniting the surroundings. Robots on the street exploded continuously, and the bodies of the crystal people cracked under the impact of the explosions.
Bai Ye pressed forward, his twin blades constantly slashing, felling the fragmented crystal people.
Allen, while firing, asked Gonzales, "Where is Laboratory Number Three?"
Gonzales replied, "Follow this street forward. There's a white domed building – that's Laboratory Number Three."
Davis remarked, "Given the current situation, Rhine Corporation is likely up to something. Are they really building their laboratories so openly?"
"I don't know if they're building them openly, but..." Gonzales shrugged as he fired, "They're openly recruiting androids for experiments, what else wouldn't they do openly?"
Ji Ruoyue scoffed, "Hmph, the rich district is Rhine Corporation's territory, so of course they're unfettered. They find experimental subjects from the slums, they don't even consider the people beyond that wall as human!"
The others shrugged.
They were all androids living in the slums, and none of them liked Rhine Corporation. However, life was often helpless. Who could blame them when Rhine Corporation controlled so many resources beneath the wasteland?
Gonzales also disliked Rhine Corporation, but when they recruited experimental subjects, he was tempted.
It wasn't that Gonzales lacked backbone; it was simply that they offered too much.
With the addition of Yimi and his companion, the pace of their advance finally picked up.
Originally, Bai Ye had to choose between protecting or charging. Even with the constant teleportation ability of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could hardly cover both ends.
Now, that worry was gone, and Bai Ye could focus solely on attacking.
Of course, Bai Ye also harbored doubts about Yimi's true motives.
For example, using this "alliance" to make them complacent, with the real target being someone in their group.
But despite his thoughts, Bai Ye made no move.
Or rather, if Yimi truly had such intentions, it would serve as a test for Bai Ye.
Let Yimi kill one person. As long as Allen survived, the completion of the hidden quest might be reduced, but Bai Ye could definitively determine Yimi's stance, whether his mission was a two-way mission, an overlapping mission, or a hostile mission.
And at this moment, the domed building that Gonzales had mentioned finally appeared before them. As it was a newly constructed building, it was particularly conspicuous, and...
Laboratory Number Three!