, Section 12: The Final Hunt

Chapter 242, Part 12: The Final Hunt (Part 3)

Nora Frisch is a medical scientist specializing in hypothermic human sleep and brain neuron repair.

The reason I embarked on this path was to save my lover, Victor, who had become a vegetable due to a stroke.

Yes, in this world Victor and Nora's fates are reversed, but the outcome remains the same. Just like in thousands of different universes, Ms. Freeze will give everything for her lover.

What truly shocked Nora was that the other party actually knew Victor's name.

After all, Victor had been in cryogenic sleep for 122 years after being declared medically dead.

"How could you—"

"Never mind how I know. Have you ever thought that with the rapid development of technology in this era, a cure for your husband might have already been found?"

Qin Wei made up a story to buy time.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener, and Nora's brows furrowed involuntarily after hearing it.

"You mean they deliberately delayed my husband's treatment in order to take advantage of my cryotherapy technology? No, that's impossible! I'm the expert in neuronal repair."

After all, he was a top professional who had lived for over a century, and Qin Wei couldn't sway him with just a few words.

"If you still want to resist now, then I have no choice but to freeze you first."

"You can rest assured that being directly hit by this ice pulse gun will not be life-threatening. The instantaneous low temperature can effectively lock in the water in biological cells and will not cause them to expand and rupture."

Before firing, Nora thoughtfully reminded everyone that if the pulse gun missed, the resulting chill could be deadly.

She did not want to harm the Judgment Knight.

"Wait, wait, wait some more!!!!"

Qin Wei stretched out his hands, almost pleadingly explaining, "Before that, can you tell me why a top scientist like you would serve the court? Is it just for research funding?"

"Otherwise what?"

Nora didn't want to waste any more words and tried to shut down all of Wei's options with a rhetorical question.

"But—but now the court has lost power, and as you probably know, a lot of money has flowed into my pocket. If you're willing to let me go, I can completely replace the court and provide you with better funding!"

"Why should I believe you? Besides, Victor is still in their hands."

Although she says "Why should I believe you?", Nora's subconscious is actually more inclined to trust V.

Having followed the Court of Owls for a whole century, Nora had a general idea of ​​what kind of dirty tricks those mysterious employers were up to behind the scenes.

If she had any other choice, she would never have stayed in that awful place.

"Mr. Freeze, why aren't you doing anything! Or stop and let me take your turn!"

Yuria's disgruntled question came through the communicator. Because its abilities were suppressed by the cold, Immortal Claws dared not appear at the same time as Nora.

Nora pouted in annoyance and unilaterally cut off the communication. In this villainous squad, she was the only one who dared to shrug at Uriah.

"What do you have to say now that things have come to this!" Mr. Freeze's finger pulled the trigger.

"Have you considered that your cryogenics technology served the Claws, but now that the court has fallen, your cryogenics technology is no longer of any use!"

Nora trembled upon hearing those words.

"No—no—the court has not been destroyed."

"Then tell me, why would a scientist hiding behind the scenes personally take up arms? Was it because they couldn't find a suitable candidate, or were they forced into it by their boss?"

After two failed attempts, Qin Wei finally deduced the truth from the jumbled clues.

Nora's hands, which were holding the pulse gun, trembled violently as she was finally forced to confront the problem.

Yes, if her technology were truly valued, why would those guys be willing to let a researcher carry weapons into battle?

In an instant, Mr. Freeze was plunged into immense doubt and fear.

Meanwhile, Oliver outside the hospital successfully located Qin Wei's position.

The old man was lying on the roof of an unfinished building. On his left, a portable computer projected a 3D model of the abandoned hospital, while the draft paper under his elbow was covered with dense mathematical equations.

If he were younger, he could have done these calculations in his head.

Interference from factors such as intensity, angle, and wind direction—even slight discrepancies in these data can lead to drastically different results.

And now, he has done everything he could.

Now, let the wind decide.

Oliver pulled a powerful explosive arrow equipped with a propulsion device from his waist, and, enduring the stinging pain in his shoulder and elbow joints, drew his bow and nocked the arrow.

He closed his eyes, letting the erratic wind on the roof tousle his gray goatee.

At this moment, Green Arrow seemed to merge with heaven and earth, transforming into snow-covered rocks on the Alps.

Every archer should regard the wind as a beloved companion, and she told me, now is the time!

The instant he sensed the change in wind direction, Oliver released the bowstring, and the arrow, like a nimble snake, traced a bright arc in the air before plunging into the spiderweb-like ventilation vent.

But the amazing feat was just beginning. Because the arrow was shot at an angle, the arrowhead quickly hit the ventilation duct wall. However, because Oliver used a blunt arrow, the arrowhead did not penetrate the metal sheet, but bounced and deflected inside the duct.

The arrow body began to generate thrust, breaking off section by section like a rocket, until finally only a single arrowhead carrying high explosives remained, weaving through the winding ventilation ducts like a marble.

Boom!

dong dong!

Boom!

The pipeline anomaly caught Nora's attention.

"What's that sound?"

"Although my previous statement contained elements of fabrication made to save my life, I still want to explain it again."

Wei did not answer the other party's question directly.

"Because you were willing to stop and listen to me carefully, I'm willing to give you another chance. When we meet again, I hope you've thought it through, otherwise—"

He waved to Nora.

At the same time, a scorching arrow fell between the two from the ventilation duct directly above.

It was like an angry lemming, trembling as it fell, with a dazzling golden yellow color beneath the cracks caused by the expansion of its internal heat.

"Otherwise, next time we meet, I will definitely break every single bone in your body."

The threatening shouts and the violent explosions rang out together, and the intense flames instantly engulfed the entire corridor.

The ground at the epicenter of the explosion collapsed, and Qin Wei, his face covered by a cloak, fell to the lower level, enveloped in flames and debris.

boom!

He crashed heavily to the ground, rolling around with his hands over his head to avoid the falling rubble, while Oliver's slightly teasing but concerned greetings came through his earphones.

"How's it going, young man? Did you receive my enthusiastic support?"

"Thanks to you, I was almost blown up."

Wiping the ash from his face, Qin Wei immediately slipped into the shadows. He had expected Mr. Freeze to give chase, but it seemed he hadn't.

"Where am I now?"

Qin Wei looked around and saw that it was pitch black; he had even lost his flashlight in the explosion. He instinctively sought help from Oliver, but the latter said he couldn't help him.

"If I knew what was hidden down there, would I need you to come here?"

"How so?"

"You must have heard the rumors about Hepingxin Hospital! I suspect that there is a device in the basement of this hospital that is connected to the groundwater in the slums, and someone is using this device to release substances that can induce tumors and cancer into the groundwater."

Only then did Oliver finally reveal his true purpose.

The magnetic field signals near the abandoned hospital are extremely chaotic, and many adventure bloggers have failed to capture the truth of the place in their photos.

Oliver had originally prepared an action camera with enhanced signal for Will. Only after Roy accidentally shot it off did the old man show a panicked and angry expression, even going so far as to take action himself.

Black Arrow vaguely guessed Oliver's intentions and provided Qin Wei with the same signal enhancement equipment.

Now, the secrets of this abandoned hospital will finally be exposed to the public.

"Who did you learn this trick from?" Qin Wei asked jokingly.

"Who else is there besides you, a born live-streaming savior, whose live streams can ignite a war, while I am merely a clumsy imitator. "Let's not talk about this now. I've seen two old friends. I will join forces with them to hold off the enemies outside for you, so you can focus on investigating the truth and revealing it to the public."

Oliver's "old friends" refer to the belated arrival of Black Arrow and Roy.

One is an old rival, the other is a best partner, and now the three of them stand on the same side for the future and hope of Xingcheng.

"Roy, you shouldn't have gotten involved in this!"

Oliver climbed down the rope from the roof, his tone serious, but a faint smile played on his lips.

It's clear that he's full of anticipation for working with his old partner again after so many years.

Hearing the familiar voice, Roy Harper looked up and saw Oliver's aged face, which brought tears to his eyes. The two hadn't been in contact for over twenty years, to avoid giving those bastards who wanted to ruin Oliver any leverage over them.

Roy instinctively lowered the brim of his hat, but Malcolm next to him yanked it off.

"Stop hiding it! You haven't done anything wrong, so why are you driving yourself away like a rat in the street!"

Then, Malcolm's gaze fell on Oliver.

He looked his old rival up and down, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.

"It's a disgrace to Xingcheng to entrust everything to outsiders. Anyway, things will come to a conclusion today, so let's make a scene!"

"That's my plan, but what about you? I don't seem to see your weapon!"

"It's always been there!"

Malcolm pressed down on the joint of his left robotic arm, and the metal supports on both sides of the forearm popped outward. With the sound of rotating mechanical hinges, the bowstring at the end of the supports gradually tightened.

The black arrow gently plucked the bowstring, producing a pleasant metallic vibration.

The three, fully prepared, did not delay and stormed into the abandoned hospital to begin their operation.

Meanwhile, Qin Wei, inside the underground space, soon encountered a troublesome opponent.

Remember those paranormal adventure bloggers who died in hospitals? They encountered these guys—three mass-produced Assault Mechs IV developed and manufactured by Luther Technologies.

These robots were originally prepared by Luther as insurance to prevent the growing number of superhumans from posing a threat to humanity, and 50 of them were donated free of charge to various states in the United States.

Some cities scoffed at it and left it to rust in warehouses, while others briefly replaced superheroes to protect peace in their regions. Star City, however, used it to deal with ordinary citizens who strayed into the city.

Upon detecting a heat source signal, the dormant robot opened its eyes, which were flashing red light.

If Isaiah Thomas were here, he would be amazed by the design of these things.

Their appearance is at least 80% similar to the mechanical Bruce in Afu's hands.

In fact, Lucius used this as a blueprint to design Mech Blues for Alfred, but Lucius certainly did not expect that under Alfred's modifications, Mech Blues' performance would become more and more powerful, and Blues' original will would contradict the underlying programming logic of the Strike Metal Soldier.

Such a device will malfunction sooner or later.

That said, these three assault robots in the abandoned hospital have been in service for over twenty years, and once the anti-oxidation coating on their outer shells peels off, these robots begin to rust.

Now they are all rusty, and the gaps in their joints are covered with fungi and moss from being soaked in humid air.

They are never maintained or cleaned by anyone, but fortunately, their programs allow them to recharge themselves.

Perhaps this is the kind of worker capitalists dream of: eating grass and milking cows, working hard without complaint, with a strong sense of self-management, and of course, it would be even better if they didn't even need to be charged.

The overhead lights illuminated the dark space, and as a piercing alarm sounded, the three mechs shakily rose from their charging sockets.

The live stream continued at this point, and viewers had more or less realized that this was not scripted.

"OMG, is this the secret of Peaceheart Hospital? Were those bloggers killed by these robots?"

"Such a large-scale project, going to such lengths to create this, who would believe it without government involvement!"

"It had to be Ominic. I said back then we shouldn't have elected him mayor. Oliver is so much better; all those scandals have been proven to be nonsense!"

"I'm more concerned about the blogger's identity. That girl just said he's a Knight of Judgment. Are there any Gotham folks out there who can clarify this?"

Unlike the bustling live-streaming room, the atmosphere in the basement was somewhat subtle.

As the mechs gradually gathered, Qin Wei assumed a fighting stance.

"According to the agreement, you cannot pass through here!"

"Agreement? What agreement?"

"Your access level is too low; we cannot grant you access at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience!"

These robots are polite in words, but in reality, they have sharp scimitars that spring out from behind their elbows like mantises.

The three curved blades rubbed against each other, and the heartbreaking creaking sound echoed through the underground space.