Chapter 47: The Villa Adventure

Without any lock-picking tools on hand, Zhang Xingmin was fortunate that the door lock, corroded by years of neglect, was no longer sturdy. He glanced around, found an iron rod of moderate length, and struck the lock hard a few times until the door gave way.

Pushing the door open and stepping inside, Zhang Xingmin felt as though he had stumbled upon a treasure trove. Perhaps due to its tight seal, everything in the room was remarkably well preserved. Judging by the decor, it was furnished in the popular New Chinese style of two or three decades ago: a bed, a small bedside table, a four-door wardrobe, and a desk, all in clean, simple colors and practical designs. Even today, such furniture would not seem outdated. If not for the fact that the bedding and clothing inside the wardrobe had already rotted away, Zhang Xingmin might have been tempted to sleep here himself.

Enduring the musty smell, he rifled through the items on the bed but found nothing of note—just a peeling jacket, which suggested the resident was a man, likely of some means.

Searching the wardrobe confirmed his suspicion. Some of the clothing styles he recognized from old magazines—designs popular in the 2020s, and reportedly quite expensive at the time.

From these clues, Zhang Xingmin deduced that the bedroom’s former occupant was a young man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, no older than thirty-five, and about as tall as Zhang himself—around 1.8 meters. The man was fashionable and well-off, likely the villa’s owner, who came here for holidays.

Continuing his search, he found further clues on the desk: a notebook and a very old laptop.

The notebook’s pages had yellowed with time, but he could still make out that a few were fashion magazines, and one was a journal. As for what was written inside, it was too faded to decipher.

His only hope now lay in the laptop. After plugging it in, he found it wouldn’t start. With no other option, he fetched his tools, disassembled the machine, and checked if the hard drive data could be read.

Connecting it to his portable micro-computer, he was surprised to find the data still accessible. Although the old hard drive had a large physical size but tiny capacity, and was incompatible with modern devices, he managed to extract what he could—a stroke of luck.

After quickly transferring the files, he stored the hard drive away and began to browse the folders. There were some old movies, including classics such as “The Wandering Earth,” one of China’s earliest heavy industry sci-fi films and a cornerstone of the nation’s film industry—a resource he had long sought but never found until now. Most of the films were unfamiliar, and the selection was narrow, focused on suspense, science fiction, and adventure. Whether this reflected the owner’s taste or something else, he couldn’t say.

What truly captured his attention, however, was a hidden folder left by the owner, containing a record of personal experiences. Zhang Xingmin only managed a cursory glance before closing it, then searched the room again but found nothing else of value. He decided to explore other parts of the villa in hopes of making new discoveries.

About an hour later, the four of them regrouped in a spot that still had relatively new seating, gathering up the information they had found.

Overall, everyone had made some progress. As soon as they sat down, Brother Long loudly boasted about his discovery: traces of a fight in his area. Although the evidence had largely faded with time, it was still possible to infer that at least two groups had once resided in the villa and that a fierce conflict had occurred, after which all parties vanished, leaving the place sealed and inaccessible until their arrival.

Lin Xiaofeng listened to Yang Dalong’s excited ramblings but chose not to contradict him. It hadn’t been a battle between two rival gangs, as Brother Long claimed. He had found evidence of someone fleeing—escape marks from a second-story window, a hurried departure that left behind a single size 43 leather shoe, likely belonging to a man in his late twenties or early thirties.

Zhao Nana’s findings further corroborated this. She hadn’t found any evidence of fighting but instead came across surgical and experimental tools—different from those typically used in hospitals or laboratories. These were of a peculiar kind she had seen and used in the underground city of the Great Wilderness, especially the markings on them, which were unforgettable. However, the items here were far less complete than those from the underground city, with only a few simple tools, and clear signs of the place having been hastily tidied up.

In addition, Zhao Nana discovered several dormitories, presumably where this group had lived—also quickly abandoned, suggesting an emergency evacuation.

Zhang Xingmin opened the files he had copied earlier, and the group read through them in detail, confirming their suspicions.

It turned out the villa was, in fact, an illegal property, originally built by a high-ranking local official. It was illegal for two reasons: first, the area was a nature reserve where construction was forbidden; second, the villa was built with embezzled funds. At first, no one intervened, as it was out of the way and the locals dared not complain openly.

It wasn’t until the infamous Qinling Villa Case came to light that the officials here panicked, fearing exposure of their misdeeds. The villa was abandoned for years. Only after the official retired and was safe did he dare sneak back for short stays, always determined to deny ownership if ever discovered.

There were no whistleblowers; instead, something else happened. One summer, during the hottest season, the villa’s owner came for a holiday. Despite his caution, he was followed by a mysterious group—not anti-corruption officers, but a shadowy “Dark Organization.” The owner dared not call the police, as doing so would expose his own crimes and destroy his carefully maintained reputation. He could only endure and comply, allowing them to conduct illegal experiments in the villa.

At first, these people maintained some semblance of order, but soon they lost all humanity, kidnapping locals for live experiments—behavior reminiscent of the infamous Unit 731. This had to be stopped...

The records were written by the villa owner’s son, the young master of the house. One day, he discovered he had lost contact with his father during the holiday. At first, he suspected his father had been arrested, blaming him for his unlawful deeds while quietly seeking information. But he soon learned the truth was otherwise...

The young master sneaked into the villa and uncovered the horrifying reality. Though he had no sentimental attachment to the place, the atrocities being committed there were intolerable to any decent person. He resolved to escape and expose the operation, bringing people to destroy this lair.

But escaping was far harder than entering. Though young and strong, he was no match for the organization. Multiple attempts to flee all failed. The villa became not only his father’s grave but his own prison.

Worse still, as a young man, he was a prime subject for their experiments. Subjected to repeated procedures, his health deteriorated until he could barely walk, let alone attempt another escape.

The journal ended abruptly there, with no further entries.

The Falcon Squad was intensely curious about the story’s conclusion. Even though they knew they were in a game and all of this was written by the developers, how could they not want to know what happened next?

Based on the evidence, they surmised that the Dark Organization’s activities had eventually been exposed, as indicated by the hastily abandoned items. As for the fate of the young master, it remained a mystery.

Moreover, according to the journal, there should be a large experimental center nearby. Since nothing had been found on the upper floors, could it be hidden underground?