Jack was at a loss; the person in question was gone, vanished into thin air, yet the story wasn’t over.
"Let’s head to T3 Research Institute," Romeo said, glancing one last time at the raging fire before turning his back on it. The others followed suit, each of them looking just as puzzled as Jack.
Jack couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Why were they heading to the T3 Research Institute? What relationship did this situation have with the institute?
Jones was just as baffled, turning to Carl for answers.
"This fire," Carl began, "hasn’t even touched one-tenth of the core of the group. T3 Research Institute is just one of their smaller branches."
"Wait, what? The fire didn’t even touch one-tenth of their core? Isn’t it just a petty outfit? You’re telling me that the remarkable T3 Research Institute is just one of their minor branches?" Jack felt like his world was being turned upside down.
Jones, too, was in disbelief. "Is it really that formidable?"
It was supposed to be an insignificant organization so small that it could be crushed under their thumb. Could it really be so influential that it could pull the strings of the renowned T3 Research Institute?
It seemed like they had been playing their cards close to the chest.
"It’s not just the T3 Research Institute," Carl continued. "Shadow Serpents, Darksteel Syndicate, Raven’s Claw, and others were all branches of Mount Doom."
Jack and Jones were taken aback. "Are you certain?"
They were well-acquainted with these big names, and their reputations were no less than that of T3 Research Institute.
"Underneath these branches, there are even more sub-branches. For instance, the orphanage you guys found out about is one of them."
Jack and Jones were left completely stunned.
So, Mount Doom was even more terrifying than they had imagined. They just hadn’t discovered it until now.
"Also, those three elders earlier—I believe they’ve escaped to the T3 Research Institute. There’s a secret tunnel between Inferno Clan and the T3 Research Institute."
At this revelation, Jack and Jones were completely dumbfounded, exchanging astonished glances.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
After taking care of his sister, Clark turned his attention to Carol. She seemed to be having a nightmare; her forehead was slick with sweat, and she looked rather distressed.
Clark fetched a warm towel and gently wiped her forehead. Holding her hand, he said soothingly, "Don’t be scared. I’m right here with you."
Carol didn’t seem to be sleeping very peacefully.
"You’re safe now," Clark whispered into her ear. "You and Rose, you’re both safe at home now."
He softly stroked her hair. From this close, he could see every detail of her face. Was it to free her from her nightmare or to comfort her?
The next moment, he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.
"Ahem."
A soft cough echoed from Rose’s direction.
Clark turned around, his face flushing instantly. "Rose, are you awake?"
The girl on the couch smiled, fighting back her laughter. "Sorry, Clark, my throat was a bit dry—I couldn’t help it."
She had woken up just a moment ago and was about to call out to Clark when she saw him kissing Carol...
Was that something she was supposed to see?
"I’ll get you some water." Clark quickly got up, got a glass of water, and brought it over to Rose. His face was still a bit red, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Rose found Clark’s embarrassed expression rather adorable.
"Let me help you sit up. Take it slow." Clark knew about Rose’s injury, so he was very careful as he helped her sit up. Once Rose was seated, he handed her the glass of water.
After drinking the water, Rose realized they were the only ones in the living room. "Where is everyone else?"
"They went out."
Rosemary initially didn’t have any surefire plan.
No matter how much she fought, she couldn’t injure these freaks.
It wasn’t until she was trying to save Carol and they both fell to the ground that she saw a first aid box. It was then she thought to use the needles to hit them.
Later on, she accidentally discovered that these people had chips implanted in their brains.
The needles she inserted had inadvertently damaged these chips.
"So, the organization is controlling their consciousness through these chips?" Clark was stunned, finding it hard to believe.
"Actually, implanting chips in the human body is not something new. About a decade ago, the older man who taught me medical skills tried this method. At the time, he wanted to use the chip to help himself quit drinking."
Of course, he couldn’t bear it later and started drinking again.
He felt that life was short, so why deprive oneself?
Clark couldn’t believe that such technology was already so advanced a decade ago.
"It’s just not widely used in our country."
In fact, in some other countries, some companies and regions have already started implanting chips.
In Switzerland, the number of people with implanted chips exceeded ten thousand two years ago. Such tiny chips were only the size of a grain of rice, and the implantation process was also convenient—much like a vaccine injection. The whole process took less than a minute and was painless.
"But I didn’t expect that this technology would be used for evil by Mount Doom." This was something Rosemary hadn’t anticipated.
"So, when you came back and said ’head,’ you were referring to their weakness in the head?" Clark suddenly understood.
"Right." Rosemary had wanted to say the key point was on the head, but she had fainted before she could finish.
She had also mentioned this in the message she sent to Romeo earlier.

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