Chapter 338: The Situation Descends into Chaos
Grodd's Retreat and Kahn's Atrocity
"Damn it!"
Grodd cursed furiously, his expression one of extreme resentment. It was so close—just one minute more, and they could have eliminated those three human freaks and avenged their comrades. But precisely at this moment...
Wait!
These three monsters must be working with the invaders outside!
The realization instantly turned Grodd's face pale. He glanced around. Seeing that the situation was irrecoverable, he gritted his teeth and issued the retreat order. The surviving gorillas carried their wounded comrades and withdrew.
Grodd and the ranged-attack gorilla covered the rear. Before leaving, Grodd rushed to the main console, initiated the self-destruct sequence, and grabbed the hard drive containing all the experimental data.
The gorillas fought and retreated, eventually entering an escape tunnel. The last gorilla covering the rear pulled out two flashbang grenades. A bright flash erupted, followed by thick smoke billowing across the ground.
The smoke rapidly expanded, turning the laboratory gray and hazy.
Kahn and the other two, affected by the bright flash and smoke, lost their sense of direction. They stumbled around, roaring with savage fury.
They had been fighting for nearly twenty minutes, and their ferocity had not diminished; instead, it grew more violent as time passed.
Kahn, who already harbored a strong tendency toward violence, now resembled a bloodthirsty beast. Unable to find the gorillas, he turned his attention to the humans locked in the jail cells.
The iron door was kicked open. A savagely grinning Kahn reached in, grabbed a prisoner's ankle, and dragged him out. Disregarding the man's struggles and cries, he violently slammed him onto the floor.
"Stop!"
A roar came from outside, but it was too late. With just that one slam, the prisoner fell silent, lying motionless on the ground.
Sam Lane froze, and the rest of the soldiers stood rooted to the spot in dismay.
The surrounding smoke hadn't completely cleared, but they could clearly see that the person Kahn had just slammed to death was a human being—a fellow human captured by the gorillas for human experimentation, not a gorilla infant.
"Kahn, what are you doing?"
Sam Lane bellowed sharply, like an enraged tiger,
"You damned bastard, what have you done?"
The two fierce shouts seemed to snap Kahn back to awareness. He slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring blankly at Sam. The sheer, brutal killing intent radiating from him chilled Sam to the bone.
Sam Lane clenched his fists, forcing himself to remain calm. He spoke one word at a time, demanding,
"Answer me, Kahn, what are you? A soldier? Or a coward?"
Kahn released his grip. His voice was hoarse as he replied,
"I am a soldier, General."
"Good. It seems you haven't forgotten your mission."
Sam Lane scanned the area, looking first at the gorilla corpses on the ground and then at the terrified humans still locked in the cells. When he grasped the sequence of events, his head began to pound.
That fight must have been witnessed by these prisoners. The agent was a top A.R.G.U.S. secret and absolutely could not be leaked. The best course of action would be to silence these people with money and influence. The problem was that Kahn had just committed murder—killing a defenseless human in front of everyone with savage brutality.
Lex Luthor walked up and said quietly,
"We cannot let those gorillas escape."
Sam Lane nodded. He took one last look at the humans in the jail cells and bit out the order,
"Four of you stay here. The rest follow me in pursuit. We must capture them, no matter the cost."
The Flash Joins the Hunt
Meanwhile, at the Central City junkyard.
The battle between the flash and the cold was winding down. The outcome was unsurprising: The Flash (Barry Allen) achieved final victory. Using his incredible speed, he breached Leonard Snart's cold exterior and beat the robbery-loving Captain Cold until he was twitching on the ground.
"Snart! Enjoy the rest of your life in prison!"
"Damn it!"
Leonard bit his lip, struggling to get up, but failed. Before long, the Central City police arrived at the junkyard. They shoved Leonard into a specialized containment suit and fitted electromagnetic locks on his wrists and ankles, not missing the chance to add a few rough gestures along the way.
The Central City police had hated Captain Cold for a long time.
Sergeant Charles gave Barry a thumbs-up.
"Nice work, Flash Kid! Be sure to give me an autograph later. My son is a huge fan."
"Really?"
Barry looked overjoyed. He flashed, and an autographed notebook appeared in his hand. "Here you go."
Sergeant Charles: "..."
Although there had been rumors online that the Flash Kid might actually be an adolescent, Charles had always dismissed it. Now, he felt the internet users' speculation had some merit; no adult would pull such a juvenile move.
With Leonard captured, the officers' tension eased, and they started chatting and laughing. Several newcomers even greeted Barry and praised his cool combat suit.
Just then, the Chief's roar came over the radio.
"Charles, take your men to Falkland Street. Enter the sewers through the drainage pipe there."
Charles quickly responded, "Chief, what's going on?"
"We just received an anonymous tip that damned human experiments are being conducted in the sewers. All those missing persons cases are connected to it. I thought it was just another prank by some troublemaker, but the cowardly informant actually sent the exact coordinates of the lab to my phone."
"Go check it out. If it really is human experimentation..." He paused, then added,
"Be careful. Don't get killed. I'm mobilizing backup."
With that, the call ended. At the same time, Charles received a text message containing the lab's coordinates and location.
"Alright, brothers, we've got trouble."
The police officers frowned simultaneously. They heard the Chief clearly.
Human experimentation!
The implications of that phrase were far more terrifying than the literal meaning. Anyone bold enough to conduct human experiments nowadays was either an extreme terrorist, a powerful corporation/syndicate/special organization, or a governmental agency with a specific mission.
The police were just ordinary people and had no business getting involved in such a mess.
Charles felt a subtle unease. He looked toward Barry Allen. Before he could speak, Barry jumped in.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to join in."
Charles was so excited he wanted to yell.
"Flash Kid, that's the spirit! I'll definitely suggest to the Mayor that you be awarded the Honorary Citizen of Central City badge."
With The Flash helping, everyone's morale surged. A few officers stayed behind to escort Leonard, while the rest climbed into their patrol cars and drove toward Falkland Street.
Barry took the lead, using his super-speed to arrive directly at the drainage pipe entrance.
The pipe was pitch black, with no light, and the sound of rushing water was faintly audible.
Barry didn't wait for the police. He activated the night vision system in his mask and was the first to step into the pipe.
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