Chapter 272: M Guo's Unbridled Exploits in the Ancient World

"You want to come play in the world on the other side, what else can you do?" Ning Yao said with a stern face, "If you don't let me, I'll tell your secret to Mom."

Ning Hai immediately agreed, "Alright, alright, as long as you don't run amok in the modern world, I'll give you whatever you want."

"Hm, that's about right," Ning Yao turned her head and walked away.

Ning Hai breathed a sigh of relief in secret, then contacted the M Guo military official.

That afternoon, a newly developed tank from M Guo was transported over, along with the troops assigned to the mission, passing through the Time-Space Gate into the ancient world.

It lasted a few months—neither long nor short.

Because the research team led by Ning Hai worked day and night to push progress, M Guo poured in support without regard to cost.

A modern military base the size of a small town has now been established here, named the Pioneer Base.

The stationed M Guo Army numbers reached thirty thousand, primarily responsible for pioneering and clearing paths.

There are also dedicated construction, mining, research, logistics, and other teams; together these specialized units total about forty to fifty thousand personnel.

Because they came solely for the untapped rich resources of this ancient world, they need not consider environmental issues nor the fate of the native inhabitants, so they act without regard for consequences.

Within a few hundred li of the Pioneer Base, the area has almost become a wasteland.

Anything of value—ore, timber, earth, sand, stone, etc. —is mined and sent through the Time-Space Gate to the modern world.

Even fertile native soil is not spared.

Every day countless heavy transport trucks shuttle through the Time-Space Gate.

The entire base has been turned into a highly efficient plundering machine.

According to Ning Hai's plan, once the Pioneer Base's operational model is established, they can replicate it en masse in a shorter time, and within half a year they will surely occupy the entire Ancient North American Continent.

By then, M Guo will effectively have an entire continent's resource supply, able to solve the energy shortage faced by every nation in the modern world.

When other countries lack energy while M Guo monopolizes the continent's—and even the entire ancient world's—resources, one can imagine how powerful M Guo could become.

Thus, to the ruling faction of M Guo, the ancient world behind the Time-Space Gate—over two thousand years old—is an exclusive resource vault, a crucial backing that allows M Guo once again to dominate the modern world with absolute strength.

Moreover, besides plundering resources without restraint, M Guo can conduct any research experiments in this ancient world without fearing leaks, and without being bound by modern laws or public morality.

More than a hundred kilometers from the Pioneer Base, a Weapon Testing Ground was built, where many excessively brutal weapons prohibited by international law from battlefield use are tested.

Near the Weapon Testing Ground, a Medical Research Institute was also constructed.

M Guo's top officials covertly recruited several brilliant yet radical doctors—brilliant medical scientists shunned by the mainstream for their extreme ideas—from around the globe.

Within this Medical Research Institute, they can freely pursue bold and even fanciful projects, after all, the natives on this land are perfect "consumables."

There is no need to consider ethics or law as in the modern world.

Humans from over two thousand years ago have no biological differences from modern people, and all varieties can be found, meaning the living natives can be used like lab mice.

After Ning Yao received the tank Ning Hai sent her, she immediately called on Lu Xingfeng and drove the tank straight to the Medical Research Institute beside the Pioneer Base.

Since arriving in M Guo, Ning Yao has spent the vast majority of her time in the ancient world; during that period she not only learned how to use many military weapons, but also became fairly proficient at driving tanks and piloting military aircraft.

At the base, as long as she doesn't interfere with project activities, she can do as she pleases, and because everyone knows she is Ning Hai's daughter, she has gained unprecedented power and status.

She even had the Medical Research Institute build a "Playground" especially for her—a new game she devised.

When she and Lu Xingfeng arrived at the Medical Research Institute's gate in the tank, its director was already waiting to greet them.

"Welcome, Miss Ning," the director said with a smile, reaching out to steady Ning Yao as she emerged from the tank, "You haven't come to play for several days; we've missed you all."

Ning Yao curled her lips, "So this time, can the number of people allowed into the Playground be much larger?"

Excitement lit the director's eyes, "Exactly, it's a lot more, guaranteed to let Miss Ning have a great time, and... this time there's something extra special as well."

"Oh? What is it?" Ning Yao's interest was instantly piqued.

The director, with a mysterious expression, said, "You'll find out then, Miss Ning. Please go ahead."

Ning Yao said nothing more and returned to the tank.

The tank, like a massive metal monster, rolled through the institute's gate and drove straight into the Playground located behind it.

The so-called Playground is an open area roughly the size of a soccer field, surrounded by concrete walls, with the upper parts of the walls fitted with dense high-voltage electric nets.

Outside the wall, there are several watchtowers over ten meters tall.

Each watchtower has at least two fully armed M Guo Special Forces stationed, and the towers are equipped with heavy machine guns.

Under a clouded, gray sky, accompanied by a dull grinding sound, the heavy protective gate of the Playground slowly opened; amid swirling dust, Ning Yao and Lu Xingfeng's tank entered the Playground.

Then the gate closed, and on the opposite side of the gate, a row of signal lights lit up on the high wall.

Below the signal lights were several iron doors over two meters high; the doors, like the wall, were scarred and stained with dark brown blood, and a strange rustling could be heard from behind them, as if something was hidden inside.

"Alright, release them," Ning Yao ordered over the Walkie-Talkie.

The director's voice came through the Walkie-Talkie, "Yes, Miss Ning."

Beep—beep—beep—

A horn's alert tone sounded over the Playground.

Ning Yao half‑leaned out of the cabin, inhaled a breath of air faintly tinged with the scent of blood, her eyes flashing with excitement as she stared intently at the row of iron doors beneath the distant signal lights.

When the beeping stopped,

several iron doors automatically opened.

In the pitch‑black passage, faint rustling sounds gradually emerged.

Soon, more than a dozen naked natives from the Ancient North American Continent emerged from each passage.

In total, there were nearly a hundred people.

These natives included men and women of varying height, weight, and build; they walked like walking corpses, their eyes bearing an uncanny expression unlike that of normal humans.

Holding a telescope, Ning Yao observed carefully and said, "Uncle Lu, do you think this batch of test subjects is more dangerous than the previous ones?"

Inside the tank's cockpit, Lu Xingfeng also looked through the periscope and replied, "Hmm, I get that feeling; it seems the institute has made progress."

"Uncle Lu, how many cougars do you think this group could kill?"

"Um... maybe five to ten."

……

While the two were talking.

A few iron doors opened again, and eight huge, ferocious-looking cougars emerged from inside.

The cougar breed from over two thousand years ago was even more ferocious than modern ones; just seeing them from a distance could send shivers down one's spine.

When the famished cougars saw nearly a hundred natives on the clearing, they immediately roared and lunged at them.

The natives, who had just been shuffling like walking corpses, suddenly had beast‑like glints in their eyes and let out strange howls; instead of fleeing, they charged the cougars at an incredible speed.

Crack—

A cougar clamped onto a native's arm, crushing the bone, then swung its massive head to the side, snapping off the native's entire left arm and hurling the body several meters away.

But before the cougar could swallow the flesh, a group of natives pounced on it, tearing at it wildly like beasts.

Even the native with the broken arm showed no sign of pain, ignored the bleeding, got up, and rejoined the fight.

Nearly a hundred natives resorted to primitive biting, engaging the eight cougars in a chaotic melee.

Even if their bodies were torn apart by the cougars, even if most of their heads were bitten off, as long as they hadn't completely died, they would keep fighting, even while dragging themselves on the ground.

This performance, far beyond normal human physiological limits, fascinated Ning Yao.

At the same time, in a laboratory studio, dozens of frantic medical experts in white lab coats stared at the live Playground surveillance feed, continuously recording observational data.

Half an hour later.

Seven cougars were killed without a trace; the sole surviving cougar, in extreme terror, tried to jump the wall to escape, and, driven by a surge of survival instinct, managed to leap onto the wall, but the instant it hit the high‑voltage electric net, it turned into a lump of charred carbon.

Of the nearly hundred natives, just over forty remained.

Fresh blood stained a large area of ground into a deep red sludge.

The surviving natives crouched amid a mess of severed limbs and entrails, grabbing indistinguishable cougar‑or‑human tissue and shoveling it into their mouths.

"Tsk tsk…" Ning Yao sighed, "The physical condition and brutality of these test subjects have improved considerably, but their brains seem to have been ruined by the drugs; they're still far from a successful experiment. Still, these failed specimens are more fun to kill than ordinary natives, hehe."

"Miss Ning, you've seen how these test subjects performed; we will now release the remaining three hundred. Have fun," the institute director's voice came through the Walkie-Talkie.

"Alright, release them quickly; I can't wait!" Ning Yao said excitedly, then returned to the tank cabin.

Soon, three hundred test‑subject natives were released.

Ning Yao personally drove the tank, with Lu Xingfeng assisting by observing beside her.

The tracks spun rapidly, the steel behemoth emitted a deafening roar, and barreled toward the three hundred natives.

The mindless natives treated the tank as a beast and lunged at it to bite to death.

But flesh and blood could not stand against it.

Where the tank passed, the natives were crushed into pulp.

The two people inside the tank felt no jolt at all.

"A group is coming from the right," Lu Xingfeng warned, "Shall we bombard them?"

Ning Yao's eyes filled with blood‑thirsty excitement, "Bombardment is boring; crushing them en masse is far more fun."

After speaking, she turned the tank and pushed it to maximum speed.

Puff—... puff—...

Sounds like stepping on rotten persimmons rang out in succession.

After a dozen minutes, the tank, as if splattered with blood, came to a halt.

On the Playground ground, no obvious human tissue could be seen, as Ning Yao had run the tank over the area repeatedly, mixing it with soil into patches of dark red sludge that exuded a strong, pungent scent of blood.

"Hehe… satisfying…" Ning Yao said with a grin, "This kind of horizontal crush‑and‑slaughter feels far more exhilarating than the previous chase‑and‑hunt!"

Indeed, she had grown tired of the old hunting methods.

Later she learned that the local medical research institute used natives for human experiments, producing a daily surplus of used subjects that needed disposal, so she proposed building a place where the institute could gather the now‑useless but still living natives for her to eliminate.

At first they were killed with knives and crossbow bolts; finding it tiring, she switched to rifles.

Later, as the number of test subjects grew, she switched to machine‑gun fire.

Later she used armored vehicles to ram them.

Until the institute conducted a so‑called trial to increase human strength; after the experiment, the subjects' brains were ruined but their physical condition reached three to five times that of a normal person. Ning Yao felt that even ramming them with armored vehicles was inefficient, so she had Ning Hai procure this latest‑model heavy tank from M Guo.

"Miss Ning, the special equipment is already in place," the director's voice came through the Walkie-Talkie, "Would you like to have some afternoon tea and rest before continuing?"

"No need, no need, release them quickly; I'm waiting!" Ning Yao said, her enthusiasm soaring even more.

The director said, "Alright, but I must remind you, Miss Ning, that if you feel the need to stop, tell me immediately; do not take any risks."

Hearing that, Ning Yao's appetite was whetted, "I'm driving the newest tank M Guo currently has! What danger could that be? Besides, Lu Xingfeng is here protecting me, so bring it on!"

"Very well, Miss Ning."

After the call ended, the director nodded at the people beside them.

Meanwhile, on the lookout tower beyond the Playground's high wall, every stationed M Guo Special Forces soldier heard the order through their earpieces, unlocked their machine‑gun safeties, and aimed at the open ground below.

Boom—rumble—

The ground in a corner of the Playground began to crack slowly.

Through the tank's periscope, Ning Yao looked closely and discovered an exit to an underground tunnel hidden there.

The metal door covering the passage was twenty‑to‑thirty centimeters thick, with an opening roughly a five‑meter‑wide square; when fully opened, it was as if a huge hole had appeared in the Playground floor.

"Roar—"

A roar unlike any known animal's call echoed from the earth‑hole.

The sound had an extremely strong penetrating power, causing the special forces on the lookout to tense up, and even Ning Yao and Lu Xingfeng inside the tank paled slightly.

The ground trembled as a massive, bizarre black silhouette gradually crawled out of the hole.

Ning Yao's pupils instantly constricted, "Lu Shu, you look... that, that's what ghost thing?!!"