Chapter 52.2 – Tongwan Hospital (6)
◎ ROOT ◎
U-Lab laboratory.
The location of this laboratory had already moved beyond the scope of Tongwan and was situated at the outskirts of a nearby D-grade city, a semi-underground high-tech building with a white hemispherical surface, completely sealed walls, revealing no details from the outside.
An Qiwen, bypassing the outer defense alert, arrived at the side with a few people. “The personnel inside retreated after the apocalypse, but many experimental samples and equipment couldn’t be taken away in time. It took some effort to clear them. Be careful when you go in.”
“What, go in?” Song Ke tapped along the wall but found no gaps.
They didn’t consider using the main entrance. Given the security level there, it was impossible to open it unless the latest heavy weapons from the Alliance were used for a continuous bombardment for a day and night.
However, the material used for the walls of U-Lab was also peculiar. An Qiwen had mentioned on the way that it had an automatic repair function. There were faint traces of smoke residue on the surface, but no breaches could be found.
An Qiwen took a particle cannon from his shoulder, a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, his expression relaxed and casual.
“Step back a bit, be careful not to get hurt.”
Song Ke and the others obediently stepped back two paces.
An Qiwen stepped on a step, aimed the hyper-particle cannon at the wall, and the crimson light gradually condensed. In the next second, it shot out.
“Boom!” The cannon fire blasted open the side wall, creating a hole a few meters wide. As the rubble flew, purple lightning followed closely, weaving into a dense web, firmly holding the breach and preventing it from bouncing back temporarily.
It was An Qiwen’s ability, controlled quite skillfully, with no energy leaking out.
“Come in, hurry.”
The group entered one after another.
The laboratory was cold and sterile, with glaring white spotlights, bright glass corridors, and a lingering chemical smell in the air. Staying in such an environment for a long time could easily make a person feel dizzy and disoriented.
An Qiwen, after entering, had an unusually serious expression. “Stay close to me, and whatever you do, don’t wander around.”
Although most of the dangers had been removed, caution was still necessary.
The group moved forward along the spacious corridor. Because it was too quiet, they could even hear each other’s footsteps. The rooms on both sides were mostly messy, with numerous capsule storages of various sizes and shapes, most of them vacant. Occasionally, projection texts and images of certain experiment processes flashed across the electronic screens.
Experimental subject number: RYH9001
Biological prototype: Anura – Alien Toad
Experimental record: … February 15, 40 NE, 54th gene fusion failure
Target status: Deceased
Experimental subject number: PJK9321
Biological prototype: Lamprey – Parasite
Experimental record: … July 22, 44 NE, successful parasitism; July 29, host deceased
Target status: Deceased
Experimental subject number: SFP2056
Biological prototype: Lepidoptera – Vertical-striped poisonous moth
Experimental record: … December 24, 45 NE, radiation levels stable, recommend continued observation
Target status: Alive
Lin Youyou grew paler as she ventured further in. The experiment data and the remnants of images were too disgusting. In just a short distance, she had accidentally seen frogs with two heads and over a dozen legs, funnel-mouthed seven-gilled eels, and numerous grotesque images, making it impossible to distinguish the original insect species. This place was truly a nightmare for those with trypophobia!
Lin Youyou averted her gaze, took a breath, and calmed her nerves. She unexpectedly noticed that someone’s complexion was even worse than hers.
Song Ke, at the back of the group, stared blankly at those capsule storages.
The interiors of the compartments were very clean, with no stains. However, Song Ke felt a reddish hue and caught a hint of a pungent smell.
She extended her fingertip and gently tapped the electronic label on top. What did these numbers mean?
“What’s wrong? Did you find something?” Lin Youyou asked in a low voice.
“…No,” Song Ke was interrupted and momentarily forgot what she was thinking. She quickened her pace to catch up with the others.
It must be due to poor ventilation and difficulty in breathing, causing hallucinations. She felt very uncomfortable in this place.
An Qiwen led them to the end of the corridor, into a noticeably larger laboratory.
The glass door slowly opened, revealing a giant fish tank connected to the ceiling. In the pitch-black liquid, there was a huge deep-sea octopus soaked, its entire body in deep red color and its body resembling jelly. It was in a semi-decomposed state, with sunken eye sockets, pale eyes, and drug tubes inserted at the ends of each tentacle, floating motionless inside.
An Qiwen searched the room following the signal and indeed found a dormant central system. This concealed central system had a timer function. They had missed it the last time they were here because it was turned off.
A few days ago, the signal left in the laboratory suddenly detected data fluctuations and reported it to Wu Juemin. He then ordered An Qiwen, who was still in Tongwan, to go and retrieve the data from this central system.
An Qiwen took out a small chip-like object, connected it to another instrument, and began the data transfer.
During the waiting time, he didn’t forget to scare Xu Xing playfully, “Just look, don’t touch anything. Be careful, it might move.”
Xu Xing, being timid, immediately clung to Song Ke’s thigh, acting as a mobile accessory, keeping his eyes tightly shut throughout, too afraid to open them and look.
An Qiwen chuckled twice and stopped joking.
The data retrieval took about ten minutes. After it was done, they retreated along the corridor and returned to the initial fork.
So far, they had only explored about half of the entire laboratory. However, the expressions of everyone present were not very pleasant. Just by deducing from the current scene, it was clear that U-Lab was conducting prohibited biological experiments.
Why did the Alliance allow such a black laboratory to exist?
This time, An Qiwen chose the left path.
This path was evidently more difficult to traverse. The ground was littered with debris and fragments, and one could easily step on gravel and shards of glass if not careful. An Qiwen explained, “We don’t have authorization. Last time we came, the captain had to force his way through the door.”
“What’s this?” Lin Youyou stopped, and in front of them was a tightly closed metal door.
Highly glossy and with smooth lines, the access control system was firmly attached to the door, emitting a flickering light. The electronic eye automatically scanned everyone passing by, capturing various heat sources and displaying them in red characters.
“Recognition failed.”
“Recognition failed.”
“NO ACCESS”
“This is a hidden door. We checked the 3D map, and this should be the central control of the entire laboratory.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t open it.”
An Qiwen placed the signal source on the door, but the screen didn’t show any fluctuations.
“The central control can manipulate all the lights, systems, instruments, and devices in the laboratory. However, the captain confirmed that there were no signs of life or information flow inside. If we forcibly dismantle it, it might trigger a self-destruct program, so we left it for the time being.”
Even Wu Juemin couldn’t figure it out, so they had no means to open the door.
A few of them glanced at the blinking access door and left the spot.
After turning a corner, the path ahead was blocked, and there lay a huge, putrid corpse on the ground!
The length of the corpse was over three meters, resembling a human and a fish. It had strange webbed hands and feet, gray-white eyeballs staring lifelessly, and horrifying sharp teeth in its mouth, capable of easily tearing an adult apart.
“Wow, this is so disgusting… What is this?” Xu Xing almost jumped.
“Zombie fishman.”
“This is what injured Qiangzi,” An Qiwen’s expression turned cold, and his purple lightning ability crackled around him.
“Don’t worry, it’s already dead. We had to evacuate in a hurry and couldn’t deal with it at the time,” he reassured Xu Xing.
Song Ke and Zhuang Qingyan were okay; their acceptance level had visibly increased after facing such challenges.
Su Cha seemed quite composed.
The one who couldn’t bear it the most was Lin Youyou. She held her nose, took a few steps back, looking disgusted.
“Su Cha, deal with it quickly.”
Su Cha took a couple of steps forward, flipped out a dagger from his palm, and stabbed the fish person’s head. The residual impure blood oozed out. Just then, the dagger lit up with a faint dim light, and the fishman’s body gradually corroded, turning into a liquid and eventually disappearing on the spot.
An Qiwen clicked his tongue twice, his gaze stopping at the black snake tattoo on Su Cha’s back, and suddenly everything made sense.
People from the rainforest, no wonder.
While everyone circled around the fishman’s body, Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair slid back, and he alone returned to the tightly sealed door.
He rested his chin on his hand and stared at the door in place, expressionless, for a while. Suddenly, he let out a light sneer.
Zhuang Qingyan raised his head slightly, staring directly at the door.
The silver access control aimed at his pupils.
Capturing biological information, the electronic eye automatically checked the iris data. The central system rapidly calculated for two seconds, and then, green characters lit up.
“Recognition successful.”
“ROOT”
