Chapter 102: The Serum
The magnetically controlled retractable armor was ready to be activated. Han Xiao was either going to fight or escape.
However, the monster was merely staring in the direction of the door. It was as if the monster had not noticed the existence of Han Xiao. It was standing there without moving.
Night-blindness?
Han Xiao felt a tinge of elation in his heart. Luckily, he did not switch on his torch, else he would have suffered the fate of the pilgrims before him.
Standing three meters tall, the monster had a human shape, and layers of muscles could be seen on his body. The muscles stacked together like little hills. However, the muscular body did not look aesthetically pleasing. Instead, the elongated muscles turned people off. The muscles were also rotting. There were even holes at certain areas, and plump maggots could be seen crawling around the rotting meat.
Compared its massive body, the head and neck of the creature were especially small. The skin of the monster was stretched tight by the muscles. The face of the creature also looked disproportionate. Looking at his face, one would automatically think of other abnormal individuals, like the Deformed Devil and the Sun Knight.
Han Xiao scanned the layout of the room. There was a bunch of medical equipment and four pods that were probably used for experiments. Two of the pods had been crushed. One of them was closed. There was only one free pod available for use.
There were liquid-delivery tubes on the pods. They were attached to a transparent container that only had stains of the neon-like liquid left.
Han Xiao moved backwards carefully. When he realized that the monster was still not moving, he heaved a sigh of relief. He walked down the corridor and quickly reached the second and third metal gates. The rusty gates were all locked up tight by another metallic barrier. The card-reader was so rusty that it could no longer be used.
Han Xiao did not give up because of that. He took the card-reader apart to check out its model.
Hmmm… I can’t tell.
That’s not important!
This place was a secret military facility decades ago. However, the facility was abandoned a couple of years back, and it was probably a site used for biochemical experiments. The experiments probably failed… or could they have succeeded? The muscular creature really doesn’t look like a normal biological organism. Wait, the corridor can’t be so long. How big is this base exactly?
There was silence throughout the dark corridor. The deeper one ventured into the corridor, the darker it got. Even the night-vision visor only had a visibility radius of five meters. The surrounding environment beyond that was a mystery to Han Xiao. Fortunately, he was lucky to not have claustrophobia or a phobia of darkness.
Han Xiao felt like he was walking on the edge of a knife; danger seemed imminent. Although Han Xiao was no chicken, he could feel cold sweat breaking out from all areas of his body. That was the innate reaction of any living being that was going to face an upcoming, unknown danger. Han Xiao knew that being too nervous would affect his ability to make good decisions quickly at stressful moments. He started chanting something under his breath to keep his nerves at bay.
“Stay calm even when the sky collapses. The breeze is so soothing. The waves are not choppy. The height of the mountain does not matter. There will be a fairy. A horse may be old, but it is still ambitious…”
In actual fact, Han Xiao was also unsure of what he was mumbling. However, after his chants, he no longer felt so nervous.
Along the way, he saw more than ten gates, but only the one leading to the room housing the beast was opened. The rest of the gates were all shut tightly. Eventually, he reached the end of the corridor, and a larger gate stood before his eyes. That was probably the main room. The metallic barrier was lower by a third of the distance, and he was able to enter the room.
That was the second room that one could enter. Based on the logic behind the Instance Dungeon, there was probably some useful information there.
The room seemed to be a gigantic lab. There were rusty machines everywhere, and experiment pods were sitting in the center of the room.
It seems like there is no danger.
The dust in the room choked him, and the pungent rotting smell filled his nose. There was a corpse on the table, and it was shriveled up. There were torn fragments of fabric on the body, and Han Xiao could faintly tell that the pieces of cloth belonged to a white lab coat.
Han Xiao found a book at the table near the body. He wiped the dust from the cover of the book in an attempt to find out some useful information. After taking a closer look at it, he realized it was a diary.
“13 July. The professor modified the Felonia serum for the 67th time and injected it into the lab rat. The effects are amazing and have exceeded our expectations. It there are no negative reactions, we can proceed with human trials.”
“17 July. The lab rat is dead. It is a failure. The cause of death is organ failure. The professor is disappointed. He locked himself up in his room. I could hear him smashing things in his office. The lab report for the experiment was missing.”
“20 July. The professor insisted on carrying out human trials. The higher ups approved the professor’s request. This is insane! Have they all forgotten about Experiment 000? The lab report for the experiment was torn and missing.”
“26 July. The base released a new set of regulations. All researchers are supposed to submit their electronic devices. We are not allowed to connect to any external networks. Are we going to be defeated?”
“5 August. This is the 7th day of experiment 008. The human subject is in a stable condition. There are no special changes in the subject. The professor is dejected.”
“11 August. The higher-ups sent out orders for us to retreat. The battle is not going well for our side, and we have to preserve whatever resources are left. Everyone is feeling scared. As usual, the professor is unwilling to face the reality that we have been defeated. I have prepared myself mentally for this outcome. I noticed that the guards protecting the base have become sparser over the past few months. That is probably due to the fact that most of them were being deployed to the frontline as reinforcements. Damn it, if I did not leave my post as a military doctor, I will not be stuck in this depressing facility. Everyone looks so gloomy here. There is no life! I hate his place!”
“14 August. We will be retreating tomorrow. We are heading to Base 03 to seek shelter. There is not much time. We backed up all data related to the Felonia Serum. The guards are so rough. They want to blow the entire facility up. The professor took some serums with him. The rest of the serums were all destroyed.”
The entries in the diary stopped there. Han Xiao flipped back to the front, but he could not find any more valuable information. Many pages were torn away from the diary.
The corpses at the side evidently showed that the people in the facility did not manage to escape. An accident must have happened between August 14th and August 15th that resulted in the deaths of the researchers and guards in the facility. Also, most of them had died in the basement. That explained the countless red-eyed Necro-worms active in the basement that Han Xiao had seen—the worms fed on the dead bodies!
What’s a Felonia Serum? Han Xiao was intrigued by the serum. He suddenly remembered the dried-up liquid in the previous lab’s experimental pod. That must have been what was left of the serum. The diary also noted that the “professor has the serum”. The body of the professor was most likely in the basement. Han Xiao had no interest in entering the restricted area. Therefore, it was probably impossible for him to obtain the serum.
Seems like there will be no interesting discoveries this time round. Han Xiao shook his head in disappointment. He then looked up and took a deep breath.
He saw a block box in the center of the table. He walked toward it hastily and opened the cover of the box. There were three tubes of a fluorescent serum in the box.
At that instant, an ancient saying flashed in his mind—In times of desperation, there will eventually be light. What you search so hard for can actually be obtained so easily. In fact, it is just right before your eyes if turn back and take a closer look.
Han Xiao looked at the body on the table. He bit his lip and wondered to himself, Could the dead body be the professor?
Han Xiao grabbed the three serums and scanned through liquid in the tubes.
Where on earth do you find a serum of such a weird color?
_____________________
You gained [Felonia Serum (Incomplete)] x 3.
Felonia Serum (Incomplete): It is a serum with the medicinal ability to improve one’s physical capability. The formula has yet to be perfected. After the usage of the serum, mutation is a distinct possibility.
Note, these are the last three remaining Felonia Serums.
——————————————————————
Ah a biochemical serum. A serum without a tested and proven formula is highly dangerous. The serums I possess are incomplete products. It is highly likely for mutations to occur if I injected the serum into my body. I will probably become the muscular beast I just saw…
Han Xiao felt a cold shiver up his spine.
There is probably nothing else left here. I am going to leave this place as soon as possible. This place is very creepy.
Han Xiao turned around and met the gaze of the muscular monster standing there silently.
