Chapter 162: Escaping the Research Institute 07

Chapter 162: Escaping the Research Institute 07

The experimental subject has escaped.

The players and NPCs in the corridor had never experienced such a situation and stopped in their tracks.

The incessantly flickering red warning lights caused the air pressure to plummet, making everyone hold their breath.

"Where... should we evacuate to?"

Someone timidly asked.

It was a good question, but no one knew the answer.

The workers in the operational area lived a monotonous life, moving between their dormitories, workshops, and cafeteria.

If they were contaminated during work, they would be taken away by the Reserve Guard Team. Otherwise, their lives remained unchanged.

They were like wound-up puppets, walking on predetermined paths, with no one ever teaching them what to do when an experimental subject escaped.

Should they return to the operational area? Or back to the dormitories?

Neither seemed like suitable places for evacuation.

The workers hesitated, blocking a section of the corridor.

Hastily chaotic footsteps soon approached from the other end of the corridor, accompanied by another sound.

Thud, thud, bang!

The loud collision echoed through the air, causing Qin Fei to abruptly look up.

The escaped experimental subject was already very close, and the overwhelming polluted aura surged forward like a rising tsunami.

In the blink of an eye, two official guards appeared around the corner of the corridor.

Both were covered in blood, their black protective suits soaked and darkened. They had lost their protective masks while running, and even from a distance, Qin Fei could see the terror on their faces.

The polluted aura in the corridor had become so dense it almost solidified, creating waves in the transparent air.

A crimson figure followed closely behind the two guards, charging straight towards them.

"Damn!" a player couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

What appeared in their distorted vision was a massive creature nearly two meters tall.

The creature had a humanoid structure, complete with head, torso, and limbs, but unlike normal humans, it had no skin.

Its body was covered with a layer of reddish flesh membrane, revealing red and white lines beneath as it ran. Unknown liquids dripped down its body.

The creature's face was blurry, with only shallow indentations where its features should have been. As it ran, it emitted angry roars from its chest.

One of the leading guards turned and fired a shot at the creature. The bullet seemed to be something other than ordinary ammunition.

Unfortunately, the guard missed, and the bullet landed somewhere unknown.

The creature, stimulated by the gunshot, doubled its speed, almost teleporting in front of the NPC.

With its huge palm, it slapped the person into the wall!

Everyone watching through the light screen was stunned!

This creature's attack power was astonishing; it had directly turned the NPC into a bloody mess, splattering the walls with blood and creating grotesque patterns.

The live stream flickered briefly due to the brutality of the scene.

Instinct for survival took over, and the NPCs screamed and scattered.

Some players tried to step forward, but the closer they got to the creature, the stronger the pollution became.

After just two steps, the players were hit by a piercing, train-like whine in their ears, invisible needles piercing their brains, forcing them to stop.

Amidst this chaos, Qin Fei's doubts deepened.

Something wasn't right.

Earlier, in the operational area, the tentacles with the polluted aura were alive, indicating that the source of the pollution was the main body of those tentacles.

But the creature made of flesh and membrane in front of him clearly had the aura of a pollution source.

The tentacles in the operational area did not seem to come from this creature, as the pollution auras differed slightly.

Could there be two pollution sources in this scenario?

And neither of these pollution sources was familiar to Qin Fei.

This was strange because the pollution source had never told him that there could be more than one in a rule-based scenario.

These two pollution sources were vastly different from the true pollution source. Although their pollution was strong and swift enough to torment the players, to Qin Fei, it all seemed superficial, like a beautifully embroidered pillow filled with straw.

Although the people in the corridor looked miserable, only a few weak NPCs had fallen to the ground, while the others managed to escape.

Players kept using supplements and cleansers to barely maintain their sanity.

If the true pollution source had appeared here, everyone except Qin Fei would likely have been annihilated, reduced to twisted consciousnesses, forever merging with the scenario world.

There was no way they could still stand here intact.

While others were struggling to escape, Qin Fei remained calmly standing by the side of the corridor.

From the moment it appeared, the monster had shown no intention of attacking him, even as it brushed past Qin Fei's shoulder without giving him a second glance.

Qin Fei already knew that he carried a part of the contaminant's aura, which in various scenarios would drive aggressive monsters into a frenzy against him, making him their primary target.

But in this scenario, everything seemed to be reversed.

Qin Fei suspected that this monster, also carrying a contaminant aura, regarded him as one of its own.

Several more officers rushed over.

The fascia monster blocked the middle of the corridor. Its body began to expand and spread outwards, its limbs elongating and its torso flattening, gradually transforming into a translucent thin meat web that divided the corridor in half.

"Damn..."

On this side of the corridor, a Guard Team member who had already collapsed on the ground had blood tears streaming from his eyes. His consciousness was fading, and he muttered,

"We're all going to die."

"We're going to die, die, die—We're all going to die here!!"

His words were jumbled, clearly indicating his mind was disintegrating.

As he spoke, his teeth fell out one by one, rolling onto the ground like small white pebbles.

The scene was unbearable to witness.

The players present had a variety of innate skills, some with combat abilities and others with different talents, but none could inflict any damage on the monster.

Although this monster couldn't compare to true contaminants, it was far more terrifying than those in normal scenarios, making it impossible for players to get close to it.

Someone tried to crawl forward on all fours to grab the gun from the NPC's hand.

The officer who died earlier had used this type of gun to attack the monster, though he missed, leading players to speculate that the gun could suppress the monster.

However, the contamination was intensifying.

In the air-tight corridor, the increasing concentration of contaminant aura was causing immense mental strain on everyone.

A player writhed on the ground like a snake, circling around and returning to their original position, spitting out a pool of foam.

The audience in the live stream: "..."

The viewers sighed in despair.

"Wow, we're doomed. How come all the monsters in this scenario have mental contamination?"

"Something feels off..."

"Looks like these players in the corridor are dead meat. Some are already playing catch with the air."

They looked as if they had been poisoned by the wrong kind of mushrooms, appearing both comical and pitiful.

"One, two, three..."

The audience started counting how many players were left in the corridor.

There were fifteen players in the operation area, and a few who were highly alert had already run far away before the contamination fully spread.

Now, eight players remained, held back by the monster.

The spirits watching the live stream knew that these eight players were bound to face a grim fate today.

Bang! Bang!

The intense contamination distorted the vision of players and NPCs, even distorting the system's live stream camera.

The audience saw through the light screen that patches of wall paint peeled off the walls, the metal corridor as if scorched by an unquenched fire, with dust swirling in the air.

Countless hair-thin blood vessels split off from the now film-like monster, growing on the walls, ceiling, and floor, quickly merging with them.

The entire corridor seemed to come alive, with fresh blood flowing through the veins, the floor becoming soft, and the walls contracting.

The monster was merging with the corridor.

Just as some viewers were shaking their heads, wanting to leave the light screens, a spirit whispered in a corner.

"Wait a bit longer. Isn't there still a player who seems fine over there?"

What?

The spirits were shocked.

How could that be possible? The corridor was almost turning into the monster's stomach, and several players' sanity levels had dropped to critical points, trembling as they poured cleanser over themselves, looking as if they were suffering from a severe illness.

Under such circumstances, how could anyone remain normal?

Nearby, in another light screen, the audience in Qin Fei's live stream had remained eerily quiet throughout.

Because Qin Fei had stood like a statue in the corner for the past few minutes, the audience assumed he had fallen victim to the contamination.

Though everyone could see that Xiao Qin's base sanity level was still an astonishing 100, perhaps due to this being too bizarre, some viewers began to doubt whether the system had made a mistake.

Is the host acting normally now?

It seemed somewhat normal, yet somewhat not.

Until Qin Fei suddenly lifted his head, staring straight at the monster.

One step, then another, the young man began to move.

He walked steadily on the ground, under the astonished gazes of all the spectators.

"… What the hell?"

After a long while, in the silent live broadcast hall, the first spectator finally spoke up, as if waking from a dream.

It was actually true; that spirit hadn't been talking nonsense!

There really was a player who remained completely unaffected even when everyone else was almost driven mad by corruption.

The veins on the ground twisted and rose like hills and slopes, extending and retracting like waves just before they touched Qin Fei. The continuous blood vessels enveloped him but receded like a tide at the last moment.

Throughout this entire process, the young man's expression remained unchanged.

His amber eyes were clear and calm, showing no ripples. These dark, terrifying, and disgusting scenes and monsters seemed unable to shake his tranquil mood.

Qin Fei moved forward neither hurriedly nor slowly, heading straight for the gun in the fallen NPC's hand.

The monster, now reduced to a layer of flesh, could no longer move freely. Apart from causing mental corruption, it couldn't use its physical form to attack anyone anymore.

Qin Fei had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Conveniently, all the other players were also immobilized, so no one would come to obstruct him.

Everything that followed happened naturally.

The young man successfully approached the incapacitated NPC. The NPC was barely breathing, and Qin Fei compassionately smoothed out his disheveled hair, patiently prying open his tightly clenched fingers one by one to retrieve the gun. He then weighed the gun in his hand.

Now, Qin Fei was certain that this wasn't an ordinary pistol.

It wasn't a common pistol either.

The gun's body was peculiar, unlike any he had seen in the real world. Its overly minimalist design, resembling a steel tube, made it look more like a toy gun.

The screen displayed a scene of utter darkness, akin to hell. Many people were writhing on the ground, covered in blood and viscous fluids. Even through the screen, one could sense the filth and stench.

Amidst this chaos, there was a figure entirely different from the rest.

The young man wore a white robe, with a natural smile on his lips, looking relaxed and at ease.

He raised the gun in one hand and supported his wrist with the other, slightly tilting his head and half-closing his eyes, seemingly aiming at the center of the fleshy membrane.

Then,

"Bang—"

The young man's lips lightly touched each other, silently forming a word. A silver-gray bullet shot out, tearing through the air.

The frequency of the fleshy membrane's contractions suddenly accelerated as the monster sensed danger but had nowhere to run.

The bullet tore through the air, shooting towards the membrane monster at lightning speed.

The moment the bullet's tip touched the dark red, blood-veined skin, the rear part of the bullet exploded on the spot, releasing countless silver-white, translucent threads thinner than spider silk, spreading out in all directions.

These threads' ends, as if guided by their own will, precisely found the edges of the fleshy membrane where it connected to the corridor walls.

The obstacles in the corridor were covered by a silver web.

The sticky spider silk suddenly retracted, tearing the monster's flesh from the corridor walls. It was swiftly pulled back into the bullet casing.

With a clanging sound, the seemingly living corridor instantly returned to its original state.

The monster vanished.

In the empty corridor, only scattered bodies remained, along with a spinning bullet on the ground.

Qin Fei stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the bullet.

In the live broadcast hall, thunderous applause and excited cheers erupted!

"Holy shit, amazing!"

"So this streamer's sanity value of 100 is real??? I almost thought my eyes were playing tricks on me?"

"Of course, my husband's high sanity value is real!! Since entering the beginner instance, he has always been immune to 100% corruption. He must be the first person in the world to do this!"

Qin Fei stood silently on one side of the corridor.

With the source eliminated, the corrupting aura in the air quickly dissipated.

The NPCs' recovery was slower, but the players woke up first, shivering and frantically consuming mental supplements.

Soon, the sound of **uniform footsteps** came from the end of the corridor.

A well-organized Guard Team marched towards them.

When the leader of the Guard Team saw a group of workers wearing the lowest-grade protective suits standing in the corridor, he became somewhat at a loss.

"… We detected that an experimental subject was contained. Who fired the shot?" the Guard Team leader asked.

Qin Fei obediently raised his hand, holding the bullet directly under the Guard Team leader's nose.

The bullet lay in his palm.

The leader was stunned for a moment before managing a dry compliment: "Good job."

...

Although a terrible incident occurred today, the rules and regulations of the Research Institute would not change because of it.

The working hours at 7 PM remained the same as usual. Players who were still awake in the corridors gathered together and headed towards the cafeteria.

Even if they didn't have time to eat, they wanted to go and take a look.

The structure of the employee passage in the Research Institute was quite complex, with many intersections along the way, all interconnected.

Fortunately, there were clear signposts everywhere, guiding the direction. Many high-density areas had signs that read "No Unauthorized Entry."

Players, their legs weak, supported each other and followed the signs to the cafeteria.

To enter the cafeteria, one must first get food.

The entrance to the cafeteria was a pair of not-so-wide double doors. At the entrance was a row of glass windows for serving food, with an old man sitting on a small stool holding a spatula guarding the door.

"Workers not eating are not allowed to enter the cafeteria!" The old man would lazily shout this every now and then.

Should they enter the cafeteria for a meal?

The players hesitated for a moment, noticing the clock inside the cafeteria showing 6:30, and decided to go in.

On the door of the cafeteria, which was pushed to one side, was a white paper with black letters listing the rules.

"Rules for the Ordinary Employee Cafeteria of the Research Institute"

1. The cafeteria is open from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM and from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM daily. No meals are served at other times, and no external employees are allowed to enter.

2. No staff members are allowed to walk freely within the cafeteria.

All logistics staff in the cafeteria must adhere to their positions. If you see any staff walking around, please verify if they are real staff members. If confirmed, report them to the cafeteria management office.

If what you see is not human, do not make a fuss, avoid any interaction, and leave the cafeteria as quickly as possible.

3. No waste, no waste, no waste!

There were eight windows serving dishes today, one of which was mandatory, while the remaining seven could be chosen by diners. There was also unlimited free rice and soup.

Since it was their first visit to the cafeteria and they weren't very hungry, most players only chose the mandatory dish.

Everyone lined up at the serving counter, each receiving a small plate of stir-fried squid with celery, and found empty seats in the cafeteria.

Looking at the snow-white pieces of squid in the square iron tray, Qin Fei couldn't help but recall the wriggling tentacle he saw in the operation area.

His expression became subtle.

Lin Ye, sitting beside him, forced himself to pick up a piece and put it in his mouth.

With such large letters repeating "No waste" three times on the rules posted at the cafeteria entrance, no player dared to challenge the rule.

However, after chewing on the squid slice, his face showed surprise.

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" Qin Fei asked softly.

Lin Ye paused and said, "My sanity points have increased a bit."

The food in the cafeteria actually had the effect of removing contamination.

This made Qin Fei even more suspicious about the source of the ingredients.

However, the Chinese people's genetic makeup naturally includes a broad range of foods. Regardless of what the stir-fried squid with celery was before, it now looked like an ordinary dish.

As long as the stir-fried tentacle wasn't from a contaminated source that Qin Fei knew, he could calmly chew and swallow it.

The dish was refreshing and delicious.

After enjoying the meal, the players sat cautiously in their seats, not daring to move rashly.

Such scenes were familiar to these mid-to-high-level players.

Although there were rules posted at the cafeteria entrance, it didn't mean there weren't other hidden rules inside. They needed to observe what others did after finishing their meals.

Sure enough, after observing five or six NPCs finish their meals, they figured out the routine before leaving.

On the left side of the cafeteria was a row of sinks, next to which was a large metal basin for returning used dishes and utensils.

Before leaving, they needed to return all utensils to their respective categories, wash their hands carefully with soap from the third sink, and then leave.

The players followed the process obediently, lining up to wash their hands at the sinks, behaving like a group of well-behaved schoolchildren.

The events in the corridor had frightened everyone. The survivors were now like scared birds, their psychological defenses fragile.

Ever since Qin Fei dealt with the monster in the corridor, these players who witnessed everything began to regard him as a spiritual leader.

In the operation area, when Qin Fei grabbed the tentacle bare-handed, it already amazed everyone. What happened in the corridor further shocked everyone's perceptions and values.

He was too strong, incredibly strong!

Among these players, there were several A-level players, but they were equally powerless against severe contamination.

Only this young man with a gentle demeanor seemed unaffected by contamination.

Countless admiring, inquisitive, and even flattering gazes enveloped Qin Fei.

Every time they lined up, everyone would let him go first, none daring to make him wait.

Qin Fei accepted the preferential treatment from the players with ease, showing no discomfort in his actions.

Thus, after washing their hands, the young man was escorted back to the operation area by a group of players.

The current time is 6:52 PM, with only 8 minutes left before the night shift begins.

Under normal circumstances, the operation area should already be bustling with people at this time.

However, today there are many empty spots.

Mostly, it's the NPCs who are missing. Qin Fei took a closer look and noticed two players were also absent.

The players who had been contaminated by the fascia monsters, thanks to Qin Fei’s timely intervention, did not die. Although they looked somewhat weak now, they were not in serious condition.

Those who disappeared were the ones who turned and fled as soon as the incident occurred.

The employee passage is complex and intricate. In their panic, it's not impossible that they accidentally ran into some forbidden areas.

At 7 PM sharp, the bell signaling the start of the night shift rang throughout the operation area.

The assembly line operated smoothly, and the entire factory was silent.

A few minutes later, the supervisor, who had been absent all afternoon, rushed in hurriedly.

His mood was clearly not good. As he walked, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered, "The lab is causing trouble again... so many workers have been scrapped; we'll have to recruit new ones tomorrow."

The supervisor stood in one corner of the operation area, scanning the room with his eyes, and finally fixed his gaze on Qin Fei.

He pointed at Qin Fei and shouted loudly:

"Hey! You over there, yes, you!"

"Come here quickly, I need you to come with me somewhere."