Chapter 164: Escaping the Research Institute 09

Chapter 164: Escaping the Research Institute 09

When Researcher Edward released Qin Fei, it was almost 9 PM in the instance.

The supervisor of the operation area had been waiting outside in the corridor. Seeing Qin Fei emerge from the laboratory, his eyes suddenly became as bright as snow.

The moment the laboratory door closed behind them, the supervisor approached Qin Fei like a rat that had stolen some oil, whispering, "How did it go?"

Qin Fei replied succinctly, "It's settled. The researcher asked me to come back tomorrow morning."

The supervisor slapped his thigh excitedly, "Good, good! I'll send you off tomorrow morning!"

Although Qin Fei had only worked in the operation area for one day and was about to ascend directly to a higher position than the supervisor, he was still an employee of the operation area until he received his new ID card.

It was not yet 10 PM when the supervisor led Qin Fei back to the operation area to continue his work.

The number of workers in the operation area had decreased since Qin Fei left, but fortunately, the players were still the same ones.

When Qin Fei returned, he naturally drew many furtive glances.

The players didn't look too well; they had been enduring continuous contamination since the afternoon. Although they managed to withstand it with medication, the mental damage was still considerable.

Only Qin Fei moved lightly, like a bird covered in feathers, as if he could fly into the sky at any moment.

After several consecutive shocks, the players no longer felt envious or jealous. They all knew clearly that this master was on a completely different level from them.

Various gazes secretly circled around Qin Fei, and the players pondered where he had gone during his long absence and how they could get closer to him to extract valuable information.

Unfortunately, no one managed to successfully implement their plan to get close to him.

At 10 PM, the broadcast announced the end of the shift.

Although the work of the lower-level employees in the Research Institute was both arduous and dangerous, at least they never had to work overtime and could leave right on time.

After work, the NPCs did not rush out of the employee passage as they did at noon. Instead, they headed towards the bathing room where the players had entered earlier.

The bathing room was not large, accommodating at most 50 people at a time. Qin Fei and Lin Ye had to wait through two batches before it was finally their turn.

After spending the entire afternoon and evening in the Research Institute, Qin Fei's radiation level had risen to 28.8.

Based on previous data, Qin Fei knew that staying in the pool for about 10 minutes would clear his radiation level entirely.

From this, it seemed that for players who had secured legitimate positions in the Research Institute, radiation levels would not be a significant constraint.

But what about players who hadn't secured legitimate positions?

Qin Fei didn't believe that in a place full of radiation like the Research Institute, the sewers would be a clean haven.

The system had deceived them here; the concept of radiation levels only appeared after certain plot triggers. Before Qin Fei took over the identity of NPC E-0079, the system had never mentioned it.

Those who chose to hide in the sewers might now be in danger.

Thinking of Mi Yang and Xiao Xiao, who were still missing, Qin Fei tried to scoop some water into his personal space.

—Naturally, he failed without a doubt.

Feifei: "..."

Angry.

After clearing their radiation levels, everyone left the operation area, and the players once again walked along the long, winding corridors inside the Research Institute.

The events of the afternoon had left psychological scars on many, causing them to constantly look around nervously, fearing another monster might appear.

Fortunately, the test subjects in the Research Institute didn't rebel every day.

The group arrived at Accommodation Area A without incident.

All the rooms here were dormitories housing 20 people each. Although each room held many people, the environment was much better than the breeding center described by Lin Ye.

The veteran employees each had their own dormitories, while the newly arrived thirty people had already dwindled in numbers. The remaining players and NPCs couldn't even fill a single room and were directly placed in an empty room by the supervisor.

However, Qin Fei was singled out: "You won't stay here."

Just as Qin Fei glanced at the first line of rules in Accommodation Area A—no talking and no getting out of bed after lights out at 12 AM—he was pushed out of the room by the supervisor.

The players watched Qin Fei and the supervisor leave, regretting deeply that they hadn't talked more with the master on the way over.

The supervisor led Qin Fei through the accommodation area, which was much larger than Qin Fei had imagined.

The overall structure of the Research Institute was undoubtedly massive, with each area resembling a maze.

Passing through the basic management's B Area and the guards' C Area, the supervisor brought Qin Fei directly to the entrance of Accommodation D Area.

"The people who live here are the laboratory staff," the supervisor said, his tone filled with envy, adding, "Inside D Area, there is an inner and outer section. The inner section is where the official researchers live, so don't get lost."

He handed Qin Fei a new ID card and wristwatch, "I don't have access to D Area, so you can go inside and find a patrolling guard. He will take you to your dormitory."

This strict hierarchical accommodation system reminded Qin Fei of the central city.

As expected, the living conditions in D Area were vastly different from those in A Area. While D Area wasn't as spacious, each person had their own private dormitory, free from disturbances.

Xiao Qin has been doing so well on his first day in the instance that it has drawn exclamations of amazement from the audience in the live broadcast room.

This exhibition match is not only for the spirit audience; many players in Central City are also paying close attention to everyone's actions within the instance.

From the very beginning of the instance, Qin Fei has been a key observation target for several factions.

After a day of live broadcasting, even those players who originally had no connection with him and were not particularly interested in him have started to switch over to his live stream from time to time.

"Is Xiao Qin now the fastest player in terms of progress in the instance?"

"It's hard to say, but he's definitely among the first batch. Cen San Ya from Black Feather is also in the instance, and that Mi Yang who ranked last year seems quite familiar with Xiao Qin. There are also a few others from Star Day and Dark Fire. They've all secured formal positions at the Research Institute."

"Why isn't the exploration degree made public like in the preliminary rounds? It's making me anxious watching this."

"Forget about the exploration degree; I can't even figure out the structure of the instance. What are the fourth batch of players doing? Why do they seem to be in a completely different instance, as if they're in another world..."

After entering Area D, Qin Fei showed his ID card, and someone indeed guided him.

All the roads here are straight and there's no such thing as getting lost. All Qin Fei needed was to find his own room among the many rooms.

Area D is very quiet, unlike Area A which is overcrowded. The NPCs passing by also seem more spirited.

Qin Fei quickly found his room and opened the door with his wristwatch.

In front of him was a room of more than ten square meters, equipped with a bed, wardrobe, desk, shower, and even an air conditioner.

The room was very clean, with neat bedding. Upon entering the room, Qin Fei searched around but found nothing related to the rules.

There were still a few minutes left before 12 o'clock, so Qin Fei sat down on the bed.

The only downside here is that the sound insulation is not very good. Qin Fei could faintly hear voices, footsteps, and other miscellaneous sounds coming from the rooms on either side.

Even after the time on his wristwatch passed 12 o'clock, the noise did not stop. Qin Fei even heard someone open their door and walk outside.

It seems that the centralized management system of Area A does not apply in Area D.

Qin Fei stood up.

He initially wanted to go outside for a walk, but just as he stood up, he suddenly stopped.

In the live broadcast, the young man abruptly froze in place.

It was as if something had immobilized him. His long eyelashes covered his eyes, and the fingers hanging by his sides slightly relaxed, with faint blue veins appearing on the back of his hand.

"What's going on?"

The audience widened their eyes.

"What happened to the broadcaster?"

"Wife, wife, please respond!!"

Qin Fei did not answer.

He was too preoccupied to pay attention to the comments or the audience. He slowly turned around and looked at the bed he had just sat on.

This was a very ordinary single steel-framed bed, but now, there was a rustling sound coming from under the bed, as if something was crawling on the ground.

The sound was very light and was not even picked up by the system, only Qin Fei's sensitive ears detected its presence.

The sudden appearance of an intruder in the enclosed room should have been a tense moment, yet Qin Fei showed no sign of being on guard.

He took a few steps forward and half-squatted to look under the bed.

Based on the previous background information provided by the system in the water prison, the Research Institute has likely existed for about fifty years, so the rooms in the accommodation area must not be empty for the first time.

Although the room was cleaned thoroughly when Qin Fei entered, there were still some overlooked items under the bed.

A few crumpled napkins, two broken ballpoint pens, and a sports shoe.

And.

A leaf.

A pure black leaf with fine, regular serrations along the edges, belonging to a rose.

A faint scent spread in the room. This thing that would make many players shudder was not only familiar to Qin Fei but also made him feel quite comfortable.

The young man blinked, his eyelashes fluttering.

He lowered his body further, almost half of him reaching into the bed.

He stretched out his hand, seemingly trying to grab something under the bed.

What the audience cared about most at this moment was what Qin Fei was looking for.

The live broadcast camera should have switched perspectives when Qin Fei bent down, but it did not.

Now, the live stream only showed the broadcaster's back, blocking his actions from view, leaving the audience unable to see anything clearly.

"What is Xiao Qin doing? Picking up paper from under the bed?"

"I can't see clearly."

"I'm dying of anxiety!!"

"Hey, what's going on? System @System, switch the perspective, I want to see what the broadcaster is doing!"

The live broadcast screen stuttered for a moment, and static representing poor signal flashed across the screen.

The scene remained unchanged, and Qin Fei had already crawled under the bed.

At this moment, his gaze was fixed on the farthest corner beneath the bed.

In the corner where the wall met the floor, a patch of wall covering had peeled off, revealing the inner lime.

On this bare lime wall, a black rose was blooming in the dark corner.

Qin Fei reached out to touch the stem of the rose, and the leaves on the branch trembled slightly. Immediately after, several new vines grew from the junction of the flower branch and the ground.

The sound just now came from these vines, which spread across the floor under the bed, moving towards Qin Fei's direction, climbing up his arm, over his shoulder, and around his neck.

Sparse thorns pricked the young man's skin, but he did not feel any pain. Qin Fei stared intently at the flower, his slender fingertips touching the petals.

The rose contracted slightly, as if it had its own consciousness.

These black roses and vines were always present around the source of pollution. Qin Fei had seen them countless times before, and now the flowers followed him from the laboratory all the way here.

Qin Fei suddenly felt thirsty. The soft touch of the petals lingered faintly on his fingertips, and the stagnant air under the bed was filled with the scent of pollution and the light fragrance of plants.

Just as Qin Fei wanted to get closer to the rose, a slight collision sound suddenly echoed from the ceiling in another corner of the room outside the bed.

Qin Fei quickly withdrew his hand.

This time, someone had really come.

The rose seemed to sense the presence of others; the previously full bloom suddenly curled up, the vines retracted, and the branches and leaves pulled back.

The moisture on the petals quickly evaporated, and in the end, they completely dried up, crumbling into dust before Qin Fei's eyes, disappearing without a trace.

Only one petal remained intact, floating down to the ground.

Qin Fei stood silently for a moment, then picked up the petal.

The entire process while he was under the bed was unseen by the viewers in the live stream. At that moment, the live streaming hall was bustling, with many spirits complaining to the system about the overly unintelligent camera switching.

In the live stream, Qin Fei had already turned around under the bed.

He did not immediately leave, instead, he huddled in the shadows under the bed, only his clear black-and-white eyes quietly observing the unlit room in the darkness.

The sound came from the ventilation grid on the ceiling, with something behind the metal grid constantly shaking it.

Qin Fei half-closed his eyes.

He had not violated any rules, and the current situation did not seem to be caused by an NPC in the scenario.

Anyone who could navigate through ventilation ducts or sewers was likely a player, and players might specifically be looking for him.

The person trapped in the ceiling above the ventilation grid clearly intended to open the grid and crawl into Qin Fei's room.

But the grid looked old and rusty yet was surprisingly sturdy. No matter how much the person behind shook it, making a loud noise, it would not budge.

In the next instant, Qin Fei saw a thin, long object poke through the holes in the ventilation grid.

The person behind the grid seemed to be getting frustrated, pulling the pale green vine longer and wrapping it around one part of the iron grid, tightening it fiercely!

"Alright!" Qin Fei finally couldn't help but crawl out from under the bed.

Before Lu Cheng could do something irreparable—like tearing off a piece of the ceiling—Qin Fei interrupted his actions.

The green vine paused for a moment, stopping its destruction.

Lu Cheng was quite obedient; the vine soon released from the iron grid of the ventilation grid.

The vine, thin and long, twisted forward like a snake in the air, touching the ground, and then moved to Qin Fei's front, its tip curling up and swaying.

Qin Fei: "..."

He was worried it might suddenly flick its tongue out.

"Hehe, I finally found you." Lu Cheng's voice came from the vine.

Qin Fei walked to the ventilation outlet, looked up, and saw no one there.

Lu Cheng was probably still far away, just using the vine to transmit his voice.

Lu Cheng, who had been shaken off and then reattached himself, sounded somewhat smug. "How was your day? Did you find any clues to get out?"

Qin Fei sat down by the bed lazily and replied, "There are so many capable players in this scenario. Why do you have to look for me?"

Qin Fei indeed had some gains today, but to complete the task and leave the scenario, he was still far from it.

This was a massive scenario with 200 people, and at least half of them were capable, including many players from Black Feather, such as Captain Cen Sanya, whom Lu Cheng knew well.

When Qin Fei mentioned this, Lu Cheng sounded a bit depressed. "The boss doesn't pay attention to me."

This scenario was an individual showcase, not a team cooperation event, and Cen Sanya was never one to enjoy teamwork.

Although he was Lu Cheng's captain, he only mentored him when Lu Cheng was a rookie.

Everyone in Cen Sanya's team, after reaching B-level, either found their own partners or operated independently.

Unless Vice President Gala issued a strict order, Cen Sanya usually acted alone.

"This time, the boss is responsible for mentoring two new seeds from the Guild, one C-level and one D-level," Lu Cheng revealed without any qualms.

He had gone to find Cen Sanya in the afternoon, but the other party completely ignored him. Cen Sanya had also obtained a position within the scenario and was now working as a research assistant in another area's laboratory.

In other words, Cen Sanya was also staying in District D tonight.

But his actions in the instance have always been unpredictable. On such a night perfect for exploration, Lu Cheng went to invite Cen San Ya, only to be kicked out by him.

Lu Cheng recounted Cen San Ya's words verbatim: "The boss told me not to bother him, saying that he had already been bothered enough by those two newbies during the day and just wanted to get some sleep at night."

Qin Fei couldn't help but laugh: "So you came to bother me?"

The vine chuckled: "How can it be called bothering? You're different from our eccentric boss. I bet you were planning to go out and explore tonight, right?"

Lu Cheng had seen Qin Fei's performance in the preliminary rounds. Although it was just one instance, Qin Fei's personal style had been fully displayed over those few days.

This young man had a gentle and refined face, spoke softly, and appeared polite and very approachable.

However, deep down, there was a hint of madness.

His style in the instance was clearly aggressive. He would never waste time if there was an opportunity to advance the instance's progress.

Lu Cheng's voice continued to come through the vine, compressed by the plant into a high-pitched tone with a buzzing echo, sounding like a toy speaking.

"I think," Qin Fei stood up, "you might have a point."

"What do you plan to do tonight?" Qin Fei asked.

Lu Cheng: "I've been wandering around the sewers all day today, encountering quite a few players. However, most of them found that the information they could gather from the sewers was limited and eventually returned to the surface."

Only Lu Cheng continued to fight in the stinky sewers.

Now, he could confidently claim that he was the king of the sewers.

Many sections had become familiar to him, and he had gained a certain understanding of the Research Institute's overall layout.

"However..." Lu Cheng sounded a bit embarrassed, "there were too many people during the day, with NPCs everywhere. Many places I passed by were inaccessible. Now, taking advantage of the night, I plan to continue exploring the sewers and sneak up to the surface to see what those rooms are for."

In short, Lu Cheng planned to rely on the cover of night to fill in the instance map.

Qin Fei picked up Lu Cheng's vine from the ground and looked into the green head: "After walking in the sewers all day, didn't you find where the boundary of the Research Institute is?"

The instance mission was to escape the Research Institute. While the possibility was minimal, if a player could somehow break through violently, it could be a method.

However, most people probably wouldn't consider doing this because even if successful, the final score would certainly not be high.

Lu Cheng's voice sounded frustrated: "No, this Research Institute is simply too big. I walked all day and couldn't even find its edge."

Actually, Lu Cheng suspected that the sewers of the Research Institute might be connected to the outside world.

If so, the instance would certainly have some tricks to prevent players from taking shortcuts. He might never find the boundary of the Research Institute if he stayed in the sewers.

"By the way, can you go outside?" The green vine bent into a hook, resembling a question mark, "I saw NPCs walking outside Zone D, but they only stayed within the area and didn't leave."

Qin Fei didn't see this as a problem; he hadn't planned to leave from the surface anyway.

He held the vine in one hand, like a rubber band, and walked to the vent.

"You want to come up here?" Lu Cheng was surprised, "It's not impossible... the vertical height is low, and you can touch the ground above with a stretch, but the problem is that this thing won't open."

The ventilation shaft's wire mesh was actually locked to the ceiling, which was quite inhumane.

Qin Fei silently locked the room door, moved a chair nearby, and climbed onto it.

Lu Cheng could see through the vine's perspective, but there were still differences between the plant's view and his own. The colors were monochrome gray-white, and the image quality was blurry.

Thus, he only saw Qin Fei's hand flip, seemingly retrieving something.

Then, the young man raised his head, his slender, fair hand supporting the wall while fiddling with the lock.

Click.

The vent that had infuriated Lu Cheng, making him jump in frustration from the other end of the sewer, was opened effortlessly.

Lu Cheng: "..."