Chapter 170: Escaping the Research Institute 15

Chapter 170: Escaping the Research Institute 15

An eerie silence fell over the laboratory.

Qin Fei and Researcher Edward locked eyes, both pairs filled with curiosity about the other.

In the live-stream hall, the audience's eyes widened in shock.

"Ah?!!!"

"I don't get this plot twist... Why does he need the streamer's blood?"

"Let me take a guess."

The spirit fond of analysis clenched his fists, staring at the screen eagerly.

"The senior researchers in this scenario are all monsters, right? They were ordinary humans before entering the Research Institute. So why did they change after joining?"

"There must have been something that happened... Perhaps it's related to their experiments."

The Research Institute scenario was vast, whether in terms of map size, depth of storyline, or breadth of side quests. It wasn't something that could be fully explored in just a few days.

So far, none of the over a hundred players still in the scenario had managed to piece together the core storyline of the Research Institute.

What exactly was the Research Institute trying to achieve by studying these monsters? Was it merely to let them control the world?

How did they conduct their experiments? What secrets did the researchers carry?

These questions could only be guessed at by the audience.

For Qin Fei, it was the same.

He couldn't fathom the purpose behind Researcher Edward's actions, but instead of piecing together clues, Qin Fei chose a more direct approach.

The young man tilted his head, his clear eyes like undissolved honey. He asked calmly and without any hostility, "After drawing my blood, what do you plan to do with it?"

Such a direct question made the audience on the other side of the screen catch their breath.

However, Researcher Edward actually answered Qin Fei's question seriously.

"Do you see this bone slice?" There was an indiscernible darkness in Researcher Edward's eyes.

Though he was looking at Qin Fei, his gaze seemed to pass through the young man, focusing on something he had longed for but could never obtain.

"It's the bone slice from Experiment Subject B-6312."

The NPC's fingers gently touched the snow-white bones, as if handling a rare treasure.

"Experiment Subject B-6312 was one of the first subjects that appeared under the sea fifty-five years ago."

"We don't know its original form, but when we discovered it, it already looked like this."

The NPC pulled out a photo from the pocket of his white coat and handed it to Qin Fei.

Qin Fei lowered his head and saw a massive skeleton lying quietly on a beach after the tide had receded. The several-meter-high and ten-meter-long body made the people surrounding it look tiny like ants.

"Experiment Subject B-6312 is the most influential among all the subjects we've found. Though it has completely fossilized, it hasn't lost its life signs. After the Research Institute was officially established, B-6312 became one of the initial and most central experiment subjects."

"But," Researcher Edward's voice was low, almost like a whisper, "we have never truly controlled it."

"It is different from all other subjects, in structure, stability, and internal composition. It is too mysterious and too powerful. For fifty years, I was about to give up on studying it, but then you appeared."

"You are special, I can feel it. You are just as special as B-6312, child."

Researcher Edward smiled.

His expression and tone carried a divine glow, making him seem like a charismatic cult leader, each word luring others closer.

Researcher Edward took a step closer to Qin Fei.

He was tall, half a head taller than Qin Fei. The NPC looked down at the player, reaching out to touch his face.

...Wait a moment.

Qin Fei's body stiffened slightly, sensing something was off. His gaze slowly moved downward.

Researcher Edward's hands were still hanging by his sides, but the object touching Qin Fei's cheek was soft and wet, leaving a cold, sticky trail on his skin.

A faint scent of brine wafted up, as if some creature that had just crawled out of the seabed was caressing Qin Fei's cheek.

It extended from beneath the NPC's white coat.

A dark tentacle.

The tentacle wrapped around Qin Fei's neck, not squeezing hard. Qin Fei's expression remained unchanged, but the audience watching the live stream felt suffocated.

"Do you see?" Researcher Edward asked calmly, "Just like this."

"You can make your own decision. We won't force anyone. Join us, become a true member of the Research Institute, and you will merge with B-6312. You will own it, and it will own you."

"B-6312 is the strongest subject, and you will become the core existence of the Research Institute. When I leave, you will be the rightful successor here."

As Researcher Edward tried to sway the player in the operation room, the chat panel in Qin Fei's live stream was flooded with fans' curses at the NPC.

"Wow, what the hell is this! Wife, you can't agree, right??"

"What does the researcher mean? If you agree, will you merge with the monster and become one yourself?"

"It's hard to imagine my gentle and beautiful wife growing tentacles..."

"Ah, ah, that prophetic Emperor Yu's prediction has come true. The researchers really did turn into monsters because of the experiments!"

"So everything makes sense now. Xiao Qin's conjecture at noon was most likely correct. The entire instance world is already under the control of monsters. The researchers turned into monsters during their research, which is why they were so enthusiastic about cultivating and releasing monsters into the Sea of Earth. The surface world has long become part of the Research Institute."

"The condition for clearing this instance, as the players guessed, is to delve deep into the plot, find the weakness of the Research Institute, and destroy it completely."

"If that's the case, the streamer absolutely, absolutely cannot agree to the NPC's request!"

Once Qin Fei agreed to Researcher Edward's invitation, he would become part of the Research Institute.

In that case, in the subsequent development of the instance, he might even stand on the opposite side of all the players.

The consequences need not be elaborated upon.

The spirits reached out and pressed against their empty chests, feeling a sense of emptiness and tension entangling their minds.

Despite this, everyone actually had the same premonition:

The streamer definitely wouldn't agree.

Their wife was so smart and always made choices beneficial to herself in instances.

If they could think of it, there was no way Xiao Qin couldn't. Although it seemed like she was cornered, Xiao Qin must have a way to turn the situation around.

However.

The scene the audience had hoped for did not happen. In the live broadcast, the young man listened silently to the NPC's entire narration and then extended his arm without hesitation, without any delay.

The camera zoomed in, revealing the pale, slender skin with faint blue veins visible beneath.

Researcher Edward smiled.

But the audience was stunned.

Wait... Wait!! What are you doing, streamer?!

The audience thought the streamer had gone mad. Had the streamer been bewitched by the NPC?

The cold syringe glinted with a chill light as the fine needle pierced the young man's arm.

Fingers clad in white rubber gloves depressed the plunger, injecting a tube of fresh red blood into the syringe. The NPC held the tube between two fingers, examined it under the laboratory lights, and curled his lips in satisfaction.

He first dropped a drop of blood onto the bone fragment in the control panel.

The blood quickly seeped into the bone fragment, the red flash disappearing into the white, leaving the bone fragment unchanged, still lying quietly in the tray.

Researcher Edward's breathing became heavier. He turned his head towards the center of the laboratory, where the opaque large metal container stood.

The container remained silent, the air steady, every molecule in the laboratory unchanged.

The researcher looked at Qin Fei again.

His eyes sparkled with an intense fervor: "You are indeed different!"

Over decades, Researcher Edward had never seen an entity that the B-6312 experimental subject did not reject.

"We've succeeded halfway—no, we've succeeded mostly." The researcher patted Qin Fei's shoulder. "Go sit over there for a while."

He pointed Qin Fei to a corner with a device. Qin Fei walked over and found it was a small viewing window that allowed him to see inside the container.

Although Qin Fei didn't need this to see the bones inside the container, he sat down in front of the device with interest.

He adjusted the angle, but the view through the window was limited. The polluted source fragment seemed to sense Qin Fei's gaze and began blooming again. Thorns spiraled around the skeleton, and black roses rapidly bloomed and withered within the small window.

Qin Fei noticed that these flowers seemed visible only to him.

Neither in the photos Edward showed him nor in the many recorded images beside the device did Qin Fei see the black roses.

Researcher Edward was busy at the corner lab bench, mixing various solutions, adding drops of Qin Fei's blood, and placing the bone fragment inside. The clinking sounds continued as he worked.

For the entire afternoon, Qin Fei sat beside the container holding the polluted source, idly watching the bones continuously bloom.

It seemed the entity regarded this as a fun game. Wherever Qin Fei's gaze landed, a flower would bloom there. The originally still liquid was disturbed, and the giant skeleton emitted subtle, pleasant vibrations.

Researcher Edward put down his equipment and turned back thoughtfully.

"It really likes you," he said confidently.

The better the reaction from B-6312, the more confident the researcher was about the upcoming results.

Now, that confidence was almost 100%.

Only one step remained.

The researcher drew a vial of solution he had prepared for hours.

It was a clear, water-like solution, shimmering with tiny, sparkling particles. The NPC handed it to Qin Fei.

"Drink it," the NPC ordered.

Qin Fei took it and drank it down in one go.

The audience in the live stream nearly popped their eyeballs out!!

Just... Just like that?

Did the streamer really drink it??

Qin Fei really drank it.

The moment he drank it, the young man furrowed his brow.

An extremely intense heat surged up from his abdomen, rushing straight to the top of his head, scorching every capillary in its path.

Qin Fei swallowed slowly and laboriously. He felt like a burning fireball, ready to explode at any moment.

But the heat quickly dissipated, converging on a specific point near the young man's shoulder and neck.

Qin Fei licked his slightly chapped lips and, under the intense gaze of the opposite NPC, silently pulled off the hood of his protective suit and unzipped it slightly.

He pulled aside half of the protective suit along with the T-shirt underneath, exposing his beautiful collarbone and neck lines to the air in the laboratory.

In that spot where there should have been no blemish, a blooming black rose quietly clung beneath his collarbone.

The NPC's eyes suddenly gleamed!

It worked!!

Although Researcher Edward was still somewhat puzzled at this moment.

Why would B-6312 leave a rose tattoo as a mark after fusion?

However, this didn't matter anymore.

What mattered most was that the experiment succeeded.

Subject B-6312 had accepted the person in front of him, and did so thoroughly.

This was the first time Researcher Edward had witnessed such a fierce and rapid fusion. Although it had just begun, he believed that subsequent developments would be surprisingly smooth.

Researcher Edward finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

On the other side of the screen, the spirits' faces were more unpleasant than if they had eaten flies.

Damn! It's over! It's all over!!

"Actually... it might not necessarily turn out that way."

The spirits began to find solace in their misfortune.

"Yeah... right, wasn't it our guess that fusing with a monster would change one's stance?"

"That's right, even if he turns into a monster, he might not necessarily be implicated when destroying the Research Institute, and he might still be able to leave the instance normally, right?"

The spirits tried to salvage the situation for the streamer, their smiles more painful than tears.

"Alright, you can go back now."

In the scene, the researcher said to Qin Fei.

It was already 6 PM, and the laboratory's work hours ended earlier than the operational area.

As the highest-ranking position in the Research Institute, apart from a few researchers who voluntarily worked tirelessly, others did not need to work night shifts.

Qin Fei put on his clothes, gently pressing his fingertips on the location of the rose through several layers of fabric.

"The initial fusion has been successful; complete success may take some time," said Researcher Edward.

"Afterward, until the fusion is fully completed, you will stay in this isolation lab during working hours and help record the data of Subject B-6312."

With that, Researcher Edward handed Qin Fei a thick stack of papers, about three fingers high.

"There are some reports here with specific information about the fusion experiment. You can take a look."

Everything Qin Fei wanted to know—why they were conducting this experiment and what would happen afterward—could be found in these documents.

Qin Fei took the materials.

...

Qin Fei originally planned to return to his room in Dormitory D as soon as possible to carefully examine what the NPC had given him.

But plans never keep up with changes.

Just as he returned to his room, a scraping sound came from the ventilation duct above his head.

Familiar light green vines bent into two hooks, hovering in the air like hands, greeting Qin Fei. After staring at the ventilation duct for a few seconds, Qin Fei reluctantly approached.

"What's the matter?" Qin Fei brought a chair, stood on it, and, as he did last night, quickly unscrewed the tightly sealed lock.

"There's something I need to discuss with you; come quickly." Lu Cheng's vine pulled Qin Fei's wrist, dragging him into the ventilation duct.

Lu Cheng wasn't someone who would bother others without reason.

When Qin Fei followed the vine's guidance and arrived at the destination, he found himself at a spacious underground sewer entrance.

This place was as large as a square, and at least fifty people had already gathered before he arrived.

Qin Fei's expression became subtle. There were only a little over a hundred players left in the entire instance.

"Over here!" Lu Cheng stood in the corner of the crowd, waving at Qin Fei from afar.

Mi Yang, Lin Ye, and Ning Yu were also present, and Qin Fei saw Cen San Ya standing at the front of the crowd.

"A few groups of players approached our leader, discussing gathering players to cooperate together."

Lu Cheng lowered his voice, "There are too many people, and cooperation might not be achieved, but I think there will definitely be a lot of information exchange tonight."

Such an occasion where many players gather indeed lends itself to unexpected discoveries.

Qin Fei nodded casually.

Actually, he was feeling somewhat uncomfortable at the moment.

Ever since leaving the quarantine lab, he had been feeling unwell. The black rose on his clavicle kept burning, as if a hot iron had been pressed against it.

The pain wasn't excruciating, but the sensation of clothes rubbing against his skin during movement was intense and hard to ignore.

It was pitch-black in the sewer, and no one around noticed Qin Fei's expression.

Not all players had the ability to find this place, nor did everyone receive the message. In the end, 66 players showed up.

After counting the attendees, a player Qin Fei didn't recognize who stood at the front spoke up.

"Everyone! We've gathered you here today to share some information about the instance dungeon with everyone."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He had originally thought this was just an information exchange meeting, but he didn't expect the organizer to be so generous as to openly share the information they had.

However, it might just be a way to set the stage for others to contribute.

Lu Cheng whispered, "That's someone from Starlight."

Starlight is considered the third-largest guild in the rule world, much smaller than Blackfeather and Darkfire, and their members are not particularly flamboyant.

Therefore, although this guild has always been well-known, few players actually recognize its members.

Unexpectedly, the information provided by Starlight was not garbage.

"We strongly suspect that literal 'escape' cannot truly end this instance dungeon."

This wasn't just any information; it was what all players were most concerned about—information related to clearing the dungeon.

Qin Fei found a spot in the corner and sat down, hugging his knees.

What the Starlight members said aligned closely with what Qin Fei and his team had speculated.

Unlike Migrating Sheep, who left the Research Institute, Starlight obtained their information from another document archive within the institute.

In the archive, there were records of radiation levels in the ocean of the instance world over the past fifty years. Through these records, players discovered, to their surprise, that the entire ocean was under the control of the Research Institute.

"The Research Institute has been continuously releasing radioactive substances into the ocean," said the Starlight player.

Radiation is essential for the survival of monsters, and by controlling the ocean's radiation, the Research Institute controls the living environment of surface-world monsters.

Indeed, the monsters on the surface were also bred by the Research Institute.

"Now, based on the information we have, the founder of this Research Institute is a researcher named Edward. Fifty-five years ago, when chaos reigned on the surface, this person suddenly appeared and claimed to want to establish the Underground Research Institute."

Qin Fei silently lowered his gaze, his long, thick lashes casting fine shadows on his cheeks.

Earlier that morning, he learned through Researcher Beck that Researcher Edward had been in the institute for more than fifty years, making him a core figure akin to an elder.

Now, Starlight directly declared that the Research Institute was founded by Researcher Edward.

Researcher Edward's status within the institute was higher than anyone imagined, and without a doubt, he was likely the core boss of this instance dungeon.

"We have several different plans moving forward. If anyone has other information about the instance dungeon, please feel free to share with us."

"I think they want to take out Researcher Edward," Lu Cheng pondered, focusing on the key points in Starlight's statement. "With so many people here, he can't be too specific."

Otherwise, what if there were spies?

Qin Fei remained silent.

Although he hadn't yet witnessed Researcher Edward's combat abilities and the man seemed like a gentle young human,

Qin Fei couldn't forget the cold touch that lingered on his cheek that afternoon.

Researcher Edward was not human; he was a monster. Those players who wanted to deal with him must know he is a monster too.

This would certainly not be an easy battle.

Moreover, Qin Fei had a premonition that players wouldn't fare well in this situation.

"Also."

Cen San Ya, who had been sitting quietly like a statue at the front, suddenly spoke up.

In this instance, he had also donned a protective suit like the other players, but his uniqueness was not diminished in the slightest. Strands of snow-white hair peeked out from under the hood, cascading over his shoulders.

"I'd like to ask everyone here if anyone has seen... seen the missing players? The missing fourth group of players."

Cen San Ya paused, seemingly unsure how to describe it.

"During our discussions, players easily realized that the instance initially divided them into four groups.

But the fourth group never showed up at all.

Actually, this wasn't really surprising.

Perhaps this group of players was rather unlucky, ending up with characters who were eliminated right at the start, getting wiped out immediately.

Or maybe the number of remaining players was so small that they weren't discovered by other groups.

However, what unsettled Cen San Ya was that he had used his innate skill to investigate.

In the current scene of this instance, there were traces of only 150 players ever being present.

Those 50 people vanished without a trace.

It was as if they had never even come.

Why was that?