Chapter 173: Escaping the Research Institute 18

Chapter 173: Escaping the Research Institute 18

Qin Fei held his breath and turned what was almost a scoff into a cough.

"…Are you sick?" Lu Cheng asked.

The armored vehicle had no windows, but the soft vines of the plants always found their way through any gaps. Now, the entire vehicle was under Lu Cheng's surveillance; not even a mosquito could escape his watchful eye.

Seeing that Qin Fei did not respond, Lu Cheng continued on his own, "Did you know? Researcher Edward is also here this time."

Qin Fei half-closed his eyes, appearing as if he were asleep. He gathered the rose vine around his neck in his palm and nodded slightly in a corner where no one was paying attention, indicating that he had heard.

Researcher Edward had boarded the transfer vehicle with Qin Fei. Although Qin Fei hadn't seen him after they got off, he was sure Edward was somewhere within the convoy now.

"Researcher Edward is on this very vehicle, in the front cabin," Lu Cheng said.

He seemed to lick his lips, and the hesitation in his tone was amplified by the communication device, making it exceptionally clear in Qin Fei's ears.

"The armored vehicle has already left the Research Institute," Lu Cheng said, "but the people from Starlight originally planned a second operation tonight."

He swallowed, "Now..."

Qin Fei suddenly opened his eyes.

Now?

Could it be that the people from Starlight still intended to continue?

Lu Cheng said, "They used a timed prop, secretly placed on an NPC this morning."

"I don't know if Starlight changed their plans for this trip, but..."

Lu Cheng's words were cut short halfway.

"Bang—!"

A loud explosion suddenly erupted from the armored vehicle, which had been steadily moving forward!

Lying beneath the tracks of the vehicle, Lu Cheng, through the vines clinging to the bottom of the front windshield, saw the scene inside the cabin.

The cabin was entirely enclosed in metal, divided into two sections. The front section housed the dashboard and two driver seats, while the rear section contained the experimental operation platform. Four researcher NPCs were present in the operation area, including Mr. Edward.

At the moment of the incident, Mr. Edward was talking to another researcher.

That researcher held a box full of radiation cleansing oral agents and was asking his superior when to distribute these medicines to the people in the back compartment.

Researcher Edward calmly spoke, but before he could finish, suddenly, in plain sight, his head exploded like a watermelon.

Invisible fragments pierced through the man's skull, causing a slight hissing sound as skin met air. Then, as if a steel rod was stirring inside his skull, flesh, skin, and bone simultaneously burst, sending sprays of fresh blood flying everywhere.

Blood splattered throughout the vehicle, and the NPC standing opposite Edward froze for a moment, took two steps back, bent over, and began retching violently.

The NPC driving the vehicle turned around, covered in blood on the back of his head, seemingly stunned.

Lu Cheng was also stunned. He watched in shock as the blood-soaked white coat of the headless Mr. Edward lost its balance and slowly slumped onto the operation table.

The vehicle came to a sudden, sharp halt.

Everyone in the back compartment lurched forward, and several NPCs fell off their seats.

"Damn!" Lu Cheng exclaimed, "They really did it!"

Lu Cheng couldn't understand how the people from Starlight, who supposedly learned from their previous mistake and decided to act cautiously this time, aiming only to force the NPCs to reveal their true forms rather than eliminate them, ended up doing this.

Was this it??

Was this all there was??

Lu Cheng felt this was worse than when he slit the NPC's throat last time. The visual impact of an exploding head was too much.

Had the people from Starlight gone mad???

It took a full minute for the people in the vehicle to start screaming in realization.

The different sections of the vehicle were separated by thick steel plates, which should have provided excellent sound insulation. However, sitting in the back, Qin Fei could faintly hear the screams of the NPCs in the front, indicating just how loud they were.

"Mr. Edward! Mr. Edward!!"

"Help! Someone come quickly!!"

The back compartment of the armored vehicle was opened, and NPCs rushed in, ushering everyone out.

The seats everyone sat on flipped open to reveal storage boxes. The NPCs grabbed a large medical kit from the storage boxes and hurried to the front cabin.

Lu Cheng: "..."

What was wrong with them? Who could put a head back together with bandages after it had exploded?

Only Lu Cheng and the Starlight player who used the prop could see the scene of Researcher Edward's accident in real-time. Countless viewers flooded into both live streams.

Almost all the spirits, like Lu Cheng, were cursing profusely.

"Good grief, I can't believe they blew Edward sky-high at this crucial moment??"

"I was looking forward to seeing these guys explore new side maps on the surface."

"Isn't the fourth group of players on the surface? There doesn't seem to be anything valuable there?"

"I guess the plot might advance only when players from both sides meet."

"Cut the crap, it's definitely over now. Sigh..."

"Starlight is such an idiot..."

"Starlight is such an idiot +1"

...

The live chat was flooded with a long string of similar messages, and the player named Starlight who had placed the item was being cursed out.

There were five players from Starlight in the instance, one of whom was still missing, while the other four were split between Qin Fei's armored vehicle and the Research Institute.

The person who placed the item was named Sikong, and he was in the Research Institute.

"How is it going?" Sikong's teammate asked nervously beside him.

Sikong had placed a timed, low-damage item on Researcher Edward. This item resonated with Sikong's innate skill, and once activated, it would start according to the set time unless the target died first.

According to the original information released by the Patrol Team, the group outing was supposed to happen in the next two days, which is why the four members of Starlight had hurriedly placed the item today. They didn't expect the outing to be moved up, causing the item to detonate halfway through.

"It shouldn't be like this..." Sikong's face was as white as if he had been dead for three days.

He had clearly set the lowest possible damage level, not even enough to kill an 8-year-old child, at most causing some superficial injuries.

How could Researcher Edward be like a balloon, shattering at the slightest touch??

"Hey, tell me, how is it?" Sikong's teammate tugged at his arm.

Sikong's eyelids twitched as he removed a pair of sunglasses from his face and handed them to his teammate.

After watching the replay, his teammate's face darkened, and he slapped the back of Sikong's head: "You damn..."

Sikong felt like crying but had no tears, unable to figure out where things had gone wrong.

"We're in deep trouble." His teammate muttered.

Indeed, the trouble was significant.

The leader of the Research Institute died unexpectedly during the patrol, forcing the convoy to stop midway. The people in Qin Fei's armored vehicle became the primary suspects.

Both the two drivers and the remaining three researchers in the cockpit, as well as the twenty people in the rear compartment, were taken aside.

The Guard Team escorted them step-by-step to another interrogation vehicle that had been specially emptied. During this process, Mi Yang turned to look at Qin Fei and nearly got hit on the back of the head by a guard.

Although the two players from Starlight didn't know what happened in the cockpit, they suspected it might be related to their teammate's actions and kept their heads down.

Qin Fei squatted in front of the interrogation vehicle, hands behind his head, secretly observing the surroundings when the guards weren't looking.

The other armored vehicles were also parked nearby, but no one came out. They were in a straight underground tunnel, surrounded by compacted earth.

Since the convoy hadn't traveled far, they could still see the vague entrance of the Research Institute in the distance.

The tunnel entrance only showed a door of the Research Institute, not its entire exterior, so Qin Fei turned his head back.

People squatting on the ground were being led one by one into the interrogation vehicle for questioning. Each session took about 20 minutes, and those who came out looked pale, unsure what the guards had done to them.

When it was Qin Fei's turn to enter the interrogation vehicle, the rose vines were still reluctantly clinging to his ankles and calves.

Qin Fei felt that ever since he agreed to do the fusion experiment with Researcher Edward, he had become like a puppy that wouldn't let go, following him wherever he went without leaving his side for a moment.

Even as Qin Fei stepped onto the ramp into the interrogation vehicle, the rose vines continued to follow closely.

They seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere and suddenly changed their behavior, with black thorny tendrils surging ahead of Qin Fei into the vehicle, quickly covering the entire interior.

The NPC in front of Qin Fei jumped as if pricked by something, hitting his head hard against the door frame and almost falling out of the vehicle.

Qin Fei: "..."

Qin Fei quickly supported the NPC, holding his elbow firmly. The NPC looked down fearfully but saw only smooth steps, nothing else.

Perhaps because Qin Fei helped the NPC in the chaos, the interrogation was relatively gentle. Qin Fei truthfully explained his work at the Research Institute.

When he mentioned that he had been with Researcher Edward for the past two days conducting a fusion experiment, the attitude of the guard interrogating him became even more respectful. He was soon politely escorted out of the interrogation vehicle.

The outing was indeed halted, and the interrogations lasted over six hours. For the first two hours, Qin Fei squatted on the ground, but for the remaining four hours, he sat on a chair brought by the guards.

The others in the rear compartment did not have such good treatment, squatting until their legs went numb, complaining bitterly.

The audience in the live stream was rapidly dwindling; there was little to see during the interrogations. The culprit who killed Edward wasn't on this vehicle, so naturally, no results were obtained.

After the round of interrogations, the twenty people were herded back into the original vehicle by the Guard Team.

Lu Cheng had been silent for a long time.

With Researcher Edward's incident, the armored vehicle would undoubtedly be thoroughly searched by the Guard Team. For safety, he must have hidden somewhere else.

The rear door of the armored vehicle slammed shut, and the interior remained pitch-black, with only the sound of everyone's breathing filling the air.

In this utter darkness, B-6312 grew increasingly active.

It had a self-deceiving enthusiasm, as if not seeing the people around meant they weren't there.

Qin Fei keenly noticed that the branches and vines entwining his body were gradually becoming—

indescribable.

The slightly prickly thorns were now delicately wrapped by leaves, and the surface that was cold and somewhat hard yesterday was now soft and warm like human skin.

Qin Fei's fingertips touched the thorny tendrils, feeling a rhythmic pulsation beneath the surface, akin to a heartbeat.

When Qin Fei grasped one of the vines, he was startled to discover that he could see through the ethereal air into the Research Institute's laboratory, where the skeletal remains of Experiment B-6312 were contained within a metal receptacle.

Another half day passed, and the changes in B-6312's skeleton became even more pronounced. Fine blood vessels, like a spider web, spread across the surface of the bones, with the faint presence of flowing blood inside.

Around these blood vessels, fresh flesh was gradually growing inch by inch in the transparent nutrient solution, weaving the texture and pattern of muscle growth.

This was a completely anti-biological existence; nothing in the world first has a skeleton and then grows everything else around it.

Qin Fei's curiosity about the complete form of B-6312 was growing intensely. He found it hard to imagine what this thing would become once fully grown.

...Would it turn into a 10-meter-tall pollution source?

Hiss—

Princess Feifei shook her head in horror, trying to shake off the sanity-draining thought from her mind.

In the metal receptacle, the vitality of the skeleton was visibly increasing. When they first saw it, it was just a sealed set of dry bones, but now it could gently sway left and right in the nutrient solution, like a fish swimming in water.

Qin Fei applied slight pressure to his palm, wanting to examine it more closely.

At that moment,

"Bang—!"

Another sudden sound echoed as the rear door of the armored vehicle opened. An extremely bright light beam shone in, blinding Qin Fei and turning his vision white. The rose vines that had spread throughout the vehicle suddenly vanished.

Someone instinctively raised their hand to shield their eyes.

When they lowered their hand, an unexpected figure appeared.

Qin Fei's pupils abruptly contracted.

It was Researcher Edward.

Researcher Edward still wore his spotless white robe, standing upright outside the armored vehicle. Behind him were several other researchers who had been covered in blood earlier but were now clean.

Although the NPCs of the Guard Team hadn't explicitly said anything, every player on the armored vehicle knew that the previous incident was due to an accident involving Researcher Edward.

But now—

Against the light, the NPC's face seemed exceptionally defined. With a meaningful smile, he stepped into the vehicle, his steps steady and powerful.

"F**k...?"

Lu Cheng's voice of disbelief echoed in the air, marking yet another time he had expressed such astonishment today.

"I only went under another vehicle for a bit, what happened here?"

Lu Cheng looked at the living, intact Researcher Edward and began to seriously doubt reality.

"How did he come back to life again???"

How many lives does this guy have?

Regardless, Starlight's second attempt finally yielded some results. At least the players now knew that Researcher Edward could truly die and be resurrected.

Last night's assassination attempt might still be doubted as a complete hallucination.

But today, after seeing the NPC's head explode like a watermelon, the reactions of everyone around were so real.

Lu Cheng, hiding back under the tracks, bit his lip and started trying to send messages to Ning Yu and Qi Su, who were still in the Research Institute, to help contact other players in the archives and laboratories to check if any experimental subjects had similar abilities.

Researcher Edward was there to distribute radiation cleansers.

These medications were more advanced than the radiation cleansing pools Qin Fei had used outside the operating room. They could be taken orally and had a stronger effect in cleansing radiation.

The armored vehicle's radiation shielding was clearly not as effective as the metal walls of the Research Institute. After just a few hours away from the institute, Qin Fei's radiation level had already risen to 58%.

And the researchers' protective suits provided the best protection among all the work categories.

If Qin Fei was already in this state, the others on the vehicle were even worse off.

After distributing the medication to everyone in the vehicle, Researcher Edward finally handed the last bottle to Qin Fei. After giving out the final dose, he looked directly at Qin Fei and said, "Come with me."

...

Researcher Edward led Qin Fei to the experimental area behind the cockpit.

The splattered blood on the walls and floor had been cleaned up, making the vehicle cabin look as if nothing had happened. The three researchers quickly resumed their tasks, and Qin Fei felt that perhaps this wasn't the first time they had experienced such an event.

Researcher Edward called Qin Fei over to help process experimental materials.

Qin Fei stared at the bone fragments on the table, his gaze dark and indiscernible.

"These are bone fragments from B-6312," Researcher Edward said. Even though Qin Fei already knew this, he nodded reluctantly.

"What are we going to do with these?" Qin Fei asked casually, as if making small talk.

However, the NPC didn't answer, leaving the question hanging. "You'll see soon."

He stepped forward, picked up a bone fragment with forceps, placed it in a metal box, and then ground it finely with a pestle.

"Watch my actions."

Researcher Edward seemed to be teaching Qin Fei how to handle the experimental materials, but as he did so, most of his body leaned forward, almost enclosing Qin Fei between himself and the lab table.

Through the distance and thin fabric, Qin Fei could even feel the faint warmth emanating from the other person.

A light itch tingled on his calf as the invasive rose vines wrapped around him once again.

Although the flower vine couldn't speak, Qin Fei somehow felt that he was increasingly able to understand the messages the thorns were trying to convey to him, perhaps because he was merging with B-6312.

—Right now, for instance, He seemed unhappy.

Researcher Edward was too close to Qin Fei, so close that B-6312 was extremely displeased. The soft vines slowly climbed up his body, like a neglected pet filled with grievance.

Qin Fei had originally been staring at Researcher Edward's distinctively jointed hands, observing how the NPC handled the bone fragments.

However, the air in front of him distorted and wavered, as if a reflection appeared on the surface of water, and suddenly he saw a pair of deep blue eyes with slightly furrowed brows.

Qin Fei was taken aback.

The image quickly vanished, and the air returned to its calm state once more.

Qin Fei's heart rate accelerated slightly.

As B-6312 continued to repair itself, the source of contamination seemed to be appearing more clearly within the instance.

Perhaps it was because Qin Fei's gaze on Researcher Edward's hands was too intense, intense enough to suggest ulterior motives, that the researcher suddenly spoke up.

"Why are you always looking at me?"

—I wasn't looking at you.

The quick-witted prince didn't let this honest thought slip out. Instead, he blinked and said, "I just wanted to ask."

The young man turned around, looking directly into the NPC's eyes with a serious expression. "Are you alright?"

His gaze swept past the row of question marks on the NPC's affinity bar above his head.

Researcher Edward.

He was indeed the most unique NPC Qin Fei had encountered after experiencing so many instances.

Researcher Edward raised an eyebrow at his new employee's abrupt question: "Is there something wrong with me?"

On the other side of the light screen, the watching spirits vaguely sensed what the streamer wanted to say and held their breath in unison.

And Qin Fei did not disappoint them.

Qin Fei lowered his eyelids and, when he looked up again, he had composed himself, suppressing all unnecessary reactions.

In the most meticulously disguised tone, laced with a hint of fear and concern, he said to Researcher Edward, "They all say you're dead."

The audience in the live stream room: "?????"

"Pfft—!???"

"Help, help, wife, do you have to be so straightforward??"

"The streamer almost made me bite my tongue with that one sentence."

"Dying of laughter, Black Feather worked so hard to get the message to the Research Institute. I bet those two players are frantically flipping through documents in the archive right now??"

"On average, each person has to flip... 14,382 pages of material, and here the streamer is, directly asking the NPC!!"

Even the rose vines of B-6312 seemed stunned by Qin Fei, tightening abruptly around his wrist.

Researcher Edward was momentarily stunned, his eyes darkening.

"Yes... That's correct," he replied slowly. "What they say is true."

"So, how did this happen?" Qin Fei calmly followed up, like a genuinely curious child. "It's truly amazing."

"Yes, it's truly amazing."

The NPC lifted his hand, and the back of it gently brushed against the young man's cheek, like a feather that touched and then left.

"But don't worry. Soon, you'll be able to do the same as me."

Researcher Edward promised solemnly.