Chapter 143 (1): Unsafe

Chapter 143 Part 1: Unsafe

The tactical flashlights installed upon their rifles illuminated the road ahead.

The deeper they ventured inside the passageway, the more water they found flowing through the floors. They could only guess where the leak was coming from as puddles of water was formed from the constantly flowing water.

“Why do I smell something strange?” Chen Xiaolian frowned.

“What I am worried about is that genetic virus. Will we end up contracting it? I do not wish to transform into a monster,” Roddy grimaced.

“Don’t worry. I had already exchanged out All Curing Antidotes from the system,” Chen Xiaolian smiled. “Once you sense something amiss, use the antidote immediately. Then, we will turn around and run.”

Chen Xiaolian carefully peered at the path before them and casually asked. “Right, once this instance dungeon is over, Nicole will be withdrawing from our guild. You…”

“What about me?” Roddy shook his head. “The gap between us is too big. I am not a fool. In this game, she is the fair and wealthy miss while I am the loser [1]. An unrealistic notion is something that I should do well to not put too much hopes on.”

“Hmm, since you have that mind-set, I can be at ease,” Chen Xiaolian gave a sigh of relief. “Nicole has a very potent character. I fear you would not be able to hold.”

“Hahahaha…” Roddy narrowed his eyes as he gazed forward and said casually. “I am more interested to see what is inside the Mechanical Faction’s lab. I wonder if there will be any good items. Hmm, it would be for the best if we could find a mechanical pet. You have Garfield, Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo have Black Widow. It would be great if I can get my hands on a mechanical type pet. Sigh! If I could only get my hands on a Floater, that would be amazing!”

“Nonsense. How could a Floater be that easy to get?”

The passageway finally came to an end. They went through an open metal door into an open space.

The area was shaped in what appeared to be an arch. There were air vents and an air circulation system fixed upon the ceiling. Despite being located who knew how many meters underground, this place did not give off any feeling of stuffiness.

“Say, about this underground research lab. Did the Japanese really create this in the present world? Or is this just something that the system made up?” Roddy suddenly asked a very strange question.

The question caught Chen Xiaolian off guard. He tilted his head and pondered it for a while before shaking his head. “Hard to say. Just take that Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel for example. Japan began the construction of that underground drainage system from 1992. They used up to 15 years to complete that colossal underground project. To create an underground lab beneath it within those 15 years would not be too hard, right? However, I am not sure about this black technology [2]. The technological prowess of present day Japan should not be that high, right? If it were, why would they keep kissing America’s ass?”

“Hahahaha,” Roddy laughed.

“Just take that genetic virus for example. If they actually possess this thing, then all they need to do is slip it into a country and turn it upside down. I feel that this should just be a storyline made up by the system. Present day Japan should not be that powerful.”

“Eh? There is something up in front.”

Chen Xiaolian focused his attention forward.

Garfield had already rushed forward. He abruptly stopped before a door and hissed non-stop, his claws scratching the floors over and over. Yet, he was unwilling to leave. Judging from his appearance, it seemed as though Garfield was nervous.

“Garfield?” Chen Xiaolian ran over and rubbed Garfield’s head.

The injuries on Garfield’s body were rapidly healing up. Under Chen Xiaolian’s comforting strokes, Garfield calmed down somewhat. However, Garfield’s head kept darting toward the door, tapping it gently.

“What's behind the door?”

Chen Xiaolian raised his head and examined it.

The door was a sealed shut. He extended his hand to rap it and was able to sense that it was a very thick door.

However, after rapping it a few times, a “bang” sound rang through from beyond the door! It was as though there was something locked up inside and it was slamming the door!

“Hmm?”

Chen Xiaolian was shocked.

Next, the sound came again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The force behind the impact gradually grew stronger and the door was shaken heavily. However, the door was extremely thick and was made of exceptionally durable steel.

“Xiaolian, look here!” Roddy suddenly called out from behind.

There was a room beside them, which resembled a security control room. The door was left open and the people inside had already left, leaving it empty.

Within the control room were row after row of display monitors.

The three of them ran inside and observed the monitors for a while. As they were walking inside from the platform, they had seen surveillance cameras along the way. However, some of the surveillance cameras have been damaged and cracks resembling snowflakes could be seen on the monitor. Most of the surveillance cameras however, were still intact.

“Look here!” Roddy pointed at one of the display monitors.

Shown upon the screen of the monitor was the outer side of the metal door from earlier. The surveillance camera of this monitor was fixed to capture a view of the door.

“Look at the screen on the left!” Roddy pointed at the other display monitor. “This should be the room inside that metal door!”

The surveillance camera was obviously undamaged. However, the room was dark with very faint illumination and appeared vague.

Roddy considered for a moment and quickly moved to check the control panel. “For such a high-tech place, its surveillance cameras should have infrared capabilities… hmm. Got it! Here!”

Roddy found the button to activate the infrared function for the surveillance camera. Then, he pressed it…

Instantly, the view of the interior of the room beyond the metal door was changed to infrared view. After the three of them saw what was inside, they sucked in a breath of cold air in unison!

The room was not big, only around three or five square feet from what they could see. It seemed like a storage room for cleaning equipment.

At this moment, the storage room was playing host to a monster!

Oval shaped head, a pair of pointy ears and a body silhouette that appeared like some form of large animal. It has no hair upon its entire body and has a skin texture that resembled leather. Its four limbs were crawling on the floor. Occasionally, it would become restless, lifting its head and slamming onto the metal door a few times. Then it would furiously slash at the surface of the metal door and the walls with its claws.

The three of them were terrified to see that the monster had managed to produce very deep claw marks upon the metal door. Even the reinforced concrete walls have been rendered a mess. In some areas, some of the reinforcing steels have been exposed.

Clearly, this storage room would not be able to hold the monster for much longer!

The monster possessed the appearance of a big cat… however, its body was longer and especially short.

It resembled a Dachshund dog that had been enlarged a few times. Yet, its head was not a dog’s head. Instead, it resembled that of a cat.

“There is a button here!” Roddy pointed at the control panel. “It could probably open the metal door.”

Chen Xiaolian only gave it a glance. “Only a mad man would open the door! That thing is even bigger than Garfield, comparable to that monster we encountered in the rail car.”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly had an idea. “Right, look at the other screens! Since this is the control room, it should be able to see many of the places inside the lab, right?”

There were over ten display screens stacked densely on the wall; many of them were still on.

Many of the places within the underground lab area were monitored and displayed clearly there.

As the three of them observed the screens of the display monitors, Chen Xiaolian discovered that most of the locations of this lab area were empty. The workspace, corridors and storage rooms were in shambles… every place that the surveillance monitors were able to view was empty, devoid of any human figures or moving objects – with the exception of the monster in the storage room from earlier, no other life forms could be seen.

“Does that mean that it is safe inside?” Nagase Komi suddenly became slightly elated.

“It is not that simple,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “This is the lab area for cutting-edge technology. Not all the places inside will be fixed with surveillance cameras. There will not be any surveillance cameras within the lab that conducts research on cutting-edge technology. What authority does the security personnel have to monitor those research? Wouldn’t leaks in information occur that way? Thus, the surveillance cameras that we can see here are only set up at some areas.

“For those areas of importance, even if they did set up some surveillance cameras, it would not be available for viewing within this normal control room.”

“That’s true,” Roddy nodded his head. “However, we could at least determine which areas are safe and choose the forward direction from the images displayed upon these screens.”

Chen Xiaolian pondered and turned his head to look at Nagase Komi. Then, he looked at Roddy. After pondering for a while longer, he said. “I have an idea.”

…

Chen Xiaolian’s idea was very simple.

Make full use of this control room!

“Presently, it would appear that this control room is monitoring a large part of the lab area. Additionally, these areas are connected. In other words, by utilizing this control room and its encompassing surveillance system, we can designate a safe route of passage. So, I will need one person to stay in this control room and observe the video feeds from the surveillance cameras at all times. Then, relay that information to the one going forward. That way, we will be able to reduce the time taken and avoid much of the dangers. If any monsters happen to be moving, the forward party may not notice. However, the one within this control room could immediately notice the monster by observing these display monitors and then notify the forward party.”

Chen Xiaolian’s idea was approved by Roddy. “But… who will stay behind?”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Nagase Komi before looking at Roddy.

Undoubtedly, from the perspective of value, Nagase Komi was the most useless among them. With her low battle strength, leaving her here to monitor the situation would be the appropriate choice.

However, there was a problem… both Chen Xiaolian and Roddy were unable to trust her!

This girl was too cowardly! Once a dangerous situation arose, chances were she would run away by herself! Who would dare entrust their back to a companion they could not trust?

“You stay behind to monitor, I will go,” Roddy said. “We just need to go find that washroom and get the memory card from within, right? I’ll go!”

“No!” Chen Xiaolian rejected Roddy’s good intention. “It would be best for me to go! The controls here is too complicated and I might not be able to handle it. With your Mechanical Heart, you can control everything here… most importantly, I have Garfield! Even if I go explore, there is still Garfield backing me up. On the other hand, you cannot control Garfield. Thus, it would be best for me to be the one to go.”

Chen Xiaolian held Bone Crusher Axe in his hand. “Do not quarrel with me about this! I am the most suited for this! Besides, your task is not simple. Staying here to monitor is the equivalent of being my eyes. The places that I cannot see will all be up to your control. My safety will largely depend on you!”

“…” Roddy nodded silently.

…

Chen Xiaolian led Nagase Komi out while Roddy stayed in the control room, locking the doors to the control room.

Nagase Komi was slightly dissatisfied as she showed keen interest to stay behind with Roddy… the control room appeared much safer in comparison.

However, Chen Xiaolian refused to be soft-hearted at a time like this.

Chen Xiaolian may be soft-hearted toward ordinary people. However, Nagase Komi had once been an enemy who had tried to harm him. Although they had taken her in, she had yet to prove herself. Thus, he will never be a boy scout at a time like this.

“Your performance so far has been extremely lacking!” Chen Xiaolian said coldly. “Back in the rail car when the monster was attacking, all you did was hide in fear. When we were fighting it, you trembled in fear! If that is the case, why should I bring you along to complete the quest? If you do not put in any contribution, I have no obligation to help you. If you want me to recognize you, you had better perform well later on. Do not forget, you had once set up a mine to harm us! I am not foolish enough to forget that!”

Chen Xiaolian forced Nagase Komi out of the control room.

…

“Xiaolian, turn left when you reach the corridor in front of you.”

“The door to your right can be opened. It is an open-space office. The open-space office has three doors, use the door situated to the far right and you can enter another corridor.”

Roddy’s steady voice came out from the walkie-talkie.

Chen Xiaolian had Garfield moving before him, while Nagase Komi held the rear.

Truthfully, the level of safety has increased considerably. With Roddy monitoring the situation from the control room, they could be certain that the nearby areas were all secure. If any dangerous situation arose, Roddy could give them an early warning.

Chen Xiaolian followed Roddy’s cues and entered an open-space office.

The office was large with over twenty work desks in place, in addition to two cubicles separated for meeting purposes.

The room was also empty, not a soul in sight. The table surface and floor were littered with files.

However, there was something peculiar about all this…

“I am curious about one thing, where have these people run off to?” Chen Xiaolian picked up the walkie-talkie while surveying the area. He whispered. “Even if everyone here were infected with the virus and had transformed into monsters… or if they were killed by monsters, there should be traces of blood or corpses, right? But this office is too clean!”

Many objects were scattered messily across the table whereas some chairs were left overturned on the floor.

It was as though an emergency evacuation had been carried out, leaving not a single person behind.

Chen Xiaolian moved past a work desk and looked at the items furnishing the desk. Upon the desk was a computer and a few rows of folders. There was also a staff card hanging from the side of the computer. The colour of the staff card was similar to Takeuchi Yoko’s.

On the surface of the card was a picture of a chubby, round faced girl with a sunny smile.

Chen Xiaolian readily pocketed the staff card. Just as he was about to follow Roddy’s instructions to leave the office from the door, he suddenly heard a banging sound from the cabinet beside the wall!

1 ‘Fair and wealthy miss’, raw: ‘白富美’, pinyin: ‘bái fù měi’. An internet term that refers to females with milky white skin, beautiful face, great body, excellent disposition and a strong financial base.↩

2 Black technology. A term used in the anime ‘Full Metal Panic’, it refers to technology that far exceeds that of the real world.↩