34 Escape

Li Mei dropped loot off at home, made sure Otto had enough food to last another week or so just in case, then left with Bao for the research facility. Going home only required a very small detour on the way, even with a few stops to forage various supplies the pair arrived just a few hours after the three groups they were hunting.

The entrance to the research facility was hidden in the roots of a particularly small tree by the Elderwood's standards, one covered in flowering vines and surrounded by ferns, masked by a cloaking array. Li Mei followed Faust's detailed instructions on how to pass, which involved using mana to draw a specific pattern on a certain root. The root shimmered then turned almost transparent like a hologram, allowing people to pass through the sheet of membranous light for two minutes.

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"Bao, I want you to hide yourself and keep watch out here to take care of any escaping enemies I might miss," Li Mei said, pointing to a nearby root system perfect for surveillance. Bao snorted with indignance and started to throw an angry tantrum, but stopped when she held up a hand with an unusually serious expression on her face. "This is a research facility. The enemy groups have arrived but there's no sign of a bunch of scientists being evacuated, so they might still be inside."

To make her point Li Mei pointed at the ground around them, which showed no indication of being disturbed by crowds of fleeing people. There wasn't even a single footprint visible in the dark loam. "If the enemies are being stealthy in their infiltration and covering their tracks, and the scientists or whatever haven't been alerted that something's wrong, seeing a Fera wandering around their secret underground hideout will definitely set off some alarms.

"Not to mention I'm much better at hiding myself and staying undetected than you are." Seeing Bao's reluctant gaze, Li Mei smiled and smooshed his fluffy cheeks with the palms of her hands and touched her nose to his. "I promise I'll be careful and sneaky. I won't be cocky like I was before, since I won't have my strong Brother Bao to back up my foolishness. Okay?"

Bao heaved a long, resigned sigh. After another moment of thought he nodded, touching his nose to her brow before moving to conceal himself in the appointed location.

Behind the hidden entrance a long tunnel led down into the earth, created of roots tangled together without any gaps between them. Bioluminescent orange fungus growing in the junction between wall and floor illuminated the way. Li Mei walked for a good ten minutes in absolute silence before her path was obstructed by a smooth metal wall.

She tapped the wall three times in different locations. After the third tap the smooth metal wall melted away faster than ice on a summer sidewalk to create an arched doorway, revealing the interior of a very modern-looking elevator.

Smooth mirrored paneling with a polished metal handrail, seemingly electronic lights across the ceiling, a panel of elevator buttons complete with an emergency phone and no smoking sign, one upper corner occupied by a little speaker in the corner playing obnoxious instrumental music. A whole tidal wave of nostalgia almost knocked Li Mei off her feet.

She cleared her throat and stepped inside.

Some of the buttons were decoys to alert on-site security if pressed. The elevator itself was a magitech device rather than a mechanical one - a Circuit carved into the bottom of the elevator would teleport the people inside to the key destination when the appropriate button was pressed.

Li Mei checked the map, and chose a spot close to the facility's security room. Such a secretive facility surely had extensive surveillance, she could make use of their monitoring one way or another. Knowing which areas to avoid, luring patrols away from one zone so she could sneak to another. Sneaking around a secret research base would be much easier if she knew beforehand where they were looking!

After the basic nausea and disorientation of being transported through space faded away, Li Mei found an entirely new reason to feel unwell.

The door to the elevator was a gaping hole, jagged edges adorned with chunks of flesh and ripped cloth. Bloody handprints and gore spatters covered the walls and floors, the lights across the ceiling flickered and spat sparks, and the little speaker in the corner was crumpled like an old cheeseburger wrapper yet still managed to release a tinny distorted string of music. Through the hole in the door she could see a hallway suffused with a red glow that did little to mask trails of viscera on the floor.

A familiar blue light popped up in her vision.

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[Intruders]

Quest completed! All guilty groups have been eliminated, by your hands or otherwise.

Awarded: 2750000 EXP total

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[Escape]

★★★★★

You've wandered your way into quite the nasty situation. The facility is on lockdown, which means elevators on the inside are inoperative. The only way out is through one of the emergency evacuation tunnels which requires a Class-A Keycard to open during a lockdown. Perhaps one of the personnel has one on their person?

Stay alert and escape from the research facility without losing your head. Earn some tasty rewards for optional bonus objectives on the way, if you feel so inclined.

(Bonus): Download all information stored in the facility's database. Accessing a working computer connected to the network will be enough, Archive will take care of the rest. Information and records from a top-level research facility may prove useful to you in the future. Awards +1 STR.

(Bonus): Retrieve the Cores of at least 30 creatures from within the facility. Awards +1 DEX.

(Bonus): There's a subject of facility experiments trapped in Lab 3's holding cells. She's injured, afraid, and could use some help to escape. This may be a chance to make a potentially powerful ally if you earn her trust. Awards +1 CON.

Reward: 1000000 EXP, 50000 EXP per completed Bonus

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Li Mei heaved a sigh and brought the metal staff out of storage. "Awesome."

She inched her way down the empty bloodstained hallway, trying to ignore the relentless hammering of her unsettled heart. A 5-Star Escape Quest and bloodstained hallways did not inspire confidence or a sense of security. What it did inspire was a strong sense of regret for leaving Bao behind.

The facility reminded her of high tech compounds she saw in science fiction movies back on Earth - sprawling and cavernous, a map full of enormous rooms by the dozen, linked together by wide hallways big enough to drive a truck through. Lights along the ceilings, smooth polished floors, perfectly controlled climate, thick glass windows peeking into fancy labs with complicated equipment. A variety of plastic plants, photographs, and bland landscape paintings added color to an otherwise monotonous environment.

But the thick glass windows were broken, the fancy labs were wrecked, and poor innocent plants were toppled over and shredded into little plastic pieces. The smell of mixing chemicals from shattered containers and toppled beakers filled the air, thick and pungent.

And that was just the first hallway.

Li Mei rounded the corner and froze, barely stopping a series of swears from passing her trembling lips.

Hunched over the half-devoured body of some poor sap in a lab coat were three creatures like bald skinny children with unnaturally long limbs that twisted in odd directions. Their fingers were deep in the body's abdomen, plucking pieces of its internal organs and shoving them into bloody mouths lined with several rows of sharp teeth.

One of them looked up, locked its bloodshot red gaze with Li Mei's startled mauve eyes, and hissed around a mouthful of lower intestine. The other two snapped their heads around and snarled, leaving their unfinished meal to scrabble down the hallway toward her with jerking, twitching movements.

Li Mei turned on her heel and sprinted back toward the broken elevator at top speed.