39 Lab 3

Li Mei sprinted around a corner at top speed, only to find herself facing a mass of Morteworms surging out of another vent. Worms in front, worms behind.

The colony behind started to pull itself together faster, making disgusting wet noises as it wiggled in her direction. In front a couple lone worms were inching their way toward her with tiny mouths ringed in teeth held wide open, eagerly anticipating a delicious meal.

Li Mei grit her teeth and pulled several vials of hydrochloric acid from storage, throwing them with all her might toward the colony blocking her path. Before even seeing the reaction, she stabbed at the lone worms with her staff with all the ferocity and desperation of a housewife ridding her kitchen of spiders.

Ka-sha!

The vials shattered on impact, splashing their contents all over the worms.

Much to her surprise, the reaction was far beyond what she expected. The colony writhed and undulated, slamming against the walls as the worms splashed by acid dissolved, melting into puddles of disgusting goop. Any worms that touched the goop also started to melt, forcing the colony to retreat into rooms on either side of the hall to avoid the spreading puddle.

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[New Skill]

You have learned [Throw Lv.1]!

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[Quest Progress - Skillset]

Learned Throw Lv.1

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[Weakness Discovered]

Morteworms have no physical defenses individually, and appear to have exaggerated weakness to harmful chemical substances!

New information added to Archive.

Reward: 100000 EXP

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Li Mei's mauve eyes sparkled with excitement as she jumped over the disgusting puddle, bubbling and squirming with the remains of the melting Morteworms. Her Scan skill was maxed out, but only displayed and saved information potentially obtainable through relatively common means. Esoteric and specialized information would not be uncovered without prerequisite knowledge, skills, or spells.

Apparently discovering new - or at least uncommon - information was a potential source of EXP! At least as long as she discovered it through her own experiences, since she never got EXP for reading books to learn.

'Looks like I have to try lots of new things. The Interface is really lenient towards me. Even the EXP gains have been generous ever since I went so far into debt, like it's trying to help me pay it off.' Li Mei chuckled to herself, impaling a Rake through the head with her staff and prying out its Core at top speed before continuing on her way. 'If it drops back to awarding smaller amounts when I'm no longer in the negatives, I'll know for sure it was lending a hand.'

The closer she got to Lab 3, the more enemies she stumbled across. Rakes were the most common, while thankfully Morteworms were the least. There were also furred beasts with too many eyes and mouths called Wurgs that roamed in packs of four but were only the size of small dogs. Despite their diminutive stature, or perhaps because of it, Wurgs were extremely vicious and shredded prey down to the bone while it was still alive.

Li Mei and Bao ran across Wurgs in the forest sometimes, and they both witnessed the small creature's ferocity for themselves. She didn't dare underestimate them just because of their size and lack of numbers.

Wurgs were best dealt with by luring them into hallways and blocking off the exits with barriers, then tossing gas vials over to make them suffocate. The scent of blood would send them into berserking frenzy, making her various shallow injuries excellent bait. They would turn on any injured packmates, so any Wurg who got a face full of acid or who inhaled too much gas and coughed up blood because of it would be immediately destroyed by erstwhile allies.

Li Mei experimented with barrier placement even as she made her way through throngs of enemies toward the Lab. Her barriers didn't need to be touching the ground when she created them, and with careful visualization and enough concentrated control she could make floating platforms seemingly anchored in space. Unless she wanted them to move they wouldn't budge without being destroyed by taking damage.

She could summon up to three barriers at once and only circle or square shapes, but being able to dispel them at will to summon new ones in different locations increased the functionality enough that Li Mei wasn't too bothered.

If a nearby vent grate rattled as she ran, she didn't hesitate to block it with a barrier to prevent Morteworms emerging in her path. Once she was a few steps away and safely out of immediate range she removed the barrier again.

The Class-C Keycard she looted off a random researcher's body finally turned out to be useful as she approached the Lab - the hallway she chose happened to be blocked by a sealed security gate, but the Keycard was able to open it long enough to let her pass.

On the other side of the gate, dozens of bodies were crammed into a pile, many still clutching companions even in death as though they fought each other while trying to claw their way through the barrier trapping them in the hall. Bloody handprints and pieces of gore covered the walls as a new layer of macabre paint. Deep claw marks gouged the ceiling, floors, and walls.

Behind the pile of people corpses were several dozen dead Rakes, Wurgs, Phytons, even Vine Crawlers. At least the researchers put up a fight before they got cornered, though it may have been thanks to the cluster of soldiers who died with their backs to the scientists and their hands on their weapons.

Li Mei wrinkled her nose in distaste and jumped over the corpse pile. She paused long enough to retrieve any intact Cores, completing a Quest objective with relative ease and convenience.

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[Quest Progress - Escape]

Obtained Cores 30/30

Awarded +1 DEX

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Lab 3 looked like a warehouse or airplane hangar converted into a block of holding cells. The middle of the lab was occupied by sturdy metal tables of various sizes, surrounded by equipment specialized for moving and securing unwilling creatures. Each table had a bright spotlight focused on it, starkly contrasting the dim lighting available in the rest of the room. Visibility was so poor it made Li Mei uncomfortable, checking her minimap every few seconds and stretching her senses to the maximum.

Dozens of different cages were stacked against the walls within her field of view - glass paneled cubes, rusted metal storage containers with air holes punched into the sides, even classic iron barred cages. Several were large enough to house a Verasus while others were the perfect size to hold Wurgs or Phytons.

One enormous metal cage in the back was even capable of holding the giant Earth Wyrm Li Mei ran across in the forest! That one bore claw marks matching the ones in the hallways, deep and vicious and more than a little intimidating. Its walls awkwardly bulged outward from the force of something inside struggling for freedom.

Something large, mean, and nowhere in sight.

All cages she could see were empty judging by the lack of response on her map. Some were broken, bars bent or glass walls shattered, while others simply hung open with their doors barely clinging to their hinges.

Just like everywhere else, corpses littered the area. Scientists in lab coats, soldiers with weapons, and an assortment of creatures. Overhead a latticed metal walkway formed a second floor: bodies draped on railings like drying laundry, dismembered limbs and gaping wounds dripping blood to the ground below.

Shuddering, Li Mei glanced around the room cautiously from the safety of the doorway. Sense had a limited range, 50 meters at her current Lv.3 rank, not nearly far enough to check the entire cavernous lab from the door. But with the area wreathed in shadow and the smell of viscera so pungent she hesitated to venture further.

'Someone's injured and needs help, but at the first sign of Too Much I'll just... Run for it and abandon the bonus objective. No need risking my neck for a random stranger even if it awards a CON point. Right? Right!' Li Mei steeled herself, then crouched low to the ground and slipped into the lab.