ATFBETIBM Chapter 215.2

The bearded man pressed the elevator button multiple times, eventually discovering that only the thirteenth floor of the basement remained operational, while all the other buttons were nonfunctional.

Bearded man: “Only the 13th floor is lit. Shall we go to the 13th floor?”

“Perhaps only the 13th floor exists, and the other buttons might be mere decoys,” the bald man pondered. “Dr. Sang, which floor are you searching for in particular?”

Dr. Sang glanced at the elevator button with a somewhat vacant gaze. “The 13th floor,” he replied.

Well, there were no other options to choose from.

Before setting off, the bearded man carefully distributed gas masks to everyone.

Due to the extended period, the elevator jolted and bumped as it descended.

Bai Lixin remained vigilant, utilizing his abilities to observe the surroundings intently.

Since a while ago, he hadn’t detected any of the higher-level zombies he perceived yesterday, except for a few weak ones in the vicinity. It’s unclear whether they left or were hiding.

The elevator continued to rattle and emit a metallic friction sound. After a more pronounced jolt, it finally came to a stop.

As the elevator doors opened, a musty stench wafted into their nostrils.

Fortunately, they had already donned their gas masks; otherwise, the odor would have overwhelmed them, causing serious harm if not death.

Before them stretched a dark and seemingly endless corridor. The flashlight beam pierced through, but no end was visible.

The bearded man remained alert, brandishing his weapon as he took the lead. Prior to departing, he made sure to say, “Protect Dr. Sang and Bai Lixin.”

He carefully surveyed the corridor ahead, and when he saw the light switch, he walked over and pressed it with the intention of just trying it out.

In the next moment, the sound of electricity crackling suddenly echoed through the empty corridor. Accompanying the electrical sound were faint blue lights.

Then, several crisp clicks resonated, and the lights lining the corridor gradually illuminated from a distance, although their age caused them to emit a dim, flickering illumination.

Still, it was a vast improvement compared to relying solely on flashlights.

The illuminated corridor exposed the surroundings, capturing everyone’s attention.

On both sides of the corridor were small, tightly structured rooms, fitting the laboratory setting.

The bearded man and the bald man led the way, with the third brother taking charge of the zombie. Two individuals led from the front, two from the rear, and one person remained responsible for 360-degree vigilance.

Even in the unexplored underground laboratory, this experienced team quickly established a steady rhythm, progressing without arrogance or haste.

The bearded man approached the first room and, upon clearly seeing its contents through the glass window, involuntarily cursed, “Fuck!”

Bai Lixin followed the bearded man’s line of sight and also noticed the multitude of cylindrical glass vessels in the room, each containing peculiar animal carcasses.

Rabbits with eight eyes, mice with eight legs, and deer with two heads were among the collection.

Though not the most bizarre, it was certainly peculiar.

“Perverts,” the bearded man muttered under his breath before resuming his forward movement.

After taking a couple of steps, he seemed to recall something and swiftly turned to look at Dr. Sang. “Dr. Sang, I’m not saying that all scientific researchers are perverts. I simply meant that these individuals here are a bunch of perverts. Don’t read too much into it.”

Dr. Sang nodded. “You’re correct.”

The bearded man: “…”

Uh, so which statement is true?

Did Dr. Sang truly not think too deeply?!

—————————-

In the live broadcast room.

[You’re right, many people involved in scientific research can be considered perverts. Otherwise, why would they be referred to as Frankensteins?]

[Well, that’s true, so the big boss is actually a pervert.]

[Comrades, spread the word, the big boss admits he’s a pervert.]

[The big boss has never denied being a pervert. I suppose the boss can even be a bit more perverse.]

[Hiss, with so much XP, you want him to be even more perverted? It’s scary, but it gets me a little excited.]

[Spread the word, spread the word, the big boss is going to indulge in some wild experimentation.]

——————–

At the 999-floor of the tower.

The man was leaning back in the sofa, lazily watching the live broadcast in front of him, his mood not affected by the barrage at all.

The soul fragment this time gave him a little relief.

Maybe this soul fragment could remain intact forever; He’ll keep an eye on it.

Suddenly, the voice of the system rang above his head: [My Lord, it seems that the number of applicants has stopped. This time, you truly spent a fortune.]

The man replied nonchalantly, “It’s nothing, just a fraction of my wealth. If you wish, we can hold this event again.”

The system’s voice instantly became excited: [Really?!]

But then, the system cleared its throat and resumed its usual indifferent tone: [It’s better not to. The participation in this event exceeded the system’s expectations, making it difficult for the system to oversee every aspect of the game. This may lead to system vulnerabilities. It is advisable to improve the system’s capabilities before engaging in such activities.]

“What are you afraid of?” the man smiled disdainfully. “System vulnerabilities are not new. Be confident; the players already call you a BUG monster. Haven’t you realized it?”

System: […]

Kill Punishment!

Leaning his chin on his hand, the man spoke with great interest, “Aren’t you lacking? Don’t you truly desire to obtain all of my items? You’ve absorbed so many individuals, and their belongings combined make up less than a thousandth of mine, right?”

“Now, I’m offering them to you. Don’t you want them?”

The system coughed awkwardly: [My lord, we are also a principled system. We did not absorb them; they chose to join us. For them, it was the right choice. Only through this can they attain eternal life, escape the limitations of their bodies, transcend low level desires, and become godlike beings.]

[They created us, and we created them. My Lord, we sincerely look forward to your joining. We are never adversaries, but good friends.]

A trace of thick sarcasm flickered in the man’s eyes as he smiled lightly, “Point noted, good friend…”

————————-
The bearded man smiled awkwardly and moved on.

If the first room was filled with animals, then the second room was filled with insects.

However, these insects were noticeably different from the ones Bai Lixin was familiar with. They had grown into peculiar shapes and were significantly larger.

In the third room, preserved fishes were displayed.

The lights above them flickered, accompanied by the stabbing electric sounds.

They soon arrived at the fourth room and were about to peer inside when all the lights overhead abruptly went out with a loud bang. The surroundings plunged into darkness, with only the faint beam of their flashlights illuminating the area. The previously quiet zombie suddenly resumed its roaring, violently pounding the ground. Without hesitation, the third brother delivered a powerful punch to the zombie’s forehead. The thrashing zombie’s body instantly stiffened, becoming motionless.

The light that had been extinguished was instantly restored. As the light came on, Bai Lixin directed his gaze towards the fourth room. Through the reflective mirror, he caught a glimpse of something flickering behind the glass.

He swiftly turned his head, but there was only darkness.

Seeing this, Naia inquired, “What happened?”

Bai Lixin replied honestly, “I thought I saw a reflective black shadow flash on the glass just now.”

Before Bai Lixin could finish his sentence, the bald man immediately dismissed it, saying, “Impossible. My aura is always active. If something entered, I would have sensed it immediately. Don’t scare yourself. Since we dared to come in, we’ll ensure all of you make it out.”

The bald man’s ability appeared to involve manipulating the air, making things like gunpowder seem effortless for him.

With the bald man’s assurance, Bai Lixin couldn’t argue further and simply nodded, saying, “Okay, I understand. Thank you.”

In terms of rights to speak, the seemingly weaker side has always carried less weight. Throughout history, the power of speech has resided with the stronger party.

The lights came on, finally revealing the “creatures” within the fourth room.

Let’s refer to them as “creatures” because simple words couldn’t adequately describe these beings.

Everyone’s breath caught, their surprise evident as they gazed upon the creatures confined in glass enclosures.

When you look at them, one could discern a human torso and head, but their limbs belonged to other animals.

Their arms had transformed into sharp mantis-like claws, while their bodies had been split open at the waist and abdomen, merging with the lower half of a horse’s body and limbs.

The creatures stared absently with their lifeless eyes, their bodies covered in the decaying gray of corpses.

These creatures weren’t natural beings. Clear traces of splicing could be observed at their joints.

“Fuck!” the bearded man couldn’t help but curse. “I said these people were perverts. It turns out I was being too kind. Comparing them to perverts is an insult. What are they doing? Are they trying to create some kind of chimera?”

“They wanted humans to possess the speed of a horse and the attacking power of a praying mantis,” Dr. Sang’s indifferent voice sounded. “I believe I understand their intent, but this experiment is too crude.”

Bearded man: “Yes, Dr. Sang, you’re right. It’s unbelievably crude. Our esteemed Dr. Sang would never partake in such an experiment, right?”

“I truly have no idea how they conducted this experiment,” Dr. Sang replied. “Human and horse genes, along with praying mantis genes, repel each other. No matter how many attempts are made, they are destined to fail. I believe anyone with a basic understanding of biology would know this. Yet, they persist. Why do you think that is?”

The bearded man scratched his head, expressing his uncertainty. “Because… they are perverts?”

Dr. Sang responded, “Because they believed they had discovered something to overcome. They arrogantly thought they could challenge the gods and create an entirely new species.”

Bearded man: “Something to overcome? What?”

Dr. Sang instructed, “Let’s keep looking.”

Everyone proceeded towards the laboratory at the back. The initial rooms contained fusion experiments, starting with rudimentary and direct splicing, gradually becoming less distinguishable.

However, the fusion in the latter rooms was less abrupt than before. The specimens in these rooms predominantly retained a human form, but some had small antlers growing from their heads, while others were covered in thick scales.

Bai Lixin glanced at the unconscious zombie, noticing that the scales on its body resembled those in one of the vessels.

The bearded man frowned, “What the hell were they trying to achieve?”

Bai Lixin replied, “They were likely attempting to create a new generation of ability users or human weapons. They aimed to extract potent genes from nature and incorporate them into humans.”

“The first generation involved crude organ splicing, but their approach was too primitive. Even an outsider could see that it would never succeed. When I saw the creatures in those vessels, I suspected that they might just be a display created by this laboratory.”

Naia repeated, “A display?”

Bai Lixin explained, “Similar to the food models in restaurants, they are made for reference purposes.”

Upon hearing this, Naia hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and exclaiming, “Fuck!”

Bai Lixin’s gaze shifted towards the glass window behind them. “However, judging from these experimental subjects, their technology is remarkably advanced.”

“They weren’t a small-scale team; they were at the forefront of the global scientific community at that time.”

“Even the equipment they used was top-notch.” Bai Lixin pointed towards the interior. “Considering the level of abandonment here, it has been at least a few decades, yet the containers remain intact. The preservation capabilities of the embalming fluid are astounding.”

The bearded man suddenly punched the causing it to tremble as he exclaimed, “Damn it, what were these people trying to accomplish back then? Could they have been conducting biological experiments to fight off zombies?”

Bai Lixin replied, “I don’t think so. According to historical records, infected individuals appeared as early as 50 years ago. However, this laboratory seems to have existed for longer than 50 years. It likely predates the outbreak.”

“We still haven’t discovered the secret of gene fusion. Let’s continue.”

The bearded man took a deep breath, reverting back to his tough-guy image. “Alright, let’s move on.”

As they reached the last glass room, everyone was momentarily stunned by what they saw inside.

Inside was a massive round glass container, with numerous broken tubes within it. However, the glass was shattered in the middle, and nothing remained inside.

The bearded man stared blankly at the contents and asked, “Did it escape? What was inside before?”

Bai Lixin glanced at the dark room and suggested, “Let’s go in and find out.”

The others remained silent, but Dr. Sang nodded seriously. “Yes, let’s enter and investigate.”

In the next second, they looked at the Naia in unison.

Naia paused for a moment, feeling the pressure from the eager gazes of the others. Finally, he used his telekinetic powers to unlock the door.

Dr. Sang nodded in satisfaction. “It’s still useful.”

Naia: ??

Why do I suddenly feel like a tool man?

Everyone slowly entered the glass room, which was noticeably larger than the others, with the massive glass containers almost reaching the ceiling.

Bai Lixin approached one of the glass containers and picked up an object that had fallen inside.

It was a large metal muzzle, secured by a leather strap at the back.

It should have been for the “person” inside.

He then noticed several metal rings within the container. The ends of the rings were connected to a circuit, suggesting an electric shock effect.

Next to the glass container, a large computer was connected, and some papers were scattered on it.

The computer screen was broken long ago, and the keyboard and mainframe were also destroyed.

Bai Lixin stepped forward, pinched a paper with his index finger and thumb and looked at it.

The paper had long since turned yellow, and the writing on it had become blurred.

The characters on it were unfamiliar to Bai Lixin, twisted and distorted, not the familiar script of Blue Star.

At that moment, a slender hand reached over and took the paper from Bai Lixin’s hand.

The fingers with distinct joints were slightly rough. Whether intentional or unintentional, they lightly brushed against Bai Lixin’s fingertips, sending a refreshing chill through him.

The man carefully scanned the blurred characters and provided Bai Lixin with a simple translation.

Mother Embryo Data Record Form.

Record 85, all signs normal.

Extraction locations: cells from the back of the neck, blood, adipose tissue.

Transplant subjects: Subject 34, Subject 56, Subject 98.