LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 44
– All employees are advised to evacuate.
– There has been an issue at the facility, and measures are currently being taken… some casualties have occurred…
– The suppression and rescue teams are en route.
“What the…”
The researcher barely regained consciousness.
He’s inside the elevator.
It doesn’t seem like too much time has passed.
After all, the test subject is still chewing on snacks.
He just momentarily lost consciousness.
He leans against the elevator wall, getting back up.
He presses the button to open the door.
What he sees are bodies sprawled everywhere.
All of them have bullet holes in their heads.
Who did this?
Without a doubt, it must be that child.
“Haha…”
It’s a relief to see that they seem to have enjoyed their snacks.
However, the problem is now he really has nothing to say—even if it’s a monstrosity.
And there’s the issue of being chased.
Is it really a monstrosity?
Or an Awakener?
If it’s an Awakener, then it’s still human.
But it’s strange for a human to enter this facility, let alone survive it.
“Anyway, this is bad. There’s no way out.”
The partition walls have descended, blocking the corridor.
That’s intended to prevent the monsters from coming out in case of an emergency.
All exit routes have been closed off.
The test subject still leans against the elevator, waiting as if to invite him back inside.
“The elevator won’t go above the first floor. It seems to still be operational.”
Can it understand what he’s saying?
Still, he explains anyway.
Clearly, it’s a being stronger than himself.
Just a moment ago, he was thinking of it as someone to protect.
Could it really be a monster?
It’s killed them all.
The presence of the bodies creates a chilling atmosphere.
The test subject smiles.
It presses the button.
And the elevator doors close.
“You can’t get out from there… but…”
It has gone.
The test subject is an entity beyond comprehension.
It’s certain that it’s at least not an ordinary girl.
He doesn’t know what it’s doing.
– The rescue team is entering.
Going down provides no way out.
It will only trap him further into a corner.
There are only monsters trapped below.
– Please evacuate to a safe location until the rescue team arrives.
The announcement blares loudly.
A rescue team is coming to save the researcher.
From what?
Probably from the test subject who descended in the elevator.
“Ugh.”
The researcher collapses against the wall.
Being hit with a golf club is fine.
But the part where he was kicked really hurts.
It’s uncomfortable even to walk.
Damn facility director.
But there’s no need to curse.
He’s already dead.
“…Damn it.”
Compared to what he’s done to the test subjects, this is nothing.
Other test subjects might have deserved it.
But that child…
He should have acted sooner.
The consequences of complacency and laziness have come to pass.
He thought the outcome would be tragic.
Things are unfolding oddly.
It’s not the researcher who’s dead, but the director.
The suppression team wouldn’t fall that easily.
What should he do?
Just wait for rescue like this?
If he does, who knows what will happen to that child.
What if it really is a monster?
What if it goes outside and starts slaughtering people?
– I told you it’s a monster.
Seeing the director’s corpse brings back memories of their past conversations.
– It’s a monster, a monster. One that kills people.
It must have killed people outside to end up trapped here.
That’s how it sounds.
If that’s the case, he should reconsider the choice to save that child.
B1.
The elevator has stopped.
Did it get off?
What is it doing?
After about thirty seconds, the elevator starts moving again.
B2.
On the second basement floor, there are monsters that were kept for experiments.
He has no idea what they’re doing down there.
B3.
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B4.
B5.
This time it’s going straight down to the fifth basement.
Not knowing what’s happening is the problem.
The researcher still doesn’t know anything about the test subject.
He’s never seen it this active before.
Most of the time, they just stayed still in their rooms.
The siren continues blaring.
B4.
The elevator stops again.
And after about five minutes, it starts moving again.
B3.
This time, the elevator stops again.
Is that a strange noise he hears, or is it just a figment of his imagination?
B2.
B1.
It ascends.
This time, it doesn’t stop in between.
1.
The elevator has arrived.
The doors open.
Crash.
A girl is walking out, unwrapping a chocolate bar.
It’s food that just comes out with the push of a button.
“Oh. Were you hungry?”
Was that really the simple reason?
That stuff must be mixed with drugs.
It’d be better for health to eat something else.
“Drug.”
The test subject opens her mouth.
If he’s not mistaken, she definitely spoke.
The fact that she can talk is shocking.
“Hey, drug?”
She nods her head.
Is she asking for drugs?
There are various kinds of drugs.
He wonders what she wants.
“……”
As the test subject rolls up her white lab coat, scars become visible.
She points to the injection marks with her hand.
She mimics giving herself an injection with one hand.
While smiling.
And then she stretches her hand forward.
“Are you asking for drugs?”
She nods as if to say, finally understood.
There’s a hint of madness in her smile.
He suspects she’s talking about that new drug made from ground dragons.
They said it’s highly addictive.
He questions why they need to make something like that from dragons.
According to those who’ve tried it, they say nothing else is as good.
But everyone who used it died the same day.
This is only knowledge he gained from being in a facility like this.
Now that he thinks about it, it’s a miracle she’s still alive.
Monsters that received the drug didn’t last long and died.
“Drug.”
This time, her smile disappears.
She probably wants to say that it’s something she really needs.
It seems like her ability to speak is limited.
“Well, that should be in the laboratory… but we need to go outside. It’s in a different building.”
Does she understand?
“It’s the Experiment Headquarters building. It should be marked on the lobby map, there should be plenty of them there. Or it could be in the special goods storage… I don’t really know. Sorry.”
He provides as much information as he can.
The test subject smiles, seemingly satisfied.
“Thank you.”
She offers her thanks.
A polite gesture.
So she knows how to say thank you.
She must be a person, not a monster.
The researcher lets out a smile too.
Even though the spot where he was hit hurts, he can’t help but smile.
“Yeah…”
She’s not a monster.
It was the right choice not to throw people into the incineration facility.
Anyone would have made that choice.
If they were sane.
“……”
The test subject seems to have something she wants to say, looking at him.
Her eyes are half-covered by her hair, but she’s definitely staring at the researcher.
“He…”
She smiles.
And then continues.
“[Please rest.]”
All strength leaves his body.
It’s hard to believe he was just tense a moment ago.
And his eyes close.
*
Researcher A is getting some good rest.
Lying on the floor.
[230 hours 12 minutes]
He needs to make up the time.
Before she told him to rest, he had about 240 hours left.
Was it called a command or something similar?
It’s kind of like that.
It became possible from a certain day when he was injected with a ton of drugs.
Whatever he says, the time keeps getting marked down.
Probably the first words he uttered were, ‘[Get out of here.]’ to the researcher who brought some food-like substance to the room.
But she really left, and he couldn’t eat for a while.
It took a little trial and error to realize that commands were being obeyed.
After that, he kept his mouth shut.
He’s unsure if it’s because he couldn’t or just didn’t want to speak.
Anyway, that might be what affected his sanity more.
In fact, he’s still in a compromised state now.
He knows he’s not in his right mind, but everything else is hazy.
Get out of here, go away.
What had the researcher brought him that he said such things?
The details escape him.
The time blurred then too.
About twenty hours had flown by that time.
It’s an incomprehensible system.
Drugs, drugs.
Even saying each letter costs one or two hours.
This is why he can’t afford to speak.
He thinks he might be able to write it down.
Even saying thanks took a lot of courage.
But he wanted to at least greet her.
“He.”
Smiling is still possible.
It doesn’t consume time.
Bang.
The banging noise continues.
The sound of someone breaking through the partition.
Researcher A knows the rescue team is coming to save him.
He’s the only one left.
Bang bang bang.
The partition bends.
He sees someone breaking through.
Boom.
A thick iron wall collapses.
Behind it is a monster with a conical head.
It has no eyes and walks on six legs, but overall, it resembles a rhino or a hippo.
Its body is covered in wounds.
There’s not just the elevator route to the first floor.
There’s a passage that used to transport monsters, and there are stairs too.
In the end, all the paths are connected.
Since it’s blocked by partition walls, all they have to do is break through.
He gave the command to the conical-headed monster to come through wherever it’s already been cleared.
He spent hundreds of hours just to say one sentence, but it seems worth it.
He wants to say thank you for the hard work, but if he speaks, time will be deducted.
Alright.
There’s no time.
He has to acquire the drug.
According to the researcher, there’s a place where it’s kept.
It’s not only given to him, so there should be quite a bit of it.
It’s the lab they’ve been dragging him to all the time.
He thinks he’ll head there first.
– Please follow the instructions of the rescue team.
– Military personnel are being dispatched.
The building shakes as if an earthquake has occurred.
The reason is obvious.
Monsters that were trapped in the building have all been released.
“[Break through.]”
Bang!
The monster headbutts the wall beside it.
It’s too far to go through the corridor directly.
The strength of the partition and the regular wall is similar, so it’ll be just fine to break through.
[222 hours 30 minutes]
About eight hours have vanished.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The wall crumbles and a path outward opens.
The conical-headed monster charges outside.
Dust and debris of the collapsed building are left behind.
– If… discovered… do not resist…
It seems the wall-mounted speaker is broken too.
It’s strange if it doesn’t break while smashing the wall.
The announcer crackles and then stops.
Fresh air begins to flow in.
It’s night.
In the middle of the night.
He doesn’t know what time it is, but the air is cold.
He steps outside the building.
He sees the rampaging monsters that have escaped.
In the distance, he can see some people in another building.
He doesn’t know if they are military personnel, the rescue team, or insiders.
He knows where to go.
He needs to get to the laboratory.
There are drugs in the laboratory.
“Ugh.”
His legs give way.
Thud.
He falls down again.
He doesn’t move.
This is how he’s always been.
But now he knows the way.
“[Get up.]”
Get up, he says.
When he says that, he can actually stand.
It was similar when he was rescuing Researcher A.
He succeeds once again.
He gets back up, placing a hand on the ground.
[217 hours 46 minutes]
He can fill time with drugs.
“[Move.]”
[206 hours 9 minutes]
Move, move, move.
He repeats continuously.
Eventually, his legs move.
He knows.
This is him forcibly manipulating his body.
But it can’t be helped.
It’s a bright moonlit night.
The air is cold.
Now, where is the laboratory building?
Where are the drugs?
The sign kindly tells him the way.