Chapter 135: Laboratory
Buzz buzz buzz...
Lin Ye opened his eyes and glared at the D-Class personnel sitting across from him, still not understanding how he had died.
'I was stabbed to death by the tendrils? That shouldn't be right. If those tendrils could stab people, I should have died long ago.'
'Damn it, after my head got eroded, my perception has been affected too. What I sense isn't accurate anymore.'
'What should I do next? Repeat the previous simulation? This time I can do better. As long as I pay attention to some details, I can definitely enter Silent Land completely intact.'
'No, even if I enter Silent Land, I'd still have to search for tickets to other stations within Silent Land. Might as well go directly to other stations to look for tickets.'
Lin Ye recalled the information provided by the Captain.
'Number One got torn apart by a monster that rushed out of the bathroom while waiting for the train. Number Two entered a subway space that was extremely dangerous and died immediately after entering. Number Three was the unluckiest - he entered that subway space filled with various tentacles...'
'...Could it be because Number Three brought the tendrils onto the train that the train got contaminated?'
'Could be someone else too. Whatever, not thinking about this for now. This time I'll go down first. The monster in the bathroom shouldn't be that terrifying.' 'Sigh, I should have asked for more details earlier.'
Just as Lin Ye was thinking, the prison transport vehicle arrived at the subway entrance again. After passing through security, Lin Ye once again stood outside the entrance.
"Give me a gun. I'll go in first."
As the overseers were preparing to put the helmet on the first D-Class personnel, Lin Ye stepped forward and said.
The overseers looked at the Captain. The Captain first glared at Lin Ye, then thought for several seconds before speaking:
"Give him a pistol."
The overseers put a helmet on Lin Ye and handed him a K1 Pistol.
Lin Ye didn't waste words, quickly entering the subway entrance.
After two turns, the style of the passageway changed.
This style was completely different from any station style Lin Ye had encountered before.
Entering the ticket hall, Lin Ye first smashed open the ticket booth again. This time went very smoothly - he found a pitch-black train ticket in the drawer of the ticket booth's desk.
Laboratory ———— Death Ground
'...At least I know this station's name now.'
Lin Ye comforted himself internally.
"Wait, let me take a look at that ticket."
The Captain's calm voice came through the earpiece.
Lin Ye placed the ticket in front of the camera, conveniently taking out the wallet he had lifted from an overseer and pulling out a bill to place on the table.
"Wait, where did you get that wallet?"
Although distracted by the ticket, the Captain still noticed Lin Ye's little action.
"Borrowing it. Your team members should be more careful."
Lin Ye used the steel pipe to pry open several ticket vending machines, but found nothing inside.
"I'll have him retake field training when we get back... You considered all this before coming in?"
The Captain carefully observed Lin Ye's every move.
"Of course. Details determine success or failure."
Lin Ye, holding the steel pipe and pistol, quietly moved along the stairs toward the platform. If he could find a good ticket, he could wait until the train arrived before going down. For now, he could only go have a talk with the monsters below.
"What's wrong? Did you discover something?"
The Captain noticed Lin Ye's cautious posture and asked.
"Don't speak for now."
Lin Ye entered the platform and looked toward one side. The restroom showed no movement.
The Laboratory platform structure was similar to the Madhouse platform, just without that row of plastic chairs.
Lin Ye quietly approached the employee break room. The break room door wasn't locked.
Even after Lin Ye entered the break room, the restroom remained quiet.
The break room was filled with various experiment reports. Lin Ye glanced at them - these reports weren't related to monsters, seemingly about experiments on some abnormal phenomenon.
"Wait! Let me see that experiment report! Fourth row from the top on the left wall, third from the right!"
The Captain suddenly spoke up.
Lin Ye took the report and aimed it at the camera. Most of this report was occupied by an image that seemed to be hand-drawn by someone and then printed.
The drawing was extremely abstract; even Lin Ye couldn't understand what was being depicted.
Fortunately, Lin Ye could read the text beside it.
"After the infected entered the fourth stage, they claimed to have seen a monster that couldn't be described with language.
Experimental personnel asked the infected to draw the monster's image. The infected first refused, then frantically screamed in some unknown language, finally silently drawing the image. Two days after drawing the image, the infected died. (Attachment: Recording 44) (Attachment: Image 124)
Through autopsy, experimental personnel discovered multiple unknown bacteria in the infected's body. The infected died from rapid multiple organ failure. No connection has been found between the unknown bacteria and organ failure yet..."
Lin Ye held the report and began searching for tickets. This report gave him a very bad feeling. Right now he just wanted to find a ticket quickly and take the train to leave this station.
"How could this be? This shouldn't be..."
The Captain murmured to himself.
"Can you understand this report? Or have you seen what's in the image?"
Lin Ye immediately asked.
"...Put down the report, leave here as soon as possible, and don't look at other images."
The Captain said in a heavy voice.
"I understand."
Lin Ye threw away the report and continued searching the break room, finally finding a ticket tucked inside another report.
Laboratory ———— Botanical Garden
After getting the ticket, Lin Ye left the break room. Vibration came from under his feet - the train was about to arrive.
The restroom still showed no movement.
As if there was never any monster there that could tear apart the first D-Class personnel.
Lin Ye didn't think the Captain would lie to him, so what exactly tore apart Number One?
This thought gave Lin Ye an impulse to go take a look in the restroom.
"The train... you..."
The Captain's voice in the earpiece became intermittent, and after a few seconds, the communication cut off completely.
The Captain's words interrupted Lin Ye's impulse. Lin Ye roughly grabbed his own hair and, amidst rapid breathing, forced himself to board the train.
Only after the train started moving did Lin Ye suppress the impulse to get off and check the restroom.
The Train Attendant appeared before Lin Ye, reaching out his hand toward him.
Taking out the ticket, Lin Ye suddenly wondered what would happen if he didn't give the ticket to the Train Attendant.
The Train Attendant slowly approached Lin Ye, who was delaying handing over the ticket. His body gradually elongated, his slender shadow gradually enveloping Lin Ye's entire body.
"...Here."
Lin Ye struggled to place the ticket into the Train Attendant's hand. Taking the ticket, the Train Attendant took a step back, his body returning to normal. He glanced at the ticket before turning and leaving.
"What's wrong with me? Could I have been infected by some bacteria from the Laboratory? Right, there are materials in the break room. As long as I can see those materials, I can understand what's happening to me..."
"So I need to get off quickly, return to the Laboratory station as soon as possible..."