Chapter 323: They All Died
For these people, not being able to contact the outside world was no big deal at all. As long as there was enough entertainment, nothing else mattered.
Xiao Ye didn't stay in bed for long before heading to the bathroom.
As expected, there was a window.
However, the window was currently closed, and the outside was crawling with ants. There were even some flying insects resting on the glass, while others constantly slammed against it.
Xiao Ye had noticed this issue before he even entered the room, as he could see all sorts of bugs on almost every team member.
No wonder they wore such thick clothes; it must have been to protect themselves from insect and ant bites.
He carefully climbed over the windowsill and went outside.
Not far ahead, he could see another cluster of buildings.
They looked like a cluster of low-slung residential houses, painted green on the outside, but they had no windows, which made them look extremely strange.
Xiao Ye only glanced at them for a few moments before returning to the dormitory.
"What were you doing? Took you long enough to come out. Don't tell me you were constipated?"
Xiao Ye ignored him, rolled over, and pretended to be asleep.
In reality, he was contemplating his next move.
'I'll follow the patrol team first to get a clear idea of their route, then map out the locations of the buildings here in my mind.'
'After that, I'll find a way to break away and get inside that strange green building.'
'I have a hunch that's the laboratory.'
'The visible part has no windows or doors, though. I don't know how I'll get in.'
「Roughly three hours later.」
Xiao Ye and the others geared up again, preparing to set out on patrol.
The patrol route started from the dormitory and made a near-complete circle around the surrounding woods.
They happened to pass by the green building from before. The others didn't even give it a second glance, seemingly long accustomed to its presence.
Xiao Ye took the opportunity to reach into a bush and retrieve the camera he had left there earlier.
When the patrol ended, he returned to the dormitory, took out his phone, and reviewed the footage from the past three hours.
The scene was almost completely still. If not for the occasional blade of grass swaying in the wind, you might have thought it was a static image.
He fast-forwarded to the two-hour mark.
Finally, figures appeared in front of the green building.
It was two people in white lab coats. They seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
Xiao Ye slowed down the video and saw that they had risen up from underground.
The two then left, disappearing to who knows where.
By the time all this was done, night had fallen.
Xiao Ye prepared to go on patrol again.
He reached the area with the green building just as the two people in white coats were returning.
They stood on the spot where they had first appeared, and a moment later, they began to descend automatically.
A team member grunted. "Those researchers sure have it good."
"Heard they sent in another batch of women today. Get a new batch about once a month. And those guys are gentle with them; one can last them for days. Not like us, we use 'em up in a day."
"Alright, that's enough. We do the rough work, they do the delicate work. How can you compare?"
"Oh, right. Isn't it our turn to go in for injections tomorrow?"
"Yeah, according to the schedule, it should be."
Xiao Ye's interest was piqued. 'What are they injecting?' He wanted to know, but as a team member, asking such a question would be far too strange.
He could only suppress his curiosity.
He had originally planned to sneak in tonight, but since an opportunity would present itself tomorrow, there was no need to take such a risky approach. It would be too easy to tip them off.
He slept peacefully through the night.
「The next morning.」
A whistle blew outside.
Everyone immediately threw on their clothes and went outside.
Their gear included medical masks and face shields, leaving almost nothing but their eyes exposed.
All of them stared straight ahead, looking respectfully at the man standing before them.
The man wore a white lab coat and had a very calm face, making him look like a genuinely nice guy. "Alright, everyone's here. Follow me."
"The vaccine you'll be receiving today is a new generation. It will make your bodies even stronger."
"However, it does have a side effect: you may attract more pests like mosquitos, insects, snakes, and ants."
No one spoke. They were extremely disciplined.
The group stood before the green building.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to descend.
Xiao Ye remained expressionless.
After descending about three or four meters, it finally stopped.
A corridor appeared before them. At the sound of their arrival, lights flickered on one by one.
The man in the white coat led the way, with the guards following behind.
The only sound echoing through the corridor was their footsteps.
After about ten or so meters, they rounded a corner, and the view opened up before them.
A transparent door slid open automatically.
The room inside was filled with various pieces of lab equipment, as well as beds.
Several other people in white coats, wearing medical masks, saw them and waved them over.
"Lie down on the bed corresponding to your number and prepare for the injection."
Xiao Ye, of course, had no desire to be injected with this substance. After lying down, just as the needle was about to pierce his skin, he grabbed the other person's hand.
A surge of force traveled from the person's hand to the syringe, and the tip of the needle bent instantly.
Then, before the person could say anything, Xiao Ye let go. "Sorry, just a reflex."
The person didn't say anything. Thinking the needle had already pierced the skin, they administered the injection.
After the injections were finished, everyone was kept there for observation.
Xiao Ye soon noticed that one man's face was beginning to turn red.
The man also seemed to be feeling unwell. He frowned in pain. "Doctor! Doctor! My head is killing me, and my whole body feels awful!"
Soon, two people in white coats entered the room and led the man away.
Xiao Ye noticed he was taken deeper into the facility.
But before he could think about what to do next, the people around him began to show symptoms one after another.
The man in the white coat who had led them in learned of the situation and rushed over. "What's going on?"
By this point, nearly half of the men had already been taken from the room.
"We don't know. They're all developing fevers and body aches."
The man in the white coat frowned deeply. "It seems there's a problem with the vaccine."
He looked at Xiao Ye and the remaining men.
Unlike the others, Xiao Ye's condition was clearly much better; he was still able to sit up straight.
He walked over. "You don't feel sick?"
Xiao Ye looked at him. "I don't."
This batch of vaccinated men was almost completely wiped out. Even those still sitting there were merely less severe cases, but the symptoms had already appeared.
Only Xiao Ye was the exception.
The man in the white coat's gaze swept up and down, his eyes clearly showing a spark of interest.
All biologists are interested in special individuals.
"You, come with me."
Xiao Ye obediently followed behind him.
The two of them passed through one winding corridor after another, arriving in the deepest part of the laboratory.
This area was different from the others. It was filled with all sorts of large, transparent vats.
And inside them were... people!
No, they couldn't be called people anymore. They were hybrids of humans and animals!
And they were all dead.
Xiao Ye immediately tried to back away, but the door had already closed.
Two large men appeared on either side, flanking Xiao Ye.
The man in the white coat smiled faintly, a picture of scholarly refinement. "Be a good boy and stay here as my test subject. I promise I'll let you live."