Volume 10: Ancient Battleship Chapter 533: The Situation Escalates
"This is impossible... This is impossible... This is impossible!!" The professor tried desperately to recall every detail that just happened. He was very sure that when he took off the protective suit, his skin did not come into contact with the surface of the suit that had a risk of contamination... Even though he was a little panicked, every move he made was performed according to standard procedures. For him, as someone who had been in a biochemical laboratory for more than 20 years, this operation had formed muscle memory, and there was no way that any step would go wrong.
Then why would I be infected by the "specimen"?
Why? Why? Why?
He grabbed his wrist in pain. He could clearly feel that under the bulging flesh, the eyeballs were spinning wildly, like some kind of larvae about to break out of their shells.
"How could it turn out like this…Which link went wrong?" The professor squatted down, gritting his teeth and thinking hard…Just then, gunshots were suddenly heard in the laboratory behind him.
It was the sound of a small-caliber assault rifle equipped with a silencer, and the two security guards fired the gun! At the moment the gunshot rang out, the laboratory's automatic alarm device was also triggered, and the piercing alarm sounded throughout the building.
"Damn it, why... did they shoot..."
The professor felt as if his head was splitting apart. He struggled to turn around and was about to go back, but it was as if all the strength in his body was drained away. Just as he took a step, he lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.
The gunfire stopped, but the alarm continued. The professor could vaguely hear hurried footsteps coming from the stairs at the end of the corridor - he wanted to ask people not to come closer, but no sound came out.
"Squeak... snap..."
A creepy sound came from the arm, and the surface of those spherical protrusions burst open like ripe fruits. The bloodshot eyeballs broke free from the darkness and looked at their "master".
The professor's eyes suddenly met the gazes of the dozen or so eyeballs.
At this moment, the professor was shocked to find that he saw two images at the same time: his own arm and his own face.
The first picture comes from his own eyes, while the second picture comes from the eyeballs "growing" on his arms.
Could it be that... these eyeballs... are actually connected to my own visual system?
Are they invaders that parasitize one's body... or are they... part of one's body?
The people who came after hearing the alarm gradually approached, but to the professor, their footsteps seemed to be getting farther and farther away and fainter...
His own vision was gradually becoming blurred, but the eyes on his arms could still see things clearly.
Faintly, the professor seemed to be able to sense the thoughts of these eyeballs - they seemed to be looking for a "new target".
In the moment before the professor's consciousness disappeared, he suddenly understood why he was "infected" - these things seemed to be able to "spread" between organisms without direct contact, just...
The professor's consciousness fell into darkness forever.
The people who came to rescue finally ran to the professor. However, they did not help the professor up immediately, but pointed their weapons at him.
At this moment, all the exposed parts of the professor's body were covered with large and small, grape-like spherical protrusions. These lumps of flesh were squeezed and piled up on each other, and the professor's original face could no longer be seen. He looked like the famous leper in the old era.
But leprosy has long been conquered, and the only leprosy pathogens left in the world are stored in the underground vault of the institute...
"It's not leprosy!" a researcher who came to support shouted, "Leprosy doesn't progress so quickly. Even if it's a mutant strain, it can't develop into this. Be careful!"
"Those lumps... the things underneath seem to be moving!" said another researcher wearing heavy protective clothing, "Could it be... something from the Alpha civilization?"
The researcher who spoke at the beginning glanced at the name tag that fell next to the body and asked, "The infected person is Professor Smith. Does anyone know what research topic Professor Smith has recently?"
"It seems that there is a research project. I saw him reporting to the head of the biomedical group a few days ago. He also applied for a young researcher to be his assistant... But the content of the project is confidential and unauthorized personnel cannot view it."
"Oops! This is going to be troublesome... Inform the entire biomedical team to seal off this building. No one is allowed to enter without permission. Also, contact the team leader immediately. Others may not know what Professor Smith is researching, but the team leader definitely knows!"
"Wait a minute! Professor Li, look... look at Professor Smith's arm! What... what is that?!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the man's finger and immediately saw those rolling eyeballs. A female researcher screamed on the spot and fell to the ground.
She struggled to get up from the ground, but the next second, she found that the colleagues around her actually retreated away with horror. Even the man who was openly in love with her and was always courteous to her, hid behind other people. Not to mention coming to support her, he looked like he wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.
What's going on?
The young female researcher was stunned. She found that everyone's eyes were focused on her face, so she reached out and carefully touched her face...
She touched several round, hard objects that felt warm, like glass balls wrapped in skin.
That's not hers! She shouldn't have that on her face!
The female researcher's mind collapsed instantly. She bent her five fingers into claws and tried to pick the flesh lumps off her face. However, the severe pain from the connection between the flesh lumps and muscles made her scream "wow wow" - the roots of these growths were deeply embedded in the flesh... or in other words, they and her face were originally one.
"This speed of transmission... the biosafety level is definitely level four or even higher!" Professor Li, who spoke at the beginning, turned pale. "The pathogen is unknown, the transmission route and method are unknown, the symptoms are unknown... Everyone, hurry up and leave this corridor! But you are not allowed to leave this building, find an empty room nearby to isolate yourself! In addition, notify those who just heard the alarm and fled the building to self-isolate on the spot! And immediately report to the Crisis Management Department using communication equipment!"
"Professor Li, save me... Save me..." Seeing everyone leaving quickly, the infected female researcher cried and crawled towards Professor Li, but when she raised her head, she saw that Professor Li was holding a pistol in his trembling hand, with the black muzzle pointing at her head.
"Karin, if you come any closer, I will shoot!" Professor Li shouted in a deep voice, "You have been infected by this unknown pathogen. I really want to save you, but I can't do anything. I can't even guarantee the safety of myself and others... We can only wait for the Crisis Management Department to solve the problem. You stay here, stay with Professor Smith, and don't go anywhere, otherwise..."
Before Professor Li finished speaking, the female researcher sped up: "No... I don't want to stay here! I can't wait for the crisis management department to come! I know how they deal with this kind of thing! I will be thrown into the incinerator as a 'contaminated item'... or, sent to the dissection table as a research subject... No! I don't want to die! Save me! Save me!"
Seeing that the female researcher was about to crawl closer, Professor Li took a deep breath, closed his eyes, silently said "I'm sorry", and then pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the building, echoing back and forth in the hallways.
Hearing the gunshots, the male researcher who liked Karin paused for a moment, but his expression did not change significantly. He quickly found an empty cubicle, slipped in, and locked the door.
He did like Karin, but only because of her pretty face and sexy body.
He was courting Karin only because he wanted her body.
But Karin's appearance just now only brought him fear and disgust.
What Professor Li killed was not Karin, but an inhuman monster... He kept muttering to himself, walked quickly to the shelf, took down a bottle of disinfectant from it, unscrewed the cap, and poured it on himself frantically.
"Karin is dead... huh... but at least I'm still alive..." He let out a long breath, and in his heart he couldn't help but be glad that he didn't rush to help that woman... no, it should be that monster, otherwise, he would have been infected too.
That woman was an idiot. The alarm that sounded in the biomedical building was most likely a leak of some dangerous contaminants, so everyone who came to support wore protective clothing, but she didn't wear any protective equipment...
"Idiot woman, she deserved to be infected. She deserved to die." He cursed inwardly, "She almost got me into trouble... It seems that the unknown pathogen may be transmitted through the air. I'm wearing a full set of protective clothing, so I'm sure I'll be fine... Well, for safety reasons, I'll keep wearing it until the people from the crisis management department get here."
Unfortunately, there was only one bottle of disinfectant on hand. If there were more, he would even want to wear protective clothing and take a bath in disinfectant.
But just as he was scanning the room for anything useful, an inexplicable itch suddenly came from his back...
"What the hell? Is it because the protective suit is too non-breathable... the clothes soaked by sweat stick to my back and irritate my skin? But I have the kind of skin that is easily allergic?" He wanted to reach out his hand to scratch his back, but the protective suit was too thick and heavy, and did not allow the wearer to make such an action.
"Damn... It's so itchy... It itches so badly..." The unbearable itching made him almost crazy, but he didn't dare to take off his protective suit. He had no choice but to lean his back against the wall and rub it back and forth, trying to relieve the itching by friction.
But after just a few rubs, he found that something seemed wrong - there seemed to be some lumps on his back. When he pressed against the wall, he could clearly feel these hard lumps being pressed into the flesh, and waves of soreness came from the connection between the lumps and the muscles...
…
…
At the same time, the "new" East 9th District.
In order to return to the hunting group headquarters, apart from private transportation, the fastest way is to take the inter-district light rail. However, when Ke Lan and others just arrived at the station, they saw the previous train just leaving the platform.
"If we had caught up half a minute earlier..." Qin Zhao lifted the sweat-soaked hair on his forehead - they watched the train pull into the station with their own eyes, but at that time they were still more than two hundred and nearly three hundred meters away from the station.
If there are no passengers in the station, a train will only stop for thirty seconds at most. Thirty seconds is three hundred meters. Unless you are a strengthened person, it is difficult to rush into the station before the train starts, not to mention buying a ticket at the gate.
In an outlying industrial area with a sparse population like this, if you miss a train, you will have to wait an hour or more for the next one.
There are many trains going in and out of the industrial area, but most of them are trucks transporting industrial machinery and materials. These trucks are not open to ordinary people, and they do not follow the routes of regular trains.
Therefore, they had no choice but to choose another "shortcut" - crossing the newly built "East District 9", and then renting an air-cushion vehicle in East District 8 to return to the hunting group headquarters.
The new East 9th District has been completed for several months, but only a few residents have moved in. Many blocks are still uninhabited, and most of the shops along the street are still in a rough state. Occasionally, there are a few renovated stores, but their doors are closed with a sign saying "Opening Soon".
"I feel like this newly built East District 9 is not even as prosperous as East District 10..." Ke Lan pointed at the uninhabited houses and said, "These are the lowest-standard houses, not even equipped with smart housekeepers... Are the authorities planning to turn this place into a slum?"
“Based on the geographical location of East 9th District, there should be more people here soon, but it will definitely not be comparable to before,” said Sanshisan.
The reason why the East 9th District was so prosperous was entirely because it was the headquarters of the "Arasaka Group". As the local boss of the East 9th District, the Arasaka Group would naturally manage this land well. But now, the Arasaka Group is gone, and the newly built East 9th District does not seem to have anything that can attract investment from a large group.
"I do have an idea... I want to move the hunting group's headquarters here." Ke Lan suddenly said.
