Chapter 176:A chance encounter.
Dillian’s voice echoed through the underground laboratory.
"Silver! Ravenna!"
"In here!"
The two quickened their pace, leaving the containment wing behind and making their way through another maze of dimly lit corridors. Their footsteps echoed softly against the cold concrete until they entered what appeared to have once been the chief research office.
Unlike the containment wing, this room had suffered very little structural damage.
Several large bookshelves had collapsed over one another, scattering yellowed files across the floor. Heavy oak desks sat beneath layers of dust, while old computer terminals occupied one side of the room. Most of the monitors had cracked with age, their screens frozen forever in darkness.
A large whiteboard still hung on one wall. The writing had long faded beyond recognition; only faint outlines remained.
Dillian stood beside one of the desks, holding a dusty photograph in gloved hands.
"I think you’ll want to see this."
Silver and Ravenna walked over. One by one, the others gathered around. Dillian carefully brushed another layer of dust from the photograph before placing it on the desk.
The picture had faded considerably over the decades, but the people within it remained recognizable. A young man stood in the center. He looked to be no older than twenty; short black hair, bright eyes, and a confident smile.
He wore ordinary clothes rather than a laboratory uniform. One arm rested comfortably around the shoulder of an older researcher standing beside him.
Behind them stood several scientists. Some smiled proudly at the camera while others looked exhausted. The atmosphere felt... Hopeful.
Silver silently stared at the young man’s face.
"...That’s him."
Dillian nodded.
"Subject 001."
Ravenna frowned.
"He doesn’t look like an experiment."
"No." Silver quietly shook his head. "He looks like the volunteer he was. He really did volunteer."
Nobody argued.
The young man smiled naturally. There wasn’t a trace of fear or hesitation on his face. If anything, he looked proud to be standing among the researchers and contributing to something larger than himself.
Selene quietly folded her arms.
"They probably told him he’d be saving humanity."
Silver looked down at the photograph again.
"They probably believed it too."
Silence filled the office. Nobody doubted that. The journals had made it clear. At the beginning... Project 001 had been considered humanity’s greatest breakthrough. Nobody had expected it to end the way it did.
Dillian slowly reached into another drawer.
"I found another one."
He carefully laid a second photograph beside the first. This time, no one spoke immediately. The same young man stared back at them, but he had changed.
Dark fur had begun spreading across his arms. His pupils had become narrow slits. Sharp fangs protruded slightly from beneath his lips. His muscles had grown noticeably larger.
Despite the changes... he was still smiling. The researchers surrounding him looked even happier than before. Several were applauding. One woman proudly held a clipboard against her chest.
Silver quietly exhaled.
"...This must’ve been shortly after the integration."
Ravenna nodded.
"He was still himself."
Maya stared at the photograph.
"They looked successful."
"They were." Silver’s voice remained calm. "The journal mentioned multiple abilities; it also said he stayed conscious."
Everyone remembered those entries. For a brief period... everything had apparently worked perfectly, then the aggression began.
Dillian searched the drawer once more.
"This is the last one."
He gently placed the third photograph onto the desk. The atmosphere changed immediately. The young volunteer had almost disappeared, and his body had nearly doubled in size.
Black and crimson fur covered large portions of his skin. Powerful claws had replaced several fingers. One eye had become completely animalistic. His jaw had lengthened. Veins bulged beneath his flesh.
Even standing still, he looked frightening, yet... Silver noticed something else.
"...His eyes."
Everyone leaned closer. Despite the monstrous transformation, the man’s remaining human eye still retained clarity. There was no madness or bloodlust, only... Exhaustion and sadness. Almost as though he understood exactly what had become of him.
Ravenna quietly spoke.
"...He knew."
Silver nodded.
"He knew he wasn’t human anymore."
No one said anything for several moments. The room became eerily silent.
The journals had described Subject 001 becoming aggressive. Looking at this picture now, Silver wasn’t convinced aggression had been the whole story.
There were also more things to be accounted for, like fear, isolation, and endless experimentation. Any person would eventually break.
Iris quietly looked away.
"...Poor guy."
No one disagreed.
Dillian carefully gathered the photographs again before placing them inside a weathered folder.
"We should preserve these; they’re historical records now."
Silver nodded in agreement.
"They explain more than the journals ever could."
For the next half hour, the group continued searching the research offices. Everything they opened told the same story.
Empty.
Research notes had been removed, hard drives had been dismantled, metal filing cabinets stood open, their contents long gone, and even expensive laboratory equipment had disappeared. Only broken furniture and worthless scraps remained.
Eventually, everyone gathered back in the central office. James wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Storage rooms are empty. There is nothing useful."
Selene nodded.
"Same here. Just old supplies that have completely rotted."
Maya sighed.
"The offices are stripped clean."
Silver slowly looked around the room one final time.
"I think someone came back."
The others turned toward him.
"Not recently, but probably after the evacuation. They removed everything important."
Dillian slowly nodded.
"That would explain why almost every cabinet is empty and why we haven’t found complete records."
Silver agreed.
"They wanted to erase this place."
Ravenna quietly looked toward the shattered windows.
"They almost succeeded."
One by one, everyone began packing away the few useful documents they had found. There was little point remaining. The mystery had largely been solved.
This was an underground research station that conducted human experimentation and had ended tragically.
Dillian finally stretched his shoulders.
"I suppose that’s everything."
"Looks like it." Silver nodded. "We should leave before it gets dark."
Everyone began turning toward the exit. Only Ravenna remained standing where she was. Her eyes slowly wandered around the room.
Something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t explain it. Her gaze settled on one wall near the far corner. Unlike the others, it lacked the same weathering. The concrete looked almost too smooth.
She slowly walked toward it.
Silver noticed.
"What is it?"
"I’m not sure."
She stopped before the wall and gently placed her fingertips against its surface. It was cold and solid.
She knocked lightly.
Knock.
A dull sound answered. She moved half a meter to the side and knocked again.
Knock.
This time... the sound was different. It was hollow.
Ravenna frowned.
"...Silver."
He walked over.
"You hear that?"
Silver tapped the same section. His eyebrows rose slightly.
"It is hollow."
The others quickly gathered behind them. James tilted his head.
"Hidden room?"
Dillian examined the wall closely.
"I don’t see any handle."
Neither did Silver. There wasn’t a keypad or keyhole. Only smooth concrete.
Ravenna slowly ran her hand across the surface. Her fingers brushed against what appeared to be an ordinary metal bolt. Curious, she pressed it. A soft click echoed from somewhere inside the wall.
Everyone froze, then... A deep mechanical rumble reverberated through the underground laboratory. Dust cascaded from the ceiling.
The entire wall trembled.
"What was that?" Maya whispered.
Before anyone could answer, a circular section of the wall slowly began rotating inward. Gears groaned loudly after decades of inactivity. Cold air escaped from the widening gap.
The hidden door continued opening. After thirty seconds, it finally stopped. Beyond the circular vault entrance lay another chamber.
Unlike the abandoned laboratory outside, this room remained perfectly sealed. Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling. Every shelf was neatly arranged.
That wasn’t what caught everyone’s attention; the very shelf glowed with hundreds, perhaps thousands... Of beast cores rested inside crystal preservation cases, illuminating the vault with a breathtaking kaleidoscope of colored light.
For several long moments... No one breathed.
Dillian’s eyes widened. Ravenna stood completely still. Even Silver, who had seen countless unbelievable things since transmigrating into this world, found himself speechless.
The hidden chamber shimmered quietly in the darkness, revealing a treasure that had remained untouched for decades.