Chapter 174:Split.
The surviving guard adjusted the grip on his flashlight as he took another careful step down the narrow staircase.
The beam of light stretched into the darkness below, revealing old concrete steps disappearing farther underground than anyone had expected.
A damp chill rose from the depths. Every breath felt colder than the last.
Behind the guard, Dillian continued descending cautiously, his sword remaining unsheathed despite the apparent silence. Maya followed with her rifle slung across her chest, while Selene and Iris carefully watched the walls for any hidden mechanisms or movement.
Cruella remained unusually quiet. Instead of standing beside Dillian as she normally would, she lingered several steps behind him.
Ravenna quietly walked beside him near the rear of the group. The two exchanged a brief glance before continuing downward.
The staircase seemed endless. After nearly five minutes of descending, the air became noticeably heavier. There was an odd metallic scent mixed with damp concrete. As though countless years had settled into the walls themselves.
Finally, the staircase opened into an enormous underground chamber. Everyone instinctively stopped. Even Dillian couldn’t hide his surprise.
"...This place..."
His voice echoed across the darkness. It was far larger than any of them had imagined. The beam from several flashlights swept slowly across the room.
Rows upon rows of massive cylindrical containment tanks stood silently in orderly lines. Most had shattered long ago. Jagged glass littered the floor beneath them.
Some tanks still contained murky green liquid that had long since turned almost black. Others were completely empty, their reinforced glass broken outward.
Silver slowly turned in place.
This wasn’t merely a laboratory. It was an entire underground research complex. Metal walkways connected elevated observation rooms overlooking the containment area.
Most of the railings had rusted away. Several sections had collapsed entirely, leaving twisted steel hanging over the floor below. Observation windows lined the upper walls. Almost every pane had cracked, while some had shattered completely.
Beyond them lay abandoned control rooms filled with silent computer terminals and overturned chairs. Emergency lights stretched along the ceiling. None remained functional.
Instead, thick vines had somehow forced their way through cracks in the concrete over the decades, creeping along support beams and disappearing into the darkness above.
Nature had begun reclaiming the facility, yet it still felt wrong, almost as if the laboratory itself refused to die.
The group continued forward carefully. Every footstep echoed throughout the cavernous chamber. Dust rose from the floor with each movement. No footprints disturbed it or recent marks.
Silver’s eyes drifted toward one of the shattered containment tanks. Dark stains covered the inside of the glass. Nearby lay broken restraint belts, rusted surgical instruments, and fragments of thick chains. Whatever had once occupied the tank... hadn’t left peacefully.
Ravenna silently observed another section of the laboratory. Several operating tables stood beneath enormous surgical lamps. One table had collapsed onto its side. Another remained upright.
Leather restraints still hung from its edges, though cracked with age, they remained unmistakable.
She frowned.
"...They operated on people here."
Silver nodded quietly.
"I think so."
Neither wanted to imagine what those operations had involved. Farther ahead, Maya knelt beside a fallen cabinet. She carefully brushed away years of dust.
Inside were dozens of glass containers. Most had shattered. Those still intact held strange preserved organs suspended inside cloudy liquid. Some resembled ordinary beast hearts while others... Did not.
One jar contained what appeared to be a human arm partially covered in black scales. Another held an eye with an elongated slit pupil.
Selene quietly looked away.
"...Let’s keep moving."
Nobody argued. The deeper they ventured into the facility, the more unsettling it became. Broken stretchers remained abandoned in the corridors. Medical charts lay scattered across the floor. Entire shelves had collapsed beneath the weight of time.
Silver stepped around a wheelchair lying on its side. One wheel continued spinning lazily after being nudged. The faint squeaking echoed eerily through the silent laboratory.
He frowned.
Despite everything, something bothered him. He couldn’t explain it. The laboratory felt... Too empty. There were no bones, bodies, or even scattered skeletons. It was as though everyone had simply disappeared overnight.
He quietly activated...
[Spatial Sense LV2 Activated.]
A familiar ripple spread outward from him. The world around him became clearer. The skill extended through the underground complex like invisible threads searching every nearby corner.
Moments later, pale blue notifications appeared before his eyes.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Active]
He didn’t detect any active life signatures, abnormal spatial fluctuations detected or hostile movement within the current detection range
Silver let out a quiet breath. At least... Nothing alive remained nearby. He looked towards the others.
"I checked."
Everyone turned toward him.
"There aren’t any living creatures nearby."
The surviving guard visibly relaxed.
"So it’s really abandoned..."
Silver shook his head.
"I said nearby. I can’t scan the entire facility, so stay alert."
Dillian nodded.
"Understood."
Even with Silver’s reassurance, nobody lowered their weapons. The laboratory had already shown them enough to know better than to become complacent.
They slowly entered what appeared to be the central research hall. This room dwarfed every previous chamber. The ceiling stretched nearly four stories overhead. Large cranes hung motionless above the floor. Rows of reinforced blast doors branched into different wings of the facility.
Each door bore faded markings.
Containment Wing.
Research Division.
Medical Laboratories.
Storage Sector.
Most of the signs had begun peeling away, and time had erased much of the lettering. Dillian slowly turned toward everyone.
"This place is too large to search together."
Silver silently agreed. If they insisted on staying in one group, they’d still be here by tomorrow.
"We split up," Dillian continued. "But nobody goes alone."
Everyone nodded. Dillian quickly organized the teams.
"I’ll take Maya and Cruella. We’ll search the research offices."
Maya simply adjusted her rifle.
"No problem."
Cruella quietly nodded without meeting anyone’s eyes.
"Iris and Selene." The two women looked up. "You two search the storage sector with James."
The surviving guard straightened.
"Understood."
Finally, Dillian looked toward Silver and Ravenna.
"That leaves the containment wing."
Silver nodded.
"We’ll take it. It probably matches what we’re looking for anyway."
Ravenna quietly smiled.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Dillian pointed toward the heavy blast door bearing the faded containment markings.
"If anyone finds something... Call immediately. No wandering off or heroic acts."
Everyone acknowledged the instructions. For a brief moment, all seven contractors simply stood there beneath the enormous ceiling. Then, one by one, the groups separated.
Dillian’s team disappeared into the maze of research offices. Selene, Iris, and James headed toward the storage sector. Silver and Ravenna exchanged one last glance before walking toward the towering blast door leading into the containment wing.
The rusted door stood half open; beyond it... Only darkness awaited them.