Chapter 18 Laboratory 2: Conducting Experiments

The professor simply toured the lab, occasionally adjusting the students' equipment, offering a few words of guidance, and then left with his hands behind his back.

Her office was right across from the lab. You didn't miss the moment she opened the door, revealing what appeared to be several large pipes leading to the lab bench hidden behind a cabinet.

Three seconds later, the door closes, forcing you to turn your attention back to the door.

After you stared blankly at the oil bath pot for a few minutes, your teammates finally arrived late.

They seemed quite surprised that you were there, but they didn't say anything. They just exchanged glances, stepped forward, and naturally took over your work.

Okay. You step aside and do some work whenever you can, or pick up the empty test tubes and beakers and wash them.

As you were brushing test tubes with your head down, someone gently touched you.

Like you, she was part of a group of eight outsiders and one local Asian. Unlike you, who was forced to be alone, she was being monitored the whole time.

If you know what she wants to say, take out your phone and let her type it out for you.

She shook her head, pointing to an inconspicuous "Focus on Experiments" sign on the wall, and simply took out a small bundle of chemicals wrapped in paper from her pocket. The paper bundle, made of what appeared to be draft paper used for lab notes, read: "Impuric raw materials, may cause danger, caution."

Upon closer inspection, you'll find some hair and... are those fingernails mixed in with this small piece of solidified soap oil.

You look up at her, and behind her, several other outsiders who are doing experiments with their own people are secretly giving you meaningful glances.

You suddenly understood everyone's original intentions.

Although everyone has been tempered by these copycat countries to the point of being able to act calmly and ruthlessly even when dealing with human tissue, they still noticed your predicament and hoped to be able to help you.

Nodding to everyone in thanks, you shook the test tube, turned it upside down and put it into your group's instrument basket, then returned to your group's fume hood, deep in thought.

Because of your past experiences, you had become wary of outsiders and reluctant to get too close to them. But today, you felt the kindness from the entire group, and your heart was inevitably moved.

Sigh, actually, a cold-hearted person would be better off living in such a nonsensical world where social customs are based on reality yet transcend reality.

Just stay true to yourself. Believe in your abilities; you'll always be able to turn misfortune into good fortune.

Or perhaps, simply turning misfortune into good fortune isn't enough.

Your mind starts racing—perhaps this is the first time you've encountered a scenario where an outsider can occupy half the space, and you're suddenly filled with courage—you think, why not take the initiative?

In many things you do these days, whether it's shopping at the supermarket, going to the library, or being dragged up a mountain by that windbreaker, you've been in a passive position.

Being pulled back and forth, reacting to every move, a slight misstep could cost you your life.

However, not every scenario is like a library, where the rules are clearly posted. Most of the time, you need to connect with real life, guess, try, and even rely on the sacrifice of your companions to obtain clues.

Xiaoming said that everyone has 3 initial chances in the Kingdom dungeon, but not every Kingdom dungeon is like that.

What should we do then?

You glanced up at the professor's office. The door remained closed, and you couldn't help but think of the enormous pipes you had just seen.

You remember, the teaching assistant brought the chemicals needed for this lab class from the professor's office.

You've seen the safety rules in chemistry lab class; the safe handling of chemicals is an important part of completing a chemistry experiment.

In other words, it is permissible for a student to enter a professor's office with the intention of obtaining chemicals.

Looking again at those outsiders with varying numbers above their heads, this time, you decide to take the initiative.

After greeting your teammates, they gave you a perfunctory "okay." Their disregard for what you said actually helped, since your group really didn't lack chemicals. But you had already explained your intentions to them, and your actions represented the entire group, so it wasn't exactly just wandering around aimlessly.

You walk toward the professor's office, your heart pounding. Half of it is because of your initiative today, and half is because the professor left a deep psychological scar on you in the library before.

Knock knock knock.

The professor wasn't there. I pushed the door again; it wasn't locked.

You took a deep breath and walked in confidently.

The office layout was almost exactly what you, as a liberal arts student, imagined a passionate chemical scientist to be—a messy desk, old filing cabinets, and various seemingly old but actually ridiculously expensive analytical instruments on the tables around the room.

The only thing that stands out is the few enormous pipes that you can catch a glimpse of at a glance, stretching from the ceiling to the floor and disappearing into some corner.

The air was filled with the smell of chemical reagents, and a faint, almost imperceptible stench.

By walking around the table, you're constantly putting on an act, pretending to be looking for chemicals, when in fact you're heading towards where the tube disappears.

There was a cabinet there, obscuring the lab bench—the very one you had seen earlier. You reached out and carefully pushed the cabinet aside, revealing the lab bench behind it.

In that instant, you felt your blood run cold.

On the lab table were several huge glass jars, each containing some kind of... thing.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be human organs and limbs. The liquid in the jars had an unusual luster, seemingly a special preservation solution. Staring at one of the jars, you noticed a small tuft of hair clinging to the floating object—the very same hair you had seen in the soap ingredients earlier.

Sure enough, the raw materials for these oils were actually human bodies, most likely students.

Unlike the seemingly joking soap treatment for unfortunate consumers of luxury goods in supermarkets, in this laboratory filled with sophisticated scientific instruments, you can't help but think of the real history of the country, and then, considering the old professor's age, a chill runs down your spine.

Sigh. I don't want to think about it anymore. To put it bluntly, this isn't reality. This might not even be a complete world. Apart from the country of De and you outsiders who are Deru, any scene is probably just a projection.

No longer focusing on one of the most notorious atrocities in human history, you continue your investigation.

At this moment, a large jar at the end of the tube comes into view. Its lid is slightly ajar. You carefully walk over, lift the lid, and find that it is filled with a black, viscous liquid. The smell hits you—it's the grease you used in your experiment.

After understanding the truth, you realize you can't change the situation now that it's already been cooked, so turn your attention to the notebook on the large jar.

In your student lab, you'll find that the professor's personal habit is to carry a small notebook with him for grading and recording, and sometimes he'll just casually put it on the instrument.

The same applies here; that notebook is her lab notes.

The poor little translator couldn't recognize her characters at all. With no other option, you took a picture, hoping one of the outsiders might be able to understand it. Unexpectedly, this triggered the phone's built-in AI character recognition system.

Although there are quite a few grammatical and vocabulary errors, the key information was actually identified for you.

My God, technology is changing the world, I'm almost moved to tears.

As you quickly flipped through all of this, your expression became increasingly relaxed.

If that's the case, then it's very easy to handle.

You didn't linger in the professor's lab any longer. You took out the containers of sodium hydroxide and concentrated sulfuric acid from the chemical storage cabinet, put them in a small basket, and took them back with you. This was also to show that your purpose was truly to find chemicals.

You've come up with a plan, a really crazy plan. You're so excited about it that your steps are a little unsteady.

Before you even reach the fume hood, you see your female team member preparing to add the last of the oil to the pot.

Your heart skipped a beat. The professor's notebook clearly stated that the ingredients of these oils were impure and could cause danger, and that they needed to be purified before handling them.

You don't know if the teaching assistant emphasized these points before the class started. As it stands, your two careless teammates aren't even as smart as your fellow outsiders.

"Hey!" You quickly stepped forward to interrupt her. If danger were to arise at this moment, and instead of being taken advantage of by the rules and the professor, everyone were to be killed by these two, it would be a huge loss.

The female team member frowned at you and muttered something in dissatisfaction.

The male team member completely ignored your call to stop, impatiently stepped forward, took the ingredients from the female team member, and prepared to throw them directly into the oil bath. You cursed inwardly, wanting to stop him, but it was too late.

“It’s pu!” you shout, while making sure to pronounce the word, which shares the same origin as the ying language, using the deyu pronunciation.

But she had already poured the ingredients into the pot.

In an instant, the oil bath made a slight clicking sound, followed by a sudden burst of steam, accompanied by a suffocating stench. The male team member retreated in panic, but it was too late—his face was instantly enveloped by steam, and he let out a painful scream.

Watching him collapse, clutching his face, his eyes filled with terror, the female team member froze, standing there helplessly. You rushed over, trying to help the male team member, but his face was already becoming blurry, his skin seemingly dissolving, slowly melting away like wax.

You turn around, about to ask your female group member for help, when you suddenly hear footsteps outside the door—it's the professor! She's back.

Since that's the case, then you can start your plan right away.

You waved your arms vigorously, signaling the other outsiders who were staring blankly at your group to run. After a moment's reaction, they took off running through the open windows to the emergency exit and dashed downstairs.

And you, you poured excessive amounts of sodium hydroxide, concentrated sulfuric acid, and even more oily ingredients directly into the beaker.

More steam rushed out, and you covered your mouth and nose, running out the window without looking back.

Some local students followed you, while others remained squatting there, bewildered and unsure of what was happening.

At the same time, the door was gently pushed open, and the professor walked in with that chilling smile, his cold gaze sweeping across the room.

She clearly noticed the male team member lying on the ground, but showed no pity on her face.

She yelled "Gott!" and pounced on your group's fume hood like a madwoman, even kicking a male group member because he was in the way.

However, none of that matters anymore.

Her notebook clearly records that the laboratory has exploded three times in the past 20 years.

Each time, it was due to the students' improper handling of oils.

No students pay the price for these things, simply because in this laboratory, the professor is the rule-maker and the executioner of the students. However, as a teacher, he is also responsible for the safety of the students.

This is the rule she follows in this setting as a professor.

But you haven't actually thought about all of this.

You only saw the professor's extra note next to the record of the lab explosion: "So annoying, these stupid students, they can cause trouble and just walk away without even failing the course!"

You will have to stay in this dungeon for 24 days. During this time, apart from going to the supermarket to buy necessities, the only two things you need to do are attend the two weekly lab classes and participate in the monthly carnival market.

There are too many variables in lab classes; who knows what kind of crisis awaits you next?

Okay then, let's not do any of it!

I'll blow you up!

A note from the author:

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I carefully reviewed my writing today and discovered some problems. I struggled with them for a long time, and I feel I need to spend some time sorting them out.