Chapter 474 Monster!
Gu Wan impatiently kicked the ground with the tip of her shoe: "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?"
Cai Xun quickly responded with an "Eh," then, hunching over, cautiously led Lu Nange and her group deeper into the laboratory.
The passageway was flanked by cold metal walls, and overhead lights cast a pale, lifeless glow.
The air was filled with a strong smell of disinfectant, mixed with a kind of indescribable, cloying, rusty, bloody odor that made one's nose itch and one's heart feel oppressed.
Shi Xu kept a half-step distance from Cai Xun: "What exactly are you doing with your Rock Labs' so-called 'research'?"
Cai Xun's forehead instantly broke out in a fine layer of cold sweat, which slid down her temples.
His eyes flickered, and he stammered, "This...it's mainly...it's primarily about explorations related to biological enhancement and potential activation..."
"Nan Nan." Gu Wan glanced at Cai Xun sideways: "I think this person doesn't seem to speak very well. He stammers and it's hard to understand him."
Or maybe we should just make things simple and keep him company with his cronies? After all, keeping him around doesn't seem to offer any real benefit.
Shi Xu: "Well... anyway, everything's in this lab. We can figure it out ourselves by looking through it slowly."
Cai Xun's legs went weak and she was about to kneel down, but Shi Xu quickly grabbed her by the back of her collar, so she could only bend over halfway and cry out in a sobbing voice.
"No! Don't kill me! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
We...we mainly cultivate and transplant...superhumans, tame high-level zombies, and...we also do...grafting experiments on mutated animals..."
"Growing mutated animals?" Shi Xu's tone rose slightly, carrying a scrutinizing air.
Cai Xun raised his trembling hand and pointed to a huge laboratory cubicle made of thick reinforced glass on the right side of the passageway.
"It's...it's right over there...you'll see for yourselves...you'll understand after just one look..."
Lu Nange and his group looked in the direction he pointed.
Through the clear glass, one can clearly see a "creature" locked inside the isolation room that cannot be defined by common sense.
Its upper body still vaguely retained a human form, its skin was an unhealthy grayish color, its eyes were cloudy and lifeless, and its open mouth emitted unconscious, intermittent "hoarse" sounds, clearly indicating that it was an active zombie.
However, from its waist down, instead of the legs that humans should have, there are four thick limbs covered with dark brown, coarse hair that have been forcibly grafted onto it, belonging to some kind of large canine or feline mutant beast!
The four powerful beast legs were muscular and bulging, their sharp claws scratching nervously at the ground with a harsh scraping sound...
Even the Flameheart team members, who were used to all kinds of cruel scenes in the apocalypse, couldn't help but gasp when they saw this terrifying creation that defied the laws of nature!
Several team members with weaker mental fortitude even subconsciously took a half step back, their stomachs churning, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit.
Shi Xu frowned, his voice filled with suppressed shock and anger: "This is what you call mutated animal grafting?"
Cai Xun was so frightened that she fell to her knees with a "plop," waving her hands wildly and incoherently trying to shift the blame, tears and snot streaming down her face.
"No...it wasn't my idea! It was an order from above! I was just following orders; it was what our base commander asked us to do..."
If I don't do it, I can't live! They forced me to! I'm just a nobody responsible for recording data and maintaining equipment!
Gu Wan turned her face away in utter disgust, muttering under her breath, "They're insane...a bunch of complete lunatics!"
He Zhuo: "The commander of the Rock Base is either a lunatic or a psychopath with antisocial personality disorder! Otherwise, why would he keep thinking about these disgusting things that normal people wouldn't even consider!"
Shi Xu stared at the monster behind the glass, especially at the hideous grafted suture at its waist, and suddenly spoke.
"No... Look at the healing of the graft wound and the activity of the muscle tissue... You're not conducting experiments on a corpse."
You're using living people for grafting, and then... waiting for them to become infected and mutate, or... directly causing them to mutate?
His gaze abruptly shifted to Cai Xun, who was kneeling on the ground, and his voice suddenly turned cold: "Is that right?"
Cai Xun trembled violently, buried her head even lower, and spoke in a voice barely audible.
"...Yes. The base commander said...that this is the only way to obtain the most authentic and continuous experimental data. We...we generally..."
Indeed, it involves using living people... for grafting surgery...
"You beast!" Luo Xingyou cursed angrily, her fists clenched so tightly they cracked, her eyes practically spitting fire.
Lu Nange, who had been using her mental energy to probe, asked, "You said you cultivate high-level zombies and research superhumans... but the number of test subjects here isn't that many. What about the others?"
Cai Xun dared not look up, and answered in a trembling voice, "Zombies above level four, and those successfully grafted, stable experimental subjects..."
They'll all be transferred away periodically by the base commander... We lower-ranking officers really don't know exactly where they're sent..."
Seeing that Lu Nange had withdrawn her spiritual power, the vines in Lu Beiye's arms made a rapid "chirp chirp chirp" sound, pointing towards the depths of the passage.
[Master, Master! There are so many delicious things ahead! So much energy! Zhizhi loves it...]
Lu Nange's eyes flickered slightly, and she immediately asked, "What area is ahead?"
Cai Xun dared not hide the truth: "That...that's where wood-type zombies are raised..."
"Take us there!" Lu Nange commanded.
The group continued forward, and in every glass enclosure they passed, there were all sorts of 'monsters' with the upper bodies of zombies and the lower bodies grafted with the limbs of different animals.
Some grafts consist of scale-covered reptile hind limbs, others of hoofed even-toed ungulate hind limbs, and some even have bird wings sewn onto their backs...
Each laboratory is pushing the limits of what people can endure.
Finally, Lu Nange stopped at a relatively open platform area.
Following her gaze downwards, everyone was once again awestruck by the sight before them.
Beneath your feet is a huge glass wall, beneath which lies a vast space several meters deep.
There were hundreds of zombies standing inside!
Without exception, they all had their eyes closed, silently displayed at everyone's feet...
Gu Wan: "They seem to be asleep?"
Cai Xun: "We spray sedatives every so often, keeping these zombies in a dormant state... This makes them easier to manage and collect."
Shi Xu: "Sedatives? Zombies can use them?"
Cai Xun nodded: "Yes, it's specifically designed for zombies!"
Shi Xu: "You figured this out?"
Cai Xun: No, it was brought back by our base commander.
Zhizhi squirmed excitedly in Lu Beiye's arms, making even more cheerful "chirp chirp" sounds, with what appeared to be drool at the corner of her mouth...
[Master, Master! I want all of these! Is that alright? They smell so good...]
Lu Nange nodded her wavy hair to indicate she understood, then looked at Cai Xun: "When will they wake up?"
"According to the scheduled time for spraying the medicine...it's about...about three more hours..." Cai Xun replied.
Lu Nange: "Open this door!"
Cai Xun: "The explosion just now caused the laboratory to automatically activate its defense system. Only the base commander can open it; I don't have that authority!"
Zhizhi couldn't wait to continue chirping.
[Master! I can use extremely thin vines to slip inside... and then eat them all myself!]
Chi Yanzhou moved closer to Lu Nange without making a sound, and Shi Xu immediately pulled Cai Xun a few steps away to give the two of them some space.
Chi Yanzhou leaned forward slightly and asked in a low voice, "Does Zhizhi need these zombies?"
"Hmm." Lu Nange's gaze remained fixed on the slumbering zombie horde at her feet, and she nodded slightly. "It's very excited. It's saying that this is very important to it, and it can absorb it all."
After a moment's thought, Chi Yanzhou quickly made arrangements: "Then let's split up... I'll take the rest of the group to deal with those grafted monsters first, and you and A-Ye will stay here with Zhizhi?"
Lu Nange nodded: "Yu Wei and Sister Wen Qing, please stay."
"Okay." Chi Yanzhou agreed, then turned to Chi Yi: "Chi Yi, take him with you, let's go! Sang Che, Sang Yan...you two stay and watch over Nan Nan and the others."
Sang Che and Sang Yan: "Okay, Captain Chi!"
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