Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Gene Treasure Chest
Long Ming noticed rooms lining both sides of the corridor.
Some doors were shut tight, others stood wide open, and still others had been violently smashed.
Long Ming cautiously entered the first room on the left.
He froze the moment he entered. The room was piled high with experimental equipment.
Although the equipment was covered in dust, a single glance at its design was enough to tell it was high-end.
In addition, there were several corpses on the floor, dressed in white hazmat suits and logistics uniforms.
Long Ming gave the room a quick search. Finding nothing of value, he left to check the others.
He searched several more rooms, but came up empty-handed each time.
Still, Long Ming patiently pushed onward, continuing his search.
He then came to a room with a smashed-in door. A single glance inside made his face light up with glee.
"Holy shit!"
Long Ming rushed inside, his eyes landing on rows of medicine cabinets.
Although nearly half of the cabinets had toppled over, their contents—a mess of shattered bottles and jars—were destroyed.
But many of the cabinets were still perfectly intact.
Long Ming excitedly rushed to the nearest cabinet. It was lined with potions in metal vials.
They all had different labels.
Long Ming raised his hand and scanned the potions.
Bug-Heal Potion
Effect: Activates cellular regeneration to rapidly heal wounds.
Painkiller Potion
Effect: Blocks all pain for thirty minutes.
...
Looking at the potions, Long Ming broke into a wide grin. ’This time, I’ve really hit the jackpot.’
After all, medical supplies were every bit as valuable as equipment.
Without hesitation, Long Ming dumped more than half of the ammo clips from his backpack and swept the cabinet clean of its medical supplies.
He then moved on to the other cabinets, only to find they were also filled with potions.
He rapidly grabbed the vials and stuffed them into his backpack. In no time, it was full.
Long Ming looked at the remaining piles of vials in the cabinets, a sense of urgency building. ’There’s no way I can carry it all.’
He decisively tossed out all the Painkiller Potions, replacing them with Bug-Heal Potions.
’After all, this stuff seems unique to this world, so its rarity should be higher. Every world has painkillers.’
Once he was done, Long Ming left excitedly to continue exploring the other rooms.
Soon, Long Ming reached the second-to-last room in the corridor.
The room was a wreck, littered with toppled lab cabinets and corpses. At the far end stood a large, 2.5-meter-tall metal cryogenic freezer.
Long Ming scanned the room, and once he confirmed it was clear of danger, he walked up to the large cryogenic freezer.
The base’s power had been completely cut, so the freezer was no longer operational.
Long Ming reached out to open the freezer, but it wouldn’t budge.
He examined it more closely and discovered it was locked. It would need a key to open.
Long Ming turned and looked around, his gaze landing on a nearby corpse in a white hazmat suit.
He went over and searched the body, and sure enough, he found a mechanical key in its pocket.
Long Ming inserted the mechanical key into the freezer’s lock and turned it.
CLICK!
The freezer door clicked open.
As he watched the door swing open, Long Ming’s heart leaped into his throat.
’Based on my years of gaming experience, locked containers usually hold good loot.’
But when the door swung fully open, the freezer—large enough to fit a grown adult—was completely empty, save for a single, small, high-end-looking rectangular metal box.
Puzzled, Long Ming raised his wristband and scanned the box.
"Hint: Unopened Gene Chest."
Long Ming was overjoyed at the notification. He couldn’t believe he’d actually found a Gene Chest.
He picked up the Gene Chest and was about to open it, but he stopped himself.
Long Ming calmly analyzed the situation. ’The Genetic Potions produced in this world probably aren’t top-tier, so whatever I get from this chest won’t be that great either.’
’But an unopened Gene Chest? That’ll almost certainly sell for a high price.’
Without another thought, Long Ming raised his wristband and scanned the Gene Chest into his safe.
With that taken care of, Long Ming resumed his search.
He soon finished searching all the rooms on both sides of the corridor. There was a lot of stuff, but unfortunately, he really couldn’t carry another thing.
Long Ming continued on, reached the end of the corridor, and turned left into another passage.
This passageway was littered with skeletal remains and the slimy residue of rotten insects.
Long Ming advanced, his nerves taut. ’My haul is already substantial, but my gut tells me there’s something even better ahead. It was too hard getting this far to just give up. I can’t bring myself to do it.’
He took a deep breath, clearing those stray thoughts from his mind.
The exit of the passageway was seventy meters ahead. Just as Long Ming was about to reach it, he suddenly stopped and glanced to the side.
A cart was parked in the corridor beside him. It was loaded with shattered vials, and beneath them was a white cloth.
Behind the cart lay a body, still clad in a white hazmat suit.
Long Ming went to inspect the supplies on the cart, but unfortunately, they were all destroyed.
He crouched down and carefully lifted the white cloth, but there was nothing underneath.
Seeing nothing, Long Ming continued on his way.
The moment he stepped out of the passageway, his view opened up dramatically.
Long Ming’s pupils contracted and his heart skipped a beat.
A vast, circular plaza spread out before him.
The entire plaza was a gruesome tableau, littered with the remains of fallen soldiers, insect carapaces, and viscous, rotting secretions.
The ground and walls were pockmarked with countless bullet holes and the scorched scars of explosions.
The scene was a testament to the ferocious battle that had once raged here.
At the far end of the plaza, the remains of a giant, five-meter-tall insect carapace stood, a truly staggering sight.
Long Ming took a deep breath, suppressing his shock. He cautiously raised his M24 sniper rifle and scanned his surroundings.
The entire plaza was eerily silent, save for a faint, rustling sound.
Long Ming scanned the area. Seeing no enemies other than a few small, wriggling insects on the ground, he began to search.
Baka Rifles, Jiewa Submachine Guns...
Long Ming was rendered speechless by the sight of firearms littering the ground. ’There’s no way I can carry all this.’
Besides, the quality of these guns all looked about the same.
Just then, a corpse up ahead caught Long Ming’s eye. It was wearing a beautiful, jewel-encrusted watch.
Long Ming scanned it.
Baolan Watch
Grade: Purple
A smile touched Long Ming’s lips as he unhesitatingly stripped the watch from the corpse’s wrist.
Right now, it seemed purple-grade items weren’t as valuable as weapons and equipment.
But their value was stable; they would always be worth something.
’As for weapons and equipment, their value fluctuates. With the sheer amount of loot here, I’m a little worried the market might crash by the time I get out.’
Therefore, he wouldn’t pass up any purple-grade item as long as it wasn’t too bulky.
Long Ming tossed the watch into his backpack and continued his search.
A short while later, Long Ming had made his way further into the plaza.
In that time, he’d found three more purple-grade items, and his backpack was about to burst at the seams.
Just then, Long Ming stopped in his tracks.
Kneeling before the giant insect carapace was a body. It was clad in a light mechanical chestplate and a red, skull-shaped mechanical mask, and it still gripped a pitch-black machine gun. A gaping hole had been pierced clean through its chest.
Long Ming’s eyes lit up, and he immediately walked over to the body.
’Judging by the gear, this guy must have been the highest-ranking combat leader in the base.’
