Chapter 314: Chapter 302: Morhaven Underground Laboratory
The Morhaven Zoological and Botanical Garden was located in the northeastern part of Morhaven and was divided into two sections: a zoo and a botanical garden.
The entire park covered approximately 73 hectares, with about nine hectares of water and 1.3 hectares of buildings. It was a professional-grade park primarily dedicated to the conservation of flora and fauna.
It was also the birthplace of the country’s wildlife protection organization, primarily responsible for the promotion, education, re-education, and research of wildlife conservation.
After the apocalypse, despite the lack of rain and regular feeding, the zoological and botanical garden somehow maintained its original appearance. In fact, the animals had grown even wilder, and the plant life had become more primitive. Anyone who stepped inside might think they had wandered into a primeval forest.
Within just three short months, the garden’s main gate had fallen into disrepair. Unknown vines completely covered the metal fence, giving the entrance a strange, time-worn appearance.
"Have you contacted the Doctor? What are we supposed to do with this Spiritual Ability User?" a man in a hazmat suit asked, mixing the contents of two test tubes as he spoke to another man in a similar suit beside him.
"No. The Doctor probably hasn’t reached Argent yet, and the receiver’s signal is pretty bad." The man’s words were evasive, a fact the first man quickly caught.
"Didn’t I tell you to go to the city center and find materials to upgrade the receiver ages ago? Why is this still an issue?"
"Well, Boss... for some reason, the people from the safe zone recently cleared out that part of the city center. They even put up high walls. If our men rashly enter their line of sight, I’m afraid we’ll be discovered."
The man fell silent.
’The safe zone is full of people, both regular folks and superpower users. With such a large population, a few disappearances wouldn’t draw much attention. That was why I suggested to the Doctor that we set up the lab here in the garden back when the apocalypse started.’
’It’s close to the city center and not far from the safe zone. The concealment is excellent.’
"Fine. We’ll wait for the Doctor to get back."
"Right, but what about the Spiritual Ability user? If we let his spiritual power recover, we’ll be in big trouble!"
"It’s strange. He’s only Level 3. How could he resist the mental control of a Middle Level Spiritual Ability User? Something’s not right about this!"
"The Doctor wants us to extract his genes for research, but... the kid looks pretty weak. What if we cut too deep and kill him? If he dies, the Doctor will be furious!"
"They say there’s a Healing System user in the safe zone. If we could capture her, we could drastically increase the survival rate of our test subjects and improve our research efficiency. Why don’t we go grab her?"
"Don’t you go causing trouble! The Doctor warned us repeatedly: if the ambush wasn’t successful, we are to leave that woman alone for now. If you screw this up, do you want to volunteer to be a test subject yourself?"
Having said his piece, the man ignored the other’s questions.
No one would have ever imagined that a fully equipped laboratory was hidden deep beneath the Morhaven Zoological and Botanical Garden.
Inside the laboratory, all manner of test tubes, beakers, and large research instruments were readily available. The two men in hazmat suits were using a dropper to place a drop of pale yellow liquid onto a glass slide. The slide was placed in a special petri dish, which was then carefully stored inside a freezer.
The two performed this sequence with perfect coordination, their movements as fluid and seamless as flowing water.
"This is the genetic culture agent from the Serpent Woman. Seal it for a week, then record the genetic changes."
There were several other similar culture dishes in the freezer.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
SCRAPE! SCRAPE! SCRAPE!
AWOOO!
ROAR!
Suddenly, a cacophony of sounds erupted around the laboratory, each one louder than the last. Some sounded like fists pounding on walls, others like sharp claws scratching at a door. Mixed in were the roars of beasts, and a few cries that sounded like humans howling in extreme rage.
"Damn it, those things are trying to escape again! If they keep this up, the cages are going to fall apart!"
"Relax, they can’t get in here. Even if they broke out of their cages, escaping this godforsaken place is just a pipe dream."
The two men continued to fiddle with their equipment, but suddenly, there was a knock on the sealed laboratory door, making them both jump.
KNOCK KNOCK... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK... KNOCK. The knocking followed a distinct two-three-one rhythm.
One of the men in the hazmat suit slowly walked to the door. He removed his hood, performed an iris scan on the electronic reader, then keyed a long password into a keypad below it. Finally, with a soft CLICK, the door slid open.
"What took you so long to get back? How’d it go? Is she dead?" The man saw that the person who had returned was Yan Yan, one of the superpower users sent to ambush Flora Bloom—a Level 3 Fire Ability User.
"Yan Yan, why are you the only one back? Where are the others?"
Yan Yan replied with a relaxed expression, "They’re right behind me. The mountain path in the garden is a rough walk. It seems like the plants have all grown much bigger and taller. The whole park is about to be completely overgrown."
Yan Yan’s words resonated with the two men. "Isn’t that the truth! The Doctor originally wanted to build the lab under the zoo, but luckily some unknown beast made its den there, so we ended up here. This spot is way better than the zoo section. At least here we don’t have to worry about waking up one day to find some monster has made our lab its nest and we’re on the menu."
"That would be getting off easy. Remember that little girl? The Doctor wanted to catch a python to extract its genes and compare them to the Serpent Woman’s. But the python in the park seemed to have gotten smart and wouldn’t take the bait. In the end, they had to sacrifice the little girl just to catch it. Such a pity!"
"Ah, don’t say that," Yan Yan sighed, strolling casually into the lab. "Sometimes I think the Doctor is the real monster. Why do you think he’s doing all this, anyway?" he asked, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"Shh! Don’t talk nonsense! The Doctor is making a contribution to human evolution! What’s sacrificing a few people? Once we develop a superpower-awakening agent, we’ll be benefactors of humankind—heroes admired by all!"
The two men in hazmat suits puffed out their chests proudly. "Exactly! Just imagine it. When that day comes, people will be begging us to awaken their superpowers, bringing us mountains of food and beautiful women. It’s exhilarating just to think about!"
As the three of them were enthusiastically discussing their future as heroes of humanity, they failed to notice a girl in a tracksuit and a high ponytail. Holding an axe in one hand, she kicked open the heavy metal door before it could fully close.
"Is that so? So that’s what ’heroes of humanity’ means to you?"
The unfamiliar girl’s clear voice echoed in their ears. The two men in the hazmat suits turned pale and made a panicked dash for the alarm button under the lab table.
