Chapter 99. Relics
"Experiment? What kind of experiment?" Richard asked with apparent confusion.
"I'm not sure. But the behavior of documenting our actions and clearly jotting down the fact that we killed a Meeh'ek is conclusive evidence of one thing. Whatever experiment it is, we are their experimental subjects now."
At the thought, Charles was reminded of the severed face of the sous chef. Did he die as a result of a failed experiment?
"Say... do you think those guys were once people from the Foundation?" Richard suggested.
His words sparked a lightbulb in Charles' mind. Memories of 096's experimental log surfaced in his head.
The Foundation had once made a test subject wear 096 and observed its response to the relic.
If they applied that scenario to their current circumstances, then the Meeh'ek that had just died was a test subject, and he, Charles, was playing the role of 096. Suddenly, the missing puzzle piece seemed to have fallen into place.
It could explain why they had sent one of their kind into the cell, why there were other creatures held captive here and why they hadn't killed him and his crew members.
"What the fuck? Those idiots outside are treating us as relics? Are they fucking out of their minds? Can't they see that I'm a living human? What's with this bullshit experiment!" Richard cursed and swore with fuming rage.
"Stop shouting! They don't even understand you. No matter what they had gone through, they are no longer humans now," Charles replied.
"So what's our next step?" Richard decided to save his breath.
"Wait. Since they see us as relics, they will surely conduct their next experiment soon. We'll be able to gain more intelligence from the next test subject."
"What a waste of time. I have another plan. Wanna hear it out?" Richard asked.
"I know what's in your head! Stay put, and don't you dare make a move!"
"Fine. Fine. I'll listen to you. How boring." Richard's grumbling sounds then vanished in Charles' mind.
Their second day of imprisonment passed by quickly. Charles had initially planned to probe more about their circumstances on day three, but a certain incident interrupted his plans.
In a daze, Charles was awakened by uncontrollable movement. He realized his body was moving without his input. Currently, he was sprinting down a narrow hallway. He had escaped from his cell!
"Richard! What are you doing!"
"Hahaha! What else! Escaping, duh! Do you plan to retire here or something? Bro, hesitation leads to failure!" Richard chided.
"We have zero intelligence. Where can you run to? Do you know our exact location? And you break out just like that?" Charles's voice was tight with suppressed fury.
"I don't know. But I know those monsters were once humans, so what's there to be afraid of? I killed the few guarding the door. Pathetic weak asses."
A sense of frustration and annoyance washed over Charles. He hadn't expected the other ego in his mind to take matters into his own hands while he was asleep.
However, the situation didn't allow Charles the luxury to argue with Richard. Since they had broken out of their cell, they needed to see the plan through to the end.
"Where's the crew? Did you check the cells?"
"Do you really need to ask? Of course, I did. They locked up all sorts of weird creatures in the cells. The crew must have been confined somewhere else. Let's get out of here first, then figure out how to rescue them."
Charles let out a sigh. He composed himself and rapidly scanned his surroundings. They were in a corridor with neatly arranged doors lining the walls on both sides. His peripheral vision caught glimpses of computers and fax machines within the rooms.
Looking at the modern machinery, a premonition struck Charles' mind.
A piercing siren wailed from an indeterminate location, and the overhead lights began to pulse in a rhythmic, alarming red.
Charles clenched his teeth and hastened his pace. The Meeh'eks had noticed that they had escaped from their cell.
"Look! There's a map here!" Richard exclaimed as he ripped off a chart off the wall.
The texture of the paper was familiar under his fingers, as was the recognizable layout of the place depicted on it. Charles' finger traced over the printed text on the map: "Laboratory 2"
Charles' earlier intuition had been spot on. If those things were supposedly staff from the Foundation, then this place that they were held captive in would surely be one of the laboratories.
However, Charles didn't have the time to ponder over this discovery. He swiftly confirmed the location of the exit on the map before he discarded the paper and sprinted to his destination.
Laboratory 2 occupied a vast area with layers of interwoven hallways and passages. Fortunately, Charles was pretty fast after the physical enhancement his body had gone through.
He rapidly took care of the Meeh'eks he encountered on their way and soon arrived at the exit.
Sadly, Lady Luck seems to have turned her back on Charles. Just as they were going to dash out, dozens of Meeh'eks surged into the corridor from the exit. Armed with an array of firearms and cold weapons, they glared menacingly at Charles with their cross-shaped yellow eyes.
Words were unnecessary at this moment. Charles gritted his teeth with firm resolute. His bare foot kicked off of the floor, and he lunged at the Meeh'eks up ahead.
Gunfire erupted instantly. Charles swiftly angled his body to dodge a bullet. Without wasting a second, he pointed his prosthetic limb at a Meeh'ek at the forefront.
Woosh!
The chain started rotating, and a grappling hook shot out, piercing the creature in the chest. Taking critical damage, the wounded Meeh'ek let out a piercing scream that seemed to cause the air to vibrate.
With a forceful tug, Charles pulled sharply on the chain. It retracted swiftly, and the creature's body violently slammed into his own. Charles then swiftly yanked his prosthetic limb out of the Meeh'ek. A gruesome sound of tearing flesh resonated through the air, and the creature's scream abruptly ceased.
Bullets continued to rain down on them, but Charles had turned the towering figure of the dead Meeh'ek into a shield for himself. Bullets struck the corpse but failed to penetrate it to land on Charles safely tucked behind it.
Gripping the dead Meeh'ek with both hands, Charles charged toward the enemies crowding the exit.
With a low growl, Charles dashed into the group of Meeh'ek and hurled the corpse at them. Without missing a beat, he swung the chainsaw in his prosthetic limb with all he could and cleaved the head of the monster next to him.
The other Meeh'eks surrounding him tried to attack with their guns, but in this close-combat situation, Charles' agile body could be utilized to its fullest extent.
Whenever a gun was pointed at him, he would swiftly sidetrack to stand close to other Meeh'eks. They would then become hesitant to shoot for fear of hitting their own kind.
When they gave up their guns in exchange for cold weapons, Charles couldn’t have been happier. When it came to close combat, Charles' enhanced body had never met its match.
He weaved between the Meeh'eks like a slippery eel. The creatures were utterly helpless in dealing with his enhanced agility.
Richard's words had been true; these Meeh'eks were far from strong. Even if they had become monsters, their physique was similar to that of a grown adult.
In no time, the Meeh'eks fell to the ground one after another while Charles remained unscathed.
Charles had assumed that he would be able to quickly defeat every single one of them. But then, a Meeh'ek dressed in a black robe suddenly emerged from the crowd. In its withered hand, it held a miniature hourglass.
The moment the Meeh'ek turned the hourglass upside down, the sand started to flow downward. Charles instantly felt himself slow down.
"That's a relic! These Meeh'eks can use relics, too!" Richard warned in Charles' head.
Bang!
A gunshot sounded from the left, and blood sprayed from Charles’s left thigh.
He had been shot.
Charles quickly rolled onto the ground. By the time he got back to his feet, he was already holding a revolver.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three successive gunshots rang out as Charles fired at the black-robed Meeh'ek. However, this Meeh'ek was more agile than his fellow Meeh’eks, and it managed to evade Charles' bullet.
Fortunately, Charles’ objective was achieved. He was no longer sluggish.
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