Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Chapter 521 The Laboratory

Clank!

As soon as the door fully opened, Shane immediately activated his detection abilities to see whether they had to prepare for a fight or not…

"There's nothing…" Shane muttered.

Then, as the door fully opened, some lights or lamps in the walls lit up. It wasn't very bright but it was already amazing that it was still working.

Anyway, what was in front of them was a long, dimly lit corridor.

As they observed the mysterious place, they realized that the dim lights came from emergency lights that were most likely powered by batteries. It was really impressive and Lysandra couldn't help but feel curious about what kind of battery was being used here. After all, she believed that this place was buried for several dozens of years.

"I can't sense any other living beings here." Shane muttered. "But just be ready just in case." He added.

He then told Vernon and Kale to do something about the door to ensure that they wouldn't be locked suddenly when no one was looking.

The two immediately worked into it as Shane and the others moved forward for a bit to observe the surroundings.

The facility was eerily pristine in some areas, with stainless steel walls and floors, while other sections were in disrepair, covered in rust and scorch marks.

Further ahead, they found broken glass and overturned equipment littering the hallways, hinting at a violent past. They could only imagined what had happened here.

Perhaps, when the door was locked some people were trapped here as they panicked.

With that said, they would probably find corpses or perhaps, monsters who could probably survive here for long.

Lysandra then examined a nearby console, her fingers brushed away the dust from the screen and checked whether it was still working.

Unfortunately, she had no idea how to make it work so she had to look for Shane.

Shane smiled as he expected this happen.

"Let me see…"

With Shane's knowledge from the A.I. Rebellion and A.I. Cloud who was secretly helping him all the time, he was able to easily activate it. Then, after a moment, lines of text began scrolling across the monitor. It was an old log entries…

They were all very detailed with various notes related to the serum they were making but Shane and the others focused not on those recipes or ingredients but the event that had happened on that day.

Day 471:

"Test Subject #12A has shown unprecedented adaptability to the Genesis Serum. However, increased aggression and erratic behavior suggest neural degradation. The subject has been isolated for further observation."

Day 472:

"Subject mutations are no longer consistent with the projected outcomes. The introduction of the Genesis Serum into controlled environments has resulted in rapid biomass assimilation. Containment breaches reported in Sector 3 and Sector 5. Tactical drones deployed."

"Personnel are advised to avoid direct contact with mutated subjects. Symptoms of exposure include dizziness, fever, and corroded skin lesions."

Day 473:

"Subject mutations have exceeded containment protocols. Emergency lockdown initiated. All personnel are advised to evacuate immediately. Project Genesis will continue under remote oversight…"

"Warning: The primary reactor has been compromised due to an overload triggered by Subject #12A. Secondary power systems are holding but are unstable. Evacuation routes to the surface remain operational for the next 12 hours only."

Day 474:

"This is Dr. Adrian Vega, head researcher. If anyone finds this, know that we tried to stop it. The Genesis Serum was never meant for this… the serum was corrupted, tainted by… something we didn't understand. The mutations aren't just physical—they're evolving. Thinking. Hunting. Dr. Holloway must not come here."

"Subject #12A... it's no longer contained. It's using the tunnels, moving between sectors. Avoid Sector 7 at all costs. We sealed it, but it won't hold for long."

Day 475:

"Final communication from Command: The Genesis Program has been classified as a global threat. Operation Clean Slate is authorized. Facility sterilization via orbital strike scheduled for 0600 hours."

"To whoever finds this: Humanity's survival depends on learning from our mistakes. If you can recover the Genesis Serum samples, data archives, and unfinished bioweapons, perhaps this nightmare can be undone. God help us all."

[ Warning: Emergency Lockdown Protocol Active ]

Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

[ Intrusion detected. Facility systems activating defensive measures. Hostile entities were detected in proximity to Laboratory Alpha. Proceed with caution. ]

The last message caused the team to exchange uneasy glances.

What they read just confirmed all of their suspicions. Shane, on the other hand, knew that the Genesis Project was most likely the World's Government Attempt to correct the mistake of the BioGenix Company in Project Z.

However, it seemed that instead of solving the problem, Project Genesis made the current virus worse and even mutated more Zombies into such terrifying beings!

Shane couldn't help but think that the System's Administrators or whoever they were working for had truly sabotaged this realm!

After all, they were simply too unlucky!

"Looks like we're walking into a trap," Lysandra muttered as her eyes scanned the darkened hallway ahead. She then took out some flashlights in her inventory and distributed them to others. They were only worth 10 Zombie Cores each in the store.

Well, although there were some lights guiding them, it was just not bright enough.

"Don't worry… This is more than a decade ago… Maybe even 30 to 40 years ago. Whatever it was, they're either dead or weakened after so long." Shane said, though he still reminded everyone to be careful.

Shane scanned the hallway as he was still not sensing any enemies ahead. It was definitely a good thing, but he was also worried that there could be something inside that was making him fail to detect them.

"Let's keep moving. There's more to this place…" Shane said as he confirmed that the entrance door was already locked and could not be moved.

Vernon and Kale placed various debris and even one of their broken swords to lock the door in place.

Soon, the group ventured deeper…

Then, it didn't take long before they noticed something off.

"I don't think this is a good sign." Lysandra muttered as she looked at the ceiling while pointing with her flashlight.

The others followed her gaze and the team began to notice strange growths along the walls—fleshy branches that pulsed faintly, as though alive.

"Uh oh…" Vernon gasped as he could finally imagine what kind of creature they were about to encounter.

At the same time, the air grew colder, and an unsettling hum vibrated through the facility, setting everyone's nerves on edge.

"Do you feel that?" Lysandra asked.

"Yeah," Vernon replied as he gripped his small shield tightly. This shield was something Shane had given to him to block those pouncing Infant Zombies a couple of days ago.

"It's like we're being watched." Kale added.

Shane's Faerie Insight, on the other hand, had always been active and spending Spirit Points every second. He wanted to ensure that he wouldn't miss any movements from possible enemies at all.

Soon, his persistence bore fruit as he detected faint energy signatures further ahead.

"Something's here," he said. "Something big." Shane said as he could only vaguely sense the aura.

As they continued moving forward, the corridor opened into a massive chamber filled with rows of containment pods. Most were shattered, their glass surfaces smeared with possibly dried blood and various matters he didn't want to know.

Whatever had been inside them was long gone—or lurking somewhere in the shadows. There's even a chance that whatever was inside was already eather by Subject 12A which was mentioned in the daily log.

Then, at the center of the chamber, there was a large, cylindrical device that was still active!

Indeed! It pulsed with a faint blue light. It was surrounded by consoles and data terminals, all of which were still operational.

"How is this still working?"

"This is amazing…"

Kale and Vernon muttered.

"But I didn't get any system notification for this discovery… What is the system thinking? Should we know more about this first?" Lysandra muttered as she thought that any huge discovery like this would trigger some sort of system notification and give them some kind of reward.

Nevertheless, she wasn't too disappointed as she knew that they were up to something.

"That must be the central hub," Shane said, nodding toward the device. "If there are answers about the virus—or a cure—they'll be in there."

"Let's grab what we can and get out of here," Kale said, his eyes scanning the darkness for movement.

As the team approached the hub, however, a groan of something living finally echoed through the chamber. Then, it was followed by the sound of heavy, dragging footsteps.

Shane tightened his grip on Stormpiercer Rifle… To his horror, even if the creature was too close, not even Cloud could sense it.

Cloud could only guess that it was emitting some sort of radiation that was blocking its sensors!

"Looks like we've got company…" Shane said as he calmed down.

He believed that they should be fine since this creature shouldn't be strong enough to destroy the steel door!

"Get ready." He added.