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Chapter 17: Survivors?
🕑 Added 2025-07-15 10:05:35 +0000 UTCAfter the two of them had rested until the cold mist from the nitrogen faded along with their fatigue, Owen and Rosy decided to set off again. They ventured deeper into the underground research facility with a single goal: to find a cure for the parasite embedded in Rosy's body in time, before it fully incubated. Every step was filled with caution and a glimmer of hope.
Surprisingly, the deeper they went into this underground structure, the more the environment changed, as if it were a different world. The rusty corridors and cracked concrete walls had now transformed into clean hallways. The smooth walls were lined with white LED light strips, and the air was cool and completely dry. There wasn't even a speck of dust or debris on the floor. Each door was a modern electronic system, complete with a fingerprint scanner and a digital control panel.
However, this modernity came with maximum security. Many rooms were securely locked. Some doors required a password, some needed a keycard, or even a retinal scan. Therefore, Owen and Rosy could only explore the few unlocked rooms, most of which were empty, containing only bare desks, open sample boxes, or documents filled with scientific equations and diagrams too complex to understand.
As the two were walking past a junction that led deep into the shadows, a scream filled with utter terror suddenly erupted from the right, followed by the low growl of a mutated parasite and the chaotic sound of someone running for their life.
"Help! Somebody, help us!" a hoarse shout echoed through the silent corridor.
Owen and Rosy exchanged a brief glance before immediately rushing towards the source of the sound. When they turned the corner, they saw a group of three people, one man and two women, in a state of exhaustion, running for their lives from a pursuing mutated parasite. It ran on all fours with terrifying speed, its body low to the ground like a reptile. The antennae on its head twitched frantically to track the sound, and it growled with hunger as it closed in on them with every moment.
“Just one…” Owen muttered to himself before nodding to Rosy as a signal, then rushed out to block its path without hesitation.
With the experience gained from his training at Nova's gym, Owen didn't just charge in recklessly. He used his excellent control over his body's movements, running to intercept the mutated parasite and then narrowly dodging the attack from its sharp claws as they swiped straight at him. The tips of its claws missed his face by a mere inch.
In the moment the creature was off-balance from its missed attack, Owen twisted his torso to its limit, generating immense force that he sent into the steel pipe in his hand. It became a blur in the air before smashing into the parasite's temple with full force! This was followed by the horrifying sound of a bone-cracking 'CRUNCH~'. The creature's body was sent flying sideways from the violent blow.
Owen didn't let the opportunity slip away. He leaped after it and frantically slammed the steel pipe down on its head again and again. Thick, black blood splattered with each swing until its skull finally caved in and it lay completely still.
Silence fell once more, with only Owen's heavy breathing echoing in the hallway, before the sound of light footsteps came from behind. The three survivors and Rosy, who had run to join him, stared at Owen with a mixture of awe, fear, and relief.
A middle-aged woman with messy hair in a blood-stained lab coat murmured with a trembling voice, "You… you just saved our lives…"
Meanwhile, a young blonde woman in a nurse's uniform could only let out a sigh of relief before slumping to the floor in exhaustion.
Owen used the back of his hand to wipe the sticky blood from his face and turned to speak to them with a faint smile to break the tension. "You're safe now... But who are you, exactly? Survivors? Or... researchers from this place?"
The messy-haired woman in the blood-stained lab coat answered first. She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “My name is Jane. I'm a senior researcher in the biogenetics development unit. And this is Mark,” she nodded towards the middle-aged man standing silently beside her, who was wearing an equally tattered lab coat. “He's the head of mutation analysis. We've both worked here since the research center opened.”
Mark gave Owen a slight nod, his eyes filled with a deep exhaustion, but with a spark of intellect that had not yet been extinguished.
Then, the young woman in the nurse's uniform, who was leaning against the wall, raised her hand slightly. “My name is Anna... I was a nurse at this hospital…” she paused to swallow in her dry throat before continuing in a faint voice, “...until... that thing got out.”
Her words made the recently relaxed atmosphere tense up again. Owen and Rosy looked at each other, their expressions immediately turning serious.
“What do you mean... ‘that thing’?” Rosy shot back, her voice tinged with a suspicion and curiosity she couldn't hide.
Jane let out a long sigh, her eyes gazing aimlessly into the darkness, as if replaying a past nightmare. “We still don't know the exact reason why the test subjects escaped from containment. But over the past two months, they've evolved at a terrifyingly rapid pace, defying all principles of biology we've ever learned. We used to have over three hundred staff and researchers stationed here…”
Mark interjected with a heavy, bitter voice, “...but now, as far as we know, we are all that's left… just the three of us.” The atmosphere instantly fell silent. The silence was so oppressive and heavy that even each person's breathing could be heard clearly.
“At first, we thought it was just a mistake,” Jane continued, her voice trembling slightly. “But soon they began to mutate in unpredictable ways. More ferocious, stronger, and with terrifying predatory instincts. They started to breed, lay eggs, and spread their larvae through the ventilation ducts... We were just scientists and doctors. We had no weapons, no combat skills, not even a contingency plan... Everything happened too fast…”
Rosy unconsciously hugged her arms, her eyes showing clear dread.
“And it didn't just stay in the underground research center anymore,” Mark added, clenching his fists tightly. “We detected their biological signals spreading to several areas of the west wing of the hospital. There's data indicating they are trying to infiltrate the main sewage system. And if they manage to get out into the outside world…”
He didn't continue, but everyone present understood the meaning. Mark's eyes were filled with anger and despair. “...it's the end of everything. Doomsday will arrive, and every human will become one of them…”
After listening to the whole story, Owen nodded slowly. He stood up straight. “So what's your plan?”
Jane nodded in response, a little hope returning to her eyes. “We're trying to get to the main server room to access all the experimental data, then find a way to stop the spread of the mutated parasites, as well as destroy their nest on the lowest level of the research center... but we're not strong enough to get there…”
She turned to look at Owen directly, her eyes reflecting hope. “And you… Owen, you can fight them! You could probably get us through them to the server room, right?”
“Maybe,” Owen shrugged honestly. “If they come one or two at a time, I can handle it. But if they come in a swarm, I'll have to run too. You don't think I'm a superhero, do you?” He gave a slight smirk to break the overly tense atmosphere.
His joke worked. Rosy suppressed a smile and squeezed his hand tighter for encouragement. Jane also managed a faint smile, even though her face was extremely weary. “That's more than enough... Better than having no one who can fight at all. Right now, we have no other choice but to work together…”
Anna, who had been quiet for a long time, added in a soft but firm voice, “That's right… If we work together, at least there's hope…”
Mark, seeing everyone regaining their morale, smiled slightly. “It's not just us who have to survive, but all of humanity outside as well. If we can succeed with this plan, we'll be no different from those superheroes…”
Owen nodded resolutely. He glanced at Rosy for a moment before turning back to face the group of researchers. “Alright. We'll work together to stop them.” He tapped the steel pipe in his hand against his other palm lightly, his eyes determined.
Although in his heart, Owen wasn't thinking about humanity at all. Everything that was happening in this place was created by the power of the Dimensional Gate of Chaos. It might be a real place and a real event happening on another world, in another dimension, or it might just be a simulation created by the gate. No one could know for sure.
Therefore, Owen was only interested in clearing this sub-dimension to return to his world, and that clearing condition might just be finding a way to stop the spread of the mutated parasites.
After the five of them agreed to cooperate to stop the mutated parasite outbreak, Owen didn't hesitate to bring up the most important problem for him. He knew that even if they could eventually stop the outbreak throughout the research center, if he couldn't save Rosy's life, he would never forgive himself!
“Before we begin the main mission...” Owen began, his voice grim, his eyes heavy as if he had been contemplating this for a long time. “...I have to ask first, do you have any way to treat a parasite larva embedded in a person's body?”
The question immediately caught everyone's attention. Jane and Mark turned to look at him almost in unison, their expressions shifting from curiosity to tension. Anna flinched slightly. The eyes of all three immediately showed suspicion. Not because they didn't want to help, but because they knew all too well the risk of being near an infected person.
“What do you mean?” Mark asked back, his face instantly tensing. A muscle in his cheek twitched slightly, indicating his growing anxiety.
Owen let out a soft sigh and turned to look at Rosy, who was standing quietly beside him. She lowered her head slightly as if to avoid everyone's gaze. Her posture indicated she knew she was becoming a burden to the team, but she stood there firmly, not running, not scared, because she had Owen by her side.
“Rosy... she was embedded with a parasite larva a few hours ago,” he began to speak slowly but steadily. “We don't know when it managed to attack her, but I'm sure it's still in the early stages. It can't control her body right now.”
Suddenly, Jane's expression changed. Her face turned pale, as did Mark's and Anna's. The three of them instinctively took a step back. It was an automatic reaction from people who had seen their colleagues transform into monsters.
“Don't tell me... she's about to be controlled by it?” Anna said, her voice trembling.
“Not yet,” Owen quickly confirmed again. “I've been monitoring her condition constantly. She still has full control of herself. She still feels, she's still conscious, and if I'm not mistaken, there are still two to three hours left before the parasite begins to show full neurological domination.”
The tension in the air eased slightly, but the wariness did not disappear. Everyone knew that trusting someone with a parasite in their body was not easy.
Jane was silent for a moment before speaking in a steady voice, though tinged with hesitation. “There is a way to treat her... We once developed a prototype machine specifically for treating this kind of parasite infection.”
Owen's brow furrowed instantly, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “What kind of machine?”
“We call it the E.R.D. Chamber, or its full name, the Electro-Radiation Disruptor,” Jane explained. “It's a special chamber that uses targeted radiation at a specific frequency to degrade and destroy the cellular structure of the parasite during its larval stage, without damaging human brain tissue.”
Owen's eyes widened instantly, his lips slightly parted, his eyes full of a spark of hope. “And where is this machine?”
“It's in the lab at the far end of the west wing of this underground level,” Jane replied without hesitation. “But I must warn you, it's still just a prototype. It has not been tested on humans, and it requires specific knowledge to activate and configure the system. Otherwise, the machine might malfunction, and that could cause permanent brain damage to the patient… or worse...”
Owen turned to look at Rosy again. Her eyes undeniably reflected a mixture of fear and hope. She swallowed hard but slowly nodded at Owen.
“Fortunately, I was one of the designers of that machine. I know how to operate it, even though I've never activated it on a human before. Therefore, the estimated success rate of the treatment might only be around 60-70%…” Jane added with a confidence mixed with a little concern.
“If it gives me a chance to be cured...” Rosy spoke up for the first time, her voice trembling slightly but firm. “...I'm willing to risk using that machine. It's better than becoming one of those disgusting parasites!” she said decisively, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Owen reached out and took her hand. The firm squeeze of his hand transmitted a steady warmth to her. His eyes turned to the group of researchers. “Then let's go there,” he said in a heavy voice. “Before her time runs out…”
He turned to look at Mark and Anna. “Are you guys okay if we treat Rosy first?”
Mark nodded immediately without hesitation. “Even though the data collection mission is important, without you, we wouldn't be able to break through to the server room anyway.”
“That's right,” Anna added. “Rosy is one of us now. If we can help, we must help. This isn't about any one person, but all of us.”
Those words made Owen feel a little relieved. Even though the situation hadn't improved, the fact that no one objected was enough. He squeezed Rosy's hand tighter and turned to nod at Jane.
“Lead the way,” he said.
This small team was about to begin a new mission, a mission with the hope of humanity at stake, and the time remaining was dwindling with every moment...
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