Chapter 59 – MetaCraft Cybernetics (6)
The fourth space was a facility building, not a research building.
It was similar that there was a large hall, but instead of laboratories, there were various facility rooms on both sides.
As soon as we entered the hall, we started searching from the second floor. The two-person squad members quickly climb the stairs.
A scream was heard from the second floor when about 2 teams disappeared from sight and the 3rd team went up.
“Kee-“
It got cut off in the middle.
Puck! Puck! Quick!
There was a sound of several people banging on one another, and one of the infected was thrown into the hall on the first floor.
Thud!
When he fell, he could not get up, only wriggling as if his neck bones were broken. In fact, other parts were also broken here and there.
“Keruk…”
He spurted bubbles of blood and vigorously stirred his arms and legs along with his bent neck, but he was only cleaning the floor.
Kwajik!
There is silence when one of the squad members who got close stepped on the head and broke it.
“Khehe-!”
A shadow rose from a corner of the hall.
It is a female infection in a researcher’s outfit, and black and thick blood vessels stand out in places like a rotten old tree.
The skirt she is wearing is all ripped, exposing her vagina.
But if there’s a guy who sees that and feels erotic, he’s a madman.
It was because there was a snake-like tentacle sticking out where the vagina should be.
“Shhh-!”
It even made a snake-like noise.
From the end of the tentacle attached to the pubic area, something round moved in a curve.
It is as if a snake that swallowed a mouse is regenerating in reverse.
I fired without waiting any longer.
Several holes were pierced through the head of the female infected and she fell backwards, but that was not the end.
“Kiriririk-!”
“Kirik-!”
“Kiririk-!”
Tentacles attached to the vagina constantly spewed out little monsters from its mouth. It was a lamprey that I had seen in the previous research building.
They jumped and sprang out in all directions, but before long they were shot and exploded.
Dozens of bullets also flew near the belly of the dead female infected.
“Stop shooting.”
After confirming that it was sufficiently mop and ordering to stop, some squad members approached the body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just in case, I trampled on the womb that had become porridge and the sagging tentacles.
These two were the only infected in the 5th area.
[I found the disaster prevention room.]
A squad member reported.
The disaster prevention room, as the name suggests, means a place to prevent disasters.
Control of fire hydrants and sprinklers installed in case of fire.
An air conditioning facility that circulates air during normal times, but quickly releases toxic gases to the outside in case of fire.
Important facilities such as lighting control and surveillance camera video management are concentrated.
For convenience, sewage treatment and air conditioning control systems that are not related to disaster prevention are also brought together to act as a control tower for the entire facility.
Due to its uniqueness, this laboratory turns into a disaster prevention room and a command and control room in case of emergency.
Thanks to this, the entrance is not a normal door, but a thick and strong iron door that can only be run on a safe.
The corpses of soldiers and infected were scattered everywhere, as if the last stand had taken place here.
A scientist’s corpse lies in front of the disaster prevention room entrance.
When I pull the employee ID that is hung in the form of a necklace, it gets caught on the neck and the skeleton shakes.
“Clinical trial chief researcher, Chang Chun-soo.”
[The scientist who worked with the defense commander here.]
The corpses of soldiers scattered here show many traces of gunshot wounds, as if there had been a friendly accident during the melee.
He approached the entrance to the disaster prevention room and spoke in front of the authentication machine.
“Open the door.”
With the authentication at the entrance, the commander’s registration should have been completed.
But the door did not open.
Beep-!
A negative beep sounded.
[Command denied. Warning. A number of unregistered personnel and deaths were detected within this facility. A contact has been sent to the designated military unit in accordance with security protocols. You will not be allowed to enter the disaster prevention room until the problem is resolved. All employees, please cooperate when the 5-minute combat stand-by unit arrives.]
An ARS female voice echoed from the speaker.
I looked around at the robots who were on guard.
“You don’t see them as unregistered people, do you?”
Could the system be so lax?
[No. It looks like the infection remains.]
Artemis said.
“On the map, the underground research center ends at Research Building 5. All the time I came this far, everything that wasn’t a white bone came with a bullet hole in the head.”
I turned my gaze to Research Building 5. A dimly visible hall through a dark tunnel.
“You mean there are still people in there?”
[Maybe.]
I checked the minimap on my PDA. It was the data I received when I first authenticated at the entrance of the underground laboratory.
The fifth and last research building is large, more than twice the size of the other research buildings.
I took out a flash grenade from my waistband and held it up.
I also got a handful of squad members equipped with flash grenades along with me.
According to the data, the deepest research building 5 was the core area.
Nerve acceleration to think and move quickly while the world is slowing down.
It is a technology so powerful that the military pays great attention to it and illegally supports research.
Can’t we miss the most important purpose of coming here?
‘Their neural reaction speed can be accelerated up to 2.5 times that of normal people. I can’t imagine what kind of terrible monsters will be created if they are exposed to infectious agents and mutate.’
The audio recording reminded me of what the researcher had said and the empty bench in Lab H1-3. Even soldiers who died because their limbs were almost torn.
It seems that the result lies beyond that dark passage.
[It’s okay to go back here.]
Artemis said.
“Leave the most important thing?”
[‘I have no intention of ignoring the danger of the infected, but there are no variables outside of combat.’]
What I said before departure was played back.
[Infectious organism fused with the latest technology from the laboratory. This is an external variable, but also an internal variable. We didn’t even consider this before we set off. There’s no guarantee that what’s out there is exactly what we need. The risk is higher than the expected reward.]
“Hmm.”
What she said is quite right.
After thinking for a while, I made up my mind.
Pick!
I pulled out the safety pin of the flash grenade.
Pick! Pick! Pick! Pick! Pick!
When I pulled out the safety pin, the waiting squad members pulled out their safety pins in unison. Of course, the safety handle is not released and is in a state of waiting.
I thought about just going back here, but it’s too bad that I came all the way here and left the final reward.
And compared to the poorly trained reservists, this side is a bunch of robot soldiers with bodies of steel and the best fighting skills.
“Sorry, I have to see the end.”
[I knew that.]
Artemis said as if she couldn’t stop.
One flash grenade flew all the way to the end of the aisle.
And after a while
Boom!
Although not as good as a grenade, a white flash filled the tunnel beyond with a considerable explosion sound.
“Kyaooooo-!”
A scream quite different from that of ordinary infected.
At the far end of the aisle, black silhouettes stood up.
“Next.”
A second flashbang went off.
Boom!
The louder screams were full of anger and murderous intent.
A third flash grenade flew there.
“Kyao-“
Boom!
The screams were cut off with the third explosion.
A fourth flashbang flies with him.
This is the use of the flash grenade that I liked to use in my unit.
It’s one or two shots before rushing in. Enemies expect it all, and it’s hard to cause much confusion with that alone.
It is to keep throwing sequentially so that the enemies in the ambush are completely paralyzed from thinking, “Is this enough?”
Of course, that’s only when dealing with humans, and I have no intention of attacking the place where the unknown monster is hiding.
Boom!
By the time the fourth flashbang went off, they seemed to have figured out where this annoying attack was coming from.
A burning gaze glared at me from the end of the aisle, then charged at breakneck speed.
After dumping the remaining flash grenade, everyone’s muzzle fired without saying who was first.
The same situation as when a large group of infected was wiped out in the previous research wing.
But there was a problem. The speed of approach was too fast. Besides,
“It moves in a zigzag!”
They didn’t rush thoughtlessly like other infestations, but approached by moving with a sharp edge.
Contrary to popular perception, in a real battle where bullets come and go, such a movement only lowers mobility and is nothing more than an idiot.
However, they were moving at tremendous speed, so they were truly threatening.
I hadn’t even emptied half of the magazine, but it was already right in front of the squad member who was shooting from the front.
It moves so fast that it seems like it disappears and then reappears.
“Damn it, I heard it’s up to 2.5x!”
Wherever you look at that, it’s 2.5 times.
[Back off!]
Before Artemis’ warning, I was already falling back.
The squad members around me stepped in front of me, building a wall of steel layer by layer.
“Kuweek-!”
The one who ran in the lead was hit by so many bullets that he fell down as soon as he reached us. The problem is that one guy wasn’t the end.
Another entity came through the hail of bullets and swung his hand.
Zeng!
With a strong impact, sparks flew from the neck of one of the squad members, causing his left arm to hang limp. This is because the oil pressure device leading to the left arm was destroyed.
But this steel doll knows neither pain nor embarrassment.
He fired at the mutant with his healthy right arm.
Bang bang bang!
Even though it was a single-armed shot, there was no flaw except for a slight shake, but the guy did evasive maneuvers by frantically moving left and right.
It’s hard to even follow the movement with my own eyes, let alone shoot it.
It is impossible even for a security robot to hit this with one-handed shooting.
Kwak!
He was struck in the neck a second time before firing the fourth shot.
Grunt.
The steel grip loosened and the K2 rifle fell to the ground. Both arms’ oil presses were destroyed.
“That hand.”
Their fingers were more than twice as long as humans, and the entirety of them had a metallic dark blue glow and were sharp like blades.
Bullets flying from all sides made him collapse as a beehive.
“Grrrr”
No matter how fast they moved, they were outnumbered and possessed both composure and excellent marksmanship.
However, once attached, many shootings are restricted due to the risk of friendly error. A crack was forming right there.
A member of the squad raised his gun to block his hand from aiming for his throat.
Blasphemy!
When the bladed finger of the mutant infected stopped halfway through the barrel and bullet sheath, it counterattacked by swinging the stock in that state.
The butt that he swung aiming at his chin cut through the air.
Crouching on all fours like a frog, the mutant jumped up and attacked the squad mate as if gaining momentum.
Just like that, the two of them are entangled in one lump.
It is a variant that took the mount posture.
Kang!
Kang!
Kwadeuk!
They swung their hands like mad and scratched, and the squad members raised their arms to defend their necks and faces.
The guy who fired a mount punch, or rather a mount scratch, to support fire from all directions immediately fell into a rag.
The squad member who was lying down stood up and took out the second rifle he was carrying on his back.
He avoided fatal wounds, but his left hand had only three fingers left, and his right hand was half-cut and dangling, making it difficult to aim properly.
Besides, he couldn’t even fire a single shot anyway.
Kwajik!
Because blade-like fingers protruded from the back of his neck.
As it slides to the side, loud sparks fly and the robot sits motionless in its seat.
Beyond that, a strain that retrieves a hand is visible.
Another squad member in the immediate vicinity opened fire, but nothing was already there.
He fired again, but even that missed, and the third time he tried to shoot, he allowed the approach.
Kwajik!
The K2 rifle, which I reflexively lifted and blocked, broke in two. Perhaps deciding that it would be unreasonable to take out the spare gun on the back at this distance, the squad members rushed in and attempted a hand-to-hand combat.
But the attempt was thwarted.
It was because another mutant suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed his right arm, as if he had used the axis method. The variant I was originally aiming for grabbed my left arm.
Clumsy!
The two mutants, holding one arm on each side, blurted out, and the squad member’s arms were pulled out.
Yellow sparks flew madly from the cut surface.
The squad member, who was looking around without fighting ability, was decapitated by the mutant’s grip that flew in the next moment.
But we weren’t just helpless.
It was a short engagement, but quickly built a counter tactic.
All troops, except for the part escorting me, spread out and lowered their stance, eliminating the risk of accidental death by allies.
Squad members who allow access will firmly defend vital points even if they are attacked more or less.
The K2 rifle I used as a shield was destroyed in an instant, but it was okay because I had more spares on my back.
The attacking variants had to be monotonous, and in the gap, support fire was fired from the side and rear outside the field of view.
It was a tactic based on allowing the infected to approach and attack at a certain level, so it would not have been feasible if it were a human platoon.
It was understood that the original garrison had been annihilated against these guys, and that half had been killed by friendly fire.
“Kyarreureuk-!”
The battle ended with the last variant becoming a beehive and falling down.
After looking beyond the dark tunnel for a while, I authenticated once again in front of the disaster prevention room, and the door opened this time.
That would mean that all dangers in the underground laboratory have been eliminated.
The total number of mutant infected that underwent remodeling was 12.
After leading the robot soldiers, it was not a unilateral destruction, but a battle like a battle that I experienced for the first time.
There was a loss here too, but it is acceptable.
3 security robots disabled, 2 combat efficiency reduced to less than half, 8 lightly damaged.
Damaged 11 K2 service rifles.
In the meantime, there was a bar where these steel soldiers were considered immortal because they had an overwhelming advantage over normal infected.
I thought that if I was in formation and equipped with a fire net, I would be able to wipe it out without much damage, but I think I underestimated the element of being an unpredictable enemy.
This is the part to reflect on.
[Welcome to the room, Commander Seo Jin-soo.]
When the door to the emergency room was opened, the control systems inside came into view.
What was found inside was a dead body sitting in an officer’s chair.
He was wearing a military uniform with two stars on it, and under his limp right hand lay a handgun and a freshly smoked Marlboro cigarette.
