chapter_0204

203 – The Guy is Daniel Steiner

203 – The Guy is Daniel Steiner

Daniel Steiner pulled a flashlight from his pocket and pressed the power button, emitting a fan-shaped beam of light.

Although the low brightness gave a somewhat dark feeling, it was sufficient to identify objects.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel descended the stairs.

After a while, a narrow and deep corridor came into view.

Shining the flashlight toward the end of the corridor, he spotted a steel door.

Instinctively sensing that it was the entrance to the laboratory, Daniel moved forward slowly.

Even while walking, he kept his eyes darting around, not allowing himself to relax.

‘The power seems to be out since there’s no light, but the bulbs are installed at regular intervals. Why make the corridor so narrow when they cared about convenience?’

The corridor was so narrow that two people couldn’t run side by side.

As he pondered the reason, Daniel reached the steel door and came to a conclusion.

‘There are traces of dried blood on the walls. Judging by the pattern of the splattered blood, someone was shot here. That means…’

It could be inferred that the straight corridor structure was intentionally designed to easily handle those trying to escape from the laboratory.

Daniel, shaking his head at the Allied Nations’ mindset, turned off the flashlight and grasped the handle of the steel door, pulling it.

Creeeak—

The steel door began to open.

To prepare for any unforeseen accidents, he used the gap of the open door to peek inside, but there was no sign of life.

After waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Daniel suddenly flung the door wide open and quickly scanned his surroundings.

Confirming once again that no one was there, Daniel let out a sigh of relief and turned the flashlight back on.

‘No one is here. Have they abandoned the laboratory?’

The laboratory he examined through the flashlight’s beam was a complete mess.

Glass ampoules, syringes, microscopes, torn documents, and all sorts of glass bottles were haphazardly strewn across the desk.

Among them, the most striking was a cylindrical, vertically structured chamber.

It looked like a glass container large enough for a person to fit inside, and underneath the chamber, a tangle of unknown wires was connected haphazardly.

‘What on earth is this…’

He couldn’t even guess what such a bizarre thing was made for.

After staring at the chamber for a while, Daniel shifted his gaze to another area.

After a moment of contemplation, he walked toward the area marked with the phrase 【Test Subject Area】.

As he entered, the smell of old mold sharpened his senses.

Covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, Daniel looked around.

‘This place…’

He saw beds with leather straps for restraining human bodies scattered here and there.

Underneath them, used syringes were carelessly lying around.

Clothes and shoes that appeared to belong to the test subjects were also present.

‘Disgusting bastards…’

Thinking that Lucy had lived in such a place made him feel a surge of anger.

Clenching his fists tightly, Daniel soon regained his composure.

‘Calm down. The reason I’m here is to uncover the truth behind the Lucy Project.’

Recalling his original purpose, Daniel discovered a place labeled 【Records Archive】 within the Test Subject Area.

As he entered, a spacious room filled with dozens of shelves came into view.

Noticing the documents densely packed on the shelves, Daniel picked one at random to check.

“……Experiment Report for Subject 37?”

Beneath the label that read Experiment Report was a large red stamp that said 【DISCARD】.

‘Could it be that all the documents here…’

Were the numbers of test subjects that had passed through the laboratory.

Daniel, swallowing hard, wandered around the records archive in search of Lucy’s report.

It wasn’t long before he found a document labeled 【Subject 187】.

Carefully opening the document, a report was revealed.

─────────

Document Number: KZZ – FS – 013

Date of Creation: April 11, 1932

Classification: Top Secret

Subject Information

Code Name: Subject 187

Place of Birth: Unknown, presumed to be an imperial citizen

Gender/Age: Female/8 years old

Health Status: Good

Special Notes: Mana response speed is the best among current subjects

─────────

‘If it’s from 1932…’

This was an event that occurred about 13 years ago.

‘They conducted human experiments on a mere 8-year-old child.’

Feeling a wave of discomfort, Daniel turned the page.

─────────

『May 15, 1932』

No questions were raised regarding the purpose of the experiment, thus classified as an excellent subject.

『June 17, 1932』

Initial Factor injection commenced, with mild biological rejection response.

Complained of headaches and intermittent vomiting, but it was minor compared to other subjects.

『July 10, 1932』

Speech significantly decreased.

Expressed blind rage towards the researchers, but it was not a major concern.

Research continued, and she became accustomed to the Factor injection.

『August 7, 1932』

Due to orders from above to produce results, it was decided to utilize the subject’s emotions.

Research findings indicated that Factor manifestation was related to anger and sadness.

Attempted to form an emotional bond by pairing Subject 187 with sociable Subject 96.

『October 13, 1932』

Confirmed the formation of intimacy between Subject 96 and Subject 187.

When the appropriate time comes, Subject 96 will be disposed of to induce emotional changes.

『November 21, 1932』

Subject 187 began to refer to Subject 96 as a ‘friend.’

Judged that intimacy formation was complete, Subject 96 was ‘disposed of.’

Upon being informed of this, Subject 187 was engulfed in despair.

Despair led to manifestation.

Confirmed the appearance of red light in the retinas of Subject 187, who was venting her fury and demanding the return of Subject 96.

No physical rejection response was observed, indicating it was a manifestation of the Factor.

『November 22, 1932』

During the Factor injection process, Subject 187 went on a rampage.

Soldiers attempted to restrain her, but it was insufficient.

After sacrificing eight soldiers, she was successfully bound.

The strength and magical power exhibited were unbelievable for a child.

Felt that the experiment had succeeded.

Our research team reported this news to the higher-ups.

Ah, is this finally the end of these horrific days?

─────────

The report concluded with a hastily scrawled handwriting at the end.

After reading the entire report, Daniel’s eyes were calm, but an unknown emotion lurked within.

Clenching his teeth, Daniel paused for a moment before folding the report.

He then fell into deep thought.

‘If I calm down and think about it, there are many strange points.’

Why did the Allied Nations not erase these records and continue to keep them here?

Why was the steel door left open?

Why hadn’t they replaced the rusty lock?

His thoughts spiraled, eventually stopping at one point.

‘It’s a trap.’

A trap to keep Daniel Steiner here.

With that judgment, Daniel’s eyes narrowed sharply.

–

At the same time, a squad dressed in Allied Nations uniforms stormed into the laboratory.

One of the squad members, Orem, who was moving as quietly as possible, turned back and said.

“Lieutenant, aren’t we just the advance team to report Daniel Steiner’s location?”

Lieutenant Hamilton nodded.

“We reported the location, right? The main force will soon conduct a large-scale assault using Etherium. What’s the problem?”

“……Wouldn’t it be better to leave the subduing of Daniel Steiner to the assault team?”

“If we leave it to them, we won’t get any credit. Do you know how valuable Daniel Steiner’s head is? Don’t you want your medals?”

Orem bit his lip at Hamilton’s response.

“He’s a Neural Acceleration Ability User. Are you aware of that?”

“Yeah. But Neural Acceleration isn’t invincible, is it? Besides, we’re in a surprise attack position. He might not even be able to use his Neural Acceleration properly in a panic, right?”

While that wasn’t incorrect, Orem couldn’t shake the feeling that Hamilton was using them as disposable pawns.

The squad leader, Orem, sighed quietly but nodded.

He thought there was no need for unnecessary arguments since they would soon enter the laboratory.

A moment later, the squad entered through the open door of the laboratory, exchanging hand signals.

─ Search in pairs; report immediately if you find Daniel Steiner or any anomalies.

Hearing the squad leader Orem’s command, the squad members nodded and dispersed into different areas.

Orem also entered the Test Subject Area with one of the members.

At the same time, Orem and his squad member fell silent.

The acrid smell was spreading, and the traces of experiments loomed ominously.

But soon, Orem regained his composure and signaled for a search.

After confirming that a squad member had entered the records archive, Orem remained vigilant.

Then it happened.

Thud—

Immediately after hearing the sound of something crashing down, a squad member’s dying scream echoed.

Startled, Orem immediately ran toward the records archive.

“Sevilat!”

He shouted the squad member’s name, but there was no response.

Thinking the worst, Orem entered the records archive and broke into a cold sweat.

A beam of flashlight light was seeping from the corner beyond the shelves, and the opposite door of the records archive was open.

‘Did he kill Sevilat and escape through the other side?’

With tension gripping him, Orem tightly grasped his rifle and moved cautiously, wary of Daniel bursting through the door.

Reaching the far end of the archive, Orem discovered Sevilat, who was collapsed and choking.

Next to him lay the flashlight.

Just as Orem was convinced it was the work of Daniel Steiner and reached for his radio—

Click—

He felt the coldness of metal against the back of his neck.

It was the muzzle of a revolver.

‘Didn’t he escape outside the records archive?’

While Orem was bewildered, a chilling voice came from behind him.

“Looking at the shoulder epaulet, you must be the squad leader.”

Emerging from the darkness, Daniel quietly continued.

“If you don’t want to die, follow my orders from now on.”