The vaccines brought out from the dense forest took Professor Ni and his team several days just to analyze.
But some things can't be solved with instruments alone. Without live experiments, no conclusion would ever come. After days of staring at the data without progress, Professor Ni finally suggested, "Let's stop wasting time. If we keep analyzing like this, we'll never find anything. It'd be faster if we tested directly on animals. That way we'll know the results sooner."
A researcher frowned. "But all the info we got came from those humanoid mutants in the forest. Nobody actually knows the full picture. If something goes wrong…"
Before he could finish, Professor Ni cut him off. "The machines can't tell us anything anyway. Data always needs live experiments before it's useful. Testing directly won't hurt, and besides, we don't have time to keep studying these numbers."
The middle-aged professor who'd arrived with him, Wang Zhenhai, spoke up. "How about this, let's file a request with the higher-ups. Once they decide, we'll know what to do next. What do you all think?"
Everyone thought about it and nodded. "Alright then. Professor Wang, I'll draft the request now."
At the moment, only the Capital city base was fit for people to live in, so the higher-ups all stayed there as well. The second they received Wang Zhenhai's request, they called a meeting to discuss whether to start direct experiments on mutants.
The meeting dragged from three in the afternoon until ten at night. The final decision came down: approved.
When Professor Ni heard the news, he was ecstatic. "I knew they'd agree. Of course the base would want to know what effect this vaccine really has."
After all, there were people in leadership who already knew what was inside those vials. Nobody wants to die, especially not when power and wealth are at stake. Even in the apocalypse. No, it's because of the apocalypse that the desire to live only grows stronger. In short, things unfolded exactly the way Professor Ni had predicted.
The next morning, he prepared everything. A white lab mouse was strapped onto the testing table. Some staff nearby didn't understand. "Professor, isn't this vaccine supposed to treat mutants? Does it even work if we inject it into a mouse?"
"It'll work. What if the vaccine has other components? Better to test on harmless animals first. If nothing happens, then we'll move on to mutants. That way it's safer."
In truth, mouse genes are very close to humans. This vaccine had always been intended for human use, so naturally a mouse was the right subject. This was a thrilling moment, and Professor Ni didn't want to leave it to anyone else. He personally drew the dose, then personally injected it into the mouse.
As the little body started thrashing harder and harder, his excitement only grew. He thought, once all these reactions pass, maybe the effect will appear. But when the mouse finally went still, countless tentacles burst from its every opening and immediately wrapped around the closest person: Professor Ni.
Wang Zhenhai had been standing right beside him, just as excited. But even in that excitement, his prestige couldn't match Professor Ni's, so he'd ended up standing slightly behind him. Because of that, he dodged the first deadly strike.
The rest of the professors froze in horror. They bolted for the door, but the tentacles stretched farther and struck harder with every second. Several were killed instantly.
Wang Zhenhai wasn't so lucky anymore. One tendril snagged his leg, yanked him back, then all the others pierced into his body.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Zhenhai was no longer himself. The tentacles had taken him.
The mouse's body had been weak, so earlier attacks were easier to dodge. But once the tendrils nested inside Wang Zhenhai, they became monstrously fast. He tore through anyone in sight.
The lab's security was tight. Everyone had to pass verification one by one to get out, and the second the emergency system kicked in, all doors sealed shut. Nobody could move.
The professors weren't soldiers, much less superpowers. Trapped in the lab, they had no chance to resist.
In the end, everyone was left inside.
…
Once there were no survivors, the parasitic tentacles didn't stay put. They scuttled through the lab below.
The base kept more than humans here. Mutant creatures were caged too. They weren't all on one floor, but no floor contained only a single kind either. For convenience, all specimens needed for research had been placed on the same level.
The tentacles found their targets fast.
The doors couldn't be opened normally, but that didn't matter. Their destructive force tore through the locks in no time. Creatures have their own ways of communicating. Soon, the mutants followed the tentacles out. More cages broke. The swarm grew. And those vials of vaccine sitting on tables? Shattered and swallowed by the beasts.
Before long, every mutant on the floor was howling in agony.
…
Outside, alarms blared. Survivors still trapped were quickly pulled out. Everyone else was ordered to shut doors and windows tight. Only then were the superpowers sent to surround the lab.
At least the lab was far from the residential and commercial zones. There was no risk of anything spilling out to where people lived. But nobody outside knew what exactly had happened yet. From beyond the walls, the screams and roars drifting out made the blood run cold.
The superpowers had no idea what was going on inside. But the higher-ups were watching the surveillance feed.
On screen, every mutant body had tentacles bursting from it. Faces turned grim.
And this… this was something they'd never seen before. A brand-new nightmare.
Captain Zhang muttered, "Feels like someone's setting us up. Otherwise, how could the timing be so perfect?"