The first thing was the signal jamming. That, of course, did not need much explanation. While many companies would not go that far, it was not unusual for certain highly classified research bases to do exactly that.
But after infiltrating this place, Natasha had encountered people who gave her a strange feeling.
She had the sense that some of them were even stronger than the personnel trained at enormous cost by the organization she came from.
It was just that their specialties were different.
And after entering the ventilation ducts, what had originally seemed like a direct route downward gradually made her realize something unsettling.
Every step she took felt as if it had already been designed in advance.
It was as though an invisible hand was urging her onward.
Still, after walking for quite a while, she suddenly noticed a faint light ahead that looked different from the darkness around her. Looking back at the duct she had been crawling through the whole way, then at the light in the distance, Natasha gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep going.
When she reached the top of the ventilation shaft and looked through the slatted vent cover, Natasha discovered a place that resembled some kind of biological recovery facility.
Below her were countless cultivation pods she had never seen before, all releasing cold white vapor.
The reason she could tell what they were was because each pod was connected to several thick tubes, while electronic panels beside them displayed what seemed to be recorded data.
Unfortunately, the distance was too great for Natasha to make out any of the details clearly.
At this moment, the entire room was unnaturally quiet.
It was as though the researchers on the whole floor had all gone on vacation, because there was not a single person in sight.
Natasha already knew in advance that Pioneer Technology's top management had evacuated because of an emergency meeting, but... the lower-level researchers should still have remained at their posts.
Her eyes kept shifting as she thought it over again and again.
In the end, after a long moment of deliberation, Natasha pulled out the tools she carried with her and quietly opened the vent cover with practiced care.
Whoosh.
A short while later, after a faint landing sound, Natasha dropped down as steadily as a cat.
The entire movement was light and effortless.
After landing, Natasha carefully observed the surroundings. Once she confirmed there was no immediate danger, she began switching on the recorder attached to her chest while also moving closer to one of the pods, trying to peer inside through a gap.
Unfortunately, perhaps because it was too dark inside, all she could see was skin-like tissue writhing and pulsing like slime.
Beyond that, she could not make out anything else.
After filming the laboratory itself, Natasha was about to leave the room when she spotted a researcher's ID badge on a table near the door.
It looked as if it had been casually tossed there.
Natasha instinctively picked it up, because in an underground base of this level, she assumed access would require a keycard.
She then moved to the next room.
She did not know what was inside.
But her instincts told her she would not be disappointed.
Sure enough, when she approached the glass security door, the electronic system displayed an identity verification prompt. Natasha decisively pressed the ID badge in her hand against the scanner.
With a beep, the door unlocked.
Natasha carefully pushed it open and stepped inside.
Even though everything had gone smoothly so far, a layer of gloom still lingered in her heart.
Then, the moment she stepped through the doorway, the door behind her shut and locked.
At that instant, Natasha's heart sank to the bottom.
As expected.
After entering this place, it was now obvious that everything had been deliberately arranged by Pioneer Technology to guide her here.
After confirming she could no longer open the door she had entered through, Natasha casually grabbed a clipboard from a nearby table and cautiously began walking deeper inside.
By now, she was certain of one thing.
Something else was waiting for her ahead.
As she kept moving forward, what came into view were cages arranged like those in a pet store.
The difference was that every cage held hairless, unidentified canines. Many of them even had holes in their flesh where skin and muscle seemed to be missing.
At that moment, even Natasha, who had long been used to the darkness of this world, felt her heart tremble.
She could clearly see that the dogs' eyes, when they looked at her, were filled with the same bloodthirsty hunger as wild beasts.
In that instant, she had no doubt that if not for the cages restraining them, those dogs would immediately charge over and tear her apart.
But before she could react, there came a metallic ding, followed by a sharp snap as one of the cage doors opened.
Freed from its restraint, the Hellhound inside immediately burst out and charged straight at her without hesitation.
"Damn it!"
After cursing under her breath, Natasha used the surrounding structure for leverage and sprang up in two quick movements onto a platform more than two meters high, trying to avoid its attack.
But in the very next moment, she realized she had been naïve.
The Hellhound leaped upward with astonishing jumping power and came straight at her.
At that moment, Natasha pulled up her collar to cover her mouth and nose.
She had no intention of letting even a drop of blood or flesh from this damned unknown thing get onto her body.
Then she hurled the clipboard in her hand straight at it.
But to the Hellhound, that was nothing.
It ignored the attack completely. Even after taking Natasha's flying clipboard head-on, it did not slow down at all and continued lunging toward her.
But Natasha had expected as much.
That thrown clipboard had only been a temporary distraction.
With a flick of her wrist, an extremely fine but high-strength wire appeared in her hand.
She turned sideways, looped it in midair, and the moment the wire caught around the Hellhound's neck, she yanked hard.
In an instant, under the razor-sharp pull of the wire, the Hellhound's head was severed from its body.
Then both pieces dropped to the ground.
Only then did Natasha let out a breath of relief and look down below.
Even without its head, the body was still twitching, still trying to move.
The sight shocked her.
She truly had not imagined that any company could develop something like this.
But she was given no time to think further.
As a series of beeps sounded in quick succession, more locks began disengaging.
At that moment, all more than ten cages in the laboratory opened at once.
In an instant, over a dozen Hellhounds burst free and charged at Natasha.
The already cramped room became violently chaotic in a heartbeat.
(End of Chapter)
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