Chapter 539: Containment Failure
The Consciousness Stealer in the life incubator started to grow rapidly after developing into a fetal state from an embryo.
The first day, it was only the size of a regular human fist. By the end of the day, it had doubled in size into the equivalent size of a pineapple.
Furthermore, eyes began to appear on the uneven surface of its skin. This creature blinked constantly and looked into the outside world through the steel-framed gla.s.s of the life incubator. It seemed to be studying the movements of the Androids around it.
Its eyes were like jet-black, shining pearls, carved into the black ma.s.s of meat in undetermined patterns. It had approximately fifteen eyes in total.
The third day. The Consciousness Stealer continued growing and was now the size of a winter melon. A lump began to form underneath its black-skinned body and its shape was starting to stretch out to resemble a winter melon.
Along its sides, four tiny objects shaped like thorns began to stick out...
“This cursed thing...”
Eight researchers monitored the growth of this ma.s.s of meat inside the laboratory. The previous disheveled-looking researcher was looking at the report which was recently printed out. It had only been a little more than half a month and the report was already thicker than a dictionary. All of the sampled data of the cloned subject was included in the report.
“Performing the hourly CT scan.”
A blonde-haired lady looked at the time and informed the team.
After issuing the command, the Androids in the laboratory poked several pieces of equipment through the top section of the life incubator. One of the devices had a compartment that was just large enough to fit the subject inside and project the section view of the subject onto the screen.
“Looks like a common Coelenterata organism...”
Two images appeared on the display. They were cross-sectional views from the front and side angles of the ball of meat. The image on both displays zoomed in simultaneously and delved into the ball of meat in an x-ray manner. Soon, the internal structure of the subject was put on the display.
“That elongated part seems like the digestive organ...”
“What’s that thing shaped like a human liver?”
“No idea, we can perform a biopsy to find out...”
“Those things shaped like beings should be its nervous systems...”
“Its internal structure is surprisingly simple. Its cellular structure seems more simple than beings such as leeches and earthworms...”
“How about its brain? Where is the brain?”
“Idiot, how would you expect some primitive creature like this to have a brain?”
The researchers discussed among themselves.
“Let’s perform an aspiration biopsy on it. I hope this little guy can handle it.”
After further discussions, the senior researcher made a decision.
Following his orders, a mechanical arm probed into the top section of the life incubator. A large and thick needle was attached to its end.
The needle slowly inched closer to the ball of meat until it made contact with it and slowly slid into it...
The ball of meat bound inside the CT device suddenly shuddered. All of its eyes immediately snapped wide open as soon as it felt the needle entering its body. At the same time, a vertical slit at the center of its body stretched wide open, making it seem like it was screaming!
“Its heartbeat is steadily rising! It’s currently at a thousand and five hundred beats per minute!”
One of the researchers looked at the data shown on the display and exclaimed, “Is it afraid? Could it sense pain at all?”
n.o.body knew the answer.
After the puncture, all of the equipment was retracted and the subject was re-released in the amniotic fluid.
n.o.body noticed that a tiny, almost invisible crack appeared on the gla.s.s of the incubation chamber...
What was projected inside the alien substance’s dark eyes was no longer the Androids working in the laboratory, but the second-floor observation window...
On the fourth day, the alien ball of meat continued stretching longer to a point where it was shaped like cashew. Its upper portion was wide and elongated while the bottom portion was slim.
By now, there was a clear distinction between the abdomen and chest section of the alien. Its array of eyes were located on its chest region.
Apart from the slit-shaped vertical mouth along its abdomen, there were also countless tiny lumps shaped like tiny ma.s.ses of cauliflowers.
After performing a CT scan, the research team found out that these tiny lumps like a field of cauliflowers were its reproductive organ...
Furthermore, the four tiny thorns on both sides of its chest were growing larger and were beginning to bend as well. They were shaped like infant wings or perhaps the claws of a beast.
They were the feet of the alien.
Then came the fifth day, the sixth day, the seventh day...
After reaching a fetal stage, it only took another week for the ball of meat in the life incubator to grow from the size of a fist to nearly filling out the life incubator.
Seeing as there was not much s.p.a.ce left in the life incubator, the research team was in talks of relocating the subject to a larger life incubator used for cultivating Tyrants.
By this point, the alien life form was nearly two meters tall and a meter and a half wide. It did not have a head. Its chest was essentially a subst.i.tute for its head. A myriad of fist-sized pearls could be seen etched into its head and in the cross-section joining its chest and its abdomen. A vertical slit resembling a mouth could be seen...
By this point, its abdomen was entirely covered in its reproductive organs that were shaped like lumps of spore-filled cauliflowers. They hung along its abdomen like bundles of grapes. The visual was unsettling, especially for people with Trypophobia.
The four thorns grown along both sides of its chest had now grown into fully-fledged legs shaped like the legs of a crab.
As if that was not baffling enough, the tips of its legs had grown thick layers of cuticle, just like hoofs of livestock such as cattle and sheep.
The texture of this alien life form’s body was no longer the soft and mushy mash of meat that once was. Instead, it was now replaced with folds of cuticle that reminded one of tree bark and countless strands of flagellum started to grow on its legs and chest.
The bizarre, Frankenstein sight of this monster greatly unsettled the host of researchers monitoring it in the control room.
“What in the world is this creature...”
They leaned on the observation gla.s.s and looked at the incubation chamber on the lower floor. The consciousness stealer was basked in amniotic fluid while the strands of flagellum on its body danced to the tiny waves of the fluid.
“Based on the genetic representation, this creature is still an infant.”
One of the researchers remarked candidly, “If we go by the three-month gestation period pattern of a common life form, I’d say that this creature would be the size of a building by the time it fully matures.”
“You think the size of a building is big?”
A blonde-haired lady scoffed. “Since this is an extraterrestrial life form we’re talking about, it wouldn’t even surprise me if it turned out to grow into the size of a mountain.”
“A mountain? That’s crazy!”
“With the continuous growth of this creature, I believe that the higher-ups are getting worried about the prospect of this thing breaking out of containment. They’re planning to ship it somewhere else...”
The research team made small talk while monitoring the a.n.a.lytics feed.
During the conversation, the mechanical arm mounted with the needle head was probing into the incubation chamber for a routine inspection. Due to the ma.s.s of the alien fetus growing larger by the day, the needle head that was once only several millimeters thick was now replaced with a larger variant that was more than a centimeter thick. It was a jarring sight to behold.
It seemed that the creature inside the incubation chamber was in a restless mood today.
The moment the needle pierced into its body again, the ma.s.s of the alien fetus pulled the vertical mouth at its center wide open and emitted a piercing screech.
“Hiss!”
There was an ear-grating sound of the metallic screech of the structure of the incubation chamber. The life incubator containing the alien could not support the sheer pressure anymore and burst open!
“Boom!”
Buckets worth of sour yellow amniotic fluid gushed out of the shattered incubator like a ma.s.sive torrent and flooded the floor of the laboratory!
“This is bad!”
The research team in the command room was horrified when they witnessed what had just happened. The team leader slammed the emergency b.u.t.ton on the control panel without hesitation!
The alien creature crashed onto the ground as it smashed through the incubation chamber. It did not take long before it picked itself up off the floor with its four oddly shaped legs.
In a matter of seconds, the entrance on the ground floor opened rapidly to usher in a team of armored Black Knights. Seeing that the creature was extremely valuable to their cause, Little X made sure to order the Black Knights to exercise caution when subduing this creature.
All the creature did was open its mouth.
“Bang!”
An invisible force rippled from the alien and tore the group of Black Knights inside out without any warning, causing them to burst into a mist of blood. In an instant, the laboratory was decorated with a fine splatter of flesh and blood!
It seemed as effortless as killing several pesky flies. After that, the creature puffed up its stomach like a human would and directed its attention to the second floor!
Inside the control room, the eight researchers who were given a glimpse of what this creature was capable of held their breaths collectively. Without a word between them, they sprinted for the exit.
They could feel the invisible, imposing aura of the creature!
They ran as fast as they could. Then, they heard the horrifying sound of metal being torn apart ruthlessly. One of the researchers turned back and to his dismay, saw that the creature had torn through the protective walls of the command room and arrived at the second floor!
The same sequence repeated, it opened the giant slit at the center of its body!
“Tss-!”
The eight researchers, one of which was a senior researcher, were torn into innumerable pieces!
“Hiss-!”
The creature unleashed a horrifying screech again. It moved forward one step at a time and tore through the steel plates on the floor like sheets of paper as it entered the corridor...
The Consciousness Stealer had broken out of containment!
...
It was midnight and Chen Chen was lying on a chair trying to get some shuteye. These days, he rarely got much sleep because he would dream those strange dreams whenever he fell asleep.
Inside his dreams, he would hear those strange voices telling him to seek for the other infected and fuse with them.
Chen Chen suddenly heard the urgent calling of Little X. “Sir G.o.dfather, the Consciousness Stealer has broken out of the level-five biosafety laboratory!”
Little X’s voice tore through the silence and made Chen Chen perk to attention almost immediately as he looked at her. “It broke through our defenses?”
“Yes!”
Little X looked frantic. A surveillance feed immediately appeared in front of her that showed an alien creature with four legs and countless lumps of flesh growing around its abdomen region bursting through the fortified steel walls. It barged through and wreaked havoc around the Spire. Anybody unfortunate enough to come into its path, whether it was the researchers or the Black Knights, burst into a cloud of mist!
Chen Chen was alarmed to see something like this happening and exclaimed, “What is that power?”
Even Little X did not have an answer to this question. Immediately after that, the creature was seen taking a magnificent leap off the top of the Spire!
The image immediately shifted to another camera that framed the Spire from the outside. However, the figure of the monster could not be made out anywhere in the Spire Experimental Base. All they saw were countless researchers running out of the Spire building. The base was driven into a state of chaos!
“Where is it?”
Chen Chen kept switching to different feeds in a desperate attempt to locate the Consciousness Stealer.
“Up, up there!”
Little X exclaimed. She switched the feed to the perspective of a Black Knight and saw a pitch-black hole near the top of the Spire. Rocks and sand were crumbling and falling out of it.
“It’s trying to make it to the surface!”
Little X was growing more agitated by the second. “Sir G.o.dfather, we can’t stop it!”
“Don’t stop it!”
Chen Chen clenched his teeth and bolted for the direction of the Gantz black sphere. “Eco Science City is located on the surface, we can’t let it wreak havoc in the city no matter what. I have to distract it myself!”
“But it seems to process an unexplainable power that causes anyone it sees to burst into pieces.”
Little X tried to dissuade Chen Chen from being reckless. “Besides, you’re already infected with its consciousness virus...”
“...”
Chen Chen did not respond. He stood in front of the black sphere that quickly emitted a ray of blue light on his body.
In an instant, Chen Chen’s figure vanished!
“There’s n.o.body else that can fight it other than myself...”
A split second before Chen Chen vanished, he declared, “I know what I’m doing.”
Chen Chen saw a ray of blue light filling out his vision and then found himself in the Spire Experimental Base.
It was only when he arrived when he realized that at least one-third of the Spire had been destroyed. There was even a column of flame rising out of the top of the Spire. He then saw the Black Knights and Androids making an organized effort to put out the fire. Meanwhile, some other Black Knights aimed their weapons at the researchers who escaped the Spire to discourage them from running around and keep them in place.
There was a chance they were already infected!
Chen Chen only spared a momentary glance in their direction. The clean-up work could be taken care of by Little X. What should be of utmost priority now was dealing with this alien creature bred from the protoplasmic liquid!
The Consciousness Stealer!
Chen Chen squinted and lifted his body into the air, into the giant hole the creature carved on the ceiling of the Spire Experimental Base. Ma.s.sive boulders and sand crumbled out of the hole constantly and served as an obstacle for anyone to trail after the creature. However, this would not stop Chen Chen, of all people.
Chen Chen’s Field paved all of the falling boulders out of the way as he dove into the hole and went after the creature. The tunnel the creature paved did not go straight up but took twists and turns in unordered patterns which made it difficult for Chen Chen to close the gap between them.
“Bang!”
After Chen Chen rose around five hundred meters, no more boulders and sand were falling. His heart skipped a beat because he knew what this implied. This meant that the creature had broken through the surface!
The creature had made it to the outside world!