Zeras moved towards the direction of Lab 4C.
On his way, he noticed there were no steps or elevators, and all he passed through were long white corridors, with a few turns and corners.
The labs were arranged next to each other with the Off-limits area at the far end of the map.
Looking at the map, he could immediately tell it was just a small base, with the Off-limits area taking up almost all the space on the map.
'I wonder what is hidden there that could make it off-limits,'
He slowly arrived in front of a lab door that had the word "4C" written at the top.
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
Zeras knocked thrice on the door but, hearing no reply, immediately pushed open the door and entered.
The intense ray of light made him squint his eyes to a close as they slowly adjusted to the intensity.
Looking around the small lab, he noticed three scientists who were chatting leisurely with each other and didn't even bother to look at him at all, as if they already knew he was coming.
Two were men and they stood together chatting while the last one was a lady who sat at the far end of the lab operating a computer, her position facing against the wall, while her back was facing all of them.
A plan quickly formulated in his mind as he looked around the office, noticing charts on the walls.
They were different holograms of beasts' physiology, incredibly strange beasts that were like the fusion of different beasts or some kind of strange mutation.
The lab was the one responsible for experimenting on beasts, and by the looks of it, he could already guess what was in the Off-limits area closer to the lab.
He walked forward towards the surgical bed, and what he saw was incredibly strange.
In front of him was a cat of about a meter in height, its body lying limply on the bed, no doubt already dead.
But what Zeras found bizarre was its skin.
It wasn't the usual fur skin expected on a cat, but dark red scales like those of a snake, enveloping its entire body amidst the oozing blood.
Its claws were three times larger than its head, gleaming with steel-like hardness, while its tail reminded him of a scorpion's.
It seems the cat couldn't complete its mutation and died, but it left him wondering.
Just what kind of madness would be created if it had completed the mutation?
Touching the scales, his eyes narrowed
'The scales, they were about three times harder, just like metal.'
It's like they were trying to create some type of beast that could be used for war, as with increased defense and three times more powerful claws, that was the only thing that he thought would make sense.
'Just what was the base? What do they want to achieve?
"Hey, you hear me?"
A voice rang through the lab, making him quietly withdraw his hands from the cat.
It seems he had been distracted a little and didn't even hear one of the scientists calling him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
He said with his head bowed as he carried the cat into the bag and slowly buttoned it up.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
The man asked as he placed one of his hands on Zeras's shoulder before forcefully turning him around.
"I called you thrice, E-grade, and you ignored my call."
"It seems you've been doing too well at your easy ass job and finally felt you're something too, huuuuh!?..."
The man said as he dragged Zeras by his collar with a mocking sneer on his face.
The others couldn't care less, only chuckling a little.
They knew Paul's character.
It seems the repeated failures already cast a shadow in his heart, as there was a limit to the number of failures a scientist like him could make before having his authority points decreased.
So he needed someone to cast all his pain on, and the poor guy showed up at the right time.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Zeras said, bowing his head repeatedly, his hands quietly moving towards his pocket, something Paul failed to take notice of.
"Oh, you're sorry. You can say you're sorry, and you think everything becomes good, huh?"
"It seems you've forgotten you're just an E-grade trash that can be disposed of tomorrow like nothing."
"There's no space for people like you in this world, trash."
Paul said as he slammed an uppercut on the face that was repeatedly bowing down, making the fall backwards before crashing on both knees.
His hands moved to cover his nose.
Paul walked towards him, deciding to vent his anger on him.
"Don't kill him, Paul, you know it will affect your authority a lot."
The second scientist with long dark hair, Jake, said as he watched Paul moving towards Zeras.
But he didn't move to stop him; instead, he prepared himself for a great show.
"Don't worry, I won't kill him, just reminding him of his position in this world,"
Paul said, cracking his fists in his palms with a sinister smile on his face.
Arriving before the crouching guy, he slowly stretched out his hands as he dragged his head up with his hair, but the second he saw his face, his smile immediately vanished.
This wasn't the E-grade trash.
It was a boy who also had a sinister smile on his face, while killing intent shone clearly in those blue eyes.
"Goodbye..."
That was the last word he heard, his senses screaming for him to retreat, but before he could move an inch back.
A blade light flashed with speed towards his neck, a thin line appearing in the next second, followed by a bloody wave erupting into the air.
Jake's eyes widened seeing the wave of blood coming from his partner's neck, and his hands immediately moved towards his lab gown.
He brought out an energy handgun, quickly shooting at Zeras.
A smile widened on Zeras's face as his heart pumped loudly in his chest.
Seeing the dark-haired scientist bringing out a gun, he immediately placed Paul's body in front of him, using it as a cover.
"VROOM!"
"VROOM!"
"VROOM!"
Three shots moved with speed towards Zeras, but they only dug into Paul's body.
'Activate Dash,'
He ordered in his mind and blitzed forward at double his normal speed, quickly covering the distance between himself and Jake.
Arriving before him, he threw Paul's body, as it slammed into Jake, pushing and destabilizing him.
That open chance was all Zeras needed.
"GRRRRH"
Finger tightening around the dagger's hilt, he slashed forward with every strength he could muster towards Jake.
Jake's eyes widened, the world slowing down to a crawl, and helplessly, he watched the knife cut through his throat, slashing deep before it roughly tore out, and he collapsed on his back.
30 seconds.
That was all it took to get rid of the two scientists.
Anna, the female scientist, immediately turned back, hearing the sounds of gunshots.
But she sat there, fear-stricken by the sight of Paul's dead body and Jake being killed almost immediately after.
Her hands immediately reached towards the red button on the desk about 100 centimeters away.
But just an inch away from the button, a dagger flew forward with speed, and a hand soared into the air, followed by a shrill scream.