CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 66- EXIT

Chapter 66- Exit

The eerie feeling only grew with each passing second. He didn’t know what was making him feel that way, but he was certain it wasn’t something he made up. There was something clearly wrong with that room.

’Dammit, there is nothing here. It could have a potential exit though I can’t see it from here. I will have to check.’ Clenching his teeth, he swallowed that unease and walked in before he closed the door and locked it. If he had any other place to go to, he would’ve never entered that place.

The darkness engulfed him as he stood there for a few seconds, taking in the room around him. It looked like a normal lab, seemingly not even touched by the chaos of the world. There were no traces of blood or broken objects anywhere he looked.

’Hmmm, no one has gone into this place in a bit... It even smells of dust.’ Passing his hand on a random table, he noticed a layer of dust on it. If he had to guess, it hasn’t been cleaned in quite a few months, perhaps even years. ’Was this place not used before the disaster? Hmm, it looks pretty abandoned.’

Walking through the rows of tables, he looked around but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. He explored every nook and cranny without finding a single odd thing about the place. It looked like a completely normal room.

But, there weren’t any windows or any exits from there, which only further pissed him off. This entire place was like a jail with only a few precise exits. It almost scared him how much of a maze it was.

’Great. There is nothing here. I’m now stuck here!’ Jack cursed as he slammed his fist on the table.

Outside, the monsters kept knocking on the door. Their arms and legs kicked violently as they tried to break through. Jack was completely stuck inside with no way out.

Even though he was already completely lost, this somehow made the situation even worse. However, even then, he was still relatively calm as he kept looking around.

’There has to be something I can use. This is a goddamn lab, surely there is some sort of tool or anything...’

As he rummaged through the items everywhere around him, Jack didn’t notice something behind him. It was still pretty dark, and even with hypervision, seeing things to his normal level was hard.

So, small things like insects, small animals, and things like minor cracks and other things of that size aren’t clear from a distance. Which meant, Jack was completely unaware of it... Even to the extent of not sensing it with his own Aether.

*Swish*

The mysterious thing jumped from one place to another, moving rapidly even in a lighted place.

*TAP*

Then, Jack heard something behind him. He looked up quickly, searching around. ’What was that tapping noise?’

It was faint and far, but in that quiet room, it sounded very distinct and loud. Standing up, he pulled his sword and started walking around, searching for the source.

His nerves tensed again, and his fear grew again. He was now certain he wasn’t alone in that room; something was moving around him, and he couldn’t see it.

’Come on, pop out, you little bastard. I know you’re here somewhere. You can’t hide forever.’

But, after searching for several moments, he found nothing again. Meanwhile, the tapping on the door increased in violence as if the controlled humans were losing their minds, not being able to get inside.

’Well, my only choice is to somehow exit this place, though it won’t be easy. I will have to figure something out.’ Rubbing his chin, Jack turned around to look for a way to escape once they broke in.

At that very moment, and out of nowhere, something jumped into his vision, slamming straight into his face.

"Woah!" The boy yelped as he quickly grabbed his face, feeling a hard exoskeleton against the tips of his fingers. Then, something sharp poked into his cheek, making him cry in pain before he finally yanked the creature away and looked at it.

"What the hell?!" He held his cheek as he examined the thing wiggling in his hand. The injury wasn’t deep, but it still drew some blood out of him as he winced in pain. It was an insect, a very large one, the size of his hand, but it was nothing in comparison with the ones controlling the minds outside.

However... When he looked closely at it, the creature had distinct differences from the ones outside. Its color was a dark red, and it had four large wings that kept fluttering around. Around its head was a red halo that seemed to be pure Aether.

Just one glance made the boy realize that this was a special one. Even from feeling its presence, the boy sensed a strong threat... Something the other insects didn’t give him.

’Could this be...’ Jack frowned. ’Maybe a high rank in their colony? Or even...’

The queen.

The highest possible rank in any insect kingdom. The queen is the birther of life and the source of any large colony of insects. If this was it, which he didn’t know yet, then killing her would mean the end for this entire race of creatures.

As the monster kept wiggling around, the boy eventually decided to just keep it for now. Opening his bag, he put the insect in one of the containers and then sealed it carefully. Since the container was made out of metal, it wasn’t apparently able to break it.

But, to make sure it doesn’t escape, the boy also kept it in his hand.

’Now, it’s time to leave.’

*BANG* *BANG*

The door kept getting hit as it slowly broke, hinge by hinge. Until, eventually, it was launched forward, falling on the ground, the insect-controlled population rushed in. Jack quickly readied himself to jump over a table and try to do what he did earlier again.

However, upon walking in, the monsters suddenly stopped. All of them, in one single instance, as if they agreed on it beforehand. It even made Jack flinch by pure instinct.

"Huh?" Jack frowned. "What...?"

Their bodies went rigid, and even the insects themselves stopped moving as they all stared at him... Or precisely, at the thing he was holding.

"..." Jack looked down and then up at them. ’Did they sense this insect’s presence in the jar?’

So, he tried to check. Stepping forward, no one attacked him. They all simply stared. Then, he took another step and another one, until he was standing right in front of one of the victims. Staring at the dead face of a man being controlled from this close a distance wasn’t a pleasant thing, especially in a dark environment like this one.

So, the boy didn’t linger there as he moved past it. Not a single creature attacked him, and even more so, they all turned around to continue watching.

When he reached the door, he walked out of the horde into the open hallway. He then moved far away while keeping an eye behind him, and still, nobody made a move.

’They must be either afraid I might hurt this thing, or they are... I don’t even know anymore. This place is weird.’ He mused as he finally exhaled and continued walking. ’I only have one more possible route from here.’

Taking the only turn he had ignored earlier, Jack found himself back on a familiar route. The sq;e one where he came from...

’The exit! Finally! It was the very last possible route. I’m definitely such a lucky person, aren’t I?’ He thought sarcastically.

Rushing toward the door, he jumped out of the office room into the open world again. The rays of the sun hit his face, and the unbearable smell was finally more manageable. Jack knew his nose won’t easily recover from this. Then, he stared behind him at the dark building before he exhaled again.

"Let’s go back, I’m already so late."

Giving the jar with the insect in it one last glance, he finally started running away from the laboratory.

However, unbeknownst to the boy. That very small insect he casually brought with him was going to reshape every single plan he had for the future. Good and bad, his entire world will be flipped upside down.

A test, Jack, at that moment, wasn’t aware of, and even if he was aware, he would dread greatly.