Entering the Laboratory

Shin Asuka and Ray arrived at a basement.

Stale air rushed toward them, mixed with a faint musty smell and a chemical stench from an unknown source.

Light from the stairwell faintly illuminated the long corridor.

For a building that had been abandoned for so long, the place was surprisingly clean.

There was a door beside the start of the corridor. Ray reached out and gently pushed it open. He raised his gun into the doorway as a formality, but quickly lowered it and walked inside.

There did not seem to be a single person in this room either. Only heavy darkness filled the space.

The light from the doorway barely shone in, enough to make out the equipment inside.

Ray took a few steps into the room, then suddenly stopped.

Hearing his sharp intake of breath, Shin Asuka reflexively felt around for the switch beside the door. With a click, the lights actually came on.

This kind of ruin still had electricity?

Shin Asuka narrowed his eyes as he adjusted to the brightness, suspicion rising in his heart.

"What is this place...?"

He saw large computers and measuring instruments, an operating table with surgical lamps, and rows of long, narrow glass containers at the back.

Those cylindrical transparent tanks stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Things sickening to behold seemed to be soaking in the liquid.

Before he could see what they were, Shin Asuka noticed Ray huddled on the floor.

"Ray?"

Shin Asuka hurried over and saw him half-kneeling on the ground, clutching his chest and breathing rapidly.

"Ray... What's wrong, Ray?!"

Shin Asuka rushed forward to support him.

Ray looked as though he could barely breathe. His face had turned pale, and his expression was twisted with pain—or perhaps fear.

Frightened, Shin Asuka quickly held him