Underground

Calling it a Bat-person would be less accurate than saying it was simply an enormous bat with a human head. Based on what it had shown so far, Su Ming believed it possessed neither human intelligence nor humanity. It was merely a beast.

But this sort of grotesque, oversized creature really made people feel uneasy, especially as it flew wildly overhead and let out piercing shrieks. Whether from malnutrition or unstable genes, the fuzz covering its body kept falling off as it flew, making the room seem as though blackish-brown snow were falling.

Su Ming drew his gun and opened fire as well. Though the thing was not slow in flight, it was nothing compared to the Court of Owls' Talons.

It could not be helped. Before their mutations, these genetic monsters had merely been ordinary people.

On the ground, it was probably not even as strong as a mouse of the same size. Bat bones had very low density, filled with hollow spaces like those of birds, reducing their weight enough to let them fly.

These scientists had been completely redundant in using bats and humans for genetic experiments.

The Atlanteans lived in the sea. If they were the hypothetical enemy, why not experiment with aquatic creatures? Of all the monsters they had seen so far, which one could swim?

They were all useless.

But this was no longer the time to condemn these people for wasting taxpayers' money. The bat had been shot down by the two of them, knocking over several other glass tanks before crashing into a corner not far away.

Cindy drew her knife and slowly walked over. "I hope there aren't too many bullet holes to ruin the fur. Rich people have bear-skin tapestries in their homes. This time, I can have a bat-skin one. A bat this big would make a fine collectible."

The Bat-person had not died. It was merely badly injured, lying limply on the floor as red blood mixed with the blue nutrient solution from the shattered tanks, turning black.

Its face stared at Cindy as she approached, and a strangely human expression appeared on it.

"Ah... ah..." It opened its mouth wide and made a strange sound.

Cindy switched from her knife to her gun.

"Ah... ah... Save... save..." It actually spoke a few simple words.

Bang!

Cindy fired without hesitation. The bullet struck directly between its brows. The Bat-person twitched once and never moved again.

Barbara pressed her lips together tightly. If she had been her former self, she might have tried to save this bat that could speak human language. But now she understood that killing it was the most thorough rescue.

If it truly possessed human intelligence, then being trapped inside a bat's body was the cruelest thing imaginable. Only death could bring final release.

Cindy removed her magazine and reloaded as she turned back toward the others.

"You don't want the bat tapestry anymore?"

Su Ming put a few more bullets into the creatures that had fallen from the tanks earlier, whether they were dead or alive. He reloaded as well and asked Cindy.

"No. It's bad luck to hang a dead person in the house."

Cindy spoke flatly.

Perhaps Cindy had changed her mind the moment the Bat-person showed that terrified human expression. Even Su Ming had to admit that it had been a person.

Vicki sighed and reminded Pete not to forget to film. After recording a few shots, the team set off again.

The samples in these tanks still counted as the laboratory's outer area. They were all useless rejects, soaked in hypnotic nutrient solution and kept alive through these tanks.

Pitiful lives.

Before leaving the hall, Barbara carried out Su Ming's order to sterilize every life-support tank. All these monsters would die in their sleep.

Barbara knew she had killed people. At least half of their genes were human. They looked human and might even have been able to use human language.

But she knew she had done the right thing. Killing them had been a good deed.

For the first time, she understood this principle. It struck at her former beliefs, leaving her thoughts in turmoil. She could only remain silent as she hacked the door leading next door.

Meanwhile, Su Ming spoke with Cindy. Based on his deductions, Indian Hill on Earth -11 was more like a madman's toy.

"This is a genetics lab, so there may be viruses or something else below. Be careful."

Cindy nodded. "Don't worry. Keep a little distance from me. I know what to do."

The door slowly opened. Practice made perfect, and Barbara cracked it much faster this time. Cindy entered the room first, while Su Ming stayed behind to protect the others as they waited.

Just inside the room stood a human skeleton, along with blackboards and various teaching facilities, like those commonly found in medical schools. Exercise equipment, desks, chairs, and benches were scattered around the area.

It looked like a gymnasium that had been abandoned for many years.

There were far fewer instruments and devices here, but each one occupied more space and was much larger. The enormous metal machines looked like shipping containers.

Cindy cautiously surveyed the room, not overlooking places like the ceiling. She quickly gave the signal that it was safe.

Su Ming had already recognized the place. It was the Mutant research area. In the television series, many Mutants would be held here. Used as experimental materials, they could be said to hate outsiders to the bone.

The huge metal machines beside them were actually Isolation Pods. Each was like a room, with Mutants locked inside and constantly observed like animals in a zoo.

He walked up beside one of the rooms. The facility was still operating normally, so he leaned toward the observation window and looked inside. It was a mess. The interior had originally been arranged like a bedroom, with a beautiful wooden bed and a thick mattress, but now everything inside had been torn to shreds. Quite a few pieces of furniture still bore bite marks and claw marks.

An exceptionally large skeleton lay spread-eagled in the center of the room.

Su Ming guessed that it had starved to death.

In the television series, Indian Hill was discovered and opened in the 1990s. It could be said that it was found shortly after the laboratory was shut down. The Mutants inside were all alive and powerful.

But what about Earth -11? Several decades had already passed. No matter how powerful a Mutant was, it could still starve to death. DC was different from Marvel. There was no such term as Mutants here, and Mutants were not people born with superpowers.

Every Mutant here had once been human.

The military had captured them, then altered them with massive doses of radiation or chemical substances, inducing genetic mutations and turning them into monsters.

The history of the laboratory on Earth -11 had probably been localized as well. The scientists had likely wanted to find a way to mutate the Atlanteans and make them destroy themselves.

But that was a false premise.

Like the Amazons, the Atlanteans carried demigod blood. How could scientists studying humans possibly develop a weapon that would work on the Atlanteans?

They had died for nothing.

These Mutants were human. They possessed minds and hearts no different from anyone else's.

That was why the remains in the rooms took so many different forms. Some had curled up in corners, clutching themselves tightly. Others had died peacefully lying flat on their beds. Some had clearly committed suicide.

There was nothing else worth seeing. The hall was safe.

Su Ming called Vicki over and had her look at the situation inside the isolation facilities as he explained the general circumstances.

"You reporters should like this kind of story. The government experimented on civilians."

"Maybe, but perhaps I've seen too much news today. I can't get worked up about it anymore."

Vicki thought for a moment, scratching her chin with a finger as she answered him.