Chapter 95: Gift |
Bai Mu could see Billy's status.
[Name: Billy Hope]
[Type: Script Character]
[Current Status: Dying]
He looked terrible. Although he could control the god-like Walrider while inside that machine, he was essentially just a fragile human male.
According to the Script's setting, the rampage had occurred a day ago. This meant that the day before, Billy must have suffered inhuman torture, experiencing a fear beyond death, before the researchers in the Underground Laboratory threw him into that machine.
He was already malnourished, and after soaking in those fluids without food or water for an entire day, he unconsciously vomited the liquid that had filled his lungs when Bai Mu dragged him out.
To prevent Billy from dying suddenly, Bai Mu took out a blood-sugar recovery candy and stuffed it into Billy's mouth.
Before leaving, he glanced back at the pod door one last time. After a moment of hesitation, he retrieved a Cherry Bomb from his inventory and placed it inside the pod.
The Cherry Bomb was his Summon, so he could issue commands to it. However, once removed from its pot, the Cherry Bomb could only exist for a maximum of ten minutes before it exploded on its own out of pure rage.
This was just an insurance policy. The door to the central control room had already been destroyed by the Walrider. Without help, it was impossible for Wernicke to appear here alone, which meant the bomb naturally wouldn't kill anyone—unless Bai Mu's guess was correct.
After deploying the bomb, Bai Mu cast Plant Care once to maintain the Cherry Bomb's integrity. He then hoisted the dying Billy onto his back and navigated through blind spots out of the cameras' reach. He had already memorized the entire map of the Underground Laboratory, and he had Lucy escorting him along the way.
The little Detective Lucy could always mark the locations of the surveillance cameras for him in advance. She could spot even the hidden cameras that weren't placed in plain sight.
In short, Bai Mu kept dodging and hiding along the way. Ensuring that he remained unseen by Wernicke, he carried Billy on his back and moved upwards from the fourth basement level.
[Berserk effect has ended. You have entered a Weakened state.]
[Weakened: All attributes reduced by 50%, Stamina recovery efficiency reduced by 80%, certain skills disabled.]
[Remaining duration: 10 minutes]
Bai Mu had only used his skills twice, consuming sixty percent of his Stamina. Since he hadn't overdrawn his Stamina, the duration of this Weakened state was very short.
Still, Bai Mu felt his footsteps grow heavy. He simply took out the Orange Soda and drank it. The consumables provided by Lucy couldn't be brought out of the Script; if he didn't consume them now, they would be gone once he cleared the stage.
The first sip brought a refreshing orange flavor, with dense bubbles popping in his mouth. It was sweet and sour, actually quite delicious. Ignoring its special effects, Bai Mu would give it a 4.5 out of 5 based on taste alone.
[Weakened state has been cleared.]
His normal attributes were restored. As they reached the third basement level, Billy coughed a few times and woke up.
It seemed the blood-sugar recovery candy had worked; his status had changed from [Dying] to [Shock].
"Where is this..." Upon getting a clear look at their surroundings, Billy trembled all over. "No... no... I have to go back! You have to take me back!"
"Otherwise, everyone will die! Everyone will die!"
"Don't worry," Bai Mu replied. "The cameras didn't catch us. They won't catch up so quickly."
"You've made a massive mistake! You have no idea what you've done!"
"I should have stopped you all in the wards..." Billy became so emotional that he burst into loud sobs. Trembling, he cried like a child. "But you were outsiders... I couldn't bring myself to do it..."
"It's all over, it's all over. It's all my fault..."
Lucy leaned in curiously in front of Billy, watching the wailing man.
If Billy could see her, he would probably be scared out of his wits.
Bai Mu didn't offer any more words of comfort. The effects of the candy wore off quickly, and Billy soon quieted down, slipping back into unconsciousness.
To avoid dealing with Billy's noisy outbursts, Bai Mu simply stopped feeding him any more candy.
Walking all the way to the exit of the Underground Laboratory, he reached the surface through another emergency stairwell. A torrential downpour still raged outside, but the roaring flames illuminated Bai Mu's face.
The fire at the Church was growing fiercer, having escalated into a massive blaze. The entire building was burning, and even the heavy rain could not extinguish the flames; it only made the smoke thicker.
A plump figure appeared in front of Bai Mu.
It was Stephen. The previously nervous man immediately broke into a beaming smile upon seeing Bai Mu.
There was another person following behind him—a researcher in a white lab coat. The moment he saw the researcher, Bai Mu knew his guess had been correct. All the mysteries had finally unraveled.
"Bai! I found him!" Stephen brought the researcher over to Bai Mu.
"Hello, sir." The researcher bore a few knife wounds on his body and walked with a slight limp. "I am Waylon Park, Murkoff's former security software engineer."
"You... you actually rescued Billy too?" Waylon looked at Billy's face in astonishment.
"Are you the one who placed the white chrysanthemums near the female ward?" Bai Mu asked.
"Yes, but sir, how did you know it was me?"
"After meeting Wernicke, I realized that Billy wasn't just a maniac who only knew how to slaughter," Bai Mu explained. "He's lucid and won't attack those who bear no grudge against him."
"However, I guessed that his control over the Walrider is highly unstable. All the corpses we encountered on the way had been mangled beyond recognition. He's like an excavator operator—it's easy to control the machine to dig up dirt, but impossible to use it to pick up a coin dropped on the ground."
"Therefore, with his level of power, it would be impossible for him to pluck fragile flowers and place them there. That made me realize someone else, acting out of pity and kindness, had laid down those white chrysanthemums to mourn the dead. This person understood the whole process and the cause and effect of the situation; he knew this was an absolute tragedy."
"Combining all these clues, I could only think of one person—an insider who knew the dark secrets of Mount Massive Asylum, someone who couldn't bear to see such tragedies unfold and thus became a Whistleblower to expose the truth to outside reporters."
"So that's how it is, Bai. I was wondering why, after seeing Wernicke, you suddenly asked me to try and find the person who sent us the email." Stephen was hit by a sudden realization. "You're practically a master Detective! Oh, no, a super Reporter. I hadn't figured any of this out!"
"I get it now. You told me to walk where there were no cameras because you figured Waylon would deliberately avoid surveillance while escaping, right? Because you knew Wernicke and Waylon weren't on the same side at all!"
Waylon said, "You predict things like a god, sir. I only survived because your friend rescued me. I was almost hacked to death by crazed patients."
Bai Mu asked, "You only just left the Underground Laboratory. Is it because Wernicke had kept the emergency exits sealed off before we arrived?"
Waylon nodded. "Yes. It was only after Billy went on his rampage and killed those people that I decided to send emails to the outside world. I set down the white chrysanthemums and then returned to my office."
"But in reality, my emails were intercepted by Wernicke. I originally wanted to send all the Evidence and data to you guys. I sent emails to numerous media outlets and independent reporters, but Wernicke blocked my follow-up messages. You actually only received the very first one. After that, he shut down the asylum's network and the laboratory's access routes, trapping me inside."
"He guessed there was one other person alive in the lab besides him. He probably knew it was me too, because Billy considered me a friend. Whenever Billy was being tortured, I often kept him company and talked with him."
"I don't quite understand," Stephen interjected. "Why would Billy spare Wernicke's life? Isn't Wernicke the one who tortured him the most?"
Waylon replied, "It's not that surprising. Because of his physical condition, Wernicke rarely left the main control room. It served as both a control center and his sickroom. Occasionally, he would have researchers bring Billy to his side to eat meals with him. In truth, it was just to observe the test subject from close range. Poor Billy—if you just showed him a tiny shred of kindness, he would forget that Wernicke was the mastermind behind all those torturous experiments."
"But that pool of blood... why did he pile up so many dead bodies?" Stephen eyed Billy warily, who was still slumped on Bai Mu's back. "Is this guy really kind-hearted?"
Waylon insisted, "Please believe me, Mr. Stephen. Billy is a very good young man. Because all the Soldiers had been killed by him, some people tried to escape from Mount Massive Asylum. Billy merely wanted to stop them, but the Walrider's power was too overwhelming, causing him to make mistakes. He gathered all the people he accidentally killed in one place just to reflect on his actions, and simultaneously serve as a warning to others not to run outside."
"But there's nothing outside. Why didn't he want people to leave?" Stephen asked.
"No, Stephen, there isn't 'nothing' outside. Murkoff's Soldiers arrived a long time ago," Bai Mu corrected.
"Didn't they all die, Bai?" Stephen asked in confusion. "Besides, I didn't see anyone on my way here. Did you see them, Bai?"
"They deliberately hid themselves," Bai Mu said. "They sent out an advance unit, and we both saw the results of that. Perhaps they didn't notice when you came in, but when I arrived, they definitely had a clear view. It's just that the commander chose to ignore me, perhaps hoping that my arrival would create an opportunity for them."
"That's right," Waylon confirmed. "Even though Billy bathed the lab in blood, distress signals were still sent out. In fact, aside from the vanguard Soldiers who broke in, there is another group of Soldiers hiding out in the wilderness. Billy didn't dare go out to hunt them down. He was afraid that if he left, his real body would run into trouble, so he could only shield the asylum."
"So that is the truth?" Stephen asked, stunned.
"That is the truth," Bai Mu affirmed.
As Bai Mu pieced together the full chain of events, Paradise's notification sound chimed.
[You have uncovered the truth. All evidence has been collected. Optional objective completed.]
"You've rescued Billy, which also means the Walrider's protection over Mount Massive Asylum is gone." Waylon sighed. "I imagine the Soldiers have received Wernicke's orders and have already breached the Underground Laboratory."
"Billy is their only successful test subject. If they can't find Billy, they definitely won't let us off easily."
"I know. That's why I left a gift for them," Bai Mu said.
"A gift? What kind of gift?" Stephen asked.
"Fruit," Bai Mu replied.
Inside the Underground Laboratory.
A group of heavily armed Soldiers hurriedly barged into the area housing the morphological engine.
Wernicke's automated wheelchair rolled down the corridor as he shouted angrily, "Hurry! You absolutely cannot let that child die! He is my life's work, the result of my experiments! Where are the medics? Prepare for emergency resuscitation immediately!"
"Send more men to find those two outsiders! If Billy isn't there, they must have taken him. Just secure our Billy, everyone else can die!"
However, when they arrived at the morphological engine, the Soldiers found nothing inside the pod but a massive cherry. And on that cherry was an incredibly furious face.
A Soldier carried the bizarre object over to Wernicke. Before the old scientist even had a chance to examine it closely, the cherry rapidly expanded, releasing a searingly hot light.
Boom!
[You have killed: Rudolf G. Wernicke.]
"Let's go." Bai Mu glanced back at the emergency exit, then carried Billy on his back as he walked out of the narrow alleyway. "It's time to leave. We need to hurry."
Waylon and Stephen felt a faint tremor beneath their feet, but without overthinking it, they quickly followed behind.
They set off toward the main gates of the asylum.