American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 311 Fahrenheit 100
"Hey? Why aren't you talking? Who are you?"

Because Roy and Jay were discussing something, they didn't answer Cliff Layton's question on the walkie-talkie, so he asked again on the walkie-talkie.

Jay quickly answered on the walkie-talkie.

"We are both people sent by the military!"

After Jay finished answering, Roy spoke again.

"That guy seems to be able to see us!"

Jay glanced discreetly at the surveillance cameras in the monitoring room.

"Those with the highest level of access to the experimental base can access the monitoring room's server through the intranet to view the surveillance footage."

After answering Roy's question, Cliff Layton's voice came through the walkie-talkie again.

"So it's the military! You've finally arrived! Are you here for rescue? Why are there only two of you?"

Hearing this, Roy's expression became strange.

"So, it seems that the Marines General Hammer sent didn't even make it into the base; they all died outside?"

"The situation was urgent, and the Marines did indeed enter the canyon at night. While the area below the canyon was dangerous before, it was still within a manageable range. After the incident at this secret laboratory, the area below the canyon became increasingly dangerous!"

After answering Roy's question, Jay went on to answer Cliff Layton's question.

"We are the advance reconnaissance team; the rescue team will move in after we return!"

Jay wasn't lying; in fact, the soldiers on the warship were the rescue personnel brought by General Hammer.

Once Jay and Roy have investigated the situation at the experimental base, the rescue team will begin operations.

"That's wonderful! Come to Lab 3 quickly, I can tell you everything!"

Roy and Jay were genuinely surprised that Cliff Layton was about to confess right away.

"Blake, should we go? It might be a trap!"

Jay felt that this guy named Cliff Layton was quite suspicious. After all, everyone in the entire experimental base had disappeared, so why was he the only one still alive and well?

So the female soldier was a little undecided and wanted to ask Roy for his opinion.

"Go ahead, just be careful."

Roy certainly wouldn't be afraid of any traps.

Jay gritted his teeth and decided to go to Lab 3 to see what Cliff Layton was up to.

"Let's go to Lab 3."

Jay quickly led Roy away from the administrative area of ​​the experimental base and brought him to the entrance of the experimental area.

Access is also required here, but when Jay tried to unlock it, he found that the door to the experimental area could not be opened.

"How could this be?"

Jay looked shocked, while Roy glanced at the computer screen.

"Do you not have enough permissions to open the door?"

"Impossible! My access level is already the second highest! I can open all the doors except for the three highest-level offices and the main laboratory!"

"That guy probably locked the door. Ask him what happened."

Jay immediately pressed the button to ask Cliff Layton.

"Mr. Layton, why can't the gate to the experimental area be opened?"

The walkie-talkie responded quickly.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you! There was a biological leak in the main laboratory, which contaminated Laboratories 1 and 2. Only Laboratories 3 is safe. To prevent the biological contamination from spreading further, I closed the gate between the administrative area and the experimental area. To get to Laboratories 3, you must go through the maintenance passage to the energy area, and then from the energy area to the experimental area.”

It sounds complicated, but it's actually very simple.

Entering through the main gate of the experimental base, you'll find the administrative area, where the base conducts daily administrative work and receives guests.

Next, walk straight from the administrative area to the main laboratory in the experimental area, which is where Clive Layton said the biological leak occurred.

To the left of the administrative area is the living area, which includes employee dormitories and the canteen.

To the right of the administrative area is a green area, where there is a small park and a hydroponic farm, a place for people at the base to relax.

Finally, there's the energy zone, located at the very back of the experimental base, separated from the administrative area by an experimental zone.

So the experimental base is actually four areas surrounding the central experimental area, and the experimental area is also divided into four parts: the largest main laboratory and three relatively smaller laboratories.

The Laboratory 3 that Clive Layton mentioned is located near the energy zone, at the very back of the experimental area.

"But why didn't they let us walk directly through the residential area or the green area, but instead made us take the maintenance path?"

Roy then had another question, which Jay directly posed to Cliff Layton.

"Because the residential and green areas have also been contaminated to some extent, the monitoring inside has stopped working, and I don't know the specific situation inside, so I can only lock the gates to the area. Currently, only the administrative and energy areas have not been contaminated by any biological leaks."

Well, it seems there's a problem with the living area and the green area after all.

“Blake, it sounds like we’ll have to go through the maintenance access.”

Roy pouted.

"Who knows if that guy was lying to us! But there shouldn't be any security cameras in the maintenance tunnel, right?"

"Of course, why would we install surveillance cameras in the maintenance corridor? At most, we'd install one at the entrance. Wait, you mean..."

Roy did not answer Jay's question.

"Miss Jay, do you have a picture of Cliff Layton?"

Meanwhile, in a hidden laboratory within the experimental base, a pale-faced middle-aged man sat in front of a computer, a sickly smile on his face.

"Two more suicides have arrived! Dren, you'll soon have plenty of food to eat!"

A seductive voice came from behind the middle-aged man.

"Honey, I'm so excited!"

Then, a strange humanoid creature emerged from the shadows and hugged the middle-aged man from behind.

This humanoid creature has a bald head, and although it has no hair, its face is still considered very beautiful.

Hairstyle has a very important influence on a person. It can cover up facial flaws and often change a person's impression.

If someone can still look good without hair, then it means that this humanoid creature has a truly outstanding facial structure.

Below the head is the humanoid creature's smooth body, as curvaceous as the sexiest female model, with luxurious headlights and pert taillights, and a long, thin tail like that of a rodent.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that this humanoid creature is hermaphroditic, and its two feet have a reverse-movement joint structure similar to that of even-toed ungulates, resembling a pair of naturally formed high heels.

In short, this is a peculiar creature that is similar to a human yet somewhat different, exuding a deadly allure.

(A movie poster; those words can't be typed. The poster features Dren and the Laytons.)

The middle-aged man, Clive Layton, turned around and hugged Dren, kissing him intimately, as if he were tenderly cuddling with a lover.

After a tender moment, Cliff released Deren. "Go on, Deren, go enjoy your dinner."

"I'll be back soon, darling!"

With his legs twisted behind his back and his hips swaying, Deren walked toward the exit of the hidden laboratory in a very seductive manner.

Step by step, Deren's body gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

"Are you sure that guy is in this direction?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

Jay has a military-grade PAD (portable computer) that he uses to download important information during missions and can also be used as a decoder.

This military PAD contains photos of Cliff Layton and his wife Elsa Layton.

The Laytons were transferred to this experimental base from Amacham this year. Within a few months of arriving, they overcame several difficulties with their excellent biotechnology and were promoted to chief scientists of the base.

Cliff Layton also gained the highest level of access to the experimental base.

After hearing Jay's description, Roy wondered if it was something that the couple had done that caused the entire experimental base to fall into chaos.

Clearly, Jay shared similar thoughts, which is why he was reluctant to go to Lab 3.

After obtaining Clive Layton's photograph, Roy began to activate the Hound Ring's effects.

However, since we haven't seen Cliff in person, the search for the Cerberus's phantom was relatively slow, and ultimately, a photo can't compare to the impression left by the real person.

In other words, the photo Jay provided wasn't photoshopped. If it were a retouched photo taken with a future smartphone, even the ghostly figure of the hellhound would be confused and wouldn't be able to find the person at all.

“There won’t be any problem. I’m using mystical abilities, which allow me to track a person within a certain range. However, since I haven’t seen Cliff Layton in person, the tracking might be a bit slow.”

This was also Roy giving Jay a heads-up.

If a fight breaks out, Roy might reveal his supernatural powers. In any case, as a naval intelligence officer, Jay couldn't possibly be unaware of some mystical forces.

"You, you actually possess the power of the mystical side!"

Jay stared at Roy in shock.

"Yeah, otherwise how do you think I became a FEA special agent?"

Upon hearing this, Jay pursed his lips.

"So, did you also use supernatural powers when you were shooting at empty bottles on the warship this afternoon?"

Roy glanced at Jay speechlessly; this female soldier was really strong!

They even tried to prove that Roy's marksmanship was flawed, but in reality, he didn't even activate bullet time.

"No, it's just that I'm a good shot."

Roy's candid remark further damaged Jay's confidence.

"Blake, has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"

"No, I've always been universally loved and admired!"

"nausea!"

Jay stopped talking and followed Roy through the narrow, cramped maintenance tunnel filled with pipes and wires.

To maintain the overall aesthetics and tidiness of such a large base, it is necessary to hide the pipes and lines of various equipment, but hiding them makes maintenance more troublesome.

Therefore, there will be dedicated access roads for maintaining the infrastructure, which is the route Roy and Jay are currently taking.

There were no lights in the maintenance tunnel, but Jay was wearing night vision goggles, while Roy had now entered Ghost Wolf form and gained darkvision.

The lack of light did not affect their actions.

After walking for a while, Jay suddenly felt a bit hot.

"Blake, is it getting hotter and hotter?"

“It seems so.”

"Wait a minute, let me check the ambient temperature on the PAD—oh my god, it's already 82 degrees Fahrenheit (equivalent to 28 degrees Celsius)! I remember checking the PAD's data when I came in, and it was 62 degrees Fahrenheit (equivalent to 17 degrees Celsius)!"

After walking only a few hundred meters, the temperature difference was twenty degrees Fahrenheit, which is a bit too outrageous.

Roy thought of a possibility.

"Could it be because it's close to an energy zone, so the energy temperature is higher?"

Jay shook his head.

"The energy zone of the experimental base uses a state-of-the-art cooling system, and the temperature is similar to other areas; it shouldn't be more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit higher. Something must have happened up ahead; we'd better be careful!"

The two became much more cautious in their movements, and soon they saw that the maintenance passage ahead was filled with a light red mist.

"The temperature here has reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit (equivalent to 32 degrees Celsius)!"

"It seems that the temperature rise is likely related to these red fogs."

Roy activated his Eye of Truth, wanting to see if there was anything special about the red mist in front of him. Unexpectedly, he saw a figure running past in the mist.

Startled, Roy immediately asked Jay.

"Miss Jay, did you see something running past ahead?"

"No, what else could be ahead besides this red mist?"

If what just happened wasn't Roy's hallucination, then it could only be that the thing that just ran past was invisible, which is why Jay couldn't see it.

"Come on, let's go over and take a look!"

The equipment they were wearing had the effect of isolating them from toxic gases, so they didn't have too many concerns and walked directly into the red mist.

The temperature inside the red fog rose again, now very close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius).

At this temperature, you'd be sweating buckets even if you did nothing, let alone Roy and Jay, who were both wearing full sets of non-breathable gear.

In addition, the humidity in the red fog area is also very high, making it feel like a sauna.

"Damn it, why is it so hot!"

High temperatures and high humidity can easily cause fatigue, and when people are fatigued, their attention becomes less focused. That's why we prohibit driving while fatigued.

That's the situation Jay is in now.

So, when Jay bent down to pass through the pipe, he lost his balance and bumped his head on the pipe.

boom!
"Are you OK?"

Roy turned around and pulled Jay up. Judging from the sound, the impact was quite severe. Luckily, Jay was wearing a tactical helmet.

Moreover, the metal pipe that Jay hit actually developed a crack!

I don't know if Jay is being stubborn or if there's a problem with the quality of the metal pipes.

(End of this chapter)