Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

After Muirseth explained the matter about Diana as briefly as possible, Noah, knowing her purpose, subconsciously remembered Yara's warning.

If Diana is really targeted by people from other forces...that would not be good news.

Although she had known about Diana's existence from Muirseth a long time ago, she had never had time to deal with it, or perhaps she and Diana had only met once.

This matter... Strictly speaking, it was Muirseth's fault. If Muirseth hadn't told Noah about Alex, things wouldn't have escalated to this point. However, Noah could sense Muirseth's regret, so he didn't make things worse. After all, we are all human. Miu Miu only made a mistake because of her gentleness and kindness.

"I'm thinking... should we just let Diana get in touch with Alex?" Muirseth said helplessly. "There's no need for a meeting. Just letting Diana visit unilaterally should be enough."

"This is still a big risk..." Noah sighed, "Letting Alex realize the situation outside is already a very dangerous thing."

"But...if this goes on, I'm worried that Diana will be taken advantage of..." Muirseth's concerns were not unfounded. She didn't know why Parvis had dragged Diana to his department. For some reason, she had a bad feeling.

"I understand your concerns...Okay, I agree." Noah nodded. After weighing the pros and cons, she also felt that if Diana continued like this, she would most likely be exploited by people outside, and this was a situation she did not want to see.

The initial handling was indeed a bit rough, probably because the incident happened suddenly, and Christen was too lazy to take care of so many things. The result was that the family was notified that Alex had died in the accident without any detailed explanation. This simple, rough and one-size-fits-all approach is indeed very consistent with Christen's usual behavior.

But now he is the chief administrator, not Christen, so Noah decided to discuss things - in short, visits are allowed, but he is absolutely not allowed to contact Alex.

This is the bottom line—

After Muirses left, Saria, who had been listening, spoke up. "Is this really okay?"

"Ok?"

"I mean, in my opinion, this is extremely risky—" Saria replied. "Even though contact is forbidden, if Diana sees Alex, there's no doubt she won't become even more obsessed—after all, we know she's the virus prototype, not the Alex of the past. But for Diana, a sister whose memories and appearance remain the same, in her mind, that's... Alex herself."

"I've thought about that—some might even suspect we're just conducting secret experiments and are just claiming it's a virus prototype." Noah nodded. "But other than being honest, there's nothing else we can do... After all, no matter how you look at it, we're the ones who are wronging them."

Noah sighed. Even though it was Rhine Life that did the evil thing, now that he had become the acting commander-in-chief, he couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened.

I always have to deal with these things, whether it's for Alex or Diana.

The biggest problem here is that no one is actually wrong. Rhine Life did nothing wrong in blocking the news to ensure that the prototype did not get out of control. There was nothing wrong with caring about his sister as a family member. Even Muir Seth actually had good intentions.

Alas... when everyone was hoping for a good outcome, such a contradiction arose... and even made Diana lose her trust in Rhine Life, but what could she do?

Ever since becoming the head of Rhine Life, she'd been prepared to handle such matters. Or rather, it was bound to happen sooner or later... This time it was Alex, next time it might be the Butterfly Burial. Regardless, these containment objects were ticking time bombs, and as the Director of the Special Containment Procedures Department, it was her duty to handle them. "Sareya, you'll be accompanying Diana throughout this time to prevent her from acting drastically in her excitement. Before you take Diana into the containment area, cover her eyes to prevent the area from being compromised."

The task of taking care of Diana was thus left to Saria. She was too busy to spare time, so she could only leave it to Saria for the time being.

"I understand." Saria didn't refuse. "But if something really goes wrong... I can take extreme measures, right?"

"……Can."

Noah knew that if something really happened, the most important thing was the safety of people...

I feel sorry for Alex...but if I really have to choose between the two, Noah will choose the safety of Saria and Diana.

"Sareya, if something uncontrollable really happens, I allow you to render Alex harmless..." Noah said. "There are always means of forced neutralization in the containment area, as you should be aware."

"... cryogenically sealed?"

"...After all, it's a virus, so the safest method is to freeze it until the other party reacts." Noah sighed. "Alex's containment area has emergency refrigeration measures that can freeze all living organisms in seconds."

"If I judge it necessary..." Saria understood Noya's dilemma, but she knew even more clearly that Alex must not fail containment. This object was rated as a world-destroying containment object. If it failed, the entire underground containment area would likely need to be completely sealed off.

You know, there is a high-powered bomb stored in the underground containment area. Once an uncontrollable situation really occurs, the Rhine life above will be blown to the sky.

This is no joke...

To prevent containment breaches, Christen actually devised a number of drastic measures, such as draining the containment area of ​​oxygen, injecting poison gas, or simply isolating and sealing it with a high-temperature incineration. These methods wouldn't necessarily kill the objects contained, but they would definitely kill everyone inside. The goal was to seal off the entire experimental facility and prevent anyone from escaping with anything.

It was quite extreme, but Noah also understood that it was necessary.

In order to prevent the worst from happening, she could only pray that nothing unexpected would happen during this visit.

Saria and Muirseth found Diana as soon as possible. After learning that she could see her sister, her attitude was unexpectedly calm. After accepting Saria's request to blindfold herself, Saria took her to the elevator. As the elevator went down, Muirseth and Saria's expressions became more serious. Before entering the underground containment area, they also specifically checked Diana's belongings. After confirming that there were no prohibited items, the Ouroboros and Saria were responsible for taking Diana into the visiting area - this place is only separated from the containment area by a wall. There are several surveillance probes inside. Through the screen, you can see Alex doing nothing in the room.

Saria nodded, and the Ouroboros members on both sides helped Diana remove the blindfold.

"Sister!" Diana couldn't help but feel emotional when she saw Alex on the screen. "Why is my sister locked up here?"

"Calm down, she's not your sister." Saria responded with a cold face, "Alex Mercer is dead. Director Muirseth should have told you that no matter how much she resembles her, she's not your sister. She's just a virus prototype similar to your sister."

"I don't believe it!" Diana looked at Saria with distrust in her eyes. "Director Saria, I know you. I've read your thesis, and so has my sister—she admires the Director and you, too. But why did you lie to me? My sister is clearly still alive! A virus prototype? What is that? Isn't my sister right there?"

"What I'm saying is the truth," Saria replied. Compared to Noya, she was much more resilient. She had to ensure everyone's safety. "No matter how much you find it hard to accept, your sister is dead. Rhine Life's handling of this matter was flawed. I apologize and will compensate you. However, if you're asking for the release of this virus prototype, I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Saria spoke clearly and logically, but emotionally, Diana was unwilling to believe it.

“…I…I don’t believe it…”

"These are Alex's research data. Since you are a researcher, you should understand what these data represent. It is up to you to decide whether to believe this kind of thing." At this time, Saria took out Alex's specific data and placed it in front of Diana. You can evaluate the authenticity of this data yourself. As a scientist, you should have the ability to make your own judgment.

The data given by Saria was completely true, and what made Diana most desperate was... she looked at all the data and calculated it in her mind, and indeed... this was completely true data.

Even the various instruments in the visiting area were updating this data in real time, leaving her no choice but to believe it.

However, after reaching this conclusion, reason and emotion almost gave opposite conclusions.

When Diana's reason told her that these were all true, her emotions were still unwilling to accept the fact that her sister was dead. Looking at her sister in the surveillance footage, her lips trembled and her whole body was cold.

virus?

Virus prototype?

But why, why?

She looks like... my older sister...

I can’t tell the difference… I really can’t tell the difference…

Why……

Alex seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up at the monitor screen. She didn't know why, but she just felt something familiar. She was a little overwhelmed, but her body's reaction was real.

Her body was feeling excited...

It's like... finding some delicious food.

She licked her lips subconsciously, and her eyes became a little dazed. Although it was only for a moment, she suddenly felt an excitement she had never felt before...

Or rather... she felt a desire.

A kind of... desire that wells up from within the body.

"The cell activity of the containment subject is increasing abnormally!" At this moment, the alarm suddenly sounded in the visiting area. Alex's condition had changed slightly. This change forced Saria to temporarily ignore Diana, who was still doubting her life, and stepped forward to check the data. Soon, the first level of suppression began in the containment facility, which was to inject hypnotic gas inside to try to suppress the other party's special situation.

But this suppression was obviously ineffective. Alex adapted to the hypnotic gas almost instantly. However, the sudden activation of the suppression facility also made her suddenly realize that there seemed to be something wrong with her body.

She barely managed to control herself and sat back in her chair, suppressing herself as much as possible.

Her action made Saria feel relieved and stopped injecting the hypnotic gas. However, this situation also made Diana on the side even more certain... her sister might have become something beyond her cognition.

"-Diana, everything is as you see." Saria looked at Diana beside her, "She is no longer your sister."

"..." Diana didn't answer, but the look in Alex's eyes through the monitor just now made her shudder. That look was full of a certain desire...Diana always felt that that look was focused on herself.

That's not the look one gives to one's own blood relatives...

Instead, it's like seeing your favorite food, or...

Diana suddenly remembered the look she had seen in the Ecology Department: a male animal looking at a female after being injected with an aphrodisiac. Then her memory overlapped with that of...

If that's not appetite...

that……

That naked look made Diana feel deeply uneasy. She began to doubt the correctness of her coming here. Indeed, this existence that looked somewhat similar to her sister seemed to sense her, but that look was definitely not friendly, and even... a little scary.

Diana's body began to tremble subconsciously. Noticing this, Saria subconsciously reached out her hand, wanting to comfort her, but she didn't know how to start.

Diana doesn't look sad now...

It seems more like... fear?

why?

Saria was a little confused, so she could only comfort him.

"It's safe here, don't worry."

“…” Diana didn’t reply, but the look in Alex’s eyes just now, as if she was staring at her through a camera, made her extremely frightened.

She was convinced...

That's not my sister.

Chapter 37: Monster

This beast-like existence, although both appearance and behavior were exactly the same as the sister in her memory, but Diana still judged that something was wrong in her own way, especially the look just now. She obviously didn't know that she was in the monitoring room, but it was still as if she was looking at her. The desire in her eyes really scared Diana.

Only then did she realize that what Muirseth had said was not false. That was indeed not her sister, but something in her sister's skin.

Even if Saria said it was safe here, it couldn't extinguish her inner uneasiness. It was an instinctive uneasiness, similar to witnessing the oppression of the inferior by the superior.

That terrifying monster had no reason to target me...

There's no reason... No... If she really devoured her sister's memories, then she probably has her sister's DNA in her body. Viruses are things that steal other people's DNA. And this virus prototype can't be just because I have DNA similar to my sister's...

Being able to enter Rhine Life, she was certainly not stupid. After connecting all the logic together and recalling the information Parvis gave her, she suddenly realized this possibility.

If the other party has the instincts of a virus... then completing DNA is obviously one of the instincts of the virus.

If you want to complete your DNA, you naturally need similar DNA.

Her face turned pale, and for the first time she began to regret her decision to ask to see Alex. She stepped back step by step, her face beginning to turn pale. For some reason, the danger she felt never dissipated.

"...No, why hasn't Alex moved?" At this time, Saria suddenly reacted. From the beginning, Alex seemed to have not moved at all, like a wooden man. But when Saria reacted, some snowflakes suddenly appeared on the screen. After shaking twice, it suddenly became pitch black.

——I’m so hungry…

Alex felt a little drowsy, but the hunger in her stomach still made her subconsciously seek food——

Food? Where is the food?

Where is the delicious...flesh...?

Memory, flesh, delicious...

Let us... become one...

A voice whispered in her mind. During her long detention, although Alex had always considered herself a sick human, the virus's instincts had allowed her to construct another self beyond her independent consciousness. The Blacklight virus was created to promote human evolution, to transform into a perfect being... The first instruction implanted into it was to become even more perfect.

Simply devouring a person's DNA was obviously not enough - and when Diana got closer, she immediately realized that there was a chance to complete the DNA.

Instinct made her fall into a trance, and in her seemingly harmless state, her hair had begun to grow towards the ground, gradually climbing up the wall, and then destroying all the surveillance one by one.

——Give up your weak consciousness——

——Let us be complete and unified——

——Go to sleep... [We] will become more perfect [ourselves]——

"Seal off the containment area! Ouroboros troops, stand by, put on chemical defense equipment, equip flamethrowers, and activate the freezing device!" Saria began giving orders the moment the monitor was destroyed. Although this place was only separated from the containment room by a wall, the thickness of this wall, the steel plates inside, and the fluid protective layer were not to be underestimated.

Even now, the monitoring room is the safest place.

"Ms. Diana, don't move here. We will handle everything soon." Saria sounded the alarm directly. It was different from before. Before, only Alex's hair was leaked out, but now, Alex's body might fail to be contained.

You know, the Blacklight virus prototype and the leaked Blacklight virus are two different concepts.

After instructing Diana to stay put, Saria left a few Ouroboros members to watch over the place. She then took off her white coat, revealing the [Fortified City Armor] underneath, and immediately left the monitoring room with her troops.

Diana stopped being so aggressive. After all, under such a threat, she knew what was important and what was not. All she had to do now was stay put and wait for Director Saria's triumphant return.

"The freezing facility has failed, the first layer of impact-resistant doors has been deformed, and we estimate there is only one minute left. The second layer of partition walls has been lowered, and incendiary bombs are being dropped!" The Ouroboros is a well-trained and serious team. Faced with a possible containment failure, they burst out with excellent judgment and performance. In just less than two minutes, the third layer of partition walls has been lowered. These partition walls are all air-sealed, at least 20 centimeters thick, and are sandwiched with special steel plates.

Theoretically, even Saria wouldn't be able to penetrate this thing in a few minutes.

But the scary thing is that even such an isolation door was twisted by Alex's terrifying strength and could hardly last for a minute.

At this time, Alex was obviously in some special state of rampage, and the synchronization rate of consciousness decreased. Although the changes in his body could not be seen... but based on the impact force, the opponent had completely lost his human appearance and looked more like a huge piece of meat stretching out wantonly.

"The second group of partition walls has undergone huge deformation! The incendiary bombs can't stop it! The third group of partition walls! The third group of partition walls has undergone huge deformation! It's too fast! The hypnotic gas is ineffective! The quick-freezing facility is ineffective! The high-temperature burning is also ineffective. What kind of monster is this!" You know, after the incendiary bombs were thrown, the temperature inside the second group of partition walls was enough to melt steel in an instant.

But the monster was only slightly blocked before it immediately began to attack the third barrier wall.

You know, beyond the third set of walls lies the Ouroboros troops, braced for battle. Saria pressed the communicator, standing before everyone, holding a high-strength carbon fiber shield. She spoke sternly. "Prepare for impact. Check your protective equipment again. I'll go first. The heavy armored team will follow. The warlocks will form a formation—"

"Yes!" The Ouroboros troops were composed of well-trained veterans who had once carried knives on the cruel battlefield. At this moment, none of them retreated or showed fear, because both Director Saria, who led the charge, and Director Noya behind them, had the full trust of the troops.

Even if they sacrificed here, they sacrificed for their families. Behind them are the lights of thousands of homes in Colombia!

They are the last line of defense between this monster and the outside world! They can't retreat!