Lucky billion players, you've never seen one before / I can accumulate my own luck

Gawain suggested, "There are name tags here, and there might be others in the other rooms as well. The memory fragments of the test subjects are clearly information given to us by the dungeon."

"The numbers on the name tags are meant to distinguish different test subjects. We really need to look for other name tags to see if we can piece together the memory information."

Fan Xiao nodded and said, "Let's go."

The group of five left the room and went to other glass rooms.

They searched each room carefully.

As they expected, name tags were indeed present in the other rooms as well.

The memory fragments attached to these name tags are basically the same, all being images of the owner being tortured.

After searching the entire laboratory, Fan and his group of five found a total of 46 name tags.

However, the numbers are not from 01 to 46. Some numbers are greater than 46, and there are even several numbers above 100.

It seems that the name tags in this laboratory are only a part of all the name tags.

From the numerous fragments of memory provided by these name tags, they summarized three pieces of information that needed attention.

First, the test subjects were all young children, the youngest being only twelve or thirteen years old, and the oldest appearing to be no more than sixteen years old, including both boys and girls.

Secondly, the title "Dr. Zhuang" appears frequently, and the researchers at the Seventh Research Institute seem to respect him... or perhaps she? Dr. Zhuang's gender cannot be determined at this time.

Third, the subjects' scalp was cut open and they were then thrown into a pool of water, allowing their brains to come into direct contact with and be immersed in an unknown liquid. At the same time, during this process, the subjects' pain receptors were constantly stimulated and fed back to their brains. The purpose of stimulating pain receptors is currently unclear, but it is speculated that it is related to the awakening of psychic abilities.

Their previous guesses have been confirmed.

The Seventh Research Institute did indeed conduct extremely inhumane human experiments behind the scenes, violating moral principles and ethics.

46 fragments of memory piece together a bloody backdrop.

It makes one feel incredibly heavy-hearted.

However, these memories are now history.

Time has already passed by countless miles.

Whether it's anger or sympathy, it's all a bit too late.

"So, the monsters lurking within the Seventh Research Institute are mutated forms of some of these children?"

Gawain speculated, "The Seventh Research Institute's psionic research must have ultimately failed."

"They did create 'psychic beings,' but these psychic beings have no reason, only madness, and are no different from monsters."

"uncertain."

Fan Xiao said, "There might be some successes, but most of them fail."

"As for those who neither succeeded nor failed, but simply died on the lab table..."

He shook his head: "They're all just dust in the past..."

"Count, there's something suspicious, have you noticed?"

Nori said, "Failed psionic awakenings will give birth to uncontrollable monsters. Why would the people at the research institute leave these monsters behind instead of eliminating them? It doesn't make logical sense to deliberately leave behind a hidden danger."

"The claim that it is uncontrollable is our own perspective."

Fan Xiao said, "From a researcher's perspective, it's definitely more valuable to keep these monsters alive for further research than to kill them."

"Hmph, what a disgusting thing to do!"

Nori was somewhat indignant.

She revealed a simple and sentimental side befitting a young girl.

"Compared to leaving the monster behind, I think there is another point of doubt that deserves our attention more."

Gawain reminded everyone, "The test subjects are generally between 12 and 16 years old. People in this age group rarely evolve naturally and become evolved beings. The prerequisite for awakening psionic energy is to first become an evolved being. Were these children all forcibly turned into evolved beings?"

"It's normal."

Fan Xiao said, "It's definitely faster to create our own evolutionaries than to capture natural ones."

"The background information of the dungeon mentions that a player brought back a sample of a potion that can turn ordinary people into evolved beings. Presumably, this kind of evolution potion will soon become widespread."

"Once we find a group of children and give them evolution potions, we can mass-produce evolved beings."

"It takes time for an evolved being to be discovered and selected as a prospective player by the evolution game. As long as the experiment is completed during this period, there is no need to worry about the person being taken to the selection instance."

"It's like raising pigs. These guys..."

Gao Wen's face was somewhat gloomy.

Fan Xiao concluded, "The issue of our identities has been confirmed. We are now researchers, and our previous guesses were correct. We are experimental subjects and researchers."

"Will he become a researcher at night, but a test subject during the day?"

The head maid guessed.

“What’s the point of becoming an experimental subject…?” Gawain said. “Experimental subjects shouldn’t be attacked by monsters, since they’re our own kind. Do you think the dungeon will automatically protect us from danger?”

“It shouldn’t be that simple.”

Fan Xiao shook his head and said, "Let's talk about what happened during the day. We can focus on collecting name tags now."

"Although the memory fragments of the name tags are all pretty much the same, what if there are differences? We can only draw conclusions after we find and confirm them all."

"besides……"

He paused for a moment and then said, "We have encountered five monsters so far, and it is now basically certain that the monsters are indeed classified as the same type of danger."

"According to the game's hints, there are three possible dangers that may arise at night."

"In other words, there are still two unknowns waiting for us. The laboratory can protect against monsters, but it may not be able to protect against the other two dangers. We need to be careful about this."

Upon hearing this, Nori and the other three nodded in agreement.

Unknown dangers are always difficult to guard against, so it is indeed necessary to be more vigilant.

"Speak of it."

Gao Wen suddenly realized something and quickly said, "Could that invisible barrier between the research institute and the outside world also be a kind of psionic energy? Or... a monster?"

"Not bad, you thought of that."

Fan Xiao nodded and said, "I have the same guess, but it doesn't mean anything to us for now."

"Breaking through the barrier by force is definitely not an option; no one knows what will happen if we try to do it by force."

"The safest approach is to find a solution that will make the monster give in and allow the barrier to dissipate on its own."

"For example, we tried it before: self-harm while loudly begging for mercy."

“…It was ‘I’ who tried, not ‘we’,” Gawain reminded him. “You didn’t even move; it was all done by me alone.”

“We’re a team,” Fan Xiao laughed. “Division of labor, cooperation, and sharing of results—isn’t that just natural?”

"..." Gao Wen: "In short, this method is useless."

"Yes, it's not working, so we need to find a new method."

Fan Xiao said, "Finding new methods naturally requires gathering new intelligence. There's no chance to do that tonight. No need to rush, let's see how things go when daytime comes..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly stopped and looked toward the doorway.

Gao Wen and the other three also became alert, tensing up and looking warily toward the laboratory door.

There were footsteps outside the door.

Chapter 201 New Crisis

Out of caution, Nori temporarily had the lights in the eyes of the mindless doll turn off, plunging the laboratory into darkness.

The five people quickly adapted to the changes in light and environment, while using the experimental equipment to conceal their figures.

A moment later, the heavy door was opened.

Light shone in from outside.

Using his night vision, Fan Xiao immediately looked out to observe the situation.

Four figures stood at the door.

They weren't monsters; all four figures were players.

Fan Xiao recognized the four as the team led by the gloomy man who had separated from them during the attack by the fire monster.

All four had injuries, some minor and some serious, indicating that their time outside was far from easy.

A tall player standing at the front spoke up: "No need to hide anymore, we know there are people inside."

Hearing the voices coming from the doorway, Fan Xiao and the others stopped hiding and came out of the glass room.

Nori made the "heartless doll" light up its eyes again, and the laboratory was illuminated once more.

At the entrance, the gloomy man stood behind his three teammates, casting a scrutinizing gaze at Fan Xiao and his group of five.

He then turned his gaze to the numerous open glass doors, looked around, and finally looked at the name tags that Fan Xiao and the other four had collected, his eyes thoughtful.

The gloomy man took a few steps forward, arriving at the front of the group, and said, "Friends, judging from your reactions here... the laboratory should be considered a shelter, right?"

He said in a friendly tone, "Would you mind if we came in to take refuge as well? There are too many monsters outside, and we can't handle them all."

"Please make yourself at home. This isn't some private property."

Fan Xiao gestured for him to proceed.

After the four gloomy men walked in, he suddenly asked, "By the way, there's more than one building in this research institute, and each one probably has a laboratory. How did you happen to find this place?"

Fan Xiao grinned and said, "Could it be that you saw the lights here and came here specifically to lure monsters?"

"You are joking, Your Excellency."

The gloomy man said without changing his expression, "Those monsters outside are clearly former psionicists. They probably became like that after the experiment failed... This conclusion is easy to deduce."

“Researching psionic energy naturally involves human experimentation, which is cruel and leaves deep trauma on the subjects… Based on this, it’s not difficult to deduce that the laboratory can be used by players for safety.”

"We just didn't know the exact location of the laboratory, and it was difficult to find it under the monster's attack, so we simply followed the light."

"It was just a joke, why are you taking it so seriously?"

Fan Xiao said, "Generally, only people who really have problems will go to so much trouble to explain themselves in order to avoid suspicion."

"...You seem to dislike us?" the gloomy man asked.

"You think too much."

Fan Xiao smiled.

The two teams separated by a certain distance and rested.

Fan Xiao gestured to his teammates, and the five of them huddled together.

The "Dustless Shield" has been activated.

Fan Xiao erected the repulsive barrier a few meters away, forming a closed spherical space that enveloped himself and his teammates.

By isolating the air inside and outside the barrier and blocking the transmission of vibrations, he created a physical version of a "soundproof barrier".

After completing these protective measures, Fan Xiao said to his teammates, "We have to leave."

"Now?" Gawain asked doubtfully, "Shouldn't we wait until dawn?"

"Can't wait any longer."

Fan Xiao shook his head and said, "Do you remember our previous conclusion? The laboratory is not absolutely safe."

"Those monsters outside are only afraid to enter this place, not unable to enter it."

“The monsters hate us ‘researchers’ to the core. If too many of us gather in the lab, their hatred will increase accordingly, and sooner or later it will overwhelm their fear.”

"Such a hidden danger does indeed exist."

The head maid nodded: "We just finalized our plan to collect name tags. Leaving now and heading to the next laboratory to collect other name tags fits our plan perfectly."

"Another point."

Fan Xiao added, "Anyone who could think of the laboratory as a shelter must have taken the monsters' emotions into account. Such a person would not be unaware that too many people would cause the monsters' emotions to become skewed, which could potentially render the shelter ineffective."

"You mean..."

Gao Wen glanced at the group of gloomy men, then looked away and said, "They have bad intentions towards us? Then why did we let them in..."