"This is the tunnel I've dug. The steel plate is quite heavy—go ahead first; I will bring up the rear and secure the plate behind us."
"I have considerable strength as well; allow me to close it." Erik tested lifting it and found he could easily manage.
Kevin was somewhat taken aback—this steel plate was no lightweight. Yet, reflecting on it, the so-called novice player's peculiar appearance and altered physique made such strength less surprising. Aware of her wariness, he did not object further and promptly descended. Erik followed close behind, and once steady, he hauled the plate over, sealing the entrance with meticulous care.
The tunnel was pitch black. After his eyes adjusted, Erik glimpsed Kevin awaiting him just two meters ahead in the darkness.
"Let's go."
The passage was indeed man-made, roughly a meter in diameter, compelling them to crawl forward. Though the walls were rugged, the ground was remarkably smooth—a testament to Kevin's painstaking labor.
The tunnel twisted and turned endlessly, often ascending and descending; "nine bends and eighteen turns" would not be an exaggeration. After at least four hours of crawling, the silent Kevin finally spoke: "We're close."
Over half an hour later, Kevin halted, feeling around left and right, then pushed hard. Erik heard the grinding scrape of steel. The exit opened. Kevin climbed out first, Erik following suit.
Surveying their surroundings, they found themselves in a dimly lit room, lined with shelves in every direction.
"This is the forsaken storeroom of the laboratory. Emily won't venture here. Let us first locate the cultivation chamber."
They entered a corridor entirely shrouded in darkness, clearly part of the abandoned underground laboratory. Kevin's ability to locate this spot for their tunnel's exit was indeed impressive. Leading Erik through the shadows, when they neared lit areas, Kevin guided him along camera blind spots, and when evasion was impossible, he nimbly leapt upwards—prying open a ventilation shaft and climbing through.
"Can you make it up?" He silently asked, signaling with his hand.
Erik nodded, deftly following him upward.
Navigating through the ventilation shafts, they deftly eluded the surveillance cameras, descending only after passing beyond their watchful gaze.
Thus, after a series of climbs and descents, they finally arrived at the threshold of the cultivation chamber.
"The key you possess likely belongs to this chamber, yet the light ring may not be confined here. The incubation room warrants inspection as well. Once I descend, I shall disable the surveillance; thereafter, you can unlock the door and investigate, while I proceed to the incubation room," Kevin deliberated, handing one of the two incubation room keys to Erik. "This one is for you. Should misfortune befall me and I am captured, you will still have access. If we succeed, we depart together. If we fail… Emily will not exact our demise; we shall bide our time and await the next opportunity."
Erik accepted the key, lowering his voice in kind: "Three other players arrived alongside me."
Kevin smiled wryly. "Then let us hope fortune favors them." With that, he lifted the panel and leapt downwards.
Utilizing the ventilation shafts, they evaded the surveillance cameras, descending only once they had passed beyond their watchful gaze.
After a series of climbs and descents, they finally reached the threshold of the cultivation chamber.
Kevin swiftly pinpointed the direction of the cameras upon descending, drew a stone from his pocket, and shattered one with precise force, instantly disabling the device. Erik leapt down in response. Kevin then gestured toward the cultivation chamber's door before retreating—he was headed for the incubation room.
The cultivation chamber stood before Erik, who stepped forward to unlock the door. The key slid in smoothly and he attempted to turn it—
But the anticipated click never came; the key seemed jammed, utterly immovable.
Pressing his lips together, Erik withdrew the key, reinserted it, and tried again to no avail.
This key did not belong to the cultivation chamber.
Determined, she resolved to find Kevin.
Following the direction he'd gone, she pressed onward, hearing the ongoing sounds of surveillance being sabotaged. After some fifty meters, Erik spotted two broken cameras. A door on the corridor's left side stood ajar; she slipped inside and softly called, "Kevin?"
Inside the incubation room were rows of incubators, all empty.
The entire chamber lay bare—no sign of the light ring.
"The light ring isn't here. I checked the resting area beyond, too," Kevin emerged, his disappointment evident despite his beard. "What's the situation on your end?"
"The key won't turn."
"That's our worst outcome. We must haste to the laboratory—Emily surely suspects us now."
In the underground second level of the research institute dormitory, Emily was roused by the alarm's blare. Clad and alert, she proceeded to the monitoring room, noting several blacked-out surveillance feeds. A faint smirk graced her face. "Visitors again…" She scanned the displays, discovering no signs of intrusion at the entrance. Her expression darkened abruptly.
"They did not enter through the main gate. Then where? Could it be Kevin? But why would he destroy surveillance if he returned?" Emily's face shifted; was Kevin betraying her? Did he no longer wish to remain but seek escape from the simulation?
Restless, Emily pondered. Over the years, she had immersed herself in research but yearned for companionship. Three years prior, Kevin had offered to stay by her side in exchange for letting others leave, and she had consented.
With the simulation's recent reboot, not only had the dinosaurs departed per the scenario's design, but Kevin had vanished before her eyes. She could not comprehend why, though fortunately, all was proceeding as she desired.
Yet now, Kevin's unexpected reappearance unsettled her. If he had truly betrayed her… Emily sneered coldly: "Unappreciative? Then I'll replace him. This simulation shall never lack players." She already held one tightly in her grasp, ensuring it would not slip away freely.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, more surveillance feeds flickered to black. Yet Emily remained unfazed, her fingers dancing swiftly over the control panel.
One by one, the electronic doors began to close. Despite Erik and Kevin's haste, they found themselves chasing ever-closing barriers.
Emily's anger swelled as the blackout persisted unchecked; the intruders were advancing toward the core laboratory.
Yet after her fury, composure settled anew.
She honed in on the earliest blacked-out zones—the incubation and cultivation chambers—confirming the intruders lacked the cultivation chamber's key.
"Hah, let them search. The light ring isn't in the core laboratory," Emily said coolly, observing dispassionately.
Ten minutes later, the blackout ceased. A triumphant smile curled on Emily's lips. She had long suspected the cultivation chamber's key was absent from the manor; Kevin chasing the light ring was but a futile dream.
Unexpectedly, the control panel's screen zoomed to full display—Kevin's face filled the monitor. Her breath quickened. Part of her hoped it wasn't truly Kevin; after all, she had regarded him as a son, as her successor, over these past three years!
Kevin regarded the camera impassively, then pressed a button. Instantly, the underground laboratory plunged into darkness. All electric doors unlocked; the pathways cleared.
Emily's expression shifted drastically, her blood surging. How had he accomplished this?
Staring at the inky screen, her sharp memory recalled the source of that feed—it was the archives room.
Indeed, Kevin, a graduate student at a leading domestic university, albeit not specializing in genetic engineering, possessed an astute mind. With her occasional guidance, he had independently learned swiftly, evolving from a pupil needing constant supervision to a capable aide managing many trivial aspects of research.
To keep pace, Kevin often lingered in the archives room, even sleeping there. The room's lights had burnt out several times, but Kevin always repaired them.
His knack for repairs extended beyond; whenever tools or equipment around the manor faltered, he was the one to fix them.
Emily's countenance grew grave.
When had Kevin tampered within the archives to affect the entire electrical system?
Inside the archives, Kevin produced two flashlights seemingly from nowhere, handing one to Erik. "Let's move. We're heading to the core laboratory. She's on level minus two. With the blackout, the elevators have ceased operation; she can't ascend. She'll likely attempt to restore the elevator's backup power. We still have time. Keep your flashlight off as much as possible—I believe you can see well in the dark, right?"
"Indeed."
Guided by Kevin, they navigated the darkness with assurance.
At the core laboratory, Erik's key successfully unlocked the door.
Yet, the light ring eluded them there as well.
"Can you pick locks? Perhaps try the cultivation chamber's door?" Erik asked.
Kevin shook his head. "No, only keys work." He lacked time to detail his experiences.
In truth, before the simulation rebooted, the underground laboratory's doors were all secured by password-controlled electric locks.
Over the past three years, he had attempted to open discovered boxes and acquired a key, but despite thoroughly searching the manor's upper and lower laboratory areas, he found no keyholes to insert it. Only after this reboot, when he reappeared in the forest unprepared and stealthily returned to the manor, did he notice the doors to the core laboratory, incubation, and cultivation chambers had transformed—and he used a key to unlock the incubation room's door.
He thus surmised that the light ring lay somewhere among these three doors.
The keyholes that arose from the simulation's reboot surely required a single key to open—such was his belief.
With a sigh, Kevin said, "I hope the players who arrived with you have luck; otherwise, we'll truly have to await the next round of the simulation. Do you hold any impressions of those who entered alongside you?"
"I briefly collaborated with a female player. She has keen senses and once discovered a bag containing mud that conceals one from dinosaur detection; she also informed me of a box, which we retrieved together."
Kevin lowered his gaze. That mud was his creation. At the simulation's commencement, he held a bag of it; after being transported out of the underground laboratory, the bag vanished from his hands.
"The other two players I know little about, but the female player mentioned one: a bald veteran player, quite formidable. He might possess a key," Erik admitted, feeling unease at relying on unfamiliar allies.
Kevin's thoughts stirred. "A veteran… he may have already been to the manor. Come with me; I'll show you something."