Although Long Yuehong felt that Shang Jianyao would most likely say something creepy, and he was used to it anyway, he didn't expect it to be so horrifying.
If Shang Jianyao's previous "expectations" for the guard robots were still within the realm of reasonable speculation, in Old World terms, like a sci-fi movie with the potential to become reality, then the scene he had just imagined was a straight-up horror movie.
As everyone knew, among the members of the "Old Task Force," Long Yuehong hated horror movies the most.
"Don't jinx it!" Jiang Baimian found a reason to stop Shang Jianyao from continuing.
At the same time, she took in the situation inside the room.
The human bodies sealed in cylindrical glass containers were all naked. Although they hadn't completely rotted away due to being immersed in preservatives, many parts were already disgusting to normal people, making them不敢直视.
They didn't have obvious signs of deformity, unlike those who had been contaminated. As far as Jiang Baimian was concerned, they were perhaps closer to the anatomical specimens that Pangu Biology used to train doctors.
"Is this secret laboratory geared towards the human body?" Jiang Baimian said after some consideration.
Shang Jianyao laughed:
"I wonder what relationship this laboratory and the company's predecessor had before the Old World was destroyed..."
Regarding the form in which Pangu Biology existed before the Old World's destruction and which organization it belonged to, even management children like Jiang Baimian didn't know much, let alone ordinary employees. The corresponding information was classified for directors and above.
In the past, only a portion of employees from Pangu Biology's predecessor entered the underground building. The rest were ordinary humans from the surrounding area who followed them in to escape the radiation pollution, drastic weather changes, the spread of the "heartless disease," and the loss of social control after the Old World's destruction.
And those employees from Pangu Biology's predecessor had already been issued gag orders during the chaotic years, and no one had leaked the relevant information.
"Are they all researching genes?" Jiang Baimian answered Shang Jianyao's question as if talking to herself. "Does the Holm Reproductive Medical Center belong to one of its subordinate institutions, which is why it's involved in gene optimization and congenital disease prevention in addition to treating infertility?"
The Holm Reproductive Medical Center and this secret laboratory were in the same city, so Jiang Baimian couldn't help but make such an association.
Please, let's not discuss this issue. I don't want to worry about being struck by lightning by a High Authority while also being unable to return to the company, see my family, and being exiled to the surface... Long Yuehong felt his liver and gallbladder tremble as he listened to the team leader and Shang Jianyao's discussion.
Bai Chen seemed to have similar feelings. She stood in the corridor and glanced left and right:
"Now is not the time to discuss these issues. Delay might lead to complications."
*Clap clap clap.* Shang Jianyao applauded as if he was patting the "Berserker" assault rifle.
Jiang Baimian nodded along:
"Then let's continue forward and look for Old Ge.
"If we encounter similar scenes later, we'll observe them briefly and confirm that there's no danger. If the situation allows on the return trip, we can collect further information."
With that, she planned to lead the way as an example.
"Are we going back now?" The honest Shang Jianyao asked curiously.
Jiang Baimian glared at him and said in a reckless tone:
"Hurry up and lead the way!"
"Yes, Team Leader!" Shang Jianyao immediately became serious, exited the room, and trotted forward with a *铮铮铮* sound.
"Slow down, slow down. Be careful of accidents," Jiang Baimian reminded helplessly.
The "Old Task Force" quickly adjusted their pace forward.
Along the way, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong didn't forget to open the doors of the rooms on both sides to prevent any hidden dangers.
After passing several places where human corpses were preserved by immersing them in preservatives, the situation inside the rooms on both sides suddenly changed.
They became like hospital wards, with numbers on the doors. A single bed was placed in the center, with a cabinet beside it. There were instruments monitoring heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation, as well as ventilators and various rescue devices.
At this time, in the few rooms that Shang Jianyao and the others could see, a white skeleton wearing ragged clothes lay on each single bed.
These skeletons lay quietly, in almost the same posture, as if they had died peacefully, so they were particularly well-behaved.
"Patients?" Long Yuehong guessed.
Patients who were the subjects of experiments?
Jiang Baimian observed for about ten seconds and asked thoughtfully:
"Don't you think these people died too 'quietly'?
"It's as if they were moved to the bed after death and arranged in a pose..."
"Yes, if they were attacked and died, their bodies would definitely show some signs of curling up or shifting." Bai Chen had seen this situation more often.
Long Yuehong echoed:
"These all look like they were seriously ill to the point of being unable to move, and it took them a while to take their last breath."
Shang Jianyao glanced at the skeletons a few times and suddenly said in a very serious tone:
"Vegetative state?"
Many thoughts in Jiang Baimian's mind were instantly ignited like a match, burning fiercely.
She looked at Shang Jianyao and said:
"Like Fan Wensi, Li Jinlong's son, and Jiang Xiaoyue, vegetative people who accepted experimental treatment as volunteers?
"The only difference is that the former two were sent to a certain place in the north, suspected to be the Northern Corporation...
"Because these are all vegetative people, after the Old World was destroyed, they were left unattended, and no one replaced the nutrient solution that needed to be infused, so they slowly and quietly died?"
This was consistent with all the details presented by the current environment.
"Isn't the Northern Corporation the only one doing the relevant research?" Bai Chen felt that although this guess was a bit of a stretch, it was really acceptable.
"Perhaps." Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and suddenly thought of something.
If the Holm Reproductive Medical Center was indeed related to this secret laboratory, would people from this secret laboratory have attended, or even lectured, at the genetic field academic lecture jointly held by it and the Northern Corporation?
As she quickly recalled the job information and research directions of those lecturers, Jiang Baimian's body suddenly stiffened slightly.
She remembered a special name.
That was a person in the ranks of special guests, but who only had a transliterated Ashlands name with no other information:
Du Heng!
Jiang Baimian retracted her gaze and issued the order again:
"Continue forward!"
The current environment was not suitable for discussion.
As they moved forward, the members of the "Old Task Force" passed through one suspected hospital ward after another.
Some of the rooms had skeletons placed on the single beds, while others were empty.
Seeing that there were no more rooms on either side and a semicircular hall appeared not far away, Jiang Baimian glanced left and right and said:
"Forty wards, 26 with skeletons, 14 empty."
She didn't forget to record this basic information and report it to her teammates.
This was a statement that didn't require a response. Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong led the way into the hall.
There were large instruments placed here, some with metal walls separating them and white curtains drawn, and some without, in an open state.
Jiang Baimian took one look and suddenly felt that some of the instruments looked familiar.
Some of them looked like spaceships, some had a glass罩 that looked like an inverted coffin hanging, and below was a bed covered with sensors. A white skeleton wearing ragged clothes lay quietly on the bed...
Long Yuehong also felt familiar and blurted out:
"Could this laboratory be doing human awakening?"
He had seen some of those instruments in the C-14 project team!
"Maybe." Shang Jianyao smiled.
"Don't delay, look for Old Ge." Jiang Baimian scanned the situation in the semicircular hall.
She found a metal door on the opposite side.
That metal door was already open.
Long Yuehong and Bai Chen carefully checked the various instruments and their surroundings, because several guard robots were standing there motionless.
They had not awakened.
While checking, Long Yuehong cautiously counted the white skeletons lying in some of the instruments.
"11, 12, 13, 14... There are 14 empty wards, the numbers match." Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his gaze from an instrument with three metal beds.
Three white skeletons lay side by side there.
"Are there any abnormalities on your side?" Jiang Baimian turned her head and asked.
Long Yuehong was about to respond when the corner of his eye suddenly caught a scene:
At the instrument with three metal beds, there were only two skeletons lying side by side.
Two!
"There, there's a body missing!" Long Yuehong's pupils dilated, and he raised his finger to point.
Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Jiang Baimian instantly raised the weapons in their hands and looked over.
No strange phenomena occurred.
Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and said:
"Could there have only been two skeletons to begin with?
"The forty wards may not all be full."
"I'm sure there were three." Long Yuehong first gave a definitive answer, then hesitated and said, "But I can't rule out the possibility that I was affected by hallucinations."
Jiang Baimian nodded and called Shang Jianyao to approach the instrument.
This was something that might contain danger, so they couldn't take it lightly, couldn't laugh it off, and continue forward.