Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1764: Codename: The Twin Eclipses: Part-5

It’s not like these people were idiots who would let an opportunity slip away, were they?

Sure, their people had suffered from the monster attack and the near-viral outbreak, but amid the disaster, they had also discovered something far more valuable.

If this virus could transform ordinary humans into monsters… then what about the otherworlders?

Of course, they would be affected as well.

That single realisation changed everything.

Instead of executing every infected patient, they quarantined the entire hospital under military lockdown and converted it into a classified research facility. Their objective was no longer simply understanding the virus. They wanted to uncover its origin, perfect its mutation process, and ultimately weaponise it.

Just like every fucking human!!

“Since Genome Beta’s virus is unable to kill the otherworlders, this has become a tremendous breakthrough for our Division,” the old man said proudly, “If we can prove this method… if I succeed in bringing down the other world itself… then I will become the next Governor of the Beta Division… ahahaha…”

His laughter echoed throughout the chamber. Despite the cheerful sound, his expression remained frighteningly serious, while an unmistakable hunger for power burned within his ageing eyes.

Laman nodded with understanding.

“If we manage to achieve this breakthrough, we’ll finally climb the Order,” he replied, clapping his hands together with excitement.

“So that’s why we’ve been transporting all those containment containers?”

“Yes.” The old man smiled with unmistakable pride. “We aren’t here merely to discover a cure. We’re cultivating the virus directly from them.”

He pointed toward the far corner of the ICU.

There, several reinforced alloy conduits extended from the containment chambers, channelling molten fluid that continuously dripped from the monsters.

“Under certain climatic conditions, they produce an enormous concentration of viral matter,” the old man continued, “We’ve spent hours determining the optimal cultivation process… and now we’re refining the most efficient method to synthesise it into a stable weapon.”

The old man’s face swelled with pride before he finally turned toward the young man who hadn’t spoken a single word.

“Young man? Are you alright? Why have you been so quiet?” he asked, frowning.

Young Aether didn’t answer immediately.

His long bangs concealed his eyes as he stood completely motionless, staring blankly into the empty space before him, as though his consciousness had drifted somewhere far beyond the room.

“Heh… hehehe~”

An eerie chuckle escaped his lips.

The unnatural laughter reverberated through the chamber, sending an inexplicable chill across the room. Even Laman and the old man unconsciously took a step backward, instinctively sensing something disturbingly wrong.

Young Aether slowly shook his head before speaking under his breath.

“What an idiot… To think… I was this fucking stupid. Huh…?”

His voice trembled with bitter self-mockery.

“It was so obvious. If I’d just thought things through before bringing those monsters here… Did my fucking brain rot or something? Motherfucker…”

SLAP!

His palm struck his own cheek.

Laman instinctively flinched, and without even realising it, his hand immediately moved toward the pistol holstered against his biohazard suit.

Young Aether bit down hard on his lower lip as the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He had failed.

He had brought those monsters here.

Not for these people.

For his own people.

And the most infuriating part was that he hadn’t even considered the possibility that humanity would exploit them against the otherworlders.

Hell…

Even he would have done exactly the same.

It was the logical conclusion.

The only difference was that he had failed to think one step ahead.

“Mr. Lackey…?”

Laman muttered cautiously as he slowly stepped forward. His fingers tightened around the grip of his sidearm, the weapon’s safety indicator instantly shifting from blue to crimson, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

As he slowly inched closer and closer…

Chuckkk!

The old man’s eyes widened in horror as an ivory-white, wickedly jagged blade suddenly erupted through the back of Laman’s head. Blood burst across the biohazard suit, spraying from the gaping wound as crimson droplets splattered against the polished metallic floor.

Young Aether slowly tilted his head, meeting the old man’s terrified gaze with an eerily calm smile.

“Your enthusiasm gives me… goose~fucking~bumps~”

“N-No… CAL…!”

Chuckk!

Before the old man could cry out for help, another vicious, jagged weapon shot forward and pierced straight through his open mouth.

The weapon tore upward with horrifying precision, splitting through flesh and bone before cleaving the entire upper half of his skull away. Blood erupted from the decapitated body in violent streams before it collapsed heavily onto the floor, while the severed upper portion of his head remained impaled upon the blade, embedded deep into the reinforced wall.

Young Aether casually yanked the first blade free from Laman’s skull.

Ssllucckk~

The corpse crumpled lifelessly as fragments of shattered bone and brain matter spilled onto the blood-soaked floor with a sickening splash.

Without even sparing the bodies another glance, Young Aether walked over and gripped his second weapon before pulling it from the wall. The remaining piece of the old man’s head slowly slid down the blade with a wet scraping sound before dropping onto the floor.

Both ivory razor-sharp edges were coated in thick crimson blood that steadily dripped from their tips.

Drip…

Just as he prepared to begin another massacre himself…

^A gentle reminder, Aether. Our mission has not changed simply because your temper has.^

RIN’s calm voice echoed through his earpiece.

Young Aether stopped mid-step and frowned.

“This is the plan… kill them all, unleash the monsters, and force the Governor out of the tower.”

He rotated one of the bloodstained blades in his hand with a soft hum on the bearings, before resting it over his shoulder.

^Statistically, killing everyone here provides almost no strategic advantage. In fact, didn’t you hear them? They’ve already begun transporting the virus. That means the samples are most likely being delivered to the Tower, where the war preparations are currently underway. If we follow that route instead, reaching our objective becomes considerably easier. The risk remains high… but unnecessary distractions are eliminated.^

Young Aether remained silent for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

“…Are you trying to save these people?”

^You asked the exact question I calculated you would.^

There was a brief pause before RIN answered in her usual emotionless tone.

^Negative. I have already informed you that I belong to neither side. I pursue only the path with the highest probability of success. Curious… you place unwavering trust in your friends, yet you remain incapable of extending even a fraction of that trust to me.^

Young Aether let out a quiet scoff.

“Why would I trust a machine that blackmailed me into working with it… and doesn’t even have a soul to begin with?”

^…^

For the first time…

RIN fell completely silent.

Not because she lacked an answer.

She was processing… Analyzing!

Attempting to understand the meaning behind something that, by every linguistic definition, should have been perfectly straightforward… yet somehow wasn’t.

Several long seconds passed.

Then…

^But… I trust you.^

“…”

Young Aether frowned.

Something about those words made his expression subtly stiffen, though he couldn’t explain why.

After a brief silence, he finally asked,

“…What’s your plan?”

^First, store the bodies in your subspace. Discovering two fresh corpses this early would reduce our operational efficiency considerably.^

Young Aether glanced down at the two corpses before silently storing them inside his subspace.

Quietly opening the door, he peeked into the corridor. After confirming no one was nearby, he slipped outside and gently locked the door behind him.

^Now… proceed to the Centre Control System.^

A three-dimensional holographic map immediately materialised inside his glasses, projecting a translucent blue route through the facility. As the navigation path updated in real time, Young Aether activated his skill.

Step!

His figure dissolved into a fleeting distortion.

When he finally arrived at the central Control System of the hospital, he noticed something unexpected.

There was no body protecting it.

“…Whatever.”

Young Aether stepped inside the control room.

Towering processors lined both sides of the chamber, their cooling conduits humming softly beneath the floor. Hundreds of holographic interfaces floated in the air, displaying real-time medical data, security feeds, viral analysis, and environmental diagnostics.

Countless indicator lights pulsed rhythmically across the walls while autonomous maintenance drones silently drifted between the machines, tending to the hospital’s central intelligence network.

“Now what?”

^Let me do the work.^

RIN instructed him to place the ring onto the main interface panel.

Near the centre of the console, a circular socket had been precisely engineered to match the dimensions of the Ring.

Young Aether removed one of his gloves before sliding the ring off his finger and gently placing it into the receptacle.

Sssssnnnn~

Blue particles shimmered from the ring, spreading like streams of digital light across the entire control console. One by one, the surrounding holographic displays flickered violently as lines of luminous code cascaded across every screen, rewriting the system architecture in real time.

^Establishing neural interface…^

^Bypassing authentication layers…^

^Administrative privileges acquired.^

^Firewall integrity collapsing…^

^…1%…10%…50%…100%^

^Control transferred. This facility now answers to me.^

Within seconds, the entire hospital network belonged to RIN.

Unless another intelligence forcibly expelled her, every surveillance camera, security protocol, automated defence system, laboratory database, and internal communication channel now rested completely under her control.

A massive three-dimensional holographic projection expanded before Young Aether.

The hospital unfolded floor by floor like a digital blueprint. Every corridor, laboratory, containment chamber, security patrol, and monster appeared as constantly moving markers, updating in real time.

Young Aether scanned through dozens of surveillance feeds before stopping at one particular camera.

“…There.”

The image enlarged.

Several personnel wearing heavy biohazard suits were carefully transporting massive black metallic containers. Each suitcase was reinforced with multiple biometric locks and carried by anti-gravity loading platforms before being transferred into armored transport trucks waiting outside the facility.

“It has to be those.”

His voice became noticeably colder.

“Let’s go.”

He removed the ring from the socket, slid it back onto his finger, and sealed his biohazard suit once more.

Just as he turned toward the exit…

“Yes… do it.”

A familiar voice suddenly echoed throughout the control room.

Young Aether froze.

Slowly turning back, he saw one of the holographic displays activate on its own.

A recorded security video began playing.

“…Jonny?”

His friend.

The footage showed Jonathan calmly observing several human-turned monsters before shifting his gaze toward a transparent glass vial containing molten fluid that glowed like liquid magma.

“We can use this against the otherworlders.”

The old man, whom Young Aether had killed only moments ago, frowned uneasily.

“Are you certain, sir? We haven’t received authorisation from the President… nor permission from the Governor. I haven’t even found the cure, and you’re already asking me to produce more?”

Jonathan merely smiled… Almost charismatic smile.

“Don’t worry about that. Once we demonstrate what we’re capable of, they’ll have no choice but to acknowledge us. Besides…” He glanced toward the old man. “Considering you’re a former genetic engineer… if you accomplish what Genome Beta couldn’t, you’ll become the next Governor of Beta Division.”

He chuckled softly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve lost your desire to play with your little genes… hmm?”

“Hahaha… I’d love to!!”

The old man laughed wickedly, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Good, then we have only 6 days before Phase 3 starts. So get ready!”

“Understood, Sir!”

The recording ended.

“…”

Young Aether stood completely motionless, his eyes fixed on the now-dark holographic display, as though the recording continued to play only inside his mind.

Every word.

Then, after several long moments, RIN spoke quietly through the earpiece.

^You are correct. I cannot prove that I possess a soul… at least, not by your definition. Trust, however, is a measurable phenomenon… and I understand it.^

Those words settled into the silence.

And somehow…

They struck Young Aether’s heart far more deeply than he had expected.

It was as if she were desperately searching for anything that could refute his previous words.

“Kill him! He betrayed us! KILL HIM!!”

The dark voice roared through the back of his mind like a corrupted echo.

Young Aether staggered ever so slightly before clenching his jaw. He shook his head, forcing the voice back into the depths of his consciousness, then silently walked out of the Control System without another word.

Neither of them spoke.

Only the soft hum of the hospital’s fusion generators and the distant mechanical footsteps of personnel echoed through the sterile hallways as Young Aether followed the holographic navigation route projected inside his visor.

Eventually, he reached the underground logistics sector.

The enormous warehouse stretched farther than the eye could see. Rows upon rows of thick black metallic suitcases were neatly arranged.

Fortunately…

There wasn’t a single person nearby.

Young Aether quietly approached one of the containers.

“Can you open it?” he asked after trying the biometric locks himself. The suitcase remained completely sealed.

^Give me a moment.^

He raised his hand above the container.

The ring suddenly emitted streams of shimmering blue particles as countless glowing symbols spiraled around his fingers before flowing into the suitcase’s encrypted locking mechanism.

^Energy key extraction…^

^Adaptive cypher reconstruction…^

^Privilege escalation…^

^Neural encryption bypassed…^

^Administrative authority obtained.^

^10%…20%…50%…100%^

Thud!

The lid unlocked with a heavy metallic hiss.

A blast of scorching air escaped from within, forcing Young Aether to instinctively step back as waves of intense heat washed over his biohazard suit. He waved his hand a few times to disperse the rising steam before leaning forward to inspect the contents.

Inside…

Ten cylindrical capsules rested securely within precision-engineered slots.

Pressing one of them, it rose smoothly with a soft hum.

Each capsule was roughly the size of an adult’s hand, constructed from transparent crystal-like glass reinforced by thick metallic caps at both ends. Suspended inside was molten lava that flowed with an almost hypnotic elegance, glowing like a miniature sun.

The sight was strangely mesmerising.

^Incoming.^

Without hesitation, Young Aether carefully returned the capsule to its slot before closing the suitcase.

Click!

The locks automatically re-engaged.

“What are you doing over there?”

A voice suddenly called out from behind him.

Young Aether slowly stood up.

His muscles instinctively tensed beneath the biohazard suit as his fingers subtly shifted, preparing to eliminate the witness in a single movement.

“Oi! What are you two doing over there? Get over here and help us!”

Another one shouted from farther behind.

Young Aether turned.

Several armoured transport trucks had just entered the underground loading bay.

The man who had questioned him glanced at Young Aether with a slight frown before simply shrugging.

“Hurry up.”

He turned around and walked toward the trucks without another thought.

Young Aether watched him disappear before quietly muttering,

“…Can you set a timer for this suitcase? I want it to unlock itself… and eject every capsule once it reaches the destination.”

^I can.^

A slow, wicked grin spread across Young Aether’s face.