Chapter 396: Remarkable

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, a black Association van tore through the streets.

Police vehicles surrounded it, their sirens screaming as they cleared a path through traffic. The convoy moved far faster than ordinary traffic should have allowed, weaving between cars and intersections as officers forced everything out of their way.

Inside the van, Elara sat beside Mark, while Kaela sat across from them.

Both were silent.

There wasn’t much to say.

Mark remained unconscious, his massive body lying against the reinforced interior of the vehicle. Every so often, one of his muscles would twitch violently, followed by a faint ripple of dark green energy beneath his skin.

The energy never lasted long.

It would appear for a few seconds before sinking back into his body.

Kaela watched him carefully.

"It’s still happening."

Elara nodded.

"His body hasn’t stopped changing."

That was what worried her most.

Even after everything they had seen inside the Gate, Mark’s body was still adapting. The difference was that he wasn’t fighting anything anymore. There was no monster attacking him or overwhelming force for his body to respond to.

Yet something inside him was still changing.

And they called Greg for urgent help.

But they couldn’t help but notice that things were progressing unusually.

They had expected to be taken to an Association branch where Mark could be examined and treated under controlled conditions. Instead, the convoy had driven straight past several Association facilities.

Elara frowned as she noticed another familiar building disappearing behind them.

"Where are we going?"

One of the Association operatives glanced back through the partition.

"The Boss arranged the location."

Elara’s expression became slightly more concerned.

That answer didn’t reassure her.

Greg was helpful, but the man was sly and difficult to read, one who shouldn’t be trusted entirely. If he had arranged somewhere outside the normal Association network, there was probably a reason.

The convoy eventually left the main roads and entered what appeared to be an ordinary industrial district.

They stopped in front of a large, nondescript building.

There were no Association markings, signs, or anything that suggested anything important was inside.

One of the doors opened, revealing a ramp leading underground.

Elara’s eyebrows rose.

The vehicles descended, the doors instantly closed behind them, and the van continued deeper beneath the city. The further they went, the more the environment changed.

Concrete walls gave way to reinforced metal, and security doors appeared at regular intervals. Cameras followed the convoy from every direction, and strange machines hummed behind thick glass windows.

When the van finally entered the main building, Elara’s eyes widened.

"This isn’t an Association facility."

She had seen plenty of high-security Association buildings before, within which were laboratories designed to examine Gates and monsters.

This place was different.

It was far more advanced and far less regulated.

The corridors were spotless, almost unnaturally so. Bright white lights illuminated rows of laboratories, while advanced medical equipment covered entire walls. Mana-monitoring devices displayed streams of information that Elara couldn’t even begin to understand.

Reinforced doors separated different sections of the facility.

Some had warning symbols while others simply had numbers, but there were no Association insignias anywhere.

No indication that this place officially existed.

Then Elara noticed the first tank.

She stopped walking.

A massive cylindrical container stood behind reinforced glass, filled with thick, translucent liquid.

Something floated inside.

At first, she couldn’t make sense of what she was looking at.

Then the shape shifted.

It was a monster.

A large one.

Its body was covered in strange growths, its limbs suspended in the liquid as tubes disappeared into its flesh.

Further down the corridor were more.

Beasts, Monsters, and creatures that were somewhere in between.

Some even seemed to have been altered.

One had several extra limbs.

Another possessed an elongated skull with what appeared to be crystalline growths spreading across its body.

Then Elara saw something that made her stop completely.

A humanoid figure floated inside one of the tanks.

It was human in shape, but it was far too muscular, with dark veins running across its body and strange protrusions emerging from its back and shoulders.

Another tank contained something similar.

It was a mutated person.

Elara stared at them.

"Are those..."

She didn’t finish the question.

Kaela did.

"Humans?"

Neither of them knew for sure.

They could have been people who had taken Blessings, Titled who had undergone experiments, or something Greg had created himself.

Whatever the answer was, Elara didn’t like it.

Kaela slowly looked around the facility.

"This is fucked up."

Elara hummed in agreement.

Her eyes remained fixed on the tanks for another moment before she forced herself to look away.

She was more concerned about Mark.

Whatever Greg was doing here, as long as he could help their friend, she didn’t care. But she definitely wasn’t going to let him turn Mark into another specimen.

They continued deeper into the facility.

Eventually, they reached a large laboratory.

Greg was already waiting.

He stood near a collection of monitors with his hands behind his back, looking completely at home among the machines.

"Welcome."

Kaela stared at him.

"What the fuck is this place?"

Greg shrugged.

"Just something I set up off the books."

His eyes immediately shifted toward Mark.

"Put him on the table."

The operatives carefully placed Mark onto a reinforced medical platform.

Greg approached.

"I’ve already had the equipment prepared."

Elara crossed her arms.

"You said you could help him."

"I can."

"But you’re not experimenting on him."

Greg glanced toward her.

"I never said I wouldn’t."

Elara’s eyes narrowed.

"Then we’re going to have a problem."

Greg simply smiled.

"I expected as much."

A second man entered the laboratory.

He looked nothing like the clean, professional researchers Elara was expecting.

He looked exhausted.

His hair was a mess, dark circles practically swallowed his eyes, and his white coat was wrinkled and stained with various substances. Several empty coffee cups were scattered across the nearby desk.

The man grabbed another cup as he approached.

Kaela stared at him.

"Does that guy ever sleep?"

Greg ignored the question.

"This is Dr Elias Smith."

The researcher barely acknowledged them.

His attention was already fixed on Mark, and he looked almost excited.

"Remarkable."

Elias approached the table and began examining Mark, and what he discovered left them all anxious...