Chapter 11 Spell Gambler

Neither of them spoke, and the only sound in the room was the rustle of files being flipped through.

The safe was filled with experimental reports, enormous in volume, but Leonard Churchill skimmed them quickly.

The mechanical arm girl seemed to understand the implication of the file classifications far better than Leonard; spotting a critical point, she muttered incredulously to herself, "Abnormal Creature Shelter 407 was studying an 'T-Level Disaster Source'!"

While listening to her nearly imperceptible whisper, Leonard was rapidly reading the reports line-by-line.

This was what he was looking for.

Critical clues needed to solve the mystery.

Amidst the files, he not only found the "Fallen Witch Sect" of Room 2012, the "Corrupted Giant" of Room 1099, and the "Cursed Gamblers" of Room 3045, but also a few others.

All of the most problematic anomalies discovered so far were documented.

However, clearly, Leonard had also made a wrong guess before.

The bunker wasn't studying the imprisoned monsters.

The monsters were merely a by-product of their research.

The real subject of the research was the so-called "Disaster Source".

Although Leonard did not understand what exactly this 'Disaster Source' was.

But judging by the description, it seemed to be a hazardous object with an extremely potent contaminative effect.

Keeping a watchful eye on the mechanical arm girl, Leonard discerned from her reaction that this must be something extraordinary.

...

Without exchanging a word, Leonard quickly sifted through the files.

Then, he opened another file and found an accident report.

'Archived File: S719 Accident Report'

'Accident Classification: D-Level'

'Details: On July 19, abnormal monitoring data was detected at the main lab. All the deformed beings in the various compartments showed brief signs of agitation. After thorough investigation, no suspicious circumstances were found... evaluating it as a low-level risk. Solution: Increase inspections.'

'Investigating Officer: Dr. P. Smith'

'Corrections to the File: On August 2nd, a riot broke out in the laboratory. It was at this moment I realized that I might have made a grave mistake. This is an S-Class Disaster! The leakage of contamination from that Disaster Source had occurred much earlier than suspected, and we had unknowingly been infected. I, along with everyone else in the lab, had our perceptions eroded by some mysterious power, leading us to underestimate the risk level… We were too late to prevent it. Everything is over. The horror has descended...'

Reading this, pieces of the puzzle inside Leonard's mind seemed to connect.

Although they were missing a few pieces, he had generally reconstructed the events of Abnormal Creature Shelter 407: Someone had studied a dangerous "Disaster Source" in the bunker, which then produced these monsters. But a leak of contamination had occurred during the research, infecting the whole lab. Monsters rose in rebellion, killing everyone in the lab.

It wasn't a particularly complex plot.

Observing that only a few files remained, Leonard continued skimming while turning to the mechanical arm girl, giving her a casual heads-up, "Be careful. The monsters should be appearing soon."

The mechanical arm girl, upon hearing his comment, thought he had discovered something and immediately became alert.

But after paying attention to her surroundings, she didn't detect any monsters.

Despite her confidence in her own senses, she asked again, "Did you find something?"

Leonard hadn't found anything in particular and lightly chuckled, "No, I'm just speculating that according to the typical plot, we have found a crucial clue, so things may escalate soon."

The mechanical arm girl was mystified by Leonard's jargon, "???".

"I'm just guessing."

Leonard shrugged in amusement, realizing that she wasn't following his line of thought.

He pointed at the files and explained, "Right now, these files are necessary 'clues' needed to solve this. So if there are any monsters, they'll inevitably reveal themselves after we've got the files. Otherwise, if monsters killed us the moment we walked in, all these cleverly crafted puzzles would be meaningless."

The mechanical arm girl was still somewhat skeptical.

Is he just guessing?

What kind of logic is this?

Just as they had inexplicably found these crucial files, she was confused as to why Leonard was so certain that monsters would appear imminently.

Leonard gazed at the empty lab but didn't elaborate further, instead hinting mysteriously, "We will find out soon."

In this alternate dimension, he had detected something unusual.

Which perfectly supported his assumptions.

...

Yet before any monsters appeared, they were disturbed by outsiders.

As they were still flipping through the files in the Archive, charged gunshots rang out.

It seemed like someone on the first floor had rushed up and was trying to forcefully reach the third floor.

The gunfire was aggressive, but the monsters were evidently more formidable.

The gunfire was consistently concentrated around the elevator on the second floor.

"Damn it! The monsters on this floor can inflict mental contamination, it's going to be tough advancing to the third floor. Captain, should we retreat?"

"Retreating will just lead us to a dead end, find an exit quickly!"

"Hey... there's a hole in the wall of Room 2013!"

"Get in and hide quickly!"

"..."

Whether by coincidence or systematic searching, the intruders outside stumbled into Room 2013, then discovered the pit.

The sounds suggested there were quite a few of them. Soon, they entered the laboratory.

Looking through the glass, Leonard saw an elite squad of fully armed invaders rushing in, about a dozen or so.

The mechanical arm girl recognized the emblem on their uniforms and warned, "Be careful, they're mercenaries from the 'Black Water Group'. They're ruthless."

With that succinct piece of information, Leonard immediately understood that this lot wasn't destined for an easy fate.