16. Arrival of the Angel of Death

The mysterious forest darkened quickly. Its dense canopy blocked the light from reaching the ground. Ben and his teammates were still stuck in their original place. They didn't dare to move too far. There were many dangers they knew nothing about from this predatory forest.

The only way was to spend the night here, hoping to escape death until sunrise. Ben discussed with Tet and Rabat on how they would survive when the darkness completely engulfed this frightening forest.

First, they should not be too close to the trees with hanging roots or vines on their trunks. They have learned that from what they saw with the rabit earlier.

Second, try to light a fire as big as possible. Not to avoid the plants, but to anticipate beasts. Earlier they saw a small spider stung a cobra to death in a matter of minutes.

Third, the forest ground was littered with skulls of various sizes. Some were the size of a monkey's head, a gorilla's, and even a human's. One thing they learned, not a single skull that wasn't a primate. It was clear that primate species were the main prey of this voracious forest. Ben and his friends shuddered. Humans were primates too!

Fourth and so on was to pray. No one claimed to be religious. But right now, they needed God badly.

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Sandra made sure the cryonic tube was working properly. Cables and monitors. Oxygen and respirators. Everything was checked thoroughly. Perfect!

They put Cindy in the tube. The sedative that Sandra had used earlier started to lose its effect. But the cryonic tube kept her restrained. Cindy was deliberately put to sleep. Ran looked at Cindy's pale face. Poor Cindy. As the team leader, Ran felt responsible for everything that happened to her.

Moreover, his three teammates had not yet returned. It was almost dark. The generator they were using now was a small one. Enough to provide the electrical needs of the platform and laboratory. The other rooms were pitch black. This was the first time Ran had no clue what to do.

Sandra was busy. She sat in front of the desk opening various kinds of research documentations while continuing to monitor Cindy's progress. Several times she was pacing to the corner of the room where monitor screens were located. Ran was clueless about what she was doing.

Ran didn't really pay attention to what Sandra was doing. His mind was completely preoccupied with Ben, Tet, Rabat and Cindy right now. Ran stared blankly as Sandra roamed around the room. He didn't have any doubts. If Ran hadn't been overwhelmed by his thoughts, the man would have dragged Sandra in the cryonic tube to prevent her from doing anything at all. Ran wasn't aware that Sandra was doing something dangerous.

In the corner of the room. The monitor screen was flickering. Signs that the chat was in progress;

Start…

Sandra: Captain, this is Sandra

Dev: OMG, what a surprise! Glad you survived

Sandra: Thanks, Captain. Send the DA here immediately.

Dev: What for?

Sandra: I will test its ability to fight with the original version

Dev: That girl?

Sandra: Yes

Dev: Ok

Sandra: Good!

Devs: Send me the results. Make sure no one is seriously injured or die...

Sandra: Understood

End....

Sandra forgot to turn off the monitor. Her only focus was Cindy. She was inserting serum into Cindy's brain so that it was not controlled by the poison from the Cicuta thorns.

If they encountered each other, she could observe any differences among them. The Angel of Death was controlled, while Cindy acted according to her human instincts.

Ran accidentally saw a countdown going on in Cindy's cryonic tube. 15m. Why did Sandra rush to resuscitate Cindy? Didn't she just say it was much safer for Cindy and the people around her if Cindy was temporarily frozen in the tube? Ran's instincts alerted him.

He started observing Sandra's activity. To avoid any suspicion, Ran said he needed to go to the steering bridge to contact the team on the island. Sandra replied indifferently. She was preoccupied with the idea what would the encounter between them be like?

Ran rushed towards the wheelhouse. He was looking at the laboratory room monitor screen. He watched what Sandra was doing, then adjusted the zoom to the corner of the room. One of the monitors was on. Ran read the words on the monitor.

Ran's heart almost jumped out of his chest as soon as he finished reading the chat. Insane woman! Cindy would be used as an experiment!

Ran hurriedly went to the laboratory. It was dark but he already memorized the way. Still, he almost slipped.

The clattering and rushing of the stairs brought Sandra back to her senses. The head of the Bio Research laboratory punched in several codes on the door while aligning her eyes with the retina scanner. The double door slid shut. Just when Ran shouted loudly while cursing Sandra in front of the closing door.

"F*ck*! Shit! You tricked me, Sandra! Open the door!"

Of course, Sandra didn't hear Ran's screams. The door was soundproof. Even if she heard him, Sandra wouldn't open the door for Ran. The man could ruin her plans. For the sake of valuable research, Sandra temporarily put aside her feelings about Ran.

Ran was furious. He didn't have the codes to open the door. Ran racked his brain. He ran back upstairs. Panic. The only way for him to monitor what was happening in the laboratory room was by looking at the monitor in the wheelhouse.

Ran hoped Sandra didn't turn off the CCTV cameras there.

Sandra had forgotten everything. In a few minutes, the Angel of Death would come. Sandra's eyes moved to Cindy's cryonic tube. Two more minutes. She shifted her gaze to the hole in the wall of the ship. Hopefully the Angel of Death didn't come before Cindy hadn't been awakened.

Ran breathed a sigh of relief when he arrived at the wheelhouse, and he could see was happening in the laboratory room. Ran focused his attention on the monitor screen.

A tall, slender figure entered the laboratory room through a hole in the ship's wall.

The Angel of Death had arrived!

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