Chapter 1042

On the left stood giant automated production units six meters high, like semi-circular behemoths, with all sorts of trash scattered around:

discarded furniture, rusted tools, empty food cans, broken hard foam bricks, shattered circuit boards, and scraps of cloth.

On the right were hundreds upon hundreds of empty shipping containers, extending all the way along the concave wall of the basement.

Adam walked through them for about ten minutes before discovering one that still contained raw materials.

Ahead, a steel barrier three meters high stood in his way, its curve resembling open arms, almost embracing the entire underground space.

Above the wall, a sleeping giant creature rose and fell slowly in the dim yellow light, appearing and disappearing.

Adam could only glimpse the outline of its spine at this moment, a smooth, wet black, dotted with emerald luster.

It was round like a ball, as if a scoop of liver ice cream had been carved from a two-thousand-meter-tall giant and poured into a massive petri dish.

Adam did not notice the pipes over a meter thick extending from the automated factory, connecting to the edge of the petri dish, continuously transporting all kinds of necessary liquids.

He also did not see the towers arranged around the creature spraying transparent mist in all directions, shrouding its body.

On the ceiling, ventilation equipment as large as houses hung on both sides, continuously emitting a deafening roar.

Only, there was no one.

Adam cleared his throat and shouted with the loudest voice he dared to muster:

"... Excuse me... is Dr. Bartholomew Hughes here?"

The only response was the roar of the ventilators and the creature's slow, heavy rising and falling.

He raised his voice slightly and tried again:

"I am looking for a machine here, called—the 'Non-Reality Expander'?"

The giant creature woke up.

A large amount of liquid surged out from the petri dish, turbulent, even splashing onto the walls.

It climbed the wall clumsily, and as its body was gradually revealed, its structure became increasingly clear:

Except for thick fin-limbs, it was a giant, almost spherical biological mass.

Although it appeared to have no eyes, Adam felt a gaze fall upon him, making his skin crawl.

In this situation, Adam felt that something was not quite right, so he turned around, intending to leave.

However, as he turned, he was astonished to find that the airtight door behind him had closed, as silently as when it had opened.

"Uh..."

Adam worried that too much noise would attract the monster's attention, so he could only walk toward the door as quickly as possible, taking out his access card again when he reached the card reader.

Just at this moment, a thin red line appeared abruptly, coiling around his wrist like a snake, preventing him from continuing.

Adam struggled to break free, only to find that this cord was both sticky and hard, as if it contained bones, and it clearly did not want to let him go.

He looked back, but could not see the creature's body clearly, nor did he know where the cord had extended from.

At this time, the unknown creature finally opened its eyes, and a single eye with a diameter of ten meters appeared abruptly.

This eye possessed a vibrant pink iris and four rugged black pupils.

The next moment, crazy noise surged directly into Adam's brain, like the buzzing of mosquitoes in stereo surround sound.

He heard the monster ask:

【Do you have it?】

"Have what?" Adam responded in confusion.

【No Doctor. No machine.】

After a somewhat inexplicable reply, a thicker cord shot out instantly, precisely adhering to the access card in Adam's hand, skillfully stripping it from his fingers.

The cord retracted quickly, holding the access card high, facing the creature's massive pupil.

【Wheeler】

The creature's tone showed obvious fluctuations.

"Uh," Adam stammered, "this is purely a coincidence—"

The cord tightened suddenly, lifting Adam's arm and suspending him in mid-air.

He struggled desperately, but his vision was obscured by the blinding pink light.

Suddenly, he screamed and fell into the largest of Bartholomew Hughes's four pupils, as if swallowed into an endless abyss. ===== CHAPTER 1044 =====