Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Cross-Dimensional Gene Fusion Laboratory – Isolation Room.

Yu Yuan looked at the empty isolation room, feeling a trace of regret.

"If even the creatures locked up here were at least Silver-tier..."

Yu Yuan had no doubt about Mortarian's standards. If the creatures here were still alive, they'd be at least as rare as the Wendigo.

But there was no use dwelling on that now.

Passing through the isolation zone, Yu Yuan arrived at a control room. After seeing what was inside, his eyes lit up.

He stepped forward quickly.

"Isolation Record Crystal - Epic ★★★, just as I thought..."

Inside were all the biological data of the creatures once imprisoned here. The sheer quantity and variety of species exceeded Yu Yuan's imagination.

Sample Bank, Cultivation Unit, Analysis Hall, Record Bank, Gene Laboratory, Incubation Hall...

Everywhere Yu Yuan went, he collected whatever supplies he could see.

Unfortunately, these areas all seemed to have been cleaned out. While each zone yielded one or two high-value items, they were either biological samples, experimental analysis data, or gene fusion research reports...

Mostly experimental data and research reports, almost no finished products.

But Yu Yuan wasn't picky.

He grabbed anything of value he came across.

He also saw quite a few bizarre biological specimens made from strange creatures.

Tentacles with open eyes, palms with facial features.

Yu Yuan collected all of these things.

Soon, Yu Yuan arrived at a peculiar place.

It was a massive hall, but in the center sat something resembling a 'brain in a vat.'

However, it seemed already dead, its color having turned black, and a faint rotting smell wafted through the hall.

Around it stood enormous bookshelves, completely packed with books.

"Is this..."

"A library? Or a records room?"

Yu Yuan walked over to a shelf and picked up a thick book to examine, but the moment he touched it, the book turned to ash and vanished.

This triggered a chain reaction. Other books also turned to ash and rapidly dissipated.

The speed of the dissipation was so fast that Yu Yuan couldn't even react before every single book in the entire library was gone.

Only traces of ash remained on the shelves.

Yu Yuan's gaze fell on the only object left in the hall—that brain-like thing. He walked closer.

But just as he got within ten meters, an unexpected, hoarse voice rang out.

"If I were you, I wouldn't get any closer."

The moment the voice sounded, Yu Yuan had already vanished from his spot.

The next instant, Psychic Ability - [Cured, But Still Drools!] activated.

—[Diagnosis: Epilepsy]

But nothing abnormal happened.

Yu Yuan hid in the shadows, staring at where the voice had come from.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

"Is that... a bug?" Yu Yuan found it a bit absurd.

But indeed, it was a plump, white worm.

Like a silkworm, it dangled from the ceiling by a single silken thread, floating in midair.

As Yu Yuan was wondering what was going on, the voice sounded again, this time from the worm.

"Oh? Not bad! An ability that affects neurons—that's pretty rare!"

Yu Yuan's heart stirred.

The psychic ability hadn't worked.

But... that shouldn't be possible!

One of the properties of Psychic Ability - [Cured, But Still Drools!] was the ability to ignore the target's mental resistance.

Since gaining [Cured, But Still Drools!], Yu Yuan had never failed with it.

But now, against this worm, it had failed.

Yu Yuan didn't act rashly again.

Anything that could ignore his psychic ability was either far stronger than him or had a special ability. Either way, he needed to tread carefully.

Since the other party hadn't attacked and even seemed willing to talk, that was a good thing for Yu Yuan.

So...

Yu Yuan cautiously asked:

"Who are you?"

"Heh, little guy. You can call me Bookworm. I didn't expect the first person to walk in here would be just a Bronze-rank little guy. And even more surprising, you actually have a spatial Rare Artifact. My interest in you keeps growing."

"Bookworm!"

Just as Yu Yuan was thinking about what to do next, the Bookworm had already landed on the ground.

It wriggled its body, facing Yu Yuan's direction.

"Hey, little guy, no eyes? Come over and help me! Aren't you interested in the books in this library?!"

"All the contents of these books are in my memory! You can ask me anything you want to know!"

"Even though you're only Bronze rank, the fact that you earned the authority to enter here already qualifies you for the master's selection requirements."

This only made Yu Yuan more cautious.

"What do you mean by that? What do you need me to help with? Make it clear first!"

Now the Bookworm sounded a bit anxious instead.

"Take me away, of course! Only by taking me can you learn the knowledge of gene fusion and obtain the master's inheritance! Isn't that why you came here?"

"Weren't you pretty eager collecting all that junk earlier? Why are you being so fussy now that it's my turn?"

The Bookworm wriggled its body again, but this time it stood upright.

Yu Yuan could actually see a kind of irritation in its demeanor, as if it felt insulted.

Yu Yuan was inwardly stunned.

But soon, his mind moved, his expression unchanged. He continued to test the waters:

"Take you away? But how do I know if what you're saying is true? After all, my strongest psychic ability had no effect on you. What if you have ill intentions? I wouldn't have any way to resist, you know."

"Heh, you little brat. Small in stature but plenty of schemes."

"To tell you the truth, forget about some lowly Bronze rank—even a Gold rank couldn't succeed in controlling my body."

"Hmph! If it weren't for the master's orders, do you think I'd even bother talking to you? You'd never even know I existed!"

Sure enough, the Combat Detector now finally revealed a red dot, its Life Level clearly showing Bronze rank.

The Bookworm revealed a hint of a tsundere attitude.

Yu Yuan had been sensing the Bookworm's emotions the whole time.

One of the properties of his Psychic Ability - [Psych Ward Patient Chat Group] was the ability to perceive the target's mental state.

"He's telling the truth!"

Yu Yuan could sense that the Bookworm wasn't lying. In fact, he felt like this Bookworm might have been lonely for too long.

This was clearly a chatterbox!

And what was up with that weird tsundere vibe?

Of course, Yu Yuan wouldn't let down his guard against the Bookworm just because of that.

Mental perception didn't prove anything.

If his psychic ability could be ignored, faking emotions probably wasn't difficult either.

But the Bookworm had said one thing that truly tempted Yu Yuan.

It claimed to know all the genetic knowledge here.

Bookworm, Bookworm... could it be the core of this library?

The thought surfaced in Yu Yuan's mind and refused to leave.

If that were the case, then he really would have to take it away...

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