Chapter 23- HAPPY Labs (Part 1)
The group then spent the night quietly and the next day too. Since Asher slept for a few hours during the trip, he chose to be the one to watch over while the other slept. He was also eager to train with the sword either way so he didn't really bother much.
Although his strength had increased, his technique wasn't necessarily up to par with it. He could see that his swordsmanship had become better, sharper, and faster as the skill reached level 4 but he didn't feel satisfied with it. Fighting the Crusher head-on showed how weak Asher is.
So, for hours, Asher swung the sword he had again and again relentlessly, with each swing, he could see the vague silhouette of Sali smiling at him, guiding him on every move he does.
In a sense, Sali was Asher's guiding light, she shone so brightly that he could only admire her and follow her back while she paved their way forward. Deep inside, he yearned to have that confident, kind, and powerful character that could easily lead people to the right place.
'With how weak I am now, I could as well never dream of reaching my goals.' Asher thought as he clenched his teeth and swung the sword down with all his power. His face was shiny with sweat but he didn't care as he kept training like a maniac.
Meanwhile, a little distance away, another person was watching him secretly. However, the boy had no idea that he was being spied on.
On the morning of the third day, the group resumed their journey. Even after crossing hundreds of kilometers, the scenery didn't change one bit.
'Now that I think about it. Are the Forbidden Lands one gigantic city? We have been traveling for a while and we still didn't reach a new location.'
Finding himself too curious, Asher decided to ask the truck driver.
"Uh? You don't know? Weird. Well, the Forbidden Lands is actually still a mystery to most people. Some say that they are the remains of an old empire that fell after the apocalypse started. Others simply say that the world itself is made of this giant, destroyed city and their proof is that no one was able to actually leave the Forbidden Lands. We are surrounded by this ruined world like a cage. Still, they are all merely myths and legends. We don't know the truth of things yet."
"I see…" Asher looked down with a thoughtful gaze.
'I guess it's mostly a different explanation from the one presented in the book.' Rubbing his chin, Asher made sure to note down these details.
After discovering that this world might not be faithful to the story itself, he decided to gather every possible information he can if he wasn't sure.
"Psst…" As he was like that, Rain whispered to him.
"Hm?"
"We are close to the location. We should hop out now."
"Oh?" Looking out of the window, Asher noticed a huge building that stood out like a sore thumb. It's glass walls were broken and the whole building itself was tilted to the side as if it was close to falling.
'HAPPY Labs?' Asher read the sign on the front of the building.
"Stop the truck. We are leaving." Asher said as he tapped the chair of the driver.
"Huh?! Why?"
"We have something to do. We will continue on foot after that."
"B-But…"
"The settlement is only a few hours away. You don't need to worry." Asher said.
"True… Sigh, well, I can't force you to stay. I really thought we became friends." The man said with a sad expression.
"Sigh, well, the journey was not bad. You seem like a good person, Tarik. You too, Davey." Asher said as he tapped on the shoulders of the two men.
"A-Asher… Bro, you are too kind!! Goddamit!" Wiping his eyes quickly, Tarik tried to feign ignorance.
On the other hand, Davey was wiping his tears.
"I hope I can see you two again in the future if fate allows it." Asher said as he hopped out of the truck.
"Yeah! Take care, man! You too, lady."
After that, the truck stormed away, leaving Asher and Rain in front of the building.
"Sigh, let's get this over with." Asher said as he stepped forward.
The two entered the building from the front door. The inside was as ruined as the outside.
"So, what is this 'HAPPY Lab' place?" Asher asked as he looked around while avoiding broken glass and trash littering the ground wherever he tried to step.
"HAPPY Labs are Labs created by a scientist named Luis Hilbert that belongs to one of the four great clans. He is a one-in-a-lifetime genius who spent his whole life trying to create a cure for the Zombies. These HAPPY Labs are the result of that work. Countless other scientists from all over the world came under the banner of these labs to research and work on the cure."
"Then, why are these Labs built in the Forbidden Lands? Shouldn't they be inside one of the major cities?"
"Since he was working on Zombies, he wanted direct contact with them and so he wanted most of these Labs to be built close to them."
"I guess that wasn't the best idea, huh." Asher said with a sarcastic tone.
The two walked deeper into the building, passing through corridors filled with closed and broken doors alike. Each room looked like a normal office except for the occasional blood stains and weird body parts thrown everywhere.
"What the hell happened here?" Asher murmured as he tried to hold the urge to vomit from the smell alone.
"According to my intel, the place was attacked by a Zombie Legion and was completely wiped out. Some scientists were able to run away while others faced their demise. This happened many years ago so the place is completely empty now." Oddly enough, Rain didn't seem perturbed by the place at all.
"We aren't here for anything important. Just the substance that I need for my potion." She said as she read the plate next to one of the doors before turning around and moving to the next one. "Search for any room related to Mana Poisoning."
However, Asher didn't respond at all which made Rain turn around and look at him. The latter seemed to have entered a random room and didn't leave yet.
"Rain… Y-You might want to take a look at this." The boy spoke with a grave tone as if he saw the most horrifying sight in his life.