One step at a time, there are no more stairs. Based on his previous estimation, Logan felt that he should be around ten meters underground.
The oil lamps were more densely distributed here, arranged along the walls on both sides, resembling glowing soybeans extending to the end.
Logan wondered how big it was inside, and whether there were any other entrances or exits... After counting the time, Logan found that it was more than an hour since he started taking action, so the likelihood of his shadow clone being exposed had increased significantly.
Nevertheless, Logan decided to continue exploring. He walked along the corridor which can allow several people to walk side by side. Influenced by movies and TV series he watched, Logan remained vigilant against potential hidden weapons or traps from above or below. However, until he reached the end, nothing happened.
"Well, it's normal to overthink things."
"It's built underground, in a relatively hidden place. Why don't you place any traps?" Logan muttered to himself, and even criticized Otogakure's Ninja. He glanced back at the corridor he had walked for dozens of meters. When he just arrived, he actually saw a room on each side. Then, Logan carefully grasped the doorknob and tried to enter one of the rooms. Not only was the door unlocked, there was also no one inside.
Due to time constraints, Logan quickly checked the room and found that the room seemed to be occupied by people. Although not large, it had a bed, a table, chairs, and simple furnishings. This confirmed Logan's belief of 'Where there were signs of people, there would always be something valuable.'
The other room was larger, but it contained a pile of messy books, seemingly listing various fields, including very obscure and strange knowledge. The books and materials seemed to have been frequently flipped through. Logan took out a few books and went through them roughly, he found that there're annotations, notes, and circles drawn in many places.
Logan looked at the scary amount of books and materials which is no less than half of the library, and picked out a few more books, but he didn't found anything noteworthy, and each book had notes, more or less.
'What was this? Is someone tirelessly preparing for an exam?'
Logan opened one of the books and looked at a diagram of the human body. Below were several lines of small text, "The organs of the human body include the heart, liver, lungs, stomach..." After muttering softly and rubbing his head, Logan suddenly recalled the biology knowledge he learned in his first year of high school: "Hmm, isn't the largest organ the skin?"
"There's also research on cells here..." Logan glanced at a few lines casually. The gist seemed to be a general description and definition of cells.
"Isn't the largest cell an ostrich egg? The author's understanding of cells was obviously subjective and minimal." At this moment, Logan suddenly felt a surge of superiority in IQ.
Putting aside these thoughts, some texts in the books had already addressed the issue of experimental research. Moreover, the books related to human anatomy and medicine were placed in the most conspicuous position, showing the most signs of wear and tear.
Logan sighed. He was already certain that this was one of Orochimaru's research locations on biology, 'Uncle Snake, you're really a role model for many students. Compared to your hard work, those who cry and complain about taking exams should be ashamed.'
'But it seems like Orochimaru isn't here...'
Logan muttered to himself. He had been wandering around for almost ten minutes. Even if he restrained his movements, Orochimaru should have noticed him and made the classic creepy appearance by now.
Regarding this, Logan had no choice but to attribute the reason to the fact that Otogakure had just been established, Orochimaru being busy with other matters, and the setup here being in its early stages. Fortunately, Logan had seized the opportunity of nobody being around.
'However, one should not casually set flags.' As Logan walked out of the corridor and his field of vision widened, the scene inside made him pause.
He seemed to have arrived at a proper experimental site. The space was quite spacious, with a workbench on the right, several beds with suspicious bloodstains, an operating table, various scalpels, forceps, and other instruments. There were papers and pens scattered on the workbench. Strangely, a desk lamp was brightly lit p.
The light from the desk lamp illuminated a small area of the workbench. Logan's body stiffened, and the kunai he had put back after searching the room was instantly taken back.
'Someone was here.'
Concentrating, Logan remained vigilant for several seconds. When he ceased his movements, the entire underground space seemed completely silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
'There was still no presence.' Logan frowned, feeling conflicted in his heart. His years of practical experience had honed his perception, so it could not be wrong. After all, there were only so many places in this place, and there was no place to hide people... 'But why was the desk lamp still on? Did someone forget to turn it off before leaving?'
After a full minute, Logan slowly lowered his kunai and maintained a calm demeanor as he walked towards the left area.
Logan knew that this is undoubtedly one of Orochimaru's laboratories for numerous human experiments, with no strict boundaries between different areas. Everything was placed according to the owner's preferences, like the movable operating table not far from the workbench. Logan even imagined Orochimaru, holding a scalpel in one hand and a pen in the other, meticulously recording while staining his hands with blood.
Now was not the time to condemn the other's ruthlessness, especially since Logan planned to use Orochimaru's accumulated blood debt to research his 'achievements'. He wasn't someone who only saw things in black and white.
The things on the left side looked even more gruesome, with rows of bookshelves containing scrolls marked with the word 'secret', and various bottles of embryos and organs from animals immersed in preservative solutions.
The exposed tissues were still quite terrifying. Logan glanced at them briefly, but he could adapt. He focused his gaze on those scrolls, his eyes flashing with interest. Even if they weren't Orochimaru's life's work, they were undoubtedly the results of research conducted here.
Orochimaru is undoubtedly a genius. He is well aware of the fragility of life, including himself, who is known as the Sannin, and turns to the pursuit of immortality. In the anime, he sheds his skin and is reborn again and again, relying on the Chakra-powered system, he seemed to have found a way to be immortal.
Of course, no matter how miraculous the secrets Orochimaru mastered were, they could not compare to the rigorous and systematic field of biology on Earth. Before meeting Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru he was just one person, with limited resources throughout his life. Those extreme modifications to the human body had no theoretical basis. Could one really justify them?
However, Logan didn't worry about that too much. He just needed to obtain a few Forbidden Techniques and maybe obtain the ring while he was at it.
Still sensing no presence, Logan took a deep breath and reached out for the scroll marked 'secret'.