After instinctively blurting out those words, Ch'en seemed to recall something and relaxed her guard toward the unidentified object.
Though from a distance, a glowing entity suddenly appearing in the pitch-black void and floating in mid-air was truly bone-chilling, she indeed recognized what that luminous body was.
"Hey, don't shoot! It's me!"
Just by the voice alone, Jeanne could tell it was Lemuen. She hadn't known where the Sankta had slipped off to earlier; Jeanne hadn't been able to find her even after looking back.
As for that eerie white light, it was clearly the halo above her head. It had to be said that the Sankta possessed a unique racial advantage in such dark environments. Under the glow of her "fluorescent tube," Lemuen could move freely in the darkness. As for why Ch'en hadn't recognized her immediately, it likely had something to do with her line of sight being obstructed.
"Aww, I just helped you deliver those dangerous elements to the Guard Department! To come back only to face Officer Ch'en shouting about killing and fighting... you all are truly heartless!"
Lemuen cried out about her hardships, but her expression made it clear she was joking. Once everyone clearly saw it was her, they couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
"I was wondering where you'd run off to. I was afraid that even a sharpshooter like you could go missing on a single trip. Come here, let me borrow that halo for a bit."
Surrounded by the bewildered gazes of the group, Jeanne walked toward Lemuen while speaking and actually reached out to take the glowing halo from the top of her head.
"That thing... can actually be taken off by hand?"
Ch'en, who had heard enough Sankta jokes to last a lifetime, stared at the halo in Jeanne's hand and began to question the meaning of life. The others were equally speechless; they had seen Sankta before, but this was the first time they had witnessed such a strange trick.
In the next moment, the halo in Jeanne's hand flashed like a strobe light. The piercing brightness forced everyone to shut their eyes, and it took a good while for them to recover. Now, the halo in Jeanne's hand acted like a searchlight, helping them illuminate the pitch-black path ahead.
"Alright, let's get out of here quickly! I have no idea why the power went out."
While speaking, Jeanne cast a glance at Donald behind her. Recalling his previous behavior of secretly tampering with the circuits, she wondered if this blackout was connected to him. However, Donald continued to play the fool. He feigned ignorance perfectly; despite everyone's suspicion, his expression remained that of someone who knew nothing.
"It seems only our area has lost power; I haven't heard reports from officers in other sections yet. Hoshiguma and I will go check elsewhere; you all take these two up first."
Swire had waited for a report that never came. Assuming the other areas still had power but feeling uneasy, she decided to investigate, taking Hoshiguma along as muscle just in case they ran into a troublesome enemy.
"They certainly move fast!"
Seeing the two of them vanish in a flash, Ch'en prepared to move forward. This time, Jeanne took the lead. Holding Lemuen's halo like a flashlight at chest level, a circular beam of light appeared, lighting the way.
"Why do I feel like we're protagonists in a horror game right now? Do you think a zombie or something is going to jump out in a bit?"
Under the pale illumination, the laboratory took on a sickly white hue. Combined with the various corpses soaking in jars, the scene truly felt like a walk-through of a horror title. Even the usually calm Lemuen raised her firearm and scanned the surroundings. Though she knew the people in those tanks were "dead," the creeping dread remained.
"Don't say such unlucky things. If it actually happens, should we blame you or not? Either way, you'll never live down the title of 'jinx' after that."
Though Jeanne's words sounded like a joke, her expression was anything but. She looked remarkably grave. Staring at the unsettling specimen jars, a question popped into her mind: Are the corpses in these tanks truly dead?
In Jeanne's perception, the situation was very wrong. She couldn't put her finger on what was off, but she felt a faint "presence" from the bodies. It was like people pointing at a lizard and insisting it was a dog—even if the genes confirmed it, the appearance was still a lizard. You couldn't tell if you were hallucinating or if something had truly happened.
"What experiment are you actually conducting? Why are these corpses kept here?"
Jeanne looked back at Donald. This man definitely knew what was happening. Hearing Jeanne's interrogation, Lemuen leveled her weapon at him, while Gin and Vodka aimed their crossbows. Everyone knew Jeanne possessed a powerful intuition that was almost prophetic.
"What experiment? Didn't I tell you already? It's a series of experiments regarding the weaponization of the Infected."
Facing these "superhumans" who could kill him instantly, Donald showed not a shred of fear. He looked as though he had a trump card that guaranteed his safety.
"Did... did that one move?"
In that silent stare-down, Jeanne's peripheral vision caught a corpse in a tank. Its finger had definitely twitched. Jeanne was certain she wasn't seeing things.
"Did it? Don't scare me! Is this really turning into Resident Terra[1]?"
Lemuen immediately tensed up. She watched the corpse closely but saw no further movement. Even Gin, who had seen many occult things, grew wary. He realized that the area illuminated by Jeanne was packed with an absurd number of Infected specimens.
"Ch'en, tell Swire and all the officers to evacuate this building immediately! You all take these two and get out of here now!"
Jeanne sensed a spike in danger. She noticed the Originium crystals on one of the corpses had actually grown slightly larger. If there wasn't a problem here, she'd go find a dragon's tail to roast and eat!
"Understood! This is Ch'en, all LGD personnel evacuate the Rhine Gold office building immediately! I repeat, evacuate now!"
Ch'en didn't ask why. She trusted Jeanne's instincts. She knew that if Jeanne's fears came true, the Columbian game companies could release a new title: Resident Terra: Lungmen Edition.
"You too, get out of here! I don't know if they have a zombie virus, but they definitely have Oripathy!"
Jeanne spoke with her back to Gin and the others. Although she wasn't certain the corpses were reanimating, her intuition never lied—something was about to happen that would shatter their common sense.
[1] Bruh really....