Star Rank Hunter

Editor note: Craxuan is away for a bit, so you guys are stuck with me posting. You know what that means, erratic posting time and horrible mildly offensive memes.

Original and most up to date translations are posted at volaretranslations.

Chapter 197: The AI System With the Greatest Potential [Part 2]

Inside the key lab facility, Shelt was laughing very happily as he watched Snowball and Scarlet Wind trapped inside their respective experimentation rooms through remote monitoring. The data displayed on the electronic notebook he was holding refreshed constantly. Although the drugs had not arrived yet, preliminary resistance testing had told him that these two specimens were excellent test subjects. They were far better than the one thousand or so beast type test subjects he had experimented on before.

That white animal’s genes were extremely complex. At the very least, Shelt had not encountered a living being with its kind of genetic makeup until now. Its complex multi-helical DNA separated this birthday bear from the rest of his experimental beasts like heaven and earth.

As for that half-beastman made up of both human and canine genes, Shelt was going to prepare a different kind of drug and stimulate both types of genes at the same time. He wondered if its human gene or its canine gene would take dominance.

Besides that, he could also extract some strengthening substances from these two test subjects. However, it would probably be difficult to apply them properly onto a human body. He would have to scour for another batch of test subjects once the drugs had been delivered.

The alarm suddenly resounded while Shelt was making plans in his mind.

“A contaminant source has appeared at area XR. Preliminary detection reveals that it was brought in by a modified test subject.”

Shelt was slightly annoyed that his thoughts were disturbed when he listened to the AI system’s report. He frowned. As he thought, those modified test subjects were incapable of doing anything right. Not only were they not much stronger than they were before, they even brought in a contaminant source now.

Without checking for the contaminant source’s exact effects, Shelt said directly, “Dispose it immediately, Aier.”

This entire key facility was controlled by an AI system, and the only person who had control over this AI system was Shelt.

Shelt had always been a conceited person. He would neither think that someone had tampered with the human puppets, nor would he think that his AI assistant could be ‘blind’ sometimes.

“Okay.” the AI system named ‘Aier’ answered. Her soft voice caused his irritation to subside quite a bit.

At the same time, the two human puppets who were fighting each other until black blood was sprayed everywhere were frozen into ice sculptures by the ultra low temperature freeze guns that had appeared on the walls. After a sound wave attack by a sonic gun later, both ice blocks were shattered into icy bits. But despite the commotion, the system hadn’t detected the gas in the air at all. This was Czedow’s work.

Meanwhile, Knight and his teammates carried a few parasite eggs with them and sneaked step by step into the key lab facility.

Knight put a small block of ice at a secluded corner. Once this ice had melted, the parasite eggs inside would emerge and soon hatch many living parasites.

Cillin instructed the gray cat to stay together with Tang Qiuqiu while he went down a different path.

He looked at the time. The others should’ve completed the preparatory work already. It was time to move to the next step.

“Czedow, begin.”

Czedow was already walking into the key lab facility near its heart, and after receiving Cillin’s order he turned to look at a security camera.

The battlefield of electronic networks was made for Czedow the moment he was born. While he might not possess the gray cat’s powerful offensive power or its ability to switch forms, he was no weaker than the gray cat on the battlefield of networking systems.

Right now the gray cat was still inexperienced, and in comparison Cillin’s creation, Czedow was more cautious than the gray cat. He would extensively calculate every step and leave no hidden threats behind.

The alarm rang again inside the key lab facility. The AI system said, “Contaminant source discovered. Control over human puppets lost.”

Shelt stared at the display before him. On the display, the human puppets standing guard outside the lab at every passage were starting to go berserk. They completely ignored the AI system’s attempt to control them, and one of them had already torn an experimenter walking outside to shreds.

While Shelt was conversing with the AI system, and everyone else was paying attention to the displays due to the commotion outside, Czedow had sneaked into the place along with the experimenters who hastily made their way into the lab. Many newly hatched parasites were running towards the surrounding people.

Shelt was enraged by the scene of the human puppets rampaging outside, “Just get rid of them directly!”

“I’m very sorry, but there is a technical problem. Power in the system is inadequate.” the AI system replied.

Shelt was a mad scientist, but he was definitely not a good analyst. He had dedicated all of his intelligence on experiments, and as such his ability to analyze the situation around him was incomparable to his ability to perform experiments and researches. This was one of the factors Knight had considered when formulating their operation.

“Inadequate power? How can there possibly be inadequate power! Where are the energy blocks?! Send someone to get them already!! The lab cannot experience a power outage!”

“Boss, something’s wrong with test subject no.107!” a researcher said.

“What is going on?!” Shelt roared in anger. Every test subject in this lab was his heart’s blood. How could he possibly allow these test subjects to go wrong before he got a good result out of them?!

The animal that looked very much like a lion inside the monitoring and experimentation room no.107 was currently going berserk and scratching at the surrounding walls furiously. These were reinforced walls, and they were not so easily pierced through. However, the experimental beast began ramming its body against the wall instead when it thought that scratching from inside wouldn’t free it from its cell. The dull boom caused by a five meters tall body slamming heavily against reinforced walls caused even the surrounding air to shake along with it.

“Boss, this can’t go on like this!”

“You don’t say?!”

Shelt slapped the speaking experimenter right across the face and said, “Aren’t you the one who’s responsible for that experimental beast? Why the hell is this happening?!”

“I… I don’t know either…” the experimenter said timidly. While he might have vented his anger on this test subject many times everyday, they were all within the test subject’s limits. Nothing like this had happened until now.

“Aier!”

“According to the analysis report, experimental beast no.107’s nervous system is damaged. The air conducted by the life support system contain gaseous substances that poisons the nervous system.” the AI system analysed and reported the data of its observation unhurriedly.

Slap! Another slap was thrown across the experimenter’s face. If Shelt had a gun right now he would’ve shot the bastard in the face already. In his view, the error must’ve been caused by the experimenter.

“Restore the air to its original composition…”

Shelt hadn’t even finished saying his sentence when ‘Aier’ reported that the same thing had happened across several experimentation rooms too.

“B… boss, do you think that someone has infiltrated into our lab and is causing trouble?” an experimenter behind Shelt said in a low voice.

Slap! Another slap was thrown as Shelt said angrily, “Invaders?! Do you think Aier is here for show?!”

The rest of the researchers bowed their heads in unison. Whether or not they were complaining on the inside was unknown.

Just when this one experimentation room was brought under control, the AI system reported that several experimental beasts in other experimentation rooms were experiencing abnormalities again.

Cillin had tampered with the experimentation room’s life support system and conducted the gaseous substances released by the human puppets after their blood became infected into the pipes. He hadn’t tampered with just experimental beast no.107 too. He had done the same thing to several other experimentation room.

The experimental beast incident wasn’t yet resolved when a researcher let out a bloodcurdling scream, clutched his head and crouched on the floor. He hugged his head so tightly that it looked like he would plunge all ten of his fingers into his own skull. Many blue veins popped out of his forehead as his eyes began to change too. The whites of his eyes were gradually being replaced by a red and black color.

This was just the beginning. When one after another researcher fell to the same symptom, even Shelt understood that the situation was amiss.

“There’s a contaminant source here? Who brought it inside?! Aier, inspect for contaminant source!”

“Inspecting contaminant source… foreign contaminant sources discovered.”

The researchers carrying a contaminant source inside them were shown on the screen.

“Dispose them!” Shelt said mercilessly.

“Don’t kill me, boss!”

“Shelt, you can’t do this!”

“We can still be saved!”

…

Uncaring for the experimenters crying pleas, they were trapped by many transparent covers before turned into dust after a white flash later.

“Analyse type of contaminant source.” Shelt ordered.

“I’m very sorry, but this type of contaminant source cannot be determined.”

“How is that possible?!”

Before Aier could answer, the experimental beasts trapped inside the experimentation rooms were released from their imprisonment. The experimental beasts inside charged out and bit anyone they saw.

“Aier!” Shelt roared while escaping from the horde.

“I’m very sorry, but I am unable to control them.” the AI system Aier answered.

Bloodcurdling screams rang again and again. But how could these researchers possibly resist against these newly released experimental beasts?

Czedow slipped into a control room while no one was paying attention to him.

Zzzt ——

Czedow looked to where the sound came from.

There stood a person, no, a hologram created by the system. It was a beautiful girl clad in white dress, but she didn’t look completely human. Her eyes were lidded vertically and not horizontally, and she had a pair of snow white wings behind her back. She looked like a certain character in ‘Genesis Mythos’.

“Shelt said that I am the best AI system.” the girl looked at Czedow and said. There were neither joy nor anger in her tone. Her tone was rather gentle and as soft as the wind.

After looking at the hologram once, Czedow turned away and continued to walk deeper into the control room. While walking, he said, “But Cillin said that I am the AI system with the greatest potential. I thought so too.”

The girl’s hologram began to flicker as Czedow replied to her. Then, it became extinguished completely.

Czedow opened all the doors of the experimentation rooms and set the experimental beasts free. A while later, he opened the experimentation rooms where Snowball and Scarlet Wind resided. Cillin walked inside and was just about to carry their unconscious bodies out of the room when the communicator rang. It was Knight.

“What is it?” Cillin asked.

“We have bad news. An informer told us that one of ‘Miracle’s’ higher-ups Kedwell had just ordered this base to be destroyed and turn it into an ‘accident’.”