While Owen was with the Parasite Queen, distracting her, Rosy's group didn't let time go to waste. After walking far enough from the queen's nest to be sure no one was following, the three of them quickly looked for a safe lab free of mutated creatures before going inside, locking the door securely, and hiding in a corner of the research center that was still in the best possible condition.
Inside the dim laboratory, the light from the flickering backup bulbs created a creepy atmosphere. It was quiet, damp, and filled with the faint smell of chemicals. Mark placed his equipment bag on a workbench covered in thick dust, while Anna and Rosy worked together to turn on the temporary backup power so the computers could function again. They pulled up the research center's blueprint from the database, and amazingly, the system still worked, despite having gone through several disastrous events.
"We have to do something before that queen sucks Owen dry!" Anna said in a firm voice, her face full of a mixture of concern and anger. She paced back and forth anxiously, her face pale from the pressure.
"Calm down," Mark said as his eyes scanned the information on the screen. "If we rush back in now, we'll all just die for nothing. We have to find a way to stop her, and as fast as we possibly can…"
Rosy, who had been standing quietly with her arms crossed by the door, finally spoke up softly. Her voice trembled slightly but was firm. "I don't know what method Owen used to lure her, but if we leave him like that and don't go in to help him soon, we have no idea what she might do to him. Maybe turn him into a parasite king, or something that no longer cares about humans like us. At that point, none of us would survive anyway…"
Mark nodded in agreement and then began to quickly formulate a plan in his head. Finally, he thought of something that had a high probability of success.
"Alright, listen up. I think I have a rough idea..." He picked up a piece of paper and drew a rough plan on the table, speaking in a heavy voice.
"I'll use the research data from the server room to create a poison gas that specifically affects the nervous system of the parasites. Then, we'll release it through the ventilation ducts into their nest. It won't be harmful to humans, but it will temporarily paralyze their motor control systems. And more importantly, it will instantly sever the queen's connection to the entire psychic network."
"And at that moment..." Mark continued, "...we'll secretly invade the nest and deal with the queen!"
Mark hesitated for a moment before mentioning the problem he hadn't yet solved. "But there's still a big problem… and that is, how do we kill her? Because all we have are steel rods and a few sharp weapons. They definitely can't kill her…"
That question silenced the room again. The truth was, even if the queen were paralyzed, her body was still too strong for them to penetrate with ordinary weapons. Even a small bomb couldn't kill her.
Rosy, who had been quiet for a long time, started to think of something. She frowned, as if trying to recall an old memory, before speaking with some uncertainty.
"What about liquid nitrogen? Do you think it can kill her? I just remembered that Owen and I used a liquid nitrogen sprayer to deal with some mutated parasites in a lab earlier?"
Mark, who was in the middle of analyzing the plan, froze. He looked up at her with a stunned expression. "What did you say?"
Rosy briefly recounted the incident to Mark, explaining how she and Owen had used a liquid nitrogen sprayer to freeze three mutated parasites and then smashed them to pieces in a lab located in the zone adjacent to the research center's entrance.
Mark stood there with his mouth agape for a moment before quickly getting up and pacing back and forth with a mixture of excitement and shock. "You guys... are so damn lucky! Do you know that that room was specifically designed to handle the use of liquid nitrogen? It has a specialized ventilation system. If you had used it in another room with a closed system like the one we're in now…"
He paused for a moment before speaking seriously. "You would have suffocated to death before the parasites did. Because just one liter of liquid nitrogen can expand into more than 700 times its volume in gas! And it's colorless and odorless. The air in the entire room would be quickly replaced by nitrogen gas. Everyone inside would lose consciousness and die within minutes…"
Rosy immediately fell silent, her face turning visibly pale. "So… the reason we both didn't pass out was because of luck?"
"That's right. You were lucky that the room's ventilation system was still working. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here right now…" Mark said with a sigh. "But now, if we're going to use that liquid nitrogen… we have to plan much more carefully. We need to control the amount and have a clear escape time, because the inside of the parasite nest doesn't have that good of a ventilation system…"
Anna looked down at the blueprint and pointed to a location on the screen. "If we release your poison gas at this point here, which connects to the ventilation duct above the parasite queen's room, we'll be able to better control the distribution of the gas throughout the nest. And we can also monitor the results from a safe distance."
Mark nodded. "That's a good suggestion, Anna... The parasite queen will be the first victim of the poison gas I create. It will disrupt her nervous system, paralyze her entire body, and ultimately render her psychic network unusable."
"And then..." Rosy continued with a determined voice, "...we'll invade the nest, rescue Owen from her, and use a portable liquid nitrogen sprayer on her body, as well as the heart of the nest, to make sure she doesn't recover… After that, we'll quickly escape the nest before we suffocate."
"And the mutated parasites throughout the nest will eventually suffocate to death because they'll be in a state of paralysis and won't be able to run away like us… This will be a perfect ending!" Mark concluded the plan with excitement.
The three of them looked at each other. No one said the word 'afraid,' but they all knew this might be their final mission. Silence hung in the air for a moment before Anna gently placed a hand on Rosy's shoulder.
"For Owen... and for everyone who's left, we will not fail."
After the grand plan was finalized, the three of them immediately split up to do their parts without wasting a single second. Because every second Owen spent with the parasite queen could be a second he could never return to being human again. Everyone knew that this rescue was not just a mission, but a gamble with their lives and hopes.
Mark headed to the research center's server room. He had to use all his skills to research the biochemical data related to the parasites, including the vulnerabilities of their nervous systems.
Inside a room filled with dust, electronic waste, and the sound of half-working server fans, Mark sat in front of a still-functional computer, searching through various research files until he finally found a precursor substance that could potentially become a parasite-specific poison gas.
Mark began to run dozens of simulations of the poison he created through computer software. Sometimes the results were erroneous, forcing the system to reboot. Sometimes he got the opposite of what he wanted. He worked on this research continuously for hours on end with almost no sleep, but his eyes still shone with undiminished hope.
Meanwhile, Anna set out to explore every nook and cranny of the research center, searching for food and water supplies that hadn't spoiled, because she knew Mark might spend several days researching the poison gas. Although her mission seemed the smallest, it was also the most important. Without food supplies, how would the group survive in the coming days? They didn't even know for sure how long these preparations would take. Two days? Three days? Or maybe even a week.
So Anna didn't miss a single can of food. She walked through deserted storage rooms, some with signs of battle, some with the lifeless bodies of unfortunate researchers. There were even biological dummies that she eyed with suspicion every time, but she tried to overcome her fear and bravely searched for supplies.
As for Rosy, she headed straight to the zone adjacent to the research center's entrance. That area was mostly a cryogenic storage for various research materials, especially the liquid nitrogen used in experiments with cells and simulated organs. She braved the cold in the storage room, the hallways with frost on the walls and the distinct smell of steel and refrigerant.
Rosy began to search every table, every drawer, every locker, every storage room, every research lab, to gather parts to modify into a portable nitrogen sprayer. Even though those rooms were full of dangerous things, she tried to do her best and be as safe as possible. Fortunately, the Parasite Queen's command still protected the group from being attacked. Otherwise, the search wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
Time passed quickly. More than a week went by... a week of effort, exhaustion, and the most pressure they had ever faced in their lives.
And then, finally… all the preparations were complete. Mark slung a medium-sized tank of poison gas onto his back, which contained the prototype toxin he had invented himself. Of course, he had tested it in the lab and in simulations to confirm that it directly affected the parasite's nervous system structure.
As for Anna, she had prepared gas masks that she had assembled herself, using special filters from a medical cabinet she had found by chance, in case Mark's poison gas malfunctioned and started to affect humans like them.
Rosy herself was strapping a tank of liquid nitrogen to her back, holding a high-pressure nozzle in one hand, a device she had made with her own hands under Mark's guidance.
"It's time," Mark said, meeting the eyes of the two young women. No one had any superfluous words, no hesitation. There was only determination and resolve, because they knew this was their only chance.
Without delay, the group immediately headed to the ventilation duct specified on the map, which connected directly to the parasite queen's chamber. The area was in a technical zone that was almost never patrolled by parasites. Everyone carefully installed the gas dispersal device, and then pressed the button to release the poison gas.
A clear, odorless gas began to seep through the pipe system, slowly creeping throughout the entire nest, while everyone in the group stood waiting in silence, observing the behavior of the parasites walking past the entrance.
And a few minutes later…
A mutated parasite suddenly stopped in its tracks before slowly collapsing to the floor, powerless. Its body twitched rhythmically, its limbs out of control. Its mouth, full of sharp teeth, moaned in confusion, not understanding what was happening to it.
"Success!" Anna said with joy, her lips trembling slightly.
Then another mutated parasite fell, and the next ones followed suit within seconds, as if they were being unplugged.
"It really worked..." Rosy reiterated, her eyes sparkling with both excitement and anticipation.
"Begin the rescue mission!" Mark said firmly as he led the two of them into the nest.
They ran through the dark, damp corridors, heading straight for the heart of the nest without any resistance. The bodies of the weakened parasites lay piled up along the way like near-dead biological waste.
Until finally... they stopped at the entrance to the Parasite Queen's chamber, revealing a shocking sight of Owen…
"Owen…" Rosy murmured in disbelief. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Anna took a step back in shock at what she saw, while Mark could only turn his face away uncomfortably…
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