Leave The Monster Alone

"This way" Mark pulled Alan after him as he took the next turn. It was a sharp turn to take and the bees lost them.

"W-We need to make sure they don't follow till everything is read here" and the factory came into view. With the bees lost, they did not wait a single second to enter the factory. They had a lot of ground to cover after all.

"They have the trucks and the hose as well. It was a success" Alan was the first one to find the trucks. Mark hurried toward him at a slower pace. It was not really urgent for him to get to the other so he took his time to observe the place.

Huge cylinders covered the walls and other spaces that could be seen. They spanned from the ground to the ceiling fully. Safety suits were available in the vicinity of the huge tanks which lined the walls.

"Darn it. The tank is empty and we will need to refill it" Mark made his way finally and the words made him think that it was the petrol that needed filling.

But it was actually the insecticide tank that needed to be refilled instead. Great, this was a much bigger problem than the petrol one since there was a big chance to fuck it all up. They had to be careful because they could not predict what the end result of it would be on either of them.

"Suit up. We are not taking any risk at all" Alan just sighed at the order but went to obey it regardless. They quickly suited up and began to adjust the handle on the tank. Once they opened the tank, it was time to transfer the insecticide from one side to the other.

The knob turned easily and the sound of gas filling up the tank reached their ears. Mark signalled to stop once he felt like enough of the tank had been filled. Alan nodded and stopped the line.

"Not going to fill the other one up?" Alan asked as he pointed to the other empty tank. Mark just shook his head as a 'no'. He could see what the other was suggesting - to drive two trucks out and do an assault but Mark could not allow that.

He could not allow a minor to drive. That would not be the appropriate reaction to take at all.

"I don't think you have a licence for driving" But did it really matter? The world had already changed so why should the previous rule exist? Even Alan's gaze told that much which made him give in.

"Fine, you can drive it" Mark got to fill the other one as a backup as well. He was not sure how much they would need but one should be enough right? The other one was just a backup right now.

Alan could bring it after him and they would be able to have a backup just in case.

"Let's go" once they had filled it all up, it was time to go. However, Mark recognised a problem as soon as he exited the factory gate with the vehicle. Alan was not coming after him so he had to back-track to reach him.

"What's the problem? Alan, can you not follow me?" Mark asked as he saw the teen in an uncomfortable position in the truck. Mark could understand the hesitation but he had taught Alan to drive a little.

It should not be a problem with open roads and no traffic.

"Uh, Mark, how do I start this truck?" Mark wanted to facepalm at the other. Why did he not think this through first? For someone who had no practice driving, they had to make do with minimum practice and tutoring.

Mark might have neglected to mention this fact to the other before he had allowed him to drive alone. Mark stepped outside his truck and he entered Alan's. 

"I'll show you the way. The rest of the fundamentals are the same as before" thankfully, it was not as complicated as the other vehicles he had seen. It was easy to drive and Alan could adapt easily.

"Ok," Alan had a glaring aim at Mark's moments. He was taking in everything the other was doing and to adapt himself. Mark allowed Alan to adapt to the driving wheel before he gave him the go.

It was a tense silence till the other finally adopted the wheel. Mark was lucky Alan picked it up so easily and then he was out of the truck into his own. He led the other on the road behind him to their destination.

The bees were still swarming around the same location. Mark stopped his truck and took out the hose. He fired it off as soon as he got a clear shot.

The bees exploded into the scene as they flew away from the harmful toxin. Many of them died outright which was what Mark had turned out to do. Alan had started his own hose behind him which targeted the escaping bees.

Even the bees that had escaped had not been fully spared the ordeal. The sustained damage they took ensured that they would die soon enough. The scene cleared very soon due to their aid and they could see the queen bee's cocoon in the middle now. It was a pinkish-grey colour with small moments all around it.

It had a small opening the size of his finger which seemed to be pumping an egg out. So the queen was laying eggs the size of normal eggs. The small eggs hatched as well which resulted in a normal bee.

But it didn't survive in the toxin-filled environment for long. The other eggs showed signs of dying as well. There was no buzzing noise now and Mark was still covered fully.

He finally made his way near the cocoon. The cocoon finally showed a violent moment as if realising that it was vulnerable. This could not be allowed under any circumstances because it was a problem.

Mark took out his sword, the only thing he could think of to pierce through the cocoon and he ran it through. There was no blood, no scream and no moment as he did this action. It was all just swift and quick in nature.

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Close the Rift to the hidden place and look around for the monster with the key.

Hidden quest activated - Survival mode on Part 2 - Cleared

Prize: 2 keys available. An elite weapon prototype available (Can only be used once to construct the given weapon/can be used for the vial)

Timer for the second location will start after the first world quest - the rebellion

_________________

They were safe now?

"Mark, one of them survived," Alan called out to him. True to his words, a blogger than usual was buzzing around the place and looking around. Mark allowed her to make her way to the cocoon left behind by the last queen.

She flew inside and settled right at the body of the last bee. 

And then it began moving at a rapid speed and the cocoon began repairing itself to the speed visible to any naked eye.

"Another queen bee?" Alan asked in a fascinated voice. Maybe he could feel it growing into her new role but Mark was not so sure about it.

"Generally the workers feed the chosen bee the 'royal jelly' to convert her into the queen bee but this case seemed different. Still, we cannot say anything with certainty at all" any common animal notional had already been broken right before his eyes.

He was not even sure where his knowledge began and where the mystery ended. Most of the time it was either hit or miss, or it was to rely on his system for information.

"I'll try to store it for further study then" It was still fascinating how his system could absorb this cocoon but not a real animal like Kuro or alive monsters.

Where did its limitations begin? Mark was not even sure he understood the depths of it yet.

"Let's go back. Rika would kill us if we arrive any later than now" the day was over and the next one had begun long ago. They had wasted all their free time on this one quest but Mark did not regret it at all.

It was a good experience to evaluate gains in the end. He warned more than he lost and he even got a clue to something important. He could wait to go back and decode his message.

Rika was waiting for them right outside the facility. She had their luggage ready and had Kuro with her. She also had an annoyed expression but Mark felt like it was not aimed at them.

She made quick work of loading what was left, forgetting that she could store it in the system and jumped inside. Kuro, too, hurried inside.

"Hurry and drive away. Otherwise, they would really dissect Kuro to study her" Mark drove out as fast as he could out of there.