Leave The Monster Alone

Mark did not make his move at night, it would be foolish to do so when he had so many better chances to approach the lab. The best time would actually be the breakfast queue.

It was the time when he would be freed with his night shop duties so he would have a somewhat alibi for himself. He would not be a candidate anyway unless he did get caught but this way the risk was almost eliminated.

The other shopkeeper NPC soon came to replace him and Mark almost gave the other a once over.

This person was new, one he had not seen before but that was not unusual in itself. It was the lack of acknowledgement on the other's part which startled. He had not gotten such a response since long ago.

People tended to actually acknowledge him nowadays, even more so now that Kuro was not actually with him. The feline had taken to the training course like a duck to water, taking out her agitation on the dummies.

It also gave Mark enough time to be able to breathe properly.

"Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before" the teen froze at his words, finally turning toward him.

He had some interesting features, enough to make him stand out and Mark could not help but think that the other did not look like an NPC at all. The silver eyes on that white face framed by the dark locks did not scream as ordinary.

"We've met before though, don't you remember?" There was a small laugh in that voice which made no sense to Mark but he did let out a sigh at that. Another cheeky brat he had no intention of acknowledging.

"Have we? I must have forgotten since my memory is bad and I'm sorry for that. Anyway, hope you have a good time" the smile on that face widened a creepy fraction but nothing else was said which Mark took as a sign to leave.

Somehow, Mark knew that the other could tell he had been lying but there was no way the pther could read him that well. Was this one of those creepy NPCs he somethimes saw watching him?

Some NPC's just creeped him out, their expressions far too clear and human-like. Even in these circumstances, they were the ones that stood out far too much.

The morning cue was much too busy for most people. As weird as it was to think, it was early enough in the apocalypse that more and more people were making their way to the base on an everyday basis.

It was already overcrowded and yet they could not turn away most people who had nowhere else to go.

Mark made sure that cameras caught him going toward his room and actually entering it before he proceeded with his plan.

The system was a big help, coming with some basic perks which cost far too much but he bought them anyway. What they were doing in his store, he was not sure but he was thankful for limited invisibility potions.

He did make sure to stock up on some extras, spending all his hard-earned drops on the available material but this was gold and available for a limited time only.

From there, it was all but a matter of time and he made sure he took that into account once he took the first potion.

They lasted for mere minutes, max 3 and min 2 so it was a variable in his plan. But the cameras were not omnipresent and it was easy to let the potion wear out a few steps back from the range before he took another.

'The resources I had to spend are not worth the reward' many people would think that but not Mark. Kuro was far too precious for him to lose just because he did not do enough.

The lab was empty, just as he had expected it to be. Most people were out having breakfast or following the morning routine which made his job easier.

He followed the way to the stairs and made his way down. He was not sure if the 'dual core' would be down there or not, but he had a feeling that such an important thing could not be left upstairs.

He opened his system map in order to scan the place but as soon as he did that, he knew that it would not work.

_____________________

Out of signal, Please try again

_____________________

What was this, a cell phone? This was supposed to be a piece of technology that was an integral part of this world. How could it be considered as out of signal?

The only other time this had happened was when that shockwave had happened but those had been special circumstances. Has his system corrupted them? Or something?

But this also meant that he was on his own.

Common sense said that the storage chamber would not be too far off than the cold storage but with such advanced technology, anything was possible.

But he also knew from studies that gene-splicing required certain temperatures. There had to be another room with appropriate settings down here but the corridor was not too big.

He had to basically get lucky if he wanted to be done in time.

He made his way where he remembered the Rika leading him and tried to open the door just as she had. There were no passwords down here which were nice. He had observed how Rika pressed OK on an empty pad which was the only reason he knew how to get inside.

It was a valid tactic, to not set a password and lead others to believe that you had one.

But once the room opened up, Mark knew he had made a mistake. The room was still cold, but not as cold as the storage he had been hoping to get into.

This room was also arranged very differently and at once he knew that he had unexpectedly opened the one door he had been looking for.

Perhaps he had made a mistake in the start, far too focused on Rika than the actual placement of the door but it had worked out. He entered carefully and found himself at a loss.

Mark actually had no idea what the 'Dual core' he was supposed to take back was since his system was not online at all. He had a very vague guess but he wished it was not what he had been thinking.

A little more in and he saw the small tubes placed right in the middle of the central table, clearly indicating their importance and another fact - he was not alone.

There was a pair of scientists already there and Mark ducked behind the nearest desk as soon as he saw them. Thankfully, they were too busy with their work to notice him and he carefully made his way near.

"- careful. Those are the dual cores and way more important than your life. Don't get yourself killed like the last person inside here" so they were dual cores which was a plus for him.

How would he be able to get his hands on one now though?

"I'm being careful but it's difficult when you know exactly what they are made of. Wait, I'll help you with the next tray" there were steps going back and Mark knew that it was the best chance.

Since he was close enough, it took a few seconds to grab two vials and make his way back to his hiding spot. It was a risk but he counted on the fact that those people were distracted to make his plan work.

The steps came back near him which meant that the moment of truth was above him now.

"- they always do half-assed work and ah, I see. I thought I told them to fill the tray but clearly, the juniors slacked off. How inefficient of them" Mark's luck knew no bounds and he felt as if he had spent all his supply in one day.

From there it was easy to get out, the door had not closed off at all.

Once his system began working right once again, Mark knew he was safe. The portions were back and he could make his way back without any problem.

His heart was almost out of his chest with how fast it was beating and all Mark could do was to force itself to calm down.

This was one problem down for now and he had made it out without anyone being the wiser. Now all he had to do was to get this to those two and get Kuro cured.

And this led to another big problem - How would he be able to contact those two once again? He had no way to do so and he was not sure if the other two even had any idea that he had accomplished his mission.

Mark was fucked and he knew that.

At least he would not be caught red handed with the material would this incident ever come to light? Well, he'll have to wait and pray that he would not be caught at this rate.