I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 203

Daniel, pulling out a flashlight from his pocket, pressed the power button, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) causing the light to fan out in a cone shape.

The light was dim, giving off a somewhat dark feel, but there was no issue identifying objects.

Taking a quiet, deep breath, Daniel descended the stairs.

After some time, a narrow, deep corridor came into view.

Shining the flashlight towards the end of the corridor, Daniel saw a steel door.

He instinctively knew that this was the entrance to the laboratory, so he slowly advanced toward it.

Even as he walked, Daniel kept his guard up, his eyes constantly scanning.

‘The power’s been cut off, so no lights are on, but there are light bulbs installed at regular intervals. If they cared about convenience, why make the corridor so narrow?’

The corridor was so tight that two people couldn’t run side by side.

As Daniel pondered the reason, he reached the steel door and was able to draw a conclusion.

‘There are dried bloodstains on the wall. Judging by the pattern of the spattered blood, someone was shot here. That means...’

It seemed the straight corridor structure was intentionally designed to make it easier to deal with those trying to escape from the laboratory.

Shaking his head in disbelief at the Allies’ approach, Daniel turned off the flashlight and grabbed the door handle, pulling it.

Creeeak—

The steel door slowly creaked open.

Preparing for any potential surprises, Daniel used the slight opening to peek inside, but there was no sign of anyone.

After waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark, Daniel pushed the door wide open and quickly scanned his surroundings.

Confirming once again that there was no one, Daniel sighed in relief and switched on the flashlight.

‘No one here. Did they abandon the laboratory?’

The laboratory, illuminated by the flashlight, was a complete mess.

Glass ampoules, syringes, microscopes, torn documents, and all kinds of glass bottles were scattered messily on the desk.

Among them, the most noticeable was a cylindrical, vertically-structured chamber.

It looked like a glass tank large enough to hold a person, and beneath it, there were countless wires haphazardly connected.

‘What the hell is this...?’

He couldn’t even begin to guess what such a bizarre thing was made for.

After staring at the chamber for a while, Daniel turned his gaze to another area.

Pausing for a moment, Daniel walked toward a section marked [Subject Area].

Upon entering, the old, musty smell made his senses more alert.

Pulling out his handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, Daniel carefully examined the interior.

‘This place...’

He could see beds with leather straps for restraining the human body scattered here and there.

Used syringes were carelessly lying on the floor beneath them.

Clothes and shoes, presumably belonging to the test subjects, were discarded as well.

‘Disgusting bastards...’

Thinking that Lucy had lived in such a place made Daniel's anger surge.

Clenching his fists, Daniel quickly regained his composure.

‘Calm down. The reason I’m here is to uncover the full story behind the Lucy Project.’

Remembering his original purpose, Daniel found a room marked [Records Storage] within the Subject Area.

Inside was a spacious room filled with dozens of shelves.

As Daniel noticed the shelves packed with documents, he grabbed one at random to inspect.

“...Experiment Log for Subject #37?”

The document labeled Experiment Log for Subject #37 had a large red stamp reading [Discarded] beneath it.

‘Could it be... that all the documents here are...?’

These were the records of all the test subjects who had passed through the laboratory.

Breathing heavily, Daniel continued to move around the records storage until he found a document labeled [Subject #187].

Carefully opening the document, a report appeared.

─────────

Document Number: KZZ - FS - 013

Creation Date: April 11, 1932

Classification: Top Secret

Subject Information

Code Name: Subject #187

Place of Birth: Unknown, presumed to be from the Empire

Gender/Age: Female/8 years old

Health Status: Stable

Special Notes: Mana response speed is the most exceptional among current subjects

─────────

‘1932, huh...’

This was about 13 years ago.

‘They performed human experiments on a child who was only 8 years old.’

Daniel, feeling increasingly disturbed, flipped to the next page.

─────────

May 15, 1932

Subject classified as superior, having raised no questions regarding the purpose of the experiment.

June 17, 1932

Initial gene injections began with minimal biological rejection. Subject complained of headaches and occasional vomiting, though it was less severe than other subjects.

July 10, 1932

Subject’s verbal communication decreased noticeably. Exhibited blind anger toward the researchers, though there was no cause for concern. Research continued, and subject became accustomed to the gene injections.

August 7, 1932

Due to upper management’s orders to deliver results, it was decided to use the subject's emotions for experimentation. Gene manifestation was found to be linked to anger and sadness. Experiment conducted by pairing Subject #187 with Subject #96, who was sociable, in an attempt to form an emotional connection.

October 13, 1932

Subject #187 and Subject #96 successfully formed a bond. Plans to dispose of Subject #96 and provoke an emotional reaction from Subject #187 when the time was right.

November 21, 1932

Subject #187 began referring to Subject #96 as a “friend.” Emotional bonding was considered complete, and Subject #96 was disposed of. Upon learning this, Subject #187 was overcome with despair.

Despair led to a burst of energy. Subject #187’s retina glowed red as she screamed for the return of Subject #96.

No physical rejection was observed, suggesting manifestation of the gene.

November 22, 1932

Subject #187 caused an uproar during the gene injection process. Soldiers attempted to stop her, but were unsuccessful.

Eight soldiers sacrificed their lives before the subject was restrained.

The child displayed an unimaginable amount of strength and magic.

It was concluded that the experiment was successful.

The news was conveyed to upper management.

Ah, finally, is this the end of these dreadful days?

─────────

The report ended with a hastily scribbled note at the end.

After reading the report, Daniel's eyes remained calm, but an unknown emotion lingered within them.

Holding his frustration in, Daniel paused for a moment before folding the report.

He then fell into deep thought.

‘If I calm down and think about it, there are many odd things.’

Why had the researchers kept these records without erasing them?

Why was the steel door left open?

Why hadn’t the rusted padlock been replaced?

His thoughts began to spiral, and eventually, they came to a stop at one point.

‘It’s a trap.’

A trap meant to bind Daniel Steiner to this place.

With that realization, Daniel’s eyes narrowed sharply.

****

At the same time, a squad in Allied military uniforms stormed into the laboratory.

One of the squad members, Orem, who was moving silently, turned to look back and spoke. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

“Lieutenant, we’re just the advance team here to report Daniel Steiner’s location, aren’t we?”

Lieutenant Hamelton nodded.

“We’ve already reported the location, haven’t we? The main force will soon be launching a large-scale assault using Etherlium. What’s the issue?”

“...Shouldn’t the assault team be the ones handling Daniel Steiner?”

“If we leave it to them, we won’t get any credit. Do you know the value of Daniel Steiner’s head? Are you saying that while you understand that? You all want medals, don’t you?”

At Hamelton’s reply, Orem bit his lip.

“He’s a neural acceleration user, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I know. But a neural acceleration ability isn’t invincible, is it? Besides, we’re the ones ambushing him. In all likelihood, he won’t be able to use his ability properly when he’s caught off guard, right?”

Though Hamelton’s words weren’t wrong, Orem couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being used as disposable pawns.

With a deep sigh, Orem nodded. There was no need for an unnecessary argument since they would be entering the laboratory soon.

Moments later, the squad entered through the open door of the laboratory, signaling to each other.

— Two-man teams, search the area. Report immediately if you find Daniel Steiner or any unusual signs.

Hearing Orem’s command, the squad members nodded and scattered to different areas.

Orem, along with one of his subordinates, entered the Subject Area.

At the same time, Orem and his subordinate closed their mouths.

The air was thick with a choking smell, and the traces of experiments felt ominously close.

But soon, Orem regained his composure and signaled for the search to continue.

He watched as his subordinate entered the Records Room and kept a watchful eye on the surroundings.

It was then.

Click—

A loud crashing sound echoed, followed by the dying gasp of his subordinate.

Panicked, Orem immediately rushed toward the Records Room.

“Sebilat!”

He called his subordinate’s name, but no answer came.

Believing his subordinate had been attacked, Orem entered the Records Room and broke into a cold sweat.

The faint light from a flashlight was spilling out from beyond a shelf, and the opposite door to the Records Room was open.

‘Did Sebilat get killed and run through the other door?’

Nervously gripping his rifle, Orem cautiously moved toward the door, ready for Daniel to spring out from behind it.

After moving to the farthest corner of the room, Orem found Sebilat, strangled and lying on the floor.

The flashlight was lying nearby.

As Orem concluded that it was definitely Daniel Steiner’s doing, he grabbed his radio.

Click—

The coldness of metal touched the back of his neck.

It was the muzzle of a revolver.

Hadn’t Daniel escaped through the Records Room door?

As Orem stood frozen in panic, a chilling voice came from behind him.

“From the shoulder epaulet, you’re the squad leader, aren’t you?”

Daniel, stepping out from the darkness, spoke quietly.

“If you don’t want to die, you’ll follow my orders from here on out.”