Chapter 35: Scientist

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Scientist Ethan grinned and casually slung an arm over Betty’s shoulder, ignoring the fact that he almost got himself killed. "So... what’s the plan now, pretty boy?" Betty immediately slapped his hand away, making Ethan stumble a step. "Why are you asking me? Don’t you have a brain?" Ethan coughed, straightening his back with mock dignity. "Of course I do. I was just asking because you’re the strongest person here at the moment, but who knew you only have strength and not a brain to plan anything?" Betty gritted her teeth in anger. She held his collar and shook him in anger. "Cant you fucking close your mouth?" Hazel, standing a little far away, smirked as she couldn’t hear their talk; her eyes lit up with mischief. Henry noticed the gleam and frowned. "Why are you staring at them like that? They’re just talking." Hazel crossed her arms, her smirk widening. "Didn’t you ever hear of the term... BL, look how he is holding your friend’s collar, and look at your friend’s smirk." Henry’s face instantly turned crimson. He spun his head away as if pretending the word didn’t exist. David, who had been brushing dust from his coat, froze mid-motion. His lips twitched, but he wisely stayed silent. Hazel’s grin deepened when she caught Henry still red-faced. ’Fufu... didn’t think this burly guy would be the shy type.’ Betty released Ethan and decided to ignore him. She strode toward the area where Maria had gathered the hostages. Henry walked forward and patted Ethan’s shoulder jokingly. "dint think you were this type of man, bro." he left with a wink. A massive question mark appears on Ethan’s head, seeing him leave after saying this. --- Entering the building, Betty’s gaze swept across the floor until she spotted Maria kneeling beside a hostage, carefully wrapping a bandage around the person’s arm. The loud banging echoed again—this time much closer. Betty moved toward the nearest window and peeked outside. A swarm of gangsters were charging toward the police station, and among them, striding with barely contained fury, was the father of that psychopathic woman. David noticed her tense posture and came to stand beside her. He followed her gaze, and when his eyes landed on the old man, his expression turned cold. Flames flickered to life in his palm. Betty blinked at the sudden hostility. "Do you... Perhaps know this old man?" David shook his head slowly, forcing the fire to die out. Meeting her blue-and-red eyes, he said in a low voice, "Hm. I know him. He’s the reason we ended up in that jail." Ethan appeared behind them, seeing the old man, his usual grin gone. "Brother, isn’t this the bastard who tricked us? I still didn’t know how these bastards knew we were coming beforehand?" Betty’s brows rose. Hearing genuine anger in Ethan’s voice caught her off guard. ’They knew beforehand, so they also knew when the military sent twenty awakeners previously? But where are those awakeners then?’ David gave Ethan a grim nod, crossing his arms. "Let’s see what this old man wants to pull this time." Without another word, the two of them strode toward the exit. Betty sighed, rubbing her temple as she watched their backs. ’Looks like they both hate that old man to their core.’ She leaned against the wall, forcing herself to ignore the urge to follow Ethan and David to see what they were planning. Instead, her gaze shifted to the hostages. Most were adults, though a few children clung tightly to their parents. ’So they didn’t go after kids, huh... so what about that scientist?’ Her thoughts drifted back to her first meeting with Hazel, getting a flashback. [Flashback] Hazel, with a smirk, leaned against her ear, whispering. "There is also something in that base, you know, there is some scientist killing awakeners and extracting their cores, it should also be your concern, right, what if they one day kill you for your core, I’m sure they will not stop after extracting some awakeners’ cores." She leaned back, extending her hand. "interested now..." [End Flashback] Betty sighed, looking at Hazel, who was chatting with Maria right now. ’In the novel, Lillian had extracted the original body core through the same method as Hazel described. Has Lilian taken help from this scientist to kill the original Betty in the novel?’ She stopped thinking wildly, crossing the room, she stopped in front of Hazel, who looked up at her with curiosity."What—" Betty’s eyes narrowed. "Remember what you said before...?" Hazel froze for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. She stood, brushing herself off. "Yeah, I remember. Don’t worry—I told General Samuel before we left. They should be taking action right now." Betty shook her head."We should still check it ourselves. Do you know where that scientist’s Lab is?" Hazel nodded, casually walking past her."Alright, then—let’s go to take a look." Moving down the streets cautiously, Betty’s mind churned. ’If that bastard scientist is here, I’ll have to burn every trace of his research, then Lillian, who is behaving strangely now, will not get his research. She cant kill me like the original body, who was a big softie, but it can prevent her from killing another awakener.’ Hazel stopped at the mouth of a narrow alley. The alley road was covered with garbage. "This is the place," Hazel said, rubbing her head in irritation. "Tch, I was almost cut into pieces here." Betty glanced at her, noticing her disgust. ’Will it be good to ask how she escaped..’ --- Hazel stopped in front of a heavy metal door, rubbing her palms together before cracking her knuckles menacingly. Betty’s lips twitched. ’She’s... way too excited to beat the crap out of whoever’s inside.’ "Let’s go," Hazel said flatly. The hinges groaned as she pushed the door open, revealing a narrow stairwell leading down. Betty’s stomach turned the deeper they went. The air reeked of rust and rot. Flickering lights cast jagged shadows across metal tables smeared in blood. Jars and trays overflowed with organs suspended in yellowish liquid. "Hahahahaha... success... hehehe..." The laughter was high-pitched, fractured—like glass grinding against glass. A cold shiver crawled down Betty’s spine. Hazel smirked and strolled toward one of the tables, picking up a stained scalpel."Bennett, you stay here," she said without looking back. "I need to have a... chat with him." Betty stiffly nodded. She knew exactly what kind of chat this was going to be.’Rest in peace, Mister Scientist... and may hell chew you up quickly.’ The door slammed behind Hazel. Seconds later, the laughter cut off—replaced by sharp, ragged screams. Betty winced, shutting her eyes.’Ouch... I can feel what he’s going through just from the sound.’ Trying to block it out, she scanned the tables. A folder lay nearby, its cover stamped with bold letters: Pig #54. Her eyes hardened as she picked it up. ’So they weren’t even people to you, huh?’ She flipped it open."Fail subject."That was all. No full notes, no formulas—just a single line. One file after another told the same story. With a grim frown, she tossed the whole stack to the floor and lit them aflame, watching the pages curl into black ash. By the time the last ember died, the screaming stopped silence returned after ten minutes. The door opened, and Hazel stepped out, wiping her hands clean with a scrap of cloth. "Did you kill him?" Betty asked. Hazel met her gaze and nodded. "Of course. You expected me to forgive the bastard? He tried to kill me. I returned the favor." Her eyes dropped to the smoldering pile."That’s his research?" Betty nodded, feeling a flicker of pride. "Burned it. Even if the military got their hands on it, they’d use it. Better to erase it, right?" Hazel tossed the cloth aside and headed toward the stairs. "Good. Now let’s go meet your girlfriend." Betty’s expression soured instantly, an eye twitch betraying her irritation."Are you talking about that woman, Kayla?" Hazel just shrugged, offering no answer as she stepped outside. Betty was mumbling behind her. "She is not my girlfriend, why would I have a girlfriend, tch?" --- They entered the building where they were keeping civilians safe. Hazel immediately spotted Maria and bolted toward her, rubbing her head against Maria’s shoulder like an overgrown cat despite the woman’s annoyed protests. "Umm... Bennett." Betty glanced over her shoulder. Henry stood there, brows furrowed. "Do you know where Ethan and David are?" Betty froze. ’How do I even answer that? ’Oh, yeah, they saw some old man, started cursing him, and ran off like lunatics’?’ She sighed and gave the short version."I think they went after the gang’s boss—headed toward the police station. The guy was leading the way." Henry’s expression hardened instantly. Without another word, he pulled a pistol from his waistband and sprinted for the exit. Betty blinked at his back, then hurried to follow.’The military should have already taken control of the base by now. That old man might be trouble... but the rest? They shouldn’t be a problem... right?’