Chapter 18: Taking Office!

"I look good like this, don't I, Olivia?" Ying Su asked.

In the mirror, she wore a white cotton long-sleeved shirt, a classic professional skirt suit, black stockings underneath, and a white lab coat over it all. To make herself look more mature, Ying Su had even specially put on a pair of non-prescription round glasses.

"Very ugly," Olivia said flatly. She genuinely disliked this kind of attire, as it was people in these very white coats who had experimented on her back and forth when she was imprisoned.

"Alright then. I thought you might like it. At the very least, it makes me look more seasoned, right?" Ying Su said, pinching her own cheek in the mirror.

While Ying Su didn't particularly mind her own delicate and petite figure, it would still be better to have a bit more authority.

Soon after, Ying Su went out, had a simple breakfast, and then waited outside Doctor Anna's office door.

It wasn't long before Doctor Anna arrived to unlock the office. This place served as her workspace, containing many important pieces of information and data. The door only opened when she herself arrived and all three factors—fingerprint, retinal scan, and password—were correct.

The first thing Ying Su did after entering was to go rinse her mouth. She needed an extra round of cleaning after waking up.

It was all because Anna would occasionally engage in some "rock climbing" exercise. She still had to maintain hygiene.

Then, Doctor Anna would put the obscuring helmet on her and hold her while slacking off for the entire morning, only starting work in the afternoon.

Ying Su could then return to her workstation opposite Doctor Anna's.

The office wasn't very large. The most space-consuming items were two filing cabinets containing paper copies of information on various anomalies, all made as a precaution against accidents.

Doctor Anna's desk was backed against the wall, facing the door directly, allowing her to see everything in the office. Ying Su couldn't pull any sneaky tricks, and without a doubt, there were surveillance cameras here too.

Not just outside, but also in the shower and toilet.

Seeing Doctor Anna so accustomed to it all, Ying Su couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

'In this base, even a mouse running out couldn't hide, huh.'

And this was also what gave Anna a headache.

They had checked the sewers, even rummaged through the cesspits, so how could they still not find the Red Fiend?

Since the arrival of Reshape had directly damaged their systems, they had no way of knowing most of what happened outside.

But the Red Fiend had indeed breached containment and disappeared. Roland did mention fighting it, but it being taken by Reshape seemed unlikely.

After all, if Reshape could control it, the base wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to install a specialized low-temperature setup for the Red Fiend.

Actually, if the Red Fiend really had been taken away, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Since the base couldn't handle it, it was better to have one less problem.

But if it was still inside the base, that would be terrible. Its characteristics meant that if it wanted to, it could hide in a place completely undetectable to everyone.

But where would a monster like the Red Fiend hide?

After dealing with the aftermath of the destruction, plans for the missing anomalies were slowly being initiated.

The troops controlled by the base had already chased after them to eliminate the threat, though it was unknown how many anomalies they could ultimately recover.

As for high-risk entities like the Red Fiend, they had to find a way to ascertain its whereabouts.

"Ying Su, in a couple of days, go receive someone and bring them to my office. Here's the person's information," Anna said.

It was just an ordinary errand.

But in Ying Su's eyes, it was a perfect opportunity.

A B-Grade personnel from Containment Site No. 2 would be coming here to assist with the follow-up.

The information didn't mention who the visitor was, but once they came, they would have to go back, right?

Then she would know how to leave when the time came, wouldn't she?

But this matter was still a couple of days away.

Suppressing the joy in her heart, Ying Su turned to look at the information on her screen.

---

Designation: B414 Containment Level: D-Grade Name: Resource Exchanger

Project Status:

Its characteristics are a length of five meters, height of three meters, consisting of an opaque square machine with its conveyor belt and support frame. It has no power supply port or fuel inlet.

It can be activated simply by pressing its power button.

After placing an item on the conveyor belt, the exchanger will transform it into a different item.

---

B414-1 Test:

Garbage, daily necessities, miscellaneous scraps, expired food...

All converted into uniform stones.

When stones were placed into it again, there was no change.

Researcher ████: 'We threw all the garbage in, and then it was all gone at once. This is fantastic.'

---

B414-2 Test:

Some fresh meat, a lab rat, and some industrial products.

The fresh meat turned into a few gold nuggets.

The lab rat turned into a one-meter-long cat-like creature with twisted limbs.

The industrial products reverted to raw materials.

B414-2-2 Test:

Placing the lab rat, which had already transformed into another creature, back into the exchanger caused it to revert to its original state. Various tests showed no difference from before the initial test.

Researcher ████: 'The exchanger seems to follow some unknown principle we are unaware of. These exchanges are patterned. It seems that, to it, all items have different values.'

---

B414-3 Test:

Placing a D-Grade personnel into the exchanger.

The subject turned into a sloth.

Their memories were retained, and they could communicate normally. The subject exhibited distress due to their body.

After placing them into the exchanger again, the subject reverted.

Physical tests showed no difference from before being placed inside.

Researcher ████: 'Who would want to be a sloth? Though, spending the rest of your life in a zoo might not be a bad choice either.'

---

Responsible Officer ██: 'The exchanger produces some奇妙 (strange/wonderful) items when specific items are input. Some fresh minced meat can produce nutrient paste, some ██ can produce...

It seems to have a unique value assessment system. Living beings have the highest value, while industrial inorganic matter is the lowest.

The disposal of garbage and remains within the base has always been a troublesome issue. This machine can be used for direct processing.

We can use ███ for compression before input. This project is very safe, has wide-ranging uses, and possesses good research value.'

Following this was a long list of currently known exchange items.

Ying Su found it quite fascinating. These things were pretty interesting. And now, as Anna's research assistant, she had to clearly understand these anomalies. After all, if something unexpected happened, it might not just be a demotion but getting terminated outright.

The most crucial ones were the anomalies in A Zone, which Anna was responsible for. This was her jurisdiction and where Ying Su would interact the most.

It's just that most of them were really...

Ying Su shook her head as she read. Many things looked a bit weird, but just a bit weird, and had absolutely no practical use.

An anomaly like Ying Su herself was considered a good project.