Ever since Lucas put on the white coat of the doctor from the forbidden zone, every player who arrived afterward had been manipulated into confusion—mentally spinning in circles, unaware they were already pieces on someone else's board.
Players watching the scene unfold from behind their screens were completely silent.
Not a whisper. Not a single message in the chat. Just stunned silence.
It wasn't until the seven players, trapped in the previous sleep experiment, began showing signs of complete mental breakdown—hallucinations, rage, murder—that reality struck the audience like a hammer.
Each one of them was eliminated.
Lucas had cleared the hidden mission. Alone.
Only then did the viewers erupt:
"Wait, that counts as mission complete?!"
"Holy sh*t... Lucas is insane [beep—]"
"If he hadn't dressed up even more psychotically than the original restricted zone doctor, I doubt those players would've believed the act."
"Imagine if Lucas had used brute force instead? Forced them into the chamber and ran the experiment by force? It would've been even worse. They probably would've died faster!"
"Let me think… this is the first group of players Lucas has personally eliminated since entering the penalty zone…"
"Scratch that. Most of the eliminated 1.0 players so far are thanks to Lucas!"
"All I can say is... Lucas is a monster. A legend."
"I'm losing my mind here. Please, I beg the game system—don't ever match me in the same dungeon with Lucas. I want to live."
"Honestly, being in the same dungeon as Lucas is the worst possible luck…"
While this storm of chaos and admiration surged online, Lucas casually examined the glowing vial of [Sleep Excitation Factor] in his palm. After a moment, he tucked it away in his inventory.
"So all the rewards in this dungeon are mutations, huh? They keep messing with the human body."
He shrugged off his white coat and hoisted his trusty kitchen knife again. Then, glancing at the red-haired assistant who had been following him, he gave a surprisingly gentle nod.
"Go ahead. You can head to wherever you need."
The little red-haired man gulped, forcing a grimace that hovered somewhere between crying and laughing.
"Jason... I don't even know when you became so damn powerful..."
Lucas smiled awkwardly and replied with a shrug.
"Probably today."
Jason—the assistant—shook his head and returned to the task that had brought them here.
"According to the map, we should reach it soon. Just go through this corridor."
As he spoke, a doorway slid open in the wall, revealing another sterile lab space beyond it.
[Risk Assessment Generating Based on Host's Strength…]
[Underground Laboratory A2: No Danger Detected]
The red-haired man's eyes lit up.
He forgot all previous fear.
"This is it! This is what the map showed us. The secret of the forbidden zone! The key to changing everything! It's right here!"
With a burst of adrenaline, Jason rushed into the lab.
He flipped through drawers, tore open cabinets, knocked over stools, frantically looking for something.
"The secret's gotta be here…"
Lucas remained still at the door, thoughtful.
"No danger detected? In a restricted zone lab?" The logic didn't sit right. A sense of unease rose in his chest.
"Something's off. This feels wrong."
And then—
"I found it!!!"
Jason's voice rang out from the center of the room. He stood proudly, holding something high above his head like a trophy.
It looked like a giant vacuum cleaner—if vacuum cleaners were built for horror movies. The nozzle in front was enormous, large enough to fit a human head. The rest of it was simply a metal pole, hollow and sharp-edged. There was no base, no buttons visible at first glance.
"But... I don't know what it does, or how to use it..."
Jason stared at the thing, brows furrowed.
Lucas took a cautious step forward, keeping a tight grip on his knife.
Jason leaned in to inspect the object.
"Wait, there's a button here..."
"Jason, don't—"
Too late.
He pressed the button.
A flash of light burst through the room.
Reality distorted.
Space twisted before Lucas's eyes like waves folding into themselves.
And when it stopped—Jason was gone.
The bizarre device lay alone on the floor, humming softly.
The spot where Jason had stood was now empty.
A new system message appeared:
[Player Lucas has triggered a Forbidden Zone Side Mission – "Chernobyl Explosion"]
[World Exploration Progress: 30%]
[Mission Prompt: Explore the branch plot to gain an additional 30% progress.]
[Voice Log: ...That explosion stole my family, my life... The sky during the blast was strangely beautiful...]
Then—
clatter.
clunk.
drip.
footsteps.
The sound came from deep within the corridor behind the lab.
Lucas snapped his head toward the source, knife raised.
From the dark entrance emerged a familiar silhouette.
Short. Red-haired. But... different.
Jason.
But not quite.
The wild grin he usually wore had vanished. His eyes were sunken and hollow. His skin was wrinkled and gray—he looked like he'd aged twenty years in an hour.
[Creature Detected – Modeled Entity]
[Source: Forbidden Zone]
[Threat Level: Low]
Lucas's heart skipped a beat.
"Not just the darkness… Even time can twist people into forbidden creatures."
But something didn't add up. He shook his head.
No. This wasn't just time.
His eyes darted to the machine on the floor.
Lucas took a step forward.
"NO!!"
The older Jason screamed, leaping forward like a wild beast.
"No one can touch it! No one!!"
His eyes burned with madness.
"No one leaves the penalty zone! No one tries to harm her! That's her will!!"
Lucas froze.
He could see it in Jason's expression—it was no longer about logic or sanity.
He had been overwritten.
By what—or by whom—Lucas didn't yet know.
He clenched the knife tightly.
"So troublesome..."
With one swift motion, the kitchen knife flew.
THUNK.
Jason's head rolled to the machine's base, thudding once before going still.
Lucas walked over and picked up the machine carefully.
"Her will..."
He didn't press the glowing red button.
Not yet.
He simply stared at it.
"What is this place... really?"
_________________________________
Visit our Patreon for more:
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters♥️💫
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
----------------------------------------------------