Chapter 496: The Researcher
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 496: The Researcher
The sound of fluttering wings echoed through the room as Robin landed on the parrot’s perch.
Offended, the parrot flared its crest, intending to drive away the uninvited guest. However, under Robin’s cold gaze, it quickly fled.
"Thief! Thief!"
The panicked, terrified parrot circled the room, shrieking its angry accusations. Stray feathers drifted down, settling atop precision instruments that shimmered with the faint glow of mana.
"How utterly rude."
Robin adjusted the bowtie at her chest and looked toward the old man busy at the instruments.
"Keeping a parrot in a research laboratory... I really don't know what to say to you, Mr. Yalur."
"Eh? Why is it like this? No, that’s not right..."
The old man wore a white lab coat, his bald head so polished it reflected the overhead lights. He was hunched over, tinkering with something, muttering incessantly to himself, completely oblivious to Robin’s greeting.
"Mr. Yalur."
"In terms of probability, the effect shouldn't be like this. Did I get the dosage wrong?"
"Mr. Yalur."
"Try again? But the test subjects... Ah, right, the new cargo. The new cargo should be... Damn it, the supply has been cut off for so long. Where am I supposed to get new cargo?"
"Yalur Nutt!"
"Ah!"
As Robin’s polite greeting escalated into an exasperated roar, the entranced old man finally snapped out of his own world. He fumbled around until he found his glasses—one lens of which was cracked—and shakily perched them on the bridge of his nose.
"Oh, it’s just Robin. You nearly scared the life out of me. This old man’s heart isn't what it used to be; you really shouldn't shout like that. If you scare me to death, there’ll be no one left to work for you."
"I called your name several times."
"My apologies, my apologies. My hearing has always been a bit poor."
Yalur swayed his head from side to side, and his parrot landed on his shoulder, mimicking the movement.
"Bit poor! Bit poor!"
A vein throbbed on Robin’s forehead.
"I didn't come here to listen to this nonsense. I’m asking you: is the drug I commissioned finished? We’ve spent a fortune, and we’re all waiting for your results!"
"Results... Haven't you already seen the results? I recall the first batch of the drug was already delivered to you."
Yalur pushed up his glasses, looking puzzled.
"Has so much time passed that you lot actually managed to stay patient and not use it?"
"We used it. The effects were decent, which is why we are looking forward to your second batch of the new drug!"
A sinister glint flickered in Robin’s tiny avian eyes.
"You said the first batch was merely a prototype. Things are reaching a critical stage now; we need the new drug."
"Greed is a bad thing, a very bad thing."
Yalur continued to sway his head as he hobbled through the maze of complex instruments, rummaging through a pile of cluttered junk.
"Now where is it...? I remember putting it right here. Why isn't it here? Let me look again..."
"..."
Robin’s blood pressure spiked as she watched Yalur search for the precious new drug—which the Inner Council had paid a king's ransom for—amidst a pile of literal trash. She held her breath for a long time, relying on her immense self-control to swallow back a string of profanities.
Fortunately, Yalur eventually found it.
"Ha! I knew it was here."
Yalur pulled out a plain, unremarkable glass container. He casually wiped the grime off it with his lab coat and tried to pull the stopper, but it wouldn't budge. To Robin’s horror, he then used his teeth to gnaw at it, saliva spraying everywhere.
Robin silently hopped back a few steps, vowing she would never touch that bottle.
"Look, this is the new drug."
Yalur shook a single red pill out of the bottle and held it out to Robin.
Robin hopped closer, craning her neck to look. A faint, metallic scent of blood lingered in the air. The crimson pill was etched with swirling patterns that looked like flowing veins.
"What are the effects?" Robin asked.
"The effects? The effects are naturally excellent."
Yalur chuckled. Suddenly, his movements became incredibly nimble as he snatched the parrot off his shoulder.
"What are you doing! What are you doing!"
The parrot struggled desperately, but it couldn't escape Yalur’s clutches. He forced the pill down the bird's throat.
"Go on then."
The parrot, having swallowed the pill, fluttered away and began flying rapid laps around the research laboratory.
"Tastes bad! Tastes bad!"
"..."
So that parrot was being kept as a lab rat all along!
Robin was speechless for a moment before narrowing her eyes. "It doesn't seem like anything has changed?"
"Heh heh, it’s a pill. It’s not like a direct injection into the bloodstream. Going through the stomach naturally takes a bit of time to digest. Normal, perfectly normal."
As he spoke, Yalur strolled leisurely toward the laboratory door. With a click, he activated a mechanism to open the heavy metal door. He stepped out, and with another click, he closed it behind him.
"Hmm?"
Robin turned her head in confusion, only to see Yalur standing behind the specially treated, thick observation window, giving her a thumbs-up.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Before the words had fully left her beak—
"AAAH—IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"
The wretched scream made Robin flinch. She turned to find that the parrot had collapsed onto the floor at some unknown point.
Then, a horrifying, bone-chilling sound of snapping and cracking erupted from within the parrot’s body.
Crunch.
Snap.
Sharp bone spurs tore through the colorful feathers, dripping with fresh blood, as they reconstructed themselves into a pair of grotesque, jagged wings.
The broad beak became sharp and terrifying. A long, snake-like tongue flicked out, its tip lined with tiny fangs.
Under Robin’s astonished gaze, the parrot’s body swelled in size within seconds, transforming into a purely vicious monster.
But Robin’s surprise quickly turned to alarm.
The monster-parrot’s crimson eyes rolled in their sockets, quickly locking onto her—the only living thing left in the laboratory.
"DELICIOUS! DELICIOUS!"
The strange, mimicked speech had turned into a deathly rasp. The parrot flapped its wings—which were now far too heavy for flight—and used two new talons that had sprouted from its abdomen to rake the floor, lunging at Robin like a wild beast!
"Damn it!"
Robin finally understood what that old bastard Yalur meant by the thumbs-up!
He was telling her "good luck"!
Damn it! If that old fossil weren't still useful, she would have chopped him up and fed him to the dogs long ago.
Cursing internally, Robin’s movements remained swift. She gracefully dodged the parrot’s first pounce.
As a puppet bird used to conceal her true identity, this vessel was no simple toy. Beneath the black and white feathers, a faint blue light flickered; the speed at which Robin darted through the air was no less than that of an average Martial Artist.
Thus, the parrot could do nothing but chase her around in a state of impotent rage...
...
Ten minutes later.
The door finally opened again. Yalur walked into the laboratory with a smile, holding a freshly brewed cup of hot coffee.
The lab was a disaster zone. Many expensive precision instruments had been damaged, but Yalur didn't seem to care at all. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at the panting Robin.
"So, how was it? The effect is decent, isn't it?"
"Heh."
Robin’s expression was grim as she gave a forced, mirthless smile.
"Old man, you should be glad you're so stubborn and foul that even a dog wouldn't eat you. Otherwise, you’d have been turned into dog food long ago."
"Oh, you’re frightening this old man."
Yalur put on a look of "terror."
"When I’m scared, I can't seem to make any medicine at all."
Robin’s beak twitched again as she barely suppressed her rage.
"I am satisfied with the results. However... isn't the duration a bit too short?"
"It’s not short. Ten minutes is the absolute limit of what can be achieved."
Without a hint of pity, Yalur dragged his former pet off the floor and onto a nearby operating table. He picked up a scalpel; his withered hand didn't tremble in the slightest as he expertly sliced open the parrot’s skin.
The skin, which had become fragile again, parted to reveal shriveled internal organs. Not a single drop of blood flowed out.
"This is an alienating drug that functions by overdrawing one's life force. If you want better effects, the duration naturally won't be long. Of course, if you want it to be long-lasting and... firm, I could add a few things to the formula."
Yalur chuckled.
"But the cost... I doubt even your Inner Council could stomach it."
"...How much longer until mass production is possible?"
Robin ignored Yalur’s crude double entendre and asked in a heavy voice.
"That depends on you. As long as you send enough materials, we can start preparing for mass production tomorrow."
As Yalur answered, he tossed the parrot’s corpse into a trash heap and opened an opaque box on the other side. Soon, a new parrot flew out, happily circling the laboratory.
"Very well."
Robin used a sharp glare to ward off the new parrot that tried to steal her perch.
"The materials will be delivered shortly. You need to start preparations immediately."
"Don't worry, it will be fast."
"However, now that the matter of the new drug is settled..."
Robin suddenly lowered her voice.
"What about the other task we entrusted to you?"
"Heh, that is also proceeding in tandem, but..."
Yalur turned to look at Robin, a strange smile appearing on his aged face.
"Mr. Robin, the cargo you promised me seems to have been out of stock for quite some time? Without those goods, it’s very difficult for my experiments to continue. Oh dear, without the cargo, I’ve been feeling quite out of sorts lately. My back is aching and my legs are sore... what do you think should be done?"
"..."
Robin took a deep breath and said slowly, "Rest assured. With the new drug, the cargo you need will be delivered very soon."
"Heh heh, I hope so."
Yalur stroked his beard. "Actually, I was just complaining. No rush, no rush."
"...Then continue with what you need to do. I’m leaving."
Robin spread her wings, eager to depart. She felt that for every extra second she spent with this old bastard, her blood pressure rose. If this continued, her puppet body might be fine, but her true self might die of a brain hemorrhage.
"Oh, right."
Yalur suddenly called out to her. This time, his face held a rare trace of seriousness.
"I’ve been feeling inexplicably anxious lately. The security you promised me... you can maintain it, right?"
"Of course. Who do you think we are?"
Robin looked back with an amused glint.
"The place you are in right now is the safest location in the entire Lower District!"
"That’s good, that’s good."
Yalur patted his chest in relief.
"Lately, I’ve been dreaming that those stiff old fossils from the Royal Research Institute are going to tie me to a stake and burn me. With your guarantee, I can finally be at peace."
"Rest assured. Not even a fly can get in here."
Robin flew out of the laboratory and into the silent, pitch-black space beyond.
In her field of vision, a massive factory lay deep underground, lurking like a hibernating beast.
In those seemingly calm shadows, countless alert systems were faithfully performing their duties.
Just as she had said, not even a fly could get in.
"Of course, it wouldn't matter even if one did," Robin muttered to herself, glancing toward a certain spot in the depths.
"Because everything that flies in... ends up dead."