Players Invade Cyberpunk-Chapter 688 - 222: Reporter and Detective_2

The security guards originally stationed at the entrance of the corridor couldn't hold back.

"Quick, go down and see what's going on."

After the fully armed security team ran down, Brother Dao leisurely walked out of the bathroom, still holding a mop, pretending to clean as he leaned against the wall.

"Shh~~~"

He leaned against the data interface, looked left and right, and then took out a USB drive to plug it in.

"Please, Miss Miao, I hope your skills are up to par."

"Annoying meow, be careful or I'll go on strike."

Jackal and the others' skills aren't much different from when Lin Miao first encountered Lucy and Qiwei. Cracking these company's internal defense systems is a challenge for them but not impossible. Furthermore, unlike local hackers who must physically connect to the intranet to break data fortresses, Jackal and her team can use other players as intermediate jumping points without risking themselves.

After a minute of watching a cat-and-mouse game on the electronic screen, the originally tightly closed door suddenly opened.

"All right meow, I've also conveniently hacked their surveillance, but you have to leave before those people return, or be prepared to die inside. I don't want to taste you in my meat tomorrow."

Entering, Brother Dao didn't forget to joke,

"I have high cholesterol, more suitable for frying or grilling."

Even at night, the lights in the top-floor laboratory remained on. The cost of industrial electricity was so low that no one cared if a light stayed on all night.

The laboratory's various vessels were soaking different chunks of meat. Some were covered in bumps, others were dry and thin, and some were growing faster than those in jars below, almost popping the glass lids off.

There were labels under different samples:

Test Specimen No. 1

Test Specimen No. 2....

"....."

Brother Dao didn't have time to look for anomalies in those things. He immediately plugged the USB drive into the computer host, letting Jackal help steal internal data. Meanwhile, he browsed through the materials he could understand in the computer.

This was just a production plant of the Continental Foods Corporation. The legitimate research reports were at the headquarters. The formulas for the nutritional liquids and base liquids were sent from headquarters to Night City. Not even Brother Dao or possibly the researchers knew them, as they were only conducting supplementary experiments here.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much Brother Dao could understand as the materials were full of technical terms. He did find a hidden experimenter's log in the depths, and driven by curiosity, he opened and started reading it.

[July 3, 2075]

[I detected excessive E. coli and Helicobacter pylori in the cleaning liquid. Long-term consumption could cause food poisoning for customers. It seems related to the decomposition liquid not being thoroughly disinfected and outdoor workers relieving themselves anywhere. I suggested the factory manager shut down the feces recovery system and rebuild toilets for the workers, but he refused citing cost-saving measures.]

[July 13, 2075]

[There seems to be something extra in the synthetic fat sent from headquarters, as the experimental subjects are digesting it unusually fast, yet all food safety tests are passed.]

[July 19, 2075]

[The subjects are ingesting more synthetic fat while excretion is decreasing, accompanied by a noticeable dry mouth.]

[August 1, 2075]

[The issue has been identified. An addictive substance was added to the synthetic fat, causing users to unconsciously increase ingestion. This substance affects the breakdown efficiency of fat by body cells, leading to excessive obesity. I reported this to higher-ups, but they said it's company strategy, and I have no right to intervene.]

[August 6, 2075]

[In two hours, the subject devoured 3KG of fat continuously and hasn't stopped. I even doubt he might gorge himself to death.]

[August 6, 2075]

[The subject died four hours into eating due to a ruptured stomach. The substance appears to affect the brain's satiety perception when accumulated excessively, combined with its addictive nature. Without intervention, he would eat himself to death, as I reported this to headquarters but received no response.]

[August 12, 2075]

[Twelve deaths occurred in Night City, blame attributed to improper food handling leading to poisoning, but I know they ate themselves to death.]

[August 13, 2075]

[The death toll keeps rising. The company has ordered all the fat to be destroyed along with related production materials, and no one is held accountable.]

[August 14, 2075]

[They sent a new formula, but this time it's genetically modified meat and nutrient liquids. These liquids are full of various hormones. The meat's DNA appears artificially edited, significantly shortening muscle cell replication time, with growth efficiency increased by 30% but nutrient value halved. The spoilage rate is extremely high, forcing us to add a large amount of antibiotics to suppress the process, yet this doesn't seem like normal meat.]

[August 19, 2075]

[Is it my imagination, or are the subjects getting thinner the more they eat? And why have they been fed raw food entirely these days?]

[August 26, 2075]

[No! No! No! They've gone mad. If this thing isn't cooked, it can't be digested by the intestines. It attaches to the colonic villi, extracting the host's food nutrients in reverse. This isn't meat; it's a parasite! I must tell others about it!]

The experiment log ends here.

Though no follow-up was provided for Brother Dao regarding the recorder, he found no related news in Night City's municipal web.

Not a single word.