Chapter 85: The Scientist’s work

Jelo broke the silence that had fallen between them by asking a direct question, his voice cutting through the ambient hum of machinery and flickering lights. “What are you doing in this underground bunker?”

The scientist paused his work immediately, his hands freezing mid-motion over whatever device he’d been tinkering with at one of the cluttered workstations. He turned slowly to face Jelo, his wild eyes blinking several times in rapid succession as if he needed to process that he’d actually been asked something. The expression on his disheveled face was clearly one of genuine surprise.

“Well, well, well!” he exclaimed, abandoning his work entirely and moving closer to the cage with renewed interest. “I didn’t expect that question to come first! Not at all! Most surprising!” He tilted his head at an odd angle, studying Jelo like he was a particularly interesting specimen. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, cage boy?”

Jelo ignored the ridiculous nickname and pressed forward with his questioning. “What question did you think I would ask instead?”

The scientist’s face lit up with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for children on their birthdays. He actually bounced slightly on his heels as he answered. “Oh, I expected you to ask whether there are other humans on this planet! You know, the classic ’am I alone in this wasteland’ existential crisis that usually hits people around this point!” He waved his normal hand dismissively while the mechanical glove hung at his side. “Everyone asks that eventually. It’s very predictable, really. Quite tedious after the first dozen times.”

The moment those words left the scientist’s mouth, Jelo’s mind immediately jumped to Mira. The thought hit him like a physical blow—she was out there somewhere in this contaminated zone, alone, vulnerable, possibly facing threats she had no ability to defend against.

A flicker of panic tightened in Jelo’s chest, constricting his breathing for just a moment before he forced it down through sheer willpower. He couldn’t afford to show weakness, couldn’t reveal that he actually desperately cared about the answer to that question because someone he knew was out there.

Jelo forced himself to stay completely calm, keeping his expression neutral and his body language relaxed despite the anxiety coursing through him. He didn’t want to reveal anything about Mira, didn’t want to give this unstable individual any leverage or information that could be used against him.

But the scientist noticed something anyway. His theatrical demeanor shifted slightly, the manic energy focusing into something more calculating and observant. His eyes narrowed as he studied Jelo’s face with uncomfortable intensity, taking in details that Jelo hadn’t even realized he was showing.

“Ohhh,” the scientist said slowly, drawing out the sound as understanding dawned across his features. “Oh, that’s interesting. Very interesting indeed!” He leaned forward, gripping the cage bars with his normal hand while pointing at Jelo with the mechanical glove. “You do know about other humans nearby, don’t you? That little microexpression—barely there, really, but I’m quite good at reading faces, tells me you’re concerned about someone!”

Jelo’s stomach dropped, but he maintained his neutral expression as he answered firmly. “I don’t know of any other humans nearby.”

The scientist studied him for a long moment, his wild eyes searching Jelo’s face for any crack in the facade, any hint of deception or hidden truth. The silence stretched uncomfortably, broken only by the ambient sounds of the lab and the faint electrical hum from the cage bars between them.

Finally, the scientist stepped back with a theatrical shrug, though his expression remained unconvinced. “Well, you say that now,” he announced, his voice taking on a sing-song quality that was deeply unsettling. “But we’ll find out soon enough anyway! Oh yes, we will! My surveillance systems cover quite a large area, you see. Motion sensors, heat signatures, all sorts of clever monitoring technology I’ve developed over the years!” He did a little twirl, his tattered lab coat flaring out. “If there’s anyone else bumbling around my territory, I’ll know about it eventually. It’s only a matter of time!”

The implication sent ice through Jelo’s veins. If Mira was anywhere within this scientist’s monitoring range, she’d be detected. And if she was detected, she’d likely be captured just as he had been—or worse, depending on what kind of traps or defenses this madman had deployed throughout the area.

But Jelo couldn’t think about that right now. He needed information, needed to understand his captor and find weaknesses in his setup. So he pressed the scientist again, redirecting the conversation back to his original question. “You still haven’t answered what I actually asked. Why won’t you tell me what you’re doing in this bunker?”

The scientist paused mid-step in his pacing, looking almost offended that Jelo was still focused on that particular question instead of panicking about potential surveillance and captured companions. Then his expression shifted again, this time taking on an air of dramatic importance and pride.

“Ah! Yes! My work!” He spread his arms wide as if presenting something magnificent, though he was just gesturing at the cluttered, dusty lab around them. “I am conducting vital chemical and scientific experiments that will one day save humanity!” His voice rose with each word, building to a crescendo of self-importance. “Revolutionary research that will change everything! Breakthrough discoveries that will—”

Jelo scoffed involuntarily, a sound that conveyed his profound disbelief and skepticism more effectively than words could have. The noise cut through the scientist’s grandiose declaration like a knife, stopping him mid-sentence.

The reaction was immediate and intense. The scientist’s face flushed with anger, his wild eyes blazing with fury and wounded pride. His entire body went rigid, the mechanical glove clenching into a fist that sparked with barely contained energy.

“I am used to being dismissed!” he shouted, his voice echoing harshly through the underground space. The theatrical playfulness was completely gone now, replaced by genuine rage and bitterness. “I am used to being disrespected! Mocked! Laughed at! Told my theories are impossible, my methods unsound, my research worthless!” He was practically vibrating with emotion, spittle flying as he ranted.

He stalked closer to the cage, jabbing his normal finger toward Jelo accusingly. “But you know what? When the ihe ugwe attack comes—and it will come, mark my words!—everyone will depend on my work! All of them! The same people who cast me out, who called me mad, who said my experiments were too dangerous!” His voice had taken on a manic edge now, the words pouring out in a rush.

“They will all be forced to acknowledge my importance!” the scientist declared, his chest heaving with the intensity of his emotion. “They’ll come crawling back, begging for my help, for my research, for the solutions only I can provide! And then—oh, then!—they’ll finally understand that I was right all along! That my work wasn’t madness but genius! That I was preparing for what they refused to see!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep