Altered (Male Reader-Insert)

[4]

 Looking around the room, you notice the bathroom signs beside the cub and a wall of containers across from it. There appears to be a calendar behind it, and checking it isn't useful as every day except December 31st was crossed out. While putting it down, you see some colored markings on the floor which makes you worry if this room really is safe.

 You read the yellow note in between the bathroom signs while Lin checks to see if the bathrooms are safe.

 "To this day nothing has come to the library... please... please give me some response... even if you just tell me that you are still alive..."

 You peek inside the restrooms to check if there's any latex beasts. When you see that they're empty you tell Lin that you'll explore the female restroom since there's only a clipboard and a recorder.

 Even though the restroom is small, it's a bit difficult because of the latex crystals laid throughout the room,it doesn't help that the clipboard and recorder are at opposite sides of the room.

 You grab both of them and exit the room so you won't have to worry about the crystals. You play the recorder first while setting it on top of a container.

 "Report start.

 It took me a long time to block here. I welded some ducts and doors and blocked exits with heavy objects. Even if the subjects wake up they can't escape here as it's impossible. The only thing that's waiting is the inevitable fate of being assimilated by the latex beasts.

 Report finish."

 It was a bit hard reading the clipboard since the lights keep flickering.

 "These latex beasts are similar to single-celled organisms. A 'nucleus' and a mass of 'fluid' make up all of them. At the beginning they're just tiny crystal fragments wrapped in slime. These crystals don't have a fixed shape and no mimicry ability, making them nothing to do with the 'beasts'.

 But under our cultivation, part of these creatures' genes awakened. In order to adapt to their environment they evolved with their appearances becoming more similar to wolves. They even imitated us and became anthropomorphic, which is where they are now.

 But in fact it's not just wolves, their genes are like a blank template, compatible with any organisms. They can become whatever they want and may even evolve different branches depending on their environment.

 As for their assimilation ability, it's a subsidiary of their mimicry. Their innate ability gives me a terrible conjecture. I wrote a report asking about the origins of these crystal fragments, but the upper layer said that they're artificial. Artificial? What a joke, we can't create such advanced levels of life even in the next century!"

 All of a sudden you feel Lin grabbing your wrists, as he runs to the safe zone, nearly making you trip in the process. He signals you to be quiet by putting his finger in front of his lips. You two stand there and watch as a latex beasts exits the restroom that Lin was in. It sniffs the air and crawls around trying to find him.

 He moves to the metal box, leading it there, and when it does it pushes them out of the way, making a path to the exit. Once the coast is clear, you put down the clipboard then enter the next room. It's a long corridor and is similar to what you've seen, except now there's black latex on the walls now.

 You notice a black costume with a note beside it. Whoever is helping you left a costume to help you get past the latex beasts. There's only one costume though and with nothing to do you both wear it at the same time.

 You have to be behind Lin in order to make it barely fit, which means you mostly can't see anything and walking will be hard since you're conjoined. It's a good thing that you're both the same height because it might make it more difficult if you weren't.