Altered (Male Reader-Insert)

[20]

 The next room is extremely thin. So much so that you can barely stand beside Lin. You ignore the tight space for now as you hear Puro crawling down the vent towards you.

 "Humans! I'm following you! Please wait for me!"

 You focus back on the space of the room. From afar you can see potted plants which makes the space wide enough for only one person. Lin tries walking first again but you suggest that you should go first so you'll both take turns leading.

 He agrees and like usual you look around the room for anything to read. You only find a note near the door you exited from. It warns you about management robots guarding the greenhouse area and that unaffiliated personnel shouldn't approach it.

 You walk down the thin corridor with Lin and Puro following you. It feels a bit refreshing to take the lead after a while. You stop by a floor sign which has directions printed on it. Going right leads you to the greenhouse. Up takes you to the vent ducts while left is where the canteen is.

 Seeing the word canteen makes your stomach grumble a bit. You haven't eaten or drank in a while so you hope that there's food and water in the canteen. You head there first deciding that you'll check if there's any food if not then you go back here to enter the vents.

 You walk by some photos on the way and you take your time looking at them. There's also some oranges right next to them but they've already started to mold.

 "Absolutely don't eat those, humans!"

 One of them shows a person transfurring after a drop of latex falls from the ceiling onto their back. Another showcases a subject hanging from a latex wall with some of their limbs inside it before transfurring in a couple of days.

 You also notice a can of peaches though unfortunately it seems like someone has eaten some of them since it's been opened with a spoon inside it. It smells like actual peaches but you have a feeling that something bad will happen if you eat it.

 "Are those peaches? I have never seen peaches... What would it taste like... though, humans, this can is obviously a trap, yeah? Let's not touch this anymore!"

 You sadly have to stop as there are cones blocking the way to the canteen. You walk back to the vents while your belly grumbles quietly. As you walk up the stairs to the vent entrance you stop when you hear Puro call out to you.

 "Humans... I-I can't follow you up the stairs... It seems that we have no choice but to temporarily split up again... But don't worry, there is a breeze blowing in the duct. I bet there must be an exit up ahead! We'll see each other soon!"

 Puro continues to crawl down the vents, you stand there listening to him until his movements can't be heard anymore. You walk up the stairs, holding Lin's hand gently as you prepare yourself for entering the vents again.

 There are two pathways that go left and right. The right has a huge window showing the sun on the horizon with warm light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. There's a door at the end but you can't open it, peeking through the cracks you see an unfinished part of the vent later realizing that it's the same place where you fell into the greenhouse.

 Lin then taps on your shoulder. You turn around to see that he's looking at a dark blue latex puddle that wasn't there before. Worrying that another one might appear you head to the other door.

 As you approach it you feel the temperature around you fall to a familiar chill. The door leads to a disinfection room. There's garbage bags on the floor with some of them hanging from the ceiling. There's also CDs and mug hanging as well.

 You both place the traffic cones in a fence like structure with another smaller one near the exit so you can exit quickly when the disinfection process is done. While you're putting the cones you have an idea. Since there's nothing stopping you from holding a cone while the process is ongoing, what if you make a barrier and quickly close it after you're both inside?