𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓 2 𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌✓

✶20. 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

Leon and Chloe tentatively continued their journey down the narrow, overgrown catwalks, hoping to find the answer to the contents of the lab they'd found and the code box in the viewing area. 

Leon walked ahead out for the sake of Chloe's safety. He squinted in the dim light, using his flashlight to navigate through the thick dangling vines and foliage. His light beam suddenly caught a glint of something metal. He frowned, gesturing toward it as they crept closer.

As they approached, they were met with a thick metal trapdoor with a large silver handle protruding from the bottom. Yellow and black caution tape lined the edges of the door, and a large sticker was plastered on top. In white bold letters were four hieroglyphics, matching the ones they had seen on the keyboard in the viewing area.

Chloe's eyes widened. "I hope you have a good memory." She breathed. "Looks like this is our ticket."

Leon nodded. "Oh yeah... Come on, let's go back before we forget and have to fight our way through one of those again."

The pair made their way back to the viewing area without a hitch. Leon pushed open the door, and Chloe walked past him to the keypad. She bent down in front of it, pressing the keys in the order they were placed on the sticker. An OK symbol blinked on the screen before a ding came from the digital map above. The Drug Testing Lab was unlocked, exactly what they needed for the solution.

Chloe smirked. "Bingo."

Leon walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Another step in the right direction."

...

Back at the lab, Leon slid the dispersal cartridge into the small opening of the machine. It clicked into place, and a green liquid filled one of the three tubes laid out in front of them.

"Manual mode engaged. Adjust amount of solution to match cartridge capacity." The mechanical woman's voice prompted. 

Leon furrowed his brows. "Uhm..." He breathed, staring at the blue, green, and red buttons under each vial and the red line in the first vial indicating how much solution was needed. He glanced at Chloe. 

"They... they didn't teach me this in the academy." He admitted.

Chloe scoffed. Of course, they don't. Knowing your way around a high-tech laboratory isn't exactly one of the trials they put us through." She said, crossing her arms. "I know just as much as you do, Leon..."

Leon sighed. "I-it's just... a guessing game." He whispered. "I'm sure there's some rhyme or reason to this bullshit, but I don't own a white lab coat. So hopefully luck is on my side tonight."

"The fact that we're still alive and walking is lucky. Don't be too grateful too early."

He smiled. "Right."

And so began the arduous process of Leon and Chloe trying to figure out how to fill the dispersal cartridge correctly. A few good minutes (which felt like an eternity) were spent bickering and arguing over which vial should switch with which and what amount of liquid should go where.

Chloe nudged him. "No! Press the red button to switch the second vials, then empty the smallest vial into the blue one!"

Leon grumbled and nudged her back. "Other way around! We switch the first and second vials, and we empty the first vial into the second, then press the red-"

"What you're saying doesn't even make any sense!" She protested.

"None of this makes sense!" He retorted.

As their fingers almost strangled one another as they fought to press the three buttons, eventually they managed to put the correct amount of solution into the cartridge, earning a confirmatory chime followed by the cartridge sliding out of the machine.