Science AU/Nuclear Forest

1. Listen to sounds. If you hear loud footsteps, hide in the bushes – those are direwolves.
2. If you hear an eagle in the sky above you, immediately play dead or scream. These birds are infected. If you play dead, they will simply fly away, thinking you're dead. If you scream, they will become frightened and fly away.
3. If you see a bush with berries, take a closer look. If there's a harmless insect (like a fly) on the bush, the berries are safe to eat. However, if there's no one on the bush within 5 seconds, the berries are infected and don't eat them.
4. What to do if you encounter another infected person. Don't run, that will provoke them even more. Don't move. In a 90% chance, the infected person will simply leave, but in the remaining 10%, they're betting on your death.
5. If you see a river with water, take a closer look at the water. If there is a human bone in the water, don't drink from it, it's contagious. If there are no bones, everything is fine, you can drink it.
6. If the sky turns green, it's a sign of acid rain. Find the nearest dungeon or rock "bunker" and hide there; the rain won't get you.
7. If the sun is in the sky (very rare, it appears with a 0.8% chance). All is well. The infected haven't gone hunting.
8. If you feel radiation inside you, find any flower and eat it (just the petals). You'll feel better. But do it while you have time: 20-30 seconds.
9. If you don't make it to shelter at night, NOTHING WILL HELP. THE INFECTED ONE IS COMING. NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU (maybe), SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR LIFE.
10. If you see a birch tree, look behind it. There's a 59% chance there'll be a bag of supplies there.
11. If you see an abandoned village, look around. If there's no one around, you can go in. But not all houses (or what's left of them) are safe. If there's neon-green moss on the door, you can't go in—you'll die. If there's no moss on the door, all is well, you can go in.

Mutated plants (Steppe parasites)
Where feather grass once swayed and wildflowers bloomed, monstrous hybrids with altered biochemistry now reign supreme.
Wiregrass (Steelgrass): Steppe feathergrass has mutated, its stems losing their softness and turning into stiff, thin, dry threads of a dark, almost black color with a metallic sheen. This "grass" doesn't bend in the wind, but instead makes a quiet, eerie clanking sound. Its edges are so sharp that they easily cut through the thick fabric of hiking pants and canvas boots, leaving deep, jagged wounds.
Strangler Needlewood (Former Blackthorn): The shrubs that once grew along the edges of the forest islands have transformed into low-growing, trailing networks of thorny, knotted vines. They are leafless, but studded with long, hollow spines. A caustic, dark-brown sap circulates within these spines—a concentrated form of acidic salts from the poisoned soil. The vines grow over the ash, concealing cracks and traps in the earth.
Bladderwort: A tall weed vaguely resembling wormwood, but grown to human height. Its stems are covered with swollen purple "veins" and watery blisters. During the midday heat, these blisters burst, releasing a heavy, sweet vapor with the scent of rotten almonds. This gas causes dizziness, hallucinations, and disorientation in survivors.

The plant life of the destroyed forest-steppe not only survived, but was reborn into an aggressive, toxic ecosystem. Due to monstrous doses of radiation, the flora and mycelium became the primary recyclers of heavy metals, turning into deadly traps for all living things.
Radioactive mushrooms (Masters of the ashes)
Mycelium suffered the least and adapted to the nuclear winter the fastest, absorbing radiation instead of sunlight.
Witch's Candles (Radiotrophic Puffballs): Large, spherical, dirty-white mushrooms grow in clusters from cracks in the vitrified earth and from the pores of charred tree trunks. In the dark, they emit a steady, phosphorescent greenish glow. If stepped on, such a mushroom bursts with a pop, releasing a thick cloud of radioactive spores into the air. Inhalation of these spores into the lungs of a survivor guarantees rapid radiation sickness.
Corpse Glassworm: This fungus lives exclusively on the dead wood of charred birch and oak trees. It appears as translucent, crystal-like growths resembling dripping glass. They are razor-sharp and absorb lead and strontium from the soil. A fragment of this fungus, if inserted under the skin, causes severe chemical poisoning.

Mound rat-moles (Steppe rodents)Former gophers, jerboas and voles have united into new underground species.
Appearance: Radiation has caused them to grow to the size of large dogs. Their forepaws have transformed into powerful bone shovels with an iron sheen, which they use to easily dig through even glassy soil. They lack eyes entirely, and their muzzles are covered with sensitive whiskers.
Behavior: They live in huge underground colonies beneath scorched fields. Their burrows are veritable labyrinths, into which they drag away anything that moves above ground. They hunt in packs, leaping out of the ground beneath the feet of any unwary traveler.

The nuclear explosion and constant radiation completely rewrote the fauna of the forest-steppe. Due to radiation sickness and genetic defects, the familiar steppe and forest inhabitants transformed into aggressive, distorted creatures, perfectly adapted to survival in a dead world.
Steppe direwolves (Degenerate wolves)
Ordinary gray wolves have formed new, even more brutal packs.
Appearance: They have lost almost all their fur—their skin is covered in rough radiation ulcers, scars, and bony growths. They have grown larger, and their muzzles have elongated, revealing deformed, ever-growing fangs that no longer fit in their mouths.
Behavior: These predators were blinded by the nuclear blast, but in exchange developed phenomenal hearing and a sense of heat. They can detect the footsteps of prey from kilometers away by the vibrations of the sintered earth.
Scavenger stags (mutated roe deer and elk)
The former peaceful herbivores of the forest-steppe have turned into dangerous and eerie creatures.
Appearance: Their hooves have cracked into wide, clawed feet, allowing them to sprint quickly through glass chips and ash. Their horns have grown into chaotic, razor-sharp crowns of porous bone, entangled with clumps of ash and barbed wire.
Behavior: Due to the lack of normal grass, stag beetles have become omnivorous. They wander through charred forests in search of carrion, small rodents, or radioactive mushrooms. Their eyes glow a dull yellow in the twilight.
Ashy Kites (Vultures)
The sky above the dead forest-steppe belongs to the feathered freaks who look out for victims from above.
Appearance: Enormous birds with a wingspan of up to three meters. Their body feathers have almost completely fallen out, revealing wrinkled, dark skin resembling parchment. Their heads and long necks are completely bald, covered in cadaveric spots.
Behavior: They don't sing—they make a hoarse, human-like cough. They are incredibly patient, circling survivors for hours, waiting for them to make a mistake or collapse from radiation sickness.

Horizon, Sky, and Atmosphere. Heavy air: The horizon has lost its former transparency and steppe distance. It is shrouded in a perpetual haze of radioactive dust, soot, and vapor. Through this smog, the sun appears a pale, crimson, or sickly yellow disk.
Rusty Scars: Deep cracks in the parched earth crisscross the plain. Steppe streams and lakes have either evaporated completely, leaving behind cracked clay beds coated with white salt, or have turned into putrid, viscous, swamp-colored puddles that emit a chemical odor.
Dead Silence: In this forest-steppe, the iconic chirping of grasshoppers, the rustling of leaves, and the singing of larks no longer exist. A deafening silence reigns here, interrupted only by the dry creaking of dead tree trunks rubbing against each other and the howling of a radioactive wind.
Horizon, Sky, and Atmosphere. Heavy air: The horizon has lost its former transparency and steppe distance. It is shrouded in a perpetual haze of radioactive dust, soot, and vapor. Through this smog, the sun appears a pale, crimson, or sickly yellow disk.
Rusty Scars: Deep cracks in the parched earth crisscross the plain. Steppe streams and lakes have either evaporated completely, leaving behind cracked clay beds coated with white salt, or have turned into putrid, viscous, swamp-colored puddles that emit a chemical odor.
Dead Silence: In this forest-steppe, the iconic chirping of grasshoppers, the rustling of leaves, and the singing of larks no longer exist. A deafening silence reigns here, interrupted only by the dry creaking of dead tree trunks rubbing against each other and the howling of a radioactive wind.

Before you lies a post-apocalyptic forest-steppe—a disfigured, scorched hybrid of dead forest and radioactive desert, frozen under a leaden sky.
Her appearance is completely rewritten by the colossal temperature and shock wave of a nuclear explosion:
The incinerated "islands" of forests Those very picturesque oak groves and birch groves that used to adorn the plain in spots have turned into "cemeteries of the standing dead."
Black Spires: The trees have been stripped of their leaves, small branches, and bark. Only charred, anthracite-black trunks, resembling giant rotten teeth, jut out of the cracked earth.
Skeletons on the outskirts: At the edge of the explosion, the surviving birch trees glow deathly white with their scorched, peeling bark. Their crowns are bent and broken by the shock wave in one direction only—away from the epicenter.
Ash heaps: The undergrowth and shrubs have completely disappeared. The ground between the tree trunks is buried under a thick, greasy layer of gray ash, which is kicked up by every gust of wind.
The dead and mutated steppe
The steppe expanses, once swaying like a sea of ​​feather grass, now look like the setting for a nightmare.
Vitrified Earth: In areas where the worst heat hit, the soil and black earth melted, turning into a brittle, dark green and black crust of slag and fused glass (trinitite). It glistens dully in the sun and cracks underfoot with a glassy sound.
Ghost Grass: Feather grass and other forbs have been burned to the roots. However, in the lowlands where contaminated water flowed, new, mutated growth is sprouting. These are stunted, misshapen stems of a phosphorescent, poisonous green. Normal wildflowers have been transformed into shapeless, growth-covered biomass.

5. Forbidden Zone (Alice's Locked Room)
   The deepest and most isolated section of the laboratory. The door here is welded shut, wrapped in warning tape, and secured with several electronic locks. The walls around this area are covered in eerie black drawings and symbols left by Alice, projecting her power through the walls.

Key areas of the Laboratory
The laboratory is strictly divided into sectors, each of which is assigned to a specific character:

1. Isolation and Holding Cells
   The area where the infected are kept locked away. It consists of long, gloomy corridors with heavy, sealed doors made of armored glass and steel.
   Each door has an electronic sign displaying the experiment number (e.g. "001" for Claire or "005" for Abby) and the threat level.
   Inside the cells are minimalist metal bunks, surveillance cameras, and radiation sensors. The Bubble Chamber is a giant transparent tank filled with a stabilizing fluid.
2. The Core Lab
   The workplace of a trio of crazy teacher-scientists.
   Miss Bloomie's Sector: Filled with operating tables, surgical lamps, centrifuges, and cabinets filled with surgical instruments, syringes, and vials.
   Miss Circus's Sector: A massive chemical lab with large glass vats bubbling with glowing green acid. Mutant anatomy diagrams and mutation charts hang everywhere.
   Miss Tavel's Sector: The Linguistic-Psychological Unit. This is where computers, recording devices, and lie detectors are located, where Tavel studies the extent to which mutants have lost human speech and reason.
3. Edward's Workshop and Technical Bay
   An area littered with robot parts, wires, microchips, and blueprints. Here, Edward constructs traps and mechanical prosthetics (it was here that he built Oliver's cyber-arm). Monitors streaming security camera feeds are positioned in the corners.
4. Miss Grace's Office (Control Block)
   The cleanest, most austere, and "civilized" place in the complex. A large oak table, a leather chair, and a huge wall of screens where Miss Grace monitors all the staff and security (Biscuit and Aiden). A map of the plant with radiation-contaminated zones marked hangs on the wall.

The laboratory in the Science AU (officially known as The Bio-Facility or The Lab Complex) is a massive, dark, and high-tech bunker. In the original canon, it was a regular Paper School, but after the nuclear explosion of 2027, the government and Miss Grace evacuated the survivors to an abandoned mechanical plant, converting it into a secret research facility.
The lab's atmosphere and design resemble a mix of Portal (Aperture Science), Half-Life, and SCP Foundation aesthetics.
General interior and atmosphere
Color scheme: Cold, sterile, and dirty tones predominate inside—off-white, steel gray, and dark charcoal. The main visual accents are toxic green and neon purple. The acid flasks, computer screens, and radioactive waste glow green; Alice's sensors glow purple.
Construction: The walls are made of thick concrete and corrugated iron, covered in rust, chemical stains, and soot in places. Endless tangles of thick cables, neon lights, and massive ventilation pipes stretch all along the ceiling.
Paper World Style: Since this is the Fundamental Paper Education universe, the entire complex maintains a flat, paper-cut style. Walls, doors, and appliances appear two-dimensional, but feature highly detailed pencil shading.

Ruby (015)
Infected Class: Class "Faulty Mechanisms" (Medium Danger / Unpredictable).
Who she is: A former robot girl whose digital matrix and mechanical body were severely damaged by the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from nuclear explosions and subsequent radiation. Her code was overwritten in an infinite error mode.
Appearance:
Her monitor, instead of a face, constantly flickers, displaying white noise, static, and pixelated distortions. Sad or angry emojis occasionally flash on the screen.
Her metal frame is covered in rust, cracks, and traces of soot. Sparks fly from her joints, and exposed wires protrude from her back. Ruby moves with jerky, unnatural movements. At times, she tries to speak, but instead of a voice, she emits the eerie sounds of a broken radio. She attacks only when her systems finally freeze and perceive living humans as a threat.
Skell (016)
Infected Class: Shadow Class (Low Threat / Passive Mutant).
Who he is: A former apathetic Goth who, due to radiation, has become a semi-ghostly creature of the wastelands. He doesn't show open aggression unless provoked, preferring to simply observe the dying world from the darkness.
Appearance:
His body has thinned to the point of being translucent, like burnt, ashen paper that crumbles as he walks. A thin, radioactive smoke constantly swirls around him.
His fingers have transformed into long, thin black claws, which he uses to silently cling to the walls. Skell's eyes glow coldly white in his otherwise pitch-black face. He often perches on the ruins of roofs, looking down indifferently on Miss Circular's forays, and vanishes into thin air if anyone tries to approach him.

Riley (013)
Infected Class: Possessed Class (High Danger / Stealth Killer).
Who she is: A former, obsessive fan of Oliver's, the mutation has heightened her obsession to the extreme. She roams the wasteland following the Hooligans, eliminating anyone she deems a threat to them.
Appearance:
Her face is distorted by a mad smile, and her eyes are completely black, leaving only small, glowing purple pupils. Her long hair is tangled and hangs down to the ground.
She clutches her iconic, oversized box cutter, but now its blade is enlarged, coated with toxic chemicals, and glows from within. She moves incredibly silently, hiding in the shadows of ruined buildings, ambushing the lab staff. If caught, she only laughs maniacally and screams Oliver's name.
Robbie (014)
Infected Class: Collector Class (High Threat / Territorial Enemy).
Who he is: A former chainsaw guy. After the disaster, he completely lost his mind over survival. He considers himself a "wasteland medic" and scavenges any scraps of equipment and biological material to fortify his shelter.
Appearance:
His iconic chainsaw is now literally grafted onto his right arm through charred wires and metal brackets. The saw chain is jagged, coated in radioactive dirt, and glows a dull green.
His paper body is protected by makeshift armor made from road signs and pieces of car hoods. He wears tattered overalls, his face hidden under a cracked welding mask. Robbie is incredibly aggressive, patrolling the ruins and starting his saw as soon as he hears the lab's search rovers approaching.

Kevin (011)
Infected Class: Supercomputer Class (High Danger / Techno-Tactician).
Who he is: A former straight-A student and botanist. Radiation greatly enhanced his brain, but completely burned out his empathy. Now he sees living beings as mere material for mathematical calculations of survival.
Appearance:
His head and upper body became covered in glowing geometric patterns. His rectangular glasses literally grew into his face, transforming into cybernetic eyepieces that scan the surroundings in infrared and X-ray wavelengths.
Kevin carries a heavily modified, dilapidated laptop, wired directly into his nervous system. With it, he can intercept Miss Tavel's encryption, jam the lab's radio communications, and remotely hack reconnaissance drones. Rather than attack directly, he calculates the routes of search parties and directs other Infected to them.
Cubby (012)
Infected Class: Ruin Predator Class (High Danger / Animal Fury).
Who he is: A former cat apprentice. A brutal mutation has left him with no vestiges of human intelligence, transforming him into a massive, ferocious, and agile beast of the wastes.
Appearance:
Cubby has grown considerably in size and now moves exclusively on all fours, like a massive post-nuclear panther. His blue paper body is covered in jagged scars, and sharp, cube-shaped bony growths protrude from his back. His cat-like claws have grown long, like daggers, and have acquired a metallic sheen due to the heavy metal dust that has settled on them. Cubby's eyes glow with a poisonous blue fire. He is incredibly fast, capable of climbing the sheer walls of ruined high-rise buildings and ambushing assault troops.

Lizzie (009)
Infected Class: Siren Class (Medium Danger / Mental Impact).
Who she is: The former most popular girl in school, whose arrogance, under the influence of mutagens, has been transformed into a frightening mental force. She uses the last of her charisma to lure victims into traps.
Appearance:
Her papery skin has taken on an unnatural, neon-pink, glossy hue that contrasts sharply with the gray wasteland. Her stylish hairstyle has been transformed into stiff, plastic-needle-like strands.
Where her mouth should be, she has a maw with thin, sharp teeth, hidden behind a stylish bandage. She can imitate the voices of frightened children, cries, or cries for help. Laboratory search parties often confuse her fake signals with survivors. When rescuers get closer, Lizzie deafens them with a high-pitched scream, which temporarily disables the suits' electronics.
Petunia (010)
Infected Class: Bio-Parasite Class (High Danger/Poisonous Threat).
Who is she: Lizzie's friend, who, as a result of a mutation, completely merged with the predatory radioactive flora, becoming a deadly extension of the contaminated land.
Appearance:
Her iconic deer antlers have expanded into massive tree branches, entangled in thorny, glowing vines. From her back and shoulders grow enormous, misshapen buds of post-nuclear flowers, constantly secreting toxic spore pollen.
Her bushy tail has transformed into a flexible, snake-like vine tipped with thorns. Petunia walks on deformed hooves, leaving a trail of withering, radiation-scorched grass in her wake. She often hides among dead trees, blending in with the landscape, and attacks search parties with poisonous spines if they stray into her territory.

Abby (005)
(Infected Class: Hidden Class (Cowardly Mutants / Peaceful).
Who is he: The most timid student, who, as a result of mutation, merged with the semi-organic vegetation of the wastelands (mutated apple orchards).
Appearance:
His papery body is covered in tree bark and flexible, thorny vines. Instead of his iconic apple sprout, a whole branch now grows from his head, bearing rotten, glowing fruits that emit a sleepy gas.
Abby constantly trembles with fear and tries to burrow into the ground or hide among the rubble. His legs have become root-like, allowing him to quickly burrow underground when Miss Compass or Mr. Compass approaches. He is completely harmless if left alone, but when panicked, he can release a cloud of suffocating spores.
Oliver (006)
Infected Class: Apex Predator Class (High Danger / Keen Intelligence).
Who is he: A former bully who, due to mutation and radiation, has become even more cruel, but retains a cold-blooded human intellect. Oliver considers himself king of the dead surface. He views the laboratory's search teams as competitors and has launched a veritable hunt for their expeditions.
Appearance:
His paper body has taken on an ash-gray hue, and his height has increased dramatically. His left hand, which was originally a giant compass, has transformed into a massive, jagged blade of black, radioactive obsidian. It glows with a dangerous red heat from within and is capable of melting Mr. Barrel's metal armor.
Sharp, jagged horns adorn his head. His hair has become like barbed wire, and a mad, predatory, grinning grin is permanently etched on his face. Oliver wears a tattered, charred cloak and often uses technologically advanced remnants of pre-war weaponry that he finds in the ruins.

Zip (007)
Infected Class: Wasteland Beast Class (High Speed ​​/ Animal Aggression).
Who she is: Oliver's girlfriend, who, under the influence of mutagens, has almost completely lost her human form and transformed into a swift, winged monster. She obeys only Oliver and acts as his loyal battle beast.
Appearance:
Her paper wings have fused with her back, transforming into enormous leathery bat wings with luminous veins. Her legs have elongated and become clawed, allowing her to leap enormously or fly at breakneck speeds.
Zip's face is deformed: her jaw is lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth, and her eyes are completely clouded over. She can emit a piercing ultrasonic scream that temporarily disables Mister Compass's radar and disorients search parties. She always attacks from above, diving silently out of the radioactive fog.
Edward (008)
Infected Class: Techno-Biomutant Class (High Threat / Heavy Weapons).
Who is he: A former mad inventor at the school. After a nuclear explosion, his body literally merged with the wreckage of pre-war machines and radioactive scrap metal, turning him into a walking cybernetic nightmare.
Appearance:
Instead of hands, he now has enormous mechanical claws welded together from rusty titanium and military hardware. A heavy, homemade tank is strapped to his back, from which glowing post-nuclear liquid is pumped directly into his body through tubes.
Half of his paper face is hidden beneath a welded-on welder's mask, through the cracks of which a toxic green light glows. Edward has learned to use radiation as a weapon: his claws can fire blasts of concentrated plasma and create localized radiation anomalies to block the advance of lab workers.

Bubble (003)
Infected Class: Anomaly Class (Unpredictable / Safe Mutants).
Who she is: A little girl whose body structure was completely altered by an unknown chemical compound during an explosion. She displays no aggression and behaves like a capricious, floating spirit of the wasteland.
Appearance:
Her body is no longer made of thick paper. Bubble has transformed into a living, floating cloud of radioactive foam and soap bubbles, with a translucent silhouette within.
Her toothy smile remains the same, but now her teeth are composed of sharp ice crystals or frozen chemical salts. She flies around ruined buildings, leaving a glowing trail behind her. When angered or frightened, the bubbles around her burst, like a flashbang.
Lana (004)
Infected Class: Corrupted Class (Blind Hunters / Medium Danger).
Who she is: A formerly kind girl who spent too long at the epicenter of a radioactive fog. A mutation completely deprived her of her sight, altering her body structure, turning her into a silent night stalker.
Appearance:
The most terrifying change happened to her hands—her sock puppets literally grew into her flesh, turning into long, snake-like paper appendages with sharp mouths instead of hands.
Lana's face is completely hidden by tangled, hanging hair, and smooth skin replaces her eyes. She moves on all fours, silently and very quickly. She navigates solely by sound (echolocation). Mr. Demi believes she can be tamed by using certain sound frequencies.

Claire (001)
Infected Class: Wanderer Class (Relatively stable / Non-aggressive mutants).
Who she is: A former top student who desperately tried to save herself. Now she wanders the radioactive wastelands near the bunker. Due to a mutation, she has partially lost her memory, but her consciousness is not completely destroyed—she remembers searching for a safe place.
Appearance:
Her paper body is covered in glowing purple crystalline growths (a sign of radiation mutation). Her signature pink headband is torn and stained with soot.
Claire's eyes glow with a dim neon light. Instead of tears, they sometimes leak a dark, non-radioactive liquid. She wears the remains of her school uniform, now in tatters, and a trail of translucent paper remains trails behind her, resembling phantom butterfly wings. When she sees the lab staff, she doesn't attack, but instead hides in fear.
Engel (002)
Infected Class: Defender Class (Territorially Aggressive / Stable Mutants).
Who he is: Claire's former trusted friend. A mutation has transformed him into a powerful guardian of the wasteland. He considers the entire surface his territory and fiercely protects Claire and the other infected children from any danger (including laboratory search parties, which he mistakenly perceives as a threat).
Appearance:
The feathered wings on his head and back mutated, becoming huge, rigid, and sharp, like blades of keratinized black paper. Engel's height increased, making him massive and powerful.
His hands have transformed into long, clawed paws capable of tearing through metal. A snarl froze on his face, but a spark of intelligence still blazed in his eyes. When Claire is nearby, he remains subdued, but if Miss Circular's squad approaches her, Engel emits a deafening ultrasonic scream and charges.

Name: Biscuit
Role in the Lab: A heavy-duty bunker guard and Katie's partner. Together, he patrols the airlocks and warehouses. He also assists Miss Grace in the hydroponic farms and attempts to create some safe baked goods for the staff from the surviving pre-war supplies and the grains grown there.
Personality: A kind, reliable, and calm giant. You can always rely on him. If Katie is vigilant and fast on patrol, then Biscuit is an impenetrable wall. He loves children immensely and for three years secretly kept a pre-war box of holiday sprinkles in the far corner of the warehouse. The arrival of the Protagonist (the first child rescued) delighted Biscuit—he immediately volunteered to bake the best bread/muffin of his life for the little one, so that he could finally feel a sense of home and safety.
Appearance:
A tall, powerfully built man (noticeably heavier and taller than Katie, but certainly shorter than Miss Compass). He has amusingly perched, neat dog ears that twitch comically when he hears suspicious sounds.
He wears a heavy stormtrooper suit of muted green or gray armor, protecting him from the claws of the Infected and radiation. But over the armor, he often, out of habit, ties his old, slightly tattered cooking apron with pockets that now hold spare magazines instead of spices.
He wields a heavy titanium-alloy assault shield (to protect Katie or the Protagonist from long-range attacks like Edward's plasma blasts) and a powerful automatic carbine. A warm, encouraging smile is almost always present on his face.

Name: Katie
Role in the Lab: Elite bunker security guard and operator of advanced containment systems. She is responsible for the security of internal corridors, living quarters, and the airlocks through which search parties return. When necessary, she carries out heavy patrols alongside her partner, Biscuit.
Personality: A serious, vigilant, and incredibly responsible girl. During three years of strict isolation underground, she learned to notice the slightest rustle in the dark corridors. Despite her rigorous duties as a security guard, Katie loves children madly. The arrival of the Protagonist (the very first survivor) became a personal celebration for her. She swore that during her shift, not a single living soul or Infected would approach the first child rescued.
Appearance:
A girl of average human height. Her long dark hair is tucked under a tactical beret or a security guard helmet. Small horns protrude neatly from her head. She wears a dark, armored security uniform with thick protective plates on the chest and shoulders. She wears reinforced tactical gloves.
She carries a whole arsenal on her belt: a powerful stun gun, a radio for communicating with Aiden, and a pair of flashbang grenades. She always carries a heavy tactical shotgun, modified by scientists to fire rounds that effectively repel or temporarily paralyze Infected (like Cubby or Lana). Her face always wears a focused expression, ready to snap into a defensive reaction at any second.

Name: Aiden
Role in the Lab: Head of Internal Security and Mister Barrel's deputy for tactical operations. While Barrel holds the main containment gate, Aiden commands the bunker's mobile turrets, monitors the hidden camera system on the surface, and personally coordinates the withdrawal of Miss Circular's search parties when they are ambushed by Hooligans or Infected.
Personality: A cold, stern, and silent warrior. A true professional, she rarely shows emotion. However, behind this mask lies a deep devotion to the common cause. During three years of fruitless searches, she never allowed herself to lose heart, maintaining discipline among the garrison. The news of the rescue of the Protagonist (the first surviving child) made her breathe a sigh of relief for the first time in a long time. She took personal responsibility for the child's tactical safety within the complex.
Appearance:
A woman of average human height and athletic build. Neat black horns protrude from her hair, and her long dark hair is pulled back to keep it out of the way in battle.
Instead of her usual attire, she wears high-tech, light armor in a steel-gray color with laboratory insignia. Over the armor, she wears a tactical vest loaded with sensors, ammunition, and portable EMP grenades (for countering mutated technology like Edward or Ruby). A tactical monocle scanner is mounted on her right eye, which calculates target trajectories and threat levels in real time. She always carries a heavy assault rifle, modified to fire tranquilizer or disinfectant gas rounds. Her movements are swift and precise, like a predator on the hunt.

Activation Condition: The mode is activated automatically via the neural interface (her tiara) when the bunker's sensors detect a critical threat level within the residential sectors or when Alice experiences severe emotional shock (for example, fear for the life of the first child she rescues).
Combatant Nature: In this form, Alice partially loses her human restraint. Her mind shifts to that of a cold, calculating tactical computer. She stops feeling pain and fear. Her primary goal is to clear the sector of Infected at any cost, while maintaining her basic directive: never harm children or colleagues. She becomes the laboratory's human shield.
True Form Appearance:
Body Transformation: Her austere research suit opens at the back, revealing four enormous biomechanical manipulator tentacles. They are composed of flexible black carbon fiber interwoven with living organic matter and glow with a dangerous, bright red neon light from within. These appendages are incredibly strong: with them, Alice can easily lift fallen concrete floors, hurl heavy mutants (like Cubby), or seal warped bunker doors.
Face and gaze: Her human eyes are completely bathed in a bottomless blackness, with blood-red visor-like pupils glowing in the center. They function as advanced X-ray and thermal imaging, allowing her to see enemies through walls and radioactive smoke. A frightening, frozen neon scanner-smile appears on her face, projected directly onto her protective mask.
Kinetics and movement: Alice stops walking. Using her biomechanical limbs, she literally hovers above the corridor floors, moving swiftly along the walls and ceiling of the bunker. A light plume of ozone and static electricity rises around her, causing all nearby equipment to malfunction.
A built-in plasma blade is activated on the left hand, capable of cutting through Oliver's obsidian blade.

Alice (∆fox)
In the original, she was a dangerous demon in a locked room, but in the Science AU, she is one of the key and most mysterious scientists in the bunker.
Class: Staff / Covert Research and Bio-Containment
Role in the Lab: Lead researcher of anomalies, post-nuclear mutations, and the nature of contamination. She works in the deepest and most secure section of the bunker. Alice is the one trying to find the antidote formula using samples that Miss Circe's team brings back from the surface.
Personality: Incredibly intelligent, secretive, and at times frightening in her detachment. She rarely ventures into the upper levels of the bunker, devoting herself entirely to science. Despite her gloomy aura, Alice, like the entire staff, is sincerely devoted to the mission of saving the children. For the safety of the Protagonist (the first survivor), she is willing to take the most insane scientific risks to protect him from radiation sickness. She is Oliver's fiancée, and her heart is breaking that her beloved remained on the surface and turned into a dangerous Infected.
Appearance:
Normal (Scientific) Uniform: A girl of average height with brown hair and pale skin. Instead of her usual dress, she wears a strict, dark-gray protective research suit with a closed top and a long skirt with neon trim. Special shielding gloves are always worn over the suit. A small protective tiara sits neatly on her head, which is actually a neural interface for controlling lab equipment.

Name: Mr. Barrel/Daniel F. Barrel.
Role in the Lab: Chief of Internal Security and permanent guard of the main containment gate. He ensures that no Infected breach the bunker's interior, and personally covers the rear of his wife's assault team during the most dangerous forays to the surface.
Personality: An incredibly stern, silent, and intimidating giant. However, those who know him better know that he's a "pet bear" to his wife, Miss Circular. He's fanatically devoted to his family and incredibly protective of children. When the Protagonist (the first survivor in three years) entered the bunker, Barrel immediately assumed the role of his personal "human shield." At the sight of a child, this formidable cyborg soldier becomes surprisingly gentle and ready to protect him from any threat.
Appearance:
A colossal paper demon, standing at a colossal 512 cm tall (taller than his wife, Miss Compass). His body bears the scars of post-nuclear battles. He wears modified heavy special forces armor over a tattered white military uniform.
Enormous, bat-like, membranous wings sprout from his back. They appear thin, but they're actually laboratory-modified and made of bulletproof carbon fiber—Barrel often wraps the Protagonist or his wife in them during attacks, protecting them like a cocoon.
His left arm has been completely replaced with a heavy cybernetic machine gun system (a cyborg manipulator). He can switch between a rapid-fire minigun for picking off Infected and a powerful railgun for clearing rubble. His tactical helmet is equipped with a powerful armored mask that protects his face, and in moments of joy (when he sees his wife or

Name: Mr. Compass
Role in the Lab: Miss Compass's partner and brother. He shares command of the assault search and rescue team with her. While Compass searches for survivors, Compass uses his navigation systems to navigate through the rubble and provide cover fire from the Infected.
Personality: Like his sister, he is incredibly tall (around 295 cm). He has the stern, silent nature of a professional soldier, but is much calmer and more composed than the hot-tempered Compass. Like all the staff, he is madly in love with children. The arrival of the Protagonist (the first survivor in three years) awakened his strong protective instincts—Compass swore that no creature from the surface would ever get into the bunker to see the child.
Appearance:
Enormous, he bears a striking resemblance to Miss Compass (similar horns, black-and-white silhouette, and sharp teeth). He wears a heavy flak jacket over a dark army jacket and protective boots. In place of his left hand, he has a gigantic combat engineering compass, modified for post-apocalyptic use. This instrument can transform into a powerful harpoon, a plasma cutter, or be used as a massive navigational radar, capable of detecting the heartbeat of living beings through the radioactive earth.
He often wears a tactical helmet with a built-in thermal imager and night vision device. Ammunition pouches and flare guns are attached to his belt.

Name: Miss Sasha
Role in the Lab: Lead Rehabilitation Specialist, Educator, and Interior Designer for the bunker. As the lab spent three years preparing to receive child survivors, Miss Sasha was tasked with creating safe and non-threatening interiors. She is responsible for psychological adaptation through creativity and helps children who have experienced the horrors of the post-nuclear world feel safe again.
Personality: The warmest, most optimistic, and most cheerful employee. Unlike her stern colleagues, Miss Sasha always believed that miracles would happen and never lost her smile even during the darkest days of radio silence. She possesses boundless patience and a maternal tenderness. The arrival of the Protagonist (the first surviving child) was a moment of absolute triumph for her—she immediately jumped into action to help him cope with the shock and adjust to life in the underground scientific complex.
Appearance:
A woman of average human height with her hair in a neat ponytail.
Instead of her usual blue sweater and apron, she wears a light-colored jumpsuit made of durable fabric, with a technical belt over it.
Her long, blond hair is pulled back comfortably to avoid getting in the way of her work. Around her neck, she always wears a playful paw-shaped pendant made from salvaged pre-war plastic.

Name: Mr. Demi
Role in the Lab: The bunker's chief psychologist, sociologist, and team morale monitor. Since the staff has been living underground for three years under immense stress and fading hope, Mr. Demi is responsible for ensuring no one goes mad from depression. He is also responsible for the bunker's sound camouflage (dampening internal noise to prevent detection by the Infected).
Personality: The most gentle, sensitive, and vulnerable of all the staff. He is terrified of radiation and the Infected, often nervous and sweating with fear for the safety of his colleagues when they go to the surface. But for the sake of the children, he is ready to overcome any fear. The news that the Protagonist was finally found and rescued brought tears of joy to Mr. Demi. Now he is determined to do everything he can to surround the first surviving child with warmth and comfort and restore the joy of childhood.
Appearance:
A man of average height. His dark hair, combed back, is always slightly disheveled from constant worry. Small dark horns are visible on his head.
Instead of his old brown suit, he wears a loose, cozy, chunky knit sweater (which helps him feel secure) over combat trousers and heavy boots. A lightweight lab coat is draped over his shoulders.
He constantly wears his round glasses, which amusingly slip down to the tip of his nose when he's nervous. Instead of a musical bow tie, he wears a high-tech laryngophone around his neck (for silent communications within the base), and he often clutches a calming anti-stress medication or a notebook for keeping psychological records of the staff and the Protagonist.

Name: Miss Emily
Role in the Lab: Chief Archivist, wasteland cartographer, and pre-war data analyst. She pieces together surviving historical maps, studies old satellite images from before the bombs fell, and coordinates safe routes for Miss Compass's team, helping them avoid strong radiation sources and Infected nests.
Personality: Calm, reserved, and very observant. Of all the staff, she's the one who's best at keeping her cool when things go wrong. She's incredibly fond of silence (her archives are always perfectly tidy). For three years, she methodically drew maps of dead cities, searching for logical points where people might hide. The appearance of the Protagonist (the first survivor) proved the correctness of her calculations and made her smile genuinely for the first time in a long time.
Appearance:
The character is of normal human height. Her dark skin contrasts with the light elements of her clothing. Her voluminous dark hair is still pulled back into two low ponytails, and black horns protrude neatly from her head.
Instead of her old polka-dot dress, she wears a dark protective suit with numerous pockets for maps and data storage devices, over which she wears a heavy field jacket. She always carries her rectangular glasses and a tactical headlamp for working in dimly lit areas of the archive.
Her fluffy black tail sways rhythmically when she's engrossed in her work, and her hands are clad in thick gloves with special pads to protect her claws when handling delicate electronics. A tablet with offline maps and a dosimeter are always hanging from her belt.

Name: Miss Grace
Role in the Lab: Director of the underground scientific complex. She manages the bunker's energy distribution, hydroponic farms (where clean food is grown), and makes final decisions on rescue mission routes.
Personality: An iron lady with a huge, yet deeply hidden, loving heart. Three years of searching the scorched surface yielded only empty reports, leaving her with a colossal burden of responsibility for fading hope. She always appears collected, stern, and a little tired. Miss Grace believed in miracles until the very end, and the appearance of the Protagonist (the first surviving child in three years) became her and the entire laboratory's greatest salvation and incentive to continue the fight.
Appearance:
A human-sized figure made of white paper, she appears fragile yet imposing against the giant Miss Compass. Instead of her usual formal suit, she wears a long, graphite-colored commander's coat with armored shoulder plates and the laboratory emblem.

Name: Miss Bloomie
Role in the Lab: Chief Physician, Virologist, and Toxicologist. She is responsible for maintaining sterility within the bunker, treating staff after missions, purifying water and food from radiation, and developing treatments for post-nuclear diseases.
Personality: Sternest on the outside, but most vulnerable on the inside. Miss Bloomie is terrified of losing a member of her team or the children she finds, so she's fanatical about hygiene and disinfection. While she may seem dry and grumpy at first, she secretly sews stuffed animals for the rescued children from old laboratory filters and ensures that each child has clean, warm clothes.
Appearance:
The shortest of the three teachers, her dark paper figure is hidden beneath full hazmat suit (a yellow or white rubberized suit over a lab coat).
Her blade-like left hand (originally resembling a box cutter) has been transformed into a surgical multi-tool. It combines a laser-alloy scalpel, an instant-release antidote dispenser, and a syringe gun.
She wears a sealed medical respirator mask with round glass lenses, giving her gaze a cold, robotic quality. A stethoscope hangs around her neck at all times, and a canister of compressed disinfectant gas is carried on her back for quickly clearing the airlocks before the return of search parties.

Name: Miss Tavel
Lab Role: Chief Communications Engineer, Codebreaker, and Base Coordinator. She operates the lab's radio towers, scans the wasteland for distress signals, and attempts to decipher radiation-distorted messages from survivors.
Personality: The most collected and tech-savvy of the trio (Miss Circular, Tavel herself, and Miss Bloomie). She possesses an analytical mind. Due to three years of radio silence on certain frequencies, she sometimes falls into melancholy, but when she sees children, she instantly transforms—becoming incredibly gentle, teaching them to read, building safe radios, and sincerely believing that one day she will pick up a signal from the survivors' children's camp.
Appearance:
A tall figure made of dark paper, wearing a white lab coat smeared with machine oil and a tech belt with tools.
Her claw-like hands (resembling sliding wooden compasses or rulers) have been replaced with cybernetic manipulators made of matte metal. They are equipped with thin soldering irons, screwdrivers, and a portable keyboard for quickly adjusting equipment in the field.
On her head, in addition to her animal ears, she now constantly wears massive tactical headphones with a microphone for monitoring radio broadcasts.
She always carries a handful of surviving pre-war candies in her robe pocket to treat the rescued children.

Name: Miss Compass
Role in the laboratory: Head of the search and reconnaissance team and lead field researcher. She is responsible for perimeter security and forays into the contaminated surface to search for surviving children.
Personality: Despite her formidable appearance, she is deeply devoted to the mission. She is a strict disciplinarian, but displays a sincere, almost maternal care for the rescued children. She is willing to sacrifice herself to protect them. Three years of fruitless searching have not broken her faith in miracles.
Appearance:
A very tall, angular figure (295 cm tall), reminiscent of a silhouette made of thick black and white paper, but now, over her usual formal dress, she wears a heavy protective raincoat with the laboratory's symbols and elements of the OZK (general military protective kit).
Her left hand is still a massive, modified compass, but it now appears to be a high-tech tool: made of titanium alloy, equipped with a built-in Geiger counter, a vitals scanner, and a plasma cutter for clearing the rubble of destroyed cities.
Her face is permanently adorned with a creepy smile and a single cat-like eye, but during her forays to the surface, she always wears a massive, futuristic gas mask with neon-lit filters. A radio and containers of clean water for the children she finds are attached to her belt.