Control Resonant: Should You Turn In Dr. Underhill (New Growth Quest)

TL;DR:

• New Growth is a side quest that sends Dylan after missing Mold researcher Dr. Raya Underhill.
• Start it during Zoe’s Briefing or by talking to the soldier on the FBC Base rooftop in The Park.
• Track Underhill from the FBC Base → her office in Central Executive → her apartment at 140 Fletcher Ave → her sewer lab.
• Defeat three escaped Test Subjects (Specimen A, B, and C) and harvest a Mold Sample Test Tube from each.
• Return to Underhill and make your final choice — it does not affect rewards, only her fate.
• Rewards: Untapped Brass Dusters (Artifact Recipe) and the Budding Mycologist Trophy/Achievement.

New Growth is one of the longest side quests in The Park region of Control Resonant. It looks like a simple search mission at first, but it takes you across multiple locations, into a hidden sewer lab, and ends with a choice that most players overthink. This guide covers every step — including exactly what happens when you turn in Dr. Underhill versus letting her go.

New Growth Quest Overview

Starting Location: The Park — FBC Base rooftop

How to Start: Complete Side Quest: Zoe’s Briefing (automatic) or talk directly to the female soldier on the FBC Base roof in The Park.

Reward: Untapped Brass Dusters (Artifact Recipe), Mold Sample Test Tube, Budding Mycologist Trophy/Achievement

Quest Description: Dr. Raya Underhill, the head researcher of the Mold, has gone missing. Her work is important, especially now. Dylan hopes to find her alive.

If you are new to the game or early in your playthrough, check out our Control Resonant beginner tips before diving into side quests like this one.

new growth quest walkthrough in control resonant

New Growth Quest Objectives

• Ask Around About Underhill
• Investigate Underhill’s Last Known Location
• Investigate Underhill’s Office in Central Executive
• Search Underhill’s Apartment
• Collect the Equipment and Find the Test Subjects at the Lab
• Track Down and Defeat the Test Subjects
• Return to Underhill

Step 1 — How to Start New Growth

There are two ways to trigger this quest:

• Method 1 (automatic): Complete the Side Quest: Zoe’s Briefing at the Watchtower. During that conversation, Zoe mentions that Dr. Raya Underhill — the FBC’s head Mold researcher — has gone missing. New Growth starts automatically after this.
• Method 2 (manual): Head directly to the FBC Base in The Park. Climb to the roof and talk to the female soldier stationed there. She will brief you on Underhill’s disappearance and hand you the quest.

To reach the FBC Base rooftop easily, go through the sewers in the north-east of The Park. You will emerge on the street east of the base and can jump over to the roof from there.

Step 2 — Ask Around About Underhill

Speak to the soldier near the FBC Base Fast Travel door in The Park. She will point you toward Underhill’s last known location and tell you to investigate.

Step 3 — Investigate Underhill’s Last Known Location

Follow the objective marker south of the fast travel door to a small rooftop. There is a table here with Underhill’s Resignation Letter and a Level 6 Keycard on it. Pick both up. The letter points you toward her office in the Oldest House.

For more on keycard access in Control Resonant, our Level 2 keycard guide and Clearance Level 6 keycard guide cover how clearance levels work across the game.

Step 4 — Investigate Underhill’s Office in Central Executive

Fast travel to the Oldest House and head to the Central Executive section. Go upstairs and turn left. Use the Level 6 Keycard to enter the locked door. Inside, pick up the letter from the desk. This gives you Underhill’s home address — 140 Fletcher Ave in The Park.

Step 5 — Search Underhill’s Apartment

Fast travel back to The Park and head to the apartment building in the upper right of the area. Mold enemies guard the entrance — clear them before going in. Enter the building, go up one floor, and take the apartment door on the left.

Dr. Underhill is hiding near the kitchen. Talk to her. She explains she has been operating a hidden sewer laboratory and that her test subjects have escaped. She asks Dylan to recover her equipment and locate the escaped specimens.

Before leaving, grab two things from the apartment:

• Key to Underhill’s Sewer Lab — from the counter
• Research Notes on the Mold — from the desk inside

Step 6 — Find the Sewer Lab and Collect Equipment

Exit the apartment building and head northeast. The sewer lab entrance is in the tunnel between the apartment and the FBC Base. Follow the quest marker to the underground door and use the key to get in. Turn left once inside to reach the laboratory.

Do not rush through. There are several items to collect before going deeper:

• Power Upgrade Point — in the ante-chamber container (do not miss this)
• Mold Growth Stimulator — on the lab workbench
• Sample Tubes — also on the workbench
• Response From Pope document — on the desk

Apply the Mold Growth Stimulator to the pulsating Mold clumps in the lab. They respond by moving off toward the escaped test subjects, leaving behind glowing spore trails. Follow those trails.

For more on finding power upgrades across the game, see our all Power Upgrade chest locations guide.

Step 7 — Track Down and Defeat All Three Test Subjects

Drop down from the railing into the deeper pipe system and pick up the trail. Use the tracking prompt on screen as it appears. Follow the Mold trail until it splits into two directions.

Specimen A Location

When the trail first splits, follow the path going left. This leads to Specimen A, which is airborne and found in the flooded tunnel section. Defeat it and harvest the Mold Sample Test Tube from it.

Specimen B Location

Specimen B is lurking at street level in an alleyway. Reach it by leaping across The Park rooftops after exiting the sewer tunnels. Look for the cloud symbol with an exclamation mark on your map — that marks its position. Follow it as it moves and kill it when it turns into an enemy. Collect the test tube.

Specimen C Location

Specimen C is cornered in the open maintenance yard along the orange-lit drainage path. It is south of Specimen B’s location. Follow it and defeat it when it becomes hostile. Collect the final test tube.

Combat tip: All three specimens are Mold enemies. Mold is weak to fire damage. If you have Inferno or any fire-based Combat Ability, use it here. It makes all three fights much faster. If you do not, the Central Resonant encounter awards a fire ability worth grabbing before coming down here.

You need all three Mold Sample Test Tubes before you can return to Underhill.

For help with another puzzle-heavy area near The Park, see our Pulse Fitness workout puzzle guide and the WearEm WashEm puzzle guide.

Step 8 — Return to Dr. Underhill

With all three test tubes collected, head back to Underhill’s apartment. Go up the floor and speak with her. Right before the quest wraps up, Zoe calls over comms and informs Dylan that Emily Pope has ordered Underhill to be detained.

This is when you get to make your final decision.

Should You Turn In Dr. Underhill in Control Resonant?

The final conversation with Dr. Underhill gives you three dialogue options. Here is exactly what each one does:

Option 1 — “I have to report you” (Turn Her In)

Dylan follows orders and reports Underhill to the FBC. The Bureau takes her away. She is detained. This is the by-the-book choice that follows Pope’s directive.

Option 2 — “Take the samples” (Let Her Go With Samples)

Dylan hands the harvested Mold samples over to Underhill and lets her leave with her research. She walks free and keeps her work. This is the most supportive ending for Underhill as a character.

Option 3 — “Go… without the samples” (Let Her Go, No Samples)

Dylan lets Underhill leave but keeps the test samples. She walks free but loses her research material.

Which Choice Should You Pick?

It genuinely does not matter for gameplay. All three choices give you the exact same rewards. None of them unlock extra items, change the quest completion, or lead to additional cutscenes or post-quest interactions. Once the quest closes, there are no follow-up conversations with Underhill regardless of what you chose.

Pick whichever one fits the kind of Dylan you want to play. If you follow FBC rules, report her. If you sympathize with rogue researchers doing important work, let her go. The game does not punish or reward either path.

New Growth Quest Rewards

• Untapped Brass Dusters (Artifact Recipe) — a form upgrade for the Aberrant weapon. Equip it from your weapon menu right away.
• Mold Sample Test Tube
• Budding Mycologist Trophy/Achievement — note that this requires completing both New Growth and the Carbon Copy questline to unlock.

Other Guides and Quests Around This Point in Control Resonant

If you are working through quests in The Park and the Oldest House, these guides are worth checking:

• How to restore power in The House in Distress quest
• Crossing the Threshold walkthrough
• Panopticon Service Request quest guide
• Alan Wake Easter egg location in Control Resonant
• Atlantis Cafe appliance puzzle solution
• Atlantis Cafe cash register code

Want to get the most out of your build before tackling quests like this? Our how to respec guide explains how to reallocate your Talent Points whenever needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Control Resonant is available on the official Control website, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store.