Chen Shijie paused, as if sensing his words had been a bit too much. He cleared his throat and added sheepishly:
“Actually... Subject 5 was treated much better than the other test subjects.”
“He had his own cultivation pod, a scheduled supply of nutrient solution, and specialized monitoring equipment...”
“The ordinary test subjects? Dozens of them were crammed into a single dormitory, unable to even meet their most basic survival needs.”
Su Wan looked at him, her gaze as calm and stagnant as a pool of dead water.
Chen Shijie’s voice grew softer and softer until it eventually vanished altogether.
He lowered his head, feeling a bit guilty, and didn’t dare look Su Wan in the eye again.
“You mentioned earlier that you wanted to study my bracelet.”
Chen Shijie’s eyes lit up again.
He nodded frantically, his glasses nearly sliding off the bridge of his nose. He fumbled to steady them, his words tumbling out like rapid-fire artillery.
“Yes, yes, yes! I want to study it! Very much so! That bracelet of yours should have the function of interfering with genes. I can’t wrap my head around the principles behind it at all!”
“Whether it works through energy conduction, drug intervention, or if it acts directly on the gene sequence—I can’t be sure!”
“If I could just study it, even if it’s only to analyze its energy signature—”
“I would be satisfied!”
Su Wan raised her hand, cutting him off.
“Can this kind of test subject ever return to being a normal human?”
Chen Shijie looked at the youth curled up on the ground, his brow furrowing deeply before he shook his head.
“No,” he said, his voice raspy. “His genes have already collapsed. The non-human gene fragments are stripping away from his cells.”
“This process is irreversible.”
Su Wan listened quietly, the expression on her face remaining unchanged.
“Besides... he’s just a test subject.” Chen Shijie’s voice dropped, carrying a faint, barely perceptible trace of guilt. “It’s not worth wasting resources to save a test subject...”
Su Wan didn’t look at Chen Shijie again.
Her gaze fell on the three unconscious Ability Users on the ground, her eyes as calm as if she were looking at three stones.
With a flick of her wrist, she produced a dagger.
Su Wan gripped the dagger and thrust it toward the neck of the nearest driver.
By now, she had lost interest in Level 3 Ability Users and naturally wouldn't use the slavery collars to control them.
“Wait—!”
Chen Shijie’s voice exploded behind her, so sharp it nearly cracked.
Su Wan’s hand stopped in mid-air, the tip of the dagger less than an inch from the man’s skin.
She tilted her head and looked at Chen Shijie.
Chen Shijie came stumbling over, his glasses askew on his nose, his expression a mix of terror and urgency.
“You can’t kill them!”
He rushed in front of Su Wan, doubling over to gasp for air. He pointed at the three people on the ground, his voice trembling.
“This man—” He pointed to the driver. “He’s a gene-modified organism with a chimerism rate of forty-three percent. Even though he’s a defective product, every inch of his tissue is precious research material!”
His finger moved to the other two Level 3 Mid Stage Ability Users, his voice becoming even more frantic.
“These two are normal humans! Level 3 Mid Stage! Do you know how rare normal human Ability Users at Level 3 Mid Stage are?”
“In all of Panshi City, there are no more than twenty normal human Ability Users who have cultivated to Level 3!”
“Each one is a living specimen, an irreplaceable research subject!”
He looked up at Su Wan, his eyes bloodshot, his voice carrying a tone that was almost pleading.
“The Awakening Potion I’m researching has reached its most critical step.”
“If you just give me a little more time, a few more experiments to collect the final data—”
“It will be a success!”
Su Wan’s brow twitched slightly.
Awakening Potion?
Chen Shijie didn’t notice the change in her expression. He spoke faster and faster, a torrent of words pouring out.
“I’m just an ordinary person. I’ll never be able to become an Ability User in this lifetime.”
“My body’s rejection of gene modification is too strong. My chimerism rate can’t even reach five percent. Forcing a modification would only kill me.”
“But I’m not willing to accept that!”
His voice suddenly spiked, carrying a sense of resentment and obsession that had been suppressed for who knew how many years.
“I’ve studied genes for half my life, modified so many test subjects, and created so many Ability Users—”
“Why can’t I become an Ability User myself?”
“So, while I was researching gene modification, I was also researching another path.”
“And that is the Awakening Potion!”
He pushed up his lopsided glasses, a hint of irrepressible pride in his voice.
“An ordinary person’s body cannot withstand the embedding of Aberrant genes. Forcing the modification only leads to gene collapse.”
“But what if we could use drugs to stimulate an ordinary person’s own genes to undergo active mutation?”
“No need to embed exogenous genes, no need to endure rejection—only the need to awaken the dormant source power within the human body.”
“That is the principle of the Awakening Potion.”
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, gesturing wildly and not even bothering to fix his glasses as they slid to the tip of his nose.
“I’ve already completed ninety percent of the work. The drug formula, the technical process, the clinical trial protocols—everything is ready.”
“I’m only missing one last piece of data—”
“The process of the energy core forming at the moment of ability activation in high-level Ability Users.”
“What I need isn't the operational data of a Level 3 Ability User’s energy core, but the most critical, essential energy transition that occurs when a Level 3 Ability User transforms from an ordinary person into an Ability User.”
“But where could I find a test subject like that?”
His voice dropped, filled with deep helplessness.
“Normal human Ability Users at Level 1 or Level 2 are one thing, but those at Level 3 are the treasures of their respective factions. How could I ever get a live sample of a Level 3 Ability User?”
“The research institute’s freezers have a few corpses of Level 3 Ability Users, but what use is a corpse? Dead is dead. Once the energy core stops spinning, no data can be collected.”
He looked up at Su Wan, his eyes frighteningly bright.
“But now, two living ones are lying right in front of you!”
“Level 3 Mid Stage! Normal humans! Live specimens!”
“As long as you hand them over to me and give me a little more time, I can complete the final data collection!”
“The Awakening Potion will be successfully developed!”
Chen Shijie’s voice echoed in the cold wind, carrying a nearly manic level of excitement.
Su Wan listened quietly, the dagger in her hand slowly lowering.
She wasn’t moved by Chen Shijie’s pleading.
She was struck by those two words: “Awakening Potion.”
Countless thoughts flashed through Su Wan’s mind.
The biggest problem the Terminal Station faced right now wasn't population, resources, or defense.
It was combat power.
Out of over three thousand people, fewer than two hundred had combat experience. There were only a dozen or so Ability Users, and not a single one was above Level 3.
Once they left the range of the Terminal Station, these people wouldn't even be able to protect themselves!
Rate on N.U.
