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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God]
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Chapter 4
Due to the wretched situation he found himself in, Adie Wei, a Ganymede Colony native, felt like he was on the brink of death. When he first joined the project, he couldn’t have been happier upon learning that his superior was not just any Earthling but a Noble Capital, essentially royalty within MegaCorp’s ruling class.
If he could establish a connection with them, his dream of immigrating to Mars, something he had only fantasized about, could become a reality.
With such anticipation, he boarded the ship, but Adie Wei’s dream was shattered sooner than he expected.
‘That crazy woman again. She says today is a day off.’
Adie Wei wiped away the beads of sweat dripping from his half-bald head and stole a glance at his young and capable superior standing beside him.
Her name was Keisaragi Yujin, Adie Wei’s superior and a Noble Capital belonging to the Yujin family, one of the five noble houses that ruled Earth.
Today, as it was a non-working day, she was dressed in casual attire, holding a cat in her arms.
‘Damn it. Why the hell does a cat need a walk?’
Adie Wei briefly cursed himself for thinking of going to the garden for some fresh air. Keisaragi brought up the question that he had heard hundreds of times before entering the lab.
“When will Experiment 26 show results? If we don’t achieve significant results that we can report to the company before we reach our destination, they might reconsider your ’employment’ over there.”
“Ugh! Please, not that…”
As soon as the word ’employment’ came out of her mouth, cold sweat poured out of Adie Wei’s forehead like a waterfall. As a senior researcher at MegaCorp, he knew all too well what ’employment’ meant.
His gaze briefly shifted to the brain inside the test tube, almost as if his predecessor was beckoning him to join.
“Senior Researcher, I mean, Mr. Adie Wei.”
“Yes, yes?”
Keisaragi, who had been giving him a cold look, suddenly changed her expression and began to comfort him with a gentle tone.
“I don’t wish for such results either. I have expectations from Senior Researcher Adie Wei as well. If we can extract that ‘aptitude’ from Experiment 26, a promotion to Head Researcher is not out of the question.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. At the very least, you can become a Chief Researcher, and if things go well, we might establish connections with the Prime Capital too. They have a keen interest in this project, after all.”
Upon hearing her words, Adie Wei’s eyes lit up. He decided to tell her about a method he had only contemplated but never attempted.
“Well, there is one remaining method…”
“What is it?”
“I want to try administering Salonium.”
“Salonium? Are you talking about the drug made by StarUnion?”
“Yes.”
Keisaragi Yujin stroked the cat’s head silently. The cat purred in response to its owner’s affectionate touch.
“Salonium has awakening effects…”
“I know what it does. We used it to secure the project before. Salonium, It’s a drug we haven’t tried.”
“Actually, there are a few other substances, but…”
“We’ve tried all the ones with similar ingredients. Salonium is the only one left.”
Kisa’s gaze shifted toward Experiment 26. Her look wasn’t as gentle as when she petted the cat.
Observing the test subject, she resembled a machine sorting goods in a factory.
“Fine. Administer it right away.”
“But… If we don’t neutralize it, it could be life-threatening.”
“If we wait for that, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow. We don’t have much time left.”
The phrase “we don’t have much time” wasn’t exclusive to Adie Wei. She, as the project leader, would also be responsible if the experiment failed. She belonged to a higher echelon than Adie Wei. The impact of any blemish on her career would be significant.
Moreover, she had never experienced failure in her entire life. The looming possibility of her first failure made her even more anxious.
“As you know, we should have had research results by now.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Normally, it’s time to finalize the report. But we haven’t elicited any meaningful response from the test subject yet. I believe you understand how serious this situation is.”
Adie Wei couldn’t refute her words because they were true.
“…Alright, I’ll administer it right away.”
Adie Wei retrieved a purple test tube from the refrigerator.
“I’ll start with 0.01 milligrams.”
As Adie Wei connected the test tube to the terminal and operated the console, a small amount of the substance within the test tube was injected.
The bubble amoeba remained unresponsive. There were no notable changes in the graph on the terminal screen.
Adie Wei wiped the sweat that flowed like raindrops and pressed the button on the terminal again.
“I’ll administer 0.05 milligrams.”
This time, there was a response. The bubble amoeba convulsed in apparent agony.
Adie Wei couldn’t hide his joy at the anticipated reaction. He watched the test subject with excitement. Keisaragi’s face also showed a hint of interest as she observed the experiment.
“Next is 0.07 milligrams…”
“Wait. Since there’s a response, you can increase the dosage.”
“Really?”
“Administer all of it.”
“Well, that’s a bit…”
“Just do it.”
When Adie Wei hesitated, Keisaragi pushed him aside and pressed the administer button herself.
The liquid from the test tube drained completely into the experiment tube.
Eventually, the bubble amoeba’s body expanded as if someone had blown air into it. Lights flashed madly from its body, and its skin couldn’t withstand the expansion, tearing apart. It was clear to anyone that the bubble amoeba was enduring extreme pain, but among the people present, no one cared about that issue.
“Please! Just a little more!”
Adie Wei clenched his fist tightly while watching the graph on the terminal screen skyrocket to the ceiling.
About five minutes had passed. The graph took a sharp dive and crashed to the floor. Adie Wei felt a sense of resemblance between the plummeting graph and his own future.
Inside the test chamber, Experiment 26 was no longer glowing pink. It remained white, as if forcibly bleached, and showed no signs of movement.
“Awaken it.”
“Yes.”
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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Unlike Adie Wei’s despairing tone, Keisaragi’s voice showed no emotion. Adie Wei pressed the electric shock button with a heavy heart.
Bubbles rose inside the test chamber, and the bubble amoeba jumped. It wriggled slightly but remained predominantly in a white, almost lifeless state.
“Fascinating results. Try it again on Experiment 26.”
“Are you sure?”
“If you achieve significant results with another attempt, report to me.”
Adie Wei’s face brightened as if he had been given a reprieve from a death sentence. Keisaragi, who had turned one person’s life into heaven and hell with a single word, suddenly felt a gaze and glanced towards the ventilation fan.
‘I sense a gaze again.’
There was nothing visible beyond the ventilation fan.
***
The experiment I saw earlier had meaning for me too. The Salonium they injected into Experiment 26 is a substance I’m familiar with.
‘Salonium: A temporary awakening agent that unlocks dormant racial traits.’
In the game, when you consume Salonium, your maximum health decreases, but locked racial traits are unlocked for a limited time. For example, if I were to consume Salonium, I could use abilities that are normally unavailable during the human stage for a short time, such as the acidic blood trait gained during the metamorph stage or the enhanced exoskeleton trait. Of course, the duration of the effects decreases with each use, making it more of a mid-game item than a late-game one.
‘Does Experiment 26 possess hidden traits that I don’t know about?’
Despite having hunted thousands of them before, I hadn’t seen any concealed traits. There had never been discussions of this in the community either, so it’s possible that Experiment 26 was a unique specimen or that differences had emerged in the transition from the game to reality.
‘In any case, learning about the existence of Salonium is an achievement.’
When I engage in full-scale combat against the humans on board the spaceship, it might come in handy.
Back at the nest, I relaxed once more. As I did, thoughts I had intentionally avoided began to resurface.
‘It asked me for help.’
Experiment 26, who had received a massive injection of Salonium, had pleaded for salvation. The screams still echoed vividly in my mind. Experiment 26 had begged for mercy, even though the researchers hadn’t understood the implications of those waves. Even if they had known, they probably wouldn’t have stopped.
The unfortunate fact was that this gruesome experimentation wouldn’t end here. The MegaCorp researchers would likely repeat the Salonium experiment until Experiment 26 couldn’t endure any longer and dies.
I knew that there was nothing but darkness in its future. The only reason I had spared Experiment 26’s life was because I had deemed its genetic essence useless; otherwise, it would have been a candidate for my meal.
But why, even knowing that, did a feeling of discomfort creep up from the depths of my heart? Why did Experiment 26’s cries still echo in my mind?
‘I don’t like this. Not at all.’
Given all of this, I didn’t seem to be a complete ‘Honored Amorph’ yet. I was consumed by anger, but at the same time, I remained in a thoroughly rational state of mind.
My judgment was based on the belief that I had enough evidence to target her. Among the achievements I had obtained today, there was information that could be useful concerning Keisaragi Yujin .
‘She’s raising a cat.’
Using my super senses, I could deduce how much she cherished the cat. She seemed like a woman whose veins ran with cold blood, but when she stroked the cat, human emotions were palpable.
When her beloved cat dies, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how Keisaragi Yujin would react.
‘There are many vulnerabilities.’
Obviously, the cat didn’t receive any special protection. Besides when her owner called, it was mostly alone. People on the spaceship hadn’t even thought about how Keisaragi Yujin would react when her cat dies.
In other words, using the cat as bait to lure in prey was the core of my plan.
‘Keisaragi Yujin , you’ll die within a few days.’
Fueled by burning anger and icy calculation, I pronounced her death sentence.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Jjescus]
[Proofreader – Demon God]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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