“Thump!”
There came a dull thump of something clapping against a hard surface. The giant head of the Tyrant collided against the observation window in front of the research crew and splattered fresh blood all over the surface of the window.
Many of them could not hold back an aghast shriek when they saw the head of the Tyrant flying toward them. Their complexion immediately turned pale at the sight of it.
When they turned to the Black Knight who was sent flying away, they saw two bone spurs shaped like a pair of sickles sticking out the end of its elbow. The bone was extremely polished and dangerously sharp. The Black Knight must have latched them around the Tyrant’s head and borrowed the force of impact when it was knocked away to decapitate the Tyrant!
Chen Chen could not resist the urge to clap and celebrate. “Truly impressive, to think that it can take on the Tyrant in melee combat. I must admit that I never expected such a terrific outcome.”
“Does this count as cheating though?”
Li Lei who was standing beside seemed to downplay its victory. “Boss, this Black Knight resorted to using weapons. Although it did grow the weapon itself, it’s still hard to say who would come out on top if the Tyrant was allowed a chance at a rematch, isn’t it?”
Chen Chen shook his head and chuckled in a manner that was uncharacteristic for him. “That’s where you’re wrong, Li Lei. It seems like your reaction speed needs some keeping up as well. You have this misconception that the Tyrant is stronger but if you have been paying attention to the fight, you’ll notice that the Black Knight with the G-358 injection is on another level whether in terms of agility, defensive abilities, and regenerative abilities. What’s even more absurd is that it manages to evolve in the middle of the fight. Even if you run it back a hundred times, the victor will still be the same.”
Upon mentioning this, Chen Chen suddenly shook his head regretfully. “It’s a shame that the effects of this drug aren’t permanent.”
Little X nodded in agreement. She looked at the hall below and noted. “It has been fifteen minutes since its transformation. Based on what we’ve observed from previous experiments, it should be about time…”
Just as Little X said this, the Black Knight suddenly bent down and collapsed on its knee as if all its strength was suddenly being drained away. In a split instant, giant surges of water vapor gushed out of its mouth and nose. It looked like all the water inside its body was evaporating. Meanwhile, the bone spurs growing along its back and elbows as well as the layer of stratum corneum began to oxidize and diffused into dense powder that scattered into the air…
“The experiment subject is shelling!”
Hannibal exclaimed.
Everyone turned to look at the Black Knight and saw the water vapor dissipating into the air around it. The Black Knight that transformed into a monster seemed to have undergone a process of molting seen in regular insects. Soon, it shed off the giant layer of skin and emerged from its freshly molted shell.
Chen Chen observed as the Black Knight that was riddled with spikes and layers of stratum corneum had returned to its usual form. Apart from the mucus that was pasted all over its body, another distinct difference was — the Black Knight had lost an unbelievable amount of weight, nearly seventy to eighty kilograms. Not only that, there was not a hint of body hair on any surface of its skin anymore.
“Unbelievable…”
Chen Chen commented on the bizarre sight.
Chen Chen remembered that just several months ago, he had witnessed the same experiment conducted by Little X on a common lab rabbit. At the time, the drug used was not the optimized G-358 virus but the G-322 instead.
At the time, Chen Chen was already greatly astounded by the sight of the rabbit returning to its original form after the effects of the drug had expired. Comparatively, what he was witnessing now gave him an even larger shock.
“Mr. Chen, we…”
It was around this point when Watson suddenly spoke to Chen Chen.
“Go.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Chen waved him away. Chen Chen knew that Watson wanted to bring his crew back to the research hall on the first floor to conduct a full-body inspection and data collection on the Black Knight to sample data before and after being injected with G-358.
After receiving permission from Chen Chen, they proceeded to leave the second floor. After around ten minutes, they had their protective suits back on and appeared in the hall on the first floor again to conduct a sequence of tests on the Black Knight.
If the previous form of the Black Knight could be described as having the stature of a fearsome and stout warrior, it would be generous to even describe the current Black Knight as a shell of its former self. It was all skin and bones as if its body had been hollowed out. It only sat lifelessly like a dying patient.
Half an hour later, after a series of tests were complete, the report was handed to Chen Chen.
“Yes, although the Black Knight lost eighty percent of body fat and fifty percent of his muscles because of this ‘molting’ process and became severely malnourished with low blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar, these are all reversible. His body hasn’t sustained any irreversible damage.”
Chen Chen read through the report ruminatively. “Which means that with the body of Black Knights, the usage of G-358 is perfectly viable under emergency situations.”
“Yes, especially when there’s no access to suitable firearms.”
Little X added. “There’s also the possibility that the G-358 can be a lifesaver in specific situations.”
Chen Chen agreed with the notion and nodded.
This was already the fifty-fifth experiment conducted on the G-358, which meant that the experiment was nearing its conclusive stages. Though there was still the slight possibility of mishap, it could be generally concluded by now that the benefits of G-358 outweighed its drawbacks.
This was an excellent value product.
“But I have yet another bolder idea.”
Chen Chen suddenly mentioned, “If such drastic transformation is displayed by the Black Knight after being injected with G-358, then what happens if we inject this into the Tyrant? What would be the result?”
Little X was intrigued by this idea as well. It was true, the Black Knights share similar characteristics with the Tyrant. The only difference being that the Black Knights were miniaturized versions of the Tyrants. The Black Knight also had some genetics tweaked to make their characteristics closer to that of humans.
If the G-358 was effective on the Black Knights, it should work on the Tyrants as well.
“I’m afraid the effects wouldn’t be significant.”
After a brief consideration, Little X used her computer to run a simulation of the genetic alteration process that the G-358 injection may pose on the Tyrant. She then informed, “I found that there’s a regular pattern that follows the injection of this variant of the G-3 series virus. Previously, when rabbits were used as experiment subjects, the largest recorded size is approximately ten times larger, transforming a 20 centimeters-tall rabbit into a gigantic rabbit standing one meter tall. When used on the Black Knights, however, they only grew four to five times on average. If used on the Tyrants, the effect may be far lessened, perhaps barely enlarging it at all.”
“It’s better than none.”
Chen Chen rubbed his chin and noted casually. “It would be great if someone injected with this virus can transform at will.”
“That’s impossible!”
Little X shook her head side to side while pouting. “The reason the Black Knight exhibits these changes that increase its size and weight after being injected with G-358 is due to a unique organ produced along the skin of the host injected with the virus. This allows them to directly absorb water and microorganisms from the air around them. This results in a large number of high-energy covalent bonds generated in the blood of the host, which directly reacts with the nitrogen in the air to form an exoskeleton…
“Still, there’s a price to pay for this exoskeleton generation, which is drastic consumption of the host’s fat and energy. The reason that even the Black Knight could only sustain this form for slightly more than ten minutes is that its energy is rapidly consumed during this period!”
“I know.”
Chen Chen chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t be achievable in the future.”
“That’s true…”
Little X nodded.
When Chen Chen exited the laboratory, a Black Knight suddenly stepped forward and handed an oddly designed metal rod that was around twenty centimeters long to Chen Chen.
Chen Chen accepted the item before realizing that this metal rod was just an oddly shaped syringe. In addition to two buttons of blue and green on it, he could also faintly see the stark red liquid inside it.
It was the G-358 virus contained within.
Chen Chen already knew how to operate this device back when he saw the research members injecting the Black Knight with it. When he gently tapped the blue button, a dark and slender needle popped out from one end with a swift “swoosh”!
“It’s best to inject it into a heart. That’s where its effects are most effective.”
Little X noted.
Chen Chen nodded absentmindedly as he continued observing this needle. It was roughly fifteen centimeters, which was the optimal length to prod into the human heart. After that, he tapped the blue button again which caused the needle to swiftly retract back into the syringe.
Although Chen Chen already had Field in his arsenal to protect himself and probably did not need something like this, it still would not hurt to keep it with him as a fallback.
After tossing the syringe into his pocket, the two of them exited the Spire Experimental Base and returned to the surface.
Chen Chen did not enquire further into the subject of injecting the G-358 into the Tyrant as the team of experts would help him investigate further into its possibilities.
While the robust Eco Science City was proceeding with its speedy development, the story now moved to a city on another end of the world — the city of Los Angeles in Northern America, with its sky above signaling the approaching dusk.
It was the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles. In addition to being home to some of the wealthiest members of the region, there was also a gigantic warehouse in the region.
The name of the warehouse district was Herrank Warehouse District. The story behind it was that it was constructed during the 1950s by a wealthy capitalist that went by the name Herrank. The warehouse came to be named after their family as well.
The Herrank Warehouse District covered most of the daily basic logistics of the city of Los Angeles. As a central storage point, countless businesses and industries stored their goods in the warehouse. Observed from a higher altitude, one would spot countless giant warehouses erected in the area, spanning across thousands of miles until it stretched into the end of the horizon. The landscape was filled with the dome structure of the warehouses.
At the current moment inside one of the warehouses, a batch of special steel imported from abroad was being transported in separate batches by an array of trucks. They were promptly loaded into the warehouse using cranes. In the blink of an eye, the warehouse had reached maximum capacity.
The daily operation inside the warehouse area was completely inseparable from the workers employed in the vast amount of warehouses. Brewer Chester was one among the tens of thousands of workers working inside the warehouses.
Brewer Chester’s build was impressively large, with what seemed like layers upon layers of fat. Just like other workers, he always kept a yellow safety helmet strapped to his head all the time. He wore a dirty uniform and a pair of jeans stained with sweat and whatever filth accumulated throughout the day. His favorite thing in the entire world was chomping down on hamburgers.
It was the height of the evening. Due to the season, the sky turned dark far later than usual. Although it was already near seven o’clock in the evening, the sky was still a vast ocean of blue. The sun was slanted toward the West as it made its slow crawl toward the horizon.
Chester was in charge of operating one of the heavy cranes. After he watched the final truck being unloaded and departed, he looked at the time and saw that he should have gotten off work half an hour ago. He shook his head faintly as he climbed down from the crane while whistling a tune.
“Chester!”
One of Chester’s coworkers in the warehouse called out after him, “Are you getting ready to leave?”
“Yeah, my work here is done, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Chester dropped a quick reply before he quickly paddled to the parking lot.
“Hold on, Chester, there’s something I want to show you.”
The way Chester’s colleague lowered his voice into a low growl captured Chester’s attention.
“Uh huh?”
Chester stopped suspiciously and motioned curiously. “Leon, what are you trying to show me?”
“Something pretty cool… Come with me and you’ll find out.”
The coworker Chester called Leon answered mysteriously. He proceeded to motion at Chester to follow him before turning around and entering the warehouse.
Chester stood by the warehouse entrance and hesitated for a few seconds. He thought about it and figured that there was no harm taking a look, so he shrugged and followed his coworker into the pitch-black warehouse.
Upon stepping into the warehouse, the overpowering scent of engine oil and steel beam came rushing toward him.
This warehouse was one of the warehouses Chester had unloaded the cargo into earlier. He knew what the contents of the cargo were. It was none other than a gigantic pillar of steel beam.
These steel beams were as thick as an average person’s waist. They were commonly used for the foundation of skyscrapers. The correct architectural term for these things was steel columns.
Leon was still pacing in front excitedly. Chester proceeded to sprint several paces to catch up with him and asked, “Leon, what exactly are you planning to show me?”
“We’re almost there.”
Leon’s face was painted with eagerness. Still, he refused to answer whatever questions Chester had since he wanted to keep it mysterious.
When the two arrived at the end of the hundred-meters-long warehouse, Leon stopped abruptly.
“We’re here?”
Chester was starting to become irritated. He glanced at the window and saw that the contrast of the pale blue sky outside had grown darker than when they were just entering the warehouse. He glanced at where Leon was looking at while mouthing, “So what is it that you want me to look at, it’s getting dark…”
Chester stopped speaking before he could finish his sentence.
He saw piles of steel beams stacked on top of one another positioned next to Leon. One of the steel beams had an intricate, life-like mural painted on top of it…
The contents of the mural were four angels with wings, each one of them made the same motion, their hands covering their eyes. The only trait that separated them was that they were in different positions. One was kneeling, one was standing, one was standing sideways, another was standing upright.
However, it would be inaccurate to refer to it as simple murals since they were closer to relief sculptures[1]. This was rather baffling to Chester. Who in their right minds would put sculptures into steam beams used for construction?
“So, Leon…”
Chester broke the silence suddenly. “So the cool thing you were talking about is this? Where did they come from?”
Leon did not answer. He only looked at the four angels absently.
“Hey?”
Chester tried to get his attention, speaking louder this time.
“Ah!”
Leon came back to his senses. He continued admiring the four elegant, life-like angels while answering the previous question, “I think these are imported. It could be from the Central Continent or Indian Continent, who knows?”
Chester was at a loss for words. He shook his head and tapped Leon’s shoulders gently. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leon.”
With that, Chester turned around and left.
[1] A sculpting technique, a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane