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The embankment area near the ocean was bustling with people. Countless individuals were hauling massive rocks from the inland, stacking and carving them to make the already towering embankment even more majestic and imposing.
At that moment, a thick layer of dark clouds drifted in from the distant horizon, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts. Those by the beach couldn't help but look up at the strange sky. They stopped their work then set down their tools, and gazed in astonishment at the ominous clouds.
Yu Kai silently put down the large machine he was holding with his expression grave as he looked toward the distant horizon where the sea met the sky.
The ocean remained calm and peaceful, and unchanged as usual, but the bizarre weather was perplexing.
Everyone waited in silence for a long time, but no unusual changes occurred.
The dark clouds loomed over the city, the air pressure dropped, and the atmosphere became so stifling it felt hard to breathe, leaving everyone in a somber mood.
In the southeastern corner of Zone 93 in the newly developed area of S City Base, Jing Xia swiftly decapitated a large, ferocious mutated beast with a water blade. Before the blood even hit the ground, he looked up at the sky in shock then his expression turned serious.
In the training area of S City Base, Ji Chuancheng slowly raised his head to look at the oppressive dark clouds.
His sharp phoenix eyes narrowed slightly while his thin lips pressed together, and his gaze was deep and unfathomable.
In the underground second-floor laboratory of the S City Base research institute, a group of assistants in white coats quickly packed up their things and filed out through the metal door.
Only a tall, thin man remained.
He grabbed a black mutated beast with a long metal rod and violently threw it into a black metal box.
Qi Yang pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and a flash of white light passed before his eyes. He looked at the barely alive mutated beast in the box with a cold, indifferent expression but made no move.
After a long while, he finally took out a small jade-like bottle from his pocket. He opened the cap, and sprinkled some of its contents on the beast's ghastly wounds before mercilessly closing the box.
All of this seemed normal and no different from the past month.
Yet, it also seemed unusual with a hidden crisis lurking in the unknown and ready to erupt at any moment.
Qi Yang carried the large box out of the elevator, opened the door, walked out, and turned a corner down the hallway.
When he saw the thick dark clouds in the sky, he paused in slight surprise but after a moment, he quickly averted his gaze and continued walking calmly toward another building.
The inexplicable weather phenomenon lasted from noon until evening, obscuring the usual brilliant sunset. The moon rose in the east as the sky gradually darkened, and the entire S City Base slowly quieted down, devoid of the usual daytime hustle and bustle.
Since the accident during the last experiment, and to prevent the strange illness from recurring, Qi Yang had been strictly ordered by Professor Qi and others to stay in the medical area of the research institute. They even arranged for Qin Chu to stay next door to provide timely treatment.
But over a week had passed, and nothing happened. It was so calm that it seemed the accident was truly just an accident.
After that, Qi Yang's research team had developed the potential regenerative abilities of the S1 mutant to the brain. However, to their surprise, unlike the regenerative capabilities of other parts such as blood, cells, and nerve tissues, the brain cells and tissues of S1 lost their vitality within five minutes of being separated from the body and becoming lifeless.
Even when using the cell fluid of other mutated beasts for regeneration, the brain cells only survived a few minutes longer, far from the strange regenerative ability. This failed experiment had been ongoing for a week and had become the most serious and important research in the institute.
Qi Yang casually tossed the heavy black box into the corner of the room. The contents inside collided with the walls of the box, making whimpering sounds. The walls in the corner had several dents, clear evidence of repeated impacts.
Even Qi Yang couldn't withstand the long hours of research.
As soon as he entered the room, he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Not long after, a loud banging sound came from the door.
"Qi Yang, I'm warning you! Stop throwing things against the wall every day. Living next to you these days has been driving me crazy! If you do it one more time, I'm moving out tomorrow! Next time you're dying, don't come to me. I'm done with this!"
Qin Chu's angry voice rang out from the other side of the thin door and echoed like thunder in the quiet room. But the man on the bed clearly heard nothing as his breathing was steady, indicating he was already deep in sleep.
Hearing no response from inside, Qin Chu cursed a few more times before entering her own room next door.
At this late hour, the entire medical building was quiet except for a few on-duty doctors and nurses. Only these two rooms on the top floor were occupied.
One resident returned very late every night and always threw a box against the wall, naturally infuriating the "neighbor" next door.
Over the past week, this scenario has happened frequently and always ending with Qin Chu, wearing pajamas and tousled hair, closing her door in frustration.
With a loud "bang," the building returned to its usual tranquility.
Darkness enveloped the room.
The simple furniture—chairs, tables, and cabinets—looked clean and untouched, as if never used.
The thin, gaunt man lay stiffly on the bed with his delicate brows furrowed as if he were having a bad dream.
His white coat was still on, and he hadn't noticed the dark red bloodstains on the hem.
Silence fell, and the air grew heavy like water.
After some time, a series of rough, labored breaths could be heard in the room. They sounded muffled, as if through a layer of mist, but the room was so quiet that they were audible.
Gradually, a faint grayish-white light suddenly appeared from the northeast corner of the room. Despite being blocked by the opaque black metal box, the light still flickers through.
It shone brightly for about ten minutes before gradually dimming.
The man on the bed frowned then suddenly turned over to lay face up.
"Zizizi…"
A faint sound emerged.
"Zizizi… zizizi… zizizizi ya…"
The sound grew louder. Starting weak but gradually gaining strength.
"Zizizi Yang… person… zizizizi…"
Amidst the "zizizi" sounds, strange words began to mix in, such as "person," "me," "no," "save," and so on. Among them, the most repeated word was "Yang."
It was like a child babbling and trying to learn to speak but was unaware of what it was saying but persistently repeating and striving to form a complete sentence.
"Hmm…" Perhaps due to the strange sounds in the room, the man on the bed let out a soft groan with his brows furrowed. The "zizizizi" sounds immediately ceased, and the room fell silent as if nothing had happened.
But after a moment, confirming the man was still asleep, the sounds resumed.
"Zizizi Yang… zizizi…"
Unlike the past week, this time, as the strange calls continued, the black box began to shake slightly.
The white light flickered on and off.
Sometimes bright and sometimes dim.
The box became increasingly transparent, until the inside was visible—a small, black, wounded beast with wet, round eyes and blood at the corners.
"Zizizi…"
The strange light flickered for another five minutes until the box became completely transparent, as if it didn't exist.
Suddenly!
The mutated beast's right arm reached toward the wall.
If anyone had seen this, they would have been horrified and unable to believe it!
Because its right arm passed through the thick metal wall of the box as if it weren't there and reaching the outside.
After the first step, the left arm followed then half its body, and finally…
It fully emerged!
The white light instantly vanished.
The S1 mutant beast's skull still bore remnants of black scars.
The blood had long dried, but the wounds remained.
Hidden in the darkness, the hundreds of cuts across its body were less gruesome.
It dragged its injured right leg and began to crawl forward.
First step.
Second step.
Each movement seemed agonizing.
Its progress was slow, as if something was dragging it back and preventing it from advancing. But its round pupils began to emit a faint white light, and its body struggled forward with great difficulty.
The sound of scraping echoed, like a brush sweeping the floor.
After about ten minutes, the emaciated mutant beast finally reached the clean white bed. It struggled to claw at the bedsheet, which wrinkled under the effort, and with great difficulty, it managed to climb onto the bed.
The farther it moved from the box, the stronger the invisible dragging force became, and its movements slowed even more.
At some point, the dark clouds were blown away by the wind.
The clouds that had loomed over S City Base since noon dispersed quickly, as if an invisible force had swept them away.
Bright moonlight streamed through the large glass window, which was so clean it reflected the light.
The pure, radiant moonlight illuminated the floor like a lamp and cast a light on the pale, handsome face of the man on the bed and the dark, terrifying mutant beast.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly!
Five silver metallic blades emerged from the mutant beast's right arm, extending from the tips of its claws without warning. The moonlight bathed the scene in a silvery glow and reflected off the sharp blades.
If any of the researchers involved in the experiment had seen this, they would have been utterly shocked!
From the first capture of this mutant beast to the countless experiments conducted since, they had used every possible method and high-tech equipment to test the S1 mutant's danger, yet they had never discovered these five sharp blades!
It was as if they had appeared out of thin air, as if from another world!
The beast's pupils were round at the front but elongated at the back. Its clear, clean eyes reflected the handsome face of the man on the bed. But after just half a second, a cold, sharp glint flashed in its eyes.
"Zizizi… Yang zizizi…"
The five blades suddenly thrust toward the sleeping man on the bed and aimed directly for his head!