Mutation

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[Purification progress 30%...50%...80%...]

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【100%】

Completed.

China First Research Institute, Laboratory A.

Biological Evolution Project Team, confidentiality level S.

Looking at the [100%] on the LCD screen, Ling Shi let out a long breath and couldn't help but smile.

Since being promoted to team leader, he and two team members have been working hard for six months and finally achieved initial results.

He pressed the unlock button, opened the high-density protective cover of the purification machine, and carefully removed a tube of orange-yellow reagent.

Holding it in the palm of his hand, he stared at it without blinking.

This tube of reagent comes from the arm of a mysterious species named "Dragon Horn".

Six months ago, a scientific expedition team from Country M, far away on the other side of the ocean, unearthed the corpse of a mysterious species that had been buried in the desert Gobi for who knows how many years. They secretly transported it back to the country and conducted secret research on it.

As a result, preliminary research showed that the cells on this corpse were incredibly active, a hundred times more than any human cell!

There is no wall that is impenetrable. I don’t know which country’s agents first obtained this secret, but in just ten days, several countries with connections knew about it.

All countries put pressure on Country M, and Country M had no choice but to launch multinational negotiations.

The arm that Ling Shi was studying was obtained by China from Country M at a very high cost.

He finally lived up to the country's trust and successfully purified the highly active ingredients of the species.

Xiao Zhang on his left leaned closer, staring at the reagent, breathing lightly. "Team Leader, why is this reagent... this color?"

Li Hua, half-crouching on the right, his face almost touching the reagent, whispered, "Because this is the color of God. The cells here move 100 times faster than human cells! Oh my God, if I could purify cells like this in my lifetime, I'd die without regrets."

In the reagent, many active particles visible to the naked eye were rushing around, and each time they seemed to hit Ling Shi's heart.

He also slowed down his voice: "What do you mean by dying without regrets? You're such a bad mouth."

"The reagent is only a semi-finished product. There's still a lot of work to do. Don't even think about running away."

Li Hua nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, yes."

"Team Leader, you said these cells are so active... can they really accelerate species evolution?"

"Of course." Ling Shi's hands were steady. He opened the password cabinet beside him, carefully placed the purification reagents inside, and locked the cabinet. "Isn't this the reason for our project team's existence?"

Seeing the reagents locked in the cabinet, Li Hua dared to speak louder. "Oh my god, I gave up the high-priced offer from Country M and chose to stay in this godforsaken place. It really was... the right choice."

Boom boom boom.

The glass door of the laboratory was knocked hard and hurriedly.

Ling Shi frowned.

The First Research Institute has always been quiet.

Every top researcher in China here is quietly working on the task at hand. Even at the moment when the results are produced, the excitement of the researchers is mostly restrained.

He had never heard such a sudden and impatient knock on the door.

The knock was on the door of the S-class confidential laboratory that no outsiders were allowed to enter.

Is it the new and ignorant intern?

Li Hua also frowned, ran over in three or two steps and opened the door.

The person standing outside the door was actually the vice president of the First Research Institute: Qiao Fang.

Ling Shi was very surprised.

Over the years that I have known Dean Qiao, he has always been gentle and reserved, and rarely shows excitement in front of others.

Now he looked terrified and anxious. Before the door was fully opened, he pushed it open and rushed in, saying hurriedly, "Something happened!"

Before Ling Shi could speak, Dean Qiao raised the recorder in his hand and said, "Time is running out. Don't ask questions, just listen first."

"This is the news just sent back by our agents lurking in Country M."

Dean Qiao pressed the play button with a serious expression.

A young man's voice soon came from the recorder, sounding extremely frightened and nervous. In the background were the sounds of whistling wind, messy footsteps, and bursts of unclear roars.

"It's over, humanity is finished!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Last night, all the dignitaries of Country M were evacuated, and the capital's city hall building was reduced to ruins."

Having said that, the young man sniffed, as if trying to calm himself down.

"It was that experiment that went wrong. That species called the Dragon Horn. Country M used it for human experiments, and it completely failed."

"All the subjects of the experiment lost their minds and transformed into immensely powerful monsters. They are extremely aggressive. Now, the ordinary citizens of the capital are either dead or alive... all have been infected and assimilated, becoming corrupted humans like those monsters."

"Rotten people, we call those monsters rotten people, they... their whole bodies are... really scary. The virus from their wounds spreads very quickly. It's only been a week since the outbreak, and the number has gone from hundreds of people at the beginning to at least hundreds of thousands now."

At this point, the recording stopped abruptly.

Ling Shi glanced at Dean Qiao, who said, "Keep listening, there's more."

Sure enough, after a few seconds, the next audio clip started playing, and it was still the same voice.

"I escaped from Country M and finally crossed the border. Those corrupt people are hot on my heels and have already spread to several neighboring countries."

"I don't even know how much longer I can live."

"Anyone who hears this recording, please evacuate immediately and hide underground in an air-raid shelter or secret base. Ideally, wait a year before emerging. I hope... we'll have another chance to meet again."

The recording stops here.

Dean Qiao put away the recorder and said, "Let's go. Take the most important things with you and follow me."

"The last recording was made five days ago. The young man speaking in it has already passed away. It took a lot of effort to get it to China. It took another day to get it to our institute."

"If Furen is really as he said, the outside world has been unimaginable in the past five days."

The news came so suddenly.

Ling Shi and the others were celebrating the successful purification of Long Ji's cells one second, and the next second they learned that the failure of Long Ji's human experiment had led to such tragic and serious consequences.

They were all extremely familiar with the dragon horn species and knew the extent of its cellular vitality.

Once this spreads...

Ling Shi no longer hesitated. He stepped forward to the password cabinet, quickly pressed the password, took out the tube of orange-yellow reagent, and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his lab coat. He then turned around and squatted, quickly operating a bunch of complicated buttons under the lab bench.

The most important thing in the entire institute - the arm of the mysterious species - is stored under this laboratory table.

Ding ding. The first cabinet door opened.

Ding ding. The two cabinet doors opened.

Ling Shi came forward and scanned his pupils with light.

Ding ding. The last cabinet door opened.

Ling Shi took a deep breath, reached in with both hands, and took out a transparent high-density box about one meter long and half a meter wide.

Inside lay the arm of the mysterious dragon horn.

The skin is dark brown and has scars of various sizes on the surface.

There are three fingers on the palm with very long nails that are almost black.

Overall, it is thicker and stronger than a human arm, and a size larger.

The strangest thing is that this arm has been separated from the species for so long, but it still has not decayed and appears to be full of vitality.

Ling Shi placed the box on the lab table and took a matching black backpack from the side.

This was specially made for transporting this arm.

He put the box into his backpack and put it on his back. He held the backpack straps tightly with both hands, and the muscles on both sides of his arms tightened unconsciously: "Let's go."

Dean Qiao walked in front, leading them.

"The dean is organizing people from other project teams to retreat toward the back door, which is closer to the parking lot."

Xiao Zhang and Li Hua were still confused and in disbelief.

Ling Shi pulled them both and said, "Follow me."

The two of them shuddered, subconsciously obeyed, and followed him.

Walking out of the laboratory, the walls on both sides of the corridor are made of high-density glass with a cool white tone, making the view clean and transparent.

They reached the elevator as quickly as possible.

The elevator is a dedicated direct elevator to the top floor, designed specifically for the 18th floor, and serves only the scientific researchers in this S-level laboratory.

Dean Qiao pressed the elevator button. Ding Dong, and the elevator door lit up with a soft, bluish light.

The door was only half open, but Dean Qiao couldn't wait to slip in and called out to Ling Shi and the others, "Hurry!"

From Dean Qiao's actions, several people felt the seriousness of the situation and the urgency of time, and quickly followed.

The high-speed elevator roared down and soon reached the first floor.

When the door opened, Ling Shi and the others saw a large group of people in the yard.

The institute has more than one hundred employees, almost all of whom are the smartest minds in China.

Most of them wore thick glasses, were well-mannered, and were of varying ages, all wearing the same white coats.

Even after being informed of the seriousness of the problem by the dean, these people still lined up in an orderly manner, most of them with serious faces and without saying a word.

More and more people took the high-rise express elevators directly to the lobby and followed the people in front of them to evacuate one by one.

The most respected Dean Cui Zheng did not retreat. Instead, he stood in the middle of the crowd and directed the evacuation.

The expected panic and noise did not occur.

Many people still hold onto their project materials and research results. It seems that even death cannot make them give up these beliefs.

When he saw Ling Shi and the others, Dean Cui waved his hands desperately to let them pass.

When they got closer, Dean Cui lowered his voice and whispered into Ling Shi's ear: "I received news that the thing has entered the province and destroyed several cities along the way."

"The military is currently organizing a concentrated counterattack, but the results are very poor."

"Ling Shi," Dean Cui raised his head, looked at him directly, and patted his shoulder: "If only one person can survive, I hope it's you."

Ling Shi smiled and said, "Dean Cui, your joke is far worse than usual. I'll listen to you tell another one after everyone settles down."

Dean Cui also forced a smile and gently pushed him: "Hurry up and follow us."

Ling Shi pulled the strap on his shoulder and followed the others towards the back door exit.

Zi——

Suddenly, an extremely sharp and piercing noise came from somewhere.

It was as if sharp metals were rubbing against each other, violently vibrating the eardrums.

Ling Shi pressed his uncomfortable ears and watched the crowd in front of him become agitated.

"Monster! Monster!"

"They're coming! They're coming in!"

Ling Shi looked up.

There are several metal tracks laid on the ceiling at the entrance, which are used for transporting various materials on weekdays.

He grabbed the raised part of the track, lifted his whole body up, exerted force with his waist and abdomen, and jumped to the front, crossing the distance of several people.

Looking forward from here, a few strange people appeared at the corner not far away.

Their clothes were tattered and had several holes in them.

Blood and dark green sticky liquid were flowing out of the hole, and it was already rotten.

Their eyes were empty, staring straight ahead.

His movements were not slow, but his manners were very stiff.

Ling Shi immediately realized that this was the corrupt person mentioned in the recorder!

Several young and strong colleagues stepped forward to stop them and prevent the corrupt people from moving forward.

But how can it be stopped so easily?

A corrupt man stretched out his sharp claws and grabbed hard. The sharp claws instantly pierced into a young man's arm, making several bloody holes.

The young man screamed, but did not step back. Instead, he pushed forward with all his strength.

But the corrupt man didn't move at all. He grabbed the young man with his other claw again, swung it hard, and threw the young man high into the air.

Bang--

It hit the wall hard and fell to the ground.

The young man fainted immediately, with blood gushing from both arms.

The other corrupted people also stretched out their rotten claws—

Swish - swish - they instantly destroyed the thin line of defense and continued to move forward by stepping on the corpses of several men in white coats.

The crowd suddenly became chaotic.

Some screamed, some turned back and ran away, and of course, there were also those who rushed forward to kill the corrupted people regardless of the consequences.

It was like a mess.

Ling Shi squeezed forward against the flow of people, and looking around, he saw a huge crowd of corrupt people, at least hundreds of them!

"Shit." He couldn't get over it and cursed, "Where are the guards?!"

There are guards in the institute, although not many.

Dean Qiao was not far behind him and shouted to him, "The guards are standing guard between the back door and the parking lot. They were the first to confront the corrupt crowd head-on. At this point, I'm afraid... there are no guards left..."

It goes without saying that there is no longer any living force that can fight against the corrupt people.

Ling Shi was stunned for only a moment, then he took off his backpack, stuffed it into Dean Qiao's hands, and shouted:

"Grab any handy tools around you, follow me, form a line, and establish a defensive line!"

"Those over 60 years old and women, retreat!"

Most of the researchers in the institute have been immersed in research all year round and neglect exercise, and their bodies are at two extremes: fat and thin.

The only exception is Ling Shi.

In addition to being the leader of China's most mysterious biological evolution experimental group, he is also a soldier and the deputy captain of the First Army's most powerful White Eagle Team.

Ling Shi jumped suddenly, grabbed a track on the ceiling with one hand, and used some clever strength to break half of the metal.

He held it in his hand and looked around.

Although they were all potbellied and skinny guys, almost all the men stood in front of their female colleagues without exception.

He was holding everything in his hands. Chair, keyboard, charging cable...

It seems to have been snatched from the guard room next door...

There are more glassware, test tubes, measuring cups, etc. on display in the exhibition area on the first floor.

I don't know how many times it will break.

Ling Shi held up half of the metal track in his hand: "Fuck them!"

He rushed to the nearest corrupted person and smashed it down with the metal stick in his hand.

Bang—it hit the corrupt man’s shoulder.

With his strength, this blow could almost break a person's bones.

But the corrupted man didn't move at all. Not only was he not injured, he didn't even show the slightest expression of feeling pain.

Instead, he was aroused and roared at Ling Shi, rushing towards him.

Ling Shi dodged and slipped away, but before he could stand firmly, he was hit by a huge force from behind and fell to the ground.

With this collision, he felt as if his internal organs were displaced, and he broke out in a cold sweat due to the pain.

He turned around quickly, and there was another corrupt person behind him.

As expected, these corrupted people not only have extremely strong attack and defense capabilities, but also seem to have no sense of pain...

But he had no choice and rushed forward regardless.

One by one, colleagues fell.

The skin on Ling Shi's palms had been rubbed by the metal rails, oozing blood. He dodged and dodged among the corrupted people from time to time, looking for the right opportunity to attack their vulnerable parts.

With his own strength, he managed to entangle several corrupt people.

They also suffered wounds of varying sizes.

But, that's all I can do...

Puff——

Finally, he found the right opportunity and stabbed the metal rail in his hand into the eye of the most seriously injured corrupt man!

The corrupt man screamed sharply, staggered two steps, and finally fell down.

Never got up again.

This was the first corrupt person he killed.

Phew.

Almost at the same time, a corrupted man's sharp claws pierced his heart, and blood spurted out...

Bang--

The moment Ling Shi fell, he saw hundreds of rotten human feet in front of him.

Some wore sneakers, leather shoes, and some wore beach shoes, slippers...

These corrupt people... were once human beings.

A flash of orange fell out from the chest.

Ling Shi's chaotic mind became a little clearer.

By the way, this is... the reagent he just purified by himself.

Cell vitality...100 times greater than that of humans...

But it is only a semi-finished product, and nothing is known about its effects and side effects.

And...this catastrophe was caused by the failure of Longjiao's human experiment...

However, in the last few seconds of consciousness, Ling Shi had no choice.

He used up his last bit of strength, picked up the reagent, opened the syringe, and stabbed himself in the heart.