Chapter 91 The pectoral muscles are bigger and more... than in reality...
Rhine politely but distantly declined: "If I take you with me, it will affect the flight speed, and we'll be too big a target in the air, which will alert the other side."
Yu Yuan waved his hand repeatedly: "I don't need you to fly with me, I'll just follow the convoy from a distance. I can see where they are."
"Can you see their location?"
Yu Yuan mysteriously took out his phone, which displayed a location; several targets were moving rapidly together.
Rhine was somewhat surprised: "You just installed GPS trackers on their cars?"
"Yes, I secretly installed it under the car while they were moving things upstairs. Don't worry, brother, our Yu family used to be in the high-tech industry. This thing is very safe, very small, and won't be discovered."
"Doesn't your family own a supermarket and build ships?"
"My eldest brother and my father are mainly engaged in manufacturing, while my second sister is mainly engaged in high-tech industries."
"And what about you?"
"Oh, I'm just drifting through life."
"Yeah, and strike up conversations everywhere you go."
"...Brother, let's not bring up your embarrassing past again, okay?"
Finally, Rhine no longer needed to fly in the sky; the two of them drove around, following at a distance according to the GPS location.
The laboratory is not far from the port, probably to expedite the delivery of the boxes; it's only 200 kilometers away.
However, the location is very remote, not within the sphere of influence of the Gongyang family, and is located in a deep mountain forest.
Without location information, it would be difficult to find this place.
Last night, Shanran changed the clothes of the girl named Suisui. She took off her clothes, washed and dried them, and then put them on herself.
It has to be said that the combination of water and fire elements is truly an essential superpower for both home and travel.
When the convoy arrived to pick up the passengers in the morning, Shanran received the message, prepared everything, and had Suisui hide behind the shipping container.
She then teleported into the box and lay down.
The smell was a bit unpleasant, but not unbearable.
Soon there was some noise outside, and then she felt a bumpy ride. After several hours of bumpy travel, she finally arrived at her destination.
When the box was opened again and saw the light of day once more, Shanran closed her eyes, appearing very peaceful.
"The number of test subjects is too small; we need to use more next time."
"Assistant Hao, each test subject has to be carefully selected. They must all be people with superpowers, their physical condition can't be too weak, and it's best if they are ordinary people so they won't be easily detected. Then we have to make them disappear when no one is paying attention. This batch of 12 people is quite a lot. We encountered a lot of trouble during the collection process and almost got discovered..."
"This is your problem!" Before the person in front could finish speaking, Assistant Hao interrupted, "I received orders from above to produce results as soon as possible. We are currently at the most critical moment, and we can already see hope. Success is just around the corner!"
"I don't care what methods you use, we'll need at least double the number of people in a few days! What's so special about people from the Third Continent? What are those big shots over there? Don't worry about their status, whoever they are, as long as they have the right abilities and physique, they're all welcome. Doesn't that expand the scope?"
"Yes, yes, I understand. I will give the order to the people on the Third Continent!"
"By the way, that person... Shan Ran, we should avoid her. She has too much influence and her interpersonal relationships are too complicated. It's best not to provoke her."
Shanran: .....I didn't expect to hear my name at a time like this.
"Okay, okay, Assistant Hao, don't worry, we definitely won't touch those particularly troublesome people."
"Hmm." Assistant Hao glanced at the reports of this group of people casually, then left with satisfaction.
Immediately afterwards, Shan Ran was taken out of the box, placed on a bed, and then injected with drugs.
Shan Ran almost jumped up; she couldn't bear the thought of the unknown drug being injected into her body.
But she overheard two women muttering to themselves.
"This person seems to be in alright, right? The others are just skin and bones, but she looks okay. Should we increase the IV fluids?"
"No, don't make decisions on your own. Maybe this person was very fat before, so she hasn't lost too much weight now. She hasn't eaten for so many days, she still needs enough nutritional fluids, otherwise she'll have health problems and it will affect the later experiments. Assistant Hao will kill you."
The person who asked the question shuddered, his jaw chattering, as if he had remembered something terrible: "Never mind then, let's just give him the IV fluids as usual."
Shanran was relieved to hear that they were receiving intravenous nutrition.
Shan Ran and eleven other people were receiving IV drips in the same large room. Midway through, she secretly opened her eyes and found that there were curtains separating them, so she couldn't see what was happening to the others.
But not long after, she heard some noise.
Someone woke up.
"Hiss... Where am I... What are they doing...?"
The person who woke up was a man, his voice was very hoarse and dry, clearly from being thirsty for a long time.
An assistant was always by his side, and would immediately go outside to call for help whenever someone woke up.
Several burly men entered, fully armed and well-equipped.
They went to the man's bedside when he woke up and pointed a gun at his head.
The man's first instinct was to use his superpower, but he had been starving for too long and was too weak. The effects of the anesthetic hadn't completely worn off, and the little bit of superpower he had just gathered quickly dissipated.
A man walked out from behind the big man.
He was wearing a white lab coat, silver-rimmed glasses, his hair was slicked back, and a smile played on his lips.
In such an environment, his smile looked somewhat eerie.
After the man spoke, Shan Ran recognized him as Assistant Hao.
"Sir, don't waste your energy. The key now is to take care of your health. Save your superpowers for later. If you overdraw them now, your health will deteriorate even further."
The man looked around. Although he didn't know what had happened, he knew that with his current strength, he had no chance of escaping.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, "I have a child! My wife and parents are all dead! I only have one child! Please, please spare me! If anything happens to me, my child won't survive..."
As he spoke, the man's emotions became increasingly unstable. He became agitated and pulled out the IV needle, then turned around and tried to get out of bed.
Two burly men stepped forward and subdued him, and a nurse immediately came forward to give the man an injection.
After receiving the injection, the man's frantic struggles gradually subsided, and he eventually passed out.
Assistant Hao looked around and calmly said, "I know you've all woken up. Don't worry, we won't treat you unfairly for letting you come here."
To all your families, we will make arrangements. We've asked you to come over simply to help with some research..."
"W-what research?" Assistant Hao was interrupted by a young man before he could finish speaking.
Assistant Hao adjusted his glasses. "Regarding research on superpowers, we want to study how to enable ordinary people to also acquire superpowers."
"Ordinary people?"
"Artificially created superhumans?"
"What are you going to do! Make us do research? Human experiments? People will die!"
Assistant Hao's smile remained unchanged, as if he was used to this situation. He raised his index finger, put it to his lips, and made a "shh" gesture.
"Please keep your voices down. You've just woken up, so conserve your energy. That way you'll recover faster."
Rest assured, our experiments will be conducted with your personal safety guaranteed. We want to study why fever can cause supernatural abilities. Aren't there ordinary people around you? Your parents, siblings, children, friends, classmates, teachers, even those who have helped you in the past, or the vulnerable people struggling to survive, and so on...
There are still many people in the world without superpowers. If you could give them superpowers, wouldn't you be doing a great deed that benefits all living beings and lasting for generations? If this research succeeds, everyone in the world will have superpowers, and we will have more resources to deal with the monsters. We will definitely be able to drive them all away sooner, and the world will return to normal!
"I ask you, if that day truly comes, you! All of you present here! You will be the heroes of a new world, the founders of a new era, and everyone will be grateful to you!"
Assistant Hao spoke passionately, becoming more and more excited as he spoke, spitting saliva all over the floor.
Shan Ran thought he was very suitable for doing pyramid schemes.
However, some people were indeed intimidated by his appearance.
Perhaps it was because they were thinking of their family and friends, or perhaps they were thinking about the fame and fortune that would come with success, or perhaps they were seeing reality and knew that it was unwise to rebel now.
In short, most people calmed down and were no longer as resistant and afraid as before.
"Then, can you guarantee our safety?" a middle-aged woman in her thirties or forties asked.
Assistant Hao smiled and said, "Of course, you can rest assured about that. Safety is definitely guaranteed. Everyone should focus on recuperating here first. Once you've recovered, you'll only need to have some blood drawn and undergo some tests."
The young man from before asked again, "If there was no harm done, why were we drugged and brought here?"
Assistant Hao turned his head and looked at the boy who was speaking, his glasses reflecting a sinister glint.
But he still kept smiling: "In urgent situations, we must act expediently. The research project is imminent. This is the second continent, and it will take several days to get here. If I were to explain to each of you individually, and you were to talk to your families, say goodbye, and make all sorts of preparations before your departure, wouldn't that take up a lot of time?"
It was our mistake to invite you all here so abruptly, and we apologize for that. Please understand.
After speaking, Assistant Hao bowed deeply.
On the surface, his attitude seemed very good, but Shan Ran did not miss the fleeting coldness in his eyes when he bent over.
Soon, a group of women dressed as nurses entered from outside. After unlocking the bed wheels, they pushed the beds out one by one.
"Hey, where are we going?"
"Please don't panic. Now that you're all awake, we'll take you to your rooms first. You must be tired from the journey, so please take a hot shower first. A delicious meal will be delivered to your rooms later, so please enjoy it."
A grand meal?
Hearing this word, many people's stomachs started rumbling.
Most people haven't eaten such good food since the apocalypse. Now, as long as they can fill their stomachs, who cares about the taste?
After a relaxing hot shower, someone really did bring over a sumptuous meal.
The rooms are all double rooms, and there are 6 rooms in total, with half being men and half women among the 12 people.
Shan Ran was assigned to the same room as the middle-aged woman who had just asked the question.
After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes provided by the lab, Sister Juan was already eating when I came out.
She ate heartily and called Shanran over to eat.
"Sui Sui, come here quickly, I haven't eaten anything this delicious in so long."
Shan Ran draped a towel over her hair, covering most of her face, and then walked to the table.
This is a room of about 20 square meters, with two single beds on each side, a table, two chairs, and a small cabinet containing clothes, towels, and other daily necessities.
Everything was complete and looked very clean.
Sister Juan hadn't used anything this clean in a long time; the sheets, blankets, towels, clothes, and even the slippers were all spotless.
Needless to say, the food was terrible. Although she made significant contributions to the base, she only got to eat vegetarian dishes.
Now that so much meat has been delivered, she couldn't resist eating a lot, even at the risk of stomach upset.
Shan Ran sat on another chair and glanced at the food. Before the apocalypse, this would have been considered the standard of a high-end restaurant.
She wasn't worried about poison being added, because Assistant Hao had already made it very clear.
They need to recover their health before they can conduct experiments.
Assistant Hao was telling the truth in part. The purpose of having them conduct experiments was to enable ordinary people to gain superpowers.
The research project was able to tell these test subjects directly because they never intended for them to leave alive.
As for things like "benefiting mankind" or "meritorious deeds for generations to come," those are all nonsense.
Others may not know, but she knows very well that all of this is for the Gongyang family.
In that case, this experiment must also be for the sake of the Ram family. The fact that they went to such lengths must mean that it was done by someone at the highest level.
Shan Ran quickly figured out the key to it.
It's not surprising that someone from the higher-ups of the Gongyang family, or even the head of the family, would think of such an experiment.
The post-apocalyptic world order is changing, and people without superpowers can still play a significant role, such as Zack and Mo Yunyun.
But how could the elites of aristocratic families, who were born at the pinnacle of the world, tolerate falling behind others?
"Sui Sui, what are you thinking about? Why aren't you eating yet? Is your stomach upset?" Sister Juan interrupted Shan Ran's thoughts.
Shan Ran lowered her head, hunched her back, and hunched her shoulders, adopting a timid and introverted posture.
When she entered the room, she had already checked it with her digital information ability. There were hidden cameras inside, and apart from the bathroom, there were no blind spots in their living area; everything could be monitored.
"Sister Juan, I... I don't have much of an appetite. I'm probably just too hungry."
Sister Juan quickly ladled out a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Shan Ran: "Oh dear, poor thing, you were kidnapped at such a young age, you must be terrified, right?"
The girl opposite didn't speak, she just nodded.
Sister Juan sighed deeply: "Do you still have family? Or are you all alone?"
When Shanran decided to switch with Sui Sui, she inquired about Sui Sui's situation.
“I have two older sisters and a younger brother. My parents are still alive.”
"Oh, you have quite a lot of family. My husband is dead, and I only have my daughter. She doesn't have any superpowers, so I live with her at the 4th District base."
Shanran recalled what Sui Sui had said back then.
“I originally had four older sisters, and I am the youngest daughter. If it weren’t for my superpowers, I would have been the first to die after the apocalypse.”
"Why?"
"Because they would be exchanged for food, the initial period was the most chaotic. The food stored at home was gone, and the outside was a mess. My parents only doted on my younger brother, and the daughters were pushed out one by one to exchange for things."
I have superpowers, which are very useful. My fourth and third sisters don't have superpowers, so they were pushed out. Later, I found a base and brought my family in. I told them not to sell my sisters anymore, and that I would earn food myself. That's how I saved my sisters.
"Are you the only one in your family with superpowers?"
"No, my younger brother has one too, but he's still young, and my parents won't let him go out to work because they're afraid he'll get into danger."
"Still young? How old are you?"
"15 years old."
"...15 years old? I thought it was 5 years old."
After listening, Sister Juan asked similar questions to Shan Ran.
She spat and couldn't help but curse Sui Sui's parents: "They're really despicable! They'd even sell their daughter! My daughter is 10 years old, she doesn't have any superpowers, I cherish her like a treasure, and I'd fight anyone who dares to touch her!"
"I went out and disappeared. Nothing else happened, but I'm worried about my two older sisters."
Sister Juan thought for a moment, then said, "Sui Sui, after we get out, bring your two older sisters with you. We'll live together. Our special abilities are enough to protect the three precious girls."
Shanran didn't answer; she couldn't make the decision for Sui Sui. She said all this simply to fit Sui Sui's persona and avoid alerting the people monitoring the situation.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Sister Juan thought she was reluctant to leave her parents, so she advised her: "Your parents don't care about you at all. They just treat you as a tool. If you don't escape with your sister, they will drain you dry sooner or later."
If you don't want to come to Sister Juan's base, let's go to the safe zone together, the safe zone in Zone 1, have you heard of it?
I've not only heard of it, but I'm very familiar with it.
Shanran nodded silently.
"Actually, my base isn't doing too well either. The power struggles among the lower-level leaders are too severe. They're always fighting each other, wasting time and energy. I just want to live a peaceful life and have no desire to get involved in any of that fighting."
I've heard the safe zone is pretty good, with transparent and humane regulations. Even people without special abilities can live there peacefully. I'm just worried about my daughter, worried she'll be discriminated against or bullied. Anyway, this base isn't very good right now. If you're interested, let's move together. That way we can look out for each other on the way. These days, long journeys are really unsafe."
Shanran looked up and glanced at Sister Juan, seeing the expectation and longing on her face.
Isn't this the significance of District Chief Lu establishing the safe zone?
Shan Ran smiled and said, "Yes, I'll discuss it with my sister after we get out."
When Shanran went to sleep at night, she lay on her side facing the wall, closed her eyes, and breathed evenly.
She looks like she's asleep.
But at this moment, she was observing the situation in various parts of the laboratory in her mind.
She hacked into the security cameras here.
The laboratory is equipped with a very high level of anti-surveillance system, but it is all designed to prevent outsiders from entering, not to prevent insiders from entering.
All the people captured underwent thorough investigation, and they would never have suspected that one of them was a replacement and also possessed digital information abilities.
However, Shan Ran can only hack into one camera at a time at the moment, so she started with the camera closest to the outside of the room.
This camera is installed at the end of the corridor, which overlooks the entire corridor. Any unusual activity at the door of any room can be detected from the back office.
Shan Ran didn't linger long. After memorizing the location and angle of the surveillance camera, she moved on to the next camera.
They quickly got a clear understanding of the overall situation of the laboratory.
She is currently inside a mountain, where a laboratory has been built by hollowing out the interior of the mountain.
The laboratory has seven floors in total. The top two floors are used for experimental subjects, the third, fourth and fifth floors are the laboratories, and the second floor has staff offices, meeting rooms, material storage rooms, etc.
The first floor houses the staff's living quarters and an armory.
When her gaze fell upon the laboratory, she witnessed a disgusting scene.
One of the rooms has been set up as an operating room, where a brain transplant is being performed.
Two people were lying on the two hospital beds, one of whom had his head opened and was now empty.
The person on the other bed next to them had their head opened, and their brain was still inside.
The bloody brain that had been removed was right next to it, and someone took a piece of tissue from it, seemingly preparing to transplant it into another person's brain.
However, before Shanran could watch the whole process, she felt a sharp pain in her head.
She knew this was a warning that her digital information abilities were about to run out, so she cut off the surveillance and stopped spying.
She never imagined that the experiment Assistant Hao described would be so bloody and primitive.
The person whose head had been opened lay alone on the bed, pale and lifeless, with even the oxygen mask removed, not wanting to waste it.
His death was sealed the moment he lay down on the hospital bed.
No, it was already destined when he was chosen to be sent to the Second Continent.
The person whose head was opened must be a superhuman, while the person lying on the other bed must be an ordinary person, so there must be quite a few ordinary people being held in this laboratory.
Shanran didn't think for long. She was exhausted these past few days, and with the mental strain, she quickly fell asleep.
Then... I saw Yu Yuan? ??
Shan Ran's resistance to illusions is getting stronger and stronger. She was only in a daze for a moment before she realized that she was dreaming.
However, Yu Yuan's outfit in the dream was several times more extravagant than in the previous dream.
He wore a well-tailored suit made of luxurious and special fabric that reflected beautiful textures under the light. His shirt still had a deep V-neck, but it was lower than the neckline he usually wore, directly showing off his abs.
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the abs I see now seem more defined than they appear in real life, and the pectoral muscles are also bigger and pinker.
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Author's Note: Thank you to the lovely reader for the nutrient solution: 75248835
Thank you for your support! [starry eyes][starry eyes][starry eyes]
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