Chapter 6
Time ticked by, and in the seventh monitoring room of the Institute of Supernatural Abilities' information center, Wang Linlin, wearing headphones, stared nervously at the electronic screen.
"No abnormalities have occurred with unit 12081591. Captain Tang, please refrain from action for now!"
"No abnormalities have occurred with unit 12081591. Captain Tang, please refrain from action for now!"
"No abnormalities have occurred with unit 12081591. Captain Tang, please refrain from action for now!"
Today marks the thirtieth day since Chen Nan contracted the virus. In principle, today is the day she is supposed to undergo a mutation or transformation. All the bodily data on the chip at the back of her neck also shows that all the data in her body is in a state of turmoil and agitation today.
Based on the footage from all the cameras in the house, the data is indeed correct; today is indeed the day when the mutated genes in her body have completely overcome the body's own immune cells.
If she can regain her human form today, then God must have given her some special gift.
But if she lies in bed and never wakes up again, or if she wakes up but can no longer regain her human form, or even if she briefly regains her human form but quickly reverts to her cockroach larva form with her physical attributes completely unrecoverable, then it means she is no longer human and cannot become human again. In that case, their priority is to kill her completely as soon as possible.
Wang Linlin, who had been working here for a full month, was now completely familiar with the work processes. Knowing that this was Chen Nan's most crucial moment, she looked at the supernatural police officer sitting outside her bedroom, and at Chen Nan inside, who, though unconscious, was undergoing constant changes in her body. Fearing a misjudgment, and worried that the police outside might act rashly, she checked on her every three minutes.
She was responsible for caring for a full hundred infected individuals. Some had just entered the facility that day and were crying; others were in the late stages of infection and were frantically banging on the door; still others had been there for several days and, feeling no change in their bodies, were shouting for a real person. There were even those who couldn't bear it, clutching something in their hands, seemingly about to commit suicide. There was also one who had been sitting peacefully in the room all day, and in the blink of an eye, suddenly transformed into a terrifying cockroach larva. After the transformation was complete, it rushed to the door and began banging on the tightly closed door, as if it wanted to get out immediately—a typical manifestation of cockroach transformation.
Wang Linlin focused her attention on the infected person who seemed to be suicidal, and played a special encouraging video recorded by her family for her. After comforting the infected person, her eyes remained fixed on Chen Nan, who was still lying down, and Guo Jiao, who had turned into a cockroach larva.
"No abnormality has occurred with unit 12081591. Please do not take any action!"
"No abnormality has occurred with number 12081560. Please do not take any action!"
Wang Linlin ignored the others who were yelling, crying, or making demands. With a reminder from her teacher, she focused solely on Chen Nan and Guo Jiao.
At first, she reminded them every five minutes, then every three minutes, and later almost every minute.
After she reminded him about ten times, the superpowered police officer on Guo Jiao's side stood up from the chair outside and carefully straightened his special superpowered police uniform and hat.
After carefully adjusting the state-issued clothes and hat, the young superpowered policeman began to slowly prepare his pistol.
He stood at the door, slowly checking the bullets inside, then slowly released the safety, and then slowly raised the pistol.
As he did this, the iron door in front of him rattled loudly as the cockroach larvae inside rammed against it. The girl in the room, who had been able to curse and cry in human language for the past half hour, was now only making terrifying hissing noises; she hadn't uttered any normal human sounds for over ten minutes.
Seeing the superpowered police officer's actions, Wang Linlin looked down and opened Guo Jiao's body data, taking another careful look. The data transmitted by the chip showed that all the important human data had been changed, even the human DNA data.
"12081560 has been cockroach-like for fifteen minutes. Its body data has frozen and has not changed. The system recommends immediate strangulation!"
Just as she was in a daze, the operating machine in front of her issued a strangulation warning.
"12081560 Confirmed—"
Her voice was synchronized with the supernatural police officers under her command. Upon hearing the system's voice notification, the police officer standing at the door of 12081560 changed his expression.
He quickly and thoroughly prepared the equipment, and by the time Wang Linlin, the clerical staff member, finally spoke up to confirm, he had already asked the supernatural police officer who was there for an internship to enter the door access code.
With a ding, the trainee police officer in protective gear had already run far away. As soon as the door opened, the dark, grotesque thing inside rushed out, brandishing its insect-like tentacles in an extremely terrifying manner.
But as she rushed out, the superpowered police officer at the door had already pulled the trigger without hesitation.
After three loud bangs, the terrifying thing that had been baring its fangs and claws was now lying motionless at the doorway, its eyes wide open.
The sudden gunshot silenced the entire facility. At least in their building, the infected who had been throwing tantrums about the conditions and demanding to see the real people suddenly quieted down.
"Waaah, I want to go home, let me go back."
About ten seconds later, someone started crying loudly in their room.
By then, the superhuman police officer who had fired the shot had already left. Meanwhile, the trainee police officers and some medical students who had been hiding far away rushed over, wearing protective suits and carrying disinfection guns.
Two people worked together to quickly place the items that had fallen to the ground into specially made body bags. Then, someone took a special bag and, leaving nothing behind, threw everything in the room into the large plastic bag.
When someone threw a family photo that the girl had on her bedside table, he paused for a moment. But after someone patted him on the back through his protective suit, he didn't dare to delay any longer and immediately put all the things into a black garbage bag with a heavy heart.
"Keep her suicide note, cell phone, and ID card; throw everything else into the incinerator."
A person who looked like a junior leader, wearing heavy protective clothing, gave a reminder, and everyone immediately nodded in agreement.
After finishing his tasks, Xie Minghang went back to take a shower, filled out his work log for the day, and then silently went to the second-floor restaurant where they often ate. He then noticed something slightly unusual about the restaurant that day.
Tang Ke, who usually eats alone, was surrounded by people today.
Secondly, the usually quiet cafeteria felt unusually lively at this time.
Finally, he noticed that there were significantly more superpowered police officers returning for dinner at this time than usual.
"What happened?" Xie Minghang picked up a plate and asked his colleague who was walking over while getting his food.
His colleague instinctively bowed to him, then happily approached with his tray: "A converter appeared on the 27th floor today. Tang is in charge of that person. This is his first converter this year."
Feng Gang was overjoyed, looking even happier than if he had encountered a superhuman himself.
Do you know what kind of superpower it is?
Actually, Xie Minghang had already roughly guessed this outcome from the moment he noticed the unusual behavior in the cafeteria. Now that he had confirmed the truth, Xie Minghang, who had just carried out a killing operation that morning, subconsciously smiled, but then couldn't help feeling sad and envious. He, too, hadn't received any superhumans for four consecutive months. In those four months, every infected person he had taken in had mutated into a cockroach monster and died at his hands.
"We don't know what kind of superpower it is yet. That person completed the evolution in their sleep. Their body underwent a real change while their eyes were closed. All the bad things disappeared. Their DNA did change to some extent, but it's confirmed that they are human. All human cells and data have returned to normal. The information department observed her for half an hour, and she didn't undergo any further changes. Her physical condition remained very stable. After Captain Tang came back, he was a completely different person."
The Empire's overall conversion rate is really low, it seems to be a terrifying one in ten thousand. While they were talking, Feng Gang, who had been at the Institute of Superpowers for more than two years, also showed an envious expression.
"It's alright, you'll soon welcome your first Converter of the year."
It seems like everyone is having a tough time this year. We've been picking up and killing people for so long that it's hard for anyone to stay in a good mood.
Understanding the other person's situation, Xie Minghang offered a word of comfort.
"Thank you, Brother Xie!"
"Thank you, Captain!"
"Brother Xie, the infected person that Brother Li just brought over has been successfully converted."
Seeing them come over with their food, many of the supernatural police officers who had noticed them instinctively greeted them.
"I understand. Congratulations, Brother Tang!"
Xie Minghang, carrying a plate, sat down in the seat his colleague had given him, which was diagonally opposite Tang Ke's table.
Looking at Tang Ke inside, Xie Minghang, as the captain of the third team of the Superpower Institute, was the first to greet Tang Ke.
"Thanks, I was just lucky."
According to the tradition of the Superpower Institute, whoever takes over a person is responsible for them.
If the person they take in turns into a cockroach larva, they will need to kill them and deliver their belongings. However, if the person they take in successfully transforms later, they will become the first mentor of the new superhuman and will be responsible for teaching them.
During this period, their main job was no longer to go on missions to capture infected people outside, but to stay at the Institute of Superpowers and specifically teach students.
If the student chooses to go to another department later, or if the government arranges for them to go to another department, then this short-lived mentor-student relationship may have to end.
However, if their students choose to stay at the Institute of Superpowers and follow their masters, they may become true partners and collaborators.
These partners and collaborators are far more compatible than those temporarily put together. Therefore, throughout the entire facility, everyone is extremely happy whenever an infected person they've brought in successfully transforms.
So at this moment, looking at the aloof and withdrawn Tang Ke, he was unusually warm and cheerful.
"I heard that the new convert is a woman? Her name is Chen—"
After exchanging greetings, everyone started eating and chatting again.
When a team member asked curiously, Tang Ke took the initiative to say, "Her name is Chen Nan, and she is only 21 years old this year. Her parents are gone, and she only has an older brother who came from the Xiling Safety Zone."
"She came here from Xiling? Then her family must have been quite well-off, or her brother must have treated her very well."
"Yes, I heard that a plane ticket from Xiling to here costs 150,000 yuan."
"Yes, and this ticket can only be purchased by someone from here."
"This has been how it's been done all these years. Our safe zone is only so big. If someone wants to come over, the people here have to pay for their plane ticket and all the check-up fees for their return in advance. The accommodation for outsiders also needs to be arranged in advance by the people picking them up. It's not safe for planes to just pick up people randomly and then let them become unemployed and wander around on the plane."
"Yes, and most of the infected people who left Beijing were actually infected by these outsiders. Those who came by plane through normal channels have at least undergone proper checks and pose basically no threat to us. What we are afraid of are those who sneak in illegally. Almost all of our latest infections were brought by those people."
"But everyone wants to enter the safe zone, so it seems impossible to completely eliminate illegal immigration!"
"What do you mean it's impossible? It's just that the Grand Marshal is too soft-hearted. He always thinks we're all from the same empire and has never actually given us a direct order to kill them—"
"Cough cough—"
As everyone was eating and chatting, the conversation became more casual, and one of the young police officers with superpowers forgot his identity and suddenly mentioned Marshal Tang Xin of the Empire.
Everyone was startled and coughed immediately. The young man who had spoken looked a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, talking about other things.
"..."
In a great mood today, Tang Ke ignored her colleague's rashness, especially since the other party wasn't particularly rash.
Holding her chopsticks, Tang Ke ate large mouthfuls of beef from her plate. At this point, all Tang Ke could think about was the newly transformed Chen Nan.
"I'm finished eating, you guys continue!"
After quickly finishing her meal, Tang Ke immediately stood up with her tray.
"Okay, see you tonight, Captain Tang!"
"Okay, take care, Brother Tang."
Knowing that he was anxious to see the new superhuman who was still unconscious, everyone understood and looked up with smiles.
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