Chapter 64: Her Boyfriend Could Slap a Flirt to Death (27)

The projection hall was thick with the scent of blood, and every soul from the town had gathered within its walls. With uncanny synchrony, they all fixed their eerie gazes and smiling faces upon one man. There was nothing more unsettling for a human than this.

Jiang Xun tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if struggling to muster a calm smile, but he failed. His expression was rigid, his voice tense. “What are you talking about? Who is this Dr. Jiang? I don’t know the person you’re referring to.”

Among the crowd, Mr. Shu chuckled. “A person can change their voice, their appearance, but there is one thing that cannot be changed.”

Ah Dong, standing beside his grandmother, smiled and added, “We remember your scent, Dr. Jiang.”

Jiang Xun’s frozen face twitched. Before these creatures who had transcended the boundaries of humanity, his denial seemed nothing but foolish and laughable.

One hundred and thirty years ago, a bold theory was put forth at a scientific conference: humans are primates, yet in some abilities, they fall short compared to lesser animals. If the genes of both could be combined, taking the strengths of each, might a new kind of human emerge?

Of course, such a theory would require human experimentation to be proven.

Yet this idea defied ethical standards. The scientist who proposed it was warned by the academic world never to bring such thoughts into reality. Because of this, he became ostracized.

There was no doubt he was a genius researcher—many less talented than he were celebrated, yet he was sidelined simply for presenting a feasible concept. Naturally, he could not accept his fate.

Desperate to prove himself, he lacked the funds. Then he devised a clever plan. Using his own methods, he compiled a list of wealthy businessmen suffering from illnesses.

When faced with mortality, these businessmen cared little for ethics. If he promised them his research could create new humans with vastly superior constitutions, and that extracting their genes might cure many diseases, they would support him financially.

With this method, he gained funding. Money in hand, everything became easier.

To avoid detection by those who prided themselves on moral virtue, he sought out a remote mountain forest where the magnetic field was peculiar and strange phenomena frequently occurred. No one dared approach, making it perfect for his research.

He secretly recruited others who shared his vision and established a research base.

At first, their experiments did not go well.

Combining human embryos with animal genes often caused the embryo to cease development partway, and sometimes, even when an embryo formed, it would die before it could emerge from the artificial womb.

Repeated failures frustrated the investors—they had neither the patience nor the time to wait for embryo after embryo to mature.

Indeed, waiting for a fertilized egg to slowly develop was far too time-consuming.

So they turned their focus to newborn babies. If animal genes were directly merged with a baby’s body, their reactions could be observed immediately, opening new directions for the experiment.

Some, still clinging to a shred of conscience, could not accept experimenting on infants and wanted to withdraw. But once you entered the game, could you simply walk away?

Many people disappeared without explanation during those years, and soon no one mentioned leaving.

His idea proved correct. Though most children died during the experiments, a few survived.

Yet even those who lived underwent uncontrollable mutations. Some developed animal instincts, others suffered gene rejection and their bodies twisted into monstrous forms.

Specimen 078 was his most perfect creation.

His body hovered between human and animal, able to transform at will. Most astonishing was his physical prowess, far exceeding normal human standards. His destructive power, memory, and resistance to injury surpassed all expectations.

He once tested 078 by infecting him with viruses deadly to humans. To his amazement, after enduring fever and pain, 078 survived.

In this process, he discovered something even greater.

The blood of the specimen could also strengthen human genetic makeup and slow aging.

This revelation sent him into a frenzy of joy, yet he kept it secret. Time and again, he drew the specimens’ blood in secret, already envisioning the chaos that would ensue when his results were published and everyone scrambled to buy what he had.

His discovery was a milestone in human history; he would be the one to change the world.

One deep night, an alarm shattered his blissful dreams.

078 escaped from the laboratory, freeing all the other specimens. These genetically modified beings recovered rapidly even when hit by bullets, retaliating with terrifying force. Human defenses meant nothing before them.

Realizing the danger, he hurriedly snatched a few vials of blood and fled through a hidden passage, becoming the only one to escape.

Not long after his escape, a dense fog enveloped the mountain, and the research base vanished before his eyes.

Dr. Jiang, who escaped from here one hundred thirty years ago, returned again after all that time—not out of nostalgia.

Xue Yan’s eyes curved with a mocking smile. “You must have used up all the blood samples you took with you.”

Jiang Xun’s body trembled, his expression complex.

Xue Yan’s smile was vicious. “Let me guess. If you can’t find new samples, your body will rapidly age until you turn to dust, and when the wind blows, you’ll scatter like ashes.”

Jiang Xun couldn’t help but envision himself dissolving into powder, his body trembling uncontrollably, seized by fear.

Xue Yan squinted and smiled. Though he was smiling, the darkness in his eyes flickered dangerously, as if a wild beast playing with prey before its death—a blend of innocent mischief and instinctive murderous intent that somehow seemed not at all contradictory.

This was the first time Bai Yao realized Xue Yan could take on such a visage.

Just one glance was enough to sense the terror and madness lurking within him. She asked herself: if, at their first meeting, he had greeted her with this face, would she have had the courage to approach him?