Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab
Hacking1
Fang Ping2
Holding Little Ancestor, Shen Maomao felt like she was holding a huge hack3.
Although hacking isn’t ethical, in a game like this… not using a hack when you have one means there’s something wrong with your brain!!
Because she’d promised Little Ancestor she would free his brothers and sisters, plus she herself was very curious about what was inside, she planned to go scrounge around for key cards today, and gather some intel while she was at it.
The now-invisible Shen Maomao was like a ghost wandering the mortal realm. She spotted the woman with the gold-rimmed glasses who had stuffed the silk scarf into her mouth that day. The woman was leading an assistant; the two were moving quickly. The assistant was constantly saying something, and Shen Maomao quickly moved closer to eavesdrop—
The woman said, “099 has completely lost consciousness. It can be directly destroyed.”
The assistant said, “This is the last experimental subject under 100. Including 099, all one hundred experimental subjects have failed. The first phase of the experiment has failed.”
“What about those under 200?”
“Under 200, there are still six: 143, 144, 165, 173, 190, and 198. 143 has had violent outbursts for two consecutive days and is also showing signs of losing control. Should it be destroyed?”
The woman uttered four words without hesitation: “Carry out the destruction.”
The only one rebelling for two straight days must be that little guy behind the door… A chill went through Shen Maomao’s heart. She couldn’t help but look at Little Ancestor in her arms, whose attention had been diverted by the guard’s gun.
He didn’t know yet that his brothers and sisters were about to be destroyed…
In this kind of environment, the experimental subjects were no longer considered independent individuals. They were forced into the experiment, and the moment a problem arose, their life or death could be decided so easily by others.
The assistant continued, “144 has been missing for three days. No surveillance has picked up any sign of him. It’s speculated that he must have awakened a related ability, able to blur perception by humans and machines…”
“Ignore him. Keep a close eye on 143. If manpower is insufficient, reinforce the five layers of defense. Absolutely do not let him break through to the fourth layer.”
Shen Maomao hugged #144 in her arms tighter.
The two stopped talking, swiped a card to pass through a door, and walked into a laboratory.
This door’s closing speed was far slower than the one connecting the cages and the lab. With a quick movement, Shen Maomao slipped in after them, holding the child.
After entering the lab, her eyes suddenly widened.
In a sealed, transparent laboratory, she saw Lou Jingmo! She also saw several other experimental subjects who hadn’t returned to their cages!
Combining this with what Lou Jingmo had said before about going to Lab B to scout things out—she had actually stumbled into Lab B just by wandering around?!
Lou Jingmo, sitting on a chair and spacing out, also saw her immediately.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise, apparently not expecting Shen Maomao to find her way here, but made no other reaction. After all, she was currently living under the surveillance of a crowd of white coats.
Besides the woman and her assistant who had just entered, there were many researchers milling around the glass room inside Lab B. They were constantly recording data, analyzing who knows what.
The woman asked, “How are the Lab B subjects today?”
Someone answered, “Compared to the initial state, Number One’s mood has clearly become more irritable. Number Two has also fallen into an agitated state. Number Three tried to leave the lab for the third time. Numbers Four and Five have both become uneasy. Number Six just arrived today, no particular reaction.”
The woman issued orders methodically: “Continue the experiment. Increase the gas infusion speed. Pay attention to protecting the vital safety of the other experimental subjects. If any situation of mutation occurs, immediately shoot to kill the problematic subject.”
Mutation situation?
Shen Maomao secretly glanced at the notebook in her hand, but found the handwriting on it too flowing; she couldn’t make out the numbers at all.
So she held Little Ancestor up in front of her again for a look, thinking, could these extra eyes be the mutation?
Little Ancestor thought she was playing with him, smiling and reaching out, kicking his legs, trying to grab her face. His little mouth was almost squeezed out of place by his eyes; it really did look quite bizarre.
Shen Maomao sighed and tucked him back into her arms.
Although “those not of our kind are sure to have different hearts”4, wasn’t the reason Little Ancestor became like this because of their experiments? Compared to the monster and the people who created the monster, which is truly more terrifying?
Shen Maomao glared hatefully at her, then started wandering around again looking for a card.
The white coats were performing some operations on the machines. Inside the transparent glass room, a man was frantically pounding on the glass, his mouth wide open, saying something rapidly, but the people outside couldn’t hear any sound at all.
The woman asked, “What is he saying?”
The assistant replied, “It’s all just curses and abuse. Because it’s meaningless, we’ve blocked it out.”
The woman nodded: “Number One is nearing his limit. Keep a close watch.”
The nearby white coats all nodded.
She seemed to be among the higher-status individuals in the experimental base. Shen Maomao moved closer to glance at her name badge. It had her ID photo5 on it, with the two large characters “Fang Ping” written beside it.
Fang Ping seemed to just be making rounds. She exchanged words with the people around her, recorded a few sets of data, then put away her notebook and prepared to leave. Shen Maomao, still looking around everywhere, quickly waved at Lou Jingmo and followed behind them, slipping out the door with them.
Lou Jingmo retracted her gaze and lowered her head in silence.
Shen Maomao wasn’t actually too worried about Lou Jingmo.
Although she still didn’t know what Lab B was researching, Number One seemed to have been there for several days and was still alive and well, so letting her stay inside for another couple of days probably wouldn’t be a problem.
Shen Maomao carried Little Ancestor, following behind Fang Ping like a little tag-along6.
The two hadn’t walked for long before they started talking again, as expected. Fang Ping spoke first: “How is the manufacturing of the new Sexual Orientation Observation Machine coming along?”
The assistant answered: “It’s still under research. The situations with 287 and 289 are too unique; the machine actually hasn’t shown errors on other experimental subjects…”
Shen Maomao, suddenly being mentioned, immediately perked up her ears.
Fang Ping interrupted the assistant: “Experimental data must include all special cases.”
The assistant lowered his head: “I understand.”
Fang Ping spoke again: “287 came to Lab B today. What about 289?”
The assistant took out the file folder tucked under his arm, pulled out a tablet from inside, and said: “Let me check.”
Shen Maomao: “!” This is bad!
This morning when she wanted to go to the restroom, she hadn’t been holding the child! If they checked the surveillance, they would definitely see her appearing out of thin air in Lou Jingmo’s room, then Lou Jingmo disappearing, and her coming out alone.
Looking at it this way, there was no escaping the fact that 144 was with her.
Being suspected wasn’t the main issue; she could keep holding Little Ancestor. But Lou-jie was still locked up in the lab, in a very passive situation. If targeted, she’d likely find it very difficult to get away.
Thinking this, Shen Maomao’s expression turned cold.
When necessary, she had to do something to protect Lou Jingmo, and also to protect herself.
The two stopped to look at the tablet, completely unaware of the approaching danger. The screen on the tablet changed, showing a pile of folders named with numbers. The assistant swiped upwards, found the folder labeled 289, and tapped it open with a fingertip.
Shen Maomao stood tensely beside the two, Little Ancestor perched on her head. All four looked at the screen together.
The image was somewhat dim, but Shen Maomao still recognized the location shown as her room. The time was likely late at night after she and Little Ancestor had fallen asleep. With Little Ancestor present, there was naturally no one visible in the frame.
Fang Ping asked: “Where is she?”
“Looks like something happened to her… Let me check her personal record.” Saying this, the assistant opened another video, and said in surprise, “She’s actually still alive?” Shen Maomao abruptly looked up, wondering how this young assistant had reached that conclusion.
The video finished loading. Shen Maomao frowned as she looked at the image displayed on the tablet…
She saw herself standing in the corridor. She also saw the numbers displayed in the top left corner of the video—09:17:25. It looked like surveillance footage from yesterday morning.
The footage started playing, and only then did she realize this video wasn’t from a fixed corridor camera, but a tracking camera centered on her!!
Shen Maomao immediately looked around, but didn’t see anything resembling surveillance equipment.
Where was the camera hidden?? They even had personal tracking shots! This was just too creepy!
Little Ancestor looked at her in the video, then looked at the head beneath him, reaching out a hand in confusion: “Yaya?”
Shen Maomao covered her face, thinking Little Ancestor was mocking her.
Because the girl in the footage was skulking down the corridor, her actions vividly demonstrating what it means to have a guilty conscience7; she clearly didn’t look like a good person.
The progress bar moved forward bit by bit, soon reaching the scene where she slipped into the box. The camera remained outside, dutifully recording the entire conversation between the twin brothers. Then came her being discovered, pursued, and suddenly disappearing from the frame.
The assistant was stunned for a moment: “What happened?”
Fang Ping said: “Adjust the speed, keep playing.”
So the assistant sped up the video twenty times. The camera remained stationary, completely still. After an unknown amount of time, several waves of guards flashed past as mere blurs of color, then the view finally moved again, rushing rapidly in one direction, so fast that the scenery on both sides blurred into lines.
Without needing Fang Ping to say anything, the assistant consciously slowed down the speed, watching as the camera passed straight through walls and doors, transcending physical limitations to arrive at an empty location, where it stopped moving again.
Shen Maomao’s heart pounded wildly.
What on earth was this thing?! The location in the image was exactly where she and Little Ancestor had emerged!!
The footage continued to advance, but no figures ever appeared on the screen, nor was there the slightest sound.
The young assistant exclaimed in amazement: “Is this 144’s ability?”
Fang Ping nodded: “It seems she encountered 144. We just don’t know if she has mutated. Drag the progress bar straight to the end, see where she is now.”
Shen Maomao: “!!!”
However, the young assistant had already dragged the progress bar. The experimental base’s network was surprisingly good; it jumped directly to the last few minutes.
The video showed the backs of two people looking down intently at something. One man, one woman, both wearing white coats—figures they were all too familiar with.
A chill surged through his heart. The young assistant’s hand trembled, and the tablet fell heavily to the ground with a sharp crack.
LP: How are they tracking her while she’s invisible?!
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