Good Seedling

"The meat grinder is activated, and the iron hooks suspended from the ceiling will gradually feed the pigs hanging on them into the grinder for crushing. Is there a way to get the iron hooks on the ceiling to snag the Butcher? Jiang Tian can do this. From the ventilation shaft above, Jiang Tian can lower an iron hook, and I'll lure the Butcher into a position to be snagged by it."

"But..."

The memory of the Butcher's pursuit, the cold, deadly sensation of a blade sinking into his back after it hit him, made Yu Jing tremble uncontrollably. He reached out and touched the spot on his back that still ached faintly.

"This is the only chance to survive! If I don't seize it, it's a dead end."

Yu Jing gave himself no other options and immediately pressed the switch button with his finger.

"Rumble!"

The sound of the large meat grinder starting up echoed, and at the same time, the white pigs suspended from the ceiling by iron hooks began to be slowly transported into the meat grinder via the conveyor belt, turning into minced meat and bone fragments.

Because of the loud noise, the Butcher stopped paying attention to Jiang Tian above and strode towards the meat grinder to check the situation. Yu Jing took this opportunity to come under the ventilation shaft and explain the final plan to Jiang Tian.

"Jiang Tian! Lower the iron hook next to you a bit. I'll find a way to lure the Butcher over. Then, we'll try to hook him with the iron hook. The meat grinder is the only way to kill this guy."

Yu Jing stood on the other side of the room, speaking to Jiang Tian above, controlling his voice appropriately. However, the Butcher still detected him. At this point, Yu Jing had no intention of hiding; he had already prepared himself to face death.

"Come on!"

Just as Yu Jing looked directly at the Butcher this time, he noticed something different from their previous encounter in the corridor.

The Butcher held the cleaver in his right hand, and in his left hand, where there was nothing before, he held a special item Yu Jing had chosen upon entering this place—a "bloodstained hand axe."

The Butcher's overall demeanor felt more frenzied, and his aura was more dangerous than last time.

"Could it be a power-up from the item? Jiang Tian's blood crystal ring allows 'dangerous objects' to locate their position, and if my hand axe is held by the Butcher now, will it cause a fundamental change?"

Yu Jing's intuition proved correct. The Butcher tore open his leather apron, revealing a conspicuous stitched line running straight down from his neck.

The thick thread used for the stitching snapped one by one, and the Butcher's abdomen split open. Inside, a large number of human hands emerged, exceeding normal human comprehension.

"What kind of monster is this!"

Having prepared himself to face death, Yu Jing suppressed his fear and waited for the Butcher to stride towards him.

"Jiang Tian, lower the hook!"

Just as the Butcher was about to reach him, Yu Jing suddenly leaped backward. As expected, the Butcher accelerated towards him upon seeing his prey escape, and the timing of the iron hook being lowered from above was perfect.

The charging Butcher was snagged by the iron hook from its jaw into its entire brain. The effect was even better than expected. For an ordinary human, this blow would have been fatal.

"The iron hook went straight through its brain. Is it dead?"

After a mere second of stopping, the Butcher swung its cleaver, severing the iron hook, and then forcibly pulled the hook out with its other hand, continuing to attack the Yu Jing in front of it.

Desperate!

The perspective switched to the research institute's monitoring room.

The testing areas for the seven test subjects were, as Yu Jing had predicted, tens of kilometers away from the research institute.

After the seven individuals had dinner at the institute and fell into a deep sleep, they were immediately transported by a vehicle to a secret underground testing base in the suburbs for completely covert testing.

Furthermore, there was a hidden rule for this test involving seven individuals: only those who scored 90 points or above could survive.

Even if everyone passed the test and eliminated the 'dangerous objects,' survival would ultimately be determined by ranking and overall comprehensive evaluation. Those who did not achieve a total score of 90 points or more would be eliminated.

The situation here was also as Yu Jing had considered. The research institute had the authority to directly retrieve the archival data of these test subjects from B-level and C-level districts and counties, arbitrarily write their causes of death, and have the government provide a certain amount of compensation to the families of the deceased to settle the matter.

The first person, the fat man, had died. Currently, only six research teams were monitoring and evaluating the test subjects in different areas: psychological state, problem-solving methods, and means of confronting 'dangerous objects,' all assessed and recorded on a percentage basis.

In the current feed from the first research team, the middle-aged woman who had chosen the "Shattered Mirror" was in a gloomy villa. Standing before a mirror with her clothes, she used a fruit knife to cut off her own skin and paste it onto the mirror, piecing together her own likeness. Soon, she died from excessive bleeding.

"Test Subject Pro-034 deceased. Observation terminated. Data cleared."

In the feed from another research team, they were observing the white-collar man who had previously shown interest in Yu Xiaoxiao's chosen item but was stopped by Yu Jing. His chosen special item was the "glass container with eyeballs."

In the feed, this man was placed in a small, enclosed room. A "dangerous object," a creature covered in eyes, was roaming the room. However, the man seemed unable to see this strange creature with his naked eye, and the dangerous object did not launch any physical attacks.

Whether due to mental pressure or some hidden manipulation, the white-collar man continuously inserted the eyeballs from the "glass container with eyeballs" into his own eye sockets during the test.

The third monitoring feed corresponded to the righteous construction worker uncle, who had chosen "a lock of black hair" and was transferred to a gloomy wooden house.

In the feed, the uncle's once robust body was covered in bloodstains from fine cuts. He held a samurai sword that had appeared from nowhere, and was currently controlling his breathing, slowly approaching a room on the second floor of the villa.

In the dim light, in a corner of the room, a woman in a white kimono sat upright facing a mirror. In the mirror, her black hair completely obscured her face.

The black-haired woman was meticulously combing her hair. If observed closely, a small bald patch could be seen on the top of her head. The "lock of black hair" in the construction worker uncle's hand seemed to correspond exactly to this. The overall scene was incredibly eerie and chilling.

In the remaining two monitoring feeds, Yu Jing and Jiang Tian's cooperation overlapped. Yu Jing's score was slightly higher than the previous three individuals. His calm analysis, the willpower to pull the iron hook from his body, and his current courage in facing death were all bonus points.

However, if Yu Jing ultimately did not survive, all of this would be cleared.

Most astonishing was the monitoring feed being observed by the last research team.

The corresponding researcher was Yu Xiaoxiao, who rarely spoke. Her chosen special item was the "purple carnivorous plant." Currently, the numerical scores held by the researcher were all perfect 100, except for 'Problem Analysis,' which was 60.

In the feed, Yu Xiaoxiao was in a vast greenhouse garden. At the top of a large purple plant in the center of the garden, at the blooming petals, a seductive woman, integrated with the plant from her lower body, was controlling all the plants in the garden to attack Yu Xiaoxiao.

The seemingly delicate girl displayed a non-human side during the test.

Any plant that approached within two meters of Yu Xiaoxiao's body was instantly cut into thin strips. At this moment, Yu Xiaoxiao, with her agile movements, had bypassed layers of plant defenses and was nearing the center.

Even the 'dangerous object' above felt a chill from the killing intent released in Yu Xiaoxiao's eyes.

This was the overall situation of the test, except that this particular test was affected by a major event that occurred in the desert.

The impact on the walls around the test area earlier had alerted everyone in the monitoring and dispatch room. The impact occurred outside the area where Yu Jing and Jiang Tian were testing, and the pressure sensors registered it very clearly.

"Supervisor, Test Zone Six has registered significant external pressure. A single impact caused over 30% damage. We've detected the plant entities attempting to invade the test area. They are simply trying to absorb the organisms within the test zone to replenish their own energy. We recommend temporarily halting the test project and cooperating with the government to eliminate the escaped plant entities."

A security project staff member was reporting the situation to the supervisor of the Research Institute.

Initially, this supervisor had high hopes for Yu Jing, and his current test reports were also quite impressive. The establishment of this test had cost the Research Institute over a billion in funds, so they couldn't simply give up like this.

"There's no need for such trouble. I'll go eliminate the small portion that scattered and escaped. The test will continue."

The supervisor rose from his seat, his gaze fixed on Yu Jing's monitoring feed. He was quite satisfied with the way the two had cooperated to damage the Butcher's head. If the Butcher hadn't obtained the 'bloodstained hand axe,' a special item, he might have died from the severe injury. However, the rampaging, mutated Butcher was no longer limited by ordinary life.

"If he can survive this, he will definitely be a good seedling."