"Someone stole the serum?! How could that happen? We never even announced that it existed."
Dilos's voice rose despite himself. Losing the serum was no small matter. Though Dr. Connors's serum wasn't as potent as the spider serum Dilos had been developing, injecting it into someone would still transform an ordinary person into a superhuman with an exceptionally powerful physique.
But that wasn't the most important issue.
"Were the research records stolen?" Dilos asked anxiously. The research was what mattered most. If it had been stolen, they'd be in trouble. Whoever had taken it—be it an individual or an organization—would only need to study the records a little to mass-produce the serum. If that happened, the whole world would descend into chaos.
"No, they weren't stolen. Thank goodness for your earlier warning." Dr. Connors sounded relieved over the phone. "Remember? You warned me before, so after every experiment, I made sure no electronic device retained any records. And if it did, I destroyed its internal storage. I even used strong acid to completely destroy the research cameras. I haven't used any cameras for my experiments lately. All my research is in my head."
Hearing that, Dilos let out a breath of relief. He'd just remembered that he'd warned Dr. Connors to protect his research. Given what had happened to Richard Parker, he'd told Dr. Connors not to store the research on electronic devices.
Dilos hadn't expected Dr. Connors to take the warning quite so far. But it made sense. Plenty of people coveted his research. Dr. Connors hadn't been bothered by them, since he hadn't managed to develop the serum for years, but that didn't mean no one was keeping an eye on him.
Kingpin, for example.
After a moment, Dilos calmed down and replied, "Please wait there. I'll be at the lab soon."
With that, Dilos hung up and headed straight for the room where he'd put the second-generation Mutant Spiders.
"Sigh..." Dilos gently sighed, carefully took out a brazier, and lit a fire. Then, as he opened the containers, he used telepathy on the Mutant Spiders still inside, controlling them as they jumped into the brazier and slowly turned to ash.
That was right. After the break-in at Dr. Connors's lab, Dilos had decided to kill all the second-generation spiders.
Others might not suspect that he had completed serum in his possession, but who could say for sure? Those bastards only needed to grow suspicious, and they could break into his home while he was away and search it. If they stole the Mutant Spiders to study them, even if they learned nothing from them, it would still cause him a great deal of trouble.
If they couldn't figure anything out, they'd definitely come after Dilos. And if they couldn't get to him, they'd target Chloe and Gabe.
Dilos was still too weak. He didn't have the power or influence to protect these things.
"Hm?"
As he used telepathy to control the spiders, Dilos suddenly sensed something else. Perhaps the serum's effects had changed him. His familiar telepathy felt different now. He could tell it had grown stronger; controlling hundreds of second-generation Mutant Spiders took almost no effort.
Dilos could feel his mental strength had increased considerably. He'd never felt his thoughts so clear. Instinctively, he sensed that he could do more than control others with telepathy. For example...
Dilos's enormous mental power enveloped the mental lights representing the spiders, then crushed them with a sudden burst of force.
The remaining one or two hundred spiders that he hadn't yet thrown into the brazier shuddered all at once. Then, as if they'd planned it together, they collapsed to the floor almost simultaneously and gradually stopped breathing.
"So erasing their minds like that also destroys their brains..." Dilos thought. He sensed that his mind didn't feel tired at all and nodded. "And using this ability doesn't seem to put much strain on me. Maybe that's because they're so small. I'll have to find some humans stupid enough to ask for it and try it out someday..."
As he said these chilling words, he tossed the spiders into the brazier. Once they'd burned completely to ash, he poured the remains into the toilet and flushed them down the drain.
Afterward, Dilos washed the test tubes and syringes he'd used in the sink. Once he'd taken care of everything that might reveal the secret of the serum, he changed into his clothes and shoes as quietly and carefully as he could, then took a cab to Dr. Connors's lab.
When he arrived, Dilos realized the situation was nowhere near as simple as Dr. Connors had made it sound.
A gaping hole, reeking of smoke and explosives, had been blasted through the lab's alloy entrance. The thick metal door had been left horribly mangled by the explosion. Looking farther inside, Dilos saw that several pieces of research equipment had been smashed.
Firefighters and forensic experts were inside, checking for any other dangerous explosives.
The entire lab had been cordoned off. Several police officers were keeping order and stopping any overly curious onlookers from crossing the barriers to take pictures.
Dr. Connors sat beside the ambulance, looking dejected as he gave his statement to two police officers. Dilos headed over, but before he could get close, several officers stopped him.
"Sorry, sir. You can't go over there."
"I'm Dr. Connors's intern. Here's my proof of internship." Dilos pointed to Dr. Connors and showed them his credentials. Just then, Dr. Connors finished giving his statement and saw Dilos showing his credentials to the police. He hurried over to explain the situation to the officers, then led Dilos to the ambulance.
"Are you hurt?"
Seeing Dr. Connors's haggard expression, Dilos couldn't help asking with concern.
"I'm fine. They acted while I was away from the lab. I think they destroyed the equipment because there were no records on it. They were probably trying to get back at me. It's all right, though. I can start over. I'm just sorry. You put so much into this, and now this has happened." Dr. Connors tried to reassure himself, but by the time he finished, guilt and dejection had made him look years older.
Dilos looked at him with sympathy and patted his shoulder. "The important thing is that you're safe. As long as you're all right, we can start again. The most important research is already in your head. Don't worry about the money. I have quite a bit myself, so I should be able to help rebuild a lab. If that's not enough, I can persuade Lex to help."
Dr. Connors said nothing. He just shook his head vaguely, declining the offer.
Seeing that, Dilos decided not to press the matter and changed the subject. "How many vials of serum were stolen?"
"Three." Dr. Connors hesitated before answering after a long while. His voice was full of bitterness.
"The lab mice from the earlier experiments underwent some pretty terrifying mutations and became extremely bloodthirsty. The experiment couldn't be considered a success. So lately, I've been adding some other radioactive isotopes, hoping to reduce their aggression and physical changes. I still don't know how well it's working."
"I see."
Dr. Connors's words left Dilos deep in thought. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said, "Dr. Connors, why don't you stay at my rental place for now? There's something I need to discuss with you."
Whoever they were, those people wouldn't be satisfied with just the three vials of serum. The vials might let them make a few super-soldiers at most. But with Dr. Connors, who knew how to make the serum, they could mass-produce super-soldiers!
Dr. Connors would undoubtedly be their next target!
PS: I want to say something to all my readers about this story's setting. I came up with it long ago, so I'm aware of the plot holes you've noticed. But don't worry; I won't leave those problems unresolved. I'll naturally address them in the chapters to come.
I just ask that you be patient and keep reading. Please don't assume I'm careless with my writing or that the setting is wrong, then post inappropriate comments in the reviews saying I've gotten this or that wrong.
Comments like those can easily mislead readers who haven't read the story, and today I lost a lot of followers because of them. Honestly, it's pretty discouraging.
Before you continue