Daughter

Chapter Thirty-One: Daughter

No one knew how much time had passed, but Hong Mo had nearly sunk into oblivion. Just when he thought he was about to die, he heard a soft call.

"Daddy."

A hallucination? Hong Mo thought there was something wrong with his hearing. But then, another soft voice came through.

"Big Sis, is that Daddy?" It seemed to be another child's voice.

Hong Mo spread out the psychic field he had not used in a long time. Beyond the glass room, two exquisitely adorable children appeared in his mind. Who were these little ones, and why were they calling him Daddy?

"Enough, it's time to go. You've seen your father. Go back and continue your experiments seriously." An old man beside them impatiently grabbed the two children.

"But what about Mommy? We haven't seen Mommy yet." The little girl called Big Sis struggled.

"Your mother died long ago," the old man replied.

"Mommy... is dead." The two little girls murmured in a daze.

"Yes, she died long ago. Your mother's name should have been Mu Siyu. She died eight years ago. All right, let's go." With that, he dragged the two children away. They did not resist.

Mu Siyu—their mother was Mu Siyu. The researcher's words stirred up monstrous waves in Hong Mo's heart. Their mother was Mu Siyu, and they called him Daddy. Didn't that mean...?

These two children could only be survivors of that cell fusion experiment. But hadn't three survived back then? Why were there only two? Hong Mo wondered, then instantly understood. One of them had probably died. In this research institute, the death of an experimental subject was simply too ordinary.

"My daughters." An indescribable emotion filled Hong Mo's heart. Did they count as my daughters? Those two little ones... were my daughters!

Hong Mo realized that he was crying. Why was he crying? Was it because even in this inhuman place, filled with despair, there could still be new life?

I have to live. Even if not for myself, then for my daughters. Their future should not be here.

Hong Mo screamed soundlessly in his heart!

His body had already become a Fleshball. So what if he had become a Fleshball? I still have electricity. I still have psychic abilities. I will definitely get out of here, taking my two adorable daughters with me.

Hong Mo drove the electrical current within his body and began familiarizing himself with this alien body.

The current flowed through his body, and Hong Mo's senses spread to every part of it, including the Fleshball that seemed like nothing more than dead weight. Every moment, every moment, the current coursed rapidly through his body. After Hong Mo practiced for three days, the institute finally noticed the abnormality in his body.

Several old men returned with interest. After a round of tests, however, they were disappointed. Hong Mo had not changed at all; he was merely generating electrical current on his own.

"What a disappointment. I thought there'd be some kind of change," one old man said regretfully.

"A wasted trip."

"Doesn't he like generating electricity? Hook him up to a circuit and let him serve as a generator. At least we can put waste to good use." The initially crazed old man offered another startling suggestion.

"A generator? That could work. Making use of waste isn't bad. The funding from above has been a little tight lately, so we should save where we can."

Worthy of being the leading old men of the research institute, they installed a circuit around Hong Mo's Fleshball within a single day. As long as Hong Mo generated electricity, it could be absorbed into the device.

"You like generating electricity, so generate away. Don't worry about energy. There's plenty of food. We've installed a new testing device—so long as your stomach isn't full, it will automatically pump liquid food into you." The crazed old man spoke to Hong Mo's Fleshball, not caring whether Hong Mo was willing or not.

Generating electricity, huh? Fine. He was only getting familiar with his ability anyway. As long as he still had some use, they would not destroy him so easily.

Hong Mo knew that this research institute did not keep experimental subjects for nothing. Once they were deemed utterly useless, they would be destroyed. Truly destroyed, without even a trace left behind. This was the real death Mao Shaohui had spoken of.

Hong Mo did not want to die like this. It did not matter if he had become a Fleshball or if he was no longer human. He had to live. As long as he lived, there was hope. Once dead, there was nothing left. Just wait, you beasts, you bastards. Let's see who gets the last laugh. At that moment, a ruthless determination rose in Hong Mo's heart—a determination to fight to the end, one fierce enough to punch a hole through the heavens.

Food entered his body, was converted, supplied his body, then converted again into electrical current. Hong Mo's body transformed this energy in some unknown manner, uninterrupted every second of every minute. The massive current was stored in a large battery through the circuit, then converted into a steady current that supplied the entire institute's needs.

At first, the current Hong Mo supplied was not much. But after he had familiarized himself with it over a long period, the electricity Hong Mo provided actually supported most of the institute's power supply.

What the institute did not know was that Hong Mo only supplied electricity to it after his body could no longer store any more. As for how much electricity was inside Hong Mo's body, perhaps no one truly knew.

"Daddy, Little Sis is going to die." A little girl around five years old came to Hong Mo again. She spoke to the enormous Fleshball inside the glass room.

Hong Mo's heart jolted. He sighed inwardly as a trace of sorrow flashed through him. Hong Mo released his psychic field and gently comforted the grieving little girl.

Perhaps I should do something?

This research institute had been stable for too long. Perhaps it needed some stimulation before change could happen. Only with change would Hong Mo have an opportunity.

Hong Mo sensed the abundant current within his body and silently pondered.

Before Hong Mo could make a move, a group of old men arrived outside the glass room again. Hong Mo recognized them. They were among the institute's top experts—real experts. Most of Hong Mo's experiments had been conducted by them. They appeared very excited now.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Let's see how effective the Azure Thunderbird serum is." It was still that crazed old man, loudly making a fuss.

Azure Thunderbird?

"Don't rush. The Azure Thunderbird is the most powerful lightning-wielding bird discovered so far. I need to prepare protective measures first." A white-haired old man beside him soothed his old companion.

Sure enough, they prepared protective measures. The glass room was reinforced, with even more things added that Hong Mo did not understand. One thing was certain: escaping had become even more difficult.

After the glass room was reinforced, a mechanical arm slowly injected a tube of dark red medicine into Hong Mo's body.

Hunger, fear, and pleasure!

After the dark red medicine entered Hong Mo's body, these strange sensations spread from the injection site. Starting from where it had been injected, Hong Mo's body began to collapse rapidly.

"It's collapsing, it's collapsing! Just like the other psychics' reactions." The old men closely monitored the changes in Hong Mo's body.

"It's begun. Just as we thought, the Azure Thunderbird serum is too overbearing. Neither ordinary humans nor psychics can endure it. Once invaded, the flesh can only collapse."

"No, look carefully. His body is recovering. This is regeneration—his regenerative ability has taken effect." A white-haired old man stared at Hong Mo with his eyes shining.

His body collapsed, regenerated, collapsed, and regenerated, trapped in an endless cycle. Hong Mo desperately wanted to pass out, but some strange power kept him from losing consciousness. The intense agony made his entire Fleshball convulse.

The changes in his body lasted for a week, leaving Hong Mo utterly weakened. If psychics did not possess strong mental fortitude, he probably would have died long ago. Even so, Hong Mo's consciousness had descended into chaos.

In the end, Hong Mo did not even know how he had passed out. Perhaps it was a creature's instinct for self-preservation, or perhaps...?

Inside a conference room, several researchers responsible for studying Hong Mo were discussing his condition.

"Strange. He fused with the Azure Thunderbird's serum, so why hasn't his ability changed at all? It shouldn't be like this." An old man stared at the data on the computer, his face full of confusion.

"It really shouldn't, but that is the reality. Perhaps the Azure Thunderbird's influence on the test subject is very gradual. We'll just have to spend more time observing the target's condition in the future. There's no helping it. After all, he is the first case to survive after fusing with the Azure Thunderbird's serum. We have no comparison subjects."

"Then let's leave it at that. I still need to devote some effort to the *body. I'll leave this place to you for now." After saying that, an old man with a cold expression left the conference room.

The discussion regarding Hong Mo came to an end. Meanwhile, Hong Mo remained silently inside the glass room.