At that moment, Meng Yuan felt a chill run down her spine, as if she could feel countless pairs of resentful eyes staring at her from behind.
A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Meng Yuan dared not turn her head to look at the glass room filled with corpses, and could only continue watching the images in front of her.
She was like a puppet, taking out the ejected videotape and slowly pushing the last one in.
"We did it! We did it!!!"
A young man with dark circles and bloodshot eyes faces the camera, sitting beside a hospital bed, looking extremely excited and manic.
Meng Yuan slowly turned her gaze to the hospital bed, and the emotions that had been forcibly suppressed by magic suddenly broke down.
There lay a little girl who looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, her face deathly pale.
And on her body grew bamboo shoots that looked like they were made of bones.
The roots, embedded in flesh and blood, are clearly visible through the skin, resembling terrifying parasites.
"We found that everyone's level of adaptation to Variant is different."
"The vast majority of people die within ten minutes of being implanted with [ Breath Bamboo ] seeds."
"But some people can still hold out for several hours!"
"And this little girl! She's actually survived for three whole days!!!"
The young man laughed wildly as he showed the little girl to the camera.
"She's just a child! How could you beasts be so heartless?!"
A slight commotion arose, and the young man's expression immediately turned somewhat displeased.
"Come at me if you dare! Don't hurt the children!!!"
Bang--!
With a single gunshot, the noise abruptly ceased.
"Mother..."
Just then, the petri dish at the very center trembled slightly, and the enormous monster inside let out a soft call.
Meng Yuan turned her head in surprise, looking at the ferocious monster, and then at the little girl covered in bamboo shoots in the picture.
She felt as if something inside her was collapsing...
Zi--
The television screen flickered and then returned to normal, showing a well-armed army relentlessly bombarding a pale, rabid monster.
"Ah--!!!"
The ear-piercing screams kept echoing on television, eventually ending with the military using [ Variant Artifact ].
The monster was finally brought under control.
Sizzle--
"Hahaha!!! We did it! We really did it!!!"
The young man stood in front of the petri dish, gesturing wildly.
"This little girl is simply a miracle. Just as she was about to die, we forcibly injected her with [ Steel Ant Emperor ] cells, and she miraculously survived!!!"
He lunged at the petri dish, staring fascinated at the curled-up monster inside.
"You will definitely be under your control; you are the savior of humanity!"
Sizzle--
"Ugh... this is fucking ridiculous..."
The screen still showed that young man, but the surroundings were dim, with only the faint light emanating from the petri dish outlining his thin body.
He held the bottle in his left hand, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp, his weathered face covered in stubble.
"Humans awakened sometime ago, calling themselves 'superpowered individuals,' and they have absolutely nothing to do with us... Heh..."
"After all that hard work, sacrificing thousands of people for our research, we actually achieved it ourselves..."
"Hold--!!!"
Click!
He smashed the bottle on the ground, shards of glass and liquor spilling all over his feet.
"Damn it, thousands of people died! I've been here for years, and this is the hell we're being told what the hell we've been doing was for nothing!!!"
He slowly raised his other hand and pressed the pistol he was holding tightly against his chin.
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Bang!!!
The bullet left the barrel and pierced the young man's head, causing him to fall backward onto his seat.
Sizzle--
The video ends here.
The snowflakes on the screen flickered incessantly like tangled threads, reflected in Meng Yuan's pupils.
Her chest heaved, and after a few minutes of stunned silence, Meng Yuan gritted her teeth, turned around instantly, and swiftly waved her magic wand.
The eyes of the zombie-like Telake and Yifan suddenly cleared, then became confused.
Before they could even see their surroundings clearly, a powerful force blasted them right in front of Meng Yuan.
The next second, more than a dozen sharp swords made of magic appeared out of the void, all aimed at the two's vital points, as if they were about to kill them at any moment.
"What are all these things?! Do you all even know what they are?!"
She angrily used magic to grab the two of them by the collar, pointing at everything around them and roaring furiously.
Yifan gazed at the Meng Yuan before him, then looked around. His pounding heart felt as if it had plunged into an ice cave, and he suddenly felt cold.
Telake initially shocked, but quickly calmed down.
Answer me! Do you even know the answer?!
Meng Yuan had never been so angry before; Meng Yuan even started to shed tears.
"I know," Telake replied calmly.
"Then why do you continue this beastly behavior!"
"She was just a little girl! Yet you've turned her into this inhuman, ghostly creature!"
"And thousands of people were sacrificed for this experiment!"
One of the blades reached Telake's brow; a few centimeters further and it would have taken his life.
"So, you want to free her?" Telake remained unfazed.
Before Meng Yuan could answer, he continued, "That's impossible. The bamboo she grows is an extremely important raw material. Losing it would be a huge loss for us!"
Snap!
A resounding slap landed on that bearded face.
But she was once a human being!
Of course I know!!!
Telake turned his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with anger and helplessness.
"Do you know what killing her means? It means that every [ Variant Artifact ] that everyone who comes out of boot camp is supposed to receive will disappear!"
"This means that the mortality rate, which was originally reduced by 5%, will rise again!!!"
"Yes! They are indeed beasts! They have indeed killed thousands of people!"
"But if it weren't for the thousands who have already died, the death toll would have been even higher!"
"You want me to give up this place now? Those precious documents that our predecessors obtained by abandoning their humanity! How could I possibly do that?!"
"I am the chairman of this company! I must protect everything here! Even if it means resorting to such dirty methods, I must protect this vital resource that safeguards humanity!!!"
Meng Yuan stared into the other person's eyes, motionless like a statue.
The floating blades around them turned into stars and scattered, and the force that had lifted them up also disappeared, causing them to fall to the ground instantly.
Everyone remained silent. Meng Yuan clenched her fists, unsure how to vent her emotions.
Just then, a soft, melodious voice broke the silence.
"I understand, thank you everyone."
Everyone suddenly looked over.
A cute Ragdoll cat was seen speaking human language, sitting in front of the glass wall, its tail wagging slightly.
The next moment, its furry tail lashed against the glass like a whip.
Dense cracks instantly covered the area, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered into countless tiny fragments.
A century of pent-up resentment poured out, surging all the way to the petri dish at the center.
"Guardian Magic! [ Divine Protection ]"
Meng Yuan hurriedly raised her magic wand, but before the gem could emit light, a scarlet 'python' suddenly shot out from the kitten's body and pierced through its chest.
puff--!