Dark Net Organization, at a certain stronghold.
"Black Phantom went to the Western Continent? What did he do there?" Bennett asked, looking surprised.
"I don't know, he didn't say." Wang Yuan shook his head.
Bennett had no choice but to call Han Xiao, but the call didn't go through; Han Xiao was on a transoceanic flight and the signal was bad.
Bennett was helpless. Stardragon's material aid had been secured, and after some haggling, Hesla had finally relented. The Sanctuary Plan was about to be piloted in the Southern Continent, and he was preparing to gather the organization's strongest members to safeguard the first step of the plan. Black Phantom was among the top three inviters on the list, but before he could even notify him, Han Xiao had already slipped away to the Western Continent.
The first Sanctuary has been chosen; the location is the ruins of a large city in the wilderness.
Bennett suddenly had an idea and said, "Red Maple refused material aid. Those bureaucrats only respond to force. It just so happens that Black Phantom went to the Western Continent. Let him make a statement for me!"
The confinement cell was completely dark, with a thick metal door isolating it from the outside world. Only a sliver of light could be seen leaking through the crack in the door. Ilex huddled in a corner, staring at the panel, tears welling up in his eyes. His ability's potential rating was Grade A, but after more than twenty days of the open beta, while the average player had reached level eight, his level was still a solitary "1".
The Germinal Organization said they would lock him up for a month, and they really meant it. If Ilex hadn't been so reluctant to give up his high-potential ability, he would have switched accounts. The club, upon learning of his account situation, took it very seriously and asked Ilex to be patient, promising to invest resources in him after Ilex ban was lifted. Only then could he persevere and continue logging in every day, hoping for a turnaround.
At that moment, the metal door slowly opened, and white light shone in.
Ilex looked up and saw a white man in a white lab coat standing outside the door, staring at Ilex with the eyes of someone looking at a rare treasure.
"I'm going to do a little test for you." The man in the white coat gave a nervous smile.
Cerberus was very pleased.
He was one of the high-ranking members of the Germinal Organization and a biological scientist who had conducted various experiments for Germinal for many years. Before joining Germinal, Cerberus was a senior researcher who defected to Raylen. Raylen was known for producing madmen, and his mind was filled with all sorts of crazy ideas. His human stance could never restrain his passion for dissecting the bodies of his own kind. He didn't care about factions; as long as someone funded his research, he would join that group. In the end, he was absorbed by Germinal.
So Germinal provided resources to support Cerberus in putting his crazy ideas into practice. He was in charge of projects that violated morality, such as Valkyrie, super soldiers, and genetic modification. There were other, even darker experiments, the mere mention of which would make normal people feel disgusted and perverts feel excited, such as interspecies hybridization and human-animal hybridization...
Over the years, Cerberus conducted no fewer than a hundred experiments and saw thousands of "human subjects" with special talents. Only two of these subjects could arouse Cerberus's interest, both of whom were people with superpowers.
A person's flesh and blood possess incredible healing effects, even bringing a mummified corpse back to life. However, without a soul, it cannot be resurrected. This was the first time Cerberus recognized the existence of a soul, and he studied it fervently for a long time. Unfortunately, the technology tree of Planet Aquamarine was incompatible, and he was unable to collect any souls through experimental means.
The other person possesses a kind of "fate-influencing" ability, affecting the Cause and Effect of things through comments on them. This is the most bizarre ability Cerberus has ever seen, even more inexplicable than the soul. The ability can only be activated when the person is conscious; hypnosis has been tried and failed. This person is under strict 24-hour confinement, wearing a mask that prevents him from speaking. Due to negligence, a terrible accident occurred in the past, the most recent one over a year ago. This person predicted that disaster would befall the Germinal, and his words have come true; the organization has indeed suffered a severe blow.
Ilex was the third subject that piqued his interest.
Cerberus flipped through his observation journal.
[Day 1: The subject was placed in a solitary confinement cell under 24-hour surveillance and night-vision camera monitoring. They were fed three times a day, at 7:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 7:00 PM, with no time for outdoor exercise. The subject exhibited significant anxiety but did not show the lethargic state often associated with brainwashing. Preliminary assessment suggests the subject possesses some immunity; compliance testing is recommended.]
[Day 2: 8 AM, obedience test conducted. Results: The subject demonstrated extremely high obedience, passing all tests. The lie detector showed no abnormalities. The subject has accepted their new identity after brainwashing. 11 PM, an anomaly occurs: the subject vanishes into thin air. The confinement cell shows no signs of damage. A full search of the base is immediately launched, but the subject is not found.]
[Day 4: The subject reappeared without any warning, in the solitary confinement room, at the same location as where they disappeared. Video footage available [Appendix-001]. We immediately took the subject into custody and interrogated them about the reason for their disappearance and what happened afterward. The subject stated they were unaware of the situation. The interrogation details are recorded in [Appendix-002]. We have increased surveillance of the subject.]
[Day 6: Hypnotic lie detector test used; subject babbles incoherently; recording taken [Appendix-003]. Subject disappears again in the evening.]
[Day 8: The subject appears; interrogation and hypnosis continue. See [Appendix-004] for details. At 8 PM, surgery is performed to observe the physiology; no abnormalities were found in the body structure. Surgical conclusion [Appendix-005].]
The observation diary has been running for twenty-two days. The phenomenon of Ilex has also appeared in some wanderer settlements on the Andia Continent, which has attracted the attention of the Germinal. They did not make a fuss and observed it in secret.
They cannot die, can be resurrected, appear out of thin air, and have unknown origins... If it were just one person, it wouldn't matter, but when tens of thousands of people exhibit this phenomenon, and the number continues to rise, it spreads like an infectious disease. The leader takes it very seriously and has appointed Cerberus as the person in charge to conduct various experiments on Ilex.
Ilex was flanked by guards and taken to an operating room. He lay on the operating table and was given the mission to assist in the surgery. He had been brainwashed by the Germinal faction system, and all orders were mandatory, with some experience rewards and severe punishments for disobeying.
Ilex could only obey orders, and he was frustrated.
Cerberus donned surgical scrubs and began operating on Ilex. Ilex, under anesthesia, could not move and could only watch as the scalpel moved across his body, realizing he was being dissected. The system alerted him just as the incision was made.
"You died during surgery."
Ilex was stunned, and ten seconds later he was reborn in the room.
"What the hell?! I was dissected and studied?!"
Ilex was stunned. He had one less chance to revive in six days, but he hadn't lost any experience points, probably because the cause of death was a special circumstance.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. In the virtual reality games he had played before, NPCs ignored the special characteristics of players, and many people had complained about this. Some even fantasized about players being dissected and studied. He never expected that it would actually happen in "Galaxy".
Cerberus observed the entire process: Ilex's body vanished and reappeared alive; everything happened out of thin air, and the bloodstains on the operating table remained.
"You... no, what kind of creatures are you?" Cerberus's eyes gleamed.
Ilex suddenly had a mischievous thought. What would happen if he told the truth?