Cold shackles bound his hands and feet, and a metal frame held his head in place. Two retractors extended from it to hold his eyelids open and prevent him from blinking. A black screen stood in front of the metal chair, with speakers on either side.
Han Xiao was held immobile in the chair, staring straight at the pitch-black screen.
"How long will the brainwashing take?"
"Twelve hours."
"Stay here and keep an eye on him." With that, Hila left with her people.
Lin Weixian flipped a switch, and the screen lit up with bizarre images: triangles, circles, and ripples constantly shifting shape, their colors changing rapidly. The visual assault struck Han Xiao with an intensely uncomfortable sense of strangeness. Music played through the speakers, agitated one moment and soothing the next. The stark contradiction made Han Xiao instinctively feel sick. He wanted to close his eyes, but the retractors held his eyelids open, and his eyes gradually grew bloodshot, aching and stinging.
Whoa, this feels freaking awful!
This was a relatively primitive method of brainwashing. The brain was like a precision instrument, and the basic principle was to disrupt thought through sustained conflict between sight and sound, then imprint an "ideological seal" after recalibration and reset. Although the method was rather primitive, it had an advantage: it would not cause excessive damage to the brain's structure. In Lin Weixian's eyes, Han Xiao's brain was extraordinarily valuable, a precious work of art.
Lin Weixian's greedy gaze infuriated Han Xiao. It was like a butcher looking at a hog, considering which cut of meat was best.
He had four free attribute points. After some thought, he spent two to raise his intelligence to seven, keeping the remaining two in reserve.
[You are being brainwashed (low-level). Performing a mental check... Intelligence: 7, Low-Level Mental Fortitude: +3... Check passed. You are immune to this instance of brainwashing.]
The nausea gradually faded, and Han Xiao felt a little better.
Lin Weixian stood to one side, silently complaining that Hila had dumped the troublesome brainwashing job on him. Little did he know that, right under his nose, Han Xiao had already become immune to it.
With the final check complete, Han Xiao made it through twelve grueling hours, his back aching and his eyes dry and sore.
Lin Weixian timed it precisely and switched off the brainwashing equipment. Han Xiao immediately felt reborn.
Hila returned. The leader had ordered her to personally oversee Han Xiao's brainwashing, and no mistakes were allowed.
Hila undid his restraints. The places where he had been bound were bruised purple from poor circulation, but although Han Xiao was in pain, he did not lower his head to look. He had to act as though he had been brainwashed, keeping his gaze vacant and unfocused as he stared ahead.
Hila suddenly bent down and leaned close, bringing her face within ten centimeters of his. Her moist breath brushed his lips, but Han Xiao did not have a single amorous thought. Good grief, at a dangerous moment like this, I can't possibly think about anything dirty.
The woman's perfume reached Han Xiao's nose, making it itch slightly. He only just managed to hold back a sneeze.
In a soft, almost hypnotic tone, Hila asked, "Who are you?"
Hiss... After brainwashing, a prepared identity was usually instilled. When faced with an uncertain question, the best response was silence. Han Xiao moved his facial muscles into a vacant expression, as though he had been played with until he broke, and turned a deaf ear to Hila's words.
I might not be able to act anything else, but playing a deadpan face is no problem.
Hila spoke into his ear, her murmurs mingling with warm, moist breath. Her burgundy curls brushed his neck, tickling a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the open collar of Hila's combat suit, and the broad expanse of smooth, snow-white skin nearly blinded him. Han Xiao's heart was as still as an ancient well, as unmoving as a mountain and as saintly as a Buddha. On the azure mountain is a well called Emptiness; in the sea of pines is an island called Maple. Please, I've watched the Calabash Brothers hundreds of times. You think your beauty trap will work on me?
"From today onward, your name is Zero. The Germinal Organization is your home, your country, the sanctuary where your soul finds peace and for which you will gladly give everything. Your loyalty to the organization is absolute. Every thought you have must be based on the organization's interests. You must hide nothing and do nothing that harms the organization's interests. The meaning of your existence is to carry out the organization's orders and be ready to give your life for it at any time!"
Lin Weixian added with a cold laugh, "In life, you belong to the organization, and in death, your ghost belongs to it. Even if we turn you into a specimen, all you can do is obey!"
Hila asked, "Who are you?"
This time was different from before. It was a question to determine whether the brainwashing had succeeded. Han Xiao's thoughts raced, but he did not answer immediately.
Hila knitted her brows and turned to look at Lin Weixian, her gaze icy.
Lin Weixian muttered, "I followed the brainwashing procedure the whole time. Nothing should have gone wrong."
Just then, Han Xiao finally spoke, deliberately drawing out his words to sound slow to respond. "I am Zero..."
Lin Weixian's eyes lit up as he thought of an explanation. "The Valkyrie Solution enhanced Zero's learning ability. A possible side effect is that it weakened his ability to communicate emotionally."
Hila recalled how focused Zero had been on his books before. He had indeed been slow to react to changes around him, and she could not help believing the explanation. "It seems the experiment wasn't perfect."
Lin Weixian scoffed. "You're wrong. This is the perfect result. What does cannon fodder need feelings for?"
"...Take him to rest. I'll go ask the leader for instructions."
I'm safe for now! Han Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. During the brainwashing, he had already decided to portray himself as slow-witted, which would lower the enemy's guard.
"Although I didn't transmigrate to a great place, at least the timing wasn't so bad."
The Valkyrie Experiment he had undergone was only a prototype of the future [Super Soldier Project]. They had not yet developed the miniature self-destruct chips used to control test subjects' loyalty. If he had transmigrated to that time, he figured he would suffer less by cutting off his own manhood and dying sooner.
The goddess of fortune finally smiled on me!
Hila connected to an encrypted number. "Leader, Zero's condition is stable."
A raspy male voice came through the phone. "Has the brainwashing been completed?"
"I supervised it personally. There won't be any problems. What are your plans for Zero?"
"The purpose of the Valkyrie Experiment is to cultivate warriors. Train him."
Hila made no comment. Since it was the leader's arrangement, she had no objection.
"How is my sister?"
"Heh, heh. That wasn't our deal." The man's voice carried a hint of mockery. "I gave you permission to visit her once every two months. Don't cross the line."
Blue veins stood out on the back of Hila's fair, delicate hand, and her expression shifted.
The man laughed hoarsely, the sound as grating as sandpaper. With a click, he hung up.
The Valkyrie Laboratory was an underground building, predominantly white, with an oppressive atmosphere hanging in the air. Guards came and went, their gazes as cold and sharp as knives.
After a night's rest, Han Xiao was taken to an enclosed training ground, where Hila was waiting for him.
He did not know what the Germinal Organization had planned for him, but he guessed they would not discard his "learning ability." He was sure to get plenty of opportunities to gain experience in mechanical technology.
It seemed he would not be escaping the heavily guarded base anytime soon, so Han Xiao prepared himself mentally to be trapped there for the long haul.
"Zero, starting today, you'll undergo combat and shooting training every day."
Hila tossed Han Xiao a set of protective gear. "Put it on."
It looked like a fight was coming, so Han Xiao quickly put on the gear.
Hila pivoted, her high-top combat boots scraping shrilly against the floor as she burst forward with tremendous force. She crossed five meters in the blink of an eye and appeared before Han Xiao. Her long leg, wrapped in her tight black uniform, whipped viciously toward him with a rush of wind.
"Bang!"
Too fast!
Han Xiao's vision blurred, and the kick struck him. Even with the protective gear, his breastbone creaked. His face went pale, and he staggered back more than ten steps, clutching his chest and coughing violently.
As expected of a superhuman. Even without using her full strength, she's still several times faster than an ordinary person.
Hila said calmly, "You have thirty seconds to rest. Then we continue."
The combat training was brutal and simple. There was no conversation, just non-stop fighting. After two hours, Han Xiao was completely exhausted, and there was not a spot on his body that did not hurt. He seriously suspected the woman was a sadist. Do women who dress like dominatrices all like this sort of thing?
[Hila (Lv30) is teaching you [Basic Combat]. Current progress: 5%.]
When training was over, Hila turned and left without a word.
A burly man walked in, grabbed Han Xiao, whose body was practically falling apart, and dragged him to the shooting range next door.
"I'm your firearms instructor and the base's deputy supervisor, Balotta," the burly man introduced himself. He had a vicious face, a hideous knife scar across his forehead, and a pair of triangular eyes brimming with menace. He shoved a Type 73 Wasp Pistol into Han Xiao's hand and said, "There are ten training rounds in it. Hit the target in the head with every one."
Han Xiao was stunned. The humanoid target was more than thirty meters away, moving sideways at irregular intervals. The difficulty was already this high right from the start. Without various shooting skill modifiers, he was no different from a beginner who had never handled a gun. He would be damn lucky just not to miss the target entirely, let alone hit the head every time. Wouldn't that take an Olympic shooting champion?
Han Xiao had no choice but to raise the pistol with his aching arms and pull the trigger. The recoil jolted his wrist with a dull pain.
Bang, bang, bang. After firing all ten shots, Han Xiao glanced at the electronic scoreboard beside him. Naturally, his score was not good enough.
A sudden, searing pain cut across his back. Han Xiao's heart trembled, and it took immense willpower not to cry out on the spot. He looked back to see Balotta playing with a pitch-black tactical dagger, licking the blood on its blade. His face was alight with sick excitement as he sneered, "Keep going. Every time you fail to meet my requirements, I'll give you another cut. Let's see how much blood you lose today."
"Lunatic!" Furious, Han Xiao reached back and felt his back. His hand came away wet with blood.
One wall of the shooting range was a one-way mirror. Behind it was an observation room, where Hila and Lin Weixian watched the scene.
Lin Weixian shook his head. "Such a valuable test subject, and Balotta doesn't appreciate him at all. He might as well let me dissect him for research."
A trace of disgust flashed through Hila's eyes, then vanished. She gave Lin Weixian an indifferent glance. "The organization won't agree to your request."
Lin Weixian sneered. "Once the organization has squeezed every last bit of value out of him, it will send him to my operating table eventually. I created him. He's my personal property!"
Hila knew that what Lin Weixian said was true. That was how the organization operated, so she said nothing more.
In the organization's eyes, Han Xiao was merely a tool, not even a "person."
[Balotta (Lv15) is teaching you [Basic Shooting]. Current progress: 5%! [Agent] class unlock progress: 1%.]
His arm had been cut again. None of the cuts was deep, but he had already accumulated more than a dozen, and his clothes were soaked with blood.
Balotta watched the pale but silent Han Xiao with interest, his eyes narrowed in enjoyment. He liked the feeling of a blade slicing through flesh, and he liked the smell of blood. The bright red that bloomed like a flower was the most beautiful sight in his eyes.
"Why aren't you screaming?" Balotta played with his dagger, his tone rapturous. "A toy that can't scream isn't a proper toy."
Fucking pervert!
Han Xiao took a deep breath. He desperately wanted to smash his fist into Balotta's sickly smiling face, but he knew such a rash move would only end badly. It was like getting crushed in lane in League of Legends and letting your blood run hot as you tried to fight the enemy head-on. You would only get crushed even harder.
The right thing to do was call the jungler over, get the jungler crushed along with you, then have everyone happily argue, type GG amid laughter, and save the time you would have wasted on the rest of the game...
If he had still had his younger temper, he would have marched up and slapped him twice, followed by a three-part string of choice insults. But unlike a player, he could not revive now. What else could he do? He could only forgive him like a father.
"I'll let you laugh all you want for now. Sooner or later, it'll be your turn to cry..." Han Xiao gritted his teeth, not from anger, but from pain.