Chapter 73 - ResearChapter Institute
Sun Chengzhi’s face was filled with only concern for her brother, but Qi Jingchen’s eyes flashed.
Sun Huan? That particularly frail-looking man?
Back in the Sun family, Qi Jingchen had observed Sun Huan and his health truly was terrible. With such terrible health, it was already very fortunate for him to not have turned into a zombie at the beginning.
“If you can turn my brother into an ability user, don’t even mention goods, I’m even willing to be your errand girl!” Sun Chengzhi said. Her father was excessively strict on her and had always wanted her to work hard and strive for the best. Since her youth, it was only her brother who would protect her, and her relationship with him had always been very good.
Before the apocalypse, despite her brother’s bad health and heart failure, his chances of living were much longer if properly taken care of. But now it was the apocalypse…
“If you can turn me into an ability user, I’ll also obey you guys!” Sun Chengzhi’s little brother, Tang Bo An, hastily expressed himself. He was a regular person and was often at a disadvantage in the base.
“I’m not lacking in supplies. As for you guys, what use would I have for you?” Nie Yi returned the question.
Sun Chengzhi recalled the strength Nie Yi had displayed when he fought with her yesterday and realised that he genuinely had no need for her. As for supplies… Nie Yi’s team only had 2,000 people and they were also very powerful, so how could they have a shortage of supplies?
Sun Chengzhi’s face revealed some awkwardness when a shout came from outside. “Chengzhi, come back with me.”
Following in with this voice was a tall and large young man. He had a square face and his facial features were grave and stern. He first shot Nie Yi a look of contempt, then said to Sun Chengzhi, “General said before that you can’t come here so as not to get infected by bad habits from problematic people.”
“Surnamed Lu, what nonsense are you spouting?!” Sun Chengzhi said angrily. Presently, Nie Yi had a way to help regular people become ability users. Just as she wanted to establish a good relationship with him, this Lu Junpeng unexpectedly ran over to pull the rug out from under her feet!
“I’m just relaying what the general said. Chengzhi, do you really want to disobey the general?” Lu Junpeng said, his eyes staring firmly at Sun Chengzhi. “That’s right, I heard you took a liking to the one who’s selling his ass?”
Met with Lu Junpeng’s gaze, Sun Chengzhi’s expression instantly turned ugly. She considered Lu Junpeng her most hated person, yet for some reason, her dad had great confidence in this person and even wanted her to marry him. At first, she also had complaints about Nie Yi, but that was just because she was unwilling to admit defeat and definitely not filled with malice like him— Looking at Nie Yi and Qi Jingchen’s interactions, it was obvious that they were truly in love. Since this was the case, why would she look down on Qi Jingchen?
Sun Chengzhi looked at Qi Jingchen who had been standing at the side, realised that he was looking at Lu Junpeng, and inevitably felt somewhat awkward. However, Nie Yi had directly launched an attack.
In the end, General Sun was an elder and also the leader of this base; moreover, his reprimands were all directed at Nie Yi himself so Nie Yi simply just endured him, but this person actually went so far as to talk shit about Qi Jingchen!
Lu Junpeng had come with the intention to infuriate Nie Yi, but didn’t expect that Nie Yi would actually attack without a word… His eyes were imbued with some fighting spirit and he directly went against Nie Yi.
Lu Junpeng was an earth ability user and his ability was very powerful, but his utilisation of his ability was ultimately still incomparable to Nie Yi.
The bomb created from the fusion of fire and water ability exploded against Lu Junpeng’s earthen wall. The next second, a fire dragon whipped towards Lu Junpeng. Lu Junpeng constructed a wall of earth around him, but very soon, that wall of earth collapsed once more.
Lu Junpeng’s expression turned cold and he concentrated over a hundred percent of his focus on battling Nie Yi. However, he was still being repeatedly forced back by Nie Yi. He knew very well that he would undoubtedly lose if he continued like this.
Right at this time, Lu Junpeng’s gaze swept across the area and he suddenly spotted Qi Jingchen standing at the side. The others had backed away when they saw the battle here, yet this youth was still standing there.
Lu Junpeng handled Nie Yi while moving his right hand. Then, the place Qi Jingchen was standing at began to sink as the surrounding earth began to cover Qi Jingchen’s body, seemingly about to bury him alive.
This was one of Lu Junpeng’s special skills. The intention of this move wasn’t really to bury him alive, but to trap him underground instead. Once Qi Jingchen was trapped underground, it was equivalent to having fallen in his hands, an earth ability user! Nie Yi would then have no choice but to admit defeat; even if he didn’t succeed, it would definitely distract Nie Yi!
Nie Yi was just a level two ability user, and he was…
Lu Junpeng’s face didn’t reveal anything, but this matter was done extremely firmly. Sun Chengzhi absolutely did not expect his attack on Qi Jingchen. She cried out “Careful!” and rushed towards Qi Jingchen, but it was already too late.
If she were a wind or water ability user, she could blow him away or use water to flush him out, but she was a fire ability user!
Qi Jingchen was just a regular person; if he were to accidentally be injured from the pressure from the earth&#k2026;
Right at this time, Lu Junpeng suddenly discovered a sting on his body, as if something ice-cold had run through it, then his entire body stumbled. At the same time, Nie Yi appeared before him and high-kicked him, throwing him to the side.
Under the sharp pain, Lu Junpeng’s control of earth had been forced to break. However, Nie Yi was relentless and extended a hand to scorch his face, ending the battle.
At this time, the earth under Qi Jingchen had already caved in about 1.5 meters or so. The earth on either side of him seemed about to crush him flat, yet his expression was still unperturbed.
“Are you okay?” Sun Chengzhi asked worriedly. Such a cute youngster, she was completely unwilling to see him bear any hardship.
“I’m fine,” Qi Jingchen said.
“I didn’t think you’d be so calm…” Sun Chengzhi said. Just now, she had been prepared to see Qi Jingchen weeping, yet Qi Jingchen did not even have a panicked expression.
“I’m not calm, I just know that Nie Yi would protect me well.” Qi Jingchen smiled.
The youth’s face was filled with absolute trust over Nie Yi. Seeing this, Sun Chengzhi suddenly felt envious of Nie Yi. How blessed would it be for someone to have complete trust and reliance on her like this?
Sun Chengzhi also didn’t know what was up with herself either. The majority of women wished they could find someone stronger that they could depend on and act coquettishly to, but she wished that someone could rely on her and be protected by her. Unfortunately, she had never met anyone suitable.
Nie Yi’s luck really was great, to be able to have someone like this to accompany him… Sun Chengzhi felt a little distracted when looking at Qi Jingchen until pained groans woke her with a start.
Lu Junpeng covered his face and was incapable of maintaining his indifferent expression. His entire face was distorted and he couldn’t restrain himself from letting out sounds… In the end, his gaze towards Nie Yi looked as if it was tempered in poison.
When Lu Junpeng came over, he had brought a few subordinates. At this time, they had rushed over to shield Lu Junpeng and one of them even said, “You actually dare to attack Lieutenant Colonel Lu!”
“Why wouldn’t I dare attack him?” Nie Yi laughed coldly then said to Lu Junpeng. “The next time I hear you talk shit, it won’t just be your face that’ll be roasted!”
Sun Chengzhi had previously thought Lu Junpeng was too excessive but now that she saw Lu Junpeng’s scorched face, along with his nonexistent eyebrows and eyelashes, and how he couldn’t even open his eyes, she felt a little uncomfortable.
When all was said and done, Lu Junpeng was from their secure base, and for him to be beaten by Nie Yi to this point… Nevertheless, it was still them in the wrong today. To avoid any further humiliation of Lu Junpeng, Sun Chengzhi immediately had the people by Lu Junpeng’s side send him to the hospital.
“My apologies, Nie Yi.” Sun Chengzhi looked at Nie Yi with a face filled with embarrassment, and could not bring herself to continue asking about the matter of how to become an ability user.
“Miss Sun, I won’t see you off,” Nie Yi bluntly stated and turned to jump into the nearby hole, then carried Qi Jingchen and jumped out again. After walking a few steps, he just happened to see Mu Yi hiding behind an earthen wall constructed by an earth ability user from the Chenguang Team, and frowned at her. “What did you come out for? Still not going back?”
Mu Yi had always been a little afraid of Nie Yi, but unexpectedly did not reveal any frightened expression at this moment. Instead, she said, “One of the people following that earth ability user just now was my husband’s friend.” Didn’t that person say he was on his own in J City secure base, alone without a single family member? Why would he appear behind someone else?
When Qi Jingchen heard Mu Yi, he suddenly recalled a matter— In the past, Mu Yi had once said she was betrayed by a friend.
Previously they had thought that the present matter was completely unrelated to Mu Yi’s friend and might be because this world had already changed, but then they met Mu Yi’s husband’s friend…
However, what on earth happened in their last life? If Mu Yi wasn’t reborn, they probably wouldn’t know. After all, they didn’t even know what level everyone’s ability was at, and there were very few level two ability users and zombies. This sort of research about ability nuclei emerged only after a year and a half later.
This time, these people began researching ability nuclei ahead of time probably due to B City secure base publishing a lot of material related to ability users. Yu Xuguang revealing so many matters related to ability users wouldn’t only have positive influences.
“Just now the ability surrounding that ability user was very mixed and didn’t seem like he had cultivated it himself. On the contrary, it was like the energy of several ability users were piled together… If there were no mishaps, he might have reached level three.” Nie Yi looked at Mu Yi. His ability in this life had increased very quickly and yet he hadn’t even reached level three, while that Lu Junpeng had already reached level three. The source of his strength was obviously questionable.
“You’re saying…” Previously Mu Yi had heard Nie Yi explain about her husband’s ability nucleus being taken, so how could she not understand now? Her eyes were now filled with nothing but hatred.
While Nie Yi and the others were talking about Lu Junpeng, Lu Junpeng himself had already been sent to J City secure base’s hospital to receive treatment.
There were many patients in the hospital who had been injured by ability users, and there were even some who had been injured by their own careless use of their ability. However, there were few who were like Lu Junpeng with his entire face destroyed.
Even if Lu Junpeng was a man, he was still extremely angry about the situation he encountered. However, in the end, he didn’t lose his mind over this. After the doctor gave him a simple treatment and some amino acid to speed up the healing of his face wound, he had all his subordinates leave and contacted someone.
Not long after his call, a person dressed in a doctor’s coat and wearing a surgical mask entered. When he saw Lu Junpeng, he took off his mask and revealed a face in its thirties.
Of course, people who were familiar with him knew that he wasn’t thirty-something at all, but had long been in his forties.
“Lu shao, how are you doing?”
Lu Junpeng’s face was burnt, and his neck area had large blisters. Evidently, his epidermic skin had been scalded and ruined.
He couldn’t quite open his eyes, and could only squint at the research institute’s head. “Can’t you all see how I’m doing? Aren’t I already a level three ability user? Why could that Nie Yi still suppress me?”
“Lu shao, though your ability is very powerful, abilities aren’t the only factor in combat. Your combat experience…” The doctor looked at Lu Junpeng and sighed.
When Lu Junpeng heard this, he was angry but also knew that this was the truth. He promptly changed the topic. “You’ve probably heard the rumours outside, right? Nie Yi and his men have a way to turn regular people into ability users, and what about you? Was there any progress in your research?”
“This sort of research isn’t something done in a day. After all, the specimens that can be researched on are too little.” The doctor said, “As for how Nie Yi and his men did it, it would be best if you could ask around about it, and it can also be our reference.”
“How many more specimens do you need? Almost all the level two ability users in J City secure base have now been sent over here, and you still think it’s too few?” Lu Junpeng said.
“You can’t say that Lu shao. How many level two ability users are there in J City in total? With so few people, it’s already very good that we can research a way to increase abilities and have you reach level three. And that’s to say nothing of how few there are left of the energy nuclei from those ability users in our place. There isn’t even enough to conduct a single experiment.”
“You still think there’s too few? Because you all wanted too many people, I nearly couldn’t keep it a secret!” Lu Junpeng said. Previously when he found a few ability users to send over, it had resulted in the family and friends of the ability users persistently searching for them, giving him a lot of trouble… This time, he wanted to simply kill off all the family the ability user he had put to death, yet he unfortunately met that nosy Nie Yi.
“But with so few research specimens, how could I produce results? Something like this, just the finest difference in dosage or usage might kill someone. It’s best if you can find a few more level two ability users and send them to us.”
Lu Junpeng wanted to frown, but the immediate pain on his face prevented him from making any expressions. “I can’t do it now! Now that that surnamed Nie is here, and even took away Mu Yi, perhaps he discovered something. We must be cautious.” While speaking of Nie Yi, Lu Junpeng’s hand grasping the bedsheet tightened violently, almost shredding the bedsheet.
“If you don’t want Nie Yi to discover anything, can’t you just kill him?” The doctor’s eyes brightened.
“Are you joking? Nie Yi has so many subordinates, how can I kill him?” Lu Junpeng sneered coldly.
“Nie Yi isn’t easy to kill, but what about that person by his side? Nie Yi values him very much. If we can capture him, Nie Yi will definitely have his hands tied and will just give in without a fight.” The doctor looked at Lu Junpeng and revealed a smile. “Nie Yi is a dual ability user, with him ‘cooperating’ with the research, we will definitely achieve results very quickly. If we’re able to find out the way to have regular people become ability users by interrogating him, that would be even better.”
“What if those rumours are something they spread on purpose?”
“If they purposely said this, isn’t there even more reason to dispose of them?”
Lu Junpeng looked pensive, then said, “I’ll report this matter to the higher ups.” He was just someone helping to handle things, and definitely wouldn’t dare take action without permission.
The doctor stayed in Lu Junpeng’s ward for a while, then entered an elevator. He first went to the negative first floor and entered the hospital storehouse that was filled with various things, then used his fingerprint to open the door at the side.
This hospital originally had a basement, then someone continued to dig down, and dug out a research institute.
This research room had been arranged properly for him by someone at the very start, but after he remodelled it, it was no longer the same as the beginning.
He walked through a passage, and he came to a wide clearing, revealing a brightly lit hall. The people inside, upon seeing him, respectfully called out, “Head.”
This doctor was the head of the research institute. Before the apocalypse, he had been researching on organ transplant and mainly used animals to experiment on, but when the apocalypse came… His laboratory now had many humans.
At the start, they had only found a few corpses or those who didn’t want to live and continued researching human organ transplants only, because being able to do human experimentation led to them making leaps and bounds in their research. However, later when B City sent over the differentiating method for ability users, they discovered that for those who awakened to abilities, both their physical constitution or healing capabilities were greatly improved, and they gradually began to research ability users.
He was also no longer satisfied with always being controlled…
The head of the research institute passed through the hall and knocked on a wall. Then, the wall split open and revealed a door. Inside the door was a spacious operation room, and in the center was a completely naked woman who was tied down.
This woman was very beautiful, but the few people bustling around her didn’t look at her seductive figure, instead, their entire focus was on her head.
The woman’s head had been shaved clean, and now there was a tiny hole.
The research institute head walked in and asked, “How’s the result?”
“Both the reaction of the transplant of ability nucleus and oral intake of ability nucleus are identical with the data you provided, Head.” One of the people dressed in a large, white gown said, “We’re using the ability nucleus to conduct various tests… And it’s the same as the data on the material.”
“How’s Lu Junpeng’s condition?”
“Lu Junpeng’s condition is also similar to the description in the data. The ability in his body truly is extremely chaotic as the material said. If the ability continues to increase, there’s a high possibility it will explode.”
The research institute head’s complexion became extremely ugly— Learning that the research they spent all their mind on was in vain, perhaps no one’s mood would be good.
The Nie Yi and Qi Jingchen, who were being thought of, were currently looking at the various information they had gathered. It was after they read it that they discovered that there were already several level two ability users missing in J City secure base.
Those people… really were savages!
“So it turns out that there was once an ability user’s family who had nearly found them out because their relative was missing… No wonder they want to completely eliminate the trouble at the root…” Qi Jingchen sighed heavily, his expression not looking too good.
Those ability users who were captured to be researched or killed on the spot could have been fellow sufferers with him in his last life.
Nie Yi knew what Qi Jingchen was thinking of just by seeing his expression, and his expression immediately became dark. He had gotten rid of Su Haisheng with great difficulty, yet there was actually someone who dared to repeat this!
“I’ll get rid of those people in a while!” Nie Yi said, both hands reaching for Qi Jingchen and wanting to comfort him…
“Big brother! Someone caught a few pigs and brought them back today, and we bought one. Let’s all eat stewed pork tonight?” Qi An rushed in while carrying Xiaomao, and even swallowed his saliva a few times.
Nie Yi put down his hands as if nothing had happened. “We won’t eat today, leave it for tomorrow!”