Lin Juan narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the mermaid’s eyes.
There was no emotion in his eyes at all. He looked at the mermaid as if it were some commonplace object. The mermaid swam forward, pressing its rotten face right up to Lin Juan’s.
Caught off guard by the sight of that waterlogged face, Lin Juan furrowed his brow.
The mermaid before him had none of the beauty from legends. It only evoked a sense of strangeness. Its upper body was human, but from being soaked in water for so long, its skin had turned pallid. Strands of wet hair clung to its body in clumps, making it look utterly wretched.
Its lower fish tail had disordered scales, like those of a fish that had suffered some plague. Occasionally, yellowish-green pus oozed from the gaps between the scales, leaving the entire tank murky.
The mermaid slapped forcefully against the transparent tank wall, its mouth gaping wide in a silent roar.
Lin Juan stood in place the whole time, observing.
Perhaps it wasn’t silent after all, since he couldn’t even hear the sound of it slapping the transparent tank wall.
The transparent tank must have undergone special soundproofing treatment.
Several thick chains bound the mermaid’s body, digging deep into its flesh. Yellowish pus seeped from the wounds, especially at the stitched seam around its waist and abdomen where the injury had split open and healed repeatedly, forming a gruesome scar.
The mermaid was trapped inside the transparent tank, unable to escape.
After examining this one, Lin Juan walked to the other transparent tanks. These also contained mermaids.
The difference was that these mermaids were deathly listless, floating lifelessly in the water with pallid skin. Writhing maggots burrowed in and out of their wounds.
Only the first mermaid Lin Juan had seen showed a bit more vitality.
Lin Juan walked through the entire Experimental District 4 but found little of note. Just as he was about to leave, he heard footsteps approaching from afar—deliberately lightened.
A patrol guard?
Lin Juan had many unresolved questions and had no intention of revealing himself for the time being. He turned and hid in a corner.
“Creeeak—”
The door was pushed open. Lin Juan’s position was very concealed; he could see the door, but anyone entering would have their line of sight blocked and wouldn’t see him.
It was a man, very tall, dressed in a security uniform.
Lin Juan shrank back slightly.
He saw the man’s face.
Su Xingchen.
It was Su Xingchen who had come.
Lin Juan did not rashly step forward to identify himself. He continued hiding in the shadows to observe.
This place was extremely bizarre. He wasn’t sure if the “Su Xingchen” before him was the real one.
Unlike Lin Juan, Su Xingchen had become a low-level security guard after entering the large laboratory.
A low-level security guard had very limited access and could only patrol the outer areas, unable to enter the core internal zones.
After observing for several days, Su Xingchen finally found an opportunity. Under cover of night, he sneaked into Experimental District 4.
With his companions missing and Mr. Lin’s whereabouts unknown, Su Xingchen moved very cautiously. He lightened his footsteps as he entered Experimental District 4 and walked further inside.
He saw the room full of experimental subjects.
It was obvious at a glance that these experimental subjects were the result of live experiments on humans, forcibly grafting animal bodies onto human ones to create monsters that were neither human nor beast.
Su Xingchen frowned in disgust.
Suddenly, he heard a noise. His footsteps halted. Before he could react, someone attacked from behind and subdued him.
Su Xingchen was greatly alarmed.
As he tried to counterattack, he heard a lowered voice by his ear: “Su Xingchen?”
“Mr. Lin?” Recognizing the voice, Su Xingchen did not immediately lower his guard. He merely stopped his counterattack.
“It’s me.” Seeing that Su Xingchen retained his original consciousness, Lin Juan loosened his hold a bit. “How did you end up here?”
After exchanging passcodes, Lin Juan pulled him into the shadows. Su Xingchen took the initiative to explain his situation.
In the blink of an eye, he had become a low-level security guard at the Experimental Base. He didn’t dare act rashly. He had tried searching for his companions but found nothing—until he ran into Lin Juan today.
“I became a research recorder as soon as I arrived. I usually work in Experiment Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3. I’ve explored those three zones, but found nothing unusual. Experimental District 4 is full of artificial mermaids, and there are no signs of our people. Looks like we need to head to Zone 5,” Lin Juan said.
Su Xingchen nodded. “My current identity basically limits me to the outer areas. At first, I wondered if they had become security personnel like me. I tested all the security guards around, but none of them were.”
With no one nearby, Su Xingchen had no choice but to expand his search range. The timing had worked out perfectly, leading him to Lin Juan.
“My current position isn’t high, so the information I can access is limited,” Lin Juan shared his findings. “The experimental records have timestamps. From what I can roughly calculate, this timeline lines up right around when Fan Xiwen encountered those events.”
“If we can witness what happened back then before that incident occurs, we can uncover the truth.” Before the mission, Su Xingchen had reviewed all the details and knew what had happened to Fan Xiwen over a dozen years ago.
“That’s what I thought too, so I’ve held off on making any moves during this time.” Otherwise, if they missed this chance, uncovering the truth wouldn’t be so easy.
Time was limited, so Lin Juan and Su Xingchen quickly exchanged information, agreed on a contact method, and parted ways to return to their respective roles.
After that day, Lin Juan’s life didn’t change much. Sister Zhang seemed very satisfied with him and took him everywhere, including to Experiment Zone 5.
“Zone 5 has a high security level—not everyone can go there. Being selected is a huge stroke of luck for you. If you get a chance to be selected further, you could enter our laboratory’s core projects.”
Sister Zhang’s scrutinizing gaze fell on Lin Juan, like a cold snake eyeing its prey covetously yet warily, not daring to strike.
Lin Juan pretended not to notice and put on a carefree expression. “Thank you, Sister Zhang, for giving me this opportunity.”
Lin Juan passed the news to Su Xingchen.
Zone 5 was heavily guarded. Su Xingchen had tried a few times and nearly been discovered, so he went into temporary hiding.
Lin Juan told Su Xingchen to hold off for now and wait until he went inside to check the situation.
Entering Zone 5 required passing through three layers of security checks. Lin Juan observed his surroundings impassively. At least five armed security personnel lurked in the shadows.
After passing security, they entered a long corridor.
Sister Zhang’s breathing quickened—with tension and excitement.
After about ten minutes, they reached the end of the corridor: a silver metal door.
Sister Zhang stepped forward and pulled a silver door card from her chest pocket, pressing it against the panel.
“Beep—Identity confirmed.”
“Beep—Verification passed.”
“Please step forward.”
Sister Zhang took a step ahead. A purple light scanned her from top to bottom.
A green light lit up above the door, and it slid open.
Sister Zhang turned back. “Let’s go.”
Lin Juan stepped forward and underwent the same scan.
Entering through the door, they were greeted by a gigantic ring-shaped transparent tank.
The tank contained various animals and plants—and eyeballs rolling around on their bodies.
Clusters of eyeballs rolled from one body to another. Hearing the noise, they all turned toward Lin Juan in unison.
Greedy, malicious, covetous, jealous… eyes filled with all sorts of emotions fixed on Lin Juan.
Those gazes felt almost tangible, as if an invisible giant tongue, steaming with heat, was twitching eagerly.
Lin Juan’s hand at his side twitched. He suppressed the urge to act.
“This is the main experimental subject our laboratory is responsible for—designated Experimental Subject B-023. You should have seen some in Experiment Zone 1. Each zone gets a few. The zone that raises them best gets to come here and tend to Experimental Subject B-023.”
Sister Zhang stared at the rolling eyeballs in the transparent experimental tank, her expression turning frenzied. “If we can elevate the experimental subject’s grade, there’s hope for a reward and becoming one of the upper class. I’ve found a method. Soon, I’ll become one of the upper class and leave this place.”
“Little Lin, I’ve observed you. You have experience caring for experimental subjects. The B-023 in Zone 1 thrived under you. You can definitely improve their grade.” As she spoke, Sister Zhang leaned close to Lin Juan, her face nearly touching his.
Lin Juan dodged back a little.
Sister Zhang was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t notice.
Sister Zhang turned toward the transparent tank, pressed against it, and gazed fanatically at the eyeballs inside.
“Little Lin, come take a look. What perfect creations they are.”
Lin Juan walked over and probed cautiously. “Sister Zhang, what are they?”
“They are a blessing, the secret formula for evolution. Unfortunately, they’re not mature yet. They need more time.” The fanaticism faded from Sister Zhang’s face, as if regaining sanity. “Little Lin, come a bit closer.”
Lin Juan complied and approached the edge of the transparent tank.
The eyeballs took great interest in him and gathered toward him, piling up layer upon layer. Soon, the side nearest Lin Juan was covered in eyeballs.
“As expected, they like you a lot, Little Lin. From now on, stay here and record B-023’s data. I’ll find someone else to handle the experimental subject you were responsible for in Zone 1.”
Lin Juan wanted to uncover the secrets of Experiment Zone 5, so he agreed. “Alright, Sister Zhang.”
Lin Juan stayed in Experiment Zone 5. The Freckled Boy delivered his daily necessities, ignoring the Freckled Boy’s jealous glare as Lin Juan unpacked.
The new quarters were smaller than before. The room was entirely white, giving Lin Juan the illusion that he had become an experimental subject himself.
Moving into Experiment Zone 5 cut him off almost completely from the outside.
Lin Juan had warned Su Xingchen in advance that he might be transferred to Zone 5, so when the usual contact method failed, Su Xingchen didn’t worry too much.
Seizing an opportunity, Su Xingchen racked up a few minor achievements and got promoted to mid-level security personnel, gaining access to more areas.
During the time he couldn’t reach Lin Juan, he didn’t idle. He explored the secrets of the laboratory buried in the mountainside while searching for companions.
The good news was that he connected with a few companions.
The first was Sheng Tianzong. After entering, Sheng Tianzong became a researcher’s bodyguard, traveling with them and having little free time.
They gradually contacted a few more companions.
Besides the good news, there was bad news.
The bad news was that several ability users had been assimilated. They no longer remembered entering with a mission or their true identities. Deep down, they fully believed themselves to be part of the laboratory staff.
Sheng Tianzong and Su Xingchen tried a few times to awaken them but not only failed—they nearly exposed themselves and had no choice but to hold position.
Days passed. Lin Juan, who spent each day operating mechanical arms to feed the eyeballs various foods, finally found a chance to step out.
He successfully contacted Su Xingchen, and they exchanged information.
Lin Juan didn’t have much time outside. After a hurried chat, he returned to Experiment Zone 5.
That day, Sister Zhang appeared after a long absence.
Sister Zhang brought news.
“They’re sending someone from above to inspect the results. Little Lin, make sure you perform well.”
This was the first time Lin Juan heard about outside the laboratory from someone inside it.
From researchers down to janitors, Lin Juan had tried probing them all. They felt like NPCs with fixed refresh points—barely lifelike, making it hard to glean useful information.
The arrival from above to inspect results caused a stir throughout the laboratory. Researchers doubled their efforts, patrols intensified greatly, and the few clear-headed ability users had to temporarily halt contact.
In the blink of an eye, the people from above arrived.
Lin Juan followed behind Sister Zhang and saw the man being escorted in.
