Chapter 307 : Flesh Cultivation
Under Zhang Yi's gaze, Li Jian revealed his arm, which was covered in seeds beneath the skin.
Suddenly, Li Jian clenched his fist, and Zhang Yi noticed a faint white light appear between his eyebrows.
The next mont, Li Jian's arm began to writhe, as if hundreds of insects were frantically struggling underneath, trying to burst through the skin!
“Pop!”
The skin suddenly split open, and a single stalk of wheat, stained with blood, sprouted out, vibrant green but disturbingly covered in blood.
Then ca a second stalk, a third, and a fourth...
As more seeds sprouted, Li Jian’s face beca paler and paler.
“That’s enough. I understand what’s going on.”
Zhang Yi stopped him, not allowing him to continue displaying his ability.
This power was lethal. Simply put, it was a form of sacrifice, using one's own flesh and blood to nourish plants.
If Zhang Yi were to rate this power, it would rank very low among Superhuman abilities, as the price to pay was too high, and the effect was diocre at best.
Li Jian gasped for breath and then called in Professor Ge to help extract the crops and transplant them into cultivation dishes.
"Snow Worship Cult..."
Zhang Yi muttered the na, feeling both curious and wary.
Clearly, Li Jian's power was not obtained in the usual way. It was sothing artificially induced later.
That white light between his eyebrows undoubtedly had so side effects.
Although Zhang Yi didn’t yet know what those side effects were, he didn’t believe there was anyone in the world who would give without expecting sothing in return.
If Li Jian had shown a combat-related ability instead of this planting power, Zhang Yi would have killed him already.
"That’s enough. I’m leaving."
Zhang Yi had lost interest in the cultivation room and turned to leave.
Li Jian collapsed weakly to the ground, realizing only then that his back was soaked with sweat.
For Zhang Yi, this had been nothing more than a curious visit.
But for Li Jian and the entire Building 18, they had just walked along the edge of hell.
Had Zhang Yi changed his mind even slightly, they all would have died right there!
Zhang Yi returned to his safe house, preparing to wait for what would happen next so he could decide his next move.
If the shelter were really hit by a missile, he would need to quickly find a new place to stay.
Staying at Yuelu Residential Area wasn’t absolutely safe.
He might move to another secure area in Tianhai City, or perhaps relocate to a more remote area in the countryside.
“I wonder if Liang Yue will succeed. If she manages to insert the chip into the West Hill Base’s central network computer, I’ll be able to go from reactive to proactive!” ṝäNốβĘṢ
Zhang Yi thought silently.
But for now, there was nothing he could do except wait for Liang Yue’s next move.
---
At West Hill Base.
After returning from the Fourth Life Pod, Liang Yue was more determined than ever to help her students escape.
If they didn’t leave soon, very few of them would survive.
After their failed attempt to hunt down Zhang Yi, West Hill Base had lost many of its best warriors, including half of their cyborg soldiers.
As a result, the base would likely accelerate its human experintation to make up for the loss in combat power.
Ti was not on her side.
Liang Yue made her way toward the Second Life Pod.
She lived in this area, which also housed the base’s Information Departnt and several other critical sectors.
When she arrived at the Second Life Pod, she noticed the hallways were crowded with people.
These were villagers from Xu Family Town, all dressed in gray and wearing electronic handcuffs, lined up against the walls.
Ard soldiers patrolled the area, their sharp eyes scanning the villagers, intimidating them into submission.
When the soldiers saw Liang Yue, they imdiately saluted.
"Captain Liang!"
Liang Yue’s combat uniform bore the captain’s gold star, a symbol of her rank within West Hill Base.
She nodded and casually asked, "What’s going on here?"
One of the soldiers glanced at the despondent villagers before approaching Liang Yue and whispering, "According to orders from the higher-ups, they are to undergo mass mutation experints!"
Liang Yue’s pupils contracted sharply.
Mutation experints?
On so many people?
She couldn’t help but recall the grotesque bodies she had once seen being fed into the food processing chamber.
Human mutation experints weren’t a secret at West Hill Base—they were conducted openly.
At least, they weren’t a secret to those in the higher levels of the Life Pods.
However, they were kept hidden from the test subjects in the Fourth Life Pod.
"Why so many?" Liang Yue asked, her voice low.
"The success rate of these experints isn’t that high, is it?"
The soldier was slightly taken aback, casting a few more glances at Liang Yue.
"Don’t you know, Captain?"
As a naturally born Superhuman and a captain at West Hill Base, Liang Yue had certain privileges, so the soldier had assud she knew the details.
"I’ve only been at the base for a short ti," Liang Yue replied. "I’m still unfamiliar with so things."
The soldier nodded in understanding. "Ah, right, of course."
"Actually, the reason is simple. Nearly all the Special Forces team mbers were either killed or injured during the mission, resulting in a significant loss of combat power."
"The higher-ups likely want to make up for this loss."
Liang Yue clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles cracked, her eyes filled with hatred for Chen Xinian, the leader of the base.
She had thought the villagers were taken as laborers, but Chen Xinian was even more cruel than she had imagined!
These people weren’t laborers—they were test subjects!
From the fate of her missing students, she knew just how low the success rate of these experints was.
Liang Yue looked at the long line of villagers, as if she were watching lambs waiting for the reaper’s scythe.
Most of them would die, and their bodies would be processed into protein als.
Her throat convulsed, and she almost vomited on the spot.
She turned and continued walking deeper into the base.
But then, she realized sothing.
The Second Life Pod housed all of West Hill Base’s core departnts: the Experintation Departnt, Information Departnt, Engineering Departnt, Food Safety Departnt, and Storage Center, among others.
However, the base’s underground space was limited, so all these departnts were closely connected, and none were far from Liang Yue’s quarters.
Moreover, Chen Xinian seed to believe that any unrest would only co from the Fourth Life Pod, where the test subjects resided, as those in the higher-level pods had no reason to rebel—they were the beneficiaries.
Therefore, the security around the Second Life Pod wasn’t particularly tight.
On a normal day, there would be patrolling guards.
But this ti, due to the failure of the mission, many of the guards had been reduced.
And since a large number of soldiers were needed to escort over 400 villagers from Xu Family Town for experints, even more soldiers had been diverted to maintain order.
So many people crowded into the corridors of the Second Life Pod had caused so degree of chaos.
For Liang Yue, this was the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the Information Departnt!
As she walked, she carefully observed her surroundings.
This mission couldn’t fail. She had to be extrely cautious.
As she passed by the entrance of the Information Departnt, she slowed down slightly, taking in the situation.
At that mont, a soldier assigned to guard the villagers noticed her.
Liang Yue rounded a corner, and then heard a voice behind her.
"Ms. Liang, please wait!"
Her back imdiately stiffened, but she forced herself to stay calm as she turned around.
A soldier in combat gear, holding a gun, was approaching her.
"Is sothing the matter?" Liang Yue asked, keeping her voice steady.
The soldier hesitated for a mont, then unexpectedly removed his helt, revealing a youthful face.
"Ms. Liang, it’s !"
Seeing the person in front of her, Liang Yue couldn’t help but exclaim, "Ye Xiaotian!"
The soldier standing before her was one of her forr students who had been taken away.
Ye Xiaotian glanced around cautiously before leaning in and whispering, "Ms. Liang, I didn’t expect you to beco a captain in the Special Forces. I’m so envious!"
"How did this happen? Why did you join the Special Forces?" Liang Yue asked, staring at him.
Ye Xiaotian gave a bitter smile.
"Don’t you know? I’m the only one of the students they took who survived the experints."
He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a terrifying dark red scar on his chest, like sothing grafted from a plant.
Liang Yue’s heart raced, and she couldn’t help but hug the student tightly. "Thank goodness, you’re still alive!"
"What about the others? Are they all dead?"
Ye Xiaotian’s eyes dimd as he nodded, "Yes, they’re all dead."
Although Liang Yue had expected this outco, she still felt a pang of sorrow.
Other soldiers passed by but said nothing when they saw Liang Yue talking to Ye Xiaotian, since she was a Special Forces captain and had the authority to speak with him.
Looking at her student, an idea suddenly ca to Liang Yue.
If she acted alone, the risks would be high.
But if she had soone to assist her, especially a Special Forces mber, the chances of successfully infiltrating the Information Departnt would increase significantly!
Liang Yue glanced around and said to Ye Xiaotian, "Co with . I need to talk to you."
Ye Xiaotian didn’t hesitate at all. Since the apocalypse began, he had been through too much hell.
There was only one person in the world he could still trust—Liang Yue.
Without Liang Yue, he and the other students would have died long ago at Tianqing Academy.
Now, in his half-human, half-monster state, he desperately hoped to find comfort and redemption through Liang Yue.
Author's Note
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