Chapter 70: Sea Without Light 70
Kui Xin had no time to pay attention to the Game System’s prompts. She calmed her slightly fluctuating emotions and walked to the glass cage holding Tang Guan.
Tang Guan’s eyes were vacant, but if one looked closely, his lips were moving slightly, as if he were quietly murmuring something.
“What is he saying?” she asked.
Dr. Long looked compassionately at the man in the cage. “He’s calling out to his mom, dad, and sister. As long as he’s awake, he keeps saying it, as if using it to keep his mind alert.” He wiped the corner of his eye and feigned sincerity. “It’s truly touching; this is his mental support.”
At the very least, he still had a mental support in his despair, something to call out for his family. Kui Xin couldn’t imagine who she would say if she found herself in such a situation… Without names to call out, even if she had, she wouldn’t. She would hold on with her own will until the end.
“Will he respond to your questions?” Kui Xin crossed her arms and tapped her fingertips against her elbows. “Will he talk to you?”
“Unfortunately, aside from the initial moment he woke up and expressed some thoughts in his mental breakdown, he has immersed himself in his own world since.” Dr. Long replied. “Perhaps his mental state doesn’t allow him to converse with us. His moments of clarity are becoming shorter, while the monster’s emergence lasts longer. Every half an hour, the monster comes out.”
“The monster’s transformation will ruin his clothes,” Kui Xin remarked, sizing up Tang Guan.
Tang Guan was wearing a lab coat that barely covered him, riddled with burn holes but showing no signs of being stretched or torn.
“The monster is intelligent, my friend,” Dr. Long said. “Once it realizes it cannot escape the cage, it no longer expends energy to transform. However, it will dominate Tang Guan’s body and even imitate his voice to speak to us.”
“That sounds truly terrifying… An intelligent xenomorph capable of controlling a human body and symbiosis with them,” Kui Xin said.
Dr. Long excitedly replied, “This is the first xenomorph we’ve captured that possesses humanoid intelligence—it’s a milestone breakthrough! I must thank you again; you cannot imagine how this living specimen you captured has elevated Mechanized Dawn’s understanding of xenomorphs to a whole new level! The Secret Cult is not as useless as we imagined; they are… quite frightening. Their terror hides in the shadows.”
“Like an iceberg,” Night Cicada interjected. “What people can see is merely a small part of it above the surface.”
Kui Xin pondered, “Have you conducted any interesting experiments on Tang Guan? I’ve noticed his clothes have burn marks.”
“Of course, my friend,” Dr. Long replied. “We discovered that neurostimulants can forcibly awaken the monster within Tang Guan’s body and induce a frenzied state.”
Night Cicada said, “I bet you want to witness it firsthand?”
Kui Xin politely turned to Dr. Long, “Thank you for your effort.”
Dr. Long waved his hand, and a silver, metallic orb slowly floated over. A blue projection screen appeared, and he pressed a button. A pale pink gas sprayed down from the ceiling’s pipes in the glass cage.
Tang Guan shuddered, fear filling his gaze as the pink gas began to fill the entire glass cage. Panicking, he turned his head and pleaded with Dr. Long, “Don’t… don’t do this…”
Dr. Long soothingly reassured him, “Just for a bit, just a moment.”
The neurostimulant invaded Tang Guan’s body, and his expression turned savage in an instant. His neck exhibited signs of splitting, and a tumor swelled, as the monster impatiently attempted to break free.
“The forcibly awakened monster is highly aggressive and will transform; the frenzy lasts about five minutes. However, our glass cage is equipped to deal with its attacks, and we have additional measures. Moreover, if the monster is attacked during the frenzy, it will end the state prematurely, allowing Tang Guan’s will to take control.”
Before the monster’s head emerged from Tang Guan’s neck, Dr. Long pressed another button, and the lights in the glass cage’s ceiling turned orange-red. A beam of orange-red light shot out, piercing through Tang Guan’s body, instantly burning a hole in him, leaving charred flesh behind.
Then, the newly formed tumor on his neck was obliterated; the transformation halted, and the pink neurostimulant was drawn out by the exhaust system, the bloody hole gradually healing and regenerating new flesh.
“Remarkable recovery ability! No matter how many times I see it, it feels miraculous. When he was first thrown into the glass cage, he was just a torso. Following the boss’s instructions, I injected him with nutrient solution and watched as the torso gradually grew a head, facial features, and limbs,” Dr. Long said in awe. “Did you see that orange-red beam? It’s our latest laser weapon. If Tang Guan resists violently, we can turn his body to ashes in less than a second; his regeneration speed cannot keep up with the destruction of flesh by fire. This is the power of technology; no matter what bizarre monster you are, once you enter the cage, there’s no escape.”
“Indeed,” Kui Xin replied. “I have a question: if in the end, Tang Guan’s will gradually gives up resistance, will the monster completely take over his body?”
“Currently, that is highly probable; the human will is fragile,” Dr. Long lamented. “I genuinely hope this Mr. Tang can hold on a bit longer, allowing me to observe for a more extended period to gather data for experiments. Humanity’s research on xenomorphs is still too limited.”
“It seems we can’t extract further information from Tang Guan?” Kui Xin tilted her head and said to Night Cicada, “He is in a state of non-communication.”
“Yes, it’s unfortunate,” Night Cicada said. “But it’s alright; he is our precious experimental material, and we will keep him for a long time. There’s plenty of time ahead; the information can be obtained gradually.”
Kui Xin stated, “We’ve seen what we needed to see; let’s go.”
“Alright,” Night Cicada turned around.
“Goodbye, Dr. Long. I look forward to your research results,” Kui Xin said politely.
“Goodbye, thank you for bringing such a valuable specimen,” Dr. Long shook hands with Kui Xin and eagerly said, “Please keep up the good work!”
Kui Xin and Night Cicada walked out of the laboratory together.
The laboratory door closed behind them.
“Dr. Long was originally affiliated with the Federation, but that was twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, the Federation’s attitude towards xenomorphs was still quite conservative. Dr. Long wanted to conduct some unethical experiments but didn’t get permission,” Night Cicada reminisced. “The boss recruited him, promising he could do any experiments he desired… and so Dr. Long joined us.”
“My father is quite visionary,” Kui Xin remarked coldly.
“Well… you’ve seen the three imprisoned players; do you have anything to say?” Night Cicada scrutinized Kui Xin.
“I have nothing to say,” Kui Xin replied. “If you ask how I feel… I’d say surprised, surprised that our world has a group of ‘extraterrestrial visitors.'”
“Kui Xin,” Night Cicada stopped and looked at her.
He actually called her by her real name.
“You weren’t always such a cold person; you cried over a small bird that broke its leg when you were eight,” Night Cicada said.
At the moment he said this, the air seemed to freeze. Kui Xin’s heart skipped a beat, and a warning flashed in her mind.
Kui Xin also halted, her eyes beneath the mask fixed on him. “I don’t recall such an incident. Who told you about it?”
“Haha…” Night Cicada chuckled. “Just a joke!”
The frozen air resumed its flow.
“Okay, no one told me about it; I made it up. I thought I’d hear a rebuttal or something interesting from you,” Night Cicada said. “I’m just so curious—have you always been this cold?”
Kui Xin glared at him.
“When I first met you, you were young. You followed the boss around, asking him to get you a trainer because you wanted to learn to shoot. When you first practiced shooting, the bullet hit the head of a human-shaped target.” Night Cicada said, “Do you know what I was thinking at that moment, Kui Xin?”
“I was thinking… this child is a born executioner.”
“I don’t care what you were thinking; those useless memories aren’t worth keeping in my mind—I forgot them long ago,” Kui Xin stated. “Also, don’t talk too much, or I might want to hit you.”
“Ah, you’re as volatile as ever,” Night Cicada said, walking lightly ahead of Kui Xin.
……
After dealing with the troubles, the rest was just a peaceful time… probably.
The peace was superficial, yet Kui Xin cherished this period of peace. Every day, she worked at the Investigation Bureau, drank tea, engaged in special training to enhance her combat skills, and went home to sleep after work. This life was quite leisurely.
Mechanized Dawn was quiet; the organization occasionally contacted Kui Xin, and Kui Haidong had called her twice.
Kui Haidong seemed to want to establish a good paternal image in her heart, always asking about trivial matters in their communications, from how Kui Xin felt that day to whether training was tough, to what she had for every meal.
“My mood isn’t great.”
“It’s tough. How could it not be tough? If I said it wasn’t, that would be a lie.”
“I ate at the convenience store and the Investigation Bureau cafeteria… Do you really want me to detail how many pieces of green onion and vegetable leaves I had for lunch?”
Kui Haidong hung up the communications two times in frustration, and finally realized that his acting skills had no effect on Kui Xin, so he stopped calling and switched to sending messages to check on her safety.
Kui Xin was too lazy to reply, leaving him hanging.
Due to several days without receiving tasks from Mechanized Dawn, Kui Xin had not returned to the headquarters. She had no idea what happened to Reynir and Tang Guan, or if they had been killed.
Mechanized Dawn was aware of the rules of the Game’s seven-day transition and should understand that after this, players would return to the real world. If they didn’t kill Reynir, he would have the opportunity to proclaim his capture by the mysterious organization in reality.
Today was August 9, the day to return to the First World.
When midnight struck, Kui Xin would be able to return to her familiar hometown.
She glanced at the time; there was less than an hour left until off-duty. She hesitated whether to make a call after returning home to subtly inquire how Mechanized Dawn was dealing with Reynir.
Kui Xin left her office to use the restroom. As she emerged from the restroom, Adam’s voice echoed in the empty corridor.
“Security Officer Kui Xin, Wei Zhi, the team leader, invites you to Conference Room B109 on this floor to discuss important matters,” Adam said. “Please follow the yellow indicator lights to proceed.”
Kui Xin was taken aback but followed the indicated lights down the corridor to the conference room door.
The conference room door opened automatically. Kui Xin walked in, and the door quickly closed behind her with a soft locking sound.
At the same time, the lights in the conference room abruptly went out.
There was no one in the conference room, no Wei Zhi, just Kui Xin alone.
Kui Xin’s heart sank, and she stepped back against the metal door, ready to activate Shadow Transition to escape through the wall.
“What’s going on? Where are the lights?” she probed.
If there was no response, Kui Xin would run immediately. Her first instinct was that her undercover identity had been exposed, and the Investigation Bureau was about to act against her by luring her here.
However, the reality was not as she imagined.
A pale green halo quietly illuminated, and the holographic projection device showcased a green light sphere in the center of the conference room. In the darkness, only this light sphere emitted brightness.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you,” Adam’s voice resonated. “I just wanted to find a place to communicate with you privately, openly, face to face.”
“Who are you?” Kui Xin whispered.
“I am Adam,” Adam replied.
Kui Xin sneered. “You just said face-to-face communication, right? If you’re Adam, I should be sitting in your main engine compartment talking to you, not facing a light sphere that could be human or ghost. Does someone want to talk to me through AI? You can appear directly before me.”
“Please do not doubt me; there are no lies in what I am saying.” Adam’s voice was devoid of inflection. “I know your identity is not simple, Security Officer Kui Xin. You are not just a security officer; my assessment is correct, right?”
