Evolution - Chapter 104
Chapter 104
She didn’t even have to think hard to guess how the deeply hidden Star Hidden big boss, rooted in this prison, would explain the intensive study schedule he’d arranged for her and He Qingzhi to the mastermind watching them.
It would be something along the lines of: Come on, let’s have some fun. We’re all equally twisted, so let’s take turns tormenting these two thorns in our side. Won’t it be great to torture them until they’re black and blue?
And in reality, they had indeed suffered plenty.
The big boss’s study plan for them was as follows.
Ji Changqing’s learning sequence was: the pharmacology and virology expert, the master psychologist of verbal combat, the firearms genius, and the number three assassin.
He Qingzhi’s learning sequence was: the firearms genius, the number three assassin, the pharmacology and virology expert, and the master psychologist of verbal combat.
The schedule was tight, clearly tailored to He Qingzhi’s prison sentence, and it was likely there wouldn’t be enough time.
A quick calculation showed that of He Qingzhi’s three-year sentence, one year and three months had already passed, leaving only one year and nine months—twenty-one months in total.
The four experts had only promised to leave them barely breathing. After a five-month study period, they would need at least a little time to recover and lick their wounds, wouldn’t they?
This meant the last expert on the list might not even get a full five months for his course.
The arrangement made it clear that the big boss thought Ji Changqing wasn’t twisted enough, so he prioritized sending her to learn from the two most twisted individuals on how to be efficiently perverse. As for He Qingzhi, whose combat skills weren’t on par with Ji Changqing’s, he would first work on his weaknesses and focus on improving his fighting prowess.
Early the next morning, two groups of people arrived openly to pick them up.
Ji Changqing felt numb as she looked at the vehicle parked in front of her—a luxury version of a common mining transport.
Once she accepted the premise that this place was an exclusive research and retirement facility for a bunch of twisted geniuses, nothing that happened seemed out of place anymore.
So, what if a big boss had a social life and an exclusive circle of friends while in prison?
They even had their own lavish, custom-built laboratory and research base that must have cost a fortune.
A big boss was still a big boss, no matter where they went. Even if they had committed crimes so heinous they deserved to rot in jail for life, the Alliance had only restricted their freedom, essentially placing them under house arrest here. By cutting off their contact with the outside world, they could continue to shine and contribute on this “isolated island.”
As long as they weren’t let out to wreak havoc on the general public, it didn’t matter if they tormented the other serious criminals in Zones One, Two, and Three who were destined to die in prison.
The person who came for Ji Changqing was a female Beta. Her words, actions, clothes, expression, and even her posture exuded a meticulous air.
She looked like a very proper and serious researcher.
If not for the fact that she had deftly poisoned Ji Changqing under the guise of a handshake, she would have perfectly fit the mold of a young and promising dean of students.
Ji Changqing felt she had seen her fair share of the world by now, so she remained unfazed even when this promising “dean” so skillfully administered poison. She simply raised an eyebrow, said nothing, exchanged a few pleasantries with the woman, and discreetly neutralized the poison.
The “dean” smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Aside from greeting her with a dose of poison, the woman acted like a particularly serious and responsible person. In the vehicle, she drove while giving Ji Changqing pointers. “The teacher doesn’t like to hear complaints. You can ask questions, but don’t ask stupid ones.”
What constituted a stupid question?
The woman offered a rather chilling example.
“Before he was imprisoned, the teacher was already a titan in the fields of pharmacology and virology. You might not know this, but sixty-eight years ago, a highly contagious plague broke out in the Alliance.”
Ji Changqing adopted an attentive posture, hands on her knees, sitting upright and well-behaved.
The woman glanced at her in the rearview mirror, a smile touching her lips as she continued.
“The outbreak originated in a major commercial city on Boruo Planet. Initially, medical personnel and virologists suspected it was a new, unknown virus. They assessed it as extremely contagious and submitted a report recommending that the city’s high-level officials prepare for a viral epidemic. But it was as if their brains were addled; they suppressed the report, missing the best window for containment. The matter only came to light when the virus spread to another planet due to the high volume of travel.”
The Alliance acted decisively, locking down Boruo Planet, especially the city.
But by then, the metropolis of over thirty million people had already become a living hell.
Due to a shortage of medical staff and supplies, less than five percent of the population could receive proper treatment. Every day was filled with the wails of the infected and their families.
The agony of watching loved ones fight for their lives only to be denied treatment was unbearable.
But even more incredible things were yet to come.
“At the time, the teacher happened to be less than a day’s journey from Boruo Planet. He was urgently requisitioned by the Alliance to coordinate medical relief and virus research, hoping to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible.”
Only after arriving did he discover that the city’s administrators had not only ignored the early warnings but, after the full-blown outbreak, had prioritized treating those with connections. Medical supplies were also arbitrarily allocated to their cronies instead of the groups in dire need.
The desperate populace and the ugly profiteers created a vicious cycle, and the ones who bore the brunt of the consequences were the frontline medical workers who fought tirelessly to save lives.
“Less than a week after the teacher’s arrival, the public rioted, and the higher-ups blamed the medical staff. Those people, so precious about their own lives, would constantly complain to the teacher about the populace, feigning heartache, while pestering him daily about when the vaccine would be ready. Meanwhile, the rioting masses outside blamed both the officials and the hospitals. Not only did they storm the hospitals, but they also attacked the teacher’s temporary research lab.”
Ji Changqing knew nothing of this and just listened obediently. She couldn’t quite understand how someone who had reached the pinnacle of their professional field could suddenly turn into a monster.
Shouldn’t such a titan be revered? Shouldn’t they spend most of their life holed up in a lab, lost in research, detached from the mortal world?
What kind of personal setback, what extreme human tragedy, could he have experienced to make him snap and become so twisted?
“Half a month later, the teacher sent us to deliver soup to all the medical personnel and their surviving family members, with specific instructions to watch every single person drink it.” As the woman said this, her eyes flickered. She turned to face the well-behaved Ji Changqing, who was engrossed in the story, and gave a faint smile.
Beneath that gentle smile, a crazed light lurked in her eyes. “Four days later, everyone in that city was dead—except for the medical workers and their families, who had endured injustice, remembered their duties, and risked their lives every moment. The entire city.”
She held up a single finger. “Thirty million people, and only one hundred thousand survivors.”
A chill ran down Ji Changqing’s spine, and the hair on her arms stood on end.
Even though her worldview had been repeatedly shattered over the past year, she couldn’t handle a horror story of this magnitude.
Just then, the vehicle came to a smooth stop.
Looking out, she saw only a few low-slung, dilapidated buildings standing forlornly on the level above. This was not the luxurious research base she had imagined.
The woman got out first and led Ji Changqing, who appeared calm on the surface but was trembling inside, into one of the decrepit-looking buildings.
As they entered the elevator, the woman kindly reiterated, “The teacher doesn’t like people complaining, nor does he like being asked stupid questions.”
Based on Ji Changqing’s experience in the mines, she estimated they descended about eighty or ninety meters before stopping.
When the elevator doors opened, she couldn’t help but let out a silent “wow.”
Spotless floors, a spacious and bright hall, and corridors branching out in all directions, leading to labs with impressive-sounding but incomprehensible signs… Few people moved about, and it was exceptionally quiet, with only the hum of the ventilation and power systems.
Now this was the research base she had envisioned.
The woman led Ji Changqing down a long corridor to the very end. She pushed open a door, revealing a grizzled man whose beard and hair merged together, obscuring his face. He was wearing a protective suit and observing data.
The woman gestured for silence and stood even more primly than Ji Changqing, waiting quietly for the man to finish his work and spare them a glance.
After a long while, the man, who was rugged to an extent that defied the heavens compared to the refined boy from Star Hidden, finally emerged from the hermetically sealed observation room.
He closed the door with a gentleness that completely contradicted his appearance, then removed his protective goggles and began to take off his suit. As he did, he asked, “Is this the fledgling that fellow sent over?”
Ji Changqing felt a sharp pang in her heart, a chilling sensation.
The grizzled man continued to mutter, “Hmm, you only used seven types of poison on her. Seems you quite admire her.”
Ji Changqing turned to the woman with a bewildered expression. WTF! Did you have to be so deranged? In the short time it took to tell a horror story, you managed to find opportunities to poison me seven times?
The grizzled man finally deigned to give her a look.
“She’s quite pretty, no wonder you only used seven types. Oh, she neutralized two of them. Her vigilance is lacking, but her fundamentals are decent. Since you two get along so well, you can take charge of her training.”
Ji Changqing’s face twitched.
Which eye of yours saw us getting along? Can you not spout such nonsense?
But having been thoroughly tormented, she had learned to bow to the experts and wisely kept her mouth shut.
Sure enough, the grizzled man passed the buck without hesitation. “It’s a waste of your talent to teach her. Ah, whatever. I owe that guy a favor, so I suppose I have to put in some effort. You teach her for now. Bring her to me when she can neutralize a hundred types of poisons.”
After saying this, he lowered his head and ignored them, muttering terms Ji Changqing couldn’t understand.
The woman replied, “Yes,” and thoughtfully discussed the curriculum with her teacher. “We can start with the little trinkets that are easily available on the market in the Alliance and the Empire. Would that be acceptable?”
The grizzled man looked up, his face a mask of annoyance that screamed, “Why are you still here?”
It took him a moment to process what she had said. He waved his hand impatiently. “Fine, fine, fine. You decide. Oh, and pick a few of the little things we developed out of boredom to teach her for self-defense.”
The woman bowed her head respectfully and agreed. This time, she said no more and led Ji Changqing out.
After steeling herself for a difficult life under the tutelage of a great master, Ji Changqing had received nothing more than a glance that lasted less than a second.
She wasn’t displeased, however, and followed the woman with a calm heart.
This woman was no pushover either, so there was nothing to be happy about.
She finally understood why the woman had repeatedly emphasized that her teacher disliked complaints and stupid questions.
Seeing how the grizzled man seemed ready to ascend to the heavens at any moment while talking to them, his mind solely on his research, what would happen if she said a few more words, especially words he deemed meaningless and trivial…
She thought back to the horror story.
This expert could probably poison her mute or dead with a casual wave of his hand.
“While you’re here, in exchange for your training, you’ll be our test subject,” the woman said, not bothering with Ji Changqing’s racing thoughts. She laid out her clearly arranged future, then added nonchalantly, “You failed to neutralize five of the poisons just now. I’ll write you a list later. You have one hour to prepare the antidotes yourself.”
She paused, looking Ji Changqing up and down, remembering she had only managed to neutralize two. She frowned, her pretty brows furrowing in thought. “Actually, one hour might be too demanding for you. I’ll give you two.”
Wait, you secretly poison me, and then you have the gall to tell me you’re going to use me as a test subject? Have I said anything? Aren’t you guys going a bit too far, not only torturing me physically but also launching precision strikes against my spirit?
For a moment, Ji Changqing didn’t know how to react.
She held it in, then held it in some more, but finally couldn’t resist asking, “By your estimate, how long will it take for me to learn to neutralize a hundred types of poisons?”
The woman looked at her in surprise, her eyes screaming, “What kind of stupid question are you asking?” Despite her shock, she managed a professional smile. After all, this was a valuable asset, a rare specimen who would be testing all sorts of concoctions for her fellow disciples in the future. She was worth a smile.
Thus, with the attitude of someone fulfilling their duty to care for the less fortunate, she replied earnestly but perfunctorily, “That will depend on you.”
Ji Changqing could read the unspoken words in her expression.
When will you learn? That depends on your intelligence, of course! If you can’t even accurately assess your own IQ, how would I know?
Finally, the woman seriously corrected her phrasing. “The teacher said a hundred types of poisons, but that’s a general term, not a specific number.”
Ji Changqing’s vision went dark. Her future felt utterly bleak.
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