by <unknown>
Chen Chen looked over and saw a gigantic steel barred door on the other end. At this time, the flashing warning light beside the door suddenly switched from red to green.
"Warning, experiment is commencing. All researchers are advised to evacuate from the experiment section on the first floor. Warning, experiment is commencing. All researchers are advised to evacuate from the experiment section on the first floor…"
The announcement echoed repeatedly across the laboratory. Upon hearing this announcement, Watson, Hannibal, and the others immediately retreated from the laboratory and shuffled into the exits positioned around the first floor.
After approximately ten minutes later, Watson and the rest of the crew who had taken off their protective suits appeared in the observation deck on the second floor.
"Mr. Chen."
"Boss."
Watson, Hannibal, and the others were not surprised to see Chen Chen making an appearance. Everyone in the laboratory was aware of the attention that Chen Chen paid to the G-virus experiments. This terrifying virus would soon be the catalyst to all sorts of biological weapons. It was one of the most crucial experiments conducted in the Spire laboratory.
They were gathered beside Chen Chen and together, they looked at the hall below them through the observation glass.
Shortly after their arrival, the giant gate still flashing green began to rumble like a beast awakening. The sound of metal screeching against metal rang across their ears as the sealed gate started to lift slowly, revealing the dark space hidden behind it all this time.
There seemed to be the presence of something threatening looming in the air as soon as it was opened. The Black Knight that was transformed into a titan-like beast was still panting at first but immediately shot up when the gate started to open. The Black Knight proceeded to fix an iron gaze at the direction of the gate.
It seemed that the God chip was still working as intended.
It was around this point when the thump of steady footsteps that pounded in the hearts of everyone watching started to come from behind the gate.
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
Each heavy footstep slamming against the ground seemed to beat in their hearts like a mighty gong being struck. When they heard this vicious thump, the color was quickly drained out of their faces. It was like how the prey in the natural world reacted when they saw the apex predator — it was a completely genetic response to approaching danger.
The corner of Chen Chen's lip rose to form a smirk. He knew what the source of this footstep was.
Within seconds, a giant standing three and a half meters tall that was covered with swollen muscles stepped out from behind the gate.
The giant was completely unclothed, safe for a pair of black shorts. The tone of its skin was horribly pale and not a single strand of hair could be spotted along its silky smooth skin. The strange texture of its skin made its pale pupils strike out like a sore thumb. As it darted its gaze across its surroundings, everyone present in the observation room apart from Chen Chen felt as if their souls were frozen by this petrifying gaze.
The Tyrant!
Chen Chen took a deep breath. This giant they were looking at was none other than the very first T-virus Tyrant created during Chen Chen's initial research of the Black Knights.
Strictly speaking, it was impossible for a Black Knight to hold its ground against a Tyrant as the sheer mass difference due to its size made the argument a redundant one. A Tyrant's height was twice that of a regular Black Knight and weighed more than five times. In terms of strength, the Tyrant was worlds ahead, where even ten Black Knights could barely match up against a single Tyrant.
However, pure muscles alone were useful in this era due to the advent of advanced firearms. In a direct matchup between a Tyrant and ten Black Knights, all the Black Knights had to do was split up and stand on opposite sides in groups of five and focus fire. In this situation, the enormous size of the Tyrant was as good as useless.
This was why Chen Chen never saw the point of mass-producing Tyrants and only kept it at the initial five all this time.
The Tyrant in the laboratory currently was one of them.
When the Tyrant appeared, the Black Knight started to move as well. It promptly took steps toward the Tyrant's direction to confront it.
Even after the G-358 injection, the Black Knight was still slightly outclassed by the Tyrant in terms of size and strength. Despite that, the aura which the dark-skinned and powerful Black Knight gave off rivaled that of the Tyrant.
Little X proceeded to give the order for the two monsters to attack. The onlookers watched as the two beasts started to accelerate toward each other. When the Tyrant planted its feet into the ground and lurched forward. The metal floor whined and bent under the sheer force generated. The Tyrant propelled itself into the air and fired itself into the Black Knight!
The Black Knight put on a far more agile and nimble display as it accelerated and used its arms and legs to alter its center of gravity. Just as the two beasts were about to collide with each other, it suddenly lurched forward and curled itself into a ball, leaping over the Tyrant!
"Swoosh!"
Everything occurred in a split instant. The two enormous beasts barely avoided a direct collision!
Hannibal, Li Lei, and the rest of the crew held their breaths collectively as they witnessed the enormous monster putting on a fantastical display of agility. The sheer visual impact could not be described with mere words.
This was merely the beginning. The next second, before the Tyrant had time to reset its stance, the Black Knight infected with G-virus flexed its sharp claws and stopped itself from sliding forward by sliding its claws against the wall. A long and narrow scratch immediately formed on the alloy-plated wall.
After that, the Black Knight leaped in the air and landed on the Tyrant's back in a split instant, and started dicing away at its back!
Chunks of flesh and skin scattered across the hall!
"Roar!"
The Tyrant howled furiously and twisted its body endlessly in an attempt to grab the monkey on its back. However, the Black Knight evaded the Tyrant's futile attempts at lightning speed. Left without a choice, the Tyrant decided to land flat on its back to crush its opponents using its weight!
Again, the Black Knight got out of the way by leaping away from the Tyrant's back, freeing itself from danger!
From the second floor, they had a clear and ceiling view on the Tyrant's back that revealed a series of shocking wounds. Rows upon rows of slices along its back highlighted by hints of its spine prodding out from the flesh. Within seconds, they spotted tiny red bugs squirming inside the open wound as they fused themselves into the exposed flesh at a rate that was visible to the naked eye.
The bloodworms were none other than the muscle fibers of the Tyrant. It only took a few minutes for these gruesome wounds to regenerate on their own as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.
This was the terrific regenerative ability which the Tyrant was equipped with.
The Tyrant had not given up on the fight just yet. It seemed to have learned a lesson from the previous confrontation and understood that it could not rely on speed and athleticism against this opponent. It took slow and calculated steps against its opponent, attempting to force the Black Knight into a disadvantageous corner.
Naturally, the Black Knight would not allow itself to be caged foolishly. As the Tyrant drew closer, it suddenly planted its feet into the ground and took a tremendous jump that shot itself into the air, over the head of the Tyrant!
Just as the Black Knight hovered over the airspace above the Tyrant, the Tyrant jumped as well. Despite the Tyrant not possessing the tremendous leaping ability of the Black Knight, the height of the ceiling made it so that there was a limit to the Black Knight's wiggle space. The Tyrant managed to grab its opponent's ankles!
The Tyrant immediately flung the Black Knight the other way around like he wa
s handling a sandbag before borrowing the momentum and slamming the Black Knight into the ground ferociously!
"Bang!"
A deafening impact that filled the hall followed immediately. The surface of the floor that was made with metal could not handle the sheer force of the impact and caved inward!
It was nowhere near over just yet. After smashing the Black Knight into the ground, the Tyrant had not had enough yet. It strengthened its grip and continued smashing the Black Knight against the ground again and again!
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
The terrain of the ground that was once flat had been transformed into a pit by then. Even the walls were not safe from the Tyrant's vicious assault had holes smashed into them. It looked as if a bomb had been set off in the hall. Even from the second floor, the crew of researchers could feel the floor quaking underneath them.
Under this constant barrage, the Black Knight had been crushed into something that resembled meat cotton. By the time the Tyrant had enough and flung it away, it had turned into an unrecognizable chunk of flesh!
"Bang!"
The body of the Black Knight landed lifelessly against the floor like a sack of flesh. There were no further movements after that.
"Is it over?"
They all turned to look at the sack of flesh with a hint of doubt. Soon, they noticed that the sack of flesh was squirming in place and they heard the sounds of structural snapping.
It was the sound of bones growing…
"It could still regenerate after getting to this point?"
Watson muttered.
"Of course, the regenerative of the Black Knight injected with G-358 triumphs even that of the Tyrant."
Little X turned and rolled her eyes at Watson.
By the time Little X had finished her sentence, the chunk of flesh had regenerated itself into a humanoid form again. Despite this observation, the Tyrant stood in place and chose not to attack while it still could. After all, this was not an all-out duel to the death, merely a trial run.
After half a minute had elapsed, the Black Knight got up on its feet again. This time, the stratum corneum layer seemed more fortified and its overall structure seemed more skeletal than its previous rendition.
"Exoskeleton?"
Watson and Hannibal remarked together in astonishment. The G-358 infected Black Knight was displaying signs of evolution!
When the Tyrant saw its opponent standing up again, it unleashed yet another ferocious roar. It did not wait any longer for its opponent to gather itself and immediately charged forward!
This time, the Black Knight did not try to avoid a confrontation. It got into a bent position and charged at the Tyrant as well at full speed. The two beasts had chosen the same approach to settle this fight once and for all!
"Bang!"
An enormous amount of blood splattered everywhere the instant both sides made contact. The Black Knight was sent flying a great distance away by the Tyrant that was larger than itself. Meanwhile, the Tyrant stumbled several paces forward before collapsing onto the ground.
Somewhere along the line, its head was sliced off cleanly…
Chapter 465: The Angels in the Warehouse |
"Thump!"
There came a dull thump of something clapping against a hard surface. The giant head of the Tyrant collided against the observation window in front of the research crew and splattered fresh blood all over the surface of the window.
Many of them could not hold back an aghast shriek when they saw the head of the Tyrant flying toward them. Their complexion immediately turned pale at the sight of it.
When they turned to the Black Knight who was sent flying away, they saw two bone spurs shaped like a pair of sickles sticking out the end of its elbow. The bone was extremely polished and dangerously sharp. The Black Knight must have latched them around the Tyrant's head and borrowed the force of impact when it was knocked away to decapitate the Tyrant!
Chen Chen could not resist the urge to clap and celebrate. "Truly impressive, to think that it can take on the Tyrant in melee combat. I must admit that I never expected such a terrific outcome."
"Does this count as cheating though?"
Li Lei who was standing beside seemed to downplay its victory. "Boss, this Black Knight resorted to using weapons. Although it did grow the weapon itself, it's still hard to say who would come out on top if the Tyrant was allowed a chance at a rematch, isn't it?"
Chen Chen shook his head and chuckled in a manner that was uncharacteristic for him. "That's where you're wrong, Li Lei. It seems like your reaction speed needs some keeping up as well. You have this misconception that the Tyrant is stronger but if you have been paying attention to the fight, you'll notice that the Black Knight with the G-358 injection is on another level whether in terms of agility, defensive abilities, and regenerative abilities. What's even more absurd is that it manages to evolve in the middle of the fight. Even if you run it back a hundred times, the victor will still be the same."
Upon mentioning this, Chen Chen suddenly shook his head regretfully. "It's a shame that the effects of this drug aren't permanent."
Little X nodded in agreement. She looked at the hall below and noted. "It has been fifteen minutes since its transformation. Based on what we've observed from previous experiments, it should be about time…"
Just as Little X said this, the Black Knight suddenly bent down and collapsed on its knee as if all its strength was suddenly being drained away. In a split instant, giant surges of water vapor gushed out of its mouth and nose. It looked like all the water inside its body was evaporating. Meanwhile, the bone spurs growing along its back and elbows as well as the layer of stratum corneum began to oxidize and diffused into dense powder that scattered into the air…
"The experiment subject is shelling!"
Hannibal exclaimed.
Everyone turned to look at the Black Knight and saw the water vapor dissipating into the air around it. The Black Knight that transformed into a monster seemed to have undergone a process of molting seen in regular insects. Soon, it shed off the giant layer of skin and emerged from its freshly molted shell.
Chen Chen observed as the Black Knight that was riddled with spikes and layers of stratum corneum had returned to its usual form. Apart from the mucus that was pasted all over its body, another distinct difference was — the Black Knight had lost an unbelievable amount of weight, nearly seventy to eighty kilograms. Not only that, there was not a hint of body hair on any surface of its skin anymore.
"Unbelievable…"
Chen Chen commented on the bizarre sight.
Chen Chen remembered that just several months ago, he had witnessed the same experiment conducted by Little X on a common lab rabbit. At the time, the drug used was not the optimized G-358 virus but the G-322 instead.
At the time, Chen Chen was already greatly astounded by the sight of the rabbit returning to its original form after the effects of the drug had expired. Comparatively, what he was witnessing now gave him an even larger shock.
"Mr. Chen, we…"
It was around this point when Watson suddenly spoke to Chen Chen.
"Go."
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Chen waved him away. Chen Chen knew that Watson wanted to bring his crew back to the research hall on the first floor to conduct a full-body inspection and data collection on the Black Knight to sample data before and after being injected with G-358.
After receiving permission from Chen Chen, they proceeded to leave the second floor. After around ten minutes, they had their protective suits back on and appeared in the hall on the first floor again to conduct a sequence of tests on the Black Knight.
If the previous form of the Black Knight could be described as having the stature of a fearsome and stout warrior, it would be generous to even describe the current Black Knight as a shell of its former self. It was all skin and bones as if its body had been hollowed out. It only sat lifelessly like a dying patient.
H
alf an hour later, after a series of tests were complete, the report was handed to Chen Chen.
"Yes, although the Black Knight lost eighty percent of body fat and fifty percent of his muscles because of this 'molting' process and became severely malnourished with low blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar, these are all reversible. His body hasn't sustained any irreversible damage."
Chen Chen read through the report ruminatively. "Which means that with the body of Black Knights, the usage of G-358 is perfectly viable under emergency situations."
"Yes, especially when there's no access to suitable firearms."
Little X added. "There's also the possibility that the G-358 can be a lifesaver in specific situations."
Chen Chen agreed with the notion and nodded.
This was already the fifty-fifth experiment conducted on the G-358, which meant that the experiment was nearing its conclusive stages. Though there was still the slight possibility of mishap, it could be generally concluded by now that the benefits of G-358 outweighed its drawbacks.
This was an excellent value product.
"But I have yet another bolder idea."
Chen Chen suddenly mentioned, "If such drastic transformation is displayed by the Black Knight after being injected with G-358, then what happens if we inject this into the Tyrant? What would be the result?"
Little X was intrigued by this idea as well. It was true, the Black Knights share similar characteristics with the Tyrant. The only difference being that the Black Knights were miniaturized versions of the Tyrants. The Black Knight also had some genetics tweaked to make their characteristics closer to that of humans.
If the G-358 was effective on the Black Knights, it should work on the Tyrants as well.
"I'm afraid the effects wouldn't be significant."
After a brief consideration, Little X used her computer to run a simulation of the genetic alteration process that the G-358 injection may pose on the Tyrant. She then informed, "I found that there's a regular pattern that follows the injection of this variant of the G-3 series virus. Previously, when rabbits were used as experiment subjects, the largest recorded size is approximately ten times larger, transforming a 20 centimeters-tall rabbit into a gigantic rabbit standing one meter tall. When used on the Black Knights, however, they only grew four to five times on average. If used on the Tyrants, the effect may be far lessened, perhaps barely enlarging it at all."
