Cave Refuge

Under normal circumstances, to test the effects of a certain potion, multiple clinical trials are required to confirm its efficacy.

However, what Dong Tianyu held in his hand was a highly valuable potion capable of awakening super abilities in people. Thus, unless the first trial failed, Dong Tianyu would never consider using a second bottle for more experimentation.

Leo King understood Dong Tianyu's thoughts well. After all, the first bottle was volunteered by Dong Tianyu as a test sample, so irrespective of its value, it represented the cost Dong Tianyu was willing to pay to understand the potion's effects.

If the test subject gained super abilities after taking the first bottle, then the remaining potion would become extremely precious to Dong Tianyu. This was especially clear given Dong Tianyu's earlier comments that suggested he did not acquire these potions by any overtly legitimate means.

Conversely, if the first trial failed, then Dong Tianyu would definitely produce a second bottle for testing, and if failure persisted, he would continuously seek out 'guinea pigs' for his experiments.

Though Dong Tianyu currently needed Captain Leo King to find volunteers for the drug trials, their relationship was not one of equals.

It was evident from Dong Tianyu's way of approach that even if no willing 'guinea pigs' were found on their ship, he could simply leave and find volunteers on other ships.

The term 'willing' here meant truly voluntary, as at this time, many people at the bottom rungs of society, when faced with a chance to risk it all, were ready to wager their lives on a potentially brighter future.

Success would catapult them to great heights, while failure could mean death.

In fact, after eliminating useless choices, only two potential options remained before Leo King: to let his nephew take a great gamble, or to ensure his nephew's safety by keeping him out of the fray.

Observing Leo King's conflicted expression, Dong Tianyu suddenly spoke, "Stop worrying about it. Why don't you just give your nephew the choice and see what decision he makes?"

As soon as Dong Tianyu finished speaking, a knock at the door was heard. Hearing the knock, Leo King slightly collected his troubled emotions before responding, "Come in!"

Upon Leo King's invitation, a young man entered the room carrying a tea set.

After the young man had poured tea for both of them, Leo King then asked, "Zane, didn't you always dearly wish to awaken your super ability? Now you have an opportunity to possibly awaken your abilities, although it might endanger your life. Do you want to try it?"

Upon hearing Leo King's query, Zane King cautiously glanced at Dong Tianyu. He wasn't foolish and easily guessed that this opportunity likely came from Dong Tianyu.

Although his uncle had hinted at potential risks, since the fact was laid out plainly and his uncle hadn't outright rejected the proposition, instead allowing him to make his own decision, the danger couldn't be as severe as claimed. After all, Zane was acutely aware that if it were truly a life-or-death situation, his uncle would not have mentioned it at all and would have simply found someone else on the ship.

Therefore, if his uncle presented the choice in such a way, it either meant that the danger was minimal in his uncle's opinion, or that the danger was indeed present but the remuneration offered was substantially great.

With these thoughts in mind, and trusting his uncle, Zane chose to proceed, unaware that Leo King, in fact, could not accurately assess the situation. Thus, the instructions given to Zane were a clear indication that Leo King would not intervene, leaving the decision to Zane himself.

Upon seeing Zane's determination to become a test subject, Leo King breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Zane, who had been paying close attention to his uncle's reactions, noticed the relaxation in Leo King's expression after hearing his choice, immediately feeling reassured about his decision.

Upon seeing Zane's decision made, Dong Tianyu placed a test tube containing a deep purple potion on the table.

Looking at the potion that suddenly appeared on the table, Zane glanced at his uncle before realizing that awakening a super ability for ordinary people was not a simple matter.

However, since he had made his choice, Zane King was not the type to easily regret it, so after obtaining Zachary's consent, Zane King directly picked up the potion bottle on the table, pulled out the cork, and downed it all in one gulp.

Zachary had not expected that with just a nod from him, the other party would decisively drink it all.

At this moment, a sudden mischievous thought sprang up in Zachary's heart; he then blurted out, "What do you guys think, is there a possibility that this potion capable of awakening super abilities is not the kind that you drink, but something that's applied externally?"

Hearing Zachary's words, Leo King and Zane King were taken aback, then Leo King suddenly spoke with some excitement, "Brother, are you joking with us?"

Watching Leo King and Zane King's faces gradually turning sour, they had not expected that after bracing themselves to take the plunge, they could have ended up failing due to something so trivial.

Just as Leo King, heavyhearted, was about to ask Zachary if drinking an external-use Awakened Potion could be dangerous, he inadvertently caught the amusement in Zachary's eyes.

After seeing the hidden laughter in Zachary's eyes, Leo King instantly guessed that Zachary's earlier mention of external application was probably a joke.

After all, if the Awakened Potion were truly for external use, Zane King's actions just now would have been a waste of an entire potion.

From the very beginning, Leo King noted from Zachary's words that the number of Awakened Potions Zachary had must not be many; otherwise, he would not have planned to use only one bottle for the experiment.

If Zane King had truly wasted an Awakened Potion just now, there definitely would not be any hint of laughter in Zachary's eyes.

From this, Leo King could infer that the supposed external application was definitely a little joke Zachary had played on them.

Now that he had confirmed it was a joke, Leo King's previously anxious expression gradually returned to calm, and Zachary, noticing Leo King's demeanor, realized that Leo King must have guessed his jest, so he nodded with a smile.

When Zane King, looking quite annoyed, inadvertently noticed that both Leo King and Zachary were smiling at him, he suddenly realized that his action of swallowing the potion was not mistaken after all.

Just as he was about to openly scold the two for joking with him, the skin color on his arm rapidly began to change.

In the blink of an eye, Zane King turned ashen all over. Seeing this, Leo King immediately went to Zane King's side.

Leo King went to touch Zane King but before his right hand could touch Zane King's skin, he quickly retracted his hand.

Leo King was not like those who only added to the chaos in TV dramas; touching Zane King at this time could easily lead to unnecessary trouble, so the best course of action for them was to wait right there.

Zane King did not keep Leo King waiting for long, and soon after his skin turned ashy white, Zane King suddenly opened his eyes, and then the grayness on the surface of his skin vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, Leo King asked Zane King in a probing tone, "Zane, have you successfully awakened a super ability?"

Excited by his elder uncle's question, Zane King replied, "Elder uncle, I've really awakened a super ability."

After finishing, Zane King immediately stretched out his left arm, and in just an instant, his arm turned gray again.