NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: 004
–
Way from Ganymede Colony was dying because of the shitty situation he was in.
When I joined the project, I couldn't tell you how happy I was to hear that my superior was a holy bone among holy bones from Earth and Noble Capital. Megacorp's ruling party, Noble Capital, and anyone from Earth are literally no different from royalty. If you connect with them, the migration to Mars that you only dreamed of can become a reality.
Although he boarded the ship with such expectations, it didn't take long for Wei's dreams to be shattered.
'You crazy bitch. He said today is his day off.'
Wei kept wiping sweat from his half-bald head and glanced at his young, capable superior standing next to him.
Her name is Yujin Kisaragi. Noble Capital is Wei's superior and belongs to the Eugene family, one of the five major families that rule the Earth.
Since she wasn't on duty today, she was wearing civilian clothes instead of a white gown, and she was holding a cat in her arms.
'Damn it. 'Why does a cat need a walk?'
Wei blamed himself for going to the garden with the intention of getting some fresh air. Kisaragi said again what he had said hundreds of times before coming to the laboratory.
"When on earth will Experiment No. 26 be able to produce results?"
"It is clear that there is a response now. If you give me just a little more time…."
"Time is credit. "If you don't have enough performance to report to the company before you arrive at your destination, the company might reconsider 'employing' you there."
"Huh?! Just that, please…!"
As soon as the word 'employment' came out of her mouth, cold sweat poured down Wei's head like a waterfall. As a senior researcher at Megacorp, he knew very well what 'employment' meant.
His eyes briefly fell on the brain in the test tube. It felt like my predecessor was beckoning me to come this way too.
"Senior researcher Ani Wei."
"yes yes?"
Eugene, who had been giving him a cold look, suddenly changed his expression and began to comfort him in a soft voice.
"I don't want that outcome either. I also have high expectations from the senior researcher. "If we can extract that 'aptitude' from test subject number 26, promotion to chief researcher would not be a dream."
"Are you sure?"
"yes. At least, if things go well for the senior researcher, I might be able to make connections with Hwaseong. "They are very interested in this project."
Wei's eyes lit up when he heard those words.
He decided to tell her a method he had only been thinking about but had never actually tried.
"There is only one way left…"
"What is it?"
"We are going to try administering psionium."
"Psionium? "Are you talking about drugs made by Star Union?"
"you're right."
Kisaragi Yujin silently stroked the cat's head. The cat purred as if it liked its owner's affectionate touch.
"Psionium has an awakening effect…"
"I know what the effect is. I've won a project with that. It's Psionium. "It's a drug we haven't tried."
"Actually, there are a few more than that."
"I tried everything that was similar in terms of ingredients. "The only thing left is psionium."
Kisaragi's gaze turned to experiment tube number 26. The eyes were not as gentle as when touching a cat. The way she looked at the test subject was like a machine sorting products in a factory.
"great. "Administer it right away."
"yes? "If you don't absorb that neutralizer, it will be difficult to maintain life."
"If you do that, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. "We don't have much time left."
Saying there is no time. This did not apply only to Wei.
As the head of the project, she also has to take responsibility if the experiment fails. She is a person of a much higher class than Wei. The impact of having a stain on one's career was bound to be significant.
Moreover, she has never experienced failure in her life so far. As my first failure was just around the corner, I couldn't help but feel even more nervous.
"As you know, research results should have already been released."
"That's true, but…."
"Originally, it's time to finalize the report to be presented, but we haven't been able to elicit a meaningful response from the test subject yet. "I believe you know how serious this situation is."
Because what she said was true, Wei couldn't refute it.
"…All right. "I will administer it right away."
Wei took out a purple test tube from the refrigerator.
"I will administer 0.01 mg first."
Wei connected the test tube to the hose and operated the terminal, and a small amount of the drug in the test tube was injected into the test tube.
The bubble amoeba was unresponsive. There were no special changes seen in the graph on the terminal screen.
Wei wiped away the sweat that was falling like rain and pressed the button on the terminal again.
"I will administer 0.05mg."
This time there was a response. The bubble amoeba trembled as if in pain.
Wei, who had inflicted pain on the test subject, did not hide the joy on his face at the fact that the expected reaction occurred. An emotion of interest also appeared on Kisaragi's face as he was watching the test subject.
"Next is 0.07mg…."
"Wait. "Seeing the response, I think we can increase it further."
"yes?"
"Administer all doses."
"That's a bit…"
"Get out of the way."
When Wei hesitated, Kisaragi pushed him away and pressed the administration button himself.
All the liquid in the test tube escaped and flowed into the test tube.
Soon, the bubble amoeba's body expanded greatly, as if someone had blown air into it. Lights flickered like crazy on my body, and my skin was torn apart, unable to handle the expanding body. It was clear to anyone that the bubble amoeba was in extreme pain, but no one present paid any attention to the problem.
'please! little bit more!'
Wei clenched his fists as he watched the graph on the terminal screen skyrocket.
Approximately 5 minutes have passed.
The graph bent sharply and fell to the floor. Wei felt that the shape of the falling graph was identical to his future.
Subject number 26 in the test tube no longer glowed pink. It looked as if someone had forcibly bleached its color, leaving it completely white and unmoving.
"Wake me up."
"yes."
Unlike Wei, who was in despair, there was no emotion in Kisaragi's voice. Wei pressed the electric shock button with a gloomy heart.
Bubbles rose in the test tube and the bubble amoeba jumped out. Although it was squirming a little, its color was still white, so it was almost like it was just breathing.
"These are interesting results. "Please try some more with test subject number 26."
"Are you okay?"
"Try again and report to me if you get any meaningful results."
Wei's face brightened, like a prisoner who had been sentenced to death but came back to life. Kisaragi, who made a person go back and forth between heaven and hell with a single word, suddenly felt gaze on him and looked towards the ventilation fan.
'I can feel your gaze on me again.'
There was nothing visible beyond the ventilator.
–
The experiment I saw a while ago was also meaningful to me.
The psionium they injected into test subject number 26 is a drug I am familiar with.
'A stimulant that temporarily unlocks unlocked racial characteristics.'
When you eat Psionium in the game, your maximum health decreases, but locked racial characteristics are unlocked and can be used for a limited time.
For example, if I consume psionium, I can use abilities that cannot be used during the hatchling stage for a short period of time. You can use the acid blood characteristics and reinforced exoskeleton characteristics obtained in the fluid stage in advance. Of course, when the drug's effectiveness wears off, all permanently applied characteristics are canceled and return to their original state.
It's a great item if used well, but the downside is that its duration gradually decreases each time you take it, perhaps because it's set up as a drug. Therefore, it was an item mainly used in the early to mid-game rather than the late game.
'Does bubble amoeba have characteristics that I don't know about?'
I think I've caught and eaten thousands of them before, but I haven't seen their hidden characteristics. Since there was no such thing mentioned in the community, it may have been that Subject 26 was a unique entity or that it was real, which created differences from the game.
'Anyway, finding out that psionium exists is an achievement.'
I think it could be useful if we were to enter into an all-out war with the humans on the ship.
After returning to the nest, I lay down again. As my body became more comfortable, the things I had been deliberately avoiding came back to mind.
'He asked me for help.'
Subject 26, who had been injected with a large amount of psionium, asked me for salvation. The screams he was making were still vivid.
The boy begged to stop because he was sick and to save his life, but the researchers were not aware of the impact. Even if I knew it hurt, I wouldn't have stopped.
The unfortunate truth is that this is not the end of the horrific torture. Megacorp's researchers will repeat the psionium experiment until the bubble amoeba cannot withstand it and dies.
I knew that there would be nothing but darkness in his future. I kept the bubble amoeba alive because I judged its genetic essence to be useless, otherwise it would have been a candidate for my food.
Even though I probably knew that fact, why did an unpleasant feeling creep up from a corner of my heart?
Why is the sound of that thing crying still echoing in my head?
'It's unpleasant. I really don't like it.'
Looking at this, I don't think I'm a complete 'honorary Aimov' yet. I want to run right now and tear them to death.
Originally, I wanted to hunt more leisurely, but my thoughts changed. If you say it's simply for emotional reasons, you're half right.
I was consumed with anger, but at the same time I was extremely calm. It was a decision made because I thought there was a good basis to attack her. Among the achievements I gained today, in addition to Psionium, there was also useful information related to Yujin Kisaragi.
'I raised a cat.'
Through my extra senses, I could tell how much she cared for her cat. She was a woman who seemed to have cold blood flowing through her body like a snake, but she only felt human emotions when she petted a cat.
It was easy to infer that she had quite an attachment to the cat through her heart sounds, breathing, and upper body movements while holding the cat as an auxiliary organ. It wasn't hard to imagine how such a person would react if his cat died.
'A lot of gaps will be exposed.'
Of course, the cat did not receive separate security. He was usually alone except when his master called. People on the ship had no idea how much of a blow Kisaragi Yujin would be when his beloved cat died.
In other words, the gist of my plan is to lure prey using cats as bait.
'Kisaragi Yujin. 'You will die within a few days.'
In my fiery fury and icy coolness, I sentenced her to death.