NOVEL NEXT 084. The Killing Begins
- The Killing Begins
"Sss... The video is clear, starting recording."
Dr. Anna aimed the camera at herself, taking a deep breath. She wanted to speak to the camera about her schedule in an official tone, but speaking these words to an emotionless lens felt too awkward.
After a moment of preparation, she relaxed her tone:
"It is October 7th, 220 Galactic Era, 7:56 in the morning. I am Assistant Dr. Anna—no, I am no longer an assistant."
"I am located in the outer regions, at the Abyss Humanitarian Relief Organization in Shelter P-205... The situation is becoming increasingly dire. The greenhouse and synthetic protein systems are severely damaged, most medical equipment has been destroyed, and the infected we are sheltering need gene stabilizers, steroid medications, and ventilators, all of which are ruined—I truly don't know if the people I sent out can steal them back."
"Twin Queens... The pressure is immense. The security squad is heavily damaged, and the Abyss Humanitarian strength is at an all-time low. No one can sleep peacefully. As the acting leader, only the diary time in the early morning can bring me peace."
"Besides living supplies, steel, titanium, and aluminum are insufficient. The weapon reserves are even worse. Luckily, the uranium fuel rods for the reactor are still sufficient... Now, the only choice left for me is clear."
She picked up the professor's tablet, operating it while speaking:
"While sorting through the professor's legacy, I obtained a communicator with the Frost-Plated Republic."
"The professor... she was too stubborn. She could have sought help from the Frost-Plated Republic at any time, but she preferred to die rather than collude with them. It must be Snow's failure that influenced her."
"She is still stuck in the shadows of the past... still beautiful, innocent, and kind as she was when she was young."
Anna murmured, then suddenly shifted her tone:
"But how can such a person be a leader?"
"For the continuation of humanity in the outer regions, now, we must seek help from the Frost-Plated Republic."
Her expression relaxed slightly:
"Law III has already responded to me. They are preparing to gather personnel and supplies. They should arrive by 9 a.m. today."
"Although Abyss is a humanitarian organization, how can we carry out humanitarian work when we can't even fill our stomachs?"
"The times have changed... Professor, my teacher, I am no longer the girl who holds illusions about humanity."
She subconsciously brushed her half-chrome mask, the cold metal devoid of any beauty, which once had a fine appearance and soft texture.
"For the humanitarian relief of Abyss, I lost half my face. Nordly lost her body and health. The professor paid with her life and youth... Meanwhile, the dignitaries of the Frost-Plated Republic enjoy artificial sunlight, relying on our research to paint false dreams for the masses!"
Her chest heaved violently, her pupils filled with red and black, showing rare emotional instability:
"I've had enough!"
"What Corruption Virus, what rescue for the infected, what continuation of humanity—what experiments haven't we done? But all the results were sold cheaply to the Frost-Plated Republic by you, Professor! You remained immersed in Snow's accident, constantly reflecting on yourself..."
She took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling, whispering softly:
"So, you died, Professor."
"It's time to wake up, be realistic. Humans have seven emotions and six desires, wanting a better life—that is the continuation of humanity."
"Abyss cannot fall, so we must continue to change. Even if our original intention and purpose have been corrupted, as long as Abyss does not fall, there will always be hope."
"It has been 78 hours since the professor was murdered—Nordly has escaped life-threatening danger but is still far from recovering to her peak condition. She cannot hold the fort, and security issues remain unresolved. Therefore, I have activated the second layer of the factory, and soon, new Calamity Armament will be online and put into practical use."
"Still not enough... manpower and those children, it is still not enough."
Her tone became more agitated:
"There must be someone to inherit your mantle, and there must be a leader to guide people to survive in the outer regions and continue our research."
Anna put down her arms, closed her eyes, and after a moment, she faced the camera, her gaze clear, without a trace of red and black.
She calmly said:
"From now on, I am the new professor of Abyss."
Clang clang clang!
Before her words had even finished, there was a violent knocking on the door outside.
"Dr. Anna! Dr. Anna? Are you awake? Wake up!"
The nurse outside sounded very anxious:
"Nurse Nordly's condition is not good, the force is interfering with normal arteries—she needs Zunisidine."
"Nordly?!"
Anna quickly got up and opened the door, rushing all the way to the emergency room.
Passing through the disinfection room, as soon as the ICU door opened, Anna saw the floor splattered with black blood. Her face sank as she asked the lead female doctor:
"How is the situation?"
"Not optimistic."
The lead doctor said worriedly:
"Nurse Nordly's injury is mainly due to bleeding, so we planned to use a conventional method—to create a force bridge and let the warrior use their own force to repair the injury. This is the most reliable and effective method without any rejection reaction."
"Then why did this happen?"
Anna glanced at Nordly on the bed, her face covered by an anti-bacterial suit, with her chest cavity exposed.
As the lead doctor said, the doctors had connected a nano-tube from the 'Qi Sea' organ that generates force directly to the cardiovascular system, allowing the force to flow through the body to maximize the warrior's self-healing ability.
But now, Nordly's heart was visibly decayed, with black rot spreading across half her lung, the air filled with the stench of decay.
"This seems to be the corrosion ability associated with Shadow, could it be Zonia..."
Anna's heart sank, but she quickly shook her head.
—It was inevitable that Calamity Armament sold would end up in enemy hands. No arms company stops selling weapons just because an employee was shot by one.
"Equip her with prosthetics. Nordly is an Alpha-level warrior, use military-grade heart and lungs, replace everything."
The warrior's physical resilience is strong, as long as the 'Qi Sea' sac-like organ remains, their potential won't be damaged. After watching for a while, Anna decided to abandon preserving the original organs.
However, the lead doctor smiled bitterly:
"...We don't have any."
"How is that possible? We are a medical organization!" Anna was surprised.
"We checked the inventory... there's not even a civilian-grade prosthetic left."
The lead doctor said with difficulty:
"Actually, the best treatment is using Zunisidine, this special drug can quickly repair a force practitioner's body, maximizing the purification ability of the force organ, preventing further infection... but this drug has also been stolen."
"Zunisidine..."
Anna paused.
This substance can only be produced by the four major nations.
She remembered that all of Abyss's Zunisidine was specifically instructed by the professor and brought by Law III agents of the Frost-Plated Republic. Now, it's too late to request it again.
Law III agents had already set out. They wouldn't go back to retrieve a special drug, and using the metro tunnel once comes at a high cost.
"Keep her alive for now." Anna said helplessly, "Is there any way?"
"The only thing we can do now is continuously replace her blood, dialyze her blood again and again, use advanced dialysis machines, and kill the pollutants in the blood with ionizing radiation."
The lead doctor said:
"But the effect is poor, as the pollution in extraordinary beings can generally only be overcome by themselves. Moreover, dialysis and ionizing radiation are highly damaging to the blood. As an Alpha-level warrior, she can endure at most fifteen dialysis sessions."
"Proceed with dialysis."
No matter what, Nordly can't die here... at least not now.
Anna turned to leave, her gaze wandering.
Nordly was not just a combat asset; more importantly, as one of the founders of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief, she had always had high faith and held great prestige among the young doctors.
She couldn't die easily. The professor was already dead... If she died, it would be difficult to maintain the humanitarian banner of the Abyss Humanitarian Relief.
Without Nordly to stabilize those who had high hopes and faith in humanitarian work, they would soon leave in disappointment.
After all, if not for faith, how could they endure such harsh environments, leave the comfortable four nations, and willingly conduct experiments on living people?
Pure manpower and commercial contracts couldn't maintain Abyss's scale, with manpower expenses alone costing at least 730,000 Derbies a month!
Without these, Anna's planned
transformation was destined to fail.
"A commercialized Abyss, an industrialized Abyss, is the Abyss I want."
Anna's face darkened. Alone, she headed for the central elevator.
The people of Law III would arrive soon; she needed to make preparations in advance.
