Chapter 2: Experimental Subject with Wings
“Dr. Kang, here is the experimental subject you requested. Please sign for it.”
The personnel transporting the subject wore protective suits and handed an electronic document to Yu Yan.
Two other transport workers opened two layers of isolation, revealing a semi-transparent transport box. The cold air that emanated from it suggested it was a refrigerated box.
As for the curled-up object inside, it remained motionless, seemingly lifeless.
Yu Yan confirmed the transfer documents and received some information about this S-level experimental subject.
Casually flipping through the documents, he found that the information was quite basic.
It was said that numerous experiments had already been conducted on this subject, but those experimental records were clearly not handed over to him.
The transport personnel packed up the documents and quickly left, leaving Yu Yan and his three assistant researchers alone.
Yu Yan walked over to the half-human-height transport box, bending down to take a closer look.
The temperature inside the box was very low, and the glass-like material was frosted over, allowing him to see only a vague shadow.
This low temperature was intended to put the subject into a hibernation state for easier transport and to suppress the viruses carried by the subject.
The experimental subject was designated S-V-012, with “S” indicating its level and “V” denoting that its primary experimental focus was viruses.
The basic information showed that the subject had undergone various experiments and now carried over twenty deadly viruses.
It was essentially a super-sized infection source, which explained why the transport personnel wore protective suits even when handling the transport box.
“Transfer it to the observation box first, lift the low-temperature state, and send it to the breeding area,” Yu Yan instructed, gesturing for Xiao Gao to handle the task while he stood by with his hands in his pockets, observing.
He watched Xiao Gao operate the instruments, silently comparing them to the memories of Kang Shi.
After transmigrating, the system had transmitted some of Kang Shi’s memories to Yu Yan, allowing him to integrate more quickly into this identity.
However, completely accepting another person’s memories could easily lead to cognitive confusion, so those memories had been processed and were rather vague.
Yu Yan couldn’t fully grasp the other person’s research and knowledge just from these memories; many things still needed to be gradually familiarized.
After two days of setup, the breeding area was close to the rainforest terrarium effect Yu Yan wanted, with green plants, artificial mountains, and dead wood.
The new observation box housing the dangerous experimental subject was lifted into the “rainforest terrarium” by a robotic arm, and Yu Yan finally saw the subject clearly.
Curled up in the transparent box, the experimental subject’s form was strikingly similar to a thin human youth.
His medium-length silver-gray hair rested on his shoulders, and his exposed skin was covered with various old and new scars, overlapping and interspersed with stitching marks extending to his concealed neck and chest.
He looked as if he had been cut open countless times and then stitched back together.
Low-level mutants were animal-shaped, while those that resembled humans more closely were considered more evolved and higher in rank.
The main difference between this subject and a human was his back.
From his shoulder blades, two wings of flesh lay against his body. These wings were torn and ragged, having suffered significant damage, and they futilely tried to cover his body.
[Ding—Task target detected. Data monitoring for the Overseer is now active,] the system chimed in as Yu Yan observed the experimental subject.
As the system prompted, a few lines of data appeared above the experimental subject’s head.
Current Life Value: 2/100 (Critical)
Current Status: Conscious (High Pain Value)
Current Emotion: Vigilant, Calm
There was also a line of data highlighted in red:
Danger Value: 60/100.
The red-highlighted danger value was what Yu Yan, as the Overseer, needed to pay the most attention to. According to the system, if the danger value exceeded one hundred, he would need to eliminate the subject.
Before signing the transmigration agreement, Yu Yan had been briefed on his responsibilities.
The world he transmigrated into was one that, according to the system’s calculations, had a high likelihood of experiencing a mass extinction event, with the “villain” being the main cause.
To balance this, the system had set up a “protagonist” in this world to check the villain.
However, predictions still showed a significant chance of failure for the protagonist’s side, so the system selected individuals from other worlds, who were not part of this world’s causal chain, to monitor the villain and reduce the risk.
The system had repeatedly emphasized the villain’s fearsome and dangerous nature, but upon seeing him, Yu Yan thought he seemed like a pitiable wretch.
“Why isn’t he moving? Could he be dead?” Xiao Gao asked worriedly.
He was afraid that if the subject were dead, their superior would vent his anger on them.
“He’s not dead,” Yu Yan replied.
Not only was he alive, but he was also conscious. Despite having only two points of life value and being transported in such low temperatures, he managed to stay conscious—a truly resilient being.
“So this is an S-level experimental subject? It’s my first time seeing one; he really looks human,” one of the assistant researchers who stayed behind said softly, a look of pity on her face.
The assistant researcher next to her immediately tugged at her, signaling her not to say such things in front of their superior.
Everyone in the research institute knew that Kang Shi despised mutants. Saying they looked like humans would be seen as an insult by Kang Shi, who would undoubtedly get angry.
The researcher, realizing they had misspoken, turned pale.
Yu Yan didn’t look at them. Pretending not to have heard anything, he poured himself a cup of hot tea. Turning around, he said, “There’s nothing going on here. You should return to your own labs.”
The three assistant researchers quickly left as if they had just survived a disaster.
As soon as they left, a visitor arrived.
It was Lu Qiufeng, one of the four senior researchers at the institute and the head of the neighboring lab.
This person had a good relationship with the original Kang Shi, mainly because both were quite unfriendly towards the mutants and belonged to the “anti-mutant faction” within their circle.
Kang Shi liked to torment the test subjects, and Lu Qiufeng’s methods were equally ruthless.
So, while the other two remained inactive, Lu Qiufeng immediately came over to watch the excitement.
“Oh, is this the advanced test subject? No wonder it’s high-quality, it really looks like a person.”
Lu Qiufeng looked into the observation box for a moment and said with a smile, “Why isn’t it moving? Turn it over so we can see its face. I don’t know what its face looks like.”
Lu Qiufeng had been busy with experiments for a while and hadn’t seen “Kang Shi” in the past few days. When his suggestion wasn’t met with a response, he turned his head and saw Kang Shi lying on the office recliner, drinking tea.
His usually neat hair was falling over his forehead, making “Kang Shi” look much younger and more his real age.
His relaxed and casual posture was a stark contrast to his usual elegant demeanor.
Lu Qiufeng looked at him in surprise, belatedly realizing something was off.
“That’s strange, Dr. Kang. You’ve been looking forward to this toy for so long, and now that it’s here, you’re just watching it? This isn’t like you.”
“And this breeding area, why is it so cluttered? Didn’t you always say that too many things in the breeding area hinder your observation of the test subjects? And your current appearance…”
Yu Yan glanced at him and said, “Shall we have lunch together in the cafeteria at noon?”
Lu Qiufeng said, “…I’m talking about the test subject.”
Yu Yan replied, “Come get me at noon.”
Although this person wasn’t any better, a good person wouldn’t associate with “Kang Shi” either. Since he had come over on his own, it would be good to familiarize himself with other areas of the institute through him.
Failing to persuade Kang Shi to torment the new test subject, Lu Qiufeng left feeling rather disappointed.
With no other interruptions, Yu Yan slowly reviewed the information on Test Subject 012.
After reading the thin file several times, he looked up at the rainforest tank for a short break and noticed that the pitiful two points of life value on 012’s head had dangerously dwindled to 1.
It looked like he was on the verge of death.
The most troublesome thing about villains is this: you can’t let their threat level exceed the limit, nor can you let them die prematurely when they aren’t supposed to.
If he died too early, it would affect the subsequent plot, and the protagonist wouldn’t be able to develop a series of evolutionary potions.
Yu Yan called upon the system.
‘System, is he about to die? Does this involve me?’
[The Overseer needs to complete the original plot by using advanced potions to save the villain and sustain his life.]
Yu Yan remembered that the original owner had spent a fortune to get a high-level life-stimulating potion, hoping to torment the advanced test subject a bit longer. It was still stored in the potion safe.
No way to be lazy, time to follow the plot.
Fortunately, while mutant biological research wasn’t his forte, treating diseases and saving lives was still within his professional scope.
Putting on protective gear to isolate the virus on the test subject, Yu Yan retrieved the potion and entered the breeding area.
He fumbled around the observation box, pressed a switch, and the observation box opened in response, revealing the dying mutant inside.
The protective suit Yu Yan wore was made of a special material, not bulky at all. When his gloved hands touched 012’s body, he could even feel the cold and slick texture of his skin.
Test Subject 012 was tightly curled up, making it difficult to inject the medication. Yu Yan pressed down on his shoulder, attempting to open him up.
As he moved, 012 stirred.
He suddenly turned his face, revealing a pair of silver-gray eyes that matched his hair.
The overly clear and translucent eyes could be somewhat frightening at first glance, especially since there was no emotion in them.
Seeing his eyes, few would consider him “human.” These were the eyes of an emotionless animal.
Knowing from the status bar above his head that he was awake, Yu Yan wasn’t startled by his sudden eye opening. He simply looked a bit longer at the fine vertical pupils before preparing the potion.
012 stared intently at Yu Yan, then suddenly raised his head in an attack posture.
Without blinking, Yu Yan pressed him back down, using his experience from the hospital dealing with drunken men to firmly control the restless patient and successfully injected the potion into his body.
The syringe pierced his scarred body, and 012’s tattered wings trembled, brushing against Yu Yan’s hand before drooping weakly.
