These researchers held tablet-like devices and conversed with one another in a language that sounded like English, yet wasn’t. Yin Zhen couldn’t understand a single word.
At that moment, a tall, powerfully built man stepped into the center of the area. Dressed in a Combat Uniform, he had blond hair and pale, blood-red eyes. His sharp gaze swept over the "products" on the ground, some struggling, others completely numb.
The blond man articulated a clear command, accompanied by a sharp gesture. "Stand up!"
An invisible pressure suddenly descended. Yin Zhen’s heart raced as she struggled more desperately, but her efforts were in vain. The others were the same.
The blond man seemed to lose his patience with the chaotic scene. Without a hint of hesitation, he walked over to a woman slumped on the far left. Her eyes were completely hollow, and she had shown absolutely no reaction to his command.
There was no warning, no waiting. He didn’t even bend down. He simply drew a handgun from the small of his back.
BANG!
The sudden gunshot echoed loudly. A cloud of blood mist instantly burst from the woman’s head, and a heavy stench of blood rapidly permeated the air.
"Ah!" A few of the previously numb women shrieked, triggered by the gory sight.
The blond man repeated the word to the others. "Stand up!"
Under the sheer panic and pressure, a red-haired woman was the first to stand. The rest struggled to follow suit.
For those who couldn’t stand up no matter how hard they tried, the blond man showed no mercy. He walked over, raised his gun, and fired. His movements were as fluid as a factory worker disposing of defective goods.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Several more warm corpses dropped to the ground.
Yin Zhen watched helplessly as another woman, who had failed to rise just a few meters away, was shot in the head. Blood splattered onto Yin Zhen’s arm.
Her stomach churned violently. Extreme terror tightened her throat as the blond man stopped right in front of her. The muzzle of his gun hung low. Those emotionless eyes stared coldly at Yin Zhen, who was still struggling fruitlessly on the ground.
"Can cannon fodder really not survive past the first Chapter?" she thought wildly. "I’ve barely been in this world for three minutes! I can’t die here! I still have to get my revenge! I still have to live a glorious life!"
A beast-like desire to survive erupted alongside her bone-deep hatred. Using every ounce of strength in her body, Yin Zhen pushed against the floor with her hands. Her numb legs convulsed violently, as if shocked by a high-voltage current. But this was nothing. She had experienced worse pain than this—she had endured it every single day, struggling through despair every single time.
This time, however, she finally staggered to her feet!
The blond man’s unruffled gaze shifted away from Yin Zhen’s face, and his gun aimed at the next target.
BANG!
The point-blank gunshot made Yin Zhen tremble all over.
She didn’t know if any of these other women had transmigrated from Guan City like her. After all, a few posters online had previously claimed they shared the same countdown. Regardless, she couldn’t afford to trust or rely on anyone for now. Silence was her best protection.
The women were roughly herded by the researchers, stumbling through a series of metallic corridors.
Yin Zhen was led into a room. In its center lay a coffin-like sealed pod, its surface covered in various sensor ports and indicator lights.
"Get in." A researcher gestured at her, his tone commanding.
Yin Zhen tried to struggle but was instantly pinned down by several strong hands. She was shoved into the narrow pod and secured in place. Thin metallic wires, tipped with minuscule probes, swiftly pierced the biological interfaces reserved at the back of her head.
Agony!
It felt like red-hot steel needles were being driven deep into her brain and spinal cord! Yin Zhen let out a muffled groan and violently arched her back, tears instantly streaming down her face from the visceral pain.
[Initiating Neural Information Flow Adaptation Protocol.]
[Detecting Individual: Source Series, Designation Pending.]
[Initiating Forced Knowledge Implantation and Loyalty Protocol Integration.]
BUZZ—
An unimaginably massive torrent of data flooded mercilessly into Yin Zhen’s brain. In an instant, the language she previously couldn’t understand at all transformed into distinct, comprehensible vocabulary, grammar, and semantics!
Saint Group. Blood Beasts. Dusk People. Prosthetics. Deep Sea. Pollution...
Twenty years ago, a Blood Plague had swept the globe. The vast majority of humanity fell into a deep slumber, only to awaken as the "Blood Clan"—beings who relied on consuming human blood to survive. As long as they had a steady supply of blood, they were virtually immortal and ageless.
Their technology was extremely advanced, particularly in the field of biotechnology.
The entire society was ruled by the Pure Blood Nobles, whose transformations were far more flawless, while the Dusk People formed the impoverished and massive underclass.
Genetically polluted waste had been dumped recklessly into the oceans, giving rise to Mutants from the deep sea.
This was a chaotic era, a world littered with bloodstained bones!
[Obeying commands is the only correct choice!]
[The Saint Group gives your life value!]
[Resisters will be thoroughly eradicated!]
These doctrines were implanted into Yin Zhen’s brain alongside overwhelming emotional suppression, forging icy shackles around her psyche and nearly grinding her own will into dust.
[Initiating Basic Fighting knowledge implantation.]
[Initiating basic firearms operation knowledge implantation.]
[Initiating...]
The torrent of information brutally steamrolled over Yin Zhen’s original sense of self. Every injection of new knowledge washed away and overwrote the existence known as "Yin Zhen."
A harsh voice echoed endlessly from the depths of her mind. "You are an asset of the company. You belong to the Saint Group!"
Yin Zhen’s eyes rolled back in her head amidst the excruciating agony and the tearing sensation in her mind. Her body convulsed uncontrollably within her restraints.
"Who am I? I am... Yin... No, I am... an asset... I must obey..."
Her name and memories faded further in her mind, like ink dropped into water. She desperately tried to hold onto the final image of her mother’s face, only to find it dissipating even faster.
A sudden wave of intense fury erupted from within her.
"No!" she roared inwardly. "I am not an asset! I am... Yin Zhen!"