Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Genetic Research Institute

Brunt, holding a stack of reports, hurried towards Laboratory 1 but was stopped by two security guards at the door.

"I have urgent news."

"The director is conducting a very important experiment. He has instructed that no one should disturb him for any reason until the experiment is completed."

Brunt, unwilling to give up, peeked through the door crack but could only see the back of Liu Changming at the console. He stepped back, waiting anxiously yet patiently for the experiment to end.

After what seemed like a long time, Liu Changming let out a soft sigh and lifted a test tube with his gloved right hand, shaking it under the light.

"Brunt? Come in."

His voice echoed through the door crack, sounding somewhat distant.

Brunt's eyes lit up, and he quickly pushed the door open.

Before even reaching Liu Changming, he eagerly pulled out the documents to review them, walking and talking simultaneously, "Director, the condition of test subject 41 has suddenly worsened, their hands are starting to show local mutations. The research staff asked me to—"

Unexpectedly, Liu Changming interrupted his report: "Shh, put subject 41 aside for now, come look at this."

Brunt paused momentarily, then obediently approached the Omega's side.

"Did you discover something, Director?"

"Look at culture dish number 1."

Obediently, Brunt looked down and saw a pale gold colony of bacteria that had spread beyond the dish. The gold color, which he had never seen before, glowed faintly. The dominant black bacterial colony previously occupying the dish had been almost entirely eroded, losing its former dominance and being pushed into a corner, desperately curling up, yet unable to escape the pale gold colony's relentless encroachment.

Stunned, Brunt heard Liu Changming say, "Now, look at culture dishes number 2 and 3."

In dish number 2, a common light green colony was completely overwhelmed by the black bacteria, fighting valiantly; in dish number 3, a deep green colony, like the pale gold in dish number 1, was making rapid advances, occupying two-thirds of the territory of the black bacteria.

Brunt held his breath, "This is..."

"A comparative experiment of three different comfort agents against genetic disease. These three culture dishes serve as control groups, clearly demonstrating the results, right?"

Brunt nodded instinctively, but quickly sensed something amiss and looked up sharply at Liu Changming.

Liu Changming, putting down a test tube and taking off his gloves, smiled faintly, "The golden colony in dish number 1 is quite impressive, right? Do you know from which comfort agent it was extracted?"

He stepped aside slightly, revealing a row of differently colored comfort agents behind him.

Brunt stared in disbelief at one of the bottles, "No, it can't be. How could there be a comfort agent on Dark Star that outperforms those produced by the Research Institute?"

He knew that the Institute had recently received two comfort agents from Dark Star, but his main job was monitoring test subjects, so he hadn't paid much attention to this matter. Now, however, he was shocked.

Liu Changming adjusted his glasses, "The colonies in dishes number 1 and 3 were extracted from two comfort agents brought back from Dark Star; dish number 2's colony was from the Institute's latest comfort agent. You see the stark difference between them."

Brunt had a bad premonition, incredulously asking, "Could it be that the inferior Omega on Dark Star selling these comfort agents is the same one?"

Liu Changming gave him an approving look, "Correct guess. Moreover, the comfort agents he sells are not all the same."

Before Brunt could recover from the shock of Qiuqiu's revelation, he heard Liu Changming continue, puzzled, "Different? Do you mean..."

Liu Changming turned, tapping a finger intermittently on the papers before him.

He spoke calmly, "The colony in dish number 1 is from the first batch of comfort agents he sold. The second batch used a different raw material. Although the effects are similar, the plant genes extracted from the first batch can't be matched with any in our gene bank. This means..."

This means that the first batch of comfort agents sold by the inferior Omega contained raw materials from a plant yet to be discovered by the Empire!

Brunt's eyes widened in shock, unable to believe what he'd heard.

He didn't dare question Liu Changming's capability, but...

"But, ever since the near-extinction and emergency conservation of plant species, all existing plant types have been cataloged in the genetic database. It's been twenty years since a new species was discovered. It's generally accepted that we have a complete grasp of the universe's botanical library. How could there suddenly be..."

How could there suddenly be a new plant species?

And this plant's genetic extract exhibits such remarkable performance against genetic diseases, easily overshadowing the comfort agents painstakingly developed by the Research Institute.

Liu Changming's lips curled slightly, his black hair framing his thin lips, enhancing their redness. His whole demeanor exuded a mysterious, unsettling aura, like a calm yet dangerous deep forest.

"This little Omega, he's full of surprises, isn't he?"

Brunt's eyes shifted, tentatively suggesting, "Then, should we..."

Liu Changming looked at him dispassionately, his gaze cold and slithering, making Brunt involuntarily shiver in fear.

Realizing his blunder, he quickly shut his mouth.

Liu Changming sneered, "When you think you can easily manipulate a healing series 'defective' Omega, don't forget, he's also an S-class combat series Omega. And he is not really a so-called 'defective' Omega, something you should be well aware of."

Brunt discerned displeasure in his tone, "You don't think all Omegas are weak and submissive, do you?"

"When we don't fully understand what our target really is, your job is not to act rashly but to prepare an inescapable trap for him."

Brunt broke into a cold sweat — damn it, how could he forget that the person he was demeaning as a 'defective' Omega was also an Omega!

Liu Changming didn't bother to waste much emotion on him, glancing a few times before casually averting his gaze.

"Such an excellent research subject will naturally not be overlooked by the Institute, but now is not the time."

After all, Dark Star was too far from the capital, and the Institute's reach didn't extend that far.

"It's been a long time since I last attended the Military Academy League. The royal family sent an invitation to the Institute recently, didn't they?"

Liu Changming's sudden statement caught Brunt off guard, but he quickly caught on and hastened to reply, "Yes, I'll take care of it immediately for you."

Liu Changming smiled meaningfully, then added, "An Alpha seems to appear around him from time to time. It might be the person the nobility is looking for. Keep a close watch on him too; it could be a case of killing two birds with one stone."

Brunt quickly responded, "Understood, I'll arrange it right away."

Liu Changming turned around, his gaze falling on the stack of documents in his hand.

"Before this, the experimental data showed that subject 41 was quite stable. How did it suddenly lose control?"

Brunt remembered the purpose of his visit and hurriedly explained, "It's the same old issue. The RDRG (Radiation Defense Related Genes) extracted from the plant becomes highly aggressive when it enters the subject's body and is incredibly unpredictable. The previous observations of stable results could have been because the RDRG hadn't been activated yet. Now that it's active, it's starting to contaminate the subject's own genes from its activity radius, causing local mutations. We tried injecting the fusion gene left by Dongkui into the mutated areas of the subject, hoping to disrupt the RDRG's recognition and stop its attack, but..."

Mid-sentence, Brunt started to falter, lowering his head, unable to meet Liu Changming's gaze.

"But instead, the fusion gene exacerbated RDRG's attack on the subject, leading to another failed experiment, right?" Liu Changming twirled a pen in his hand, his expression unreadable, neither angry nor calm.

The more composed Liu Changming appeared, the more terrified Brunt became, stammering, "Yes, that's right."

Liu Changming spoke softly, "So, apart from Dongkui, all the other subjects have been scrapped?"

"Yes," Brunt closed his eyes in despair.

"Are there any reserve subjects left?"

Faced with Liu Changming's question, Brunt was sweating nervously, clenching his teeth as he insisted, "There were, but... but they botched it."

Liu Changming paused in his pen-twirling, closing his eyes momentarily.

Reopening his eyes, Liu Changming uttered indifferently, "Useless."

Brunt immediately stiffened, his heart seemingly stopping at that moment, not daring to even breathe too loudly.

"The plan must continue. If there are no subjects, find them. I don't care how you do it, but the experiments cannot stop."

"Yes!"

"Also, inject subject 41 with the plant gene extracted from that comfort potion and see what the final result will be."

After dropping this statement, Liu Changming tossed his pen into Brunt's arms and left the first laboratory without looking back.

*

Dark Star Military Academy

After a rigorous training session, Qiuqiu and the others went to the cafeteria for a meal. Because he came every day, the once sparsely attended Dark Star cafeteria suddenly became a coveted spot among the students.

Eager to catch a glimpse of the legendary Combat System's little princess, these Alphas and Betas had painstakingly figured out his daily schedule, often staking out at the training field and cafeteria.

"Phew, almost couldn't squeeze in. I really don't get it; it's been so long, why haven't these people had enough? What happened to the novelty?" Tang Butian managed to sit down next to Figo, even with a nutrition tube in his mouth, which didn't stop him from talking.

Xu Feng glanced around quietly and noticed many eyes intently staring in their direction. Although he knew they weren't there for him, he couldn't help but blush.

"Too many people are watching…" No matter how many times it happened, he never got used to it.

On the contrary, Qiuqiu, the person at the center of all this attention, managed to completely ignore those fervent gazes and remain as calm as still water.

“You’ll get used to it.” He held the nutrient solution, cheeks puffed out, looking as adorable as a child whose baby fat hadn’t yet faded, inciting a healthy appetite in onlookers.

However, the next moment, everyone in the cafeteria was drawn to the central screen.

The screen flickered a few times before displaying a young man dressed in luxurious clothes, wearing a suitably modest smile, patiently listening to a reporter's questions.

Autumn Sparrow initially didn’t pay much attention, but when he glanced up unintentionally, he was suddenly taken aback.

The young man on the screen looked strikingly similar to Morfa.

The same silver hair and eyes, with about sixty percent resemblance in appearance. The only difference was the youth’s more delicate features and the smiling-but-not-smiling expression in his eyes, starkly different from Morfa. Placed together, those unfamiliar might struggle to distinguish who was who.

Autumn Sparrow stared intently at the figure on the screen, lost in thought.

“With General Duan absent, will this year’s Imperial Military Academy Competition, held every four years, be postponed?”

“Of course not. The competition is not just a stage for the younger generation to showcase themselves, but also an opportunity for the citizens to review the empire's military reserves. We firmly believe these young talents possess the wisdom, courage, ability, and indispensable sense of responsibility. Representing countless students, they will prove to the empire that they can grow into a proud and powerful force.”

“As the second prince of the royal family, will you replace General Duan Chensen as the overseer of this year’s competition? As is known, only the imperial heir has this right. Does this mean you will replace him as the new heir?”

“In the general’s absence, as his brother, I naturally assume this responsibility. As for the heirship, that question can be directed to the general upon his return from the mission. But one thing is clear: there will never be a dispute over the heirship between me and the general.”

The reporters were silenced by the rebuttal: Who would dare to ask such a question to Duan Chensen? That would be suicidal.

After a brief silence, another question arose: “Can you share a preview of the significant initiative you previously announced to unveil during the competition?”

“This will be an unprecedented initiative in centuries. Some might not accept it, some might be disappointed, and it might even cause great controversy. But rest assured, it will ultimately benefit everyone.”

Despite his young age, appearing barely of age, the man in the screen faced the tidal wave of questions with composure. Every statement he made was logical and well-founded, leaving no room for the critics to attack.

But what Qiuqiu was most concerned about wasn't any of this; what puzzled him was why this person looked so much like Morfa.

"Royal genes are indeed excellent; General Duan Chen Sen and Prince Duan Chen Lin truly are brothers," someone nearby remarked.

Qiuqiu put aside his surprise and asked Figo, "Who was the person just now on the screen?"

"That's the Second Prince of the Imperial Royal Family, Duan Chen Lin," Figo replied. "Why, are you interested in him?"

"His brother is Duan Chen Sen? Then why do the journalists not address him as the Crown Prince but as a General?"

Figo explained, "General Duan Chen Sen dislikes political struggles. After becoming an adult, he joined the military academy and has been serving in the military, leading the First Legion to guard the borders against the Bug Race. Everyone respects his preference, and he has made it clear that he doesn't want to be addressed as the Crown Prince in public. Hence, whether it's journalists, his family, or us ordinary people, we habitually refer to him as the General."

Qiuqiu finally remembered that when he first arrived in this world, he had seen Duan Chen Sen on television. The man's stern and cold demeanor had left a deep impression on him.

He couldn't help asking, "Does the royal family all have silver hair and silver eyes?"

Figo nodded, "The Empire's royal family is of a single race. They only give birth to Alpha offspring, and the most significant characteristic is silver hair and silver eyes. General Duan Chen Sen is even known as the Moon of the Empire."

Thinking of Morfa, Qiuqiu felt a tug at his heart: "Apart from Duan Chen Sen and Duan Chen Lin, does the royal family have any other brothers?"

Tang Bu Tian interjected, "Of course not. This generation of the royal family only has these two direct descendants. The Second Prince is the younger one; they're almost ten years apart."

Qiuqiu's heart raced as he grasped at this clue, "How old is the Second Prince?"

"He just came of age. Only adult princes are eligible to preside over the Imperial Tournament," Tang Bu Tian replied.

This meant that Duan Chen Lin was only eighteen years old, and Duan Chen Sen was around twenty-eight. Qiuqiu quickly calculated in his mind.

At that moment, he uncontrollably thought of Morfa again.

Morfa didn't seem to be a mature man of twenty-eight, but his resemblance to Duan Chen Sen and Duan Chen Lin was striking, leaving Qiuqiu unable to determine the relationship between Morfa and the royal family.

Qiuqiu told himself to calm down.

If Morfa really is from the imperial royal family...

He thought of Bai Tianxing's revelations about the nobility's cruelty towards plants and Omegas and felt conflicted about how to face Morfa.

Author's note:

Maybe I can muster up another chapter tonight?