Chapter 131 Mad Scientist

Chapter 131: Chapter 131 Mad Scientist

The white-haired mad scientist, as he was popularly tagged by the survivors, was running another test with a smile plastered across his face. For once, everything was going according to plan. What he had been searching for had finally appeared. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for—the happiest moment of his entire life, when all the years of research, failed experiments, and sacrifices would finally amount to something. His life’s work was about to come to pass.

Linda watched him from the corner of the room. She stood quietly beside the door, barely daring to breathe as she watched her master examine a blood sample through a powerful microscope for what had to be the hundredth time. He looked excited. Too excited.

Linda sighed silently. She couldn’t understand why her master was this thrilled, but deep down, she already knew one thing. Whatever he had discovered, something terrible was going to be unleashed soon.

Linda hadn’t been at the facility all day. She had been sent out to run an errand and had only returned recently. The moment she stepped inside, however, she knew something had happened. The entire laboratory was in complete disarray. Measuring tools had been pushed beyond their normal limits. Machines that were usually kept at controlled settings had been turned all the way up. Several screens displayed numbers that Linda couldn’t even begin to understand.

The parameters had been raised to their highest possible levels, apparently to determine the extent of the essence contained within a person’s body. And judging by the results displayed across the screens, whatever they had found was positive. Extremely positive.

Linda just didn’t understand why that had made her master so happy.

As usual, she could only remain at the left side of the door, quietly peeping into the laboratory while watching the creepy things he did. Some of the things happening inside that room were beyond disturbing.

"Experiments can finally be given a positive sign." The mad scientist laughed. "I can’t believe a surge of energy like that is real." He leaned closer to the microscope. "Someone actually exists in this world carrying such an essence." His laughter became louder. "Here I am, looking through worthless people, trying to find what shouldn’t even exist."

Linda remained silent. She wasn’t stupid. She knew better than to interrupt him.

The assistants before her had all made the same mistake. They wanted to prove they were useful. They wanted to show that they were intelligent and efficient. So they would add their opinions when he was speaking, ask questions he didn’t want to hear, or try to participate in conversations that had nothing to do with them. And where were they now? Their skulls hung right in front of his laboratory as a warning. A monument. A reminder of what happened to anyone who thought they were important enough to challenge him.

Linda’s eyes briefly drifted toward the entrance of the laboratory. She could still remember the first time she had seen the skulls. She had nearly vomited. Now she had learned not to look at them for too long.

The worst part was that the general in charge of the survivor grounds and safe zones never questioned him. Not once. It was almost as if the general allowed him to do whatever he wanted because the scientist possessed answers to questions no one else could answer. Why had the world changed? Why had the apocalypse happened? How could humanity adapt? How could the new environment be controlled? How could humans evolve instead of being wiped out? And, most importantly, how could the remaining survivors be reshaped into something capable of ruling over the new world?

The scientist had answers to almost everything. Or at least, he claimed he did. And because of that, nobody touched him. Nobody stopped him.

Linda had slowly come to realize something terrifying. The government wasn’t the true mastermind behind the nightmare. Neither was the general. It was him. The white-haired mad scientist. He was the one keeping the nightmare alive. He was the one experimenting on humans. He was the one trying to create something beyond ordinary awakened humans. And he was the one who believed the apocalypse was not something to be survived. It was something to be controlled.

Finally, the scientist lifted his head from the microscope. He removed the goggles covering his eyes and slowly pulled off his gloves. "He is supposed to be a high-tier awakened," he muttered. "But his blood still won’t make a difference." His expression darkened. "This new world has to work."

He paced around the laboratory. "If we’re going to form a new generation of humans capable of surviving these changes, there have to be alterations." He clenched his fist. "But I can’t make it work if I can’t find this particular blood sample." "Damn it!"

He suddenly shoved a table. The table overturned. Hundreds of bottles, beakers, tubes, and samples crashed onto the floor. CRASH! Glass shattered everywhere.

Linda flinched violently. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. She quickly lowered her head. Don’t react. Don’t say anything. Don’t attract his attention.

The scientist had become even more unstable lately. She knew why. There had been too many failed experiments. The newly awakened humans who had been brought into the facility and placed under the knife hadn’t survived the procedures. Their bodies had been altered. Their cells had been rewired. Their internal structures had been changed. But instead of adapting to the external force, their bodies rejected it. Some suffered horrible mutations. Others became completely unstable. And eventually, they were brutally killed.

Linda had personally helped transport some of those bodies to the morgue for burning. She still remembered them. The screams. The smell. The blood. The bodies that no longer looked completely human. She had become sick to her stomach every time she remembered them.

Normally, the scientist became furious whenever an experiment failed. But this time was different. Even though he had just destroyed half the laboratory in frustration, Linda could still see something in his eyes. Joy. Pure, disturbing joy.

He suddenly began moving around the room in what could only be described as a bizarre dance. Linda stared at him in horror. She wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or run. She chose neither.

Then the scientist suddenly stopped. "We are going to trace where this energy came from."

Linda’s stomach dropped.

"I will get this person." His smile widened. "And I will restrain him or her."

Linda’s face paled.

"I will take everything from their body." He spoke with such excitement that it made Linda feel sick. "The essence, the blood, the cells, everything." He spread his arms. "I’ll use it to create my own experiment." His eyes gleamed. "And finally, it will stop failing."

Linda swallowed hard.

"The compound of the body will accelerate. Then we can create a new batch of humans capable of withstanding the apocalypse." He laughed again. "They will possess the required results. They will survive the changes. They will become the next generation of humanity."

Linda felt deeply irritated and disgusted to her bones. She didn’t want any of this. She had never wanted to be part of it. But wanting didn’t matter. She had been forced into becoming his assistant. Silence was the only thing keeping her alive.

If she spoke out, she wouldn’t be thrown into the dungeon like ordinary rule breakers. Her punishment would be much simpler. Instant death. That was why Linda had learned to keep her mouth shut.

She couldn’t sleep properly anymore. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the people who had entered this facility. She saw the procedures they had gone through. She saw their bodies afterward. And she remembered that they had never walked back out.

The scientist turned toward her. "So, Linda."

She immediately straightened.

"Get me the telephone." His smile returned. "I want to tell the general the good news."

Linda nodded quickly.

"The new test subject has been found. The final test can finally begin." He sounded almost giddy. "This will determine the future of humanity." He looked toward the machines. "And perhaps we will finally create healing drugs that can become even greater as we begin this journey."

Linda didn’t dare shake her head. She turned immediately and walked toward the telephone hanging on the opposite side of the room. Her fingers had barely reached for it when the telephone suddenly rang.

RING!

Linda froze. She slowly turned toward it. The scientist was still standing behind her.

"Is that Mr. Davis?"

She frowned. Why would someone be calling him now? She didn’t ask. She was smart enough to know there was no ordinary person around here called Mr. Davis.

Linda picked up the phone. "What’s the issue?"

The voice on the other end was hoarse and cracky. There was a brief pause. Then the man spoke. "All of the awakened who were sent to search for what happened to the other messengers and kill those responsible haven’t reported back."

Linda’s expression changed.

The man continued, "It’s been confirmed that they might all be dead."

Linda went completely still. All of them? Dead?

The scientist had specifically sent some of their strongest awakened. The best of the best. And now none of them had returned.

Linda’s stomach twisted. She was the one who would have to deliver the message. And she already knew who would suffer for it. Her face. Her body. Her life. Whatever anger the scientist couldn’t direct at the people responsible would be directed at her.

"How?" Linda’s voice trembled despite her attempt to control it. "Those are dangerous awakened. The best of the best." She glanced nervously toward her master. "You know what they have been touched by. They aren’t supposed to fail unless..." She paused. "...unless the people we’re dealing with aren’t normal."

The man on the phone remained silent. He had no answer.

"Just tell him, please."

The line went dead. Linda stared at the telephone. Her heartbeat became louder. The silence in the laboratory suddenly felt terrifying.

She slowly turned toward the scientist. He was watching her. "Have you called him, Linda?" His voice was strangely calm. "Or should I turn you into food for my snake?"

Linda nearly dropped the telephone. "No, sir!" She immediately began dialing. Her fingers shook so badly that she nearly pressed the wrong numbers.

Then—RING!

Another call came through. Linda’s eyes widened. She answered. "Is this Mr. Davis?"

She didn’t get an answer immediately. Then the voice on the other end spoke. "The general is dead."

Linda froze. "What?"

"The general is dead." The man’s voice was trembling. "And his entire family."

Linda’s breath caught. "They were murdered in their sleep."

For several seconds, she couldn’t move. The general? Dead? His entire family? Murdered?

Linda slowly looked toward where the mad scientist had been standing. He wasn’t there. Her heart began pounding. Where had he gone? She looked around the laboratory. Nothing. Only the half-butchered corpse lying on one of the tables remained visible, its body being handled for the essence the scientist had been searching for.

Linda’s stomach churned. She wanted to say something. She wanted to ask the caller what had happened. But before she could speak—

A familiar voice came from directly behind her. "What are you hiding?"

Linda’s entire body went rigid. She slowly turned. The pale face was right behind her. She screamed. "AHHH!" She staggered backward, nearly falling over.

The scientist stared down at her with that same unsettling smile.