Chapter 14 - 13: Extraordinary Catalyst

Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Extraordinary Catalyst

When Yin Zhen regained consciousness, she found herself soaking in a Treatment Pod filled with nutrient solution.

The viscous liquid enveloped her entire body, though she felt no sense of suffocation. It was rich in high concentrations of artificial blood plasma, causing her lost flesh and blood to regenerate at a visible rate.

Through the transparent cover of the sealed pod, she saw a black-haired researcher wearing glasses standing in front of the console, his fingers sliding across the screen. Two other sealed pods flanked her, with a dark-skinned woman on her left and a red-haired woman on her right. Five people had been taken to the individual training rooms, but now only the three of them remained.

The laboratory doors slid open and Victor walked in, carrying a silver suitcase.

"Ian," he said, placing the suitcase on the console. "Use this on them."

Ian pushed up his glasses and opened the case. Inside were three sealed glass vials containing a liquid as thick as coagulated blood, yet it emitted an eerie fluorescence under the lights.

"Extraordinary Ability Catalyst? It can maximize the Level of an existing Extraordinary Ability, and probabilistically allow those who are not yet Awakeners to obtain a Basic ability. I can’t believe the company is being this generous!" Ian exclaimed.

"Generous? More like they’re out of options!" Victor replied.

"The Extraordinary Catalyst can only be injected once, and it’s prone to causing mutations during the catalyzation process. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Lucia won’t be able to hold on much longer. If this doesn’t work, she’ll have no more chances."

As Victor spoke, his gaze lingered on the middle pod for a second longer—S717.

Out of over seven hundred test subjects so far, she was the only one who made his intuition flare, making him feel that the gene belonging to the ’Source’ could be replicated. That person was a ruthless figure who had beaten the leaders of the three major families so badly that they still hadn’t recovered—the source of hope for humanity. It didn’t matter that S717 hadn’t awakened earlier. The later the awakening came, the more likely it was to be something exceptional.

Ian noticed Victor’s overly attentive expression toward S717. He remained silent, simply lowering his eyes to operate the injection program.

The three glass vials were loaded into the injection arms. The mechanical appendages moved slowly, aligning with the injection ports of the three sealed pods. The deep red liquid flowed through the thin tubes into the nutrient solution.

Yin Zhen stared at the touch of red approaching her. Like a slithering snake, it drilled deep into the nutrient solution and touched her skin.

In that instant, a system notification chimed in her mind.

[Your Extraordinary Ability ’Blood Source Resonance (B-level)’ is absorbing the Extraordinary Catalyst, with a 10% probability of upgrading to A-level.]

[Upon ability upgrade, maximum storable Extraordinary Ability count +3, maximum Level for resonance ability increased to A-level.]

Yin Zhen’s pupils suddenly contracted as her Super Sensing intuition set off loud alarm bells. "No! I can’t upgrade this! At least not here, not right under their noses. Otherwise, I’ll definitely be in mortal danger," she thought.

The catalyst began to seep into Yin Zhen’s blood vessels, and that Strength rampaged wildly within her body. She gritted her teeth, desperately trying to stay conscious amidst the agonizing pain. She tried to use her consciousness to touch the erratic energy, like an invisible thread tethering them.

That frenziedly wandering Strength began to find a direction, following the guidance of her consciousness to flow toward places she could control.

[Your Extraordinary Ability ’Super Sensing (D-level)’ is absorbing the catalyst’s Strength... Level upgrading...]

[Your Extraordinary Ability ’Transformation (D-level)’ is absorbing the catalyst’s Strength... Level upgrading...]

"It’s good as long as I can control it," Yin Zhen rejoiced inwardly. "But this Super Sensing ability comes from the blood of that Fallen Species. If it’s exposed here, they will very likely associate it with Blood Source Resonance. I have to hide it!

"From the looks of it, Transformation is the only ability I can use openly. However, I don’t want to expose my cat form either. I need to put on as many disguises as possible to hide my true self.

"The Transformation ability definitely has more than one form, otherwise it would just be called ’Cat Transformation’."

She remembered... before that Fallen Species lost control, it had stood by the window, watching a flock of black birds circling outside.

"A Raven!" she realized.

Influenced by the genes of the Ancestor Blood Clan, those Pure Blood Nobles of the Conservative Faction in the Blood Clan disliked high technology. They preferred keeping Ravens to deliver messages, decorate their castles... and serve as pets. They weren’t part of a Combat System or a Rare Species, just one of the most common creatures in Night City. No one would pay attention to a Raven.

Yin Zhen exhausted all her physical strength, desperately grasping onto that image in her consciousness: black feathers, a sharp beak, spread wings...

[Your Extraordinary Ability ’Transformation’ has been upgraded to C-level. Expanded Second Form: Raven.]