Chapter 189: On the Operating Table

Because I was afflicted with the Plum Blossom Gu, I was immune to most Gu poisons. When I saw the white threads crawl out, a flash of inspiration hit me, and a crazy idea came to mind.

I hid my hands behind my back, quietly shook off the white threads, and slumped to the ground, mimicking the short security guard.

More and more cadavers were walking or crawling down the corridor from both sides, blocking the way. This was underground, and my chances of fighting my way out by force were extremely low. I might as well take a gamble.

I still hadn't met the most mysterious person on this sealed campus—the mastermind behind it all. She had stayed hidden in the dark the entire time, wary and cautious, like a cunning viper.

I didn't know the sealed campus well, and there were plenty of places I hadn't been. Setting aside the odds of finding her on my own, even if I got lucky, there was no way I could subdue her with a horde of cadavers protecting her.

So I changed my mind on the fly and played along. Exploiting their blind trust in the white threads, I pretended to be unable to move.

I wanted them to let their guard down so I could strike the moment they were most relaxed.

Hiding the scalpel in my sleeve, I now just needed to wait for an opportunity. As long as I could break this deadlock, I wouldn't hesitate to kill!

Secretly observing the physical changes in the short security guard, I copied his exact posture.

"Why don't you keep running?" Zhang Jiaqi strolled over to me and gave me a kick. "Young and strong. You're top-tier material. I was originally going to let you go, but you just had to get involved."

She bent over and picked up the Underworld Live Show Phone I had set aside, putting on a pleasant smile. "Hello, viewers. Don't panic. We are currently filming a movie. This will be a film that rewrites human history, and you are all witnesses."

"When it comes to bragging, you're still a whole cup size behind the streamer."

"Don't all the actresses in this stream like to appear in their pajamas? Miss, it's time to undo your seal!"

"Ugly people always pull the weirdest stunts. We've seen it all before."

"Why are you spewing so much nonsense? Is there a midnight fanservice bonus or not? If not, we're retreating. Pipixia, let's go!"

The livestream viewers' sheer shamelessness left Zhang Jiaqi momentarily speechless. "Aren't you guys worried about your streamer at all?"

Maggot in a Sea of Shit: "I'm new here. A lot of streamers are too scared to talk to me because my name is too badass."

Master Tieling Biao tipped the Super Thriller Live Broadcast Room 999 Underworld Coins: "Add me on WeChat, babe."

Teletubbies Died of Murder tipped the Super Thriller Live Broadcast Room 99 Underworld Coins: "Do you happen to have a Japanese name, like Oohashi Miku?"

...

The livestream viewers who had followed me through several streams were already battle-hardened veterans, long since used to fear and horror. At a moment like this, never mind someone like Zhang Jiaqi—even if a blood-drenched female ghost stood in front of the screen, they'd still badger her for her measurements.

Reading the bullet comments on the screen, I almost couldn't hold my breath. I quickly relaxed, stopped using my Chasing Eye, and looked away.

Zhang Jiaqi seemed quite interested in the livestream as well. After chatting for a bit, she stuffed the phone into her jacket pocket, tilted her head, and glanced at me a few times. "Streamer, you're pretty popular, aren't you? Not a single person is speaking up for you."

She walked away with a smile. I didn't see her make any gesture, yet not long after, several cadavers entered the classroom and dragged the short security guard and me away.

Zhang Jiaqi led the way. I let the cadavers drag me, keeping one finger pressed lightly against my scalpel so the blade wouldn't hit the floor and make a sound.

We reached the end of the passage and rounded two corners before the stairwell came into view. Because this area had once been used to process fresh corpses into specimens, students were strictly forbidden from entering, and its internal layout was very complex.

Catching sight of the stairs, I narrowed my eyes slightly. If I made a run for it right now, I had a very good chance of charging my way out. I hesitated.

'Compared to being a deserter, the truth is still a bit more tempting.' Relaxing my entire body and keeping my mouth shut tight, I let the cadavers drag me down to the second basement level.

The second basement level was even darker. There were no lights in the hallway, and even Zhang Jiaqi had to take out her phone to illuminate the path.

The scent of formalin in the air gradually faded, replaced by the heavy stench of rotting corpses and the metallic tang of blood.

'Where is she taking me?'

After the bumpy trip down the stairs, Zhang Jiaqi stopped beside a tightly shut iron door and knocked lightly. "Teacher, I've brought you the security guard who ran away and the man who broke into the school tonight."

The lock clicked, and someone opened the door from the inside.

A faint, cold fluorescent light seeped through the crack in the door. I could vaguely see the dim glow of various medical instruments inside the room.

"Bring them in." It was a cold, clear female voice, completely devoid of emotion. Just hearing it made me feel a chill.

"Understood." Zhang Jiaqi pushed the iron door fully open, and the cadavers dragged the short security guard and me inside.

The space inside was much larger than I had imagined. It was a long, narrow corridor with four or five rooms on either side, each leaking sparse dots of light.

'To power this many medical devices at once, they must have an independent power supply hooked up here. Wiring a generator isn't something that can be done in a short amount of time.' I secretly observed my surroundings. The walls and floor tiles were covered in shocking bloodstains. Some of the bloodstains were very old, like sealed oil paintings; as my fingertips brushed across them, they made a dry scraping sound.

"Teacher, this young man has an excellent physique. We can save him for last and use him to replace the test subject's internal organs."

"Move them in."

The two women stopped talking after that brief exchange. The cadavers lifted the short security guard and me up, then set us down onto cold operating tables.

"Who is this young man?" The cold female voice came from right beside me. Squinting and using my peripheral vision, I could only vaguely see that she was wearing a white lab coat and clutching a wad of blood-soaked bandages.

Zhang Jiaqi recounted how she had met me outside the school. Once she finished, the room fell into silence.

"Teacher, how do you think we should handle him?"

The cold voice didn't respond for a long time. "He has seen the Thread-Pulling Gu and the cadavers, so we definitely cannot let him leave. As for killing him... that requires further consideration."

"Teacher, look at what a perfect experimental specimen this is. It would be a waste not to use him." Zhang Jiaqi's fingers traced down the muscles of my arm, trailing along the contours. Where her fingertips brushed my skin, I felt no warmth whatsoever, only an endless, creeping chill. Her fingers felt like sharp scalpels; she wasn't caressing me, she was planning exactly how to carve me open and extract what lay inside.

The woman in the white coat threw away the bandages and picked up a scalpel from the disinfectant tray. She was walking toward me when, suddenly, a young boy ran down the corridor clutching a massive glass jar. Inside the jar, a dead cat could vaguely be seen soaking in fluid.

When she saw the dim-witted boy, the woman in the white coat softened her tone, and even her gaze seemed to turn gentle. "This young man is innocent, unlike the security guard who stole the specimens. I have already committed too many wrongs for this experiment. I cannot keep adding one mistake to another."

"You need to think this through, Teacher. He's the most suitable material we have. Besides, this guy is really hard to deal with. If he manages to escape..." Zhang Jiaqi's hands were still roaming over my body. Her fanaticism for the experiment seemed even stronger than her teacher's.

"We'll keep him alive for now," the woman in the white coat said, pulling a syringe from a cabinet. "A high-dose anesthetic. Inject him with this in a moment."

Zhang Jiaqi took the syringe, glancing at me with a hint of regret before looking away. "Teacher, why is it that every time you see that child, you go soft? We are doing this for a resurrection. With that as our ultimate goal, what can't be sacrificed?"

Just as she finished speaking, a loud crash echoed from outside the door. The boy had bumped into something and shattered the glass jar in his hands. He began to cry and wail out in the corridor.

The woman in the white coat set down her scalpel and walked toward the door. "You don't understand. The very first mistake I made started with this child. If he hadn't seen me killing that cat, I would never have entertained the thought of using living humans for experiments. He wouldn't have been locked in this sunless basement every day, and he certainly wouldn't have turned into a fool who only knows about red tongues and white tongues."