Chapter 67 - Sixty-Seven: Degeneration

The Professional nodded slightly at Chen Gu and then turned to leave. It was a gesture of goodwill—but Chen Gu, his head buried in his meal, didn’t notice at all, oblivious to his surroundings. After eating for a while, Chen Gu felt something was off. He looked up to see the entire staff of the experimental lab gathered around him. "You all..." Chen Gu, a bit embarrassed, offered, "Would you like to have some?" Please don’t agree! This little bit of food isn’t even enough for me! The Zhaojieze City sub-branch is so stingy, not even providing enough to get full! "No need, no need," everyone declined, waving their hands. At that moment, an impatient staff member asked, "Is that enough? There’s plenty more at the restaurant upstairs." The crowd rolled their eyes. He’s being far too obvious trying to get rid of him! This small cart of high-nutrient food is enough to replenish seven or eight Professionals. "Still so young, unable to contain his eagerness," they all thought. To their surprise, Chen Gu actually nodded. "It’s not quite enough, so I’ll head up then?" Everyone was taken aback, then unanimously nodded. "Sure, sure. Can you walk on your own? I’ll send you the location of the restaurant; it’s easy to find." "No problem." Chen Gu walked off, using the cart both as a crutch and to continue eating as he went. As soon as Chen Gu left the lab, the staff swarmed towards the generator, grabbed various collectors, and frantically began to extract from it. "BEEP—No recyclable super-substance detected." "BEEP—" "BEEP—" "No recyclable super-substance detected." All the instruments showed the same result, leaving everyone dumbfounded. What’s going on? That’s impossible! It took a while before someone screamed, "This is impossible! All from a single initiation ceremony—he absorbed more than thirty grams of super-substance?!" The person in charge turned pale. It’s all over. Even the last resort of fleeing with the money is blocked. Visions of countless tiny red embroidered shoes danced before his eyes... A few senior researchers were discussing. "We’ve always heard that the more super-substance absorbed during the initiation ceremony, the greater the future potential. This guy has absorbed the most out of all the Professionals I’ve seen in this lab." Another said solemnly, "Not just this lab. I’ve been with the Bureau of Mystic Security for nearly twenty years. In all the records I’ve seen, the highest was only twenty-four grams. That person... was our Director-General, the Valkyrie Aviloya!" 「...」 On his way, Chen Gu devoured the entire small cart of high-nutrient food, yet he was still only half-full. He then checked the electronic map and found he was only two doors away from the restaurant. He powered his legs and charged towards it. Before he even realized what was happening, THUD! He crashed into the wall at the end of the corridor. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK... The high-polymer material wall now bore a human-shaped dent from which he struggled to emerge, scattering debris all around. Chen Gu shook his head, apparently still not accustomed to his body’s new capabilities, such as its strength and speed. The second time, Chen Gu was ready. With another burst of strength in his legs, he vanished with a WHOOSH. In the surveillance room on the central floor of the building, a newcomer witnessed this scene, his mouth agape in shock. "Boss, look at this guy! His speed is so fast, it’s like he just vanished from the surveillance footage!" But no response came from his superior. The newcomer turned around in confusion. "Boss..." He froze. Behind him, three colleagues lay on the ground, reduced to skin-and-bone mummies. His boss, barely retaining a human shape, had a body that was already swelling, threatening to burst his black uniform. Underneath his thinly stretched skin, black, worm-like tissues were rapidly growing. The newcomer opened his mouth to scream, but a massive, insect-like sucker covered his face. With a revolting GURGLING sound, the newcomer rapidly shriveled. The sucker connected to a series of pulsating tubes, which pumped something back through them. BANG! The supervisor of the surveillance room’s body suddenly exploded, spraying black, viscous fluid everywhere. It let out a gratified HISSS, its tail—now dozens of insect-like suckers and tubes—flailing wildly. Finally, no need to hide anymore! It approached a control console, its sharp claws shattered the bulletproof glass shield, and it forcefully pressed a button. 「...」 Chen Gu gradually adapted to his improved physical attributes. He gracefully twisted his body as he passed through the last security door and burst into the restaurant. However, engrossed in his meal, Chen Gu didn’t notice that as soon as he entered, the security doors in the corridor outside silently closed. Outside the Zhaojieze City sub-branch building, a magnetic levitation vehicle was entering the main gate when it suddenly slammed shut. The thick, heavy alloy gates, powered by eight hidden super-frequency motors, effortlessly sliced the maglev vehicle in two, as cleanly as a guillotine! The two action team members in the rear seat slammed into the gate due to inertia, their heads buzzing. What just happened? they wondered, still trying to make sense of it. One of them, his mind a bit dazed, earnestly reminded the other, "We really should buckle up from now on." Then, both of them realized the gravity of the situation and screamed, "Emergency situation!" 「...」 Nagano Takesakura felt fantastic. What did I dream of becoming a Professional for, if not for this thrilling feeling of easily controlling the lives and deaths of others? She did not realize that her mind had unknowingly become twisted. Her primary body still retained a human form. However, compared to her previously plain and mundane self, her appearance had undergone subtle changes. With a few new black, tattoo-like patterns on her face, she now exuded a sinister charm. Her figure was exceptionally voluptuous, with an ample bosom and a dramatically narrow waist that flared out at the hips. However, her lower half had transformed into the shape of a scorpion. Unlike other Mutants, her body lacked any disgusting mucus; instead, it was clean and smooth, covered with an obsidian-like carapace. She now had four arms, and sixteen flexible tentacles had sprouted from her back. At that moment, the corpse of the Professional who had pulled her from the generator hung on her enormous scorpion tail, while one of her tentacles was curled around the neck of an action team member, lifting him high into the air. She advanced down the corridor. Due to her massive size, she often encountered "obstacles," which she smashed through without a second thought. Ahead of her, dozens of action team members, under the command of four Professionals, continuously opened fire on her, but all their ammunition merely ricocheted off her carapace.