Chapter 69: Data Harvest

Chapter 69: Data Harvest At the Monster Research Institute, Director Marcellus pointed at the scene of contestants getting worked over below, speaking with real fire in his voice: "Everyone, look at the kids down there. They signed up with passion and enthusiasm to show off their own and their teammates’ talents! Not to get tortured like common criminals! I think this challenge is completely out of line and needs to be shut down right now!" The moment those words left his mouth, the leadership’s eyes all swung toward Covert Operations Chief Warner. Because this ’Stone Chair’ challenge was exactly what he’d been pushing hard for the Mental Research Institute to handle. "Marcellus, you’re looking at this with blinders on. Whether a team’s got what it takes or not, teamwork is without a doubt an absolutely crucial piece of the puzzle. The Mental Research Institute’s ’Stone Chair’ proposal is admittedly a bit off the wall. But it can pick out both teams with rock-solid coordination and teams with top-notch communication and teamwork skills. It absolutely fits the bill for what team competition should be!" Warner’s voice was old and scratchy—a little old guy wrapped up in black robes. Hearing this, Marcellus actually cooled his jets, his eyes carrying a mocking glint. "Is that so? Then let’s keep watching..." He wasn’t in any rush. Among those present, nobody knew the Mental Research Institute’s true colors better than him. Facing the chance to experiment on so many excellent Psionics users, could they keep their hands to themselves? From such brutal advancement conditions, you could tell these guys didn’t want any teams to pass successfully—they wanted all contestants to stick around and keep getting their brains zapped. After all, each additional attack experiment meant more experimental data. These guys would definitely ride the line, running crazy experiments until leadership pulled the plug—otherwise they’d never call it quits. However, what put Marcellus’s mind at ease was that before the competition, the zapping intensity of these stone chairs had been put through the wringer. They wouldn’t hurt the kids—at worst they’d have to grit their teeth through some pain. What’s more, this pain would get their spiritual energy fired up and more active. More importantly, this little bit of suffering was nothing compared to life-and-death scraps with dark mist monsters. Well... probably. Seeing Marcellus go from steaming mad to cool and collected, looking like he had an ace up his sleeve, Warner wondered if the Mental Research Institute was pulling a fast one behind his back. ... In the arena, another five minutes passed with still no new teams making the grade. The second round of attacks kicked in... Contestants’ blood-curdling screams, muffled groans, and worse kept going up and down. But strangely enough, not a single person tried to bow out of competition. Mental researchers watching data below felt secretly tickled pink. "Thank heavens our mentor had the smarts to add soundproof magic circles to the helmets." This way, any calls to quit couldn’t reach the outside world at all. What’s more, to keep things under wraps, researchers would immediately hit them with paralysis attacks, making contestants lose the ability to move and honestly take their medicine. Another five minutes... still no new teams advancing... the third attack began... More and more contestants hit the wall mentally and physically, getting rushed away by medics... Competition kept going—fourth attack... fifth attack... Still no new competing teams passed successfully... In the prep area, Carlos looked stumped, sharply sensing something was fishy. "This doesn’t add up. With me showing the way, some teams should definitely try to get word to each other through various tricks to figure out which cylinder to press." In Carlos’s book, this competition seemed to test team coordination but actually tested teams’ brains, communication, understanding, and teamwork skills more. Getting communication done without the referees catching on should be what leadership hoped to test. "But so many rounds have gone by without any successful advancement, and not even teams getting the boot for cheating have shown up. Are these people really all ’goody two-shoes’ who truly don’t talk when told not to?" ... Researchers had eagle eyes plus alchemical instrument backup, able to spot contestants’ fishy business at any time. For instance, when a contestant summoned a bee to contact teammates, researchers immediately fired up helmet paralysis, making the contestant shake like a leaf and black out... Another example: when a contestant created a puddle of water that spread fast toward teammates’ feet, the helmet immediately sprayed mind-bending gas, instantly shutting them up... Sharp-eyed researchers had their mentor’s words burned into their brains: "Do you know how many experimental chances we’ll kiss goodbye for every team that passes?" "..." "For humanity’s future, we’ve got to make the most of this experiment! Collect all the data we can get our hands on!" So whether they could pass still came down to whether researchers gave the thumbs up... ... In the crowd, folks were sighing left and right: "This challenge is way too tough! Up to now, only little Carlos and his skeleton buddies have made it through!" "The rest are all numbskulls. The rules are crystal clear—it only counts as cheating if you get caught. If you don’t get caught, it’s not cheating, right?" Many sharp folks, like Carlos, smelled something rotten. "Strange? My boy’s no angel—could he really sit there so well-behaved without trying to cheat and get word around?" "Right, too fishy. Up to now, no teams getting kicked out for cheating?" "..." Even regular folks had caught on, let alone the scary-powerful leadership. ... On the high viewing platform, the mood was thick as soup. "Everyone, what do you think now? This behavior is lower than a snake’s belly—they’re deliberately messing with competition progress!" Monster Research Institute Director Marcellus looked dead serious, his big bald dome reflecting light like a beacon. It had to be said, the Mental Research Institute researchers had more guts than he’d figured, daring to tie contestants’ hands right under their noses! "I think the youngsters’ methods were too ham-fisted, getting spotted and stopped is pretty par for the course. Not giving them the boot already throws them a bone." Covert Operations Chief Warner stuck his neck out again. For him, he had to push back, otherwise other leadership might swing toward Marcellus’s camp. Marcellus let out a bitter laugh: "Then how do you explain stopping the youngsters from throwing in the towel?" Without waiting for Warner’s comeback, Marcellus looked around and announced loud and clear: "Plus the Mental Research Institute running large-scale brain-zapping experiments right under our noses—plenty of folks have already caught wind that something’s not right! If word gets out, how are you all going to handle it?" Other leadership’s faces went a shade paler. Disciplinary Office Chief Yade was first to show his cards. "We can’t let them keep this up! The Mental Research Institute’s behavior right now is doing more harm than good! Got to pull the plug immediately! And get to the bottom of who’s responsible!" He’d been fed up with the Mental Research Institute’s reckless experimenting for ages, only holding back from opposing them because Warner had done him a solid before. Now he couldn’t stomach it anymore.