The slap echoed in the room.
The soldiers gasped in shock.
But the scientist slowly lowered his gaze, glancing at Vivian.
His crazed look slowly returned to normal, and his eyes focused. He snapped out of his fear.
But unnoticed to them, the eyes of the child in the tube opened.
"P-Please, help me,"
A child's begging, crying voice rang in their heads.
The hearts of everyone present shook.
The soldiers carrying the equipment around glued their gaze to the child, as if mesmerized, enchanted.
They slowly moved towards the tube.
"Free me,"
The voice continued.
The eyes of the soldiers turned hazy.
"SHUT UP!"
The scientist jumped.
"YOU CURSED THING!"
He screamed at the child.
Hatred flashed in his eyes. Hatred hiding fear.
'Cursed thing?'
The commander's murderous intent rose.
'After everything you did to this innocent child? You dare call him a cursed thing?!!'
Thud!
Vivian grabbed his arm.
She could feel his anger.
Right now, the commander wanted to snap the scientist's neck.
"Explain, now!"
The commander's threatening voice rang out, forcing the scientist to turn to him.
The scientist let out a sigh.
"You may think I am too much. After everything we did, the experiments..."
He lowered his head.
"But!"
Suddenly, his eyes sharpened, and his expression turned dreadful.
The scientist locked eyes with the commander.
'W-What is this?'
An uneasy feeling arose in the commander. He could see the scientist's intense fear.
The scientist glanced back at the child in the tube.
The eyes were open, staring at them.
"This is not an appropriate place to talk. I promise to explain everything, but let's get away from here for now."
Vivian and the commander glanced at each other.
The governor fell into a deep thought.
"You mean..."
His eyes widened.
The scientist nodded.
"Alright."
The governor didn't hesitate.
"Get away from here,"
He hurried away, not even waiting for the commander and Vivian, or for their response.
The scientist followed.
Vivian and the commander had no choice.
The governor led the way into the elevator.
They went up.
And after walking through the corridors, they finally reached the council room.
Sitting on the cold stone chairs, silence descended onto the room.
The scientist opened his mouth several times, but each time, no words came out.
He didn't know how to start.
"Speak already,"
Vivian lost her patience.
"Sighhh..."
A long sigh escaped the scientist's lips.
"The situation is not good."
He started, his voice heavy, carrying fear.
"The experiments should have died a long time ago. Alpha died before the apocalypse even started."
The commander's eyes widened.
"And what you saw, the broken container, I fear the worst. Delta is free."
The scientist saw the commander's confusion, thus he continued.
"We were three scientists, with code names Alpha, Beta, and Delta. Each of us corresponded to the experiment subjects, Alpha, Beta, and Delta."
"I am Scientist Alpha, responsible for Test Subject Alpha."
The scientist shuddered.
"Those inhuman experiments..."
Tears rolled down his face.
As if years of suppressed emotions came pouring out.
"What was the purpose of the experiments?"
The commander questioned.
"Genetic advancement. The experiments are an attempt to create superhumans."
The scientist started explaining.
"But ultimately, every test subject died. We researched and found out a missing key factor within the human body, but we didn't know what it was."
Memories flashed in the commander's mind.
He remembered reading on the report page in the laboratory about the missing key factor.
"Could it be..."
His eyes suddenly widened. A realization befell.
"Mana?"
The scientist nodded grimly.
"The test subjects are now complete and free."
"I understand, but what does it matter? Why do you label them as such a great threat?"
Vivian asked in confusion.
"I mean, they certainly harbor hatred for you, but why make such a big deal?"
"NO..."
The scientist's pupils trembled.
"You do not understand,"
He shook his head.
"You are superhuman, but you can't compare to them. And if they are alive, it means they have awakened as well."
The commander leaned forward.
"What do you mean we can't compare?"
His expression grew grim.
"The genetic modifications can be taken as extra abilities."
The scientist revealed.
"Since Alpha is complete, it means he now has super strength, super regeneration, and his awakened ability."
The scientist shivered in terror.
"And he is coming for me..."
Silence descended once again.
The scientist trembled while Vivian, the commander and governor, fell into deep thought.
"But didn't Alpha fall into the horde of demons?"
The governor broke the silence.
The scientist shook his head.
"We can't rule out the chance he is alive. We don't know his awakened ability, but we must prepare for the worst. And even if we assume he is dead, Delta is still alive."
Memories resurfaced in his mind.
"The scientist you found dead is Scientist Delta, responsible for test subject Delta. I suspect he had freed her.
He must have thought she could resolve the situation, but she has killed him and escaped."
"What are her abilities?"
Vivian asked, her eyes shining a strange light.
Thud!
Suddenly, the commander grabbed her wrist.
Her face twitched in pain.
"There is no need to use your ability."
She and the commander locked eyes, but ultimately she had to give up and deactivate her ability.
The commander turned his attention back to the scientist.
His eyes weighed, he barely stayed awake.
"Delta's abilities are different. She has super intelligence and super eyesight. She poses the greatest danger."
But compared to Alpha's abilities, Delta's didn't impress the commander and the others.
Especially Vivian, she had the same ability.
The scientist noticed.
"Do not underestimate super intelligence. And do not underestimate her. That must be why scientist Delta lost his life."
He reminded dreadfully.
"He was a careful man, and he knows her abilities and state of mind better than anyone. But he must have failed to account for her newly awakened ability. Misinformation has killed him."
The governor nodded in agreement to his analysis.
"If Alpha is alive, and Alpha and Delta meet, the consequences would be disastrous."
The scientist warned.
"Not just for us, but for the entire human race. Their hatred for humanity is not something we could imagine."
Determination flashed in his eyes.
"We must prepare,"
Everyone fell into deep thought.
"Do you have any counter-measures?"
The commander questioned.
As if waiting for this question, the scientist nodded.
"The only way is to fight fire with fire."
The governor's eyebrows raised.
"You mean use subject Beta?"
The scientist nodded.
"The only way to stop Delta from using her super intelligence to destroy us is to have Beta protect us. He is a child; we can manipulate him easily."
The governor's eyes shone.
"You mean we can take him to our side?"
He could see a possibility. With years of political schemes, how hard would it be to manipulate a young child?
"No,"
But to his surprise, the scientist shook his head.
"He may be a child, but the suffering the experiments inflicted on him is far greater than you think. We can't take him to our side, but again, he is a child. We can at least manipulate him and turn him against Alpha."
The scientist explained.
"We can convince him that Alpha escaped by himself and left him here to suffer alone. And since he doesn't know about you, we can manipulate him into thinking we set him free and punished those who experimented on him."
The commander and Vivian thought for a moment.
"What about you and me?"
The governor questioned with concern.
"We can portray me as a spy among the scientists and played a big role in his saving, as for you, you don't need to worry. This isn't the same test subject as the previous Beta. You have never met this child."
For a moment, the governor's eyes widened, but quickly returned to normal.
'To think I didn't notice.'
"But..."
The scientist's expression turned serious again.
"You must be careful when interacting with him after I set him free. Beta's abilities are unique."
He warned sternly.
"He has telepathy and mind-reading genetic ability, as well as scaly skin. I don't know the genes we injected into him. But I have caught a glimpse of his awakened ability."
Everyone tensed up.
"Mind control,"
The eyes of everyone widened.
Concern flashed on their faces.
"Won't our thoughts and plans be revealed to him then? How can we go against him?"
The commander jumped.
But the scientist shook his head.
"Calm down. His ability to control minds is not that strong yet; otherwise, he would have escaped already."
A breath of relief escaped their lips.
"And I have a way to deal with his mind-reading."
The scientist leaned forward.
"Governor, you need to keep distance. And if you meet him, be sure to detour your thoughts to something else. He can only read the current thoughts. With your years in politics, I think it won't be a problem."
The governor nodded.
"Vivian and Commander, your awakened abilities counter his mind reading."
"Ohh?" Vivian raised her eyebrows. "How so?"
"The commander has the berserker ability. It fills your mind with wild thoughts. He won't get anything useful."
The commander nodded.
"As for you, Lady Vivian," the scientist looked at Vivian. "Your enhanced mind ability can overwhelm him with thoughts."
Vivian nodded as well.
"I have already learned how to hide my real thoughts from him. It won't be a problem."
The scientist convinced them of the dangers.
The meeting soon concluded.
"Let's go,"
The commander stood up.
"Marek, where?"
Vivian grabbed his arm in concern.
"To meet the alchemists,"
The commander stepped forward, his step weary.
He didn't rest.
It was a waste of time, but he had reached his limit.
He barely kept his eyes open.
"Please rest,"
"No..."
Stubbornness and determination flashed in the commander's eyes.
Buzzz!
"Aghhh..."
Suddenly, his head rang.
His ears buzzed.
The world turned upside down.
Thud!
He collapsed.
Light faded as his eyes closed.
"MAREK!"
Vivian screamed.
The governor rushed to him.
"Please carry him to the medics."
With his massive body, the governor crouched.
The scientist helped get the commander on his back, and the governor carried him away.
No matter their conflict, nothing could happen to the commander in these critical times.
The governor knew this. Everyone knew this.
How important the role of the leader was.
Vivian and the governor rushed, leaving the scientist alone in the room.
He glanced at the ceiling, worry flashed in his eyes.
'I just hope nothing goes wrong,'
He prayed.
'Beta...Eidolon specifically sent your genes. Just what are you? What are those genes? Why did they specifically command that the test subject must be a child?'
Time pressed him, and the lack of information terrified him.
But the scientist could only suppress his feelings.
He'll deal with things as they come.