Zane woke with a start in the middle of violent pain.
The moment his consciousness registered that his body was in agony, his foggy mind cleared quite a bit.
It hurt.
He wanted to scream.
But in that instant, he thought of his master, Julian Ziliang.
Without Julian Ziliang, he might still be that homeless man living off scavenged trash.
It was Mr. Liang who had given him a second life and restored his dignity as a human being.
He had no idea how Mr. Liang was doing in prison. He did not even know which prison Mr. Liang was in.
Before this, he had contacted that friend of Mr. Liang's.
The other party had only said that Mr. Liang was still alive and that he should stop asking questions, or he would only cause trouble for Mr. Liang.
But recently, he had discovered that he could no longer contact that person...
All these uncertain pieces of information only made him more anxious, and his desire for the Awakening Serum grew stronger.
It was precisely because he knew how many obstacles stood in the way of becoming a Techmaster that he became even more cautious, watching every word and every step.
And of course, he was giving it everything he had.
So he endured the pain.
He gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.
Only his breathing became chaotic for an instant, and his fingers twitched twice.
Exhale!
Inhale!
After surviving the first wave of pain, the waves that followed were not quite as impossible to resist.
But Zane knew very well that this was only the beginning. The anesthetic had not completely worn off yet.
Even greater suffering was still waiting for him.
The room was extremely quiet, with only the steady beeping of the instruments.
He waited silently. Only after more than ten minutes passed without any movement did he quietly narrow his eyes.
As his vision gradually cleared, his heart tightened completely.
Fortunately, he did not see any Mecha Girls busy around him.
Although the functional Mecha Girl had said they would not cut him open, as an adult, he was not stupid enough to believe whatever someone told him. With the Human Federation's current technology, even if the Mecha Girls did cut him open, they could heal the wounds in a short time. If they had some special medicine, they might not even leave a scar. His organs could be swapped out, and he might never know.
But judging from the current situation,
being cut open probably had not happened.
There were no Mecha Girls working in the laboratory.
He shifted his gaze slightly and finally saw two Mecha Girls behind the frosted glass wall.
They were moving around beside the experimental table, holding test tubes. They seemed to be preparing some kind of medicine.
After confirming that, Zane closed his eyes again.
Next, he had to force himself to stay as conscious as possible and listen for information without exposing himself.
Even though those two Mecha Girls might not say anything at all.
... Time passed second by second.
After the two Mecha Girls finished preparing the medicine, they entered the laboratory again.
They connected the medicine to the instruments and watched as the dark red liquid slowly flowed through the syringe into Zane's body. Their eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
"Eden really went to great lengths to make Sodium-Fiber easier for humans to absorb."
"Right? Even though it's only a diluent for Sodium-Fiber-Ω, using it for experiments like this is still such a waste... The yearly output is tiny."
"It's fine. This batch hasn't been purified. We Mecha Girls can use it, but it's almost impossible for it to trigger awakening in humans. The main point is to see whether those auxiliary agents can increase the human body's tolerance for Sodium-Fiber-Ω. After that, we'll mix those auxiliary agents with purified Sodium-Fiber-Ω medicine in different ratios and eventually create the ultimate version that maximizes the awakening probability!"
Zane strained his ears.
Thank goodness. These Mecha Girls really did like discussing things while they worked.
It made sense, actually. Weren't many scientific results gradually worked out through discussion?
But then, a surge of intense pain suddenly spread through every part of his body, nearly making him scream.
Don't move!
No matter what, don't move!
Zane roared inwardly.
His hands could not move. His feet could not move either. He could only press his heels hard against the experimental table.
"Why is there so much sweat on his forehead? His face looks blue too."
One Mecha Girl seemed to lean in closer.
He could clearly feel her breathing now.
Zane was in so much pain that his mind was spinning, but he still did his best not to move at all.
"It's a newly developed auxiliary agent, after all. It hasn't been treated for pain relief. Maybe the pain has exceeded the anesthetic limit?"
The other Mecha Girl sounded uncertain. "Give him another round of general anesthesia."
"Would that be bad for him?"
"It shouldn't be a big problem. Zuanka's anesthetics have very minor side effects. It won't kill him."
The two Mecha Girls discussed it briefly, left the experimental table, and returned after a short while.
Soon, Zane felt a cold needle pierce his skin.
Right now, it was as if he were being roasted by flames in hell. Every part of his body felt like it was being repeatedly pierced by countless steel needles.
But when the anesthetic was injected, he instead clearly felt a trace of coolness moving through his limbs and bones.
That coolness smoothed over the burning "fire" throughout his body, eased the pain, and gradually dragged his consciousness down toward the abyss.
No!
Zane screamed inwardly.
He could still endure the pain!
He still needed to hear what else these Mecha Girls would say!
He already knew that these Mecha Girls were preparing to replace all the Awakening Serums for the provincial-level track with counterfeits.
He wanted to know where, in this massive Zuanka Technology company, he could find the real Awakening Serum.
His consciousness grew heavier and heavier.
Even the beeping of the instruments began overlapping in layers.
Perhaps his prayers finally reached the heavens.
After the Mecha Girls fell silent for a while, their conversation sounded again.
"His condition seems stable now. Whatever else you say, Zuanka's anesthetics really are impressive."
"Yeah... By the way, the Leader told us to keep one portion of the Awakening Serum. Did you keep it?"
"I did."
"Where did you put it?"
"Over at Warehouse No. 1. There aren't many people there, so it'll be easier to take out when we leave."
"You'd better hide it well... If it's found and affects the Leader's plan, we'll all be sinners against Torch!"
"Don't worry..."
As the anesthetic spread through his whole body, the Mecha Girls' voices became more and more muffled, as if covered by a layer of cloth. Their voices blended with the humming of the machines and the beeping of the instruments until he could barely make them out.
[Torch? What is Torch? Is it the name of their organization?]
[Where did they hide the Awakening Serum?]
[Say it already!!]
Zane used every bit of strength he had and bit down hard on his tongue.
A small piece of flesh was cut loose. The taste of blood spread through his mouth, and the faint sting made the surrounding voices clear again.
The Mecha Girl's broken voice drifted over.
"...The vase..."
"I've watched for a long time. Those human cleaners slack off and never clean those vases..."
"...Just stick it inside. No one will notice a thing!"
... [Warehouse No. 1, Torch, vase.]
[Warehouse No. 1, vase...]
Zane repeated the information in his mind again and again.
He was terrified that once he woke up, he would forget it all.
Like having a dream. You clearly knew roughly what it was about, but when you tried to remember, everything was covered in fog.
[Vase...]
[Vase...]
[Va...]
His vision went black.
His consciousness sank completely into darkness.
***
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