Chapter 157: Implantation
Chapter 157: Implantation
On the wall of a quiet alley, a large spider with sturdy legs and a harmonious body structure, its fur a mix of colors, crawled nimbly. But every so often, it paused, as if wary of its surroundings, before continuing its journey forward.
Chen Chuan followed behind at a steady pace.
This creature was a specially bred bio-battle weapon by Tayana, designed for ambush and assassination, making it highly sensitive to scents. The crossbow bolt and note left behind carried the scent of its owner, enabling the spider to track its target.
However, the spider's speed was not particularly fast at this moment. To unleash its full velocity, it required a substantial amount of energy, and currently, it was running on the remaining energy from its last awakening.
Since the spider hadn't engaged in any combat during its previous activation, it still had ample energy reserves. Even if Chen Chuan didn't utilize it, the energy would slowly deplete during its dormant state, causing restlessness. It was better to make use of it now and allow the spider to enter a genuine slumber afterward.
Soon, they reached a building where the Tayana spider stopped and circled around.
Chen Chuan didn't bother with any reconnaissance; he walked straight up to the door, listened briefly, and upon sensing no activity within, gently pressed his hand against the door. The lock clicked open, and he stepped inside.
As expected, the person who had been staying there was gone, and some sort of liquid had been sprayed inside, likely a scent-masking agent.
This was probably a temporary hideout, as evidenced by the thick layer of dust on the table and the disarray of items around, indicating that more than one person had been living here. The hasty departure was evident from the leftover food, suggesting that they had fled in a rush.
Had they anticipated someone following and decided to evacuate in advance? Chen Chuan tapped his fist twice, and the spider circled back before crawling outside. He followed, soon reaching the end of the alley, where the spider stopped at a spot marked by tire tracks.
He glanced down the road; it seemed these people had made a timely escape by vehicle, likely with someone picking them up. There was no point in pursuing them further.
He'd have someone investigate the residence later to see if there were any leads. If they couldn't find anything, it wasn't a big deal. If these people were involved in the incident and continued their activities, they'd eventually resurface.
Chen Chuan set down his briefcase, curled his fingers, and tapped his knuckles twice. The combat spider obediently crawled back and slipped into a box inside the briefcase, soon becoming silent.
At that very moment, a cargo truck was driving down the highway. Inside the cargo hold, a group of young people sat, accompanied by a man in his forties with a goatee.
The atmosphere in the cargo hold was stifling, and they couldn't see outside. Unable to bear the silence, Xin Ge directed his question to the man, "Mr. Ling, was it necessary for us to rush off like this?"
Mr. Ling replied affirmatively, "Yes, it was necessary. You shouldn't have provoked that urban legend expert."
"Isn't he just an expert on urban legends?" another young man interjected.
Mr. Ling explained, "That expert has connections with the Patrol Bureau. After today's attack, the bureau will likely conduct inspections in nearby residential areas. You've been staying in that area for a while, and Su Xin, you've passed through numerous places on your travels. Can you guarantee that you left no trace whatsoever?"
He folded his arms, "It would be easy for them to find you."
Su Xin asked, "But will they follow the clues and find us?"
Mr. Ling reassured them, "Don't worry. Once you relocate, you'll be safe. That house we used belongs to someone unrelated to us, so they won't be able to trace it back to you."
"Is that expert such a nuisance?" another young man grumbled, casting a resentful glance at Su Xin, "Xin Ge, if we'd known, we should've gotten rid of him today."
Mr. Ling shook his head, "That would've caused a bigger commotion, and you might not have succeeded. He's a student at Wu Yi Academy, and his skills are extraordinary."
"Yes, he caught my arrow with his bare hands."
Su Xin's expression turned solemn. Although he hadn't intended to shoot anyone, his arrow had been caught mid-flight in a sudden situation. That kind of reaction speed was awe-inspiring. If his opponent hadn't been in the car, he might not have escaped.
"A student from Wu Yi Academy..."
Upon hearing this, the young people felt a mix of awe and envy, followed by resentment. If not for the Bloodstain Gang, they might have had a chance to enter Wu Yi Academy themselves.
The cargo truck drove straight out of the city and into the wilderness. In the late hours of the night, it arrived at a camp, evidently a base for a Wasteland bandit group.
As Mr. Ling led the young people into the camp, the inhabitants stared at them with cold, indifferent eyes, as if they were inspecting merchandise. The young people felt extremely uncomfortable under their gaze.
Mr. Ling guided them to a large tent and gestured towards a shelf, "The weapons you requested are here."
"What's inside?"
The young people had expected to see impressive firearms, but instead, they saw only a few sealed boxes, which didn't resemble explosives. They couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Mr. Ling smiled, walked up to the boxes, and opened them. The items inside surprised the young people, "What are these?"
When the boxes were opened, they revealed something resembling a cocoon with several limbs extending from it, seemingly alive and slightly twitching. The sight was unsettling.
If Chen Chuan and the others were there, they would have noticed the similarity to the one they had found in the Wasteland, but there were more of them here, each with complementary components.
One of the young people seemed to have an epiphany and blurted out, "Bio-implants?"
Mr. Ling smiled, "Yes, these are new implants from the Hunting series. They are lethal weapons. Who among you is willing to undergo the implantation?"
There was an implant surgeon in the camp who could perform the surgery now. With this, he would have combat power comparable to a fighter.
Su Xin stood up and said, "I'll do it..." But before he could finish, the young man who had argued with him earlier suddenly said, "I'll do it!"
"You..." Su Xin looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Xiao Xiao, have you thought it through?"
Xiao Xiao replied, "I have. Brother Xin, you’re very accurate with crossbows. Installing a melee-type implant would waste your skills. I think it’s better if I do it. This way, the team will have two people with combat power. Besides, my body is in better condition, and I’ve been learning combat techniques since I was young. I should be able to handle this."
Seeing that Su Xin was still hesitant, Xiao Xiao took a step forward and said, "Brother Xin, let me do it. I can handle it."
Seeing his determination and the logic in his words, Su Xin was finally convinced and agreed, "Alright, Xiao Xiao, I’ll leave it to you. But you need to think it through. Once you have this implant, you might have to rely on medication for the rest of your life."
Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly and said, "I’ve thought it through!"
A fierce look appeared in his eyes. In this world, without combat power, one couldn’t protect themselves, let alone their loved ones.
With combat power, anything was possible.
Mr. Ling said, "Actually, you don’t need to worry. Although you’ll need anti-mutation drugs, I can provide a batch first. Besides, the Bloodstain Gang has plenty of them. They built their empire by trafficking in banned drugs. I’ll give you the information, and you can just raid their supplies. That way, you get both the implant and the drugs—two birds with one stone."
"Alright!"
Xiao Xiao, unable to contain his eagerness, said, "Mr. Ling, please bring the doctor over now. I’m ready for the implant surgery!"
Mr. Ling smiled and said, "Wait a moment."
He walked out and found a man in his thirties wearing a white coat in another tent. He said, "We have a test subject. Let’s do the implant surgery now."
"Voluntary?"
"Voluntary."
The implant surgeon said, "Good. Voluntary subjects have fewer intense emotions, which increases the chances of survival. With this, we should be able to implant about thirty percent of the bio-implant."
"Only thirty percent?"
The implant surgeon said, "For a fighter, thirty percent is low, but he’s just a regular person. Thirty percent is the maximum limit. Any more, and he’ll die for sure."
"How long can he survive with thirty percent?"
The implant surgeon said, "It depends on his luck. If he’s lucky, a year or two isn’t a problem. If not, a few months. This model hasn’t been tested many times, so that’s the best estimate."
"A few months? That’s enough!" Mr. Ling said, "Go ahead and perform the surgery. The subject is in that tent."
"I’ll get ready and come over."
A while later, the implant surgeon came out with a surgical toolkit and, led by Mr. Ling, entered the large tent. The young men all stepped out of the tent.
Xiao Xiao, after being thoroughly washed with a solution, was taken to a separate compartment in the tent. His limbs were secured with metal straps, and the implant surgeon, wearing a mask, came in and put on gloves.
Xiao Xiao lay there, feeling very nervous. "Doctor, will it be successful?"
The doctor looked at him, walked over, and inserted a long, thin tube into his nostril. Xiao Xiao said, "Doctor, it feels a bit itchy."
The doctor didn’t respond, just watched him. After a while, Xiao Xiao twitched a few times, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
The doctor pulled a curtain similar to a shower curtain down, and it began to spray various pre-mixed solutions.
If this were in Central City, a matching implant surgery room would be required, but here in the wilderness, there were no such conditions. Besides, this was just a test subject, not a regular high-paying client, so there was no need for such formalities.
He carefully took the still-active bio-implants out of the box and placed them aside. Then he walked to the front, picked up a scalpel, and made an incision in the back.
Outside the tent, the young men waited. The night passed, and some of them had already fallen asleep. In the morning, they heard the sound of the tent flap being lifted and footsteps coming out. They all woke up and looked closely, and everyone was shocked.
Xiao Xiao walked out, but his head was completely shaved, his eyes deeply sunken, and his body was gaunt, with skin tightly clinging to his bones as if all the water and fat had been drained from him. A grayish-black implant tissue was embedded in the neck visible at the collar.
Su Xin, seeing his condition, was very worried and said to the implant surgeon who had come out with him, "What happened? Why does he look like this?"
The implant surgeon said calmly, "It’s normal consumption during the surgery. A couple of nutrient injections should fix it."
"Don’t worry, I feel better than ever!" Xiao Xiao looked around, borrowed a sharpened steel pipe from a companion, and with a slight effort, bent the metal pipe.
Mr. Ling, who had appeared from somewhere, smiled and said, "It looks like you’re adapting well. The hunting model doesn’t emphasize strength, but it requires sufficient tissue strength to support speed.
Tomorrow, there will be a second implant surgery to install a defensive membrane that can withstand small-caliber bullets. The day after, we’ll do a sensory enhancement process."
Xiao Xiao grinned and spread his arms, full of confidence. "I can already hear my enemies’ screams. Once the implant surgery is done, I’ll go and take care of those enemies, and that so-called expert—if he dares to get in our way, he’ll be dealt with too!"
...
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(End of Chapter)
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