Chapter 211: Superhuman Serum

Chapter 211: Superhuman Serum

In response to Lu Heng's countermeasures, 027 fell silent.

He did not respond immediately, clearly deep in thought about the situation.

In fact, even before his appearance, Lu Heng had been speculating about his identity.

Although he couldn't pinpoint it, some information could be analyzed.

For instance, his plot to eliminate Alex Austin indicated that his allegiance was opposed to the White Eagle Federation.

Furthermore, with Akagawa Tomo's death as part of his plan, his faction was also opposed to the Rising Sun, or more specifically, the Mitsui Group.

Given this premise, there was ample room for cooperation.

Lu Heng decided to be straightforward, "Since you intentionally led me to kill Akagawa Tomo and Alex Austin, it's clear that you also don't want any country other than Great Xia to obtain Saxxon technology.

"Let's be blunt. What outcome do you want for this mission? Let's lay everything out in the open; it'll make things easier."

027 sighed helplessly.

Sometimes, dealing with intelligent individuals could also be troublesome.

After a moment's thought, he replied, "This is an official mission, and failure will result in punishment. So, you should be mentally prepared."

Lu Heng understood what he meant by punishment.

When the Creator Club invited members, they offered terms that were impossible to refuse.

Therefore, if an organization member defied orders, there were ways to reclaim what was given.

Consequently, official missions couldn't be ignored.

Of course, if the mission's difficulty was too high, the assigned member could request additional assistance to complete it.

Lu Heng spread his hands and said, "If this mission were that easy, they wouldn't have sought me out. Anyway, I can't do it alone; I need your help. We're like two grasshoppers on a rope now."

027 pondered for a moment and then replied, "Let's stall for now."

After saying this, he turned and vanished, his body seemingly erased from the scene like a painting wiped away with a rubber brush.

Lu Heng didn't need his reminder; his initial plan was also to stall.

A mission of this difficulty couldn't possibly be completed in a short time.

Lu Heng, having once been a member of the organization, knew where their patience ended, and stalling for a few months wouldn't be an issue.

He estimated that after a few months, the members with the lower serial numbers would become impatient.

By then, Lu Heng would have other ways to deal with the situation.

Of course, what Lu Heng hoped for the most was for 027 to take the initiative and resolve this matter, as that would be the most convenient.

...

In the following days, Lu Heng spent his time in the training ground, honing his Shadow Clone ability.

The Shadow Clone skill was of A-rank, and upon upgrading, it would become an S-rank skill with a qualitative improvement in its effect.

However, upgrading from A-rank to S-rank required a significant amount of Divine Energy, a total of 5000 points.

Lu Heng currently had 3600 points of Divine Energy remaining, so he needed to find a way to obtain more to upgrade Shadow Clone to S-rank.

At noon that day, Lin Ze Yu arrived at the training ground, excitedly driving his car and claiming to have just returned from the shooting range, "Quickly help me upgrade my Advanced Armor-Piercing Round, I've maxed out my proficiency."

His skill, initially a D-rank Armor-Piercing Round, had been upgraded three months ago to a C-rank Advanced Armor-Piercing Round.

Lu Heng helped him unlock the skill's lock, allowing him to consume Divine Energy for the upgrade.

With the experience of the previous failure, Lin Ze Yu was more careful this time and succeeded on the first try.

The Advanced Armor-Piercing Round was upgraded to a B-rank Plasma Armor-Breaking Round, with a significant improvement in its effect.

Initially, the Advanced Armor-Piercing Round's effect was to add an advanced armor-piercing effect to bullets, ignoring 50% of the target's defense.

After upgrading to Plasma Armor-Breaking Round, when a bullet hit its target, it would generate a plasma effect, causing an area-of-effect armor-breaking explosion.

Lin Ze Yu tested it on the training ground's concrete wall; one shot melted through the forty-centimeter-thick concrete, creating a basketball-sized hole.

If the concrete wall could be penetrated, then a Plasma Armor-Breaking Round hitting a human body would cause half of it to go missing.

Lin Ze Yu hugged his sniper rifle and kissed it, saying, "This power is incredible."

After upgrading his skill, he remembered something and ran back to his car, only to return with a box in hand.

He took out a thumb-sized injection from the box and said, "Take a look at this. It's a type of enhancement serum I recently obtained. They say that injecting it will cause a rapid surge in combat power."

Lu Heng furrowed his brows and took the injection to examine it.

The liquid in the syringe was clear, and when exposed to sunlight, it reflected light in tiny speckles.

Seeing this reflection, it seemed very similar to a superhuman serum.

However, without proper identification, he couldn't be a hundred percent certain.

Lin Zeyu continued, "I know a few friends who have used this enhancer, and the effects are truly powerful. One of them had a surge in combat power that surprised me. If it weren't for your reminder last time that there was a superhuman serum that shouldn't be used, I would have injected it myself."

Lu Heng frowned at the syringe and cautioned, "Remember what I said. In this world, there is no serum that can instantly boost your combat power without any consequences."

"So, the better the effects of this serum, the more you shouldn't inject it. Otherwise, once the side effects appear, there's no saving you."

Lin Zeyu swallowed hard and asked, "Is there really no serum that can enhance you just by injecting it?"

Lu Heng glanced at him and replied, "If there was, would it be your turn to use it?"

Lin Zeyu pointed at the superhuman serum and said, "I paid a hefty price for this. This much."

He spread his fingers, indicating a number, but it was unclear if he meant five million or fifty million.

According to his memories from his past life, this superhuman serum started to become rampant around a year after the Abyssal Descent.

Currently, it was the end of the ninth month of the Abyssal Descent.

There were still two months until the serum would become widespread.

According to the timeline, it wasn't unusual for this serum to appear at this time.

After all, from the time the serum appeared to when it became widespread, there would be a gradual process of spreading.

Currently, to obtain this superhuman serum, one would likely need a special channel to acquire it.

As of now, only Lin Zeyu had obtained one, and it had cost him a fortune.

"I'll keep this serum with me," Lu Heng said as he placed the serum back in its box and put it away.

Lin Zeyu frowned and said, "You're not thinking of keeping it all to yourself, are you?"

Lu Heng gave him a warning look and said, "Don't blame me for not reminding you. If you inject this stuff, I'll kick you out of the team."

Lin Zeyu's eyes widened in surprise, "That's harsh!"

"This stuff can only be injected at noon," Lu Heng said.

"Why? Are you even choosing a specific time?" Lin Zeyu was taken aback.

"Because eventually, something will go wrong."

"This old joke..."

"I have something else to do, so I'll be going now," Lu Heng said as he walked out. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "Inform the metahumans in your company not to inject this serum. Anyone who does so will be immediately dismissed."

Lin Zeyu had already sensed the seriousness of the matter but still didn't understand why.

He followed Lu Heng and asked, "Why can't this serum be used? Is there a reason?"

"I'll take it to someone for testing. Don't ask so many questions," Lu Heng said before getting into a car and leaving.

...

In the car, Lu Heng considered whom to call and finally took out the card with just a phone number on it. He tried dialing the number.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, Chief."

"It's Lu Heng. Did you call for business or just to chat?" Li Guining recognized Lu Heng's voice.

"I'll get straight to the point. I recently obtained a superhuman serum, and I suspect it's the same one that Alex Austin injected. I've fought against Alex Austin, and his combat power has indeed increased significantly, but his body seems to have some issues. I'm not sure if it's due to this serum, so I'm calling to give you a heads-up." Lu Heng finally decided to issue a warning.

"I haven't heard about this matter yet, but I'll ask around. If I get an answer, I'll call you back," Li Guining promised.

"Alright, then. I'll hang up now if there's nothing else," Lu Heng said, preparing to end the call.

"That's it? You won't even chat for a bit?" Li Guining joked.

"Er..."

Lu Heng hadn't expected the Southern War Zone Chief to have such an attitude, which was different from their previous encounter.

After a moment of thought, he understood.

The previous meeting had been a formal one, but this time, he had called the Chief's personal number.

The setting was different, so the way they spoke was different as well.

"Okay, you young people can't even relax in front of me. Then I'll leave it at that. Regarding the serum you mentioned, I'll have someone inform you if there's any news," Li Guining said, ending the call.

...

After informing Li Guining, it was considered reported to the nation.

After the call ended, Li Guining called his deputy to inquire about the matter.

Due to the recent emergence of the superhuman serum, it has only been circulating within small circles, and ordinary people have yet to come into contact with it.

Only those like Lin Zeyu, who can afford to pay a hefty price, are able to obtain a vial.

The authorities have already obtained this superhuman serum and have just begun laboratory testing.

Currently, it is still in the laboratory testing phase, and naturally, the news has not reached the ears of high-ranking officials like Li Guining.

It is only because Lu Heng has the memories of his rebirth that he knows how rampant this superhuman serum can become.

At present, this superhuman serum has not yet appeared on a large scale, so it has not attracted much attention.

However, Li Guining's personal involvement in the matter has expedited the submission of the laboratory's test report.

...

Two days later, Lu Heng received a phone call from Li Guining's deputy, inviting him for a meeting and sending a car to pick him up.

Given the situation, it seemed that there was news about the superhuman serum.

Lu Heng got into the car and was taken to a Metahuman Warrior training base.

This was his second encounter with the Southern War Zone Chief.

The meeting place was a sofa area in an office, a space for tea and casual conversation.

Thus, this meeting was not as formal as the previous one.

"Please take a seat, and let's have some tea. Don't be too tense. Let me introduce you to Chen Ren Shen, the Academician in charge of testing the superhuman serum," said Li Guining as he picked up a purple clay teapot and poured a full cup for Lu Heng.

After pouring the tea, he added, "It's very hot."

In fact, for Metahumans, even if it's a little hot, it's not a big deal.

Lu Heng picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and swirled the tea in his mouth. He couldn't taste anything special; it was just regular tea with a soft and fragrant flavor.

Li Guining began to discuss the matter at hand, "Last time you called me about the superhuman serum. The laboratory has been testing it, and the report is out. Since you specifically called about this, I've brought the test report for you to see."

As he spoke, he took the report from his deputy and handed it to Lu Heng.

Lu Heng took the report and slowly flipped through it.

In fact, from the test report, it was hard to tell if there was anything wrong with this superhuman serum.

After Lu Heng had looked at it for a while, Li Guining spoke up, "According to the explanation of the testing researcher, this superhuman serum contains an energy similar in nature to Origin Energy.

"When this energy is injected into a lab mouse, it can induce an Origin Energy reaction in the mouse.

"The testing researchers believe that this superhuman serum has the potential to accelerate the advancement of Metahuman Warriors."

Lu Heng didn't find this surprising.

There must be a reason why this superhuman serum has become so rampant.

Those Metahumans cultivated by the consortiums would all be injected with this superhuman serum. Wouldn't they conduct tests before injecting it?

Anyone with the capability would first confirm what this superhuman serum is and then decide whether to inject it or not.

However, this superhuman serum has been tested, and it has been confirmed to contain energy similar to Origin Energy. It has also undergone testing on lab mice, proving that it can enhance abilities. Only then did it start to spread rampantly.

In other words, on the surface, this superhuman serum can allow humans to acquire Origin Energy-like substances from external sources.

As long as one injects this serum, they can enhance their abilities and increase their strength.

Furthermore, the laboratory tests have supported this conclusion.

This is the real reason why this superhuman serum has become so rampant.

Li Guining pondered and asked, "Comrade Lu Heng, what's your opinion on this serum?"

Lu Heng furrowed his brows and replied after a moment of thought, "I've seen similar superhuman injections in the Abyssal Battlefield, and they have side effects. Therefore, I suggest the laboratory conduct more thorough verification."

Li Guining nodded in agreement, "Yes, our biopharmaceutical researchers also suggested the need for at least three phases of human trials to determine if this serum is suitable for human injection."

He paused for a moment before asking, "Have you seen any side effects from this superhuman serum? Can you tell me what they are?"

Lu Heng thought for a moment and answered, "Based on what I've observed, this superhuman serum can lead to addiction, and it suppresses the body's ability to produce Origin Energy. The result is that after one injection, you'll need to keep injecting it, and if you stop, your Origin Energy strength will rapidly decline."

When Li Guining heard this answer, his expression changed involuntarily, as this description, if true, would make this superhuman serum extremely dangerous.

The addictive nature alone is enough to warrant a ban.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end