Chapter 99
1/79
“How do I know this?” Bai Sheng seemed slightly amused, with a mocking glint in his sharp eyes.
“The reason the deputy supervisor of Myanmar died is because you injected him with the evolution serum. I guess you must have encountered some sort of unavoidable situation at that time. Given the coercion marks on Mr. Cameron’s neck, it seems the other party took a hostage. Trying to gain evolution through the serum?”
“But you were not at all worried about this Myanmar person gaining abilities after the injection. You knew he would immediately suffer backlash and die because he was different from you and Cameron.”
Bai Sheng stared at Shen Zhuo and said slowly, “He is not one of the 1/79.”
—That time when Rong Qi stormed the prison and took Nielsen, the scene was filled with heavy casualties, and the hospital was in mourning. Cameron lay in the emergency room on the brink of death. When Bai Sheng rushed in, his S-class extraordinary hearing caught a few words through the crack in the door. Shen Zhuo was about to inject Cameron with the evolution serum, gambling with his life. Director Gao was worriedly muttering:
“But with only a 1 in 79 chance… is it worth the gamble? What if he’s not one of them?…”
One in seventy-nine.
A cursed number.
Out of 7.9 billion people globally, only 100 million could gain abilities through HRG, while the other 7.8 billion would suffer immediate backlash and die.
“If I’m not mistaken…” Bai Sheng paused and said, “Those 100 million lucky ones have a natural evolution switch in their genes.”
“They could have evolved through meteorites. It’s just that they haven’t encountered one yet, or the meteorites can’t push their evolution to their genetic limit, which is why HRG works on them.”
“But the remaining 7.8 billion people are ordinary humans who can’t evolve even when exposed to meteorite radiation, like that deputy supervisor from Myanmar. Forcibly injecting HRG will only lead to their immediate death.”
“HRG overturns the universal value of being born equal, proving that human genes do have superior and inferior qualities. This is the truly inhumane aspect of the research. It seems I’ve guessed correctly… right, Supervisor Shen?”
If you observe closely, you’ll see that even Shen Zhuo’s breathing had stopped. His black and white eyes didn’t move; only his nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood.
Bai Sheng kneeled on one knee in front of him, grasping his fingers uncompromisingly.
He could feel Shen Zhuo’s trembling fingertips immediately digging into his own palm, causing a slight sting, but Bai Sheng didn’t let go.
“Three years ago, the first phase of HRG data simulation didn’t actually succeed. It was that time that made you realize HRG wasn’t a shield for humanity. But the rapidly intensifying racial conflict took away your last bit of time. War was imminent, and having no other choice, the second-generation core researchers, led by you, collectively falsified experimental data, disguising HRG as something that could grant abilities to all humans, achieving military equality with the evolved.”
“But this brought about a problem because the truth couldn’t be hidden forever. If the HRG plan continued, the truth would come out eventually. Once the evolved realized that humans were defenseless, a genocidal war would break out immediately.”
“So, you had to find a way to halt the research right away, and it had to be ‘reasonable and justified’ due to an irresistible force, without any flaws. Thus, you personally acted as the ‘traitor’, leaking the experimental progress to the International Supervision General Administration and the extreme evolution organizations.”
“Sure enough, once the secret of HRG’s nuclear deterrent was out, the imminent war was immediately averted. Humans and evolutionists have once again achieved a fragile balance. At the same time, as expected, various international forces started fiercely opposing the HRG plan, and a global wave of opposition arose. Extreme evolutionary organizations plotted several assassinations against you within just half a month.”
“—You actually considered using your death to ensure the reasonable halting of HRG, didn’t you?” Bai Sheng’s voice was firm and steady, deeply gazing into Shen Zhuo’s eyes.
“The explosion in Qinghai gave you a justifiable reason to pause the research. But even without the Qinghai explosion, you would have carefully chosen a suitable moment to have yourself assassinated to ensure that the truth about HRG’s nuclear deterrent would never be known. Everyone fears it, everyone desires it, but no one can reach it; your death could delay HRG’s secret for decades or even a century. As long as the nuclear deterrent exists, so does peace. The shadow of the Sword of Damocles would hang over everyone’s head after your death.”
“Do you remember what you once said to me?” Bai Sheng whispered, “Only now do I understand what you truly meant.”
He reached out and stroked Shen Zhuo’s pale cheek, as if trying to see through his eyes into his weary soul.
“I asked you if you could swear to always stand between humans and the evolutionists. You said you knew very well where you should stand, and what roles you could play both in life and after death.”
“You calculated meticulously and strategized carefully, treating the International Supervision General Administration and various extreme forces as chess pieces, cold-bloodedly and soberly weighing all values… including your own death.”
“Have you ever regretted it?” Bai Sheng leaned forward and asked softly.
Shen Zhuo’s long, drooping eyelashes trembled, and he slowly closed his eyes.
“In the final moments of your life’s countdown, would you, when looking back, feel even the slightest regret, Shen Zhuo?”
In a corner that should have been filled with warm steam, it felt as if it had been invaded by piercing cold. Shen Zhuo’s lips were tightly pressed together, turning pale.
“…I’m sorry,” After a long silence, he finally spoke in a hoarse and trembling voice.
“I have… regretted countless times starting the second-generation HRG, regretted stepping onto this irreversible path, regretted dragging every researcher into this inescapable whirlpool…”
“But what I regret the most is involving you… I’m sorry.”
An indescribable feeling welled up from the depths of his heart, spreading to his tongue. Bai Sheng slowly loosened his grip on Shen Zhuo’s fingers.
Shen Zhuo leaned back against the black marble wall, one hand threading through his wet hair, his knuckles slightly white.
“The second-generation HRG research team and I, we all formed such a defensive alliance. To prevent the truth about HRG from being leaked, if I die, all core researchers must be executed; if a researcher dies unfortunately, their posthumous affairs will be handled properly, and their families will be cared for by me.”
“No one would betray this alliance; the lives of everyone’s families are in my hands. It was the pledge they made to join the HRG project.”
Bai Sheng asked gravely, “Is that why you always kept the secret from me that the success rate of HRG is only one in seventy-nine?”
“…” Shen Zhuo shook his head tiredly, “Not just that.”
Bai Sheng frowned.
“The second-generation HRG is indeed the nuclear deterrent of the new era, but unfortunately, it doesn’t deter the evolutionists… it’s a death sentence for humanity.”
Shen Zhuo closed his eyes, and after several seconds, Bai Sheng finally heard his astonished voice: “…What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the first time you questioned me? I told you that theoretically, HRG could develop a serum that allows the evolutionists to undergo a second evolution, right?”
Shen Zhuo’s lips curled into a faint, bitter smile: “I didn’t lie to you, that’s true.”
Bai Sheng’s eyelids twitched.
“Rong Qi used his abilities and a meteorite to forcibly evolve Liu Sanji, ultimately resulting in backlash and death, but HRG can avoid this risk. By slightly altering the current serum cultivation method, we can develop a gene promoter specifically for the evolutionists, allowing all mid- and low-level evolved to advance to A… and it’s absolutely safe and without side effects.”
“Imagine what the world would look like if HRG’s research were made public. National order would cease to exist, each S-class would ascend as new kings, 100 million A-class evolutionists would become the ruling class, and the remaining 7.8 billion humans would become slaves and ants, eventually leading to their total extinction.”
Even Bai Sheng’s expression changed noticeably.
“The entire second-generation HRG research team, after struggling and toiling, ultimately created a weapon capable of destroying humanity,” Shen Zhuo laughed self-mockingly, “If one day, a racial war breaks out, the evolutionists will erect monuments to us, calling us the heroes who buried humanity.”
A chill rose from his spine, and Bai Sheng finally understood why the researchers were so terrified.
HRG was not a shield for humanity; it was a guillotine poised over all of humanity’s necks.
Once this secret was leaked, countless mid- and low-level evolutionists would do whatever it took to advance to A. Even those who love peace and don’t want war wouldn’t sit idly by while their rank was below that of their twice-evolved peers.
Everyone would be involuntarily drawn into the scramble for HRG, eventually becoming the drivers of war, whether willingly or not.
Rong Qi didn’t know HRG was ineffective for ordinary humans, but he guessed correctly that HRG could help the evolved advance. If Shen Zhuo had fallen into his hands, the consequences would have been unimaginable, beyond just bloodshed and turmoil.
“Many institutions are secretly researching ability serums, but they are destined to hit a wall, not only because they lack the foundation of first-generation HRG results but also because the path ahead is a dead end,” Shen Zhuo said, sitting in the corner, holding his head in fatigue. “They are blinded by the ‘success’ meticulously crafted by the second-generation HRG. Even if there are doubts, they can’t openly demand verification; that’s all.”
Bai Sheng’s voice was hoarse: “…You all…”
He hastily stopped, realizing that for this lie to be maintained until today, the second-generation HRG laboratory must have paid a high and secretive price in manpower, resources, and more, though Shen Zhuo didn’t mention it.
“…When the results of the first phase simulation came out, all the researchers were on the brink of madness.” Shen Zhuo’s pale lips curled in a self-mocking arc, “We dreamed of using science to replace God, achieving equality for all beings, only to find that innate genetic inequality couldn’t be overcome. During that time, I questioned myself every day: Is evolution the correct path, and are we wrong? Is the right to survival destined to belong to the evolved, and a hundred years from now, history will judge us as the villains, the clowns who foolishly tried to shake a tree?”
“…No, Shen Zhuo.”
After a long silence, Bai Sheng finally spoke, his voice steady and composed.
“Everyone has the right to fight for survival. You did nothing wrong. If it were me, I would have chosen the same path.”
Everything seemed to blur in the steam. Shen Zhuo leaned back, his head resting against the corner of the wall, his long, wet eyelashes falling like butterfly wings.
“Really,” he murmured.
A chaotic sense of disorientation climbed into his mind again, and his body seemed to become very light. This was because the temporarily injected double-S pheromones were about to be metabolized.
The pain from the mental attack began to surface, like a terrible shadow approaching closer and closer to the water’s surface.
…I want more pheromones. In an instant, Shen Zhuo couldn’t control the thought that surfaced in his mind.
Almost instinctively, he wanted to grasp Bai Sheng’s hand and bury his face in the familiar scent, but fortunately, the last bit of reason suppressed this craving.
“Shen Zhuo,” Bai Sheng’s calm voice sounded, “Have you ever had even the slightest thought of telling me or of seeking my help?”
Shen Zhuo leaned his head against the wall, his skin moist and transparent, water droplets sliding down his long, white neck into the deep collar of his shirt. After a long time, he let out a short, bitter laugh.
“I wish I had never met you, Bai Sheng.”
“……”
“When I injected the S-class serum and activated the inverse cross, I woke up in the hospital from the backlash and saw you sitting by the bed. That was the first time you questioned me about the truth of the HRG evolution serum…”
The sound of the shower was like the drizzling rain that night in the hospital. That was the first confrontation, the first test and oath, and the first time the S-class had ever felt his heart race uncontrollably—the youthful, forced kiss behind the hospital door.
Bai Sheng’s breathing grew slightly heavier.
But he remained silent, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on the person within reach.
In the hazy mist, Shen Zhuo seemed to be trapped in a muddled dream, his voice weary and unclear.
“At that time, I thought this person wasn’t too annoying and seemed to inexplicably give a sense of security… It would be nice if I could try to trust him. If in the future this road reaches a dead end, it would be nice if he could come and shoulder it for me.”
Even the strongest protector can have a fleeting moment of weakness, leading to a gradual defeat until completely falling apart.
Shen Zhuo’s mind grew increasingly blurry as the intense pain once again climbed along his nerves, his wounded soul slipping into the abyss.
“…From the beginning, I should have let you go,” he murmured.
“I shouldn’t have brought you onto this road with no return.”
The excruciating pain returned, even causing his brain to spasm, and his subconscious desperately craved the comfort of double-S pheromones.
With his last bit of will, Shen Zhuo tried to pull his hand away, but the side effects of the drug had already severely damaged his nerves. Instinct drove him closer to Bai Sheng; the more he struggled, the tighter his palm clung, his fingers trembling visibly.
“Have you not been pushing me away all this time?” Bai Sheng asked in a low voice, leaning forward to caress that fragile, porcelain-like face with his thumb. “Now you don’t recognize, who I am.”
His palm still bore unhealed blood marks, exuding strong pheromones. Shen Zhuo instinctively pursued that scent, his cheek rubbing against Bai Sheng’s palm, even wanting to lick the wound.
The next moment, Bai Sheng ruthlessly pulled his hand away.
Shen Zhuo leaned forward to chase but was grabbed and kissed again, his trembling lips and tongue easily swallowed.
If it hadn’t been for the first time feeding him blood just now, with Shen Zhuo’s usual high tolerance for pain, his craving for double-S pheromones wouldn’t have been as chaotic and intense, as difficult to control as now.
Bai Sheng’s bleeding hand suddenly became immensely attractive to him. He constantly struggled to break free from the kiss, wanting to grab that hand, but then Bai Sheng cunningly bit his own tongue, letting the blood spread through their entangled lips and tongues.
Only a little comfort was given, maliciously tempting, until the true ferocity was revealed.
“……”
Shen Zhuo mumbled something, like a vague urging, one hand gripping Bai Sheng’s shoulder tightly, his fingers digging into the unhealed bite mark on his neck, lifting his head to seek a more intense, more painful kiss. The sound of their struggle was audible even through the water.
“Do you want me to protect you?” Bai Sheng pulled back slightly, his voice hoarse.
It took Shen Zhuo a long time to understand what that sentence meant.
The suppression of the pheromones seemed to bring him a bit of clarity. Gritting his teeth, he tried to turn his head away: “…No, you still have time to leave…”
“It’s too late. I’ve already followed you onto the same dead-end path.” Bai Sheng gripped Shen Zhuo’s chin, preventing him from avoiding his gaze. Half-kneeling forward, he nearly pushed him completely into the corner: “I now know all the secrets of HRG. If you die one day, I will die too.”
The cramped space made it hard to breathe; speaking meant inevitably brushing against each other’s lips. Shen Zhuo tried to avoid him, but Bai Sheng’s heavy breaths whispered in his ear, “After you die, I will continue the path you haven’t finished. The whole world will be my enemy until the flames burn me into ashes…”
In fact, he no longer had the ability to resist anymore. His retinas dimmed, and the steam distorted everything into absurd blocks of color.
“…No…” Shen Zhuo’s blood pounded in his ears, making it hard to hear his own labored whispers: “You must live; you can’t stay with me…”
It was like placing a platter of delicious food in front of a starving person. The double-S pheromones were within reach. The intense pain made it impossible for Shen Zhuo to support himself. He could only barely hook his arm around Bai Sheng’s neck, his other hand buried in Bai Sheng’s shoulder, gripping so tightly that his fingertips turned white.
He couldn’t hold on any longer. The chemical drugs alone were enough to make his brain nerves unbearably painful, not to mention the aftermath of the mental attack, which was an unimaginable, destructive torment.
Bai Sheng kissed him intermittently, using the bloody malice to entice him, softly asking, “Don’t you want to have me?”
“…”
“As long as you leave your scent on me, it’s like marking me. From then on, I’ll be yours. Isn’t that good?”
If he had even a shred of clarity, Shen Zhuo could realize the true, fierce desire behind those sweet words. However, he couldn’t think at all now.
His body temperature fluctuated dramatically, and he was trembling all over. The pain forced him to actively pursue Bai Sheng’s scent, his tongue seeking a taste of the blood, his lips trembling and half-open, accepting all the fervent kisses and even devouring, without any resistance.
Bai Sheng’s eyes were bloodshot with excitement, looking somewhat terrifying, but his expression remained calm, staring closely at Shen Zhuo’s dilated pupils.
“You agreed,” he said in a low voice.
In a dizzying whirl, Shen Zhuo stumbled as he was hoisted up. Bai Sheng took a few strides out of the bathroom, easily tossing him onto the bed, then turned to pick up the half-glass of whiskey from earlier, downing it in one gulp before leaning down to force it into Shen Zhuo’s throat.
The spicy, fragrant alcohol gave Shen Zhuo a bit of stimulation, allowing him to briefly regain a sliver of consciousness amidst the chaos, “Cough, cough! Cough—”
Bai Sheng knelt on the edge of the bed, pressing his palm over Shen Zhuo’s mouth, “Swallow it.”
Shen Zhuo furrowed his brow. This supine position left his throat completely exposed, the lines descending into ambiguous, deep shadows. Bai Sheng’s warm hand slowly moved down along the skin of his neck, then he leaned down to plant a kiss amidst the strong scent of alcohol.
An uncharacteristically tender and gentle kiss, as if he finally touched the supreme treasure of his life.
“It’s to prevent you from getting hurt.” His eyes flickered with a burning light, and he whispered, “Drink it, and you’ll suffer a lot less later.”
It is time!!! We finally here !!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉