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Chapter 67: Experimental Subject
🕑 Added 2025-06-20 14:46:40 +0000 UTC
In the deep wilderness, three cloaked apostles of the Evolution Cult moved swiftly, carrying their prize. The unconscious Ethan Atherton, still tangled in the Iron Spider web, was their ticket to a new future. Inside his veins, the mysterious liquid they had injected, the "Wolf-Form Beastification Potion," was already beginning its work.
This potion was the latest and most promising achievement of the Cult, the culmination of a century of horrific research. It was designed to do what they had only dreamed of: to completely and irreversibly change a person's DNA structure, transforming them from a "flawed" human into a "perfected" monster. There was no going back.
To develop this single formula, they had hunted a vast number of Direwolves, extracting their genetic material and expending an immense amount of precious resources. Finally, they had succeeded. Originally, their plan was simple: find an ordinary wolf-type beastification psionicist as a test subject. But then their surveillance had uncovered Ethan—this special, unique existence. Compared to a common wolf-type, a boy who could transform into multiple, unrelated forms had become a far more enticing and valuable experimental subject.
For the Evolution Cult, the ultimate goal had always been the complete evolution of humanity into the powerful monsters they worshipped. Despite years of unremitting effort, they had never achieved it. At their current stage, they could only rely on crudely grafting the body parts of monsters onto themselves to obtain stronger power, but this was a flawed, ugly method, unable to change their essential human attributes. The Beastification Potion, which started the change from the DNA level, was the key to their future.
However, the crackdowns from the governments of the Global Concord were extremely severe. Their key laboratory departments were under strict, constant surveillance. The slightest sign of high-level activity would inevitably be noticed. Therefore, Headquarters had no choice but to hand over this critical final experiment to smaller, more remote branches. The New Veridia branch was one of them.
Now, as they carried Ethan back, they were already imagining their success. They would inject him with more of the potion, collect the data as his body changed, and once that data was sent back to Headquarters, they could exchange it for a huge reward. Thinking of this, the cultists were all excited, as if they could already see the beautiful, powerful life awaiting them.
What they didn't know was that while Ethan had been knocked unconscious by their captain's mental attack, his core ability had not stopped operating. The Omnitrix, a psionic construct hidden deep within his body, sensed the foreign invasion. It began to emit a silent, internal yellow warning light, its dial spinning rapidly.
A series of synthesized, internal alerts processed within its core:
[Disordered foreign DNA intrusion detected...]
[System Integrity Compromised. Eliminating failure... Repairing module defect...]
[Activating self-protection program... Solidifying original host DNA...]
[Searching for emergency counter-protocol... Search complete. Isolating and modifying disordered DNA... Re-ranking genetic group... Now modifying...]
The Omnitrix was operating at an astonishing speed, drawing on Ethan's own reserves of psionic energy and converting it into operational power. Simultaneously, it extracted a brand-new, stabilizing set of DNA from its internal library. Then, it began to overwrite the invading, chaotic genetic code from the potion, modifying and re-ranking it to stabilize its host. Of course, only the Omnitrix itself knew about these internal matters. The cultists in the outside world were completely unaware.
At this moment, the capture team had successfully returned to their secret stronghold. This base was located in a very hidden mountain cave. From the outside, it looked like just an ordinary, unremarkable cliff face. However, after pushing aside a specific curtain of hidden vines, one of the cultists walked forward without hesitation. Just as he was about to hit the solid rock wall, something incredible happened—he actually passed right through it like a ghost!
It turned out that this place had been set up with an advanced illusion using a special piece of psionic gear, making it look no different from the surrounding scenery. In reality, a hidden world lay beyond.
When they threw the still-webbed Ethan into the mysterious cave, the scene inside instantly became fantastical. Countless computers, advanced machines, and strange medical equipment were arranged in an orderly manner on all four sides. Among them, the most eye-catching feature was the large table in the center that resembled a genetic modification table, complete with stasis clamps and monitoring equipment.
"Deacon," the capture team's captain reported, "we've brought the person back."
The Deacon, a massive man with tiger-like claws for hands, looked at Ethan. At this moment, due to the initial effects of the Beastification Potion, coarse brown fur had already begun to sprout on Ethan's skin, and his fingers had elongated into sharp, black claws.
The Tiger Deacon nodded. "Very good. What is his talent rank? Is he a wolf-type beastification?"
The captain hesitated. "Deacon, this kid's talent rank is Earth-rank. He is one of the best among the freshmen from that entire batch. But… his beastification type is not wolf-based."
The Tiger Deacon frowned, his face showing clear displeasure. "Didn't I say that the Wolf-Form Beastification Potion can only exert its greatest, most stable effect on wolf-type beastification psionicists? Why did you bring this brat back? Even if his talent is high, his base ability is different, and the Beastification Potion doesn't care about innate talent, only genetic compatibility."
The captain hurriedly explained, "Deacon, I did this for the sake of our Evolution Cult. Think about it. If his experiment succeeds, with his high talent, he will definitely be able to grow into a truly strong warrior. At that time, he will also become a great help to our cause."
"So what?" the Tiger Deacon grumbled. "His ability isn't wolf-type. What if the experiment fails because of the incompatibility?"
"Deacon, please calm down," the captain pleaded. "According to our investigation, this kid has more than one beast form. We currently know of two for certain, and maybe there are even more. A person like this must have a much higher genetic plasticity than a normal psionicist. He is absolutely the most suitable candidate for testing the potion's limits." Then he took out a datapad. "Deacon, please see. These two forms here are the ones we know of. One is a pure fire element lifeform, and the other is a lifeform remarkably similar to a velociraptor from the primeval era. And its speed is extremely fast. You must know, sir, that's a dinosaur! Anything with 'dragon' in its ancient name, whether it's a beastification ability or a true monster, is never a simple creature. That's why I went through such great pains to bring him back."
The only forms Ethan had exposed in public were Heatblast and XLR8. His other forms had either been used in the deep wilderness or in the anonymous rings of The Gauntlet. At that time, all surveillance had long been shut down by the operators, so he had been able to maintain these secrets.
The Tiger Deacon took the datapad and looked at it, then nodded with slow satisfaction. "Hmm, not bad. A velociraptor… It seems I misunderstood you, Captain. Your reasoning is sound." He gestured to a secure chest in the corner. "Take these two E-rank upper-grade Aura Cores. And behind them, there are also some F-rank mid-grade ones. One for each of your men. Go and receive your reward."
"Many thanks, Deacon!" The three cultists respectfully bowed with their claws and eagerly went to receive their reward.
