Chapter Seventy-Three: The Four Great Branches
Page 1/3
They followed Donald deeper into the belly of the fish.
Liana and Javier could not help but exclaim in wonder.
Neither of them had ever imagined that within the body of a mutant, such a marvelous laboratory could be constructed by human hands.
On either side of the moray eel’s body, two transparent hollow tubes, each three meters in diameter, connected the front and rear sections.
The tubes had been specially treated, employing anti-gravity technology. Below was some kind of floating weight that served as a foothold.
This ensured that even if the moray rolled to the side, the passageway would remain perfectly stable—one could hardly feel any motion at all.
However… if the moray were to perform a backflip, one would find themselves riding a rollercoaster within the tube.
They walked several dozen meters, turned left into a wide corridor, and entered a spacious laboratory.
Inside it was brilliantly lit, so much so that one did not even feel stifled or cramped.
At the center of this rectangular chamber stood four anti-gravity spiral experiment tables.
These devices resembled gyroscopes, forged from two interlocked rings…
Between the rings was a semi-transparent floating platform.
Beneath, some sort of liquid metal stabilized the entire platform.
These semi-circular lab tables ensured that, regardless of the moray eel’s movements, almost nothing on the platform was disturbed.
Everything before her struck Liana as novel and wondrous.
Javier, on the other hand, recognized the technology at once—these were techniques used aboard spaceships.
Such systems ensured that, even during tactical maneuvers, the ship’s interior remained perfectly stable.
But Javier had never imagined that someone would install such an anti-gravity system inside the belly of a moray eel.
It was truly an eye-opener.
Stepping into the anti-gravity rings, everyone’s bodies gently floated up and settled on the platform.
Javier could not help but ask, “This anti-gravity technology—it’s from the Sea Wolf star's warships, isn’t it…?”
“Boss, how did you get your hands on it!”
Donald grinned, pleased with himself.
“Back when the Blood Pirates and the Four Star Marauders raided the Zombie Star, countless ships crashed…”
“Whenever those bastards spotted a downed ship, they'd fire a round to make certain no core technology survived.”
“But some things always slipped through the cracks!”
“This entire anti-gravity system was salvaged from the wreckage of a Sea Wolf starship… and restored.”
“Seems to work rather well, don’t you think?”
Ye Hai interjected at just the right moment, “The boss has double doctorates in genetics and physics!”
“As long as he has the finished product, he can reverse-engineer almost any technology.”
Javier was stunned.
He scrutinized Donald for a long moment. Aside from a missing piece of his ear, the man looked for all the world like an ordinary old fellow…
Page 2/3
Of course, if one overlooked the way his gaze lingered on Liana’s body…
Given Donald’s age, he must have made his name on the Zombie Star well before the virus outbreak.
Yet in the entire Leviathan star system, no one had ever heard of such a man!
Just as Javier was racking his brains, Ye Hai’s smile faded, and he asked, “Boss, have you heard of ART-3?”
Donald was momentarily taken aback. His gaze shifted from Liana and fixed on Ye Hai, now serious.
“You’ve already met Eryta?” he asked gravely.
Ye Hai shook his head. “So you do know about that monstrosity…”
“What are those things, really?”
“How do they possess intelligence on par with humans?!”
“And there’s another one—a spider-shaped mutant. It's been seen near the black market lately.”
At Ye Hai’s words, Donald trembled ever so slightly.
“Has ART-2 appeared as well?”
“A storm is coming…”
“ART-2?” Ye Hai muttered, then stared at Donald and pressed, “Boss, you seem very familiar with these intelligent mutants?”
Donald fell silent, as if lost in memory, and slowly walked over to sit on the sofa.
“Dr. Ever Schmidt’s ART—‘Art’ Series,” he began.
“The main evolutionary direction: infection and control…”
“The most aggressive spreaders of all biological evolutionary test subjects. Though, in hindsight, not quite as ferocious as the primordial virus of the Solar Staircase.”
“He believed that among insects, many species have societal structures akin to human civilization. Insects, he thought, were the likeliest to evolve intelligence.”
“So he used several highly social insects as carriers: ART-1 was the ant, ART-2 the spider, ART-3 the bee!”
He glanced up at Liana, then continued, “The Queen Ant Virus was actually a byproduct of the ATR-1 experiment—its presence on the Chaos Star was purely accidental!”
After a brief pause, Donald seemed to mutter to himself:
“ARMY, the Soldier Series…”
“Project lead: Dr. Rowe.”
“Federation’s chief biologist, expert in energetics and weaponry, with the rank of Major General… Head of the zombie virus project!”
“As the chief scientist secretly cultivated by the Zombie Star regime, only a handful among the planet’s upper echelons ever knew of his existence.”
“The discoverer of the original zombie virus, chief engineer of the Super Gene Warrior Project.”
“Theory founder of the antimatter mech…”
Here Donald paused and cast Javier a meaningful smile.
Page 3/3
Then he went on:
“Dr. Rowe’s primary research was the ultimate in physical offense and defense.”
“He provided the Zombie Star’s ground forces with biological weapons—and, in combination with the zombie virus, developed the Super Gene Warrior!”
“ARMY-1: prototype tiger. ARMY-2: prototype wolf. ARMY-3: prototype snake.”
“ANGEL, the Angel Series…”
“Project lead: Dr. Norwell, expert in genetic engineering and astrophysics, with the rank of Colonel.”
“Like Dr. Rowe, Norwell was a genius secretly cultivated by the Federation of Zombie Star…”
“His main research carriers were avians—a supplement to the ARMY series…”
“The evolutionary focus: survival. The ultimate aim—enabling organisms to live in the vacuum of space.”
“My acquaintance with Dr. Norwell is limited; I know only a little about him.”
“I know even less about the results of the ANGEL series!”
Hearing all this, Ye Hai had already formed an idea of the old man’s identity, and spoke:
“I read in a researcher’s diary that the zombie virus was studied using birds, beasts, insects… and fish as primary test subjects…”
“If I’m not mistaken… boss, you were responsible for the fish?”
Donald gave a wry smile.
“That’s right. I was in charge of the WAVE—‘Wave’ Series…”
“Donald, expert in genetics, physics, and mechanical engineering… Colonel of the Federation!”
“Just like Dr. Rowe and Dr. Norwell, I was a scientist secretly cultivated by the military.”
“My direction: the fusion of organic life and machinery.”
“Again, the aim was to provide the military with ever more powerful weapons of war!”
“Of the four project leaders, only Dr. Ever Schmidt came from the civilian world.”
“He was a true genius.”
“Dr. Rowe, Dr. Norwell, and I all worked to create stronger bio-weapons for the military.”
“Only Dr. Ever Schmidt’s research was guided by the goal of human evolution.”
When Donald finished, Ye Hai finally had a general understanding of these intelligent mutants.
“Boss! One more question… What kind of organization is the Psionic League?”
At the mention of the Psionic League, Donald’s expression changed abruptly.
“What? The Psionic League has already appeared?”
“You’ve made contact with them?”