Chapter 114-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

When Lucy opened her eyes again, she saw a oppressive gray ceiling. Muffled voices buzzed in her ears; she tried moving her limbs but found no strength.

"Hey, are we really doing this? Using some unknown woman for testing—whether she becomes a Holy Vessel or a Fallen Breed, we won't be able to explain to the higher-ups..."

The short man asked uneasily. The girl had appeared out of nowhere at the back mountain's base; upon notification, he'd thought her an escaped base girl, but checks showed no such person.

By regulation, every woman devoting to the Hope Project must be informed and willing. Violations meant execution by the overseer.

The others aside, if that stern old nun found out, she'd hold them accountable!

The tall man scoffed. "If she turns into a Fallen Breed, who knows if she was willing? If a Holy Vessel, we're heroes."

The short man still hesitated. Pressure from above was mounting lately; the Incubation Chamber had viable Dragon Bone lifeforms, but their group lagged on suitable Holy Vessels.

Holy Vessels were exceedingly rare—fewer than one in ten women retained sanity post-Dragon Bone shard implantation. And for those implanted with Project lifeforms, the odds of successful birth were one in a thousand!

Success or failure, women turned Holy Vessels and implanted rarely survived ten months.

That's why Holy Vessels were so precious.

"The neighboring group just had a go, birthed another Fallen Breed. If we produce a Holy Vessel now, the team lead might consider us for promotion."

The short man glanced at the quietly lying orange-haired girl nearby, his resolve firming.

"Fine, let's get it over with quick. Birthing another Fallen Breed wouldn't be bad either—with a restraint device on, it could help the base fend off those outer monsters."

Seeing his partner committed, the tall man grinned easily. He donned white gloves.

He had to use this unlucky girl to cover his tracks. Days ago, his experimental subject had clashed with him during interaction; he'd accidentally killed her—a grave offense in the base.

Luckily, the base was chaos these days. Substitute this girl, quietly alter records, bribe a few others, and it'd blow over.

The girl on the black metal table lay with eyes shut, body still. But close inspection revealed her lashes trembling tensely.

Lucy strained to keep her breathing steady, feigning unconsciousness.

What had happened? Who were those two men?

She racked her memory. In the East District, she'd heard of an unknown catastrophe sealing off the West District. She'd slipped away from the Cloud-Soaring Squad and returned alone.

Official routes to the West District were blocked; it'd taken her days of detours to enter. The West District was vast, fog thick—even she didn't know where she'd ended up.

Right—she'd been inexplicably shot!

Lucy's thigh twitched. The untreated wound had festered; her brows furrowed in pain.

Before entering, she'd braced for attacks from eerie, deadly monsters. But once inside, all threats came from humans.

She'd taken a bullet to the thigh, assuming some ranged monster, so she'd played dead on the ground to lure and kill it. Instead, two men approached.

...That was her first time using her ability on humans. She hadn't dared check if they lived; dragging her wounded leg, she'd fled to the mountain's other side.

And now, it seemed she'd face a second.

Lucy desperately tried summoning her ability, her face paling further, lashes quivering more noticeably.

Strange! Why couldn't she gather any power? Lucy couldn't help twisting slightly; the icy cold bed beneath seemed a bottomless pit devouring her strength.

"You're awake?"

"Better awake—surviving the demon dragon's erosion demands strong will. Being dazed makes turning into a Fallen Breed all too easy."

Lucy snapped her eyes open. Two repulsive adult men's faces loomed above, smiling down at her.

She glared furiously. Under their condescending stares, the girl suddenly surged upward, like a slab-bound fish leaping to slap its captor.

But the next instant, steam hissed from above the black metal table. Lucy's barely propped body slumped back.

"Told you to prep properly! We almost got killed!"

The tall man patted his chest in aftershock, berating his partner.

"I followed dosage standards exactly! Who knew she'd be so tough!"

The short man grumbled. Lab accidents were routine—why else have emergency gear? Not his fault.

"Fine, you're new, don't know the risks. Last week, a researcher next door got swallowed whole by a Fallen Breed. Caution's for your own good."

"Pass the scalpel. I'll handle the implantation this time; you observe and learn."

The tall man pinned Lucy's arm with one hand, probing for incision spots, palm outstretched to the short man for the tool.

Soon, a chill, sharp sensation hit his palm—the blade's tip nestled there, sending a numbing cold through him.

The tall man whipped around irritably. "Useless? Can't even hand a knife—"

He turned to see the short man standing distant, eyes wide in horror, hands clamped over his mouth.

"Wrong way? Maybe like this?"

The girl's wrist flicked nimbly. The knife flat in the man's palm suddenly flipped, slashing his tiger's mouth!

Ye Zheng's body leaned back slightly; not a drop of the man's spurting blood stained her white clothes.

"Aaah—"

The delayed scream echoed through the empty lab, but it drew no outside attention—they were used to inhuman cries from here.

Lucy, witnessing it all up close, stared blankly. She drew up her legs; the man's blood splashed her calf, warm and sticky.

"Zhao—Ye Zheng!"

Lucy could barely speak, yet she excitedly called the name.

Ye Zheng turned to the girl struggling on the table. She helped her sit up, asking softly, "You okay? Hurt anywhere?"

Cool water gently caressed Lucy's face. Her mind felt foggy, dreamlike; she stared dazedly at the descending Ye Zheng. "Right thigh, left arm."

Lucy had always thought, if trapped in the West District, Percy and the others would be first to rescue her... Even if a gentle, unfamiliar face occasionally flashed in her mind, she dared not hope.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze, stroking Lucy's head reassuringly, resuming long-absent healing.

"Y-You... who the hell are you!"

The man, deprived of his palm, writhed in too much pain to rise. He glanced at the stunned short man, blinking furiously to signal him to hit the rear alarm.

"Don't move. Since I'm here, why not finish the experiment?"

Ye Zheng didn't even lift an eyelid, using [Stream] to thoroughly check Lucy's body, confirming no odd injections.

"I'll give you a way out: continue the experiment. I'm curious about the process."

"Satisfy my curiosity, and I won't lay a hand on you myself."

Ye Zheng helped the healed Lucy to her feet. She glanced at the small side table by the operating slab—a tray held a shard of bone, lying quietly.

The short man floundered, eyeing his companion, then the suddenly ruthless youth. She turned toward the door.

Ye Zheng supported Lucy out of the vast gray room. She pressed a red button on the wall; a glass door descended slowly, sealing off the gray space. The two white-coated men were like penned livestock.

"You—implant the Dragon Bone into him."

The short man met the eyes of the girl beyond the thick glass, shuddering. He glanced down; the bloody knife hovered at his neck!

On closer look, a slender water stream coiled the hilt, trailing all the way outside the glass.

No choice, the short man trembled as he took the knife and Dragon Bone amid his companion's curses.

Minutes later, the screams ceased. Ye Zheng stood quietly outside the glass, covering Lucy's eyes, her face dawning realization.

From her understanding of men, for sufficient reward—even a one-in-ten survival chance—they'd scramble to implant Dragon Bones into themselves, seizing power's possibility.

Rather than yielding such a "favor" to women.

Thus, Dragon Bones couldn't integrate directly into men—unless like Sykes, born of Dragon Bone body from a woman's womb?

"Ye—Saint... Ye Zheng! Let me see!"

Lucy pried Ye Zheng's hand away. At the instant the man's body exploded, Ye Zheng had covered her eyes—something horrific must have happened. But she wanted to see clearly.

Behind the glass door stood only one man now, draped in blood and gore, unrecognizable as a blood-soaked figure.

Nausea hit Lucy; she dropped her gaze, only to lock eyes with a bloodied eyeball rolled to the glass's base, glaring resentfully. She retched dryly.

A gentle force patted her back; Ye Zheng soothed her lightly.

Lucy felt utterly drained—not just from the drugs those two injected, but the scene's shock.

Before, she'd fought Demonic Domain monsters, occasionally seeing humans mangled by them. But this man hadn't died miserably to monsters—it was because of her and Ye Zheng... Though he'd meant to strike first.

The 16-year-old boy, ever living in dreams and hope, momentarily lost the capacity to process the sight.

Ye Zheng wasn't surprised by Lucy's reaction—rather, it was the normal one.

No matter the intent, good or evil victim, beholding the hell one's hands wrought was hard to stomach peacefully—especially for a normal, just person.

Ye Zheng's lashes trembled. In this instant, she pondered: was she truly just and kind, or a obsessive maniac charging toward justice as goal?

Perhaps her essence mirrored Kiran's—merely differing in the ideal world pursued?

"Ye Zheng, Ye Zheng, I'm fine. Don't be mad."

"Thanks... I never thought it'd be you..."

Her collar tugged lightly. Ye Zheng looked down puzzled, meeting Lucy's weak yet bright eyes. She clearly saw her own reflection.

Had she been angry just now?

Not numb—but angry.

Lucy blinked up at Ye Zheng, grinning. She was comforting her.

Though startled earlier, seeing Ye Zheng's taut profile and downturned mouth, Lucy instinctively soothed her.

Lucy had never seen Zhao Mei, Ye Zheng like this. The habitual smile held no warmth; dark eyes sharpened by rage. Even standing quietly beside her evoked tidal waves, stirring odd heart flutters.

This place was so terrifying; Ye Zheng must have struggled to find her here.

The girl strained to lift her drug-weakened hand. Ye Zheng, thinking her uncomfortable, set aside stray thoughts, leaning down to press her cheek near, listening attentively.

The next moment, Ye Zheng's eyes widened in surprise, a hint of confusion in her dark gaze. Her pursed lips were tugged up, cheeks puffing slightly.

"Next time, I won't let you make that face because of me."

Lucy gazed earnestly, her usually lively, somewhat naive features serious for once.

Her fingertip, liking the feel, poked Ye Zheng's cheek again mischievously.

She sneaked a peek at the bloody scene beyond the glass—no queasiness this time.

Blame these disgusting people for angering the gentle, empathetic saintess! They deserved it!

Ye Zheng paused, her tight lips suddenly softening like melting snow. She allowed the small gestures, hesitating to say something—when a shout interrupted.

"Y-You said if we finished the experiment, you wouldn't kill me! Let me out!"

The gore-smeared, unrecognizable man pounded the glass door, yelling.

Ye Zheng straightened, one hand to the right wall.

"Rest assured, I keep my word—as long as the experiment's complete."

Her slender fingers trailed under the short man's hopeful gaze to the red button, tapping it—then sliding to the black one below.

"N-No, not that button! The red one—the red!"

"But I'm curious—what's the black one for? Part of the experiment, right?"

Ye Zheng tilted her head. She truly didn't know.

So she sated her curiosity and pressed it.

The gray room beyond the thick glass began rising slowly. The lone man, trapped inside, looked up at the ceiling's leaking white light—not thrilled by daylight, but as if beholding a monster. He scrambled back to the room's farthest corner.

Ye Zheng narrowed her eyes slightly. So that's it. After implanting Dragon Bone shards, these men locked women inside to observe. If control failed into a Fallen Breed, hit the black button, sending the room—and the monstrous woman—upward.

If she recalled right, above was the Back Garden Enclosure, for housing Fallen Breeds. She'd just dealt with Supervisor Jones there.

Ye Zheng smiled faintly. Two or three hours ago in the Back Garden Enclosure, she hadn't encountered a single Draconian Hybrid. Per Annabelle's account, Zhou Yun had released them all somehow.

Barring new experiments birthing Fallen Breeds in these hours, this man would at most bump into the supervisor's corpse.

"Lucy, let's go. I'll get you to a safe spot first."

Though healed, Lucy could only walk with aid; she needed rest.

[Action points expended: 150. You have altered Lucy's key plotline.]

The system voice chimed suddenly.

Ye Zheng's eyes curved.

After joy, recalling manga spoilers and the system's vague hints, she guessed in the original plot, Percy and others failed to rescue Lucy—they hadn't appeared yet—so Lucy became something like a Fallen Breed?

"Like" because in the spoiler, Lucy's mutation wasn't severe, and the system said she'd be offline briefly...

So, Fallen Breeds could potentially be cured?

Ye Zheng's eyes lit. She needed close contact with them.

Priority: settle Lucy first, back to the room Annabelle prepared.

"The Hope Project, Year 78 of the God's Descent."

Percy's pupils shrank to pinpricks. He stared shocked at the file Kiran handed him. The cover seemed beast hide from some mighty mutant, still glossy after centuries, its weighty aura instinctively hushing breath.

"It started over four hundred years ago?"

Sykes frowned.

Kiran gently turned to the first page.

"The Hope Project's founder was the second Saintess. She volunteered as the first subject, paving the initial steps."

"After her, many righteous nuns joined willingly, co-signing this document."

The first page bore dozens of signatures, all women's, from varied backgrounds.

At the top corner, someone had sketched a lifelike daisy—the flower of hope and peace.

Under the two youths' intent gazes, Kiran flipped page after page; their expressions shifted gradually.

Each page crammed with names!

"Every devoted woman signs here, eternally commemorated with the second Saintess and her pioneers."

Kiran's flip paused midway, pointing to two names.

Sykes's face darkened instantly; Percy shook his head in stupor, stepping back twice. One was the former Empress's, the other...

"Why—why? What's the necessity of this experiment!"

Percy's eyes bloodshot, he demanded of Kiran.

Since entering the base, every corner felt familiarly trembling. Now he knew his birth mother's name—Mu You.

As Percy neared tearing the file, Kiran reclaimed it, flipping straight to the last page.

[Our forebears wove kind lies for an inevitable defeat, but we shall twist those lies into beautiful reality.]

[No gods? We create them. No hope? We forge it.]

[Passed down through generations: Mother of All Things, the Hope Project's torch, the unquenchable heart of exploration—the finest gift we leave posterity.

—Saintess Marian.]

Percy clutched half his face, agonizing: for so-called hope, was this worth it?

"Inevitable defeat?"

Sykes, lacking sentiment, zeroed in keenly on the last page, golden eyes sinking.

"I know you'll deem the Project unworthy. The prophecy foretells the super Demonic Domain's arrival with the hope-god inheritor—we seem superfluous in god-making—"

"But the prophecy is false."

Kiran's words dropped; the study fell silent. Both stared at him in shock.

"Without the Hope Project, your births wouldn't exist—no hope-god inheritor!"

"So, do you still see us as deranged villains?"

The prophecy sustaining the empire's people through calamity—a fabrication? Only the latter half's imperial doom true...

The brutal truth struck them. Percy and Sykes stood apart, mute.

An abrupt knock shattered the quiet. Kiran approached the study door, opening it.

"Sir, the target's captured. Shall we throw her in solitary for interrogation?"

Percy and Sykes peered toward the door; despite differing temperaments, both paled in unison, traces of disbelief flashing as they strode out together.

Kiran stood with hands clasped behind, gaze pitying and disappointed, down at the girl shackled in restraints.

"Zhou Yun brought you in, didn't she?"

"Perhaps before killing four base personnel, you didn't know she'd kidnapped fifty thousand and demanded I kill you all?"

Ye Zheng looked up; surprise flickered at Zhou Yun's deeds, but she shook her head honestly.

"I didn't know."

Kiran laughed, all affable inclusion. "She deceived you—I don't blame you—"

"Even if I did, I'd still do it."

"Because this is your end."

Ye Zheng cut the man off ruthlessly. Her shackled hands rested before her; she tilted her head up slightly, habitual smile gracing her elegant, composed poise—like leading Curia prayers, utterly unflustered or fallen.

"Escort the Saintess to solitary!"

Kiran's face finally shed its smile.

Beyond the manga world.

Ye Zheng had barely endured another week, awaiting updates—only to greet fresh storms of blood.

Tang Mingxi, tied up with errands, missed the update and buzz. She first got Li Yixin's message.

[You see the update? Forums are exploding over Ye Zheng!]

[What? Old Uncle forcing another ugly bro-con on her?]

[No, it's... Ye Zheng's gone berserk...]

[Literally.]

Author's Note:

Zheng says: Ain't seen nothin' yet.

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →