Glorious God Throne - Chapter 99

At the center of the fierce battle, sweat and blood dripped heavily, forming puddles on the ground. The entrance to the research facility was clearly visible yet seemed impossibly far away. Leiyin, trapped in the middle, moved increasingly slowly.

If this continued, capture was inevitable.

Everyone knew he must have realized this.

But this made the situation even more perplexing.

Why would an escaped test subject risk losing their freedom by infiltrating the research facility again?

“…He must be trying to steal research data,” Fina thought, her gaze fixed on the object that suddenly flew out of his pocket. She let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Just before Fina looked over, a bullet suddenly struck Leiyin’s leg as he failed to dodge in time. He stumbled in mid-air, and during his evasive maneuver, a USB drive accidentally flew out of his pocket.

Leiyin’s expression changed as he reached out to grab it!

In that instant, the battle-hardened security team seized the opportunity, making it the key moment to end the fight.

…

“Huh? This was your purpose for infiltrating the research facility?”

As the confiscated USB drive was plugged into the computer, familiar experimental data appeared on the screen.

Dr. Wells’ face turned extremely grim.

He looked down at the man pinned to the ground. The subject’s body had been injected with a specially researched drug that could temporarily suppress the effects of Transcendence Serum No. 1.

At this moment, Leiyin was likely even weaker than an ordinary person.

Therefore, Dr. Wells boldly stood before him, looking down at this test subject who no longer posed a threat.

“You actually… tried to steal the research facility’s data?!”

This enraged Dr. Wells, who viewed the Transcendence Project as his life’s work. His face darkened terribly.

He demanded coldly, “Who? Who sent you here?!”

In that brief moment, a list of names of people he didn’t get along with flashed through his mind. He even entertained the far-fetched idea that other countries might be pulling strings behind the scenes, attempting to steal the Chenxing Empire’s Transcendence Project through Test Subject R. This thought left him both shocked and furious.

“…So what if I did?” The man pinned to the ground by several security personnel was in a sorry state, yet he held his head high. Blood flowed down his forehead, the corners of his eyes, and his chin, staining half his face red.

Seeming to grasp Dr. Wells’ thoughts, his bloodstained lips curved into a crazed grin. “Don’t think I wanted to replicate your idiotic experiment! What Transcendence Project?! You treat it like a treasure, but I see it as dog shit! No, it’s worse than dog shit! Hahahahaha—mmph!”

As he was mid-taunt, the security personnel forcefully pushed him down. Leiyin let out a muffled groan but insisted on continuing, “Worse than dog shit means worse than dog shit! Don’t tell me someone actually thinks they’re some genius scientist? Hahaha, that’s hilarious!”

Dr. Wells clenched his fists tightly. Throughout Leiyin’s frenzied provocation, his anger level kept rising.

If in the past twenty years, he had endured countless mockeries for the Transcendence Project’s wild and impractical ideas, almost being reduced to a utopian dreamer; then in the few short months since the spiritual awakening, when the Transcendence Project saw a glimmer of hope, he had received innumerable praises and commendations.

For some psychologically sensitive individuals, such extreme ups and downs can be quite challenging. At least now, Wells couldn’t tolerate even the slightest deprecation or ridicule!

“Shut up!” The scientist who should have remained calm lost his composure. He waved his arms emotionally, the USB drive containing experimental data in his right palm. “What do you know! You don’t understand the greatness of the Transcendence Project at all!”

“Isn’t it just unethical human experiments?” Leiyin, pinned to the ground, struggled desperately to catch his breath. “Ha, if I hadn’t been unlucky, all this shady stuff would have been completely exposed by now!”

Leiyin’s voice, filled with rage and hatred, suddenly sobered up the provoked Dr. Wells.

His pupils dilated in shock.

“…I see.”

At that moment, Wells felt an intense sense of relief at having narrowly escaped disaster. His fingers trembled involuntarily.

Recalling how the other had casually walked past them earlier, almost taking the USB drive out of the research facility… he realized he had just been on the brink of social death.

If the contents of the USB drive had been exposed, even with the Chenxing Empire backing him, his fate would have been unpredictable.

Wells finally understood why the other had risked infiltrating the research facility. Although he still didn’t know how Leiyin had managed to bypass the facility’s multiple security systems and steal this data.

He drew in a sharp breath, his eyes flashing with gravity. “I underestimated you. You had already successfully escaped, yet instead of hiding or impulsively seeking revenge, you planned to steal the research facility’s data and make everything public?”

Aware that he had let slip, Leiyin no longer tried to conceal anything. He simply revealed a fierce grin. “I’m not the one with something to hide, why should I run away! The one who should go to hell, who should be cursed by everyone, is a worthless piece of shit like you!”

Insulted again, Wells instead calmed down.

He looked down at Leiyin, who was constantly struggling on the ground, his eyes seeming to want to leap up and tear him apart. Yet, Wells’ gaze showed a hint of faint pity.

“…I truly admire your courage.”

Wells shook his head and let out a sigh.

“It’s a pity you made a foolish choice.”

After saying this, he slowly turned around, his back to Leiyin and the security personnel, and ordered. “Take Test Subject R away, lock him in the highest-level isolation chamber.”

Behind him, the sound of a body being dragged seemed to arise. Dr. Wells composed himself and turned to the others who had been silently observing this incident, revealing a smile. He spoke in a light tone. “Alright, everyone, the farce is over, we should…”

His words were cut short as he saw the relaxed smiles on everyone’s faces suddenly change. Their eyes, looking past him, were filled with unparalleled terror.

As Wells had no time to turn around, he felt a violent gust of wind rush at him from behind. An icy chill swept across the back of his neck, followed by a forceful pressure slamming into his back!

Bang!

Amidst the intense pain, Wells’ consciousness became hazy. It felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his back, with a pair of vice-like hands gripping his neck. His face scraped against the ground, unable to see clearly. He only felt the pressure on his neck growing heavier and heavier, his breathing gradually weakening.

A heavy breath brushed past his ear, and he thought he heard the familiar and insolent sneer of the test subject.

–The overwhelming pressure on his neck and spine revealed that the subject’s previous weakness had all been an act. He had been fooled!

But at this moment, the tricked Wells had no time for anger or shock. His mind was filled with only one thought—

–I’m going to die!

–I’m going to die!!

He’s definitely going to kill me!!!

The fear of death was more stimulating than any drug. Wells’ heart beat at an unprecedented, frantic rhythm, his chaotic mind almost unable to think calmly.

In this state of utter confusion, his ears only vaguely picked up the jumbled sounds from his surroundings.

“What are you doing!”

Bang!

“Let go of Dr. Wells immediately!”

Bang! Bang!

“Stop!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There were panicked and urgent voices from the elites who had just left the conference room, along with a few sporadic gunshots.

As the gunshots rang out, the person pressing down on him effortlessly pulled and yanked, lifting Dr. Wells in front of himself like a bag of cookies. With a half-turn, he leaned against the side wall, moving with shocking speed and using Dr. Wells as a human shield.

This made the armed security personnel hesitate to take further action.

“Come on! Shoot this old ghost! I don’t mind dying with him!” Seeing this, Leiyin laughed maniacally. One hand still tightly gripped Dr. Wells’ neck, while the other had twisted Wells’ arms behind his back the moment he stood up. His deep blue pupils swept over everyone present like a wild beast. Whether it was his tone of voice, the curve of his grin, or the recklessness in his eyes, everything exuded hysterical madness.

His breath rushed past Wells’ ear as he spoke, giving Wells the illusion of being swept by a dragon’s exhalation. With his throat, a vital area, being gripped, death loomed so close that the speechless Wells could only shake his head desperately, staring wide-eyed at the others, rolling out muffled syllables from his throat, trying to convey his plea for help.

“Ugh ugh ugh—” Don’t shoot! Save me!

But this only resulted in further compression on his neck.

A sense of suffocation and nausea hit him simultaneously. Wells’ vision darkened, and he began to roll his eyes back, struggling desperately like a dying fish, only to have Leiyin crush his wrist bones.

“Don’t! Don’t do anything rash!”

Someone finally reacted to this sudden turn of events and shouted hurriedly.

At this moment, apart from the fully armed security personnel, those present were researchers from the facility and the visiting delegation – the latter being elites from the upper echelons of the empire.

–Despite their usual roles being confined to signing documents and giving orders from offices, never directly facing such dangerous situations – which left some of them weak-kneed from Leiyin’s threat – they were now the only ones who could step up to make decisions.

“–Don’t do anything rash!” Forcibly calming his heartbeat after being startled by Leiyin, the highest-ranking middle-aged man among them slowly spoke, “Calm down, young man. You’ve just managed to escape the facility, surely you don’t want to throw your life away like this? Although you’re a valuable result of the Transcendence Project, we don’t want your life unless absolutely necessary. But you should know that your current actions are pushing our limits.”

Leiyin’s expression remained cold, but his grip loosened slightly.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man’s expression softened a bit. He spoke in a highly persuasive tone. “There’s actually no irreconcilable enmity between us. Although the research facility’s methods of ‘inviting’ you earlier were a bit extreme…”

“A bit extreme?” Leiyin interrupted with a cold laugh, his eyes flashing with intense coldness. “Completely disregarding my personal wishes, directly tying me to the operating table in the lab… So in your view, this is what you call ‘extreme methods of invitation’?”

“Cough, anyway, the end result was good. You gained power far beyond ordinary people, didn’t you?” The middle-aged man spoke ambiguously. “I imagine even other martial arts practitioners might not be your match now. If you just change your perspective, young man, and are willing to let go of that bit of hatred, you’ll see we can absolutely cooperate for mutual benefit–”

“Mutual benefit? How? What right do you have to represent the research facility? Wells still wants to lock me up!” Leiyin seemed somewhat moved, but his tone remained cautious.

“If you knew our identities, you’d understand what we can do.” The middle-aged man smiled slightly, his calm demeanor tinged with pride. “Here we have members of the council, secretaries of cabinet elders, and even an imperial princess. If the power we represent agrees unanimously, we could award you the empire’s Purple Violet Medal tomorrow, as a reward for your indelible contribution to the Transcendence Project.”

His tone grew increasingly persuasive. “You want freedom? No problem. Want to gain even stronger power? We can absolutely satisfy that too. The Transcendence Serum No. 1 used on you before was flawed. I can recommend you join the empire’s newly established Special Affairs Management Bureau. As a bureau member, you can cooperate with the Transcendence Project team to develop a more perfect serum, while also remedying your own flaws and achieving truly perfect evolution.”

As his words fell, a sudden silence enveloped the surroundings.

The others exchanged glances, finding this to be a good solution. Leiyin’s demonstrated potential was enough for them to recruit him into the Special Affairs Management Bureau. If they could turn an enemy into a friend and have him voluntarily cooperate with the experiments, that would be ideal!

“What do you say? You can absolutely trust my guarantee. Everyone here can vouch for this.”

“I’ve made my decision.” After a full ten seconds of silence, just as they thought Leiyin was moved and about to agree, he suddenly grinned, his tone full of mockery, “My answer is – not interested!”

Before he finished speaking, taking advantage of everyone’s focused attention, his figure darted towards the corner like a cheetah. Wells, held in his hand, was like a lightweight piece of bread, not hindering him in the slightest.

Leiyin’s dual identity as a martial arts practitioner and Transcendence Serum test subject gave him agility far beyond normal human reactions. By the time the others realized they’d been tricked, the middle-aged man immediately shouted, “Quick, after him!”

Unexpectedly, Leiyin hadn’t run far. In that brief reaction time, he had only reached the main entrance of the research facility. Even if he could crack the code, it would take at least a minute to open that sealed metal door.

He found himself in another standoff with the group, still holding his hostage.

A row of gun barrels pointed at him.

Wells trembled, nearly fainting.

The middle-aged man, having hurriedly arrived, was utterly perplexed. Unwilling to execute such an excellent fighter and test subject, he made one last attempt to persuade Leiyin.

“Young man, you can’t escape. Do you really not value your life, willing to die for nothing? If you’re willing to let go of your hatred, I can personally grant you one reasonable request. Even the Purple Violet Medal isn’t out of the question. You’ll enjoy privileges many nobles can’t obtain.”

“If I remember correctly, didn’t you already label me as a terrorist who attacked the research facility?” Leiyin asked curiously. “How reasonable is it to then turn around and award me the Purple Violet Medal, making me an imperial hero?”

“We only put out a warrant for an unknown terrorist,” the middle-aged man replied smoothly. “You, on the other hand, are a hero who voluntarily joined the Transcendence Project and made great contributions to the empire.”

“…After awarding you the Purple Violet Medal, we can announce that we’ve found the terrorist who attacked the research facility earlier. Yes, intelligence shows it was the work of the ‘White Wolf’ terrorist organization, long-time enemies of the empire.”

“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”

Leiyin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He suddenly released his grip on Wells’ neck and applauded relaxedly, saying in a tone of great admiration, “To come up with such a perfect solution in such a short time. It seems you’ve done this kind of thing quite often, haven’t you?”

“So, do you agree?”

Seeing this, the middle-aged man neither confirmed nor denied, only revealing a knowing smile.

He was about to say more when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

The screen showed the call was from his superior.

The middle-aged man’s face instantly switched to a respectful smile. He answered the call, but before he could utter any honorific, an enraged rebuke came through.

“You fool! What have you been saying?!”

“W-what?” He was completely bewildered by the scolding.

“Turn on the Silver Capital TV station’s live broadcast and see what you’ve done! Now the whole world knows!”