Chapter Ch109.1 - Leaving
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
The morning pa.s.sed by quickly.
The news spread like wildfire across the R-Code base––Wei Shi had performed brilliantly during the a.s.sessment and obtained an S-level transformation quota.
This was merely his ‘second transformation’. If his third, fourth, and even ninth transformation were also S-level, then he would become another legend at the base like Shao Yu.
His future was promising.
The base directly rewarded him with 120 green cards.
At the canteen table.
Wu Jin’s eyes were locked on the plates that were being continuously served to the table. There were all kinds of first courses, second courses, main courses, and desserts, followed by coffee and tea.
The big boss looked proud as he helped him arrange his napkin.
In the distance, Mao Qiukui observed the proceedings pitifully, and Mao Dongqing was admonishing him, “What are you looking at? Do I starve you or something? Go home!”
Wei Shi cut off a small piece of matcha cake for Wu Jin and looked at his bulging cheeks.
Wu Jin bit down on the cake and asked, “When are you doing the transformation!”
Wei Shi bowed his head and expressionlessly inhaled the scent of the matcha flavored little shortie, “At night.”
Wu Jin nodded.
If the emotional lock was a type of negative stress, then the genetic transformation was a positive stress that the R-Code base had turned into ‘glory’. He agreed with Researcher Song that their best chance at bringing the big boss out was after the second transformation.
Wu Jin was a little curious, “What’s the transformation like?”
Wei Shi thought about it, “It depends. The a.s.sessment is a watershed. Those with high scores are given a more ‘stable’ transformation, while those with lower scores become ‘test subjects’.”
Wu Jin immediately thought of the big boss’s unstable visual transformation.
Wei Shi gestured for him to open his mouth and eat the cake, “The gap in strength can’t be seen prior to the first transformation. Everyone is a test subject. This time,” Wei Shi raised his chin, “I chose speed and strength.”
Wu Jin’s eyes opened wide, “Why?
Wei Shi pretended to be impatient and knocked on the table with his knuckles, “How will I protect you if I don’t go in the direction of battle?”
The big boss rolled up his sleeves to show the tight muscles attached to his smooth arm. It didn’t carry the same level of extreme power from 10 years later, but it was already very good among the teenagers of the same age.
Two small, round eyes were immediately drawn to his arm.
Wei Shi tsked, “You can touch, if you want.”
Wu Jin stretched out his little paws, and pinched and touched.
Wei Shi: “… Enough. What kind of gaze is that! Why does it look like you want to take a bite! Eat your dinner, eat your dinner.” The youth knocked on the table, and the Wu Jin who was almost full enough to start burping could only obediently open up his mouth.
“Too thin.” Wei Shi was picky.
Wu Jin chomped down two bites of dinner, “Wei Shi, you’ll really protect me!”
Wei Shi raised his eyebrows, “Nonsense!”
It was nearing evening at the R-Code Base. By the time the genetically modified gathered together again, the loudspeakers had already gone through a new k2018;brave warriors commendation list’ once. Wei Shi was included in the list of applicants for a second transformation.
The instructors didn’t say anything new, although they touted several people tonight as pioneers of k2018;contributing to the genetic industry and human development’ for the Federation. Wu Jin remained at the periphery of the crowd and lowered his head.
The sunset spread across the entire sky.
Once nighttime began––with his impaired vision, his movements would be extremely limited.
Over the noisy current in his head, Researcher Song was going over the final plan with him.
The positive stress from the second transformation could stimulate the brainwaves of the genetically modified towards its most active state. What Wu Jin needed to do was to directly pull Wei Shi out of the closed psychological area during this period––
There was only one closed area for the genetically modified.
R-Code Base.
He needed to bring the big boss outside and escape.
For the young Wei Shi, the world outside the base was unknown. The further outside he went, the more of an impact it would make on his subconscious. As long as the vibrations in his consciousness could go beyond the scope of this ‘memory from his youth’, Wu Jin would be able to pull him back into reality in one go.
Applause roared from nearby.
The youths envied these ‘heroes’ who were going to undergo the transformation, and rushed to see them off at the instructors’ instigation. Two of the 16 and 17 year old youths who’d been a.s.signed to high-risk genetic transformations due to their low a.s.sessment scores had been numb and scared a few minutes ago, but at this time, they’d been affected by this abnormal, fanatical atmosphere and had unnatural flushes on their faces––
Even they’d been convinced.
They were the ‘glory of the Federation, the young heroes’, even if they’d never been anywhere but the base.
Wei Shi stood calmly in the crowd without any sorrow or joy. Wu Jin could only vaguely see the stage, but he was able to accurately pinpoint the big boss amidst a group of mixed color blocks.
It seemed that an instructor was criticizing Wei Shi for not applauding for himself.
The big boss raised his hands and perfunctorily clapped his hands together.
After this recognition, the door to the operating room finally opened.
Wu Jin’s heart thudded, and it seemed that he’d been affected by the big boss’s memories, because he felt a very strong reflexive rejection. He ran to the door on his short legs and waved to the big boss––
Wei Shi nodded to him and finally showed a slight smile.
Wu Jin watched as the door closed and then quickly opened up the communication channel.
“After the transformation, the golden period of fluctuation will only last for two hours.” Researcher Song finally confirmed for him, “He must leave within those two hours. At this stage, his cognition of the world outside the R-Code Base is still blank. Remember, your language and behavior can stimulate his subconscious.”
Wu Jin nodded and silently counted the time at the edge of the crowd until the instructor disappeared, “––We can start now.”
At the other end of the communication, Mao Dongqing, who was familiar with the R-Code Base, took over the line, “Follow the route we decided on before. I’ll give you the camera locations. Remember, the most important thing is the two hour time limit.”
Wu Jin narrowed his eyes and walked carefully in the dim light, “I can see it.”
The #9 switch box was connected to Area A of the R-Code Base.
Wu Jin took out the knives from his pocket––two of them, tied together with wire like a pair of bolt cutters.
Mao Dongqing: “Cut the red cable first.”
Wu Jin looked down in the faint light and there was a faint sound of friction as sparks and the blade brushed together. Wu Jin acted as though he was unaware of it, his hand remaining steady as he held the wire. After that came the blue cable––three minutes later, the green line was cut, and then finally the white line. The complexity of this disconnection was like setting a pa.s.sword, and there was even sweat rolling down Wu Jin’s back.
There was a click.
Small metal gears shifted.
“This is the failsafe that the upper levels of the base left for themselves.” Mao Dongqing sneered coldly, “If the genetically modified rebel, the power grid will collapse within a set delay, protecting them within––Brother Wei was the one who discovered this back then.”
“We’ll just set it for 40 minutes from now.”
“As long as we can keep the vast majority of instructors within the net––you’ll only have to deal with the seven who are performing the surgeries outside.”
Researcher Song spoke up from beside Mao Dongqing, “Little Witch, prepare to destroy the defensive device in the forbidden zone. Lead them over there. There are three forbidden zones in the R-Code Base: the energy station, the armory, and the one closest to you, the genetic…”
Mao Dongqing suddenly interrupted him, “Don’t go there. Have him go to the energy station.”
Wu Jin realized in a flash that once the energy station caught fire, the fire would spread even faster.
“Heading to the energy station.” He didn’t hesitate at all before agreeing with Mao Dongqing’s arrangements, though his eyes shifted slightly as he changed positions.
The nearest forbidden zone’s orange, painted door was closed, and the outlines of the building weren’t clear in his field of vision.
Wu Jin no longer paid attention to it.
Half an hour later, the air crackled as the electric current short circuited due to a sudden connection, an arc of electricity causing a fire to ignite out of thin air. Fine, fluffy hay was quickly piled up onto the flames, and Wu Jin confirmed that it was set before turning around to leave––
Researcher Song spoke up in surprise, “Fluctuation range 122. Brother Wei’s surgery is over!”
The main door opened with a bang.
Wei Shi walked out slowly. His face was a little pale, but his eyes flashed as he looked at Wu Jin, “Little shortie, come here.”
Wu Jin bounced over.
Wei Shi buried his head against Wu Jin’s shoulder and took a deep breath, “The operation went very well. In the future, big brother will take care of you like he said he would.”
Wu Jin stood up on tiptoes and rubbed against the big boss’s head, slipping his hand that was stained with burnt ash into his pocket.
By this time, the sun had mostly disappeared, but the street lights of the base hadn’t yet been lit. Wei Shi thought of Wu Jin’s eyes and lifted him up without any explanation, carrying him all the way to the dormitory before setting him down carefully.
Beneath the mattress in the dormitory was where Wei Shi’s one and only gun was hidden.
Wu Jin looked at the gun and slowly counted down the time––
The sharp alarm went off in the base.
Wei Shi was shocked, and his first reaction was to protect Wu Jin behind him.
The youth took out the gun and seemed to be more determined once he held the b.u.t.t of the gun. He squinted out the window, “There’s a fire. The instructors are all running that way. Let’s hide and not go out.”
Soon however, there were screams coming out from the dormitory building.
The fire was spreading.
Wei Shi frowned and quickly put on his coat. He held a gun in one hand and held Wu Jin with the other, “Let’s go. It’s not safe here. Let’s go to the training ground and wait––”
Wu Jin suddenly raised his head, his eyes bright from the light of the distant fire, “Let’s… should we go outside?”
Wei Shi was caught off guard, “What?”
Wu Jin said quietly, “The energy station is on fire, and the staff are being mobilized elsewhere. There’s a lack of security support at the entrance to the base. There’s n.o.body at the iron gate at this time––”
Wei Shi was given a fierce shock. He looked closely at Wu Jin, “You know that the energy station is on fire?”
Wu Jin nodded.
Wei Shi looked out the window again, and his hands suddenly clenched into fists, “They-the instructors don’t know yet.”
There was a lot of fire outside the window. Beyond the isolation zone, the instructors, enforcers, and robots were all still looking for the source of the fire. Some were shouting for fire-fighting equipment, but there seemed to be some kind of riot in the instructors and the researchers’ residence. The crowd was chaotic, yet stuck in one place, blocked by the power grid that had suddenly emerged.
Several of the nearby low-level genetically modified had already been called over, and the loudspeakers were blaring loudly, “Everyone gather at the training grounds. Those who have undergone a second transformation come out to put out the fire. Anyone who finds the source of the fire will be rewarded with an S-level genetic transformation––”
The crowd rushed towards the fire with fire extinguishers on their shoulders.
Wei Shi turned his head.
The crowd was acting like a bunch of headless flies, and n.o.body had any clues. At this time, there was only one possibility as to why Wu Jin would say that the energy station was on fire.
Wei Shi looked at Wu Jin, “You started the fire?”
Wu Jin simply nodded, then added pitifully, “I want to go outside with you…”
Wei Shi cursed in a low voice.
Wu Jin waited quietly for his choice.
Escaping from the base was an extremely normal choice for most people, but for the young Wei Shi, this thought was nothing less than an earth shaking statement. The big boss had lived at the base for over 10 years. Surviving in the deliberate, threat-filled atmosphere of the R-Code Base made him more likely to reject the outside world than to feel curiosity about it. In addition, there was the success of the second transformation. Without Wu Jin, he would have gone down the original path step by step.
His life would only become better and brighter than before.
Wei Shi didn’t say another word as he picked up his gun and quietly packed up the things in the closet.
Wu Jin froze for a second and was abruptly caught by surprise, “You’re agreeing––”
Wei Shi spoke fiercely, “Don’t you know that there are cameras at the base? If they catch you, they’ll send your head flying. Let’s go.”
The little shortie cheered and hopped around beside him, “The instructors are stopped by the power grid. We can definitely go out! There are twin towers, Ferris wheels, and air balloons outside! After we go out, we can play in compet.i.tions, raise rabbits, and fall in love––”
The big boss was full of anger, “Who are you going to fall in love with!”
The small curls instantly bounced up in joy, “With you, with you, with you––”
Wei Shi stumbled and lost his footing, almost falling to the ground, “Who taught you this! Shut up… we’ll talk about it after we leave.”
xiin:
Wei Shi: Who do you dare to fall in love with (other than me)?!!!
Wu Jin: You you you you!!!
Young!Wei Shi: omgomgomgomg *speechless*
also, hehehe i see you guys speculating but i won’t tell you~