Red mist still enveloped the area, with occasional noises resounding.
After several days of preparation, the defenses surrounding the Abyssal Rift had largely been completed.
During this time, the combat personnel stationed here had gradually figured out the pattern of appearance of the Demonized Beasts.
These Demonized Beasts did not continuously emerge from the Abyssal Rift, but rather, they appeared in batches at intervals.
There were also signs, each time the red mist churned above the rift, it signified that Demonized Beasts were about to appear.
During this period, there also appeared Demonized Beasts of extreme strength, far surpassing the strongest human Awakeners at the current stage, but faced with the numerous weapons set up around them, these Demonized Beasts did not cause much trouble and were quickly killed.
Lin Wei sat in the command vehicle, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk, lost in thought.
A confidant walked in, holding a codecase, "Boss, the blood samples from three hundred sixty-eight types of Demonized Beasts are all prepared."
"Mhm." Lin Wei looked up, "In that case, notify the people of the First Corps to disperse and regroup at the predetermined location."
The confidant set down the codecase and turned to leave.
Lin Wei's gaze flickered, pondering for a moment, "Dark Owl."
A shadow appeared behind him.
"Got all the information?" Lin Wei asked.
The shadow's voice was hoarse, "All clear. The ones who destroyed the Scarlet Hand were three Awakeners, two men and one woman. One of the men has the ability to summon Puppets, while the woman possesses ice abilities. However, these three disappeared without a trace after the explosion back then and haven't returned to Lindong Sanctuary."
Lin Wei frowned slightly, then sighed, "Never mind that for now. Have you figured out the scale and strength of the Green Shadow Sanctuary?"
"Yes, based on my investigation, the Green Shadow Sanctuary indeed encountered a Demon Tide previously, which aligns with what Wang Tai said. However, what's strange is that after the Demon Tide, the Sanctuary was not destroyed but was instead rebuilt on the original site."
"Not only that, this Sanctuary seems quite unusual. According to the information I've gathered, they built a city wall overnight and later used this wall to withstand another attack of the Demon Tide."
"A city wall?" Lin Wei furrowed his brows, "Have you found out why the city wall appeared?"
"It was likely the doing of an ability user." The shadow's voice hesitated, "But exactly how the wall was built, or if there are limitations, that... hasn't been found out."
"Moreover, this Sanctuary has quite a reputation in the surrounding area and has a patrol team of considerable strength. Just in terms of Awakeners' strength, it should be much stronger than typical small Sanctuaries."
Lin Wei slightly shook his head.
This Sanctuary's strength must be strong; ordinary small Sanctuaries wouldn't have the capability to completely annihilate Han Jing's team without even sending back news.
Perhaps it is because this Sanctuary contains several outstanding Awakeners, and even ability users.
Unfortunately, their distinction only stands in relation to ordinary Awakeners.
A small Sanctuary, after all, is too trivial, and this world is vast.
Like frogs at the bottom of a well, how can they see the sky?
Despite this, Lin Wei did not underestimate them, he intended to crush any unstable factors with absolute power, compressing them in the cradle.
"Let the Dark Owl Group act as well, make sure not to let any survivors from the Green Shadow Sanctuary escape."
The shadow disappeared behind him.
Lin Wei looked at the codecase beside him, pondered for a moment, then changed his attire and stepped out of the command vehicle.
Dealing with Green Shadow Sanctuary was a minor matter, but he was also curious to see, firsthand, the results of Dr. Zheng's plan.
After all, as a businessman, Lin Wei's principle was that each investment must be worth its value.
In the wilderness, an abandoned pharmaceutical factory.
Before the apocalypse, this was an obscure pharmaceutical company. After the apocalypse, it seemed that the staff had long evacuated, leaving only some abandoned equipment. The factory was already overgrown with weeds.
However, no one knew that beneath this pharmaceutical factory lay an even larger space.
This was the real pharmaceutical factory that had been involving in human body research even before the apocalypse.
A man wearing round glasses, bald, and slightly plump, was staring excitedly at the screen before him.
a young male survivor, who seemed to have fainted, lay completely naked, strapped to a frame. Next to him, a man in a white coat was injecting a tube of red liquid into the survivor's body.
After completing this task, the man in the white coat hurried away.
Dr. Zheng continued to stare intently at the screen.
Soon, the young man's body began to change after being injected with the potion.
His eyes suddenly snapped open, bloodshot, and he uttered a painful howl.
Certain parts of his body gradually bulged, veins protruding, blood vessels grotesque, and with a loud pop, these swollen parts burst open. This was just the beginning; the young survivor continued screaming and struggling until his body eventually slumped down, lifeless.
"Another failure, tsk tsk."
Dr. Zheng sighed, yet his face showed no sign of disappointment.
As he was merely a substandard subject, the young man, as an experimental material, did not meet his expectations. His death, though anticipated, would still provide some experimental data, making it worthwhile.
He looked to his assistant, "How many more experimental subjects do we have?"
The assistant thought for a moment, "There are a total of 135 survivors left, among them thirteen Awakeners, only two of which have Second-tier Awakening power."
"Too few, still too few, especially the Awakeners, only they are truly suitable materials."
Dr. Zheng recorded data while speaking, "Push them a bit, tell Boss Lin to bring more experimental subjects soon. I have a feeling that this project will soon be successful. Then, I'll be able to create the perfect experimental subject."
Lord's castle, bedroom.
Lord Tang, already the object of many's attention, lay in his bathtub, soaking in diluted Body Tempering Liquid, a look of satisfaction on his face.
The tempering process wasn't as painfully unbearable as he had imagined; rather, his body felt warm, almost like... enjoying a massage.
This upgrade experience was absolutely delightful.
After soaking for half an hour, clenched in a fist, Tang Yu could feel a definite increase in his strength.
"It seems that soaking once or twice a day for a few days should be able to unearth most of my body's potential. Then, I can try to break through from Awakening to Sixth Layer Awakening and begin Body-shaping."
Of course, whether he could successfully break through was another matter.
Tang Yu looked at the bathtub, where most of the Body Tempering Liquid had been absorbed and its color had faded, lost in thought.
Normally, the Body Tempering Liquid is best suited for Awakeners from First to Fifth Tier, able to enhance physical qualities to the greatest extent, but even after breaking through to Sixth Layer, using Body Tempering Liquid still has its effects.
But conversely, can ordinary people, who haven't Awakened, absorb Body Tempering Liquid?
And if one were to unearth the physical potential of an ordinary person, what would be the outcome?
Tang Yu felt he was recently showing tendencies of evolving towards a scientific researcher.