Chapter 198: Black Wizard and the D02 Virus

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Black Wizard and the D02 Virus

When General Nick received the news that the poisoned animals in the protection zone had transformed into Fierce Beasts after taking the Antidote, catching Huo An and his team completely off guard, he was absolutely thrilled.

"Haha! I never expected Huo An would see a day like this!"

The Tianyao Star Protection Zone had always been a primary target for the Rebel Army. As the zone’s director, Huo An was naturally a thorn in their side.

Combined with multiple past failures, Nick, who had constantly been humiliated by them, had long been nursing a grudge. Now that he could finally make trouble for Huo An, he was naturally delighted.

"So this is the surprise the Black Wizard was talking about."

Although Nick looked down on people like the Black Wizard, he was extremely satisfied with the man’s actions this time.

"At first, when he went to such great lengths to have Xiong Yu disguise himself as an ordinary animal and poison the water, I thought it was completely unnecessary."

Just as Huo An and his team had suspected, Nick also felt that rather than going through so much trouble, it would have been much simpler to just dump lethal poison into the water and kill those animals outright. But now, he understood the twisted fun in it.

"Once the Fierce Beast virus is diluted by a large body of water, it can’t reach the concentration needed to trigger the mutation."

The survival conditions for the Fierce Beast virus were actually quite strict. Otherwise, the Rebel Army could have simply sneaked poison into the water sources of various planets; there would always be animals drinking it and turning into Fierce Beasts. By then, the sudden appearance of massive numbers of Fierce Beasts in every corner of those planets would be enough to cause widespread panic.

Unfortunately, dumping the Fierce Beast virus into a water source was nothing but a waste. It was fundamentally impossible to achieve such an ideal scenario.

"But with the Black Wizard’s setup, he made Huo An and his people turn the animals into Fierce Beasts with their own hands! Interesting. This is simply too interesting!"

General Nick curled his lips in satisfaction. Sitting in his executive chair, he kicked his feet up unceremoniously onto the desk, his entire posture radiating relaxation.

"The Antidote has become the death warrant that accelerates the animals’ mutation into Fierce Beasts. I’d like to see what Huo An does this time!"

With such a catastrophic mistake, the Federation might just strip him of his position as the zone director. When that happened, the Rebel Army could seize the opportunity to plant their own people and infiltrate the protection zone once again.

"The Black Wizard has already begun his research on the Spirit Deer Beastman. He hopes to get more Beastmen as research samples. You all need to hurry up," Nick ordered his subordinates.

Although Nick had no idea what tricks the Black Wizard was playing this time, seeing how well this operation turned out, he didn’t mind lending the man a hand. Besides, their leader had always been highly supportive of the Black Wizard’s research, so Nick couldn’t really afford to burn bridges with him.

At the very least, for now, they were still allies—two locusts tied to the same string, sharing the same fate.

"A Spirit Deer Beastman, a Dark Night Wolf King..."

Nick was genuinely curious about what kind of new toys the Black Wizard would concoct.

"Right, what about that Law Enforcer we captured earlier? How is he doing?"

During the time Huo An and Liang He teamed up to catch the mole, the Rebel Army member making the exchange had been tailed by a dispatched Law Enforcer, who was subsequently captured by Valken instead. Later, prompted by Elias, Valken had used this as a catalyst to launch an attack. That event also marked the beginning of Valken being forced to abandon his stronghold and reduced to a marginal figure within the ranks.

"That kid is just an ordinary Law Enforcer," a subordinate replied. "He really doesn’t know any classified information. He’s practically been tortured to death."

They had originally hoped to extract some useful intel from the Law Enforcer, but after so much time had passed, they had gained absolutely nothing. The Rebel Army members in charge of the interrogation had long since run out of patience and simply started using the man as a punching bag.

"In that case, toss him to the Black Wizard. Doesn’t he need all sorts of experimental subjects? He’ll find some use for him. If he’s truly useless, throw him into the transplant bank."

The Rebel Army’s transplant bank dealt exclusively in the illegal organ trade, which was one of their most significant sources of revenue.

"Understood."

***

Meanwhile, Kerry, completely unaware of what his missing teammate was currently enduring, was still fighting desperately against the Fierce Beasts.

Fortunately, the methods Liang He had taught them were indeed effective. The majority of the Fierce Beasts had been brought down and incapacitated, unable to continue fighting.

"Kerry, watch out!"

Hoder struck a Fierce Beast that had suddenly materialized behind Kerry. After confirming it had lost its mobility, he didn’t even have time to breathe a sigh of relief before he had to engage the other Fierce Beasts.

"Damn it, is this going to be endless?!"

There were at least two to three hundred animals that had been poisoned by the water source. Because the Antidote had been injected in batches, the onset times varied, giving Hoder and the others the illusion that an unending stream of Fierce Beasts was pouring in.

"Despicable! Those bastards!"

Kerry couldn’t wrap his head around it. It was supposed to be an Antidote! Why was it now either killing the animals instantly or mutating them into Fierce Beasts? Just what exactly went wrong?!

Equally desperate to uncover the cause, Liang He and Lan Zhuo were conducting experimental analyses in the medical room. They discovered that the most critical factor was a trace amount of toxin so minuscule it was easily overlooked.

"This toxin is very peculiar," Lan Zhuo said. "Even though it’s only a trace amount and seems inconspicuous, it plays a decisive role."

Lan Zhuo had never seen such a bizarre toxin before. He didn’t even understand the underlying principles behind it, which left him feeling extremely frustrated.

"It just means that it inherently ranks higher than the other toxins," Liang He explained. "Just like a general and his soldiers—one general is enough to command an entire army."

Liang He recalled the things Hello Poison and Chou the Pharmacist had once told her. This toxin that left Lan Zhuo completely stumped, one that not even the Animal Research Institute could analyze, might actually be connected to her past.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Liang He’s Light Brain suddenly chimed. She glanced at the name displayed on the screen and pursed her lips.

"Lan Zhuo, keep up with the research. I have something to take care of."

"Alright."

Leaving the medical room, Liang He headed straight for the restroom, effectively avoiding the surveillance cameras.

"Liang He."

Seeing the screen split into two as the figures of Chou the Pharmacist and Hello Poison appeared, Liang He felt her heart settle slightly.

Ever since discovering that the Animal Research Institute’s Antidote was accelerating the poisoned animals’ mutation into Fierce Beasts, Liang He had been in constant contact with Chou the Pharmacist. And when she learned from Xu Yi that the animals which had previously taken the toxin-suppressing pills formulated by Hello Poison did not mutate after receiving the Antidote, she proposed a three-way call.

Fortunately, even though the two men didn’t get along, they were both willing to give Liang He face, leading to a rare moment of peaceful coexistence.

"Hello Poison, Chou the Pharmacist, it’s been a long time. I’m sorry for the trouble," Liang He said.

"Why are you being so polite with me, Little Liang He? How is the situation on your end?"

Hello Poison was clearly very close to Liang He, speaking freely and casually. Even though they hadn’t contacted each other in so long, it didn’t affect their relationship in the slightest.

"The Director and the others are still subduing the Fierce Beasts," she explained. "My Veterinarian friend and I are currently researching the reason why the Antidote is causing the poisoned animals to mutate."

"Oh? Looks like Little Liang He has made quite a few new friends," Hello Poison teased with a smile, clearly pleased with Liang He’s positive changes.

"Regarding the relationship between the poisoning and the Antidote, Hello Poison and I have already studied it," Chou the Pharmacist interjected. "We’ve confirmed it’s a variant of the D02 virus."

Although Chou the Pharmacist didn’t greet Liang He as affectionately as Hello Poison did, the concern in his eyes was genuine. Moreover, he was clearly more steady and reliable, getting straight to the matter that Liang He cared about the most right now.

"D02? Are you... sure?" she asked.

It wasn’t that Liang He didn’t trust them; it was just that this conclusion caught her completely off guard.

"Yes, Liang He," Chou the Pharmacist said solemnly. "You should know exactly what this means."