Nanfeng Manor kept expanding; every day plenty of vehicles came and went.
That drew some people's attention.
On the road leading to Nanfeng Manor, a small car pulled over.
The doors opened and two fashionably dressed young men stepped out.
The short-haired youth in black spoke first. "Navigation says Nanfeng Manor is just ahead. Are we really going in with just the two of us? What if something goes wrong?"
The young man beside him, dressed in red, wore a confident grin. "Relax, I came fully prepared. My phone's set to alert the Inspectors with one tap. As long as we film evidence of human drug trials inside, we'll hit the national trending list again and make a fortune."
A few days earlier they'd heard by chance that a manor once used for drug trials had reopened; vehicles entered and left daily, security was tight.
As rookie reporters, they smelled a chance to trend and drove here overnight.
"Let's go." The red-clad youth slung a camera over his chest and started filming with his phone.
Seeing that, the youth in black could only follow.
What they didn't know was that, in the woods beside the road, a camera was pointed at their backs.
The two headed straight into the forest. After several kilometres the black-clad youth spoke. "Chen Chuan, are we there yet? This place is rough going."
Chen Chuan rolled his eyes. "Come on, man, we parked seven or eight kilometres away; it's the only way to avoid those patrols."
Rustle-rustle! As the pair pressed on, a black-clad Bodyguard wearing an earpiece approached from ahead.
He looked at them without courtesy. "What are you doing? This is private property—turn back now!"
Chen Chuan gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, bro, we're just tourists. We didn't know it's off-limits; we'll leave right away."
With that he led the black-clad youth back the way they'd come.
Once the Bodyguard could no longer see them, the two set off in another direction.
Chen Chuan looked excited. "Bodyguards before we even get close? Security's almost military-grade—something shady's definitely going on in there."
The youth in black sounded uncertain. "Can we even get close? What if we run into more Bodyguards?"
"So what if we do? It's a peaceful society—what can they do to us?" Chen Chuan sneered and strode on, the other youth following.
On a nearby tree, a green-painted camera watched them.
Not far away, a cleared area served as quarters and training ground for the Bodyguards.
Inside one of the prefab huts, Wei Gaocheng and several Bodyguards monitored Chen Chuan and his companion on screen.
A scar-faced man chuckled coldly. "Looks like two more clueless fools sniffing around the manor's secrets."
Wei Gaocheng smiled faintly at the monitor. "Perfect volunteers. Take a few men and escort them to the lab."
"Yes, sir!" The Bodyguards behind him glanced at the screen with pity.
Death would be a mercy; alive, the two faced horrific experiments.
In the woods, Chen Chuan and his friend spotted the manor's perimeter fence and beamed. "We're finally here!"
Dodging patrols and detouring through the forest had taken two hours before they reached this unguarded spot.
"Indeed you've arrived." A mocking voice sounded behind them.
Swish-swish! Before they could turn, two darts hissed through the air and struck them with sedative.
"Wh-what…" Chen Chuan reached for the dart, but in seconds his vision blacked out and he collapsed.
The black-clad youth fell beside him.
Several black-clad Bodyguards emerged, stripped the pair of all electronics, and carried them toward the manor.
Such incidents were mere daily routine… Three days after the human experiment, Jiang Yan was summoned again by Dong Guangjie to the first floor of the lab.
Han Qi, Li Yong, An Conghao and Wei Gaocheng had all been called together.
Tyrant stood behind Jiang Yan, head swivelling restlessly.
Inside the lab, heavy dark circles ringed Dong Guangjie's eyes as he gripped a black injector.
He looked at Jiang Yan, voice trembling with excitement. "President, it's done—finally done! The third version of the enhancement serum—safe for our own people!"
On both sides of the floor stood a dozen new glass cylinders filled with formalin, each holding a grotesquely deformed monster corpse.
Jiang Yan's eyes sharpened. "Tell us what you've achieved after all these days."
Beside him, An Conghao's face lit up; he stared at the injector in Dong Guangjie's hand. "Is this the key to becoming an Awakened One?"
Han Qi, Wei Gaocheng and Li Yong shared the same eager look; though Li Yong was already an Awakened One, a one-second future boost was far too limited—anyone stronger could kill him before he could react.
They could wipe him out in an instant.
Dong Guangjie composed himself. "After all my trials—thanks to over fifty volunteers—I've more or less mapped out the pros and cons of this thing."
"First, the advantages: once injected, a person undergoes a random, unpredictable mutation. At first I thought it was uncontrollable—until I let the Protozoan absorb energy from a buddha crystal."
"When the serum fused with buddha crystal energy, the subject's original strengths were amplified and mutated after injection. Strength increases relative to prior levels. Most ordinary people reach Level Two Awakened; if they trained hard and were elite to begin with, a small chance exists to hit Level Three!"
The more he spoke, the wilder his excitement, spittle flying.
Jiang Yan and the others listened in silence.
Han Qi asked curiously, "Which parts get strengthened?"
"For instance, a good runner's legs mutate for greater endurance; a big eater's mouth and stomach are likely to change," Dong Guangjie explained.
"And the downside?" Jiang Yan interjected.
Dong Guangjie pointed at the glass cylinders. "After mutation they regain a partial human appearance, but monstrous traits remain obvious and permanent."
At those words everyone's eyes flickered; it amounted to losing one's humanity—yet in exchange came tremendous power.
Jiang Yan stepped forward, took the injector from Dong Guangjie and turned to An Conghao and the rest. "Who's first? One jab and you'll gain power to rival—or surpass—Awakened Ones!"
The instant the words left his mouth, Han Qi strode forward without hesitation, eyes blazing with hunger for strength. "President, let me do it!"