Chapter 268 - 267: They Are Experimental Subjects, But They Are Also Human

Chapter 268: Chapter 267: They Are Experimental Subjects, But They Are Also Human

DING.

The door to the experimental pod opened. An assistant in a hazmat suit walked in, pushing a small cart. On it was a large starfish-shaped pillow, along with fruit and snacks bearing quarantine stickers.

"These are from your sponsor. They’ve already been quarantined." The assistant’s voice was low as he pushed the items to me through the disinfection hatch.

The large starfish pillow was a bit of a tight squeeze.

I stared at the starfish pillow in surprise for a moment before quickly hugging it. It was soft and smelled like sunshine. On the tag, there was a star symbol.

It was Asher!

I felt a surge of excitement and turned to look at the camera.

No wonder the CEO of Astraeus Group had suddenly sponsored me, a mere test subject, and spent a fortune to do so... Asher must have reached an agreement with him.

Did he finally trade his shares in the Lancaster Group for the right to meet and negotiate with the CEO of Astraeus Group?

I was happy for Asher, and at the same time, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Asher would never abandon me... He absolutely wouldn’t.

Hugging the starfish pillow, I sat on the floor and ate some fruit.

The other test subjects had probably never received such treatment. They all stared at me with longing eyes.

I ate a grape. It was quite sweet.

Looking up at the surveillance camera, I was lost in thought for a long time, my fingers tapping lightly on my knee.

I was asking the person on the other end, ’Are you Asher?’

’Has Asher met the CEO of Metropolis Group yet?’

The camera moved, tilting up and down as if nodding.

I was thrilled, but I couldn’t let it show. I lowered my head and ate another grape.

’It really is Asher! Everything Nathan Lawson said was a lie. There’s no way Asher would sleep with someone else...’

But even as I tried to comfort myself with that thought, my heart still felt unsettled.

The pull of genetics can sometimes be a collision of primal desires, difficult to control.

THUMP THUMP THUMP! In the pod next to mine, a pregnant test subject who looked ready to give birth was pounding heavily on the door. Her body suddenly convulsed with pain, and she staggered. A clear fluid gushed out from between her legs.

Her water broke...

She was going into labor.

I jumped to my feet and frantically banged on my pod door. ’Where is everyone?’ "Is anyone there?! She’s going into labor!"

Damn it, the woman was about to give birth, and no one was coming to help her.

The surveillance equipment in here was state-of-the-art; there was no way they couldn’t see what was happening. But the lab staff didn’t see the test subjects as human at all!

After all, these test subjects had never been officially registered. They weren’t protected by the law. No one knew they existed. From birth, they were beings who could be erased and disposed of at any moment.

"Is anyone there?!" I was furious now, slamming my hands against the door. The rage was making me lose control.

The one giving birth was Number 57. After her water broke, she started bleeding from her lower body.

If they didn’t deliver the baby soon or switch to a C-section, both mother and child would die.

"You bastards!" I kicked the door hard, glaring furiously at the camera outside my pod. ’Someone is definitely watching! But they don’t see us as people at all.’

I lost control and pounded on the door, splitting the skin on the back of my hand and leaving bloody streaks on the surface.

Perhaps sensing my fury, the test subjects in the other pods also began to slam their fists against their doors.

BANG! Gradually, the male test subjects’ actions grew more and more frantic.

The tremendous racket startled me, and I turned to look at the three male test subjects.

They were hammering on their doors, and though they didn’t communicate verbally, they coordinated their actions with perfect unspoken understanding. This was the result of growing up in experimental pods, never having been socialized.

No, the organization didn’t see them as people.

The sound of them striking the doors grew louder. Their strength seemed immense; they were hitting the transparent pods so hard that the structures began to shake.

The main door to the lab area swung open, and staff members entered with mercenaries. They looked as if this were routine. ℴℴ𝗺

"Save her! Save her, she’s in labor!" I banged on my door, trying to get the staff to help Number 57. But they acted as if they couldn’t hear me. They merely glanced at Number 57 before turning and walking over to the male test subjects’ pods.

"Ever since test subject Number 77 arrived, the frenzy frequency of these male subjects has increased," a staff member said while taking notes. "Release a 50% concentration of nitrous oxide to calm them down."

The staff member began operating a control panel. However, one of the test subjects had damaged it while pounding on his door, causing a short circuit, which the staff failed to notice.

I furiously slammed against my door to draw the staff’s attention, but my strength was limited, and they paid me no mind. "Bastards! Save her!"

Number 57’s life force was fading. A large pool of blood had formed beneath her. She was trying to save herself, to deliver the baby on her own.

’She wants her child to live. That’s what it is to be a mother...’

Even though she grew up in a lab and knew nothing of the world, she wanted her child to live.

Her breathing grew more and more rapid. She looked at me, her eyes red from crying.

She desperately pushed on her own stomach, trying to bring the child into the world safely, but it seemed to be an obstructed labor. The bleeding was getting worse.

"Save her..." My throat felt raw as I begged them to save Number 57.

The staff ignored Number 57’s plight. Seeing the three male test subjects collapse to the floor, they opened the pod doors.

A mercenary started to go inside to administer an injection, but one of the test subjects, suddenly awake, snapped his neck.

Their strength was truly immense.

"Save her..." I watched nervously as the three test subjects walked out of their pods.

The one in the lead was Number 63. He glanced at me, then strode over to Number 57’s pod and opened the door.

He went inside and crouched down beside Number 57, taking a look.

Number 57 seemed to have anticipated the outcome. She reached out and took the combat knife from Number 63’s hand—it had belonged to the mercenary.

She looked at Number 63, took a deep breath, and with a trembling hand... sliced open her own belly.

I instinctively looked away. I couldn’t bear to watch...

’There’s no way Number 57 can survive that.’

My body trembled slightly. I leaned against the door for support, retreating into the corner.

’What kind of hell is this place? How many other test subjects died here before I arrived...?’

This was a place beyond the reach of the law, because no one even knew it existed.

These lab workers were like devils whose malice was infinitely amplified in the darkness, crushing people underfoot, treating them like lab rats, like cats and dogs...

"WAAAH!" The cry of a baby made my back go rigid. I pressed myself against the wall, not daring to turn around.

It wasn’t that I was scared. I just couldn’t bear to look.

The baby only cried once, then fell silent. There must have been something wrong with it. The staff probably discovered a problem during prenatal checks; otherwise, they wouldn’t have just left them to their fate.

After all, the child in her womb was also a product of their experiments.

Number 63 walked over to my pod door, holding the baby. ℯ

I watched him warily, and he watched me.

His eyes were pure yet cold, his expression unreadable, as if he had no emotions at all.

He made a gesture in sign language to me, then turned and left.

I stared in shock after Number 63. His sign language had meant: *We’ll wait for you outside. Stay alive.*

I stood there, stunned, for a long time. ’Do these test subjects know me? Did Silvia Lynch come to this lab before? Or do they recognize me as Cecilia Caldwell? Did Cecilia Caldwell come here?’

But I had no memories of this lab at all.

Alarms blared as a large number of mercenaries flooded in from outside.

I didn’t know if the three of them and a newborn with a congenital disease could escape. All I could do was silently worry for them.

BZZT.

I glanced back. The camera was shaking from side to side, as if telling me not to try and escape with them. That it was impossible...

It seemed their fate had been sealed the moment they were born in this lab.

There was no escape. Even if they made it out of the lab, it would still be a dead end...