Chapter 293 - 292: I Can’t Believe I Became a Mom Without Any Pain...

Chapter 293: Chapter 292: I Can’t Believe I Became a Mom Without Any Pain...

I knew The Genetics Organization was always conducting genetic experiments, so the combination of my and Asher’s genes was a top priority.

But this lab, of all places, was on this cruise ship.

This cruise ship was constantly sailing between countries in international waters, and somehow, it had never been discovered...

The door to the experiment bay suddenly closed, and the room fell silent.

The boy ran over and reopened the door with a passcode.

"How did you know the passcode?" Felix asked, curious.

"We heard it," the boy answered with an air of innocence.

Felix’s jaw dropped. "Heard it?"

"They enter the passcode when they leave. I can hear the timing and approximate location of the keypresses. It only took a few tries to figure it out." The boy’s explanation was exceptionally clear.

"How old are you..." I asked, my voice tense.

"Four and a half. Almost five." The boy rushed over to hug me. "Mom... My sister and I beat everyone else. Does that mean we’ll be your and Dad’s favorite kids?"

’He seemed to be testing me.’

’He was probing, trying to find out if we truly liked him.’

’Growing up in an environment like this, constantly monitored and treated like test data, they must be desperately starved for affection.’

’But their genes... drew them to me and Asher.’

’They craved our approval and love.’

"Of course we do..." I murmured, though every nerve in my body was stretched taut.

’These two children were anything but ordinary.’

"What’s your name?" I asked.

"I’m Adrian Lancaster, and my sister is Stella Caldwell," the boy said softly. "They told us our grandmother chose these names for us."

Tears welled in my eyes. In that moment, I thought I finally understood... my mother’s original reason for starting this experiment.

I remembered... my mother often crying late at night.

She used to say that Cece was destined for an incomplete life... that the odds of her and Sebastian having a healthy child were incredibly low.

With odds that low, it would be nearly impossible to have a healthy child naturally.

So, she must have wanted to ensure Cecilia and Sebastian Lancaster wouldn’t have any regrets.

My heart began to beat in a strange rhythm. I was holding the little boy, my arms feeling numb, yet I felt my own pulse being drawn toward them.

’Was the force that drew me down here really just genetics?’

’Perhaps, in that moment, I was beginning to understand the bond of family...’

’When I lost my own parents, I had already learned what that bond meant.’

’But now, seeing these two little ones who shared my genes and Asher’s, that feeling was starting to take a tangible form...’

My body slowly began to relax. I lifted my arms and hugged the small child in my embrace tightly.

’Five years old...’

’They were only five.’

’Carrying the bloodline of me and Asher...’

Listening to Adrian Lancaster’s heartbeat, it felt as if it had formed a strange, symbiotic rhythm with my own.

’Maybe they hadn’t come from my own womb, but the feeling was still so surreal.’

Sensing my body relax, Adrian raised his little arms and hugged me back tightly. "Mom, you can’t... abandon us now, okay?"

His voice was soft and childish, but his words carried a strange, oppressive weight.

’I felt like this little boy was threatening me and Asher.’

’Now that you’ve found us and are taking us with you, you can’t just throw us away.’

I took a deep breath and looked over at Asher. He had a dazed look on his face, as if he still hadn’t processed the shock of his instant fatherhood.

Felix was handling it better than Asher—but then, they weren’t his kids.

Felix gestured toward Adrian. "He’s a bit tall for five, isn’t he?"

At five, Adrian was indeed more developed than other children his age in every respect.

"We can’t stay here. Let’s go," I said, getting up. I took Adrian’s hand and led him out the door.

Gigi stood in the hallway, looking down the long row of doors.

Each door had a passcode lock. A different world likely lay behind each one.

"Do you want to go in, Mom?" Adrian asked.

"You know all the passcodes?" I asked, surprised.

Adrian entered a passcode and looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for praise.

I walked over, ruffled his hair, and said in a firm, reassuring voice, "Adrian, you’re amazing."

"Mommy, Stella knows the passcodes too! I know everything my brother knows," Stella Caldwell chirped from Asher’s arms.

I reached out and took Stella into my own arms, exchanging a look with Asher. ’What are we going to do with these two?’

’Just accept it?’

"Painless motherhood. It’s not so bad," Asher said, looking at me seriously. "After the miscarriage last time... I got scared."

’Last time, when I couldn’t carry the baby to term, he was scared. Truly terrified.’

"But..." I took a deep breath.

"If you want to try for another one, I’m ready to work hard," Asher said, looking at me earnestly.

I was speechless. ’I could have killed him. Isn’t he scared at all? Why am I the one who’s terrified of two five-year-olds?’

The door beeped open. I walked inside, holding Stella. The room was nearly identical to theirs, with photos of children hanging on the walls and displayed on a desk.

"They’re all dead. Disposed of. Probably thrown straight into the sea," Adrian said calmly.

He was so young, yet he spoke as if this were a common sight.

"Did those bastards make you... kill each other?" I asked, my voice trembling.

Adrian shook his head. "Survival of the fittest. The law of nature."

’The experimenters used a system of survival of the fittest. A series of games and tests where the winner lived and the loser died.’

’Out here on the open ocean, the endless sea could swallow any evidence.’

"Hey, listen," Gigi said, stopping in front of one of the doors. "There’s something moving in this room."

I walked over, still holding Stella.

"You can’t open that door," Adrian said softly. "They keep a lot of... unruly big dogs in there. They’re for research. Bio-weapons for war zones."

’Adrian seemed to know everything. He was like a walking Google for this lab.’

’I stared at Adrian in astonishment. The Genetics Organization’s business was certainly diverse. If it was monstrous and violated every law of nature and man, they’d do it for a profit.’

’Weren’t they afraid of karma? Of divine retribution?’

There was a viewing port on the door. Driven by curiosity, Lucas Grant slid it open to peek inside.

THUMP! A thick, putrid stench instantly assaulted them as a black shadow slammed against the viewing port.

Lucas Grant screamed and stumbled back, nearly falling before Felix grabbed him by the collar. "Wasn’t it you who said curiosity killed the cat, but you’d never be stupid enough to be that cat?"

Lucas’s face was white with lingering fear. He looked at Asher and me in horror. "What... what the hell is in there? We can’t let those things get out. If they do, we’re all dead."

Lucas’s words were a sudden wake-up call.

’The people from The Genetics Organization obviously know what’s in there.’

’The Resistance has control of the entire cruise ship. But what if the people from The Genetics Organization decide to go down fighting and release these things... We’d all die here.’

"Should we destroy them?" I whispered.

"But Mommy, the big doggies are cute," Stella murmured.

Lucas’s mouth twitched. ’Cute? Did she just call that thing cute?’

"Let’s get out of this bay and seal the entrance," Asher said, leading us away. Just as we were on the ladder leading out, I saw a black shadow flit through the bay below.

My heart leaped into my throat.

"There’s someone else on this level," I said, staring toward the far end of the corridor, where the lights flickered erratically.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. A door slid open. A low whimper echoed out, and a massive, fierce-looking black dog stepped into the hallway, its eyes fixed on us.

Its coat was sleek and glossy, but its eyes radiated pure aggression and killing intent.

I gasped. "Run!" Realization hit, and I scrambled up the ladder as fast as I could.

In moments, a flood of black dogs poured out, lining up behind the first one.

They were a dark, crushing mass, all of them watching us.

Then, in an instant, they charged.

At the last second, Felix shoved Lucas Grant up the ladder.

"Go!"