Chapter 22: Farewell, Professor Wu

The imprisoned young members of the Falcon Squad soon found themselves joined by a “new friend” — Professor Wu, whom they had once met at the observatory.

Upon seeing that familiar face, the Falcon Squad youths felt neither the joy of reunion nor any sense of intimacy; instead, disgust welled up within them. They had once trusted him so deeply, never expecting him to be involved in this affair, and as a key player no less.

“Well, we meet again, youngsters! It hasn’t been long, but you’ve certainly accomplished a lot,” Professor Wu greeted them with the same affable demeanor he had displayed the very first time they met.

Of course, hearing his voice sent a chill through the Falcon Squad. They knew all too well that he wore the mask of a smiling tiger.

“Do you know him?” asked Ping’an, who was unfamiliar with Professor Wu, turning to the others.

“Yes. He’s the Professor Wu we met at the observatory! Who would have thought he was actually a member of the dark organization!” Zhao Nana explained.

“So this is that Professor Wu? He looks so kind and benevolent — no wonder you were fooled!” Brother Long was astonished; he had imagined someone with a shifty, duplicitous face, or at least the sly look of a petty criminal.

“What’s wrong? The two newcomers don’t seem very happy to see me! In fact, you two should be the most grateful to me. If it weren’t for the serums I developed, how else could you have such athletic physiques, such astonishing strength, such agility! Tsk, tsk.” Professor Wu shook his head as if genuinely regretful.

“So it was you behind all of this!” Ping’an, upon realizing that this was indeed Professor Wu — the mastermind who had altered the surgical plan — could barely contain his anger.

Professor Wu was hardly surprised by Ping’an’s reaction. In a patronizing tone, he said, “Young man, you especially ought to thank me! Our research team tailored a plan just for you. With your potential, it would be a waste not to be a man! Fortunately, through our monitoring, we discovered in time that you suffered from pseudo-gender identity disorder. Otherwise, who knows where you might be now, regretting your choices. Truly, a dog biting Lu Dongbin — unable to recognize a good man’s intentions.” His tone brimmed with pride as he spoke.

“You… You only treated me as a guinea pig!” Ping’an could not stand that lecturing tone; he had endured enough of it over the years, with aunts and uncles taking turns insisting that undergoing gender correction surgery was the gravest mistake.

Professor Wu paid his protest no heed and continued, “Think carefully. Did you truly want to be a woman? No! Deep down, you never despised being a man. Your resolve for surgery was weak — perhaps nonexistent!”

Ping’an had no retort. Did he really want to change his gender? Thinking back now, perhaps Professor Wu was right! He wasn’t like the “sisters” he’d met before; he didn’t reject the primal desires of a man.

“No! Even if you’re right, experimenting on human beings makes you a villain!” Ping’an clung to his conviction that Professor Wu was evil.

“Tsk, tsk, such a stubborn child — simply unreasonable. Now, this older one here is much more sensible.” Professor Wu turned to Yang Yichen.

“Old man? Who the hell are you calling old!” Brother Long bristled at being called old. He looked young enough, and after risking his life to be injected with the serum yesterday, he felt even younger and more handsome, his features subtly altered.

“There, there, another ingrate. Still, it’s true — the two injections you received yesterday do enhance cellular vitality. In other words, they actually slow down the aging of your body’s cells. Unfortunately, the side effects are so severe that no one dared try it before! You got lucky.”

Brother Long recalled the terror of the drug’s effects the previous day and broke out in a cold sweat. Professor Wu watched all this with keen interest, but his deep cunning prevented him from revealing it; if the youngsters realized he was invested in them, they might use it against him.

“Regret it now?” Professor Wu feigned disdain. “If you feel unwell, you’re always welcome to come find me! I’m at your service — for free! Not like those quacks outside who only care about money.”

As a doctor herself, Zhao Nana bristled at his slander against her profession and was about to retort, but Professor Wu gave her no chance.

“Not happy, pretty lady? Tsk, tsk. Since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll let it slide. If you’d like to join our project, you’re welcome anytime. Talented young people like you are always welcome!”

With that, Professor Wu left, abandoning the group of bewildered youths, uncertain what to do next.

In the days that followed, the Falcon Squad was kept under soft detention. They were fed and treated well, but not allowed to leave unless they agreed to join the plan.

Joining was nearly impossible, as side effects began manifesting in Brother Long and Ping’an. Brother Long, perhaps due to his strong constitution, experienced only mild issues — occasional pain in his limbs, which Zhao Nana guessed was from forced muscle and bone reconstruction. Some targeted training should resolve it.

Ping’an’s situation was far worse. Having long neglected exercise in favor of pursuing gender reassignment surgery, his strength and musculature were extremely poor for a man. Now, his body was bulging with muscle, but it was all drug-induced, fragile and unstable. Worse yet, after the recent fierce battle, his stamina was drained, and he was nearly comatose.

As the saying goes, “misfortunes never come singly.” Ping’an’s health deteriorated rapidly — from simple exhaustion to a high fever. As a doctor, Zhao Nana knew many illnesses could cause fever, some even life-threatening. As she feared, Ping’an wasn’t suffering from a mere cold and urgently needed examination. They couldn’t just watch him die.

“We need to see Professor Wu!” the Falcon Squad tried to get a message to the patrolling guards.

“There’s no Professor Wu here!” The guard spoke the truth — Professor Wu’s real name was unknown to them; they all called him the Grand Elder.

“We mean the man who came to see us that day!” Zhao Nana clarified.

“You mean the Grand Elder!” The guard sneered. “With your status, you think you can see the Grand Elder?”

He refused to relay their message.

“Damn it! I’ll fight them all!” Brother Long lost his temper and yanked with all his might at the titanium alloy bars of their cell.

Everything was clearly visible in the monitoring room. The suave young man in the white coat who had brought them in — Professor Wu’s assistant — had been watching for days, waiting for the test subjects to seek help. Now that the guards had played the bad cop, it was his turn to play the good one.

When the man in the white coat arrived, the Falcon Squad was still arguing with the guards, Brother Long still struggling with the bars, to no avail.

“Young people, don’t get so worked up! The new guards are inexperienced — forgive them!” The assistant remained as polished as ever.

“How can we get out of here?”

“The Grand Elder already told you: if you agree to join the plan, you’ll immediately receive VIP treatment!”

“That’s absolutely impossible!”

“Then you can stay right where you are!” With that, the assistant pretended to leave. Though it was a shame to lose these subjects, there could be no threats from them — test subjects were expendable.

“Wait! Don’t go! My friend is really dying! Aren’t you going to collect data?” Lin Xiaofeng quickly called him back.

“They’re just test subjects! We can always do another experiment! At most, it’s a waste of time,” the assistant replied with a strange smile, his back to them so they couldn’t see his expression.

“It’s not that we don’t want to comply, but there are bugs in your experiment.”

“If you can guarantee there are no side effects, we’ll accept your terms — for the sake of science.”

Seeing them take the bait, the assistant turned around, clapping as if to praise the Falcon Squad for their wisdom, then produced a contract for them to sign, promising their release afte