Chapter 23: The Angel Project

After several days of recuperation, the four members of the Falcon Squad were formally summoned to undergo the modification program. As for Ping’an, he was transferred elsewhere for further transformation. This was one of the Dark Organization’s clever tactics: acquaintances were never kept together, lest they form alliances and pose a threat to the organization once their transformations were complete.

Of course, none of them were aware of this yet. At this moment, they were being led by the staff of the underground city to learn about the history of the cyborg program, in a setting somewhat reminiscent of a museum. According to the staff, the first exhibit was the prototype cyborg.

At the very front lay the corpse of a man in his thirties, missing both legs. He was the organization’s first cyborg. It was said that he had been a long-distance runner who lost both legs in a car accident. Following his doctor’s advice, he was fitted with prosthetics, but the surgery was unsuccessful.

Back then, Professor Wu was just an ordinary doctor. He approached the athlete and proposed a plan to install intelligent prosthetics. Unlike highly realistic prosthetics that closely mimicked human limbs, these intelligent prosthetics were distinctly mechanical, drawing on industrial robot technology. Although they were not as convincingly lifelike, they were far more practical.

Desperate to stand on his own again, the athlete accepted Professor Wu’s proposal. His remaining leg tissue was removed and replaced with mechanical legs identical to the latest robots. The surgery was a success—his running speed surpassed his former self, rivaling that of a small motorcycle.

But the good days didn’t last. About two months after the operation, the athlete found his neighbors could not accept the new him, calling him a half-human, half-machine monster behind his back. Under the weight of public opinion, he developed severe depression and ultimately took his own life at home.

This was the general fate of the first-generation cyborgs: mechanical and electronic devices replaced certain body parts, and most subjects were accident victims, with a few volunteers among healthy individuals. Their ends were tragic—some succumbed to depression, others to rejection reactions, and those who survived went into hiding. After the underground city was established, most migrated there to live.

Further on were the second-generation cyborgs—a failed experiment. A group of science zealots, dissatisfied with the simplicity of the first generation, sought to modify human genetic codes through genetic engineering, bestowing abilities such as cellular regeneration, much like an earthworm.

As experiments repeatedly failed, volunteers dwindled. In desperation, these fanatics struck a deal with certain criminal organizations, purchasing live human subjects for experimentation. When the truth came out, the official authorities banned the World Genetic Engineering Organization. Some members then went underground, secretly building experimental bases.

In the second-generation exhibit, the Falcon Squad saw a variety of bizarre human remains: embryos, disabled infants, adults missing organs, and even monstrous hybrids of man and beast.

Freed from official oversight, the organization soon began the third-generation cyborg project, internally known as the Angel Project. Unlike the previous attempts, this time they had a foundation of experience and, unburdened by law or ethics, enjoyed greater freedom and access to samples.

The Angel Project was divided into several parts: First, informatization of mechanical limbs and electronic organs, an upgrade of the initial plan, with a major improvement being flight-capable exoskeleton technology. Second, direct extraction and insertion of animal genes into human embryos, serving as genetic repair or enhancement. Third, pharmacological experiments to develop drugs that boost human functions and cellular activity—these are widely used now, their side effects unknown. The two vials injected into Dragon Brother, and the one administered to Ping’an during surgery, fell into this category. Fourth, the development of biological weapons.

The Falcon Squad was to participate in this third phase of modification. Gazing at the cases before them, a sense of unease grew in their hearts. They vividly remembered the abandoned laboratory beneath the Fuzhou City Civic Center, where three basement levels were filled with failed experiments—likely the transitional stage between the second and third generations.

Currently, the fourth phase of the plan had already begun. According to the staff, it was called the "Godmaking Project." The name suggested the creation of life itself, but the guides gave no details, leading them onward instead.

Past the Angel Project exhibit, the Falcon Squad arrived at the very end of the display—not to anything about the Godmaking Project, but to a chamber meant as a warning for traitors. It had to be admitted, what they saw here sent a chill through them.

Inside the warning chamber were bodies riddled with bullet holes, said to be escapees who had been gunned down. But these were not the worst; some had been electrocuted, others burned alive, still others died from flight systems failing and crashing to their deaths. One test subject modified with artificial lower limbs had his movement control system forcibly locked after his escape, and starved to death before his body was retrieved. In short, not one test subject who tried to flee had ever succeeded.

"Those two skeletons over there, were they also test subjects who tried to escape?" In the center of the chamber, two human skeletons stood out. Doctor Zhao Nana recognized them as complete male skeletons.

The staff glanced over, hesitated, and for a brief moment, a look of sorrow crossed his face before it disappeared. He quickly regained his composure and replied, "No. One was a traitor to the organization, the other an infiltrator from the authorities, discovered just last month. The Grand Elder ordered them displayed here."

Hearing this, the members of Falcon Squad secretly saluted their fallen predecessors—or perhaps, their companions—in their hearts.

The tour over, the group left the “museum” and were taken to meet Professor Wu.

“Well, children, what do you think? Now that you’ve learned about our Godmaking Project, aren’t you just a bit excited?” Professor Wu now appeared every bit the image of a sorcerer conjuring his grand magic.

“Not at all!” The Falcon Squad was far from convinced.

“Isn’t this underground city a marvel? Here, people can fly and run freely without the afflictions of disease found above. In the future, we may even achieve immortality! I can hardly wait for that day myself!” Wu seemed half-persuading them, half-speaking to himself.

“I won’t deny the underground city is impressive. But compared to these so-called ‘transformed humans’—if you can still call them human—I’m far more interested in the intelligent architecture and the Internet of Things system you have here,” Lin Xiaofeng shrugged.

“Utter foolishness! Rotten wood cannot be carved! What joy is there in building lifeless things? True fulfillment for human civilization lies in creating life itself, like God!” Wu snapped.

“You’re violating the laws of nature!” Zhang Xingmin declared, convinced Wu was utterly mad.

“Life is inherently about evolution. All we’ve done is accelerate the process! Life is but a string of codes, waiting to be deciphered. With today’s genetic engineering, we have the power to do so. But you conservatives won’t take the next step! Frogs in a well cannot discuss the sea, nor summer insects the ice!” Wu looked at them with undisguised disdain.

Dragon Brother, whose education was limited, was utterly lost in this sea of technical jargon. He cared nothing for such high technology and understood even less. All he knew was that Professor Wu, for his so-called grand ideals, had sacrificed far too many lives. He could not let this continue.

Noticing Yang Yichen clenching his fists, Wu glanced at him and said, “Young man, I advise you not to act rashly. The power you possess—I gave it to you. Naturally, I can take it back.”

At that, a crowd closed in and restrained them one by one. Wu added, “Whether you’re willing or not, the moment you set foot in this underground city, your life ceased to be your own. Others stronger than you have come before—yet they all submitted in the end.”

With that, Wu tossed over his parting words—“Separate and detain them, await further instructions”—and departed.