Chapter 25: The Key Figure

After moving into the apartment, Damin, Xiaofeng, and Brother Long continued to assist the research center with their experimental tasks while also working jobs assigned by the underground city. Of course, they hadn’t forgotten their own mission: gathering information on the Dark Organization and searching for their missing comrades.

Several projects under the Angel Program had evolved from the first generation of modified humans, resulting in highly advanced mechanical limbs. Unless in special cases—such as war injuries—these were no longer applied, nor was further experimentation needed. Only derivative projects, like mechanical armor and exoskeletons, were approved for continued development. The last arranged competition was actually a practical test for exoskeletons. As outstanding contributors and victors, they received an exemption pass.

The second part of the Angel Program, dealing with reproductive medicine and designer babies, was of utmost importance to the organization, as it directly affected its future. For Damin, Xiaofeng, and Brother Long, their role was limited to periodically providing samples. However, the organization sought to broaden the donor pool, meaning it wished to avoid generating too many babies with close blood ties. Small groups formed through kinship might threaten the organization’s security. Thus, they only needed to wait for a derivative project of cloning technology—organ transplantation—though the time was not yet ripe, and they might not even be needed.

As for the fourth part, biological weapons—large beasts—these had nothing to do with them, and the underground city under Mount Desolation didn’t conduct such research. Bacterial and viral weapons were still being developed, but those used test subjects discarded from previous experiments, or were directly deployed to battlefields, so their involvement was unnecessary.

Their current participation was required in the third part of the Angel Program: pharmacological experiments. Simply put, they were human test subjects. Drug testing was extremely dangerous; even now, scientists would begin by testing on primates, humanity’s closest relatives, with human clinical trials as the final step, usually only when safety was relatively assured. Of course, the drugs under study by the organization were prohibited substances, carrying significant risk, though seldom fatal. In other words, the Falcon Squad’s current experimental tasks were already rather light.

Naturally, the underground city wouldn’t support idlers for free, especially robust young men like Damin, Xiaofeng, and Brother Long, who were required to work for the city—essentially compulsory labor.

Moreover, as individuals with unclear backgrounds, especially those considered suspicious by peripheral scouts, they were constantly monitored and assigned jobs far from the organization’s core.

For example, they were tasked with moving experimental waste, mostly corpses, as well as other refuse, though everything was processed immediately and rarely carried useful information such as labels.

Or, they performed heavy labor in the armory, producing weapons or mechanical limb parts, and components for mechanical exoskeletons. They were never allowed near the final assembly, which was handled exclusively by core personnel.

Another task was watching machines—a simple but tedious job, requiring neither strength nor intelligence. Even if a machine broke down, they merely reported it, and specialists would handle repairs.

As for direct access to experimental content, that was nearly impossible. Zhao Nana, despite serving as a temporary researcher for a considerable time, never acquired core information; her duties were limited to administering injections, carrying out experiments, and recording data. Could one deduce internal secrets by tracking data? Such thoughts were wishful—the higher-ups were vigilant, and basic research positions were rotated weekly.

There was no progress on their mission; they hadn’t even heard anything about their comrades’ whereabouts. Recently, they hadn’t noticed any anomalies, not even news of Ping’an’s fate.

Indeed, the underground city intentionally disrupted previous social connections. Friends arriving together rarely met during the newcomer phase, and if separated, chances of meeting were slim—unless someone was close to the end. Falcon Squad was now facing this reality.

One morning, as they were about to work as required, a staff member came to escort them, saying they were to meet someone. Following the worker through winding corridors, they arrived at the intensive care unit. A sense of foreboding welled up within them. Sure enough, Ping’an lay quietly in the ICU.

The three hurriedly changed into hospital attire and entered the ward, where Zhao Nana was already present. She had just finished a night shift and was about to head home when she received news of Ping’an’s critical condition. He had no real relatives here, only these few counted as friends. The city administration had summoned them to say their farewells.

“How is it, Nana? What’s Ping’an’s situation?” Damin asked anxiously upon entering.

Zhao Nana shook her head.

“Not sure? Or is he not going to make it?” Anyone with eyes could sense the truth, but Damin and the others refused to accept it.

They remembered their first encounter at the docks, when Brother Long had lifted Ping’an with one hand. They’d thought Brother Long had brought a beautiful woman and teased him for never forgetting about women wherever he went. Who would have guessed it was a cross-dresser, standing at 185 centimeters tall—such remarkable physical attributes wasted.

Afterward, the timid Ping’an followed them everywhere. They went from despising him to respecting him, to being aided by him in infiltrating the underground city, then accompanying him through surgery. Until he chose to start anew as a man, fighting alongside them. Who could have imagined that after a few months’ absence, this burly man would be so frail?

Their hearts were heavy, and no one wished to speak. In this place, death was a daily occurrence—was it finally their turn?

A doctor entered for routine rounds and, seeing several young people at Ping’an’s bedside, understood immediately.

“You’re here to prepare his final arrangements, aren’t you?” the doctor asked.

“Is there really no hope?” Zhao Nana countered.

The doctor glanced at the clothes Zhao Nana wore. “The chances are slim. His heart is severely damaged, he needs an organ transplant, but this isn’t the outside world—there are no organs available here. You’re a doctor yourself; I needn’t explain further.”

It wasn’t that the doctor was cold-hearted—Zhao Nana had already reviewed the case. After their separation that day, Ping’an’s condition had steadily deteriorated. If the researchers hadn’t needed to monitor experimental data, he would have been denied treatment long ago. From any angle, his survival until now was a miracle.

“I remember there are therapeutic cloning experiments underway here—can’t we at least try?” Zhao Nana pleaded.

“Yes, is there really no hope?” Brother Long, thinking of the person he’d so often teased just months before, felt a bitter ache at the prospect of imminent farewell.

“The cost is too high! The administrative center won’t waste so many resources for an insignificant person. Sorry!” The doctor, compassionate at heart, found it hard to utter such truths, for emotion was a rare commodity here.

“What do you mean insignificant? In your eyes, are we nothing but test subjects? Fine—even if we are, we’re crucial. If you don’t save him, I can sabotage your ongoing experiments—your isolated male reproduction, same-sex reproduction, artificial reproduction—I can ruin them all! I mean what I say!” Zhao Nana spoke sincerely; she could do it, and it wouldn’t be difficult—just cut the power to the incubators.

Research in reproductive science was one of the underground city’s highest-level tasks, with rare breakthroughs. The doctor considered briefly. “Alright, I’ll relay your message to the higher-ups. All four of you have participated in top-level reproductive experiments; I think they’ll make an exception.”

With that, the doctor left. The Falcon Squad realized that therapeutic cloning was now a real possibility. All it needed was the attending physician’s word—Ping’an’s scientific value would suffice.

But the doctor’s remark that even the dying had participated in reproductive experiments left Zhang Xingmin puzzled, and he asked, “What did the doctor mean by that?”

“I think it means Ping’an can be saved! The question is whether he can hold out until then,” Nana replied.

“No, I mean—what is the top-level reproductive experiment?” Damin added.

“Yeah, did we ever take part in that?” Brother Long and Xiaofeng were also confused.

Zhao Nana, who had worked on that project for a while, suddenly thought of something. “Do you remember your sample numbers—a string of letters and digits? You should have worn them on your wrist at the time…”