Arms and legs were hooked on the cold chair. Scary dark scaffold kept the head form moving. Two pieces of metal stretched out and kept the eyes from closing. There was a screen playing black/white moving waves, random triangles and circles all the time. Annoying noise was played all the time through the headphones.
Xiao was locked in the chair and forced to look at the screen.
"How long will it take?"
"12 hours"
"Watch him" Haila said and left.
Brainwashing began, Xiao felt very unpleasant. This brainwashing machine was very basic. The principle was to cause mental disorder by constantly disturbing hearing and seeing. After the mental defence of the subjects crashed, the happiness and greatness of the organisation and loyalty were constantly written in their mind. Because it was basic, it won't damage the brain. For Gramme, Xiao's brain was a valuable art piece.
Xiao had 4 free attributes now. Without hesitation, he put 2 points in intellect to make it 7.
[You are suffering brainwash (basic), intellect judgement.... intellect 7, |Elementary mental resistance| +3, judgement pass! You avoid this brainwash.]
After the notification, Xiao felt much better and the impact of images and sound was reduced to a minimum. Gramme had no idea Xiao had avoided this brainwashing.... After the last judgement, Xiao survived the 12 hours of suffering. His back was sore and his eyes were dry. Here came Haila, the leader demanded that she brainwash the first subject herself. No mistake allowed!
The locks were loosened, Xiao felt the numb feeling of his body, but he couldn't check. He maintained the poker face, looking at nothing but the front. Haila leaned closer suddenly, sexy fragrance wafted towards Xiao. However, he had no ill thoughts at the moment. Anything abnormal would put him in danger.
"Who are you?" Hypnotically tone from Haila.
After brainwashing, the organisation usually assigned a new identity to the subject. The best reaction to the unknown question was to be silent. Xiao kept his poker face and pretended that he didn't hear what Haila said.
I couldn't act Joker like Joaquin Phoenix, but poker face was no problem...
"Today, your name is Zero, 'The Sprout' is your home and country. It is the holy sanctuary that you devote yourself to. Everything you do must benefit the organisation and you must not hide anything from it. The meaning of your life is to serve the organisation even with your life!"
"Even if we cut your skull, you shall not resist!" Gramme added.
"Who are you?" Haila asked again to check if the brainwashing was successful.
Thought went through Xiao's head and he didn't answer immediately. Haila turned her face back to Gramme, sceptical, cold eyes were scary. "I followed the SOP... There shouldn't be any mistakes." Gramme argued with no confidence.
In the meantime, Xiao finally spoke, as slowly as he could. "I ... am ... Ze...ro" He sounded like a dumb.
"Warki solution improves Zero's learning ability. The price might be his communication skills. That part of the brain might be damaged," Gramme brought up an assumption.
Zero focused on the book and was numb to the environment. Haila believed this assumption. "The experiment is not perfect." She said.
"I don't think so, this is perfect! Deadpool doesn't need emotions," Gramme was excited.
"Take him for a rest, I will report to the leader."
I was safe! Xiao relieved. He had decided to act like a num when brainwashing finished. No one would pay attention to numb.
"Although the location I was put in was a disaster, time was not bad." He was awarded that at the beginning of Warki solution experiment. The loyalty chips had not been invented. He was able to hide his free thought with 10 intellect.
...
In the meantime, Haila was on an encrypted call, "The leader, Zero is stable."
"Brainwash finished?" Powerful ,cold male voice passed the line.
"I watched the whole process. There won't be any problem. What's the plan for Zero?"
"Warki solutions are used to produce warriors. Train him!"
"How is my sister?"
"That should not be part of our conversation" The voice was calm, emotionless. "I offered you the right to visit her every two months. That's it."
Haila was angry and her hand which held the phone was trembling. "Du~" The call was hung up from the other side.
The Base for Warki solution experiments was underground. Depressing smell and armed guards were everywhere. After a night's rest, Xiao was taken to a big training room. Haila was there waiting for him. He was not sure about what the sprout was going to do with him. But he was confident that they wouldn't give up his 'learning ability'. There must be more chances to learn the knowledge of a machinist. Anyway, there was no chance to escape the base in the near future. Xiao prepared a long-term plan for escaping.
"Zero, you are going to get trained on fighting and shooting from today" Haila threw a suit to Xiao "Put this on."
Obviously, there would be a fight. Xiao put the suit on immediately. Haila rushed towards him, running past the five-meter distance in a second. She attacked with her leg. "Band~" It was too quick for Xiao to respond. He was kicked in the chest. Although the suit contained damping layers, he was forced back. It took him a dozen steps to stabilise himself. He was coughing with a chest ache. Although Haila didn't use her full power, her speed and attack were still way faster than normal people. She was a Class E Superhuman!
"30 s rest, then continue," Haila ordered, emotionless. Her fighting training was simple. No superfluous communication, just fight. After 2 hours of training, Xiao felt exhausted and ached all over his body.
[ Haila (lv.30) teach you |Basic Fight|. progress 5%]
After the training, Haila left without saying a word. A strong man came in and took Xiao to the nearby shooting range.
"I am your shooting instructor, the vice commander of the base, Ballotta." He looked at Xiao with contempt. There was a long scar on his hideous face. A Bee.73 pistol was given to Xiao, "There are 10 f**king training bullets in the gun, shoot the god-dam head of targets, now!"
Xiao looked around in the range. Human-like targets were thirty meters away and they were moving randomly. He didn't have any talent for shooting and he had only used 'gun' in an amusement park. It was hard for him to accomplish the task. However, he had no choice but to fire with his sore arm. Strong recoil was painful.
"Bang~Bang~Bang~" After 10 shots, Xiao looked at the grade screen. Obviously, he was far from the requirement. Suddenly, there was a feeling of sharp cut on his back. Xiao used all his willpower to keep himself from screaming. He turned back. There was a bleeding blade on Ballotta's hand and he was licking the blood from the blade. "Continue, one cut per try until you meet my requirement."
Madman! Xiao was furious and touched his back. The blood was all over his hand. In the meantime, Haila and Gramme were watching Xiao's training in a room with a one-way mirror nearby..
"What a delicate subject! Ballotta has no idea of its value. It is much better to just let me cut his skull and analyse the brain." Gramme said. There was a second of disgust in Haila's eyes and she retrieved her cold face. "The organisation won't approve your request."
"When the organisation makes full use of him, he will be mine! I made him!" Gramme smiled grimly. Haila remained silent. She knew it was true. That's how the organisation dealt with subjects. They were tools, not individuals.
[Ballotta (lv.15) teach you |basic shooting|, progress 5% |Agent| professions unlock progress 1%]
One more cut on the arm, there were already a dozen cuts on Xiao's body. They were not deep, thus not deadly. The blood soaked Xiao's suit. Ballotta looked at Xiao's white face with pleasure. He enjoyed the moment of cutting the fresh and the smell of the blood. "Why not scream," Ballotta played with blade, he sounded like he enjoyed the torture."You are not a good toy with no scream."
What a psychopath!
He wanted to punch his mad face but he knew the rash behaviour would only bring a dead end. He had to be patient. There would be revenge!