"Director Zhao, when do you plan to end the experiment?" Director Wu frowned, diverting the conversation. Zhao's words had begun to touch on company secrets.
Director Zhao replied, "The awakening threshold is a total of 20 points across the four attributes. To ensure the subject stays under our control, I plan to terminate the experiment when his physique total reaches 15."
"No, that's too dangerous!"
Director Wu frowned deeper. "The threshold of 20 points includes all four dimensions, not just the physical ones. You have to account for the fourth dimension—Spirit! What if the subject's spirit attribute is unusually high, say over 5? Fifteen points in physique plus five in spirit—that hits the threshold for awakening!"
Once the threshold is reached, Gu Ning would qualify for the "Awakener's Trial." The Will of the Spirit Realm would directly issue an invitation and initiate teleportation!
At that point, Gu Ning would be transported into a realm scenario of the Spirit Realm, and the Supernatural Group would have no way to find him.
Director Zhao shook his head. "The subject has undergone a meditation test. The results showed his spirit attribute is only 0.7."
The human attribute system consists of four dimensions: Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Spirit. The first three make up the "Physique Total" and can be measured using instruments.
The fourth—Spirit—cannot be detected by instruments and must be assessed through problem-solving tests, i.e., the meditation test.
"What if he held back during the test?" Wu remained cautious. "My job is to monitor risk and ensure the company's interests are protected. I'm formally requesting an adjustment to the experimental plan."
Zhao's face darkened. "What kind of adjustment?"
"Once the subject's Physique Total reaches 10, the experiment must be terminated!" Wu declared sharply.
This left a 10-point buffer. No matter what, the subject's spirit attribute shouldn't exceed 10—otherwise, with such a frail body, his brain would've burst from the overload long ago.
"…Fine." Zhao gave in reluctantly. "Adjust the plan. Set the target to 10 points."
…
"Director Zhao, something's wrong."
An assistant monitoring the instruments spoke up in a rush. "The subject's physical stats are all dropping to varying degrees. Look—his physique total peaked at 5.5 but has now fallen to 4.5!"
Zhao stared at the screen, looking grim. "This shouldn't be happening. With the supplement of Haichim+ Type II Nutrient Fluid, his physique should only be increasing…"
Wu frowned at Gu Ning on the big screen. "The subject doesn't look like he's in worse shape."
Gu Ning, shown on screen, already had defined muscles. Although his eyes were closed, his complexion was vastly improved from his initial withered state. He now looked completely healthy.
"Outward appearance can't be trusted—I believe the data more," Zhao replied. "Increase the injection of Haichim+ Type II. Keep monitoring!"
Wu did not object. Gu Ning's current physique total was still far from the 10-point danger line.
The green line on the monitor dropped steadily. When it hit 4.0, it began to climb again, slowly—pleasing Zhao.
But the good news didn't last long. Once the total reached 5.7, it dropped again.
"Should we increase the dose again?" the assistant asked.
Zhao gritted his teeth and waved. "Increase it!"
He was nervous. Haichim+ Type II's primary ingredient came from a terrifying, lord-level creature in a magical plane of the Spirit Realm—retrieved by an awakened company elite. Its value was beyond monetary measurement.
As everyone watched with bated breath, the thickened green line representing physique slowly crept upward.
"It's dropping again! But the peak hit 5.9 this time. Only 0.1 away from a healthy human baseline…" The assistant wasn't sure if it was good news or not.
"Clearly, the experiment has deviated from expectations."
Watching the line dip, Wu spoke. "Director Zhao, I recommend halting the experiment, abandoning the subject, and extracting the source blood."
Zhao clenched his brow, shaking his head. "We can't stop now—not yet!"
Facing Wu's questioning stare, Zhao spoke rapidly:
"We've reached a peak of 5.9—just 0.1 away from the healthy baseline. I must push one more time! You know what this means to the Chairman: if we can restore a frail patient to health, the implications are huge! This subject can't be discarded lightly. We may never find another with this level of compatibility."
A physique total of 6.0 is the baseline for a healthy human—and crucial for the Chairman of the Supernatural Group. He is not an awakened and is terminally ill. The source blood project was created for his recovery!
Zhao's stubbornness stemmed from how much the experiment had already deviated. Without tangible results, he risked losing the Chairman's trust.
"Fine. One last time." Wu relented—thinking of his father.
Once the new order to increase the nutrient dose was given, all eyes once again locked on the screen. Emotions rose and fell with the jagged green line.
"Six points! It's over six!" the assistant suddenly shouted, thrilled. "Director—"
He stopped. Silence had fallen.
He turned and glanced at the large screen—and froze in place.
On the screen, Gu Ning's entire body was glowing with a soft white light. As the light pulsed, the instruments and tubes connected to his body were all shedding away!
To anyone familiar with the era of psionics, this sight was unmistakable.
"This… is this…" the assistant murmured.
"…Spirit Realm teleportation!" Wu gritted his teeth, voice cold as he stared at Zhao. "What's going on here?"
On the screen, Gu Ning was gradually enveloped in the light. Zhao stood stunned, repeating mechanically, "How is this possible… how is this possible…"
Once teleportation to the Spirit Realm begins, it cannot be stopped. No external force can interfere. That gentle white light is a space barrier from the Will of the Spirit Realm—true separation by a veil of reality!
"Get me Room 3072!"
Wu snatched Zhao's communicator, screaming, "Subject 4! I know you can hear me! Stop the teleportation now! Refuse the trial!"
Wu's hoarse voice echoed through Room 3072:
"You've never had any combat training. You won't survive the trial!
"The Supernatural Group will send a kill squad to follow you into the Spirit Realm. They will do everything to stop you from succeeding!
"You will have no chance!
"When you fail, the Spirit Realm will eject you—and you'll return here! And the Group will show you no mercy. You'll face the harshest punishment!
"You can still turn back now! We can sign a contract. I'll give you elite training and top-tier resources. Your odds of awakening will rise dramatically…"
He offered threats and bribes alike—but Gu Ning didn't flinch. He simply stared into the monitor, locking eyes with Wu through the electronic feed.
Yes. Spirit Realm teleportation.
That's my escape route!
"Damn it… you trash, you insect! How dare you! How dare you…!"
On the screen, Room 3072 was now empty. Gu Ning had vanished without a trace—only an empty bed and scattered needles remained.
CRASH!
In a fury, Wu punched a hole in the monitor. Cracks spread across the screen. He kicked over a lab bench—bottles and tools shattered everywhere.
"This isn't possible… the subject's physique total was only 6! There's no way the full attribute total reached the 20-point threshold! Unless… unless his spirit was 14? That's impossible! Investigate—find out what happened!"
Zhao recovered slightly and issued orders almost by instinct.
The experiment had failed. A priceless subject escaped. A fortune's worth of Haichim+ was lost… but worst of all was the source blood injected into Gu Ning.
Originally, when Gu Ning's physique hit 10, Zhao was to end the experiment and extract the source blood.
That would've left Gu Ning permanently damaged—but Zhao planned to cryogenically preserve his body and periodically harvest blood to create source blood "stabilizers."
Now Gu Ning was gone, taking the source blood with him. The Group's wrath was imminent. Zhao had to save himself.
"We found it! The hospital's computers were breached 94 days ago. A sleeper program was installed!"
An assistant rushed in. "The monitoring data we got was fake. The subject's physique was actually increasing the whole time, just as expected!"
"Ninety-four days ago?" Zhao murmured. "That was when he signed the contract and entered the hospital…"
"This was a setup!" Wu roared. "That Gu Ning was planted by another faction! He had a massive team behind him!"
"At least… the experiment was a success." Zhao sighed—his last words as a scientist.
He felt slightly relieved—the cause wasn't directly his fault. The cybersecurity team would take the fall.
Wu shot him a cold look. "What about our failsafes?"
"The subject was implanted with a remote chip—for tracking, neural disruption, and self-destruction." Zhao exhaled. "But once Spirit Realm teleportation begins, the chip falls out. Even if it detonates, it won't affect him anymore."
Wu looked at the cracked monitor. Sure enough, a tiny, fingernail-sized chip now lay quietly on the hospital bed.
"Which Spirit Realm plane did he go to?" Wu forced himself to calm down. Things had already gone wrong—now it was about damage control.
There was only one option left:
Interdimensional pursuit.
"The source blood in his body is a psionic relic—it has a strong anchoring effect. Considering the trial difficulty, he most likely went to the 'Flesh Plague: Origin' plane."