In Canada, there's an artificial lake called Aikal Lake. It was a large dam built after World War II, funded by the American government and built by the Canadian government. The purpose was to provide convenient artificial irrigation and prevent summer flash floods in the area.
Because the region received extremely heavy rainfall, a massive artificial lake formed shortly after the dam was completed. This led farmers and residents in the surrounding areas to consciously migrate there. Within just a few decades, a town of considerable size had formed.
For the town's residents, Aikal Lake had become an indispensable part of their lives. A significant portion of their livelihoods came from the lake, a situation that had persisted for generations. However, the residents wouldn't have imagined that the lake they knew and the dam, which had been nearly abandoned for decades, concealed an astonishing secret.
This was the location of General Stryker's secret base. The mysterious organization he led was hidden within the abandoned dam.
He had put a lot of effort into modifying the dam. His primary goal was to prevent Mutants with various abilities from entering or leaving. He considered Mutants his lifelong enemies, and even his base was designed to combat them. Inside the base, besides his soldiers, the majority were Mutants imprisoned by him.
Decades of effort had filled his base with his prisoners. These were Mutants from all over the world. Some were transferred here using connections after being arrested for crimes, but many more were captured by his subordinates. Before capturing them, they didn't consider whether the people they caught were good or bad. Furthermore, many of the Mutants they captured were children.
In the eyes of Stryker and his soldiers, Mutants were not human. This was true even for Mutant children; they had no mental burden whatsoever. They could even watch these Mutants being subjected to all sorts of inhumane experiments, just as they would observe animals.
Just like now.
A struggling Mutant was firmly strapped to a chair. Several people in white coats used a high-speed drill to bore a small hole in its skull, then injected a strange-looking liquid with a thin needle.
The surrounding soldiers showed no change in expression. It seemed that in their eyes, the subject of the experiment was not a human being, but a lab rat with a human appearance. They were used to it, used to everything before them, used to the screams and cries in their ears. It was an indispensable part of their daily lives.
No one was interested in the pleas and pain of their test subjects; they were interested in the results of this experiment.
Watching the Mutant's pupils gradually lose focus, its struggling slowly stopped. Unlike the previous few times, when its physiological fluctuations were so disordered that they were almost out of control, the several white coats around them looked at each other. They saw a common emotion in each other's eyes – joy.
"General, it seems we have succeeded," one of the white coats said to a stern-faced man standing next to them.
This was a man who, although his hair was already somewhat gray, still looked quite sturdy. He wore old-fashioned glasses, and his neatly trimmed beard and tightly closed lips showed that he was a rather serious person. His always straight back and steady gait made his behavior full of strong military characteristics. This was William, General Stryker, the supreme commander of this secret military base.
Hearing the researchers' report, General Stryker strode to the side of the subject. Normally, the Mutants here, upon seeing him come before them, even if they didn't grit their teeth in hatred, would cower like frightened quails. He was the devil in the eyes of all the Mutants, a fact that even he himself would not deny.
But at this moment, the Mutant's expression was somewhat strange. Its eyes stared at Stryker, but there wasn't a single fluctuation in them, as if it were facing a stranger. And this still couldn't sum up all of its abnormalities. If one had to describe it, one could only say that its expression was exceptionally pure, like that of a baby.
Stryker watched his expression, then pressed his rigid face close to his. In this close proximity, he spoke softly to him.
"Listen, Cain. I am the person you respect the most, and you always obey my orders. Whatever I tell you to do, you will do. You always believe that everything I say is right, and you will stop at nothing to accomplish what I tell you."
The Mutant named Cain tilted his head, staring at Stryker as if trying to understand what he meant.
Seeing Cain's reaction, Stryker waved his hand and said, "Soldier, release his restraints."
"General, I don't recommend this. Subject 254's abilities are dangerous, and there's no need to test like this!" A lab coat-clad figure on the side quickly advised, hearing Stryker's order.
This was only the initial stage of the experiment, and there was no need to confirm the results in such a dangerous way. If the subject truly lost control, his abilities could pose a huge threat to everyone present. Not just Stryker, but they could also be injured or even killed.
"The main reason I don't like you guys is that you lack the slightest bit of courage," Stryker said, pulling at the corner of his mouth. This was already the greatest expression he was willing to show. "Carry out my order, soldier. Release his restraints."
For the soldiers here, Stryker's orders were to be executed unconditionally. Regardless of whether they would encounter danger, as the researcher said.
Under Stryker's command, several soldiers stepped forward. They unlocked the restraints on Cain's limbs, completely freeing him from the hard steel chair.
Cain, now free from the chair, didn't make any concerning moves. He looked around, then slowly walked behind Stryker, like his shadow.
Stryker's lips curved into a smile; Cain's performance clearly pleased him.
"Very good, Cain. Now, I command you, transform." He turned and softly ordered Cain, who was standing behind him.
Cain took two steps back, and then his entire body began to undergo a massive transformation. His body rapidly grew taller, and his skin texture took on a wood-like quality. Soon, his entire body was like this, resembling a giant wooden statue.
"No, no, no, Cain. Not this small-scale transformation. I want you to become your most terrifying form. The huge one."
Cain's wooden eyes shifted slightly, showing a hint of hesitation. But he quickly nodded, and his body, already over two meters tall, began to change again.
Bark-like shells quickly covered his wooden skin, and his height increased again, soon touching the top of the laboratory. On his head, the skull had transformed into an outward-spreading shape, and a thick layer of green leaves covered his entire head. It looked like the crown of a tree.
And the changes to his limbs were equally astonishing. The massive arms no longer resembled human arms, but rather thick tree trunks with roots, each as thick as a person's waist, extending from his shoulders and swaying with his movements. His lower body was the same, with sturdy tree trunks rooted firmly in the ground. The thick roots had even torn through the thick concrete floor, firmly anchoring him to the earth.
Cain no longer looked human at all. If one had to describe him, he looked like a large tree with a vaguely humanoid shape.
This was the power of the Heartless Treant Cain. When fully unleashed, he could grow into a four-meter-tall humanoid tree. In this form, he could move slowly but possessed immense strength. The massive tree trunks of his arms alone could deliver a crushing blow of about two tons. And as long as his roots were embedded in the ground, he could continuously absorb nutrients and power from the earth, recovering from various injuries.
His hard, wooden skin could even withstand bullets from ordinary automatic weapons.
According to Stryker's records, the Heartless Treant Cain's strength, defense, and recovery abilities surpassed those of ordinary Mutants. He was considered a highly dangerous type among the many prisoners under his control.
However, this danger was completely within the realm of control. Cain couldn't maintain this ability indefinitely. If he maintained this form for too long, his brain would gradually transform into wood, and he would truly become a tree. Therefore, after a certain amount of time, he would voluntarily revert to his normal form. This period was not long, only about one or two hours.
Seeing Cain transform into a giant tree, Stryker showed no surprise. He was waiting, waiting for the final result. He wanted to see if Cain would continue to obey his orders or if, for self-preservation, he would revert to his normal form.
Time passed, minute by minute. Cain's bark-like face showed a look of strain. But he didn't move, still maintaining his Treant form. Stryker watched him, watching his expression gradually stiffen, watching his previously slight movements slowly cease, watching him transform into a real tree before his eyes.
Two hours later, Stryker knocked on Cain's body. The solid sound that came back was dull. It was the sound of high-quality wood.
"Cain, Cain. Respond if you can hear me!" He tried calling out a few times, but Cain, now completely transformed into a tree, had utterly lost the ability to speak. He was still alive from a life perspective, but from a human perspective, he was dead. Brain-dead.
When Cain didn't respond, Stryker pulled out his handgun and fired a few shots into the tree. The bullets tore through the outer bark but lodged in the wood beneath. If it were the Cain he knew, who could still feel pain, he might have reacted. But now, the entire tree was still.
"Looks like it really works!" Concluding this, Stryker put away his gun and ignored the tree in front of him. "Soldier, clean up this guy. Chop him up and throw him out. Don't leave him here to get in the way!"
"Now, tell me. How sure are you of repeating this experiment? How much can you produce?"
The white coats discussed it and quickly responded.
"With enough raw materials, we can produce enough for about ten people. If we need more, we'll have to wait until Subject 147 recovers."
"Use up all the materials you have on hand first. I have plans for them." Stryker waved his hand, giving the order. Then he looked out of the laboratory.
In the rows of cells before him, countless prisoners stared at him with eyes filled with sorrow and hatred. They were Mutants.
"Mutants are quite useful tools. With them, my plan will be realized very soon," Stryker muttered to himself, clenching his fist tightly. He had waited for this day for far too long.
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