Chapter 379

Chapter 379: Indecision

Bright light, electric shocks, burning, and low temperatures took turns tormenting the seemingly lifeless puddle of liquid, but soon it surprisingly began to respond.

As if awakened from a deep slumber by external stimuli, the white liquid started to show imperceptible movements.

The highly precise cameras skillfully captured this moment, immediately reporting it to the researchers surrounding the scene, who were diligently recording and observing the experiment.

After a brief silence, a series of subdued cheers erupted from the crowd.

For the first time, they stood face-to-face with the alien creature.

Even in the entire history of humanity, this day would surely be remembered.

As the wave of cheers gradually subsided, the expressionless Haines called the crowd to order:

“Begin the experiment according to the plan. We need results to convince the captain and the others.

“Be extremely careful while handling the samples; absolutely, absolutely must avoid any contact or infection.”

—

Days passed, and reports on the alien creatures were delivered to the captain one by one.

As a well-rounded talent from the human home planet, the captain and the vice-captain had a fair understanding of various matters and could roughly comprehend the contents of the reports without assistance.

Watching the increasingly active alien creature, the captain’s internal balance began to inevitably tip toward Haines’s position.

In the captain’s quarters, only one person sat directly across from the captain.

“This is the current situation; now share your thoughts, Zhong Ding.”

“I believe you need not feel anxious about those humans yet to be produced.”

The man named Zhong Ding wore flamboyant clothing brought from the home planet, making it seem as though this was merely an amusement park disguised as the captain’s office.

“Let me speak the truth. The reason you feel guilt about this is that you have always viewed those embryos as fully human with complete rights from the beginning.

“And I believe that adhering to those formalities at this critical moment is meaningless.”

“That is part of human rights!”

The captain’s expression darkened as he glared at the man before him. The other person was also a high-ranking crew member responsible for the legal matters of the human alliance, which was the very reason for this conversation.

“You seem to have some misconceptions about the Dandelion Project.”

Zhong Ding shrugged as if he were casting pearls before swine.

“Why do you think so?”

The captain’s tone barely concealed his anger.

Zhong Ding, sporting carefully groomed mustachios, raised his right hand with three fingers extended:

“I hope you can answer my next three questions.”

“Ask away; after your questions, get out of my office.”

The captain no longer hid his dissatisfaction with Zhong Ding. He felt that the man before him held a deep contempt for the laws of the human alliance.

Zhong Ding’s face wore a disdainful expression, as if he were looking at a stubborn statue.

“Question one: You say the alliance’s laws respect human rights; then why is the continuation of the spark ranked above human rights?”

“Question two: Do you know why the ‘Unit One’ instrument has been given the ability to erase the memories of everyone except Permission Level holders?

“Question three: If the alliance truly disagrees with our views, why does the spaceship carry both long-term and short-term nutrient solutions?

“You must already have the answers to these three questions in your mind, right?”

The captain was sitting in a chair, his fists tightly clenched, unable to speak.

Zhong Ding uncrossed his legs and stood up, walking calmly behind the captain.

He gently placed a hand on the captain’s shoulder:

“This is the hint given to us by the alliance. As long as we survive, whether we reverse our course or return to ignorance, so-called survival is merely the continuation of genes and races. For this purpose, many things can be sacrificed.

“They have even prepared tools for us, showing that the higher-ups had long anticipated the current situation.

“You understand this; you just don’t want to take responsibility.”

Leaving those words, Zhong Ding turned and left the captain’s quarters.

Walking down the spaceship’s corridor, Zhong Ding tapped on his portable terminal a few times, sending out a message:

【Negotiation Failed】

Zhong Ding sighed.

The indecisive captain no longer needed to make a choice; someone would help him decide everything.

—

In the ninth month after landing on the target planet, Wencheng found the twenty-second large piece of debris.

The good news was that after months of exploration, they had recovered a large amount of resources from the debris, and each type of material would be useful in constructing a new home. The camp gradually expanding near the spaceship was proof of this.

The bad news was that although they found some sections that were supposed to hold the sleepers, they could no longer locate the many sleep pods within.

Those things seemed to have vanished into thin air, as if they had never truly existed. Sometimes Wencheng wondered if the sleepers had already awakened and established other camps on the ground.

He couldn’t figure this out at all, and there was something else very notable.

Since they captured samples of the alien creatures last time, Wencheng and his team had seen those creatures less and less frequently.

At first, there was one or more of those black-and-white creatures in every piece of spaceship debris.

However, starting a month ago, those creatures had completely transformed into milky white or grayish-white, and upon seeing humans—or even sensing their presence—they began to retreat into the distance, giving off an impression of being timid as mice.

Wencheng felt helpless about this—humans had the ability to capture those creatures, but the moment they saw people, they ran away, even starting to flee from half a kilometer away, making the prepared tools completely useless.

After completing the usual disinfection and airtightness test, Wencheng and his team arrived at the isolation area.

Twelve hours later, they would regain their freedom; this habit cultivated under duress needed no further explanation.

Midnight.

The alarm sound suddenly echoed in the dark cabin, the red warning lights flashing on and off, illuminating the terrified faces of everyone.

Wencheng’s heart raced as he quickly awakened from deep sleep.

“Alarm! Alarm! Experimental subject has lost control; the airtight seal has been opened. All personnel must not leave the current room. Level one alert for the entire ship. Repeating…”

After the alarm announcement, Haines’s voice came through the speaker:

“Wencheng, your team’s isolation is now lifted. Equip yourselves and begin the screening for Infected.”

Vladimir’s voice followed:

“Identify any suspected Infected immediately, and shoot to kill.”