Chapter 258: Experimental Subject

Inside Aurora Base, there are a total of four checkpoints.

The first checkpoint secures the only passage between the base and the outside world: the lift. Personnel are not allowed to go to the surface without prior authorization from their superiors and a dual password, consisting of both numbers and text, valid for thirty minutes.

Two guards are stationed at this door. Each guard is only given either the numeric or the text part of the password. The door will only open when both the numerical and text portions of the accompanying person's password match theirs.

Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Qiong Xuan offered an explanation, and only then did they understand.

"After the security rotation, you will be responsible for guarding this door... As for the specific individuals on duty, a random schedule will be assigned each day. True security lies in unpredictability."

After passing the first checkpoint, they arrived at the first level of the base. Electric lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the entire corridor brightly. Figures in white lab coats occasionally bustled through. On both sides of the corridor were numerous rooms; at a glance, there were at least a hundred.

"The first level primarily houses strategic command, resource storage, the base dormitories, and the cafeteria. Your daily lives will mostly take place here. Because of the high number of residents and frequent movement, it is also a key floor for your patrols. Every day, ten people will be randomly divided into five groups for intermittent patrols."

Hearing this, an enforcement officer spoke up, puzzled:

"Captain Qiong Xuan, by that calculation, we don't have enough people... You mentioned there are four checkpoints in total at the base. If each checkpoint requires two guards, that's already eight people. Add the ten people for this level, and how will the last two be divided among the other three levels?"

"Who said you had to guard all four checkpoints?" Qiong Xuan replied calmly. "You will only take turns guarding the first checkpoint. The second checkpoint, which is the passage from the first to the second level, is a specially reinforced heavy door that can only be opened with a specific key. It doesn't require constant human guarding."

"The third checkpoint is a unique artifact that can identify individuals through a question-and-answer and lie-detection process, preventing infiltration by those who might have altered their appearance. It also doesn't require constant human guarding."

"As for the fourth checkpoint, you don't need to concern yourselves with that at all... It's not something you should worry about."

"Excluding the two people at the first checkpoint, the remaining eighteen will be divided into two groups: one for patrolling the first level and one for patrolling the second. Below the third level, your intervention is not required unless there's a special deployment."

Qiong Xuan had now thoroughly explained everyone's duties. At this point, Chen Ling had a preliminary understanding of the entire base.

No wonder Aurora Base was called the heart of the Aurora Sector. The strictness of its layered checkpoints made it virtually impenetrable; outsiders would find it incredibly difficult to infiltrate.

Chen Ling had now passed the first checkpoint. The second checkpoint, requiring a key, wasn't insurmountable for him. However, Chen Ling's real challenge lay at the third checkpoint. This particular checkpoint was his absolute weakness; he could never get past it on his own.

"I hope everything goes smoothly for Jian Changsheng..." Chen Ling glanced at the time, thinking to himself.

***

Aurora Base, third level.

Jian Changsheng's blurry consciousness gradually sharpened, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a pristine white ceiling and an IV stand beside his bed. A bag of unknown fluid was slowly being infused into his body through a needle.

"Subject number is awake."

Before Jian Changsheng could sit up, a hand gently pressed him back onto the bed. Someone shone a flashlight into his pupils, then took his pulse, and spoke again: "Vital signs are currently normal. No allergic reaction to the CK-7 reagent drip test."

As the flashlight moved away, Jian Changsheng could see a female nurse standing in front of him, expressionlessly examining his body.

"Subject number, or should I call you by your name from the outside, Jian Wubing?"

"You signed a voluntary human experimentation agreement, which is why you've been brought here. For a considerable period, you will be living on the third level... If your body undergoes any significant changes during this process, please inform us."

"I know what you're thinking, but you can't go back. Please cooperate with our experiments. If it comes to the final step, we will end your life as painlessly as possible."

Jian Changsheng was now fully awake. He recalled Chu Muyun's "plan" from earlier and felt like crying without tears.

Why was Red Heart's strength disguise and infiltration, while his own strength was being a guinea pig?

Jian Changsheng considered himself a person with principles and boundaries. He would never sell himself out to be a guinea pig for others. But then again, this was his first mission since joining the Twilight Society. He genuinely didn't want to stay cooped up at home like a mummy anymore!

And thinking about it carefully, truly, no one else could pull off this mission besides him...

After the nurse finished speaking, a voice slowly emerged from behind her.

"You don't need to tell him so much. Have you forgotten? He's mentally ill... He won't understand."

Hearing this, Jian Changsheng snapped back to attention, remembering the "persona" Chu Muyun had given him. He knew this was the organization's test for him.

Under the nurse's gaze, Jian Changsheng silently got off the bed, squatted, and huddled at the headboard, his hands angled against the top of his head, mimicking the shape of a mushroom. His eyes were blank and unmoving.

"See? I told you he was mentally ill," a researcher in a white lab coat said, spreading his hands.

The nurse gave Jian Changsheng a strange look. Just as she was about to leave, her gaze fell upon the adjacent bed, and she let out a small gasp.

"He's about to wake up too..."

She walked to the bed next to him and expertly performed the same procedure as she had with Jian Changsheng. The results were similar, with no obvious allergic reactions.

"Time is running out. The higher-ups want us to conduct the experiments quickly. Go prepare; we'll start shortly, and the drug dosage needs to be doubled."

"Double? His injuries are already severe. Can he withstand it?"

"That's not for you to worry about. Go now."

The nurse and the researcher turned and left, locking the door from the outside as they went. The room immediately fell into a dead silence.

Meanwhile, Jian Changsheng, who was huddled at the headboard pretending to be a mushroom, secretly turned his head and glanced at the bed beside him from the corner of his eye.

A young man, roughly his age, was lying on his back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above. After an unknown period, two lines of tears silently streamed from the corners of his eyes.