Chapter Sixty-Four: The Marvelous Uses of Liquid Metal Cells

Angsa walked through the spotless corridor, his enhanced sense of smell still catching a faint trace of blood in the air. Instinctively, he traced a cross over his chest.

Just the day before, nearly all security personnel in this building had been slaughtered by the newly awakened Adonsa. Thick blood had stained the floors crimson, but today, the efficient split-forms had cleaned everything up.

The thought of a horde of tentacled monsters sweeping the halls sent a chill down his spine.

He opened a large door and bowed with gentlemanly courtesy. “Mr. Bai Jincheng, Adonsa wishes to see you.”

Inside the room, a group of middle-aged and elderly men, eyes bloodshot, paced anxiously. They were the leading board members and professors of Jincheng Pharmaceutical Group. Anyone who remained in the city had been swiftly located and gathered by Adonsa for imprisonment.

Yesterday, they were people of power and influence; today, they were prisoners whose fate hung by a thread.

If it were only this, they might not have lost their composure; after all, business is a battlefield, and they were accustomed to facing unexpected crises. But what they could not accept was that their industry, their status—even their lives—were now controlled by a biological monster straight out of a film.

Such a reversal had left them all mentally frayed.

Angsa spoke, “There’s no need to be so tense. We dislike needless slaughter. Your minds are the true treasures.”

If it were merely knowledge, devouring would suffice. But that highly efficient, professional mode of thinking was something Adonsa could not easily replicate.

Adonsa possessed vast computational power, but scientific innovation and social management could not be sustained by rationality alone. These were complex models; even a supercomputer would struggle if relying solely on data.

Yet with the chaotic genius of human thought, efficiency could be greatly improved and redundant calculations reduced.

Thus, until Adonsa could independently create truly dynamic professional dependents, these elite humans remained invaluable.

The group quieted somewhat, stepping aside to reveal a middle-aged man seated at the back of the room—Bai Jincheng.

Usually immaculate and meticulously dressed, Bai Jincheng’s eyes were now bloodshot, his appearance weary and haggard. Yet as the highest-ranking person here, his composure still surpassed the others.

Bai Jincheng rose, gathering his strength, smoothing his curled hair and collar. He said simply, “Let’s go.”

Angsa nodded with satisfaction. “Excellent. Thank you for your cooperation.”

As they walked, Bai Jincheng tried to stand tall, but a night of anxiety had left the aging chairman unsteady on his feet.

The constant threat that monsters might burst in at any time was a cruel torment.

Seeing Bai Jincheng stumble, Angsa reached out to steady him, but Bai Jincheng recoiled as if shocked by electricity. “Don’t touch me!”

Angsa glanced at his hand and smiled wryly, saying nothing.

Feeling embarrassed by his outburst, Bai Jincheng hastily added, “Sorry. I’m too nervous.”

Angsa shook his head. “In the quiet of night, I often wonder—what am I?”

Bai Jincheng asked curiously, “Do you mean you were once human?”

“There’s no need to hide it. I used to be a spy for Amest, but after being captured by Adonsa, I became this.”

Perhaps Angsa’s gentle manner eased Bai Jincheng’s apprehension, and he grew more talkative. “What kind of person is Adonsa?”

Angsa frowned. “Person?”

He quickly realized Bai Jincheng still thought of Adonsa as some sort of scientific madman, merely wielding advanced biotechnology.

“Why do you think that?”

Bai Jincheng recalled, “When I attended an international biology seminar in Amest, the keynote speaker was Frankenstein. Her wild, almost nauseating ideas were very similar to Adonsa’s. Are they from the same school...?”

“Frankenstein... She is indeed an extreme eccentric. Even gods might fear her mind. But I don’t believe Adonsa has any direct connection to her.” Angsa’s expression darkened; Frankenstein’s bizarre and terrifying reputation was well-known among the biotechnical elite.

Her grotesque and blasphemous creations made even those with special abilities shudder.

Some who committed grievous errors had been transformed alive into repulsive monsters.

Shaking away those thoughts, Angsa noticed Bai Jincheng looked pale. He said, “Don’t be too formal. Adonsa is a pure utilitarian, unconcerned with human etiquette. Even if you curse it to its face... well, best not to do that. Just don’t show any hostility.”

Angsa remembered the sticky sensation that always haunted his mind and shivered.

Bai Jincheng looked at the tidy corridor and recalled last night’s wails, screams, gunshots, and the sounds of gnawing. He remembered the door breaking open, and the security guards meant to protect him, their skin writhing with strange shapes underneath. His expression turned bitter.

“What does Adonsa want? Does it intend to destroy humanity?”

“Destroy...” Angsa replied, “If only it were that simple. The rest, you’ll have to ask it yourself.”

As they spoke, they arrived before a heavy door. Bai Jincheng recognized it as another high-level laboratory.

The door opened automatically. Bai Jincheng took a deep breath and hurried inside, fearing his own hesitation.

Within, groups of researchers worked indifferently at their experiments, paying no attention to Bai Jincheng’s arrival.

He gazed sadly at these people who had once brought great value to the company, feeling as if he saw his own fate reflected in them.

He strode toward the central control station and found an obvious figure—a seemingly bloated elderly man.

He looked exactly like Lu Shengen, but the characteristic cold, inorganic expression told Bai Jincheng that this was the scientific madman, or rather, the biotechnical monster, who had utterly conquered the building.

Seeing such a creature draped in human skin, Bai Jincheng shuddered deeply, his voice trembling. “Adonsa, where is my son?”

In matters of profit, life, and dignity, Bai Jincheng’s first question still concerned his only flesh and blood in this world.

Adonsa replied, “Don’t worry. He is well.”

Seeing Bai Jincheng relax, yet still hesitating, Adonsa said, “Let me be direct—I need your help.”