Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Proton Impact Cannon

Before Adonza had truly grown strong enough to challenge the world, he would not easily start a war. Likewise, the Celestial Capital would not dare provoke a monster like Adonza before resolving its own domestic and foreign threats.

In fact, most of the upper echelons still believed Adonza was just a wild esper who had awoken a biological modification power by chance. Compared to the threat of extraterrestrial parasites, this explanation was much more palatable. People always choose to believe what they wish to believe.

There was, however, a subtle additional reason: across the sea, within the borders of Amest, there existed another powerful esper with abilities akin to Adonza’s.

Frankenstein—supreme director of the Biohazard Center, the most enigmatic zero-numbered senator of the Council of Thirteen, one of the earliest espers, and a master of biological modification.

At this moment, this mysterious woman was leisurely conducting her experiments in a laboratory reminiscent of a horror film.

Eyeballs, still attached to fragments of optic nerve, floated in formalin, occasionally twitching as if gazing absentmindedly at the ceiling. A malformed heart throbbed vigorously under the stimulation of electrodes. Clusters of veins, like underwater weeds, convulsed incessantly. Organs of bizarre and unnatural shapes pulsated with newfound life in their jars of formalin, as if vying for their mistress’s affection.

Frankenstein, slender and frail, worked tirelessly at the operating table, her hands slick with fresh blood. Every so often, she’d lick her lips with a delicate pink tongue, never bothering to wipe the splatter from her face.

The suture that stretched from the corner of her mouth to her ear, and the one that slashed obliquely across her face, became almost invisible beneath the intensity of her focus and the glare of the surgical lamp. Massive, screw-shaped electrodes clamped like earmuffs sparked with electrical inspiration as her mind raced.

Two scalpels danced in her hands, and two needles stitched away in perfect rhythm. More than eight arms were attached to her slender body, each performing its task with flawless coordination.

“Digestive system folded and anastomosed; the new body won’t need such a long intestinal tract.

“Reconstructing the circulatory system—stabilizing intracranial pressure will require some thoughtful design.

“Fitting all the viscera into such a small form is no easy feat.

“Neural system connections—this is delicate work, more than eighty nerves to suture besides the spinal cord.

“Finally, immunosuppression—this should prevent any rejection reactions.”

“Done!” She detached the surplus arms and hung them back on their wooden rack, gazing at her latest masterpiece with childlike delight, as if she’d just completed a puzzle.

On the operating table, a pair of eyes slowly opened.

“Where am I? I remember… a car accident…”

Frankenstein nodded eagerly. “That’s right, that’s right. I saved you.”

“Well, thank you—wait, what is this? What have you done to me?!”

With a scream, the subject leapt up, only to crash heavily to the ground.

“Careful,” Frankenstein said with gentle pity. “The operation has just ended. Your nervous system isn’t used to this body yet. Move slowly, please.”

“No, no! This isn’t my body!” The creature—a human head on a dog’s body—shrieked in terror.

Frankenstein lifted the man-headed dog into a nearby cage, her smile as gentle as ever. “You wanted to survive, so I helped you survive. Helping others is my greatest joy.”

A careless jerk of the leash, and all the cloths draped over the cages in the room fell away.

The man-headed dog fell silent at once.

From the cages, a host of grotesque creatures stared at the noisy newcomer: a gorilla with a human face on the back of its head; a long-haired woman with spider-like, reversed joints; a monstrous dog with its chest cavity gaping into a blood-red maw; a beautiful woman’s head atop a silkworm quietly reading in the corner; and human corpses cut into dozens of pieces, each part still wriggling with life.

Confronted with such a hellish scene, the man-headed dog shook uncontrollably. “Monster… you’re a monster! Just let me die!”

Frankenstein wagged a finger. “Don’t talk about death so lightly. Your brother is still waiting for you, you know. He went to great lengths to save you.”

“Damn it, he just wants my inheritance! He promised Father he wouldn’t kill me, so he asked a lunatic like you to turn me into this!”

Frankenstein looked a little troubled. “I only fulfill wishes. He wanted you alive, and you didn’t want to die. It’s that simple. As for everything else, you’re all adults—solve it yourselves, will you?”

With a snap of her fingers, three tall figures in biohazard suits, their faces obscured, entered the room. They bent down to re-cover the cages with cloth.

Ignoring the shrieks behind her, Frankenstein picked up a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her face, then reached for her phone.

“Twelve combat-ready biowar bodies for the military? They’re already prepared. Once payment is received, delivery can proceed. Brain transplantation is available as well. Remember, annual maintenance is required.

“Leader of the Southern Union’s ruling party is gravely ill… I’ll prepare a clone for organ transplant immediately.

“Middle Eastern rebels? Wait, that’s not my business—did they mistake me for an arms dealer? I’m just a doctor.

“Miss Marianne wants another youth-regeneration surgery? I’ve warned her enough: repeated regeneration raises the risk of cancer. Still, she knows the consequences.

“The old man from the Ansel Foundation is dying? Lifespan extension is a major project—I won’t budge on the price. At least thirty percent of Ansel’s shares must be mine.

“The biowar spy program—intriguing. I’ll handle the modifications for them.

“General Anxi is moving a massive sum of unknown funds? What’s he up to? Always seems to be targeting me… I just grant people’s wishes and occasionally earn a little extra for myself. Why is this world always so full of strife?”

Frankenstein clasped her hands together.

“I wish for peace in this world, for everyone to join hands and greet one another with a smile.”

The swollen lungs on her workbench wheezed mockingly, whispering words that no ordinary person could hear.

“What monster? I am forever eighteen, a young girl for all eternity!”

She scrolled to the next message and suddenly broke into a grin. “The Tomb of the Black Death Emperor is about to open… but Leviathan hasn’t fallen into Zhang Liaoyuan’s hands. Can his plan still succeed? How curious.”

“More curious still is that sudden appearance of Adonza. Remarkable—a true super lifeform. Soon, perhaps even I will be surpassed. But you were born in the Celestial Capital, a nation ruled by ‘Heaven’s Law’.” Frankenstein’s smile grew ever brighter. “Struggle on, Adonza. I look forward to meeting you.”

From the depths below came the rumble of bestial roars, as countless aberrations slithered and writhed in the darkness, awaiting their mistress’s command.

“Perhaps it’s time I set out on a journey of my own.”