The Boyfriends I Picked Up in Horror Games Are Bizarre - Chapter 64

The air in the screening hall was thick with the scent of blood. Everyone in the town had gathered here, their gazes eerily synchronized as they looked at a man with unsettling smiles. There was no moment more terrifying for a human being than this.

Jiang Xun tugged at the corner of his lips, seemingly trying to force a composed smile, but he failed. His expression remained rigid and stiff. “What are you talking about? Dr. Jiang? I don’t know the person you’re referring to.”

Innkeeper Shu chuckled from within the crowd. “A person can change their voice and appearance, but there is one thing that can never be altered.”

Standing beside his grandmother, Ah Dong smiled and said, “We remember your scent, Dr. Jiang.”

Jiang Xun’s stiff face twitched slightly. In the presence of these creatures that had long surpassed the boundaries of humanity, his denial seemed nothing more than a ridiculous joke.

One hundred and thirty years ago, at a scientific conference, someone proposed a bold theory. Humans are primates within the natural world, yet in certain aspects, they are inferior to lower organisms. If the genes of both could be combined to complement each other’s strengths, would it be possible to create a new type of human?

Of course, such a theory would inevitably require human experimentation to be validated.

However, this notion defied ethical boundaries. The scientist who proposed it was warned by the academic community not to turn his ideas into reality. Because of this, he became ostracized.

Undoubtedly, he was a brilliant researcher. Many in the academic world, far less capable than he was, gained widespread recognition, while he, despite putting forth a feasible concept, was cast aside. Naturally, he could not accept this fate.

Desperate to prove himself, he faced a major obstacle—a lack of funding. At that moment, he came up with an excellent plan. Using his own means, he compiled a list of wealthy businessmen afflicted with incurable diseases.

When faced with death, these businessmen cared little for ethics or morality. As long as he assured them that his research could create a new breed of humans with physical capabilities far superior to ordinary people and that extracting genes from these new humans could lead to cures for countless diseases, they were willing to invest.

Through this method, he secured financial support. With money, everything became possible.

To ensure that those who prided themselves on their moral integrity would not discover his experiments, he had to find an isolated location deep in the mountains. The area had a peculiar magnetic field and was rumored to be plagued by strange occurrences, making people too afraid to approach, making it an ideal site for his research.

He then privately recruited a group of like-minded individuals and established a research base.

At first, their experiments did not go smoothly.

Combining human embryos with animal genes often resulted in developmental failure midway. Even when an embryo managed to take shape, it would die before it could be delivered from the artificial womb.

Frequent failures left the investors dissatisfied, and they did not have the patience to wait for embryo after embryo to mature.

Indeed, waiting for a fertilized egg to gradually develop was far too time-consuming.

So, they turned their attention to newborn infants. If they directly integrated animal genes into a baby’s body, they could observe the changes in real-time and gain new insights for their research.

Using infants for experiments was something that some still could not accept, as they retained remnants of conscience. They wished to withdraw. But once one stepped into this abyss, leaving was no longer an option.

During those years, many people disappeared without a trace, and eventually, no one spoke of leaving anymore.

Reality proved that his theory was correct. Although most of the children perished during the experiments, a small number managed to survive.

Yet even those who survived underwent uncontrollable mutations. They exhibited animalistic instincts and, in some cases, suffered from genetic rejection, causing their bodies to become grotesquely deformed—turning into monsters.

078 was his most perfect creation.

His body existed between human and animal, capable of transitioning freely between the two. What excited him the most was that 078’s physical abilities far exceeded normal human standards. His destructive power was astonishing, and both his memory and resilience surpassed even the scientist’s expectations.

He had once exposed 078 to viruses capable of endangering human life. To his surprise, after enduring a high fever and immense suffering, 078 survived.

Through this process, he made an even greater discovery.

The blood of the test subjects could enhance human genetic structure and slow the aging process.

This revelation filled him with ecstasy, but he chose to keep it a secret from the others. He secretly extracted blood from the test subjects time and time again, already envisioning how, once he made this research public, countless people would fight to purchase what he possessed.

His discovery was nothing short of a milestone in human history. He would be the one to change the world.

One late night, the blaring of an alarm shattered his grand illusions.

078 had escaped from the laboratory and had released all the other test subjects as well. These genetically modified beings, even when struck by bullets, would quickly heal and retaliate. Against them, human defenses were utterly insignificant.

Realizing the severity of the situation, he had only enough time to grab a few vials of blood before fleeing through an underground passage. He was the sole survivor.

Not long after he escaped, a dense fog enveloped the mountain, and the research facility vanished from sight.

Dr. Jiang, the man who escaped from this place one hundred and thirty years ago, had now returned. And it certainly wasn’t out of nostalgia.

Xue Yan’s eyes curved slightly, his smile laced with mockery. “You’ve used up all the blood samples you took, haven’t you?”

Jiang Xun’s body trembled, his expression complex.

Xue Yan’s smirk was laced with cruelty. “Let me guess, if you don’t find new blood samples, your body will rapidly age and turn into a pile of dust. One gust of wind, and you’ll be scattered into nothingness.”

Jiang Xun couldn’t help but picture himself disintegrating into dust, carried away by the wind. The thought made him tremble uncontrollably, overwhelmed by fear.

Xue Yan narrowed his eyes as he smiled. Though he was smiling, a dark glint flickered in his pitch-black pupils, both gloomy and dangerous. It was the look of a beast toying with its prey before the final kill, a fusion of innocent amusement and instinctive bloodlust that somehow did not feel contradictory.

For the first time, Bai Yao realized that Xue Yan could look like this.

Just one glance at him was enough to sense the terror and madness lurking beneath the surface. She asked herself, if this had been the face he showed her when they first met, would she have had the courage to approach him at all?