BC Chapter 56

Having completed the cleanup, He Linglong finally relaxed a little. Guardedly, she returned to the second-floor laboratory. The lights were still on, indicating that the facility still had power, though it was likely a backup system. Unsure how long it would last, He Linglong planned to be quick. She stowed her gun and flashlight and began searching in the nearest unlocked laboratory.

Since the second-floor laboratories were generally for basic research, there were no particularly dangerous samples or cultures stored there. This might be why the institute didn’t completely seal off all the labs after the staff evacuated. Taking advantage of this, He Linglong searched all the labs that weren’t completely closed. The findings were largely consistent with what she had gathered from previous contacts and later speculations. However, the more she searched, the clearer the previously hazy puzzle in her mind became.

Within each large area on this floor, the projects studied in the various labs revolved around different branches of a major theme. By combining the contents of all the labs on this floor, it became clear that deduction and precise targeting experiments were being conducted simultaneously. Taken together, the research focused on the possibility of selectively enhancing various human organs and improving overall capabilities, along with reports and data from various animal experiments.

The data was meticulously detailed, down to cellular structure changes, chromosome variations, and gene mutation sequencing – exceedingly precise.

However, if that were all, He Linglong would have simply seen it as evidence of the institute’s dedication and responsibility. Studying the effects, both beneficial and adverse, of refined enhancement on the human body would be a great contribution to human biotechnology, and she wouldn’t have questioned it.

But she had long suspected that the research on the second floor was the least crucial part of the entire institute. Even if she turned the entire second floor upside down, she would only prove how upright, glorious, and great the institute’s public image was.

But was that really the case?

She threw the research materials and data reports she was holding back into the nearby laboratory. She swiped her ID card on the small door next to the elevator that led from the second floor to the third floor. Then, she pulled a brown gas mask from her backpack, removed the baseball cap she had been wearing, stuffed it into her backpack, and put the mask on her head. She knew that going further down there was a high probability of encountering accidentally released virus samples stored in freezers, so she took precautions.

The layout of the third floor was also divided into four large areas. Fortunately, He Linglong had found two more ID cards for the other areas on the second floor. Combined with the one she already had, she had the opportunity to search three areas on the floor below to verify how accurate her suspicions were.

The deeper she went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. This floor had a higher risk factor because more clinical trials were conducted here. For safety, He Linglong not only jammed the doors but also drew her gun from the underarm holster, holding it in one hand, ready for any emergencies. She nervously searched the accessible laboratories on the silent third floor, constantly looking around, worried that something might go wrong when she wasn’t looking.

Fortunately, He Linglong searched for data quickly, skimming through the existing experimental records, data reports, and final experimental summaries in three areas almost at a glance.

Finally, she discovered that while the researchers on the third floor were indeed following the plans from the second floor, a small number of them were assigned to study failed cases. Instead of destroying and disposing of the failed experimental materials as usual, they sealed up those failed specimens and periodically conducted tentative experiments to record how destructive those accidentally created defective products were to organisms, and which parts of the organisms were primarily damaged.

It felt as if, during the process of creating a special medicine, they had inadvertently created poison, but the actual leaders of the institute were more interested in how effective the poison was.

Inside the gas mask, He Linglong’s breathing became heavier. She slammed the record book shut, finally understanding the institute’s real purpose.

It was extremely difficult to truly develop drugs that could benefit humanity without any side effects. And because China placed a strong emphasis on human rights, ethics, and morality, they wouldn’t be allowed to conduct human experiments as they pleased. But because the stated goal was good, the project approval process would be relatively easy. The high-level executives of the institute were using this seemingly upright facade to secretly conduct research in the opposite direction, periodically packaging and selling experimental data to warmongering foreign conspirators for huge profits.

However, as the saying goes, paper cannot contain fire. They never expected that their seemingly flawless money-making scheme would not only be ruined by an accidental leak but also spiral out of control.