When John woke up, he found himself confined in a transparent laboratory room. Outside the lab stood a middle-aged man wearing a long white coat.
Feeling his body to confirm he wasn't missing any limbs, John let out a sigh of relief. He spoke calmly to the middle-aged man outside the lab: "Shouldn't you explain the situation to me now? What exactly am I? A lab rat?"
The middle-aged man nodded.
"Fuck!"
Hearing this, John's composure instantly shattered. He cursed angrily: "I knew there was a conspiracy here! Those zombies outside were created by you, right?!"
This guy was sharp, even at a time like this, he was still thinking about completing his mission.
Unfortunately.
The middle-aged man shook his head and said: "You're overthinking it. The zombies outside have nothing to do with my research institute. I only started studying them after the Zombie virus outbreak."
Since it seemed impossible to escape anyway, John spoke calmly to the middle-aged man to kill time, hoping to gain some useful intelligence.
He was curious: "Studying what?"
The middle-aged man seemed a bit bored and actually told John: "How to use the Zombie virus to enhance the human body."
"Enhancement?"
"Yes. The Zombie virus is actually not a typical virus but a substance that can reinforce the human body. However, the success rate for enhancement is very low. Failure means turning into a Zombie."
With that, the middle-aged man looked at his watch.
John suddenly realized something, his eyes wide: "You injected me with the Zombie virus?!"
The middle-aged man nodded truthfully in admission and added: "Don't worry. After my modification, your success rate for enhancement is as high as 1%, and the resulting strength will far surpass the successful enhancements of the original virus."
"1%..."
John despairingly accepted his fate. He lay there for a long time, but didn't feel any discomfort. He looked back at the middle-aged man outside the lab, who was practically gesturing wildly with excitement.
John found it hard to believe.
"I succeeded?"
"Amazing!!"
The middle-aged man was extremely excited: "Finally succeeded! Young man, your luck is truly excellent, and my luck is also very good!"
However, John didn't feel like he had been enhanced anywhere.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
The middle-aged man said: "I directionally enhanced your self-healing ability. From this moment on, as long as your brain doesn't suffer a fatal injury, and provided you have a rich energy supply, all your injuries will recover rapidly. Even if your limbs are severed, they can regenerate in a short period!"
"Is that true?!"
Upon hearing this, John also became excited. Without another word, he bit his own hand. Only after witnessing the bite mark heal and vanish did he confirm that the middle-aged man was telling the truth!
John had never imagined that his first ability would be obtained by acting as a lab rat. The swing in his mood before and after was truly exhilarating.
"Well?"
The middle-aged man asked John excitedly: "From this moment on, you are the New Human of this world. Would you like to lend me a hand? We can lead humanity toward a completely new evolution together!"
"..."
John was speechless for a moment. The man's words were too chuunibyo, forgive him for struggling to reply. However, he had no other choice. Just as he was about to agree—
Rumble!
The base shook violently.
John and the middle-aged man inside the lab staggered from the shock. They initially thought it was an earthquake, until the ceiling was ripped open and dazzling sunlight poured in. Only then did they clearly see the situation outside.
The entire research skyscraper had been cleanly sheared off and was hovering in mid-air. Roy stood under the sun, like a deity descended upon the mortal world, with the air around him constantly twisting, making his appearance difficult to discern clearly.
"..."
"..."
Instantly, John and the middle-aged man were terrified into silence. What the hell was a "New Human" called? That was a New Human, damn it!
In that one moment, both of their worldviews were completely refreshed.
Inside the base.
A crowd of survivors looked up at the research skyscraper floating in the air. The figure hovering above seemed so small, yet its presence was so overpowering it was suffocating.
"What is this situation?"
"Who is that?"
"Am I dreaming?"
Someone pinched themselves. The sharp and undeniable sensation of pain told him this was absolutely not a dream. There really was someone flying, and they had just destroyed their research skyscraper.
Oong—
The moment Roy landed, the powerful telekinesis caused the air to ripple outwards like water. The lab confining John was instantly destroyed.
John swallowed hard. Although he couldn't see the telekinesis, the twisted air and light constantly reminded him that an invisible force was swirling around them.
The worst had happened: there really was an Esper in this world, and one that was outrageously powerful!
Roy's gaze fell upon the middle-aged man. The man immediately tensed up, sweat pouring down.
"If you can, I hope you can answer some questions for me, or provide me with some clues that will help me find the answers."
"Sir... please ask away."
The middle-aged man quickly nodded, terrified of being a second too slow.
Roy asked: "What was the cause of the Zombie virus outbreak? Man-made or accidental? If man-made, who did it? Where was the initial outbreak of the Zombie microbes?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man's face instantly went pale, as he couldn't answer a single one of those questions. But he couldn't remain silent either: "I... I don't know, but! But I can offer you a clue!"
At least it wasn't a total loss. Roy nodded.
"Tell me."
The middle-aged man quickly said: "The base has been receiving broadcast news for the past few years. East Continent Island is gathering survivors. Many people must have fled there. You might be able to find the answers to those questions there."
"Do you have a map?"
"Yes!"
The middle-aged man flipped open a travel atlas, filled with maps of various places. He turned to a page and pointed it out to Roy: "This is our current location, and this is East Continent Island. You can get there by heading continuously east."
The travel atlas automatically flew into Roy's hand. He checked the distance and realized he would have to pass through quite a few cities along the way. It would be convenient to clean up the zombies in those areas, ensuring both the upgrade missions and the main mission wouldn't be delayed.
"Thank you."
The half of the research skyscraper hovering overhead slowly lowered to the ground. Roy was about to leave when John realized this was an opportunity and quickly spoke up to seize it: "Boss, want to take in a little brother? We're New Humans too!"
Roy paused his steps, then simply flew away.
"No need."
John sighed, disappointed he couldn't cling to the powerhouse. Taking advantage of the destroyed lab, he took off running. With the base in complete chaos now, it was the perfect time to escape.