The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 50

After getting a positive response, Xie Zhitian took an empty wide-mouth bottle from the table. She poured clear water into it, then carefully added 5 milliliters of the medicine.

She screwed on the cap and slowly shook the mixture until it was well-blended, then poured it into the basin of feed.

Luo Yang used a wooden spoon to stir the feed little by little, flipping it over several times, then looked up and asked Ning Ximing, “Is this okay?”

Ning Ximing nodded without speaking.

Luo Yang picked up the metal basin and poured all the feed into the trough in front of the first cage. Then, she turned on one of the ray switches on the wall.

Although the xenomorph sensed something was wrong, it was extremely hungry. Driven by the instinct to eat, it stood up and walked to the front of the cage. With a flick of its scarlet tongue, it devoured all the medicated minced meat.

For a moment, all eyes in the room were on that xenomorph. However, a few minutes passed, and nothing happened. The xenomorph’s body showed no changes, not even a shift in mood. It just stared at the open box of feed with a greedy look, clearly not full.

Xie Zhitian followed the same procedure, preparing several more portions of feed mixed with different medicines. Following Ning Ximing’s instructions, she didn’t act immediately but waited patiently.

Half an hour later, Ning Ximing finally spoke, “Increase the dosage.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang each poured another basin of medicated feed into the trough. The xenomorph was overjoyed and quickly licked the meat mince clean, leaving nothing behind.

This time, it seemed full. It leisurely leaned against a corner of the cage, looking lazy.

Another half hour passed, and the xenomorph that had eaten the feed still showed no changes. Its body and mind were in a comfortable state; it was even on the verge of falling asleep.

Ning Ximing changed the ray every so often, but after trying all four types of rays, she was still empty-handed. Time ticked by, and it was soon noon. The xenomorph continued to be completely unaffected.

However, the other three xenomorphs nearby grew anxious, pacing restlessly around their cages. They would occasionally bump into the bars, making a “clang-clang” sound. When all the xenomorphs had nothing to eat, it was hungry, but its mindset could be relatively balanced.

But when they saw food right in front of them, and one of their kind was full while they were still starving, it was hard for them to stay calm.

Ning Ximing hesitated for a moment, then had Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang feed each xenomorph two more basins of feed mixed with the first type of medicine, trying different rays again and again.

Still, there was no progress. It was now two o’clock in the afternoon, and Ning Ximing finally relented, “Eat first and rest for half an hour.”

Xie Zhitian felt a slight sense of relief. The food here wasn’t great. She had only eaten steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and plain porridge since six in the morning and was already starving. She figured Luo Yang was in the same boat.

The four guards also showed a hint of relief. “Sister Ximing, shall we take them to get something to eat?”

Ning Ximing waved her hand, “Be back on time.”

Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang followed the guards out of the room, turned a few corners down the corridor, and arrived at a room that looked like a cafeteria.

There was a faucet for washing hands at the entrance. Inside, several rows of tables and chairs were set up. Against the wall was a long table with a few plates of rough food: rice, steamed buns, and a few stir-fried dishes that were already cold.

Xie Zhitian slowly washed her hands at the sink, then took a plate and served herself some rice and greens. The stir-fried dishes were nearly gone, so she could only fill her stomach with more rice.

Luo Yang sat across from her. They both ate their cold food in silence, neither one speaking.

The four guards sat at the table next to them. After only a few bites, one of the crew-cut guys couldn’t help but complain, “We’ve been busy for most of the day with no results. What a pain.”

Another guy with glasses retorted in a low voice, “Are you stupid? Do you actually want results? If those xenomorphs went berserk, you might be a goner.”

The crew-cut guy pouted, “But if there are no results, our lives aren’t going to be easy either. Didn’t you see Sister Ximing’s face just now? It was as black as a pot. I think she’s scarier than the xenomorphs. I wish time would pass faster so someone else could rotate in. I don’t want to stay in this room anymore.”

The only girl in the group spoke, “She always has a stern face. I’ve never seen her smile. And it’s the reagent that’s not working, so even if they’re punished, they probably won’t take it out on us, right?”

The crew-cut guy sneered, “That’s hard to say. I once saw Sister Ximing whip a modified human across the face, disfiguring her. It was a shame; that woman was so pretty before…”

The guy with glasses said in surprise, “T-that happened? She’s really ruthless.”

The crew-cut guy said, “Of course. I think Ning Ximing was just jealous of her for being prettier. When her work wasn’t going well, she took her anger out on her.”

“Enough, don’t talk about Ning Ximing behind her back. Be careful someone might rat on you.”

The middle-aged man who hadn’t spoken yet finally said something. He glanced warily toward Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang, his voice somewhat grim. “There were setbacks during the first and second stages, but we got through them. Maybe this medicine’s catalytic effect on the xenomorphs is slow and requires several days of continuous feeding to show results, or maybe the medicines need to be mixed together. You can’t handle a half-day without progress? What good are you?”

The middle-aged man seemed to be a small leader. After he said this, the other three stopped arguing, just meekly and repeatedly agreeing.

Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang exchanged a look and smiled lightly, understanding each other without a word.

When they were at the research department in Sector 14, they learned that while Substance X could induce evolution, its decay could be accelerated with drug intervention.

At that time, Xie Zhitian didn’t know what the experiment in Sector 7 was about, but she still asked Song Ran from the research department for the medicine that could accelerate the decay of Substance X. Remembering that Luo Yang had said the principles of inducing evolution in animals and modified humans were similar, she also asked for some other drugs that had been used in the modified human project to inhibit evolution and maintain physiological stability.

From the drugs’ functions, if the reagent used in Sector 7 was a poison, then she was essentially carrying the antidote in advance.

Xie Zhitian divided these medicines into many small, individual portions, dissolved them in water, and placed these liquid medicines in the most accessible grids of her personal space for emergencies.

The four cages holding the xenomorphs occupied nearly half the room’s space. The remaining area wasn’t spacious, so the guards were very close to the xenomorphs. They were scared and sometimes got distracted, creating visual blind spots.

Just now, while diluting the medicine, she had taken advantage of the moment she was scooping out water to add two portions of her prepared liquid medicine into the large container of clear water. It was a colorless and odorless liquid, so no one would notice it being mixed in.

The medicines neutralized each other, so naturally, they wouldn’t have any effect. Moreover, this would also reduce the Substance X remaining in the xenomorphs, leading to a dulling of their minds.

“When you’re done eating, hurry up and go. If you’re late, Sister Ximing might punish you.”

A voice sounded from above. The guards had finished their meal and came over to urge them back to work.

Xie Zhitian put the last bit of food on her plate into her mouth, then stood up with Luo Yang.

On the way back, she suddenly recalled what the guards had said.

“Sister Ximing whipped a modified human across the face, disfiguring her.”

Xie Zhitian frowned slightly. Although she didn’t know Ning Ximing well, she felt that it wasn’t in her nature to disfigure someone just to vent anger or out of jealousy.

However, she didn’t know Ning Ximing’s true position, so maybe her feeling was wrong.

Back in the room, Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang began the same tasks they had performed in the morning. But with her medicine, there was still no progress in the third-stage experiment by nightfall.

At ten o’clock, a shrill bell rang throughout the underground palace again.

From the suddenly relaxed expressions of the guards, Xie Zhitian guessed this was the sign that the day’s work was over.

Sure enough, Ning Ximing said, “That’s it for today. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

In any case, they had gotten through the day.

Xie Zhitian breathed a sigh of relief, ready to return to the rest area with Luo Yang, when the room door was suddenly pushed open.

A middle-aged man walked in. He was slightly overweight and wore a somewhat outdated black suit. His shirt was tucked into his pants, and the metal insignia on his belt shone under the lights.

He looked at the people in the room and smiled, “Finished for the day?”

“Just about to finish, Commander Zhou.”

The crew-cut guy immediately scurried over, his face full of flattery. “You’re so busy with work. What brings you here today?”

Xie Zhitian’s eyes moved slightly. It seemed the man in front of her was the commander of Sector 7, Zhou Quan.

As a sector commander, instead of looking out for the welfare of the people, he was here doing these shady things while maintaining a facade of respectability. He had a thick skin.

“I heard the third-stage experiment started today. It’s such an important matter, so of course, I had to come and see.”

Zhou Quan patted him on the shoulder. “Everyone has worked hard. So, what’s the outcome?”

Although Zhou Quan’s tone was amiable, the crew-cut guy still flinched and didn’t dare to answer. After a day of wasted effort, whoever answered would be out of luck.

Ning Ximing spoke, “No results.”

She described what happened today in a concise, emotionless voice.

Zhou Quan listened, a thoughtful expression on his face. “No results? That’s alright. We’ll continue to improve our methods. Time is short, so there’s no need to be limited to experimenting on just one xenomorph at a time. We can do all four at once.”

His tone was relaxed. If you ignored the content, he sounded like a leader making an ordinary work assignment.

Ning Ximing said, “Doing all four at once will increase the danger. If any one of them loses control, it could cause casualties.”

“You, you’re always so hesitant. You insisted on arguing with me before, saying the danger was too high for newcomers to do the final step. Look, aren’t they both fine now?”

Zhou Quan smiled, still genial. “I remember there were a few modified humans who were injured and had trouble moving. Their injuries should have healed by now. Let them all participate. More people means more power, don’t you think?”

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