The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 52

Zhou Quan sat at his spacious office desk and reached out to flick away some cigarette ash.

The ashtray’s outer wall was a festive red, elegantly decorated with delicate reliefs. The inner wall was painted gold, a bright and shiny color that he liked.

Not just the ashtray, but the entire office Zhou Quan was in was lavishly decorated. Every item in it was meticulously chosen, a stark contrast to the simplicity of the underground palace. If someone hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn’t believe this room was hidden within a secret underground palace.

The room was divided into two parts. The outer section was the office area, with a desk and chairs, while the inner section was a spacious lounge with a large, soft bed and a full range of amenities.

Zhou Quan saw no issue with this. As a district commander, he held a position of prestige, so it was only natural for him to use the best of everything.

Even if he only visited occasionally, he wouldn’t shortchange himself.

The desktop was a bit empty. He’d have to remember to bring over that crystal ornament someone gave him last time. Although it had a slight flaw, it would be more than enough for this place.

Zhou Quan thought idly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Knock, knock.”

Zhou Quan’s thoughts snapped back to reality. “Come in.”

A man respectfully entered the room and presented a document. “Commander Zhou, this is a list of everyone who has entered District 7 in the last month.”

Zhou Quan took it and flipped through a few pages. “What do the names with red lines mean?”

The man replied, “They’re people who haven’t registered their departure yet.”

“It’s not like the old days where you could verify information with an ID card. Photos aren’t even common yet, so there’s no way to verify who has left and who has stayed.”

Zhou Quan smiled and casually tossed the list to the side. “What’s the point of you doing this useless work?”

Although his tone was calm, the man broke out in a cold sweat. “I’m sorry, Commander Zhou, I was being presumptuous.”

His eyes showed a flicker of hesitation. Since it was impossible to distinguish who had left and who had stayed, what was the point of this list?

“Are you thinking, ‘if that’s the case, why would he want this list?'”

With his thoughts exposed, the man involuntarily trembled.

He quickly denied it. “No, no. If the commander needs it, it must have an important purpose. How could my level of thinking ever compare to yours?”

Zhou Quan narrowed his eyes, looking a bit pleased. “You’ve been working hard lately. Go on and get busy.”

The man replied, “Yes, Commander.”

The door closed again.

Zhou Quan didn’t look at the list again. He stood up, straightened his suit, and walked out the door.

He was here today to check on the progress of the third step of the experiment in the lab.

Normally, Zhou Quan wouldn’t bother with such a task personally, but while the first and second steps of the experiment had gone smoothly, the third step had made no progress.

The xenomorphs were completely unresponsive to the drug, a situation that had never happened before.

Zhou Quan felt something was wrong, so he decided to personally investigate what the problem was.

Upon his arrival, Ning Ximing was already at work with the four modified humans he had assigned to her. Guards stood by the cages holding the xenomorphs, looking ready for anything.

The moment Xie Zhitian saw Zhou Quan enter, she wasn’t surprised.

When an experiment reached its final step and suddenly had an unexpected turn, anyone would want to come and see what was going on.

However, she wouldn’t stop what she was doing just because Zhou Quan was here.

The fact that Zhou Quan was using so much manpower for such a dangerous experiment showed he had no regard for human life. If the plan to modify the xenomorphs was completed, everyone in the underground palace would likely be silenced.

So, she had to delay Zhou Quan’s plan to buy Tang zhuoran some time.

Before Zhou Quan arrived, Xie Zhitian had already used the same method as yesterday, adding two pre-prepared doses of medicine to the water used to dilute the drug. Then, she pretended to join the others in feeding the xenomorphs.

The experiment was not difficult to perform. The newly added Zheng Lin and Liu Yunna quickly got the hang of it, and the whole process proceeded in an orderly fashion.

While she was performing this useless work, Xie Zhitian listened to the conversation between Zhou Quan and Ning Ximing.

Zhou Quan said, “You were the one who hurt this girl’s face, right? I’d say you’re a bit hot-headed over a small matter.”

His tone was friendly and full of regret. If Xie Zhitian hadn’t known the inside story, he would have sounded like a kind, caring elder.

She realized how hypocritical Zhou Quan was. He seemed cordial with everyone on the surface but harbored dirty intentions underneath. It was him who had coveted Liu Yunna in the first place, and now he was acting as if nothing happened, shifting the blame to Ning Ximing.

Ning Ximing replied coldly, “If they can’t even handle basic tasks, this place doesn’t need dead weight.”

Zhou Quan smiled. “That’s true. It’s right to be strict with them. You’ve worked hard. But everything has its limits. Management is an art, and you still have much to learn.”

Ning Ximing ignored his words and her gaze returned to the xenomorph in the cage.

Two hours passed, and they went through three or four rounds of the drug, but the result was the same as yesterday. The experimental xenomorph showed no reaction. It was even dozing off after eating its fill.

Zhou Quan was calm at first, but he gradually became anxious.

His eyes were full of scrutiny, roving over the modified humans in the room as if he was trying to figure out where the problem was.

After a moment, he spoke. “Everyone, stop for a moment.”

Xie Zhitian and the others exchanged glances and stopped what they were doing in unison.

Ning Ximing asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Something must be wrong.”

Zhou Quan rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Here’s what we’ll do: have a few guards get a new batch of all the drugs and water in the room. I’ll personally give it a try.”

Ning Ximing raised her eyes. “Commander, are you sure? This work looks simple on the surface, but being in such close proximity to the xenomorphs is extremely risky. It’s not a job for an ordinary person.”

Zhou Quan’s smile was confident. “Don’t make it sound so scary. If a few young girls can do it, why can’t I? Besides, if anything happens, you’ll be here, won’t you? Don’t waste time, just do as I say.”

Ning Ximing said nothing, simply waving to a guard across the room. The guard immediately understood her meaning and left the room to get the supplies.

Xie Zhitian’s eyes darkened slightly. Zhou Quan was already suspicious that there was a problem with the drugs and water in the room, but he wouldn’t suspect her for the time being. However, if he did the work himself, she wouldn’t be able to tamper with anything. She could only wait and see.

New drugs and water were brought in quickly. Zhou Quan diluted the drug and mixed it into the feed, just as Xie Zhitian and the others had done. Worried it wouldn’t work, he even added a double dose of the drug. Zhou Quan poured the feed into the trough in front of the xenomorph and quickly stepped back.

The xenomorph stuck out its crimson tongue, licked the feed clean from the trough, and its eyes showed a look of wanting more. Zhou Quan turned on the radiation button on the wall next to him and stared at the xenomorph, beginning his wait.

Time felt like it was in slow motion, every second agonizing.

More than an hour later, Zhou Quan finally lost his patience and began adding the drug to a second bowl of feed.

Luo Yang’s eyes moved slightly. After the first bowl of feed was given, she quickly noticed subtle changes in the xenomorph’s body. Its muscles swelled, its eyes turned ferocious, and its breathing became heavier. The changes were not obvious. Someone who was new to xenomorphs would not have noticed them, but for the modified humans who frequently dealt with them, the changes were clear.

The process of modifying xenomorphs was similar to that of modified humans, so it could be said to have been built on the modified human experiments. This was how they were able to quickly determine which drugs and radiation to use, saving a lot of time and effort in the process of trial and error.

In the modified human experiments, there was a principle that all researchers and modified humans understood clearly. If a subject reacted to a certain drug, they had to slow down before continuing the medication to avoid overstimulating the subject, which could cause them to lose control and lead to irreversible consequences.

Luo Yang looked up at Ning Ximing, who had her eyes lowered, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Quan’s actions.

A thought crossed her mind. What she could figure out, Ning Ximing should also be able to. Since Ning Ximing did not stop Zhou Quan, it could at least prove one thing: Ning Ximing was not loyal to Zhou Quan.

At this moment, Zhou Quan was already walking towards the xenomorph with the bowl of feed. Luo Yang gripped her longsword and subtly moved two steps to the side, positioning herself to protect Xie Zhitian.

Zhou Quan got closer and closer to the cage, and the xenomorph approached the bars just as it had last time.

Zhou Quan saw a flash of crimson light, followed by a searing pain in his arm. Blood gushed out. The feed bowl fell to the ground with a clang, and the minced meat and his blood splattered everywhere.

Zhou Quan was horrified, looking down in disbelief. The lower part of his right hand was gone, the cut jagged, exposing stark white bones and crimson flesh.

Another flash of crimson light appeared before his eyes. His survival instincts kicked in, and he retreated abruptly, narrowly dodging the attack. But he lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

At this time, the guards in the room also reacted and rushed to help him up.

“Commander, are you alright?”

“Stop the bleeding! Stop the bleeding first!”

“Go get a doctor, quickly!”

“Go get a stretcher!”

The pain in his wrist was bone-chilling. Zhou Quan was in too much pain to stand, and tears streamed down his face. Through his blurry vision, he saw the xenomorph in the cage swallow his right hand, chew a few times, and then swallow it whole.

Why did nothing happen when the other modified humans tried it multiple times, but it happened to him?

Zhou Quan gritted his teeth in hatred, no longer able to maintain his composure. He roared at Ning Ximing, “Ning Ximing, what the hell happened!”

Ning Ximing’s expression was indifferent. “Commander, I already told you the risks beforehand. But you insisted on doing it yourself. I couldn’t stop you.”

Zhou Quan was too angry to speak, his breathing becoming heavier. He then shifted his gaze to Xie Zhitian and the others. “Are all four of you useless? Just standing there like fools?”

Xie Zhitian took half a step back, her panic perfectly controlled. “Commander, it happened so suddenly. We, we were not capable enough, so we couldn’t react in time.”

Zhou Quan glanced at his right arm. A strip of cloth torn from his clothes was tied above the wound, and the bleeding had temporarily stopped.

But his right hand would never return. From now on, he would be a pathetic disabled person.

“Incompetence is also a crime,” Zhou Quan’s voice was grim and menacing. “The four of you, be prepared to bear the consequences.”

Xie Zhitian’s eyes darkened. She put her hand into her pocket and placed it on her communicator. She knew that with Zhou Quan’s personality, he would not let this matter go. If he was going to use violence, she would not sit back and let it happen.

However, at this moment, a figure stepped forward and stood in front of them.

Ning Ximing stood tall and straight, like a resilient bamboo.

She said, “It was my dereliction of duty for not protecting the commander. I will bear the consequences.”

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