Chapter 216: This Is the Real Me
The moment the team leader spoke, the entire control room fell silent for several seconds. All the scholars present stopped their work in unison and turned to look at her.
After a moment of silence, the team leader was the one to speak up and break the awkwardness:
"What’s wrong? Is that such a difficult question to answer?"
The nearest scholar hastily tried to dissuade her:
"No... it’s just... isn’t this a bit too rushed? Our current phase of experiments has only just begun. Even if Elolo is showing a stable condition, but..."
Before he could finish, the team leader coldly waved her hand, cutting him off.
"There are no ’buts.’ Our project must be completed as soon as possible. There can be no delays!"
With that, she raised her voice and declared:
"Everyone, the hope and future of humanity are right in front of us. Are you really going to halt our progress? Do you lack even this small amount of courage?"
This grand, high-sounding accusation was enough to silence everyone in the control room.
After all, this team leader was notorious. She was known for being adventurous, radical, and unscrupulous. Although she had indeed achieved considerable academic success, who knew how much immorality and sin was buried beneath that glorious facade.
’If they had a choice, no one wanted to become one of the shadows cast by that brilliance...’
The team leader scanned her surroundings. The silence of her subordinates earned a satisfied nod from her, and she continued:
"Since no one objects, let’s begin as soon as possible."
"Yes, ma’am. Beginning preparations to load Lady Haima with Forbidden Knowledge... Everyone be careful. Report the readings at all times."
"Understood. Forbidden Knowledge transfer is in progress. Reading fluctuations... are still within theoretical tolerance levels."
"Attention, Lady Haima’s external form is changing..."
"Ignore that, just keep a close eye on the readings... What about Miss Xie Beileida?"
"Condition stable. Ready for combat at a moment’s notice."
"A base unit of 1 of Forbidden Knowledge has been loaded. Shall we continue?"
"Continue! The original design standard was a base unit of 3."
"Warning! Lady Haima’s form is undergoing a massive transformation. Detecting a rapid increase in Spiritual Contamination."
"Activate the protective Orbit!"
"Yes... Orbit activating... Elolo is having her meal. Should we have her speed up the process?"
"No need. We’ll proceed at our own pace."
As commands were issued and executed one by one in the control room, Elolo, who had been quietly eating breakfast alone in the dining hall, suddenly lifted her head and looked toward the door.
’Is there something behind the door? Something that’s making me uneasy?’
But this slight movement was enough for Miss Xie Beileida, standing behind her, to immediately say in a threatening tone:
"A lady does not look around while she is dining."
Elolo flinched and quickly averted her gaze. She obediently returned to the prescribed breakfast routine, stuffing tasteless white bread into her mouth, bite by bite.
For the past sixteen years, she had always eaten breakfast like this...
’No, that’s not right!’
Elolo froze, shaking her head in her mind.
’My past wasn’t like this!’
’I had a father. I had sweet little cakes. I had lots of stuffed dolls, and so many toys...’
’I could wander around the town outside. I could ride the Ferris wheel and the carousel by myself. I could attend seminars. I could go to that mysterious ’Dream Theater’...’
’And I had my Lord Uther!’
Elolo felt her memories clearer than ever before, her heart stronger than ever before, and her mind sharper than ever before.
In that instant, she seemed to understand her current situation and knew what she had to do.
’Showing any weakness will only bring horrific punishment. A reckless escape attempt would lead to terrible torture. And daring to resist... Miss Xie Beileida might just strangle me to death!’
’They’ll make me forget my father, forget the little cakes, forget my Lord Uther...’
’I have to hold on. I have to hold on until nightfall, until my Lord Uther comes to save me.’
’Elolo! Don’t cry! You have to be strong!’
She repeated this phrase over and over in her mind, but on the surface, she finished the completely tasteless breakfast as usual, following the standard procedure.
Then, as part of the set routine, Miss Xie Beileida took out a small mirror and gave her a few seconds to tidy her appearance.
Elolo looked at her reflection. She was no longer crying, no longer weak. Her gaze was firm, her expression resolute.
’This is the real me!’
"Next, Lady Haima has prepared today’s lesson for you. Let’s go."
Miss Xie Beileida continued, then seized Elolo’s wrist, giving her no chance to run or object.
Elolo said nothing, simply following her in silence to another part of the mansion.
This mansion, which looked luxurious and had a style somewhat reminiscent of a fairytale castle, was half-dedicated as a teaching area for Elolo.
The erudite Lady Haima prepared a wide variety of lessons for her, from etiquette to music to Painting, ensuring every day was different.
But today’s lesson seemed especially different.
After pushing Elolo into the classroom, Miss Xie Beileida quickly shut the door. With a grinding of gears, three muffled locking sounds echoed from the door, followed by the HISS of venting steam.
Lady Haima stood before the blackboard, her back to Elolo. She was hunched over, her hands dangling so low they nearly touched the floor.
This was a stark contrast to her usual image as a knowledgeable and intellectual powerhouse. It was incredibly unbecoming, and carried a hint of the bizarre and malevolent.
Sensing Elolo’s entrance, Lady Haima slowly turned her head.
The sight nearly made Elolo faint.
Lady Haima’s face was no longer human. Where her eyes should have been, there was only a layer of grayish-black dead skin. Her jaw was split wide open to the left and right, stretching down to her chest, revealing layers of writhing tentacles and fine serrated teeth within.
When she opened her mouth, a hysterical shriek erupted, like the roar of a Demon.
Elolo couldn’t understand what she was trying to say at all. She only felt a terrible, splitting pain in her head, so intense she was about to pass out.
She felt as if something horrifying was being forcibly stuffed into her brain, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably once again.
Her small body quickly collapsed to the floor. She clutched her head with both hands, instinctively squeezing as if to force those things out of her mind.
She screamed, trying to vent her agony. Her consciousness was a chaotic mess, and she had lost nearly all capacity for thought.
The only thing she could still remember was the final thought: ’Be strong.’
Then, her consciousness grew heavier and heavier. Her body gave up its struggle and went limp, slumping to the ground as she passed out.
But her form remained that of a beautiful and lovely young girl. Her clothes were merely a bit disheveled from her earlier thrashing; she had not mutated into a Demon like Lady Haima.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Readings... trending toward stability? Did we... succeed?"
"Don’t celebrate too early. Keep monitoring! What’s the damage report on the Orbit? I’m referring to the suppression and protection components."
"The protective Orbit was almost completely breached by her screams, but it managed to hold in the end. Damage is at 80%..."
"Doesn’t matter. Notify the maintenance department to repair it at top speed! What about Elolo’s readings?"
"Her Rationality is gradually stabilizing. No physical mutation detected."
"Lady Haima is incapacitated. She should lose complete control soon!"
"Have Miss Xie Beileida initiate retrieval immediately! Quickly! It doesn’t matter if she’s damaged in the process!"
"What about... Elolo?"
"Retrieve Lady Haima first. Elolo’s condition is more optimistic than we anticipated."
Following the series of reports and instructions in the control room, all the scholars descended into a flurry of activity, rushing around to pull levers, twist knobs, or operate the dense arrays of buttons.
This chaotic state lasted for nearly half an hour. As the various instruments, meters, and counters returned to stable levels, the long, narrow, multicolored test tubes also slowly settled, their colors beginning to shift in unison toward green.
Not until all the colors in the test tubes had turned a uniform emerald green did an unavoidable series of cheers erupt in the control room:
"We did it! We really did it! A moment ago, I thought we were all going to die!"
"Praise the Saint! Praise the Sect! Praise humanity!"
"We have forged the future of humanity! We are the saviors of human Destiny!"
"Hahaha! I can finally go home and tell my daughter what kind of work I do."
Facing the overly excited scholars, the team leader’s expression remained stern and calm. She merely reached up with a slightly trembling hand to adjust her slightly askew monocle, taking the opportunity to wipe the sweat from her brow.
Then, she was forced to play the role of a buzzkill, snapping harshly:
"Everyone! How long do you intend to act so unprofessionally? This is only the first step of the experiment. Are a mere 3 base units of Forbidden Knowledge enough to get you this excited?"
At her words, the atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold. Everyone awkwardly wiped the smiles from their faces.
"Alright, clean up the site as quickly as possible, then prepare a new Lady Haima and send Elolo back to her room."
The team leader commanded.
Just then, someone beside her cautiously asked:
"She performed very well. Could we perhaps reward her with a small cake? She’s always been fond of sweets..."
But the team leader replied coldly:
"If you reward her with a small cake today, your own daughter might never get to eat cake again... Stow your ridiculous sympathy! She is nothing but a vessel."