This assassin is upright

Chapter 446 Special Gene Drugs
"Click——"

"Click——"

A series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds rang out from inside Yu Zhun's body. On his blood-red skin, a wisp of tangible heat was emanating, making it look extremely eerie.

Yu Zhun lay on the ground, his blood-soaked hands gripping the mud and sand tightly. His expression was ferocious, yet he gritted his teeth and refused to make a sound.

At this moment, he felt as if he were being devoured by countless ants and insects, his entire body tormented by unbearable pain and itching.

"This kid's got a strange vibe..."

Wolf Fang, watching this scene from afar, couldn't help but gasp. "We've all experienced how intense the pain of evolution can be."

"This kid hasn't uttered a single shout yet."

"Well..." the mouse said weakly, "I haven't evolved."

"Alright, shut up." Wolf Fang rolled his eyes.

"It seems we don't need what we prepared." Eiffel Tower casually tossed the bundle of rope he was holding onto the ground.

It was a bundle of high-strength alloy rope; if one were bound by it, even a second-tier evolved being would not be able to break free easily.

“His will is more terrifying than I imagined,” Black Hawk said in a deep voice. “When a normal person uses gene-enhancing drugs for the first time, the pain would make them want to end their life immediately.”

"It must be completely restrained by an outsider in order to safely complete the first evolution and transformation of the gene."

"But this kid managed to pull through just by sheer willpower."

"Hey boss," the rat couldn't help but say, "is this guy really just an ordinary villager from outside the city?"

“I don’t know.” Black Hawk paused for a moment, then shook his head. “If I remember correctly, this is the first time we’ve been to the settlement where Yu Zhun is. We haven’t had any contact with it before.”

"Perhaps the other party does have something special, but who in our excavation team doesn't have some secrets?"

At this point, Black Hawk looked at Yu Zhun again, his dark pupils contracting rapidly, turning into pinpoint holes.

"No matter what, my eyes don't lie."

"Yu Zhun is a trustworthy person."

Upon hearing this, the other three said nothing more.

After all, they knew Black Hawk's eyes well.

After taking gene-editing drugs to induce gene evolution, evolved individuals not only experience a significant improvement in physical attributes but also gain some special abilities, with Black Hawk's abilities being even more unique.

He can see a person's true nature from the depths of their being.

Although he could only faintly perceive it at the second level, this ability still helped him escape danger countless times and allowed him to meet three teammates with different personalities but equally reliable ones: Rat, Wolf Fang, and Iron Tower.

So if Black Hawk says Yu Zhun is trustworthy, then he's right.

“Boss Black Hawk, Yu Zhun hasn’t shown any unusual mutations yet, so the gene therapy you gave him shouldn’t be of inferior quality.”

The iron tower spoke in a deep voice.

“It’s certainly not of inferior quality.” Black Hawk shook his head. “That was just something I said to scare him.”

"Inferior gene drugs are cheap gene drugs made by polluted beasts, but polluted beasts did not exist in the old era."

"The ruins we excavated should be one of the laboratories under the SACK Technology Company."

“Syc Technology Corporation?” The rat couldn’t help but widen its eyes. “Wasn’t that the most powerful biotechnology company before the cataclysm?”

“Yes, that’s them.” Black Hawk nodded. “Some say that this company was not completely destroyed with the catastrophe.”

"The current isolated order has inherited their legacy."

"And now more than 90% of gene therapy drugs come from there."

As he spoke, Black Hawk's gaze fell on Yu Zhun, who was struggling in pain on the ground.

"My intuition tells me that it should be a good thing."

"Unfortunately, those of us who have used gene therapy are not fortunate enough to enjoy it."

"Boss, I didn't use it!" the mouse couldn't help but say.

"...Alright, shut up!"

"Something new has happened!"

Iron Tower suddenly let out a low shout, and overheard the conversation of the others.

Everyone stared intently at Yu Zhun on the other side and noticed that his blood-red complexion was gradually returning to normal.

“It seems the most difficult period is over.” Black Hawk glanced at the mechanical watch in his pocket. “It took half as long as I expected.”

"Could there be something wrong with the medicine?" Wolf Fang couldn't help but ask.

“It could be that the gene therapy drug is different from the one we use, or it could be due to the individual’s physical condition,” Black Hawk said slowly. “This is the first time I’ve seen someone like Yu Zhun who survived without uttering a sound or needing any external help.”

“It’s not impossible for something unusual to happen to a ruthless kid like him.” With that, Black Hawk lifted his foot and walked toward Yu Zhun, who was gradually regaining his senses. “Let’s go see him.”

"Hey kid, are you alright?"

The mouse was the first to step forward, and asked in a cheeky tone.

Yu Zhun's ferocious expression gradually softened, and the crimson color on his skin gradually faded. He still kept his eyes tightly closed, but his hands, which were firmly gripping the soil, slowly loosened, and even his breathing gradually became calm.

After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

"not too good."

"Being able to speak already means you're in pretty good shape." Wolf Fang hugged the bear, adopting an air of experience. "The most difficult period of upheaval is over. For the next while, you'll have a persistent fever and occasional sharp pains. Once the fever subsides, it means..."

“His fever has subsided,” Iron Tower interrupted Wolf Fang.

Wolf Fang was clearly taken aback, a hint of astonishment that didn't match his appearance showing in his deep-set eyes, which looked extremely sinister.

"Is it over so soon?"

“My situation seems to be a little different from what you have experienced.” Yu Zhun slowly sat up, his complexion had completely returned to its normal rosy color, and even his body temperature had returned to normal. He slowly raised his hands, which were covered in blood.

My hands, which had been digging into the ground, had many wounds, some so deep that the bone was visible, but now they were healing at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

However, at the same time, Yu Zhun could also clearly feel an extremely strong hunger surging in like a tide, as if his whole body had been hollowed out and he desperately needed a lot of food to fill it up.

"Eat up." Tita had already prepared a large piece of jerky the size of a palm and stuffed it directly into Yu Zhun's hand.

"Thank you." Yu Zhun didn't stand on ceremony. He grabbed the jerky, which he didn't know what kind of meat it was, and took a big bite. Then he paused for a moment.

Dry, fragrant, and sweet, the jerky tasted even better than he had expected. After eating it, it quickly turned into a warm current that flowed into his limbs and bones.

He was starving, but after eating half a piece of jerky, he actually felt a little full.

This dried meat… Yu Zhun couldn’t help but look up and cast an inquiring glance at the iron tower.

"Black Hawk and I, along with several other excavation teams, killed a Tier 2 mutated beast," Iron Tower said with a smile. "I made a lot of jerky from its meat, and there's still some left."

“Mutant beasts and polluted beasts are different things,” Black Hawk added from the side. “They’re like evolved humans and cyborgs.”

"However, mutated beasts are generally stronger than evolved humans of the same level, so it took us a lot of effort to kill that second-level mutated beast."

"…I see."

Yu Zhun looked down at the remaining half of the dried meat in his arms.

“If you’re given the Iron Tower, just accept it,” Black Hawk said calmly. “Mutant beast meat has higher energy content. You’ve just evolved and need nutrition, so save it for later.”

After saying that, Black Hawk couldn't help but ask, "How are you feeling now?"

Yu Zhun carefully put away the dried meat. After hearing this, he clenched his fist tightly and then couldn't help but nod.

He could feel that his physical fitness had improved significantly compared to before. His physical fitness was not even at the level of an ordinary person on Earth, but now it was equivalent to a level 10 player who had left the beginner village.

"boom--"

He slammed his fist into the ground, instantly creating a small crater in the otherwise hard soil. "My physical fitness has improved a lot."

"Looks like that gene-enhancing drug did work!" the rat chuckled. "Besides that, what else? All evolved beings have this ability, do you?"

“…Ability?” Yu Zhun was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Black Hawk and the other two.

“The rat is right.” Black Hawk nodded. “Taking gene-enhancing drugs will grant different abilities depending on one’s own abilities and the specific drug.”

"My ability is enhanced vision, which allows me to perceive things that are not visible to the naked eye. It is an enhanced ability of the five senses."

"Wolf Fang's ability is speed. He is two to three times faster than other evolved beings of the same level. As for Iron Tower, his skin can be hardened to the point that it is impervious to blades and bullets, comparable to high-strength alloy."

At this point, Black Hawk looked at Yu Zhun, "What about your abilities?"

Yu Zhun pondered for a moment, then slowly asked, "Does self-healing count?"

"My hand seemed to heal itself very quickly just now."

“No.” Black Hawk shook his head. “After an evolved being takes gene-enhancing drugs, their genes evolve, resulting in stronger physical abilities. Self-healing is also a type of physical ability.”

"For evolved beings, the body will automatically enter recovery mode after being injured, accelerating cell synthesis and healing wounds by increasing energy consumption."

"In short, the level of self-healing you just did is something that all of us could do as well, and it shouldn't be considered a skill."

"I see." Yu Zhun nodded in understanding. "If that's the case, then I probably don't have any other abilities."

When he said this, Yu Zhun's expression was quite calm, without the slightest hint of disappointment.

Before using that bottle of gene-enhancing drug of unknown origin, he had prepared for the worst, which was to become a bio-engineered human who might go insane.

Now that he's become an evolved being without any abilities, that's already pretty good.

With his formidable combat experience, he was confident that he could fight against other evolved beings of the same level and ultimately kill them.

“It’s alright.” Black Hawk nodded as well, his expression not showing much disappointment. “That gene-enhancing drug is a little different from the ones we usually use.”

"Not having ability may not be a bad thing."

“I know.” Yu Zhun nodded. “It was found in the laboratory of the most advanced biotechnology company in the old era. It must be extraordinary.”

"...You heard that?" Black Hawk looked surprised for the first time.

They were not very close to Yu Zhun when they discussed this issue, and it would take a lot of concentration to hear their conversation.

But Yu Zhun was clearly in so much pain at that time.

How could he still spare the energy to listen to our conversation?

"Hmm." Yu Zhun nodded without saying anything more.

In fact, although he chose to join the Black Hawk team, he was undergoing the third transformation trial and would not easily trust anyone. Therefore, even during the evolution process, he remained highly vigilant about the outside world.

Black Hawk gave Yu Zhun a deep look, realizing why Yu Zhun remained conscious, but he didn't say anything more.

Building trust is never a simple matter. Even the four of them went through countless life-or-death crises before they were able to entrust their backs to each other so readily.
"Now that the evolution is over, let's continue on our journey."

"Mouse, give him some of your luggage."

"Alright!" Mouse chuckled and winked at Yu Zhun. "I told you, I won't be polite when it's your turn to work."

As he spoke, he picked out the heavier items from his luggage and handed them all to Yu Zhun next to him, happy to slack off.

After all, he is now the only non-evolver in the team.

While modifying his body with prosthetics could grant him greater power, it would require a significant amount of precious energy.

Yu Zhun casually took the luggage. The heavy object, which was originally too heavy to lift, now felt light in his hands.

"Captain, where do we go next?"

“Let’s go to the next ruins area,” Black Hawk said without turning his head. “You may have heard some things about the excavation teams before, but it may not be the whole story.”

"Mouse, tell him about our work."

"Alright!" Mouse nodded and explained to Yu Zhun in detail, "What our excavation team does is, simply put, scavenging from the old days, that is, picking up scraps and recycling some usable things from them."

"However, this job is not as simple as it was before the cataclysm. Now, the areas outside the city are full of mutated beasts and polluted beasts."

"Therefore, we must be prepared to fight them at any time."

"However, where there are risks, there are also opportunities."

"Although the old era has ended, the treasures left behind by the old era, buried in the sands, could never be completely unearthed even if all the excavation teams worked day and night for hundreds of years."

“Although most of them are worthless trinket, you can occasionally find something special.” The mouse paused slightly at this point, “like the gene-editing drug you used.”

"Although it lacks the ability and looks somewhat like a defective product, a bottle of Tier 1 gene drug still costs at least 200,000 Tula on the black market."

The rat couldn't help but touch its modified prosthetic arm and click its tongue, "This arm modification only cost forty or fifty thousand Tulas."

"I understand." Yu Zhun nodded, ignoring the other party's increasingly off-topic conversation, and suddenly asked a question.

"Is that one in front a mutated beast or a polluted beast?"

"...What?" The mouse paused for a moment, then suddenly turned its head to look in the direction where Yu Zhun's gaze was focused.

In the misty sandstorm, a huge shadow rapidly approached.

"Everyone, be on alert!" Black Hawk's pupils contracted to pinpoints as he stared intently at the approaching shadow. "It's a medium-sized Pollution Beast!"

(End of this chapter)