«Don’t be so cruel to the mercenaries, okay?»
The vast, snow-white laboratory was extremely well-lit, with the light seemingly emanating from all directions, illuminating every fine detail of the two subjects so clearly that the researchers could meticulously record every step and detail of the experiment.
The two experimental subjects, locked in a stare, were filled with mutual wariness and fear.
The difference in size between the girl and Min Zhizhou was stark, making their confrontation appear as if a grown man was bullying a fragile, weak girl. At a glance, it was clear that this was a confrontation that could hardly be considered fair.
The girl raised her chin, exposing her fragile, slender neck, gazing up at the tall, imposing Min Zhizhou. Her hand gripped the weapon tightly, but in reality, it was a reflex born of fear, a desperate instinct to hold onto something. The fear she felt toward this giant of a man was evident in her expression. Her trembling legs betrayed the deep, unmasked terror she was experiencing.
He Fang’s expression grew complicated. The realism of this NPC’s fear was so genuine that it invoked sympathy, making him unable to stop himself from asking, “What is this? Bullying someone?”
Zhu Yan immediately shook his head, sincerely and thoroughly attempting to provide the Creator with a clearer explanation. “We are conducting a combat power test, City Lord. We want to gather specific combat data on Mr. Min to help us assess the combat strength of the Nightmare Beast.”
“The combat strength of the Nightmare Beast seed?” He Fang asked, a note of doubt in his voice.
“Yes. Because the sample size of the Nightmare Beast seed this time is too small and the police resolved the situation too quickly, we were unable to gather more effective data. So, by using a comparative method, we can better understand how much potential the Nightmare Beast seed can unlock in the human body.”
Zhu Yan’s words made He Fang think back to Min Zhizhou’s impressive performance in battle. Min Zhizhou had shown an extraordinary level of skill in that fight. Having watched numerous game cutscenes, He Fang found it rare to witness such a simple yet raw and intense fight. He couldn’t help but internally applaud.
But…
The Nightmare Beast, so powerful and capable of thought, had been so easily defeated by the police. It was truly surprising.
They had no more Nightmare Beasts for experimentation, so they had to resort to this method to collect data. The researchers were, in fact, doing real work.
“But… isn’t it a bit cruel to make a girl fight Min Zhizhou?” He Fang could already see, from the clear image on the screen, that the girl was on the verge of tears.
“This girl is the weakest among all the volunteers we recruited. Her physical test results were the lowest,” Zhu Yan replied calmly and precisely, choosing his words carefully.
“Then isn’t this bullying?” He Fang asked reflexively.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Yan’s expression was filled with confusion at the bizarre situation. “But we’ve already conducted several tests before this. From the total body data, it has continuously decreased. Up until now, Mr. Min… has yet to win a single round.”
He Fang: “???”
“Mr. Min stated that while his abilities cannot be considered top-tier, they are commendable among ordinary people. Moreover, in the battle against the Nightmare Beast, we can accurately judge that Mr. Min is very skilled in using his body. However…” Zhu Yan’s expression mirrored He Fang’s confusion. He lowered his head and pulled up several sets of data and multiple video clips were displayed on the screen. “We don’t understand the current situation. We can only repeat the experiment and probe why Mr. Min, despite having reached a perfect age and experience, is unable to defeat anyone.”
He Fang couldn’t hold it in any longer. His face stiffened. Without saying a word, he secretly pulled up the attribute list of the girl and Min Zhizhou inside the experiment area.
As expected, Min Zhizhou’s peak stats were all lower than the girl’s minimum values. The girl was even in a blood-losing state, with her physical stats halved.
He Fang almost forgot that in his eyes, all of this information was fully transparent.
How could he explain to Zhu Yan that Min Zhizhou’s combat power was inherently low?
Min Zhizhou, with his muscular build, had physical stats that were even worse than those of an infant.
“Although Mr. Min hasn’t won a single round, his ability and agility are undeniable. He possesses considerable skill but lacks the corresponding strength,” Zhu Yan said, pulling up a video clip to show He Fang.
The clip clearly showed a frail young man, wearing glasses, who collapsed and fled in disarray under Min Zhizhou’s attack. However, Min Zhizhou still lost because the young man, in his fear, instinctively kicked around. One of his unconscious kicks struck Min Zhizhou’s leg, severely injuring him.
This was truly pitiful.
Min Zhizhou’s situation was truly miserable…
He Fang silently averted his gaze. Perhaps this was it—others could make countless mistakes, but for Min Zhizhou, one mistake meant failure.
At that moment, in the laboratory, the long-standing tension between Min Zhizhou and the girl was finally broken by Min Zhizhou launching the first attack. His speed was so fast that the girl barely had time to react. She screamed and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding Min Zhizhou’s attack, not even grazing her clothing.
He Fang watched as Min Zhizhou, using incredibly sharp skills and excellent predictions, scared the female researcher into ducking and shrieking. Yet, despite all of this, Min Zhizhou’s utmost effort was still not enough to harm the ‘fragile girl’ in the slightest.
He Fang slowly spoke, “Um… I think, maybe we should stop these cruel experiments.”
Zhu Yan was momentarily stunned and then turned to look at He Fang. A faint glint passed through his cold, metallic gaze. His overly calm tone carried a hint of gentleness: “City Lord, please don’t worry. We know you love your people like your own children and wouldn’t want to see any harm come to the residents. Our experiments are conducted with full protective measures in place. We would never let the volunteers be harmed. The volunteers are participating willingly for the future development of the city, and will also receive generous rewards for their participation.”
“It’s not necessary to use the comparison method, is it? Didn’t we already have enough video footage from before?” He Fang continued.
“The last time we fought the Nightmare Beast, we provided Mr. Min with quite advanced weapons and armor. According to Mr. Min, our equipment allowed him to achieve results that were otherwise impossible,” Zhu Yan said, his sharp gaze fixed on the somewhat absurd chase within the room. His side profile was serious and handsome. “Moreover, in the future, we may encounter people from outside the city. With no way of knowing their combat abilities, the only benchmark we have is Mr. Min.”
He Fang was speechless.
He couldn’t deny that this young researcher had indeed thought things through thoroughly.
However, He Fang’s expression at this point couldn’t simply be described as complicated. He was about to say something but stopped himself, deciding to remain silent.
He couldn’t exactly say that he found it cruel—that even by lowering the standards, Min Zhizhou still couldn’t beat others, especially now when even a girl could easily dodge his attacks. Being repeatedly defeated by increasingly ‘fragile’ opponents must be a huge blow to Min Zhizhou. He wondered if this would leave a psychological scar on him.
Sure enough, the female researcher, running for her life, was cornered by the swift and agile Min Zhizhou. His face was cold, and without hesitation, his weapon descended. The frightened female researcher immediately threw her weapon away in panic.
The weapon wasn’t fast, but Min Zhizhou quickly stopped his attack and sidestepped. However, he still got grazed on his side and kneeled down for a moment, temporarily losing his ability to fight.
“Experiment complete.” Zhu Yan said to the people in the lab. Both of them in the lab immediately relaxed.
He Fang silently mourned for Min Zhizhou in his heart. “Are the data we’ve gathered useful?”
“Don’t miss any possibility. It’s always better to be prepared,” Zhu Yan replied.
He Fang was sincerely impressed by the researcher’s thoroughness and caution. “Um, may I ask, if we didn’t rely on the data, what would you say about Min Zhizhou’s combat ability?”
“Not relying on data? Are you talking about just going by intuition?” Zhu Yan clearly hadn’t thought much about relying on intuition without data comparison. He tilted his head slightly, thinking, and for the first time, a hint of cuteness showed on his face. Zhu Yan then gave He Fang an answer. “I’d say… it’s like being an ant.”
He Fang: “……”
If next time he spots an ant nest in the city, he will try to see if he can pull up the attribute panel for the ants.
