“Number 1304, a routine inspection will be conducted today. Please cooperate.”
“I said… I have a name. Stop calling me by a number, will you? My name is Qiu Qiqian.”
“Very well, Number 1304. To your left, a metal training dummy is slowly rising…”
“You didn’t listen to me at all, did you…”
In the spacious and empty Containment Room, a young girl with long brown hair and a dark windbreaker sat on the only chair in the room, looking quite displeased.
She sat with her legs crossed and tilted her head back, staring at the analysts outside the observation window who were dressed in white coats and holding clipboards.
“I’m telling you… why do I have to listen to you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just phase through the wall and bail right now?”
“Number 1304, if you were still in your Spiritual State, you wouldn’t be able to sit on that chair.”
‘Damn… he’s right… How did these people do it? I thought this was a world with technology similar to my original one, but has their tech tree already advanced to the point where they can materialize a Guiyi?’
‘And… seriously… why was a random pedestrian on the street one of their people! I didn’t even get to pull a few pranks before I was arrested on the spot.’
‘Tsk… who knows when I’ll be free again… I thought if this was just a normal human world, I might even try to conquer it for fun.’
“Number 1304, stop biting your finger. Please attack the metal dummy on the left. We will perform a preliminary assessment of your destructive capabilities.”
‘Do they have to nag me about biting my finger too…’
“Huh? Why should I cooperate with your experiments? I used to be — ”
At this point, the girl with the light brown hair released the finger she was biting and glanced down at her crotch.
She seemed to think of something sorrowful, and a hint of grief couldn’t help but flicker in her eyes.
“Forget it. Anyway, you have to give me a reason to cooperate with you.”
Qiu Qiqian leaned back in the chair with her arms crossed, rocking back and forth.
She figured that these people would eventually make some concessions to please her.
After all, even for lab rats, you have to offer some bait first.
‘Though… the final outcome for lab rats usually isn’t very good… maybe I shouldn’t use lab rats as a metaphor…’
“Number 1304, if you are unwilling to cooperate, we will be forced to proceed with your execution.”
“Hmph, that’s more like — wait, what? Waaaah!”
Bang.
Because of the unexpected answer, Qiu Qiqian, who had been rocking her chair, instantly lost her balance and fell to the floor behind her like a folding screen.
“Considering human safety, we cannot allow a Guiyi to roam freely. Therefore, if you are unwilling to cooperate, we can only take extreme measures.”
‘No… this isn’t right… Shouldn’t they offer some sweet incentives to lure me? Why jump straight to execution? Do these guys even know how to make a prisoner cooperate?’
“Tsk… seriously… fine, fine. Consider this an act of mercy from yours truly. I’ll humor your little experiment.”
Qiu Qiqian had no choice.
She stood up from the floor, dusted herself off, and reluctantly agreed to their request.
She walked toward the metal dummy on the left with a look of pure reluctance, staring at the inanimate object as if it were trash.
‘Though nothing is actually going to happen.’
‘A dummy like this… they’re really looking down on me. I’m a Guiyi! Even if I only reincarnated into this world three days ago, I’m still a Guiyi! I’ll show you what I’m made of!’
Clang —
The echo rang out like a bell in a valley, lingering in the air.
Outside the observation window, the analysts collected the strike data from the metal dummy.
In the end, they found that the power of Number 1304’s punch was…
“435N. It’s only slightly higher than a normal adult male’s punch, and weaker than even most amateur boxers.”
“This data is terrible. Even for the lowest ‘Brute Class’ Guiyi, their materialized punch strength should be at least three times higher than hers.”
“What was her reaction after the hit?”
“Look.”
Another analyst in a white coat pointed downward.
“Hiss… ah… damn…”
The girl with light brown hair was clutching her fist, which had clearly turned red.
Within just a few seconds, her face displayed a sequence of pain, sadness, and rage.
Her transitions were more skilled than a face-changing master at a theater.
“Pfft…”
A gray-haired girl in casual clothes standing nearby couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the ridiculous scene.
“As a Guiyi, she can actually feel pain?”
An analyst with a small mustache said in confusion, picking up a file on the desk to look through it again.
“Is this girl really a Guiyi? Isn’t she just a Superpowered Individual with a ‘Nether Body’?” another analyst asked.
“We couldn’t even draw a blood sample after she materialized. Furthermore, based on the data comparison, her status is about 2% worse than yesterday without absorbing life force or ‘Nether Breath’.”
“How was she caught in the first place?”
“According to the records, a ‘Ming Xun’ from the organization was heading home after work that night. On the way, he was continuously harassed by Number 1304. She said meaningless things and waved random objects around, seemingly trying to disturb him to make his life force easier to scatter and absorb.”
“That sounds like what a low-level Guiyi would do… and then?”
“And then she was caught. It’s said she was carried back by that ‘Ming Xun’ like a stray cat.”
“Pfft… haha…” The gray-haired girl chuckled again.
“This girl is actually quite interesting.”
“So? Maybe she has some special ability?”
“If she had a special ability, she would have used it when she was caught.”
“True.”
“However… her level of intelligence is incredibly rare. So far, we haven’t seen a Guiyi with such humanity… Her research value is extremely high. Let’s give her a test paper later to see how high her IQ is.”
“Understood. Ahem, Number 1304, you may rest for now. There will be another test later.”
“What? Another test? I’m telling you… Hey! I haven’t eaten a single thing since you guys caught me yesterday! And look at this Containment Room — there isn’t even a bed! Do you have to be so stingy?! Hey! Are you listening to me!”
“After discussion, the items you requested have been deemed non-essential. It requires further reporting to the higher-ups.”
“Non-essential my — “
‘Phew… stay calm, stay calm. I can’t beat these people right now. Even though they don’t treat me like a person… well, I guess I’m really not… but everything needs a plan. I have to think of a way to escape.’
‘Wait… I’ve got it! These guys… they probably don’t know I have the Possession ability yet… If I can find a chance to possess someone, I can use them as a hostage to force my way out. These analysts… they wouldn’t just ignore someone’s life for the sake of research, right?’
‘Only… what reason should I use?’
Qiu Qiqian stroked her chin and looked toward the observation window again.
When she saw the gray-haired girl with wide, beautiful gray eyes leaning against the glass, an idea suddenly struck her.
“Hey! I’ve been in this empty room for almost twenty-four hours without a single person to talk to. Aren’t you worried that my mood will affect the upcoming experiments?”
“Number 1304, if you wish to talk, all of us here can converse with you.”
“By ‘talking,’ you mean talking through bulletproof glass thicker than a concrete wall using an external speaker?”
“This is for the safety of both parties.”
“Tsk… please. You saw it earlier; I punched that dummy and ended up hurting myself more. Or are you analysts so cowardly that you’re afraid to get close to a weak and helpless Guiyi like me?”
“Number 1304, provocation is useless. Please — ”
Just as the mustached analyst speaking into the microphone was about to tell Qiu Qiqian to sit back down, another analyst came over and whispered something to him.
The mustached analyst, who was originally opposed, nodded in agreement.
“Ahem. Fine. We will send one person to have a conversation with you. You have ten minutes. Do not attempt anything dangerous.”
“Wait! Talking to you analysts will just involve a bunch of questions anyway. How is that a conversation? Let’s see… I want to talk to that little girl!”
Qiu Qiqian pointed toward the observation window at the gray-haired girl who stood out from the rest.
Even the girl herself pointed at her chest in disbelief.
“Eh? Me?”
‘Heh heh! That’s right! In a sea of white-coated analysts, there’s one person in casual clothes… She’s either the daughter of some big shot here to learn or just some amateur. People like her are the easiest to possess.’
After Qiu Qiqian pointed at her, the expressions of the other analysts instantly became… strange.
The muscles in their cheeks were twitching as if they were fighting a war, looking exactly like people who desperately wanted to laugh but were holding it in due to professional etiquette.
However, because she was too confident and the distance was a factor, Qiu Qiqian didn’t notice the change in their expressions.
“Number 1304, are you sure you want to select Miss Li Meng?”
‘So her name is Li Meng?’ she whispered to herself. ‘She sounds like the type that’s easy to handle… Exactly! Her!’
Qiu Qiqian stood with one hand on her hip and spoke in a tone that left no room for argument.
However… she would soon regret this choice.
