Good Morning
A line of robust men walked down a wide, bright corridor paved with marble floor tiles.
The leading captain, following the corridor’s direction, split the group into teams of seven.
For the team turning right, the captain at the front, just after the turn, raised his right arm horizontally, aligning the wristband he wore with a certain spot on the transparent door to the right.
A soft sound echoed through the corridor, indicating the door lock’s deactivation, while simultaneously, the exhaust vent of the pod bed inside the room released a puff of gas.
It took ten seconds for all door locks to be fully deactivated. Each corridor utilised its space differently, with rooms arranged in alternating single and double patterns, but invariably, each corridor housed seven rooms. Everyone inside wore blue short-sleeved shirts and pants. The only differences lay in the degree of disarray and the bloodstains on their bodies.
In the center-rear of each room was a semi-cylindrical, transparent aerospace pod bed placed against the wall. The back and top of the pod were connected to several tubes.
At the foot of the bed was a nano-plastic board, with armrests on either side. If not for the oval top, the whole apparatus would resemble a coffin.
Upon entering the room, to the right was a 12-inch display screen used for broadcasting information. To the left was a small sink and toilet. Each of the seven rooms housed a person—more accurately, seven test subjects.
The test subjects lay flat inside the pod beds, their bodies restrained by several ring-shaped white devices known as “Eagle-3.” These devices could both scan their physical condition and administer electric shocks to punish those who did not rest on time.
Additionally, special collar-like devices locked around their necks and limbs, similarly relying on powerful paralyzing currents to keep the subjects confined within the pod.
Above their heads was a circular vent that released special gases. Working in tandem with “Eagle-3,” it sent real-time data to the main monitoring station, where both the AI operations center and the monitoring staff jointly assessed the subjects’ various states.
If the data indicated that the brain was still active and the subject was not resting obediently, the vent would release a gas designed to induce drowsiness, known as “Owl-3.”
However, for those who had matured, this gas would prove ineffective. The base would then switch to “Owl-2+,” a gas mixed with “special” components, which had a more potent effect. More importantly, before this, the base needed to train them to be sufficiently compliant.
The collars around the neck and limbs served as an additional layer of security, intended to deter anyone who might attempt to struggle or resist. Although the initial release of gas after lying down was enough to lull new subjects into a state of drowsiness, exceptional circumstances could not be ruled out, making multiple layers of security essential. Any unusual movement would be detected by “Eagle-3.”
All devices were designed to ensure that the subjects complied once they lay down on these beds. Of course, if any subject dared to attempt to damage these devices, what awaited them would be a punishment they would never forget.
As the door locks began to disengage, a white, mist-like gas—“Cuckoo-3”—gradually seeped from the mask. The pod beds automatically shifted from a horizontal to a vertical position, leaving the subjects in a “standing” posture. Once “Eagle-3” detected that their vital signs had reached the threshold for awakening, the collars around their necks were the first to loosen. Those outside would wait until the gas inside the pods had mostly dissipated before entering.
However, this was not the case for all corridors. For test subjects who arrived early and were tagged with “secure” and “comfort” labels by the behind-the-scenes researchers, the men outside would simply wait and observe the subject’s condition without entering.
The men walked into the rooms, raising their left forearms to allow the cameras inside to scan and confirm the chips implanted in their forearms.
Upon confirmation, the chains connecting to the subjects’ collars would automatically retract into their corresponding openings, while the wrist and ankle cuffs remained on the subjects at all times—a deterrent to keep their behavior in check and facilitate punishment if necessary.
The men entering the rooms were the disciplinary enforcers of this facility, referred to here as “Hounds.” They were perhaps the most straightforward and direct mutants of brute force and speed, possessing robust physiques and superhuman strength and speed.
The lead man walked further in, pausing only after scanning the last door, standing before it as he waited for the restraints to deactivate. Ten seconds later, the door opened. He stepped inside, approaching the person confined within.
It was a young woman, appearing to be no more than seventeen or eighteen. The Hound observed her state coldly and meticulously.
The moment her consciousness returned, the chains on her wrists and ankles automatically detached, leaving only the rings around her neck and limbs.
The woman suddenly gripped the armrest beside her, her knuckles turning white from the force—though her mind wasn’t fully clear, she did it instinctively—a muscle memory.
It was something she had deliberately cultivated through her own efforts in the third week after arriving here, to avoid falling to the floor. The first two weeks, after all, had been filled with plenty of tumbles.
Pain forced her to furrow her brow, her body trembling slightly. She descended slowly and unsteadily from the bed, and the Hound subtly stepped aside. The woman turned to look at the display screen on the wall—six in the morning.
Her training schedule for the day was already displayed. She walked over stiffly, nearly collapsing onto the screen, as the lingering effects of the medication made it difficult for her to see clearly in this state.
The test subjects were given very little time to memorize the information—only twenty seconds, after which the screen shut off. The Hound, having confirmed her condition, turned and walked out.
On the left wall, there was an A4-sized display screen. The Hound tapped it a few times, and upon completing the operation, the panel within the wall automatically closed, turning it back into a seamless wall.
Such complex procedures were only used on newcomers who hadn’t been at the base long, as they required guidance and intimidation. Dealing with the “old-timers” involved other methods.
The dizziness and weakness in the limbs caused by the white mist were unpleasant. Waking up to another type of gas in the morning, Gu Li had to quickly restore her mind and body to a normal state. After memorizing today’s schedule, she limped and struggled her way out. Being late for the lineup would result in punishment, and the Hounds hit hard.
From next door, as usual, came the sound of a Hound beating someone—usually a few slaps or kicks, designed to help test subjects who couldn’t get up quickly enough to snap out of it.
In fact, the base used to use electric shocks for this purpose. But perhaps because a few had been electrocuted to death a few days earlier, the administrators lamented the waste of resources caused by the shocks, grumbling, “This batch is of such poor quality.”
Gu Li had been here for some time now.
“Three weeks,” she reminded herself. “My name is Gu Li, from ‘Haitang Prefecture.’ My father is Gu Zhensheng, my mother is Xu Lan, and my master is Feng Hao. You have a friend at this base named Su Luoshan. You met her here. She’s a spy infiltrated by the special police force. Remember the pact you made with Luoshan and the things she taught you, and then find a way home!”
The first thing she did every day upon waking was repeat these words to herself over and over in her mind. She was terrified that, under the influence of these unnamed sprays, she would forget who she was and where she came from. She didn’t know when she would be able to go home, or even if she ever could... But even if she died, she wanted to die as herself.
In the corridor, people in several rooms were still being beaten, but no one dared to make a sound anymore. Gu Li obediently filed into the line, taking her place at the very end. Up ahead on the corridor, a Hound roughly threw a test subject out of one of the rooms.
Gu Li lowered her head, suppressing the sorrow welling up inside her. She happened to catch a glimpse of her own chest number—067. She averted her gaze, forcing herself to concentrate, ignoring the pain in her body, and began to mentally review the experiences of the past few weeks.
Her spoken language was poor. When she first arrived, due to language issues, she constantly messed up classroom locations and instructors’ commands, suffering a great deal and being secretly bullied more than once.
She had endured it all. Now, her language skills had improved considerably, and the daily routines were clearer, but due to her lack of physical strength, physical injuries were unavoidable.
“As long as I don’t die, it’s fine,” she resolved silently. “And if possible, let me keep all my limbs.”
Everything here, Gu Li adhered to one principle: “endure.” She didn’t want to attract attention, so she usually kept her head slightly lowered—just like a portion of the test subjects here.
She discreetly observed her surroundings, mirroring the actions and expressions of the majority of test subjects. But she wasn’t timid, nor did she show obvious fear—that would invite contempt and get her badly bullied. Therefore, learning how to be an “unobtrusive” person had become something she tirelessly studied and corrected at every moment during these three weeks at the base.
Whenever she arrived at a new location, Gu Li would strive to memorize the route and its features, observing as comprehensively and carefully as possible, especially the details. Then, she would silently piece together the overall shape of this place in her mind, hoping to find an opportunity to escape later.
Someone stood in front of her. The smell of blood mixed with heavy, ragged breaths and unpleasant body odor assailed her. Gu Li fought hard to suppress her nausea and inner panic, silently repeating the words her master had taught her.
“He didn’t get any either.” Gu Li glanced at the man’s back and thought to herself. It seemed there were rules for obtaining new clothes too. For now, she only understood that the “old-timers” here had the privilege of wearing new clothes every day, even if they were all the same “prison uniforms.”
The tall figure cast a shadow, enveloping Gu Li. She looked at his broad back, vaguely scanning his entire condition while always keeping a sliver of attention on the Hounds behind her. She was like a little lamb, squeezed between two tall wolves.
Shadows of people moved in the corridor ahead. Once the test subjects were assembled, they would exit the building. The Hound leader stopped beside Gu Li and commanded, “Move!” Their group also started moving, falling in behind the other lines.
The test subjects walked in an orderly fashion, producing a faint rustling sound that added a touch of life to this “graveyard.” Finally, the corridor fell silent again, leaving behind only the test subjects who would never wake up again.
The dead test subjects were discarded against the corridor wall. A mechanical sound rang out, the floor beneath them folded downwards, and they fell straight through, like garbage.
