78: Volunteer List

Ye Chen looked at the dissection report of the Strange Beast and suddenly asked, "How is the volunteer recruitment going?"

The D-rank researcher standing by quickly pulled out a list from the thick stack of documents upon hearing him.

"We planned to recruit 100 volunteers, but only... 5 have been recruited."

Perhaps due to the low completion rate of his task, his voice sounded somewhat unconfident.

Hearing the number, Ye Chen expressionlessly turned another page of the report.

"Even with extremely high compensation and a promise of hefty payouts to their families in case of an accident, it's still not enough?"

The D-rank researcher wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and softly said, "A-after all, the mortality rate is a bit high. Most people are still taking a wait-and-see approach. Perhaps, once the experiment stabilizes a bit, or you manage to reduce the mortality rate to an extremely low probability, they might accept."

"Heh."

Ye Chen's face remained expressionless, and he didn't even seem to open his mouth, but the D-rank researcher faintly heard a sneer full of mockery.

"Alright, you can go."

Ye Chen took the list from him and waved his hand.

The D-rank researcher immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned to leave.

However, the next moment, Ye Chen called him back.

"Wait, why is there a 'Seed' on this list?"

The D-rank researcher was startled at first, then realized that "Seeds" was the codename for the personnel of the six special operations teams currently undergoing special training at the base.

He quickly recalled and pinpointed a name on the list—Gao Lingfeng!

"It's like this: after careful consideration, the higher-ups decided to recruit specifically from units like the military, public security, and fire departments..."

Swallowing, the D-rank researcher continued, steeling himself.

"Originally, this recruitment wasn't open to the 'Seeds,' but somehow Gao Lingfeng heard about it and eventually approached us through Senior Colonel Pu Xiujie. At the time, we thought it would be good to have one more volunteer, so we added his name."

Ye Chen held the list, looking at the name on it without speaking for a long time.

The D-rank researcher thought Ye Chen was displeased and quickly tried to make amends.

"I apologize, we didn't consider the 'Seeds'' importance to you. It was our oversight. We'll screen out Gao Lingfeng right away!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen finally looked up at the D-rank researcher.

"No need, leave it as is. You can go."

Upon hearing this, the D-rank researcher immediately felt a huge weight lift off him and quickly left.

However, as he left the office and closed the door, he faintly heard a soft chuckle from inside the office.

Ye Chen was laughing?

The D-rank researcher shook his head, thinking he was hallucinating from too much overtime and late nights recently.

Everyone in the Supreme Research Institute knew Ye Chen's nickname, "Cold-Faced God."

Names could be mistaken, but nicknames were absolutely accurate.

"God" was, of course, because of Ye Chen's groundbreaking research capabilities and his superhuman brain, comparable to a supercomputer, making him omnipotent in the field of research, like a God.

And "Cold-Faced" was because no one had ever seen him smile or cry; he was like an emotionless robot.

One could say that his few clones were more human than him in terms of emotional expression.

---

Lu Chuan carried the grilled fish up the mountain, and by the time he reached halfway, he was only slightly sweating.

This was a world of difference from before, and it allowed Lu Chuan to more directly experience the power of the Gourmet Cells in strengthening his physique.

"From now on, call me Superman Chuan!"

Being a youth, Lu Chuan couldn't help but boast to the system.

[No, let's call you 'Motherland Chuan.' (Translator's Note: This is a play on words, ' Sichuan' (Zǔguó Chuān) sounds similar to ' Ancestral' (zǔchuán) meaning 'ancestral' or 'hereditary', often implying something passed down with pride and importance.)]

"Hahaha, what Motherland Chuan? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Lu Chuan laughed heartily and continued to climb upwards.

However, the next moment, his ears twitched, and he quickly twisted his waist to the left to dodge.

A sturdy wild boar, seemingly from nowhere, lunged and missed, its sharp tusks intimately embracing a tree trunk.

It shook its dizzy head, trying to pull out its tusks.

But they were stuck too deep, so it could only angrily paw the ground, letting out a series of impotent roars.

Lu Chuan looked at the wild boar helplessly, really wanting to go up and end their feud with a stone.

But in the end, he decided against it.

First, there was still a no-hunting rule for wild boars in his area.

Even if he killed it, so much meat would go to waste if he couldn't eat it all.

Most importantly, wild boar meat wasn't actually very tasty.

"Fine, fine, Grandpa will spare your pig life this time. Don't come back again!"

Lu Chuan snorted, turned his head, and continued climbing.

Ten minutes later, he finally arrived.

Squeezing through a gap, Lu Chuan hurried towards where he had found He Jingrui yesterday.

However, when he reached the gully, there was no sign of He Jingrui, only an overturned makeshift stove and a licked-clean takeout bag.

Lu Chuan was a bit bewildered and had to steel himself to search the surroundings.

Fortunately, his sense of smell had been enhanced, and although not as keen as a dog's, he could still faintly detect the lingering scent of grilled fish in the air.

Following the strongest scent, he cautiously moved forward.

As the canyon grew wider and wider, and the number of Xenomorph encountered on the way increased, Lu Chuan felt more and more uneasy.

Just as he thought he had gone the wrong way and was about to turn back, an incredibly strong smell of blood suddenly wafted from ahead.

Lu Chuan's face showed surprise, and after much hesitation, he decided to explore a little further.

After walking another hundred meters or so, he could already see the canyon's exit.

And in the direction of the exit, a lone figure stood there.

At his feet were piles of Strange Beast corpses.

Blood flowed like a river.

A true river of blood.

The shocking smell of blood distorted Lu Chuan's expression, giving him a desire to vomit.

He hastily retreated until he had taken several deep breaths of fresh air, and his nose, which had been overwhelmed to the point of temporary anosmia, finally recovered.

"So, after being controlled by Gourmet Cells, it can become distorted to this extent?"

Lu Chuan found it somewhat difficult to accept at first.

In his view, killing for food was a biological instinct; there was no right or wrong, good or bad.

But if it was just killing for the sake of killing, then it could only be described as inherently evil, with no justification to whitewash it.

It was only at this moment that Lu Chuan truly realized that the side effects of Gourmet Cells were far more terrifying than he had imagined.

"I absolutely cannot let He Jingrui be controlled by the Gourmet Cells within him again!"

Lu Chuan clenched his fists, no longer hesitating, and began to pick up stones and dead branches and leaves from the surroundings.

Soon, five grilled fish were set on the makeshift stove, beginning to emit an alluring aroma.

Lu Chuan swallowed, suppressing his desire to eat, and placed the chilled fruit juice he had brought with him on the ground, then quickly retreated.

A moment later, Lu Chuan, who was hiding, saw a standing figure appear by the stove.

(Thanks to "Can Can Cen" and "Qiu Ye Ju" for the gifts, many thanks to both Big Boss!!)