138: Chapter 138 The Broken Wings Plan

The cold genetic model on the screen and the small line of text in the bottom right corner plunged the training ground into a dead silence.

[T-Veronica Basic Fusion Experiment]

No one could understand those complex curves, but the words "Fusion Experiment" were like an icicle piercing through everyone's nerves.

A curly-haired boy named Kevin broke the silence: "Sir... what does this mean?"

Chen Feng tossed the documents in his hand to Marcus, with no intention of beating around the bush.

"The meaning is simple. Umbrella needs a group of volunteers."

He scanned the thirteen faces before him, some numb, others filled with fear.

"There are two paths laid out before you."

"The first path: take the money and leave. One million dollars, a clean identity, and a new city. You'll be set for the rest of your lives. Sign the non-disclosure agreement, treat Eden Island as a nightmare, and go back to your ordinary lives."

A slight commotion rippled through the group. To them, a million dollars was an astronomical sum.

"The second path: sign a voluntary experiment agreement and undergo a high-risk genetic modification."

Kevin's face turned pale. "High-risk... what does that mean?"

"It means you might die."

Chen Feng's bluntness made even Tony want to cover his face.

"Or, it could be worse than death."

A short-haired girl immediately followed up: "If we choose the first path, what happens to those who hurt us? Will you guarantee our safety?"

"I can't guarantee they will receive the judgment they deserve," Chen Feng replied, "but I can guarantee that Umbrella will provide a limited degree of follow-up protection. Epstein is dead, but his clients are still alive. Your very existence is evidence, and it's also a danger."

This cold water was more effective than any comfort. Those who were just fantasizing about a new life were instantly snapped back to reality.

The nightmare hadn't ended at all.

Elena, who had been silent all along—the girl who escaped from the villa to the pier alone—looked up.

"If I choose the first path, then what?" she asked.

Chen Feng did not answer.

Elena continued on her own, her voice not loud, but every word was clear:

"Then I'll wake up from nightmares every night, hide in the bathroom whenever I hear the doorbell, and feel like vomiting whenever I see a man in a suit."

"I'll take the million dollars, live in a beautiful house, and then wait for the day I see those people's faces on TV again."

She paused, her throat tightening.

"I don't want that kind of life."

In the training ground, the other twelve people all looked at her.

Elena took a step forward.

"I accept the experiment."

Chen Feng looked at her: "Have you thought it through? You might die."

"I've already died many times on the island." Elena wiped her face, an unhealed scar becoming more prominent. "Mr. Chen, I don't want to beg anyone to save me anymore."

These words made Sarah, standing to the side, stiffen slightly.

She understood all too well; that feeling of handing your fate over to someone else—tasting it once was enough.

Chen Feng nodded.

"Tony, the contracts."

Tony immediately handed over a document: "Girl, thirty-seven pages. Legal waivers, confidentiality clauses, risk disclosures... want me to read them to you?"

"No need. I used to study nursing; I can understand it."

Elena took the pen and, without looking closely, flipped straight to the last page and signed her name.

Elena Rovira.

The moment the pen touched the paper, a system notification popped up in Chen Feng's field of vision.

[First voluntary fuser detected: Elena Rovira]

[Age: 19]

[Basic Constitution: Weak]

[Mental Stress Resistance: High]

[Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Severe]

[Fusion Compatibility Assessment: Awaiting sampling]

High mental stress resistance... Chen Feng wasn't surprised.

Just as he was about to have Marcus take people for blood sampling, a second person stepped forward.

It was Kevin.

"I also accept."

"Weren't you very scared just now?" Chen Feng asked.

Kevin forced a strained smile: "I'm scared. But I'm even more afraid of going back to that hell where I was at the mercy of others."

He took the contract and signed his name.

"I'll sign! For my sister!" the short-haired girl, Lina Hawke, shouted.

"Count me in."

"Damn it, my life is trash anyway. I'm gambling it!"

Once the chain reaction started, it couldn't be stopped. Tony hurriedly moved a table from the corner and spread out the contracts one by one.

"Line up, line up! Even when signing away your lives, you have to be civilized!"

No one paid attention to his lame joke.

Marcus looked at this group of young people whose average age was barely twenty. They should have been in school complaining about exams, staying up late playing games, and experiencing young love.

Now, they were rushing to put themselves on the experimental table.

Chen Feng's heart was also not at peace, but he didn't stop them.

He knew that for these people who had been torn apart by the world once, forcing them back into the shell of a so-called ordinary life was not redemption, but rather a more cruel form of torture.

Some wounds can only be covered by even greater power.

The last person to step forward was an Asian youth, Lin Hao. He only picked up the pen after the previous twelve people had finished signing.

Tony couldn't help but remind him: "Little brother, a million is really a lot. Buy some index funds and live a stable life..."

Lin Hao shook his head and signed his name.

"My dad used to say that too—to stay away and stay safe. Then he became a driver for a big shot and never came back."

Thirteen signed contracts were laid out neatly on the table.

Tony looked at those names and, for once, didn't crack a joke: "Boss... they all signed."

Chen Feng's gaze swept across those thirteen young but weary faces.

He raised his hand, and the training ground fell silent again.

"Since you've all chosen the second path, let me put the ugly truth upfront."

"Regardless of the outcome, from now on, you are no longer ordinary victims. Umbrella will give you power, and it will also give you rules."

A dead silence filled the training ground.

"Tony, archive these, maximum clearance." Chen Feng handed the contracts over.

"Understood."

"Marcus, take them for basic assessments. Blood, neural response, muscle tolerance, psychological state—document everything."

Marcus nodded: "When does the experiment start?"

Chen Feng glanced at the system interface that only he could see.

[Prompt: The first batch of samples shows abnormal mental variables; there is a possibility of a special evolutionary direction.]

Interesting.

"Three days from now," he replied.

"About Dr. Samantha..." Tony hesitated.

"I'll notify her."

Sarah whispered to Chen Feng: "Have you thought of a name? For the first batch of T-Veronica test subjects."

"Let's call them... broken wings."

[Hidden Mission Triggered: Project Broken Wing]

[Mission Objective: Complete the first batch of T-Veronica fusion experiments and have at least one member successfully inoculated with the T-Veronica Virus]

[Mission Reward: 100,000 Research Points, Elite Unit: Hunk]