6kv Chapter 49 Outside the Laboratory
Chapter 49 Outside the Laboratory
"What are you doing here? Does Boss Hick intend to use me as a guinea pig?"
Sori's voice was hoarse, with a numb acceptance of his fate, clearly indicating that he had guessed the outcome.
"Fine... considering I once served him, perhaps he'll grant me a quick death."
"Senior Sorey, you're only half right." Jona chuckled, a hint of amusement in her voice. "You will indeed become Senior Hick's test subject, but..."
She paused deliberately, enjoying the confusion on Sorey's face.
"But not to die."
"What do you mean?" A glimmer of light flashed in Sori's cloudy eyes.
"Senior Hick is a disciple of Master Perrotta."
Jona's tone carried an air of self-righteous superiority.
"And what is Master Perlotta's area of expertise... do I, his new apprentice, need to remind you?"
She stopped beating around the bush and said directly:
"Senior Hick's body modification skills are now at the pinnacle of the apprentice level! He can reshape your damaged body, allowing you... to be reborn!"
"Witch body modification?! Are you serious?" Sori's battered body trembled slightly with excitement.
“Of course,” Jona’s gaze swept over him critically, and she scoffed, “Otherwise, would we need to waste our breath on you?”
The stagnant lake of his heart seemed to have been struck by a boulder; the ice of despair shattered, and a glimmer of hope struggled to shine through. Sorey pressed on urgently:
"generation……"
Before he could finish speaking, a self-deprecating bitter laugh distorted his charred face—the price? Did he even have the right to ask that?
"When will it start?"
"Let's go wait outside Senior Hick's lab now," Jona waved casually. "It's... quite 'lively' there."
------
"Kurt, is what you're saying true? Boss Hick will really help us with the witch body modification?"
"What is the success rate? Are the side effects significant?"
"Is all that required of you to be loyal?"
"I don't have 5000 magic crystals, but I have almost 4000. Can I pay you back?"
Surrounded by a group of veteran apprentices, Kurt felt like he was being swarmed by flies.
"Alright, quiet!"
Kurt's loud shout silenced the scene, which resembled a bustling marketplace, as everyone stared at him expectantly.
"My message to you is very clear: it's either 5000 magic crystals or you pledge allegiance. There are no other options, and I won't owe you anything! And..."
Kurt glanced around and said coldly:
"Your talents didn't just become useless today, what's the rush? Look over there—"
He raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Hick's laboratory.
The small open space in front of the laboratory has become a microcosm of hell on earth.
Many were missing arms or legs, and some were even left with only a small part of their bodies, barely supported by their companions.
The strong smell of medicine, the stench of decay, and an even deeper sense of despair mingled together, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
The apprentices, who had been chattering away just moments before, fell silent and looked at each other in bewilderment.
Kurt is right; compared to these real "trash," their "mediocrity" is practically a stroke of luck.
At least they can still stand here intact and "bargain".
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Sorey dragged his heavy steps toward the tower area where the Hick Laboratory was located.
Every step he took tugged at his body, bringing waves of pain, but this pain paled in comparison to the flickering flame of hope that had been rekindled in his heart.
As he turned the last corner, the sight before him made him gasp in shock.
Contrary to what Jona casually remarked, there were not "many people" outside the laboratory; instead, it was packed with people.
A peculiar smell permeated the air: a strong odor of disinfectant mixed with the stench of various medicines and bodily decay, and... a deeper, more decaying stench of despair and death throes.
The "people" that Kurt just mentioned are right here, and they are even more shocking than Sorey imagined.
An apprentice leaned against the cold stone wall. His left arm was gone at the shoulder, the cut covered with a charred scab. Occasionally, tiny flames would leap from the scab. His eyes were empty, as if a part of his soul had been taken away by the flames.
The other slumped in the corner, his lower body bare, only wrapped in rags, with a blackened wooden board beneath him. His fingers nervously dug at the edge of the board, making a rustling noise.
Others had half their faces as if they had been dissolved by strong acid, revealing their stark white cheekbones and teeth; some had collapsed chest cavities, and each breath was accompanied by a bellows-like hissing.
These were once spirited apprentices, most of whom were reduced to this wretched state during the massive explosion that occurred during the pursuit of Krall.
There are also some "defective products" who have completely lost their future due to serious injuries during missions, magical backlash, or the corruption of curses.
Moreover, these people all became like this recently; those who have been around for a while have become raw materials.
Now, Hick's "body modification" has become their only straw to grasp, a way to regain "value".
Sorey's arrival caused a minor commotion.
Those empty or pained eyes swept over his relatively "intact" body, flashing a barely perceptible hint of jealousy and a deeper despair.
In their eyes, Sori's situation—"only" physical injuries, with his mind and magic basically intact—was simply lucky.
At least, he can still walk in standing up and is still qualified to "discuss" the conditions for reform.
Just then, the heavy, rune-covered metal door of the laboratory made a dull gear-turning sound and clicked open a crack inward.
All the noise vanished instantly, and the air seemed to freeze.
Every apprentice, no matter how badly injured, tried their best to straighten their backs or raise their heads, their eyes fixed on the crack in the door, filled with the most humble pleas and the deepest fears.
A raven, which was gradually becoming his trademark, perched on Hick's shoulder. He surveyed his surroundings, his expression cold and utterly indifferent.
"Kyle, Lina, come in. Everyone else, remain quiet and wait. Anyone who makes a disturbance will be disqualified and sent directly as material."
The two people whose names were called shuddered.
That guy named Kyle was the apprentice who disappeared from the waist down; he was an unlucky guy in the big explosion.
Next to him, a female apprentice named Lina, whose body was half covered by thick, wriggling, and proliferating tumors, struggled to stand up.
She became like this due to an accident during a recent experiment.
Several apprentices with minor injuries immediately stepped forward and practically dragged and carried the two of them to the door.
The metal door closed silently behind them, cutting off all sight and sound.
The air outside the door began to flow again, but it felt heavier and more oppressive than before. Only the sounds of heavy, uneven breathing and the occasional suppressed groans of pain remained.
Sore leaned against the cold wall, feeling the chill of the stone seep into his skin through his tattered apprentice robes.
He looked at his various "kindreds," at the tightly closed door that determined their fate, and the echoes of Jona's soft laughter, Kurt's cold words, and his own unfinished question, "What is the price?"
cost?
He looked down at his lost arm and crippled leg. Here, among this group of people abandoned by the world, the word "cost" seemed so pale and ridiculous.
They had already lost everything.
The so-called "price" was nothing more than completely and unreservedly offering his remaining broken body and the consciousness that might have been modified to the person behind the door—Hick Lane.
In exchange for a possible "inhuman" form in the future and absolute loyalty, one can gain a chance to... "start over".
It marks the beginning of something that is no longer "waste" but has become a "useful tool".
Deep within the laboratory, a faint yet chilling hum of energy could be heard, along with the crackling sound of some kind of metal device being activated.
Sorey closed his eyes, waiting for the moment when his name would be called.
Is it a new beginning, or another form of ending?
The answer lies behind that door.
He had no other choice!