svetikya Chapter 40 Rc Cells
Chapter 40 Rc Cells
While God bestows power upon humankind, He also demands a high price.
Although the experimental subjects gained extraordinary physical qualities, with muscle density and bone hardness far exceeding those of ordinary people, their digestive systems underwent irreversible mutations.
Humans' regular food, whether carbohydrates, proteins, or fats, becomes tasteless and even triggers severe allergic vomiting reactions.
The taste buds on their tongues are rewritten, and ordinary food is like moldy sponge to them.
Their only source of energy is the Rc cells themselves.
However, this is precisely a vicious cycle.
The rate at which the institute extracts and cultures Rc cells is far slower than the rate at which experimental subjects are consumed.
Each time the kagune is used, and each time the body regenerates, a large number of Rc cells stored in the body need to be burned.
Once the concentration drops below the critical value, a hunger strong enough to destroy reason will come crashing down like a tsunami.
The file contains the following description:
"The rc cell subject, numbered E-072, attempted to attack a nurse who was approaching it for a dressing change while in a state of extreme starvation."
His pupils were dilated, and he kept muttering "meat, meat, meat" in his sleep. This hunger seemed to be more than just a physical stomachache; it was a predatory instinct at the genetic level, with his cells screaming for fuel.
In order to control these "hungry ghosts" who could go berserk at any time, the research institute has formulated extremely strict control measures.
Each test subject was confined in a specially made reinforced glass cell, and every 48 hours, a robotic arm would forcibly inject them with a high concentration of "Rc inhibitors".
This murky green potion acts like chains, locking down the activity of their cells and leaving them in a weak, drowsy state, unable to summon their kagune.
After years of intense experiments and starvation, the mental state of the vast majority of the test subjects had already collapsed.
They huddled in dark corners, their eyes vacant, only revealing a ferocious, beast-like glint in their eyes during the brief intervals when the inhibitors wore off.
However, even the most meticulous plans can have flaws.
Among the many zombie-like experimental subjects, there was a special individual—numbered S-014.
This is a petite female test subject.
Throughout the three-year monitoring period, her Rc cell count remained consistently below 1000, placing her in the "Grade D" category.
In the experiment, it appeared docile, sluggish, and even somewhat demented, often talking to itself while facing the wall, and was regarded by the researchers as a "failed piece of junk".
However, everyone was fooled.
She was a born monster, a predator who had learned to disguise herself.
She somehow managed to perfectly deceive the daily instrument tests, presumably by controlling the dormancy and metabolic rate of her internal kagune, hiding her true Rc value beneath her frail body.
That night, when the researcher routinely injected her with a low dose of "Class D standard" inhibitor, a sudden change occurred.
That tiny dose, for her who had already evolved into a monster, was like pouring a glass of water into an erupting volcano.
"Pfft."
The last few frames of the surveillance video show the usually docile girl suddenly raising her head.
Her previously cloudy eyes instantly became clear, and her right eye transformed into a scarlet ghoul in a flash.
Its mouth parted into a grin, revealing a mouthful of serrated fangs, and it emitted a sharp laugh similar to that of a night owl.
Immediately afterwards, countless kagune crystals, as light as feathers yet as sharp as knives, burst forth from her shoulder blades.
The dazzling kagune, like a peacock spreading its tail, instantly shattered the bulletproof reinforced glass and also sliced the researcher, who hadn't even had time to press the alarm, into pieces.
Because its body covered in kagune resembled a giant one-eyed owl, it was later codenamed "Owl" in the investigation report.
The owl did not escape alone. Perhaps out of hatred for its creator, or some chaotic urge to destroy.
Using her indestructible kagune, she fought her way through the containment zone, not attacking the exits, but destroying all the electronic locks and suppressor delivery pipelines.
"Click—click—"
The doors of hundreds of prison cells opened simultaneously.
Hundreds of experimental subjects, driven mad by hunger and on the verge of losing control, smelled the blood in the air.
They were like a horde of demons unleashed, swarming into the research institute's office and living areas.
Hell has descended.
The sirens blared mournfully through the night, and the red emergency lights illuminated the corridor like a slaughterhouse.
The corridor was littered with severed limbs, and the walls were smeared with radiating bloodstains. And in the pool of blood, an even more chilling scene unfolded.
They roared and fought amidst the ruins, turning this place into a true battlefield.
It wasn't until half an hour after the riots began.
An encrypted call from an unknown source came into GOC’s tactical command center in Yokosuka.
"A large-scale loss of control incident has occurred at Research Institute No. 24 located in XX. Threat level..."
The voice on the other end of the phone was heavily disguised, and no one knew who was calling.
Perhaps it was a researcher who had a change of heart, or perhaps it was a mastermind behind all of this.
The GOC commander at the time didn't have time to wonder why there was such an inhumane laboratory on home soil. He only knew that if it wasn't stopped immediately, the consequences would be unimaginable if these monsters stormed into nearby cities.
Within fifteen minutes, several fully loaded Black Hawk transport helicopters pierced the night sky, even coordinating with nearby U.S. special forces and heavy armored divisions.
The soldiers wore bulky chemical protective suits and carried heavy machine guns and flamethrowers that had not undergone modern lightweight modifications.
The tank's main gun roared in the night, leveling the outer wall of the research institute.
This was a bloody positional war.
Despite their bulletproof armor and terrifying firepower, the Kakujas still appear insignificant in the face of humanity's unbridled heavy firepower.
To ensure the complete annihilation of these monsters with super regenerative abilities, the GOC used thermobaric bombs and napalm bombs, which are explicitly prohibited by international conventions.
The intense heat and suffocation instantly engulfed everything.
Whether you are an S-class ghoul or a newly mutated juvenile, whether you are an innocent victim or a crazed perpetrator.
Faced with temperatures of several thousand degrees and oxygen depletion in an instant, all living beings are equal.
At dawn, the gunfire finally ceased.
Research Institute No. 24 has completely disappeared from the map, leaving only a huge bomb crater emitting black smoke.
All the research materials, experimental data, and all the evil and madness were reduced to ashes in the fire.
GOC's cleanup forces, clad in heavy protective suits and armed with Geiger counters and life detectors, conducted a final search of the scorched earth.
Everyone was stunned when the soldiers moved the scorching concrete slabs away.
Amidst a group of charred corpses, a white-haired boy huddled.
He looked only six or seven years old, wearing an ill-fitting white lab coat that was covered in dust and blood.
But miraculously, apart from a few scratches, he was completely unharmed.
In his hands, he tightly gripped a pistol that had been emptied of bullets, which he had picked up from the dead security guard, and a stun baton broken in two.
Around him lay the corpses of two experimental subjects, several times his size, their fatal wounds being in their eyes and throats—marks of precise stabs.
The boy raised his head, his eyes empty and calm, looking at the fully armed soldiers around him. There was no fear in his eyes, nor was there any plea for help.
He simply stared silently ahead...