Chapter 150: St. Peter Isn't the only Sage
Translator: Pluto Editor: Vermillion
"Hahaha!" When Aliba saw the row of heads on his screen, he couldn't restrain his delight and finally burst into laughter. He never imagined that the bloodied severed heads of his hated enemies, who impeded him at every opportunity all these years, could be such a pleasing sight to behold.
"How many more targets are there?" He rapped his table, turning to his pale and nervous vice-chief, "Not many, right?"
The vice-chief hastily pulled out a list and whispered a few words to him.
On the other end of the screen, the Posthumans stood covered in blood. There was a heavy atmosphere in the air and when they occasionally looked at each other, they would notice the anxiety on each other's faces.
The Posthumans had already been re-dispatched multiple times and the number of heads on the floor just kept increasing. When a team reassembled in the city hall once again, the screen lit up with a new list of 'missions' from Aliba. The women did not want to submit to Aliba's deployments willingly, but quite a few of their wounded and incapacitated companions were now hostages of the Military and Police Department, so they simply had no choice but to fulfill the new mission.
"Let's go." Bai Xiaoke stood up. Her male escort stood up at the same with Xueqin on his back. "It's stifling here. I'd rather go outside," she commented unhappily.
The other two members in their team followed behind her wordlessly as they went to receive their next assignment.
The location of their new target was near Guang Zhu's residence, the place they illegally occupied for a night. The assassination target, the Head of Technology Department, had probably noticed the fishy ongoings, so he set up many defense mechanisms and traps—many of which were clearly products developed by the Garden of Eden Laboratories. It took a considerable amount of effort before they got their hands on the man's severed head.
Xueqin looked out from the dead man's bedroom window and saw his servant screaming and stumbling as he ran far away. After seeing that, she lowered her eyes with a bland expression. She didn't care if that escapee alerted the authorities or anyone else. After all, these were all Aliba's future problems.
Meanwhile, Dong Haohao and the others searched the rooms in the mansion. Usually, people who held power with their high posts in the government had their own stash of Special Items. They would definitely be helpful to them, as they currently carried no items.
Bai Xiaoke held a baton in her hands after she messed up the entire cloakroom. She walked out sighing exasperatedly, "This guy has too few Special Items. He only has all these useless creations from the Garden of Eden Laboratories.
Actually, the products from the laboratories weren't all that bad. They really gave their team a hard time just now, and they were quite effective. Unfortunately, most of the items that belonged to that official were just too large to carry around.
"It'd be great if Xiao Jiu was around, she would be able to store everything," Bai Xiaoke said dejectedly. When she thought of Lin Sanjiu, she couldn't help feeling worried. She placed her baton down and tried calling Li Tao again.
When the others heard the ringing sounds from the communicator, they looked over at her. But, when no one picked up even after a few rings, they turned their focus back on their scavenging. Not even they could tell if they were disappointed or already numbed.
"Damn. Forget it," Bai Xiaoke swore quietly, reaching out to cut the call.
But the second before she touched the button, the ringing from the communicator stopped. Bai Xiaoke was stunned momentarily, and Li Tao's face suddenly appeared on the screen. Li Tao smiled, showing no unusual behavior or expression.
"Oh, it's you. How are things there?
[She looks different.] A fleeting thought surfaced in Bai Xiaoke's mind, but it faded to the back of her mind and was quickly forgotten. Right now, she was just excited and surprised, "You finally picked up! What happened? Where are you? Did you manage to find Xiao Jiu?"
After asking a barrage of questions, Bai Xiaoke noticed the background behind Li Tao.
The latter was standing in a dark place which was only faintly lit by the moonlight from the sky.
[Where is she?]
"It's a long story. I found her." Li Tao soft laughter interrupted Bai Xiaoke's train of thought. She looked around at the women who surrounded her and asked, "Why are your expressions so weird? Quick, tell me where are the both of you?"
Without much thought, the women began to explain their current situation, one after the other.
"I think most of Aliba's enemies are dead. I'm not sure how he will deal with us..." Bai Xiaoke wiped her face worriedly. It was only then that they realized that they still hadn't seen Lin Sanjiu over the communicator.
"Where is Xiao Jiu? Does she have any ideas on how to handle this? Wasn't she planning to destroy the glass globe? What is the situation now?" Xueqin couldn't help asking.
Li Tao opened her mouth as if she was about to reply them. But the screen suddenly went black. The group of women stared with dropped jaws at the communicator as the mansion became silent.
"I already did as you requested and you know how they're doing now." Li Tao took off the communicator from her wrist leisurely. She crushed it gently between her fingers, turning it to powder which scattered to the ground. "What do you plan to do now?" she said with a smile while looking at Lin Sanjiu.
Lin Sanjiu pursed her lips. When she first heard Li Tao's astounding 'confession', anger and shock assaulted her like a raging tsunami. But, for some reasons, after she heard about her companions situation, those emotions ebbed and she was left with a clear, calm rationality.
Regardless, she was only left with one route now.
"I have some questions which I wish you could clarify." When Lin Sanjiu spoke, even Li Tao was a little surprised by her composure.
The latter immediately smiled, "Go ahead. If I can answer them, I definitely will."
"First, what is the purpose of your experiment? It can't be that you just want to watch people die, right?"
Although it was just the first question, the other party frowned as if she had some trouble answering and hesitated for quite some time.
"Um... To keep it brief, I suppose I could call the experiment 'A Test For Human Recyclability'. Look," she placed her finger on the glass and tapped the area with the view of the city, "The current state of Garden of Eden is a clear display of Gresham's law[1]. Objectively speaking, there is only garbage here."
Lin Sanjiu sensed strongly that when Li Tao used the word 'garbage', the woman truly did not attach any emotion to it, Li Tao seemed to really treat it as if she was stating a fact.
"You're hot-blooded, righteous... but still full of flaws. However, you are still some distance from being garbage. You might despise and hate the residents of Garden of Eden, but you are essentially no different from those people down below."
Lin Sanjiu was offended but she tried her best to ignore those negative feelings and continued listening.
"If you become my test subject, I can make you become garbage like them within a year. Oh! I am not intentionally insulting you, and I don't look down on you either. This also applies to me," Li Tao also said mollifyingly, as if she meant no harm.
"This is human nature, after all. A true apocalypse does not refer to the end of humanity," said the woman indifferently. "Instead, an apocalypse occurs precisely because humanity is in its golden age—or should I say—every world that undergoes a doomsday scenario is treating itself… to plunge all living humans into misery is a necessary process it has to experience to get rid of the cancer called humans. I have wandered through various apocalyptic worlds over these few decades and one thing had been emphasized over and over again through my experiences: humans will go extinct soon or later, like dinosaurs. If so, is there anything about them worth saving or preserving? After observing this large-scale experiment for 59 years, I still haven't found a single thing."
Li Tao turned around and St. Peter took two steps forward as if he understood what she wanted, "Let me introduce my creation. Using genetic engineering and synthetic biology—NeuMensh."
Under the faint moonlight pouring through the window, St. Peter looked taller than before. His almond-shaped head was embellished by two suspended black eyes and his nose was only two small round holes. He looked like a human, but if one stared long enough into his tar-black eyes, a human would feel his terrifyingly calm aura—an inhuman aura which held an inexplicable depth.
"They are usually not aggressive unless I give them a command." Li Tao assured Lin Sanjiu after noticing her nervousness. "I hope that they will replace humans and populate every planet."
"You gave a more detailed answer than I expected." Lin Sanjiu steadied her heartbeat and watched as St. Peter returned to his previous position. Despite his stature, he walked noiselessly, almost—Lin Sanjiu thought—like a cat.
To Lin Sanjiu, things were pretty straightforward. The woman in front of her was undoubtedly a crazy misanthropist.
The moon which hung behind the clouds was like melting ice, growing thinner and fainter by the minute in the dark blue sky. As the sun had not risen over the horizon yet, the moment before daybreak was dark without the illumination of the moon.
The only light left in the night sky was from the stars, which cast a white reflection on the glass wall of the top level of the tower.The conversation of both women who stood by the glass wall had already lasted for some time.
Lin Sanjiu, who was still pale after being bombarded by a massive amount of unsettling information, spent a considerable effort to recover her normal breathing pattern. After that, she tossed a glance at Li Tao and suddenly laughed, "One last question. Li Tao is not your real name, right. So, what should I call you?"
"You can call me... Nüwa[1]." The woman by the window replied mildly. Using this name was not an exaggeration. Her ability to create life was definitely within the realm of divinity.
[Your opponent is a 'goddess'...] Lin Sanjiu thought to herself vacuously.
"Nüwa," Lin Sanjiu parroted and nodded. "Could you also get Mr. St. Peter to give me a cup of tea? This night had been quite tumultuous and I really feel a little thirsty."
Nüwa probably didn't expect Lin Sanjiu's request. She hesitated for a while and turned to look at St. Peter. The strange, tall and silent creature seemed to comprehend her gaze. He turned and walked to the back of the hall. After a few minutes, he returned with a cup of tea.
A pleasant aroma rose with the steam from the cup of hot tea, wafting between St. Peter's long fingers. Lin Sanjiu swallowed a mouthful of saliva and thanked the creature before she reached for the cup.
Just when she was about to touch the cup, Lin Sanjiu gathered her strength and thrust the tea cup toward St. Peter. Hot tea and the cup's porcelain fragments flew into the air, while Lin Sanjiu aimed her hidden fist at the creature's head.
St. Peter appeared taken aback and curled his body awkwardly. Lin Sanjiu's attack missed. He unwound his weird body midair, which was now in the shape of a measuring tape. Yet, he did not retaliate even after he landed on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Nüwa asked with a voice that was neither too loud or too soft. This stopped Lin Sanjiu from impulsively rushing forward with her attacks. "Do you think that St. Peter doesn't know how to defend himself without my command?"
That was exactly Lin Sanjiu's thoughts. Lin Sanjiu grimaced inwardly, blaming herself for her wishful thinking. Since the circumstances were already as such, she decided to be forthcoming about her intentions, "Sorry, but I have no interest in your plans. However, for the safety of my companions and the Posthumans who will come here in the future, the Garden of Eden cannot continue to exist. If I can't destroy the protective shield in one go, I will break it down bit by bit. If you guys try to stop me, I will just have to deal with all of you first."
She clenched both her fists tightly, she had already activated her [Mosaic Censorship] and her [Tape recorder] was now by her feet.
Lin Sanjiu didn't expect Nüwa to react with a scoffing laugh.
"Sure," Nüwa replied in a friendly tone, "You can try."
The wall behind her suddenly slid open, revealing four niches. One of these was empty, while three tall creatures, similar to St. Peter, stepped out from the remaining three.
"If you can defeat this first batch of 'Projection Trial Models', I will tell you the method to disable the radiation shield." Nüwa placed her right hand over her left one, casually, while she eyed Lin Sanjiu silently. Lin Sanjiu's forehead was now covered with cold sweat.