Devil's Offer

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Just as Rayner was preparing to start training for the first day of the third month, he and his fellow test subjects were called into the meeting room again. Rayner saw an apple flying straight at his face. It was coming at him at an astonishing speed, but with his improved reflexes, he easily caught it. The person who threw it obviously did not expect Rayner to catch it as he was awkwardly suspended in his throwing motion with his jaw dropped.

The person was of small stature, about 160 cm in height, with dark hair, big ears, and small eyes, making him appear even smaller next to Rayner's improved height of 185 cm. The small guy, Rob, or as others usually called him, Mouse, looked awkwardly at the person standing beside him. The person beside him had a wide, muscular body and paired with a towering height, he exuded a pressure that made anyone who looked at him feel small. Brad had an unsatisfied expression on his face. He did not look pleased at what happened.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked with a soft voice, looking concerned. She was young, with a small face, long hair, and a medium build, but one simply could not ignore her and stop one's eyes from looking at her generous bosom. Brad's face grew darker upon hearing Olivia's concerned voice. Rob, upon seeing this, had an expression as if he had stepped on something unpleasant.

Rayner smiled and took a bite of the apple, saying, "I'm okay, Olivia. Rob must've helped me pick up the apple I left in the dining hall." Aside from Antonio, who was looking at Rob and Brad in an unfriendly manner, the others remained silent or simply looked at this exchange without any expression. They all knew the two had an altercation at the dining hall when they had just come to the facility (ref Chapter 2), where Rayner called out Brad for being loud. Although minor, unpleasant remarks were exchanged before being stopped by lab personnel before it could escalate.

The other surviving test subjects were already in the room. There were three other people: a relatively thin man with glasses and a timid expression, Cain, and two women, Elise, petite with toned, delicate facial features and always a half smile on her face, and Beth, with a well-endowed body and a mole beneath her eye. Rayner was the last to arrive. Aside from Antonio, Rayner, and Olivia exchanging pleasantries, all the other subjects remained silent before being interrupted by Dr. Mikhailov's arrival.

Honestly, everybody had complicated expressions upon seeing her. Every time they saw her, it was like opening a surprise box—they did not know whether it would be a good or bad surprise. Even Rayner, who had a strong attraction to her, could not help but brace himself for what was to come whenever he saw her. Surprisingly, this time was neither a good nor bad ordeal. Instead, they were given a proposal.

According to Dr. Mikhailov, the headquarters was amazed at their genetic assimilation of the Gene Seed, the medicine they were injected with. It was supposedly a medicine that would help unlock a greater portion of the unused regions of the brain, reorienting its usage from the subconscious to the conscious state. This change would, in turn, prompt the rearrangement of the human gene to adjust to the newly developed region of the brain, and the by-product of this rearrangement was the Super Human abilities humans gained through this process. 

The majority of people could not withstand this process not only because of the excruciating pain involved but also due to the devil's luck needed in the process. Not all transformations resulted in good changes; most were reduced to a vegetative state for the rest of their lives or would die in the process. Cold sweat ran across the survivors as they remembered what they had gone through. Dr. Mikhailov said the headquarters was particularly interested in the abilities they had gained. Upon saying this, she gave a knowing glance at Olivia, Brad, and finally Rayner.

She then offered a proposal to everyone. Among them, whoever achieved greater assimilation with the Super Gene medicine would be given wealth, a position at Seed Labs, and most importantly, one chance to make a request from Seed Labs. The other option was to complete the existing contract and be discharged in 10 months. 

When the third prize was mentioned, everybody immediately accepted the offer, even Rayner, who usually considered things well before agreeing, accepted this proposal. When the first two were mentioned, some of them were still unmoved. However, a chance to make a request to the largest, wealthiest, and possibly most connected organization globally, especially in this desperate time, was equivalent to getting a Golden Pass to escape death or achieve whatever they desired.

Assimilation would be measured with lab equipment. They were then issued watches and asked to wear them. These watches were the newest generation measuring tool of the lab. On the screen, it showed the percentage of assimilation of the Super Gene medicine. On Rayner's screen, it showed only a measly 0.8%, while others had an average value of 10-12%. This caused a small stir among those in the room. 

Meanwhile, what was requested of them seemed menial—or at least they thought it was menial—to serve the lab for at least three years and cooperate with the research it needed to conduct as compared to the handsome rewards. However, once they accepted the conditions, there would be no quitting, and only death would terminate the cooperation. Nobody thought much of this. They didn't know that the loosely mentioned conditions would mean quite differently from what they had imagined. Rayner would learn and remember this as the biggest blunder he had ever made.