Chapter 42: The Immortal Foundation

Xia Mi arrived at the records room sporting her jagged, uneven haircut. With an air of casual indifference, she set the blades down before the group and said softly, “We have weapons now.”

Her attitude was incredibly nonchalant, as if she hadn’t just produced a set of powerful armaments, but a few ordinary wooden sticks.

Duan Feng’s eyes lit up. He selected a suitable blade and tested its sharpness on a desk in the records room. “This is way sharper than my mantis arms,” he said, pleasantly surprised. “Actually, these two arms are getting in the way now! Sister Xia, give me a hand?”

Xia Mi naturally wouldn’t refuse, especially since Duan Feng had respectfully addressed her as “Sister Xia.”

She had already mastered the technique of separating Zhuo Energy from cells. Raising her hands slightly, she helped Duan Feng restore his human hands in just one minute, earning herself another 100 Zhuo Coins in the process.

One of Duan Feng’s mantis arms had been broken, making movement very inconvenient. Now that the Zhuo parts were gone, he found that only his pinky finger was actually broken. It didn’t affect his ability to use weapons much, so he simply picked up two blades and tore a strip of cloth from his clothes to bind his injured hand to a lighter blade. This way, his combat effectiveness remained intact.

Fang Zihan still had his hands, and since his four claws allowed him to run faster, he didn’t ask Xia Mi to remove his Zhuo state. Instead, he chose a short blade, intending to utilize his speed advantage in battle.

Qiu Hailan chose the heaviest and largest blade of the lot. It was even bigger than Xia Mi’s five-foot axe, a massive two-meter greatsword that looked capable of slaying anything in its path, man or Buddha alike.

“Sister Xia, did you really turn your hair into these?” Xiao Huo asked after choosing a blade and giving it a few experimental swings.

Xia Mi gave a shallow smile. “It was just a sudden thought. I gave it a try and happened to succeed. Just good luck, really.”

Qiu Hailan: “…”

Who was the one who had killed crocodiles and played through games over and over just to verify this idea? Why was she acting like it was nothing now, not mentioning her previous hard work at all?

Qiu Hailan felt she was beginning to understand Xia Mi’s personality.

Xia Mi seemed to be the type who would complain about her hardships to her superiors but maintain a stoic, effortless front before her subordinates.

She would claim credit where it was due from above, but she would never put pressure on her followers.

She is very suited to be a captain.

As a captain herself, Qiu Hailan understood exactly how fortunate team members were to have a leader like that.

Putting herself in Xia Mi’s shoes, Qiu Hailan had a sudden flash of inspiration regarding what Xia Mi needed most right now.

Thus, she began to praise her with exaggerated enthusiasm. “I saw it with my own eyes just now! Xia Mi cut her own hair to create these weapons. You have no idea how cool it was. It was just like Sun Wukong¹, using a single hair to manifest ten thousand things! We are truly lucky that Xia Mi came to the Pharmaceutical Factory to rescue us!”

Qiu Hailan’s words were a bit hyperbolic, but her sentiment was genuine. She truly was grateful to Xia Mi.

Because the praise was sincere, Xia Mi found it very satisfying, though she still said bashfully, “No, no, everyone is already very strong. You could have made it through this trial without me, it just would have been a bit harder. I only played a minor role.”

Xia Mi was the type who dared to say anything when she was praising herself, but became quite shy when others did the praising.

Now that he had a weapon and no longer had to resort to hand-to-hand combat, Duan Feng was immensely grateful. He followed Captain Qiu’s lead. “The Captain is right. Xia Mi is our savior.”

Fang Zihan added, “Sister Xia, you’re my one and only true sister!”

The team members crowded around Xia Mi, showering her with so much praise that her head began to spin, and she felt as if she might float away.

To the side, Mi Xiangyan, who was still decrypting data, observed this scene quietly. She then recorded her insights on a piece of paper:

“Queen Bee” Observation Insight #1: The “Queen Bee” is quite secular². Rewards from the secular world can seal away her non-human consciousness. Suggestion: Induct the “Queen Bee” into the team as soon as possible and grant her official status. Provide her with ample material rewards and verbal praise. No special treatment is required, but she must be treated with fairness and justice. Promote her based on merit and do not suppress her. Use secular fame and fortune to assist the “Queen Bee” in maintaining her human heart.

This passage could be summarized as: Give Xia Mi money, give Xia Mi awards, and let Xia Mi be a boss.

After writing this, Mi Xiangyan couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

She tucked the paper away and printed out the vital information she had recovered from the computer, handing a copy to everyone as usual.

Xia Mi took a look at it with a serious expression, nodding a few times. She then looked at Mi Xiangyan and said, “Please explain it to everyone, Dr. Mi.”

She spoke as if she understood it perfectly and was only asking for an explanation because the others were confused.

Mi Xiangyan said, “This data can be summarized in one sentence: ‘Zhuo’ can only gain vitality by devouring human emotional energy, which is why it can only cause humans to undergo Zhuo transformation. However, ‘Shi’ is different. This is the result of Etornit’s years of research.”

“Aren’t we ‘Shi’?” Qiu Hailan felt a headache coming on from looking at the dense text, so she simply tossed the documents aside and asked for the conclusion.

Mi Xiangyan replied, “You are only very simple ‘Shi.’ Your brains have not been modified. The brain structure of a true ‘Shi’ has undergone changes, they can no longer be considered human, only humanoid creatures.

“In the past, we were always puzzled by one thing: why are some Zhuo Weapons stable while others are not? Everyone knows that Zhuo Weapons are powerful, and some possess special abilities, but their flaw is instability. They decompose very quickly. The Disposal Bureau doesn’t possess many stable, sustainable Zhuo Weapons.

“We have always wanted to create stable Zhuo Weapons. To that end, I even risked going into low-danger nests with front-line members, hoping to craft them personally. But we could never produce a stable one. We always believed it was a matter of probability, that getting a stable Zhuo Weapon required luck. But this data tells us that isn’t the case.

“All this time, our sample size was insufficient. We failed to correctly distinguish between ‘Zhuo’ and ‘Shi,’ and we didn’t realize that some people in the nests had already become ‘Shi.’

“Those eroded by ‘Zhuo’ have a chance to become ‘Shi.’ Zhuo parts harvested from a ‘Shi’ contain human cells. Only weapons modified by a ‘Shi’ can become stable Zhuo Weapons.”

The group looked at the weapons in their hands, then back at Xia Mi.

Xia Mi also recalled “Shield” once asking her: Don’t you think the stability rate of the Zhuo Weapons you craft is a bit too high?

Mi Xiangyan continued, “The flora and fauna in the laboratory were able to undergo mutation because they absorbed the life force of the ‘Shi’.”

Qiu Hailan asked in shock, “Where did all that ‘Shi’ come from?”

Mi Xiangyan sighed. “Just because our country bans illegal human experimentation doesn’t mean other countries do. There are too many chaotic nations in this world, and there are always illegal organizations conducting cruel experiments.

“Etornit didn’t conduct human experiments domestically. They simply smuggled flora and fauna that had already been successfully cultivated into the country to be bred in the Pharmaceutical Factory’s Underground Laboratory.”

Fang Zihan asked, “Why bring those things here? These aren’t the stable finished products they wanted, right? Why move these failures? Were they in such a hurry for our country to discover their plot and step in to stop it?”

Qiu Hailan displayed her analytical skills as a captain. After a moment of reflection, she said, “Didn’t Xia Mi’s game mention ‘Project Queen Bee’? I suspect they cultivated an incredibly stable and terrifying ‘Shi’, but due to various accidents, this ‘Shi’, the ‘Queen Bee’, ended up in our country. They established these experimental bases here just to facilitate the transfer of the ‘Queen Bee’.”

Xia Mi’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably as she listened.

Mi Xiangyan glanced at Xia Mi and gave a soft laugh. “Indeed. I suspect the mirror mentioned by ‘Eye’ in the game is the ‘Queen Bee’. Otherwise, why would a mere mirror be so powerful?”

“Is that so?” Qiu Hailan felt something was off.

Mi Xiangyan said, “It’s likely that the mirror is unstable and requires the ‘Queen Bee’ within it to be transferred into a living person. That’s why we were trapped in the Pharmaceutical Factory.

“Didn’t the game’s ending mention it? ‘Project Queen Bee’ changed hosts. It might very well be one of us.”

“That makes sense,” the others agreed, nodding in unison.

Xia Mi nodded faster than anyone, her head moving so quickly it left afterimages.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I’ll find a way to uncover the purpose of ‘Project Queen Bee’ and find intelligence regarding the ‘Queen Bee’ so we can understand the specific situation,” Mi Xiangyan said. She seemed to be addressing the group, but she was actually speaking to Xia Mi.

Xia Mi didn’t actually want to know anything about “Project Queen Bee.” She just wanted to be an ordinary person.

Qiu Hailan asked, “What kind of organization is this Etornit anyway? Why study something so dangerous? We can’t eliminate the ‘Zhuo’ fast enough, yet they’re conducting such hazardous and cruel experiments. Aren’t they afraid it will backfire on them?”

Mi Xiangyan replied, “Capital can discard all humanity for the sake of profit.”

Qiu Hailan asked, “Just to create biological weapons?”

Mi Xiangyan said, “Not entirely. All biological research ultimately has only one goal: extending life. I’ve been thinking about what the phonetic transliteration Etornit represents. I matched it against various English words and found one that sounds very similar, eternity.”

The team members had all undergone professional training to join the force, they hadn’t attended regular universities or taken standard English proficiency exams, so they didn’t understand the word’s meaning.

Xia Mi, however, felt old memories resurfacing. She recalled the meaning of the word: “Immortal, forever, endless time.”

Mi Xiangyan said, “There is a foundation abroad that has been researching the secrets of human longevity. Its name translates to the Immortal Foundation.”

Qiu Hailan frowned. “The word Etornit is too easy to associate with the Immortal Foundation. They actually mentioned their own name in the records? Weren’t they afraid we’d find out?”

“They weren’t,” Mi Xiangyan said calmly. “They destroyed the records long ago. If not for ‘Eye’, we would have had no way to see these files through the cracks of history. And even with these records, we have no way to take them out with us.”

Qiu Hailan squeezed her bear paws and gritted her teeth. “Can we save ‘Eye’? He’s innocent too.”

Mi Xiangyan said, “Based on the game, he is the most deeply controlled and has the highest degree of mutation. ‘Shield’ overdrawing her life force only allowed his consciousness to recover for a single moment. It’s unclear if he can ever regain a human body.”

Mi Xiangyan looked at Xia Mi. “It all depends on you now.”

Xia Mi took out her phone and opened the game.

Having learned from her previous failure, Xia Mi had a plan. She intended to use the game to run an experiment first.

---

Translator’s Notes

---

1. Sun Wukong: The Monkey King from the Chinese classic ‘Journey to the West’. He possesses the ability to transform his 84,000 hairs into various objects, weapons, or clones of himself. ↩
2. secular: Translates ‘世俗’ (shìsú). In this context, it refers to ‘worldly’ or ‘common’ desires like money, fame, and status, which help tether the protagonist’s drifting consciousness to her human identity. ↩