The scene shifts to Lingsha. As her experiments progressed, the completion rate of her System Objective steadily climbed, now standing at ninety-nine percent.
Lingsha casually picked up her phone from the pillow, silenced the alarm, and slowly sat up.
She stretched languidly, raising her right arm above her head and resting her left hand near her mouth. Beneath her thin pajamas, her curvaceous figure was clearly outlined, with her smooth armpits and the tantalizing glimpses of her side breasts adding to the alluring sight.
However, only she herself was there to appreciate this moment.
Yes, herself. Firefly was also in the room. Her hazy eyes flickered toward the tempting scene before rolling over to continue sleeping, unmoved.
It's just me anyway, she thought. I see this every day. I'm completely used to it by now. Nothing weird about it.
It's worth mentioning that shortly after Lü Heng contacted Lingsha for help with his "illness," Firefly had teleported to her location via the Chat Group. Of course, no actual treatment was needed. She had simply come to snuggle with her other self.
Whenever Lü Heng inquired about the treatment's progress in the group chat, Lingsha would simply reply, "Still undergoing treatment." She never specified how much longer it would take or whether a full recovery was even possible, simply repeating that treatment was ongoing whenever asked.
Since Firefly's arrival, Lingsha's life had expanded beyond the relentless cycle of medical studies and patient care. Now, her days included time for playing two-player video games—electronic, of course.
The addition of another person couldn't be kept secret from Dr. Jiang, but he didn't seem to mind. With Lingsha's assistance, the experiments were progressing smoothly, and he saw no reason to concern himself with such trivial matters.
While Firefly continued to sleep in, Lingsha woke up, washed, and meticulously straightened the unruly strands of hair at the crown of her head that had been flattened during sleep. She then changed into her crisp, professional-looking white lab coat. By the time she was ready and left for breakfast in the cafeteria, half an hour had passed.
Along the way, numerous people greeted her, and Lingsha responded with a polite nod to each one.
She couldn't quite understand why, but her status within the research institute seemed to be inexplicably rising.
Although Dr. Jiang had never explicitly mentioned the Fuguang Society to Lingsha, she sensed that the others tacitly assumed she was a member, even treating her as if she were a high-ranking cadre.
This reminded Lingsha of an old saying: "Three years undercover, then another three... Soon the mole will become the enemy's boss!"
Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Lingsha spotted Cheng Xiangwei, the only woman among Dr. Jiang's five assistants. She sat down beside her and casually asked between bites, "Have the experiments been getting more frequent lately?"
Previously, experiments had typically been conducted every two or three days. But recently, they had shifted to daily sessions, which explained Lingsha's rapid progress on her tasks.
Cheng Xiangwei lowered her head and whispered, "We're just a hair's breadth away from success. We'll be there soon."
Dr. Jiang himself had barely rested in recent days, burning the midnight oil every night. Under normal circumstances, even an Evolver of his age would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
But with Lingsha's presence, all physical limitations were easily overcome. As for mental fatigue, the imminent breakthrough only seemed to invigorate Dr. Jiang, his spirit growing more vibrant with each passing day.
After breakfast, Cheng Xiangwei and Lingsha walked side-by-side to the laboratory. As they entered, they saw Dr. Jiang, dark circles under his eyes, hunched over his work. It was clear he hadn't left the previous night and had been researching all night.
Cheng Xiangwei, ever the pragmatist, had brought some breakfast from the cafeteria and placed it on the table beside Dr. Jiang. "Doctor, please eat something," she said.
But Dr. Jiang seemed not to hear her. Seeing them arrive, he immediately stood up and demanded, "Where is everyone else? Let's start the experiment immediately! This time, this time it must succeed!"
Soon, the others arrived one by one, and the experiment began in an orderly fashion. Lingsha stood silently to the side, watching the procedure she had witnessed countless times before.
As the latest vial of the experimental serum was injected into Dr. Jiang's body, visible cyan veins bulged on his forehead. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, he let out soft, agonized moans.
Lingsha sighed softly, preparing to step forward and treat him. After all, during the previous experiment, and the one before that, Dr. Jiang had declared with the same fervor, "This time it must succeed!" She had heard those words countless times.
Each time, they came so close. But that final, tiny step always proved to be the most insurmountable.
Just as Lingsha approached Dr. Jiang, incense burner in hand, his condition began to stabilize. The prominent cyan veins on his face gradually faded, his deathly pale complexion regained its color, and a visible white mist began to rise from his body.
Dr. Jiang lowered his head to examine his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists. A triumphant grin spread across his face, and he burst into laughter. "It worked! We finally succeeded!"
In that instant, every person in the laboratory, including Lingsha and the five assistants, shared the same thought: Could it actually be true this time?!
"No side effects!" Dr. Jiang exclaimed. "No limitations! Anyone can use it! We've eliminated the dangers of the Fancheng Virus and unlocked its benefits directly—superhuman physical abilities beyond human limits! We've created Evolvers!"
It was a classic trope from zombie fiction: most infected individuals turn into zombies, while a rare few gain immunity and develop Super Abilities. Dr. Jiang's research, in essence, skipped the "viral infection" step entirely, granting immunity and its benefits directly.
As for the lack of side effects? Perhaps the drug truly had none. After all... the price for those so-called side effects had already been paid by others.