Chapter 386 - 274: Testing the Drug
Locked away from day and night, Paige Summers had lost all track of how long she’d been in the room.
But she guessed a considerable amount of time had passed.
Her injuries had all healed.
Unfortunately, she still hadn’t managed to escape.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. The finely forged iron shackles and chains that bound her were just too strong. She couldn’t break free at once; she needed more time to work them loose.
But no one ever gave her that chance.
She was now certain she was being monitored around the clock.
Every time she tried something, someone would quickly come to reinforce her bonds and give her another injection.
The injections weren’t poison, but the pain was unbearable.
Paige Summers couldn’t be sure what the medicine was, but it definitely had an effect on her body.
After every injection, her entire body would be wracked with a stinging pain. It was like someone was flaying her with a knife—the agony wasn’t internal, but it was unbearable all the same.
But somehow, she endured...
Then she discovered something strange: the medicine was actually good for her!
After every bout of flaying agony, the medicine made her body stronger!
If the Jade Pendant Mark tempered her body from within, then these medicines were strengthening its surface.
When she was first captured, the friction from the shackles would make her wrists and ankles ache, but not anymore. Now, even if she intentionally rubbed her skin against the iron, she wouldn’t feel much pain, let alone sustain an injury.
’So being captured wasn’t all bad,’ she thought, trying to find a silver lining. ’I’ve actually lucked out. People talk about having skin of bronze and bones of iron. I might not have the iron bones, but at least I’ll get the bronze skin!’
’In a situation like this, you have to be optimistic.’
But she also knew deep down that they were undoubtedly using her as a test subject. And they wouldn’t stop with just this one medicine. She had to find a way to escape!
Unfortunately, before she could come up with a plan, Professor Warren had already prepared the medicine and was extremely pleased with her physical condition.
"Excellent! She’s worthy of being the test subject I chose! Look at this physique—she’s absorbed the vast majority of the preliminary medicine meant to unlock physical potential! She’s the one! She will be the perfect vessel to showcase my masterpiece!"
Of course, he wouldn’t say this in front of Seth Walsh.
Professor Warren might have been devoted to his research, but he wasn’t a fool.
He only ever let Seth Walsh see Paige Summers writhing in agony after her injections.
Seth Walsh was quite satisfied with this.
He could clearly see just how much pain Paige Summers was in.
Although she tried her best to endure it, her grotesquely twisted expression, the sweat that poured from her like rain, and even the tinge of blood within it all testified to her agony.
He was satisfied, and Professor Warren’s experiment could proceed smoothly.
A perfect win-win situation.
No, in Professor Warren’s mind, this was a win-win-win situation!
The preliminary development medicine had greatly improved Paige Summers’s body. And while his goal was simply to allow her to more smoothly accept the Rejuvenation Potion, such an enhancement was something many in the apocalypse would kill for!
Paige Summers wasn’t the first to take this medicine.
But very few had ever made it this far. Most had died from the sheer pain after only one or two injections. The rare one or two who succeeded had absorption rates nowhere near Paige Summers’s, and they had all died in the final stage anyway, their bodies exploding when they took the Rejuvenation Potion.
One can only imagine how satisfied Professor Warren was with his test subject, Paige Summers!
So, after the final injection was administered, he examined Paige Summers’s body and decisively ordered her to be bound completely. She was then taken to another room to prepare for the final experiment: taking the Rejuvenation Potion.
Naturally, Seth Walsh had to be invited to watch the process.
Professor Warren sat excitedly next to Seth Walsh. At this point, he was too excited to fear the other man’s cold expression, chattering on about how this time, it was sure to be a success.
Their room had a large mirror that took up nearly an entire wall. Through it, they could see Paige Summers tied to a bed in the adjacent room.
Paige Summers was very quiet.
She had a premonition that the medicine they were about to test on her was highly unusual.
In truth, she wasn’t particularly afraid of testing medicine.
After all, her body was different from others; it could naturally expel any toxins.
But that didn’t mean she liked being used as a test subject!
The fact that they were watching from the next room was especially humiliating and infuriating!
’But this is precisely when I need to be calmest.’
So she buried all her emotions deep inside, leaving her face an expressionless mask.
Soon, someone entered and carefully poured a small vial of green medicine into her mouth.
The medicine wasn’t hard to drink; it even had a faint sweetness. Soon after it went down, Paige Summers realized it wasn’t poisonous. But at the same time, she could feel that the liquid contained an immense amount of energy!
The energy was immense but also violent. Within minutes, pain erupted throughout her body. She felt as heavy as if she were being crushed under a boulder, and her heart pounded so furiously it felt like it would burst from her chest at any moment.
The extreme stress on her body made her mind grow foggy.
Her bones, flesh, skin, and even her internal organs were being squeezed and compressed. The immense pain made her scream involuntarily.
Professor Warren watched his test subject with alarm.
Paige Summers had already fallen from the bed to the floor. She was rolling back and forth, obviously in extreme agony.
Not only that, but it looked as if boiling water was churning beneath her skin, causing it to pulse and bulge grotesquely. It was a terrifying sight!
Professor Warren grew secretly anxious. The previous failed test subjects had all started with their skin swelling before their entire bodies exploded. ’This one isn’t going to fail too, is she? If this one fails again, who knows what Seth Walsh will do in his current mood...’
He couldn’t help but steal a glance at him.
Seth Walsh, however, was not as displeased as he had imagined.
On the contrary, the icy look on his face seemed to have softened slightly at the sight of Paige Summers’s pain.
Only then did Professor Warren secretly let out a sigh of relief.
’Makes sense.’
’Silas Dudley’s death was linked to this test subject. Seth Walsh hated her guts; he wanted her to suffer as much as possible. If this could appease him, perhaps he wouldn’t make things too difficult for me even if the experiment failed.’
But before his relief could settle in, Paige Summers’s condition changed again.
As if her agony had reached its peak, she unleashed her body’s hidden potential. With a loud scream, she suddenly unleashed a burst of incredible strength. BANG! She tore free from the chains binding her; even the shackles on her hands and feet were snapped by her swelling limbs!
The room was instantly filled with the sound of collisions.
Pieces of chain and shattered shackles were sent flying by her movements, striking the glass with a sharp crack!
Professor Warren frowned and stood up.
"What is this..."
Seth Walsh, however, waved him down. "Sit down and keep watching. With me here, what are you afraid of?"