Chapter 2: Cellmates

Although it was a hellish-difficulty start, like many who had transmigrated, Chen Chong was not without something to rely on.

After transmigrating and finding himself in a desperate situation, he accidentally discovered something beyond his understanding had appeared in his mind.

A strange “light sphere,” along with the bizarre information inside it.

This thing seemed to be the culprit that caused him to transmigrate to this parallel spacetime, and based on the information in his mind, Chen Chong speculated that this light sphere in his head seemed to possess the ability to materialize fantasy items, much like a certain famously power ful great light sphere.

Chen Chong could not be certain if the mysterious light sphere in his mind was the legendary Main God or not, because the redeemable content of this light sphere in his head was far too sparse. No matter how much he fumbled and probed, there were only a little over ten pieces of item information. Moreover, aside from the 【Ultra Divine Water】, 【T-Virus Modified Type】, and 【Marrow Cleansing Pill】, all other items strangely displayed missing information and could not be materialized, for some unknown reason.

As for the Main God’s signature features like bloodline and physique modification, or skill enhancement through infusion, there was no trace of them at all.

Furthermore, this light sphere that closely resembled the Main God seemed to possess no consciousness whatsoever. It neither issued any bizarre tasks nor gave Chen Chong the ability to travel through spacetime into any movie worlds. Apart from its incredibly shabby exchange list, it was almost a dead object, completely lacking the omnipotence of the real Main God’s great light sphere.

Besides that, this extremely incomplete version of the Main God for materializing items that Chen Chong possessed did not require any plot points or survival points; it seemed only to need a special kind of energy unit. Chen Chong named it Materialization Power.

And through three months of exploration, Chen Chong discovered that the growth of this mysterious Materialization Power had two pathways: first, when his spirit reacted intensely due to continuous pain; second, whenever he was tied to the experiment platform for electroshock experiments, every time a strong electric current passed through his body, the Main God Materialization Power would increase to varying degrees.

These two discoveries were also something Chen Chong only figured out after enduring much suffering.

However, the rate of increase from these two methods was not very large. After over 100 days and nights of torment, Chen Chong had only just managed to accumulate 1024 units of Materialization Power.

But even so, it became Chen Chong’s sole reliance in this nearly fatal predicament!

Chen Chong could not afford to get to the bottom of what exactly this light sphere in his head was for the time being. Thinking about it was meaningless when he couldn’t even guarantee his own life. In fact, if it weren’t for the existence of the light sphere in his mind giving him hope of escape, Chen Chong almost certainly would not have been able to hold on until now.

As for how to escape this Experimental Base, which was like a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den, after three months of observing the base, Chen Chong already had a rough plan in his heart.

……

Tap, tap, tap…

About a few hours after Chen Chong was escorted back to the cell, hurried and forceful footsteps echoed through the dark, damp corridor, breaking the silence.

The footsteps seemed to represent some kind of signal, as the originally stiff expressions of most prisoners in the cages suddenly became lively. They all turned their heads to look at the corridor, and their numb eyes uniformly transformed into… deep fear.

“Hey, you poor worms are in luck!”

What entered was a full team of tall, burly white guards. The leading man, a big fellow with a full beard, was tall and stout, his whole figure like an iron tower, exuding a dangerous, beast-like aura. He whistled and teasingly scanned the prisoners in each cell:

“The kind-hearted and beautiful Dr. Katherine has a merciful heart. The weekly candlelight dinner has been prepared. Now, all you garbage line up for me obediently and get ready to enjoy your candlelight dinner!”

This strong white man who spoke was the captain of the guard squad, Jason.

As Jason’s words fell, the prisoners in the cells immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Their originally numb and fearful expressions faded away, replaced faintly by a sense of joy and anticipation.

In the corner shadows of the cell, Chen Chong had already recovered most of his strength by now, and he immediately sneered.

The so-called candlelight dinner was indeed meant literally. The base’s dining hall was where the guards and researchers ate. About every seven days, all the experiment subjects in the cells had one chance to eat in the dining hall, which was equivalent to a temporary release. Compared to the rotten, synthetic slop the prisoners ate daily, the base dining hall, where they had a chance to taste whole pieces of meat and even fruit, undoubtedly became the prisoners’ sole anticipation in this sunless cellblock.

Chen Chong knew very well in his heart that providing these prisoners with the so-called candlelight dinner was not that bitch of a doctor showing great mercy; rather, it was because the mortality rate among the prisoner experiment subjects was always extremely high. A significant portion of the deaths was caused by mental breakdowns due to prolonged oppression, with some even trying every means to commit suicide.

And this clearly affected that bitch’s experiments, which was why this weekly temporary release opportunity existed.

The thought flashed through his mind. In front of Chen Chong, the rusted iron bars had already been opened. Johnson towered over him, his expression playful, laughing heartily:

“You little brat, whose life is tougher than a cockroach’s, you’re very lucky. The Doctor specifically instructed to give you a special extra meal. Come out!”

Chen Chong could not be bothered to waste words with him and directly stood up and walked out of the cell.

The other prisoners also emerged from their cells one after another. A total of twenty-eight prisoners, looking slovenly and frail, formed a long line. Johnson was very satisfied with the prisoners’ obedience. He used his ID card to open the electronic door lock and, together with his subordinates, escorted the prisoners out of the cellblock.

Passing through a second electronic door lock, the group walked out of the dim cellblock corridor. All the prisoners, including Chen Chong, were immediately stimulated by the glaring lights and collectively shielded their eyes.

What appeared before them was a complex network of steel corridors.

“It’s time for the boss to take these monkeys out for a stroll again.”

“FUCK, I really can’t figure out why the Doctor allows this garbage to eat in our dining hall. After they finish eating, the whole place needs to be scrubbed down with disinfectant.”

“Hey, monkeys, want some of my banana?”

“Oh, Carlo, you’re so damn disgusting.”

As they walked silently through the steel corridors, the escorting guards and the patrol guards they encountered joked and greeted each other. These guards were all white. When they saw the escorted line of prisoners including Chen Chong, they were either completely indifferent or showed undisguised mockery and contempt. Chen Chong, positioned at the back of the line, silently counted the number of guards they encountered along the way, completely deaf to these malicious taunts:

“The cellblock is at the deepest part of the base, with only one exit, and you have to pass through this corridor area.”

“The Experiment Area, dining hall, rest area for researchers and guards, storage area, and rooms with unknown purposes… every passage has cameras, and every route has guards patrolling…”

“Their equipment, pistols, electric batons…”

“No technology surpassing that of my previous life’s Earth has been discovered so far. Looking at the rough appearance of this base, it might even be inferior.”

Thoughts flashed through Chen Chong’s mind one after another.

The entire underground Experimental Base was half the size of a football field, filled with a rough industrial style. It was more like a large prison than a base. The group of prisoners twisted and turned inside, passing through one electronic door lock after another, eventually arriving at a spacious hall with relatively decent decoration.

The attic on the upper floor of the hall had curtains blocking the view of the inside. On the ground floor hall, rows of tables and chairs were neatly arranged. Inside the serving window at the far end, several people dressed as cooks were busy with something.

The moment they entered the dining hall, all the prisoners’ gazes were immediately drawn to the serving window, greedily sniffing the faint aroma of food in the air.

“Alright, you poor worms!”

Guard captain Johnson clapped his hands and shouted:

“Now, all you garbage go line up obediently for me! Whoever dares cause trouble for me, my baton will go straight up his crotch! You only have thirty minutes!”

The twenty-some prisoners exchanged glances, then very tacitly maintained the long line and walked towards the serving window, starting to receive their rare, sumptuous dinner.

Most of the prisoners were not here for the first time and clearly knew how vicious these white-skinned guards were. There had once been a prisoner who tried to snatch someone else’s food to take back to the cell to enjoy later, which drew Johnson’s attention. He was beaten on the spot, his ribs broken by the baton, and he died on the experiment platform not two days later.

The long line shortened quickly. Most prisoners were craning their necks in anticipation, but Chen Chong’s mind was not on this at all. Instead, he intermittently observed the dining hall’s second floor.

The second floor was where all the base researchers ate, including the “bitch” Chen Chong spoke of, the person in charge of the entire human potential development experiment, Dr. Katherine, who would also come here to eat. However, after observing for a while, Chen Chong did not see Katherine’s figure.

“416?”

A few minutes later, Chen Chong was standing in front of the serving window. The person distributing the food squinted to identify the number on Chen Chong’s chest, then, as if looking at some rare species, grinned strangely:

“You poor, lucky little brat. Dr. Katherine specifically instructed to give you an extra portion.”

Then a steaming hot tray was pushed in front of Chen Chong: two baked potatoes, two pieces of bread, a large, oily steak, a big bowl of bone broth, and two fist-sized unknown fruits, seemingly some kind of fruit.

This double-portion feast immediately drew looks of extreme envy from the prisoners behind Chen Chong. Chen Chong naturally wouldn’t turn down food that could replenish his strength and nutrition. He immediately picked up the tray, found a relatively quiet spot, and silently started eating.

The dining hall was filled with the sounds of ravenous swallowing and chewing. The guards were spread around the hall, monitoring as if watching monkeys. Chen Chong unhurriedly dealt with the food before him while secretly continuing to observe the attic overhead.

Plop.

At that moment, a meal tray was suddenly placed opposite him, and then a man with a knife scar near his eye sat down across from him, the number 498 written on his chest.

Hmm?

Chen Chong lifted his eyelids, his face expressionless.

Due to his tough life force, Chen Chong actually held a rather high status in the eyes of the other cell prisoners. However, because he was very disappointed by most prisoners’ attitude of just waiting for death, Chen Chong usually could not be bothered to pay attention to his cellmates. So, generally, no one took the initiative to disturb him.

However, he did have some impression of the prisoner sitting opposite him now. The other party’s number was 498, also considered an old-timer in the cellblock. He had endured various torments no less than Chen Chong, and his will and vitality were equally tough.

Number 498 had always been taciturn, and they had communicated very little. But Chen Chong knew that for the other man to have lived through one harsh experiment after another until now, he was clearly no simple character.

“My name is Lin Kun. Chen Chong, we are the same kind of people.”

The scar-faced Number 498 did not look at Chen Chong. While flipping his food, he used a low voice that only the two of them could hear to get straight to the point:

“You should know, a large underground laboratory like this definitely needs a large-scale ventilation system for air exchange, especially… in the dining hall kitchen.”

Chen Chong instantly understood what the other meant, his gaze sharp as a knife!