I Am the Lord in the World of Mist – CH110

Chapter 110: The Aberrant Experiment

“I already told you, didn’t I? Professor Zhong Lingfan sent me here to collect something,” Xu Zhi replied impatiently, then immediately followed up, “Where did you get that aberrant?”

All their painstakingly researched creatures had been effortlessly defeated by Xu Zhi. These things had once been their line of defense for the research institute!

But after being crushed by Xu Zhi’s “iron fist,” they seemed to have a clearer grasp of reality and replied submissively, “It was captured outside the institute on the day the aberrations first appeared.”

“Only this one?” Xu Zhi pressed.

The man nodded. “Yes, just this one. The others ran off too quickly, and we didn’t dare chase too far.”

“How did you control it?”

Aberrants were naturally drawn to the city center, but this one hadn’t shown that behavior.

The researchers exchanged glances, seemingly debating whether to reveal the “secret.”

Xu Zhi had thought they’d be smart about it, but apparently, they were still stubbornly uncooperative.

“Then take your secret to the grave,” she said coldly.

She hadn’t truly intended to kill them—just to intimidate them into compliance—but the more she spoke, the more the bloodlust rose. By the time she said the words “to the grave,” it sounded almost heartfelt.

The killing intent was practically tangible on her face, and the researchers caved immediately.

“It’s a kind of black fruit!”

Black fruit?

Xu Zhi hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise.

“Explain in detail,” she ordered.

“At first, this aberrant was completely disobedient, constantly trying to escape. We had no choice but to lock it up. After we achieved some initial results experimenting on mutated animals—” the lead researcher hesitated, then added an explanation for Xu Zhi’s benefit, “By results, I mean combining supernatural abilities with scientific methods to control the mutated beasts. As you’ve seen, the results weren’t great. We think we may have taken the wrong approach.”

“But once we had those results, we tried them on the aberrant. Still, it didn’t work well.”

“But one day, we found that black fruit near the entrance of the institute. The aberrant snatched it and ate it. After that, everything changed.”

Xu Zhi: What? You just picked it up outside your door?

She put aside other concerns for now, but seriously—finding a black fruit at the entrance? That was a bit much.

For a moment, Xu Zhi found herself understanding Yu Shenwei’s feelings of envy.

Completely unaware of Xu Zhi’s increasingly warped mood, the researcher continued, “After it ate the fruit, it seemed to develop intelligence. We suspect the fruit’s purpose might be to grant sentience to aberrants and mutated animals.”

“Unfortunately, we never found another one to test.”

“But after it gained sentience, our experiments finally started working!”

“Combining supernatural power with scientific means—and possibly some effects from the fruit—we were able to make it obey simple commands, albeit briefly. It still tries to escape often, but now it will follow some instructions if they aren’t too detailed or forceful.”

Xu Zhi clicked her tongue. That level of control was pathetic.

Out of everything they’d said, the only useful information to her was this: after consuming the black fruit, the aberrant gained a degree of sentience and was no longer instinctively drawn to the city center.

That, combined with the narrator’s earlier suggestion to feed her own Little Aberrant the black fruit, made it clear: the black fruit had a special effect on aberrants.

Maybe this was her way to safely enter the city center.

The black fruit came from the Midnight Realm. If a solution existed, that was likely where it lay.

She would have to ask the narrator.

“That’s all?”

“Yes… really,” the researcher said earnestly. “So could you maybe not kill us? Or the aberrant? We’d like to keep studying it.”

He knew how to negotiate, at least.

“That’s not out of the question,” Xu Zhi said generously. “But you’ll have to move and conduct your research elsewhere. Like I said, I’m taking the equipment.”

“As for you lot… while your results are pretty trash, they’re not completely useless. I suppose I can take you in, provide you with materials and a research site.”

She played her trump card: “I’ve got a plantation full of mutated animal cubs, and a safe, secure place where you can experiment without fear of interference. I’ll even pay you in cores suited to your abilities. How about it?”

By this point, they didn’t really have a choice. And Xu Zhi’s offer was too good to refuse.

Unlike with ordinary residents, Xu Zhi relied more on incentives than threats with researchers. She needed their dedication and brainpower, so making them willingly contribute was ideal.

She had Gouzi—the silver wolf that left all the researchers starry-eyed—escort them back to the residential area, along with the tightly bound aberrant. As for the research equipment, Xu Zhi only took what was urgently needed; the rest she packed into storage, to be retrieved later.

Once the researchers had left, Xu Zhi crouched and pulled a [Moth]-type core from storage.

Seeing this, the cat that had kept its distance casually sauntered up, and with an air of entitlement, lowered its head and ate the core right out of Xu Zhi’s palm.

It no longer ran off with the cores—now it treated her hand like a dinner plate. It would eat, then lazily saunter away to resume being lord of the land.

Xu Zhi was satisfied with the progress. The cat had shed most of its wariness toward her, though it still disliked head pats and wasn’t inclined to show affection. That would take more time.

After feeding the cat, she looked up—just in time to catch a glance from Yu Shenwei that had come too late to be hidden. She missed the way the cat’s tail deliberately flicked her leg as it left, or the disdainful look in its bright green eyes as it glanced at Yu Shenwei.

Well, Xu Zhi was used to this dynamic by now.

Yu Shenwei, for her part, understood very well that Xu Zhi didn’t hold her in any special regard.

And she thought that was fair. They weren’t even the same kind of being anymore. But still, it frustrated her—because she truly did see Xu Zhi as a friend.

She’d even suppressed her innate tendencies as a follower, resisting the urge to harm Xu Zhi. But she had no idea what she meant to Xu Zhi. Honestly? Probably nothing. Not even a friend.

Strangely, Yu Shenwei thought, ever since the ritual, her once-dulled human emotions had begun to return.