DSMC Chapter 96.2

He left Dr. Zhou’s office and went straight to patient Number 1’s room.

He saw the rooms of the other seven and also saw the human corresponding to the wolf cub. Judging by the size, Pudding the wolf cub should have been a child around 12. His face was severely burned. He guessed that before the accident, the boy must have been very cute.

Yan Jiyun confirmed room by room, but still only saw seven patient rooms. There was no Number 1’s room. If he couldn’t find the black panther, he wouldn’t be able to complete his mission.

Was patient Number 1 not on Basement Level 2?

Could it be that Dr. Zhou stayed on Basement Level 3 because of Number 1? 

Dr. Zhou hadn’t fully trusted him when he told him about the passage to Basement Level 2. The secret he was guarding was the black panther’s human identity.

What relationship did he have with the black panther?

Yan Jiyun ended his exploration of Basement Level 2. It wasn’t a waste of time. At least he had figured out what kind of experiment this was.

The purpose of the instance wasn’t to decipher the principles of the experiment, but to understand the connection between humans and animals.

Still, he wanted to know the principle. What if one day he needed it? If [Destiny] ultimately broke its promise and didn’t let him exchange back into a human body, could he find a body himself and slip into it?

Then it would become borrowing a corpse to return to life…. no?

The moment those four words surfaced in his mind, Yan Jiyun dismissed the thought. Goosebumps rose all over his body. A body that wasn’t his own would always feel wrong. He didn’t want immortality. He just wanted a body that belonged to him, and only him, not to occupy someone else’s.

As he came out of Dr. Zhou’s office, the professor’s meeting had just ended. Everyone wore troubled expressions.

However, he was already prepared to return to Basement Level 3 to find Dr. Zhou.

But at that moment, the old professor suddenly called out to him: “Young man, I don’t think I’ve seen you before?”

Yan Jiyun hadn’t expected that he hadn’t been recognized by the other NPCs, but had instead been recognized by the old professor.

He decided to test him. “I was just hired by Dr. Zhou as his assistant. Professor, you may not have seen me often.”

The old professor said decisively, “Xiao Zhou would never hire someone casually. You are not one of our researchers.”

Yan Jiyun struggled a little. “You can confirm with Dr. Zhou.”

The old professor removed the reading glasses perched on his nose. “No need.” He shouted, “Someone has broken into our experimental base and is trying to steal our results. Everyone, grab him!”

So the old professor was the problem!

He had considered that there might be an insider in the experimental area, but he hadn’t expected it to be this old professor. His act of fainting earlier had been very convincing.

At the same time, many footsteps suddenly echoed through Basement Level 2. These people had entered directly through another passage. Leading them was the triumphant Dr. Peng.

By then, Yan Jiyun had already nimbly slipped into another corridor. No one managed to catch up in time. He had already ducked into the passage leading to Basement Level 3.

The old professor had gathered all the researchers for a meeting not because the area was sealed off, but to assemble everyone in one place to prevent them from escaping.

Dr. Peng’s leather shoes clicked sharply against the polished tiles. The speed at which he turned arrogant was astonishing.

The younger researchers were stunned. “Professor Fang, what do you mean by this? This is Dr. Zhou’s life’s work!”

Professor Fang said, “Zhou Yiqun doesn’t want to make our research results public. But this wasn’t developed by him alone. We’ve long had incompatible ideas. I had no choice but to find another collaborator.”

After gaining confidence, Dr. Peng’s voice grew louder, full of force. “Professor Fang, I’ve long admired your name. Finally, we have the opportunity to work together.”

Professor Fang no longer explained himself to the dissatisfied students. Instead, he stepped forward and shook Dr. Peng’s hand. “Indeed.”

Neither of them mentioned Dr. Zhou. Dr. Peng was already eager to tour the laboratory here.

Dr. Peng said, “Professor Fang, from now on, you can do whatever you want.”

Professor Fang replied, “That sounds excellent.”

Dr. Peng added, “Vice Director He has already prepared a banquet for you. She said that if you’re willing, you can make your research results public at any time.”

These words made Professor Fang very happy. As for Dr. Peng, he was doing all this merely to attach his name to it. There was no reason for him to be unhappy. The unprecedented research achievement would bear his name.

After exchanging a basketful of pleasantries, Dr. Peng finally turned to the main point.

“By the way, Professor Fang, I’ve captured all the consciousness entities as you instructed.”

Professor Fang said, “Good. That boy Zhou Yiqun is left with nothing now.”

Dr. Peng said, “My senior brother might just want to keep a low profile and not seek recognition.”

Professor Fang’s expression suddenly darkened. “Did you catch that black panther?”

Dr. Peng replied, “The black panther runs too well. We didn’t catch it. But all the others have been locked up.”

Professor Fang shook his head. “You must catch the black panther. Absolutely must. Among all of them, he has the clearest consciousness within an animal body. He is the primary product for publishing our results. Once we find him, we can make the results public.”

Dr. Peng said, “Alright. I’ll assign more people to continue searching inside the zoo.”

Yan Jiyun listened for a while. Finally, someone came to chase him, but by then he had already slipped into the stairwell leading to Basement Level 3.

It seemed that, except for Number 1 who was not in their hands, all the other patients had fallen into the hands of Dr. Peng and Professor Fang.

Dr. Zhou was only one person. How could he fight against that group?

However, they wanted to find the black panther, and so did he. They were now on the same competitive line.

Dr. Peng had deliberately tied Dr. Zhou up on Basement Level 3, because there, calling to heaven or earth would bring no response.

Almost everyone had gone to Basement Level 2. Yan Jiyun came down from above and went straight to the room where Dr. Zhou had been locked up. No one was there.

It seemed Dr. Zhou had not simply waited to be captured. Yan Jiyun smelled a familiar scent and immediately covered his nose.

Thud, thud, thud.

He heard the hiss of spraying and the sound of someone falling.

Dr. Zhou’s trick.

Fortunately, he was still wearing a mask and hadn’t been knocked unconscious.

On the entire Basement Level 3, there was only one set of footsteps.

Dr. Zhou’s voice came: “Come out, Jiang You.”

Yan Jiyun finally understood. Dr. Zhou had a backup plan.

He pushed open the door and stepped out. The sound of ventilation fans had already begun humming around them.

“If you already had a countermeasure, why did you lure me upstairs?” Yan Jiyun asked.

Dr. Zhou wore a gas mask and held another one in his hand, which he tossed to Yan Jiyun. “If you don’t make a move, how would they get anxious?”

So that was it. This NPC really had more than eight hundred schemes in mind.

Yan Jiyun quickly put on the gas mask. At this point, the only one he could trust was Dr. Zhou, and he guessed he had followed the right line.

Yan Jiyun deliberately said, “They’re all upstairs, preparing to transport Orange and the others away. And they’re about to announce the actual results.”

Dr. Zhou shook his head. “They won’t. They don’t have the final experimental report or the primary product. The crucial final-step data is not in their hands.”

Yan Jiyun asked, “Because of Number 1?” 

Dr. Zhou replied, “You’re smarter than I thought. Come with me.”

Dr. Zhou led Yan Jiyun through twists and turns until they finally stopped in an inconspicuous room. Directly above this location was Dr. Zhou’s office on Basement Level 2.

He hadn’t checked for a hidden door earlier. He hadn’t expected that Number 1 was right beneath his office.

There were even more instruments here than upstairs, densely packed.

The person on the hospital bed was a man with black hair. He was handsome, well-built, nearly 1.9 meters tall. Even in a comatose state, he looked as though he were sleeping, not like a patient.

Yan Jiyun noticed that the bodies of several patients whose consciousness projection had succeeded all appeared physically normal.

He stepped closer. “So he’s the black panther.” There was a sense of explosive power about him, the same feeling as the black panther. “You two look a bit alike.”

Dr. Zhou gazed at the handsome man on the bed. “He’s my older brother. And now, he is the black panther.”

Yan Jiyun had guessed it, they were biological brothers.

After waiting a while without hearing a detailed explanation, Yan Jiyun asked, “Why did he become like this? There must have been a reason you had to start this experiment. Since he’s Number 1, he’s your first experimental subject, right?”

Dr. Zhou tucked the blanket around his brother. “Yes. He was a special forces soldier. During a mission, an explosion injured his head. He never woke up after that. But I know he’s alive. His consciousness is very active. I didn’t want my brother to live forever in darkness. I wanted to give him light, to let him run freely. He was a man with ambition. The rest of his life shouldn’t be confined to this small space.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t agree. “Have you ever thought that maybe your brother doesn’t want to be an animal?”

Many people thought that becoming an animal meant a carefree life. Just eating, drinking, and sleeping, with no worries. But had they considered that animals had their own troubles?

On this matter, he had the most right to speak. He didn’t want to be an animal either. He wanted to turn back into a human.

Dr. Zhou said, “No. When we were children, my brother once said he wanted the speed of a leopard.”

Yan Jiyun said, “Maybe what he wanted was the speed of a fighter jet. A leopard was just a metaphor. Besides, animals have limited lifespans.”

Dr. Zhou said, “Then I’ll just keep changing his body.”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

[Player has successfully identified special patient identities. (8/?)]

[Does the player confirm completion of “Main Mission 3”?]

Yan Jiyun decisively chose [Yes].

[Congratulations to the player for completing Main Mission 3: “Find out their true identities.” Point rewards will be issued after the instance ends.]

Phew. This task had consumed a lot of mental energy. It was finally over.

Dr. Zhou said to the person on the bed, “Ge, I’ll take you away soon.”

At that moment, Yan Jiyun heard the sound of a cage being struck.

He looked toward the source of the noise. A huge cage was covered with black cloth. Before Dr. Zhou could stop him, he lifted the cloth.

Inside the massive cage was the familiar black panther, pacing anxiously.

Yan Jiyun looked at Dr. Zhou in confusion. When had the black panther been brought here?

T/N: Since all the unusual animals are (now revealed as) human, in YJY’s (and his viewers) POV, they will be referred to by “he” or “she” rather than “it”.