Thrive in Catastrophe - Chap 67
Mark wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, but suddenly Xiao Yan seemed quite different from his former self. A cold violence crackled the air and he walked as thought a constant storm surrounded him. Mark even found himself ordered about.
“Mark, I am collecting 2mL of your blood.”
“Huh? What?” Mark had not had a chance to response to the sudden request when his arm felt a prick. He looked up to see Xiao was already walking away with the sample.
“Mark. Pour me a cup of coffee, I want the water at 60 degrees.”
“Mark. I am collecting your saliva.”
Mark glanced over at Heine who was sitting in his usual position, then he opened his mouth for Xiao to swab.
This strange mood that had a hold of Xiao Yan did not release for a second. Even at meals he did nothing more that poke at this food, completely immersed in thought.
Mark looked over at Xiao’s plate, the mutilated and mushed food looked awful.
Xiao remained like this until Heine move in front of him and reached out to touch his fingertips. The sudden electric charge bridged the contact and Xiao finally looked up.
“Take this lunch.” Heine set a new plate in front of him.
“Ah…oh…”
Heine sat down across from him. Xiao lowered his head. Under the heavy pressure of Heine’s stare, he shoveled the food into his mouth. He chewed mechanically, not tasting anything at all.
“I need another blood sample from you.” Xiao did not lift his head as he spoke.
“Hm.”
“It has been nearly eight years since you accepted the virus, for Mark it has been five. I need to compare the viral activity in your blood and—”
“I don’t need as reason. As long as you want it.”
The corner of Xiao’s mouth pulled into a grimace. What does that mean… ‘As long as you want it? Shouldn’t it be ‘as long as it’s for research?’
Should Heine Burton start to talk to him like this all the time, his brain will short circuit.
For a solid month Xiao has been completely immersed in this study.
He has made quite a few breakthroughs. He know the viral activity increases with its duration in the human body. The more active the virus is, the more rapidly the body will deteriorate, until it is completely swallowed by the virus.
The virus in Heine’s body is clearly more active than Mark’s, in truth it’s rate of replication exceeds any of the special forces. Heine’s body will not hold out for two more years, it is unlikely he will make it another six months.
The price Heine has paid for his mythical strength is scarily steep.
Previous projects have attempted to suppress the replication of the virus, but it is intrinsically tied to the abilities it grants the soldier. Reducing its activity reduces the physical ability of the host, thus negating its whole purpose.
The virus is a part of the host, altering portions of their genetic makeup.
He needs to find a way to reverse the virus’s mechanism for meeting its energy requirements. He looked over other studies that attempted to strip the functioning portion of the its sequence. Perhaps he should do the opposite, regard it as defective and add elements to perfect it.
Heine continued to train Xiao Yan on blocker resistance. He arranged for them to complete a session after dinner until it was time for bed.
Before they began, Xiao swallowed thickly, Heine sat in front of him in standard military posture, his back was perfectly straight and he rested his palms on his knees.
