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Chapter 179: Subject 002

The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System)

(Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

"Doctor what are the results of this new experiment?"

"Can these hybrids be weaponised?"

"What can we expect to see in the future from project Rhat'ets"

Doctor Valenna confidently stood in an open conference room and listened carefully to the numerous questions being thrown her way by the hologram figures projected on the chairs.

She wore a simple white lab coat with multiple pockets that she filled with various scientific devices and surgery knives.

Her curly brown hair, average looking features, easy going smile, and thin black glasses made the doctor appear to be a kind physician.

Even with the position of head researcher on project Rhat'ets, she did not have the security authorisation to see the faces of the higher ups directly.

The facial details of each hologram figure was blurred slightly and the voices coming from their mouths had been heavily modified.

But Doctor Valenna had no doubt in her mind that these men and women were at the absolute top of the Federation government.

Now was the opportunity to impress the higher ups and secure more funding for further experimentation.

Science was the great truth in the universe!

Doctor Valenna reached for her notepad and started to read the notes she had written down a few hours ago,

"The experiment lasted for approximately five hours and saw three hybrids who we nicknamed subject 001, subject 002 and subject 003 face off against seventy-nine guards with cultivation levels ranging from the qi body to qi spirit stage."

"They were armed with standard combat uniforms and class two plasma rifles capable of neutralising previous hybrids produced using Tarkkankan DNA."

"There were also twelve junior level researchers that were present as a control group but none of them survived."

"And what of the hybrids?" a distorted voice that was vaguely feminine was heard from one of the holograms.

"Please just give us the shortened version and we will investigate the full details in greater depth after the meeting."

Doctor Valenna adjusted her glasses and skipped over the next few sections to give the higher ups a summarised version of the experiment.

She coughed awkwardly and then continued to speak,

"Subjects 001 and 003 sustained heavy wounds and died immediately from a mix of blood loss and blunt force trauma."

"Subject 002 managed to kill the remaining security forces and researchers all by himself so he was sedated and then brought back to my personal laboratory for further testing."

"The results from this experiment show a marked improvement over the previous results and I can confidently say that my team and I are moving in a positive direction."

"But that is not good enough," a dark chuckle was heard from one of the hologram figures.

"Over ten billion Enas have been invested in this project and all you can produce are cannon fodder trash."

"Now doctor…. listen carefully to me."

Doctor Valenna stood still as beads of sweat started to run down her back.

Whoever that person was…. he was emitting a fearsome aura that could be felt even through a light projection.

"I want you to produce at least one hybrid that can enter the qi tide stage. You have two months to accomplish this goal."

"Or you will find yourself suffering the same fate as your test subjects."

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(Casablanca Royal Hotel- Presidential Suite)

"I'm… I'm so sorry," Sophie held Cleo tightly and felt the soft body of her girlfriend gently press against her own.

She just felt sick.

An unpleasant mix of shame, regret and guilt was now flowing through her mind.

This was the second time that she had lost control and almost injured the princess thanks to the powers given to her by the Great Weaver.

The room was quiet as Sophie wept silently and Cleo was still trying to process what had just happened.

"Do you know what triggered the hunting state?" she finally asked.

Sophie frowned as she tried to recall her thoughts and emotions during the last few hours.

She could vaguely remember seeing something inside Cleo that captured her attention.

But what was it?

She knew that it was not Cleo herself….

Unlike the previous time, Sophie could sense that the memories were just within her grasp, so she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

Subconsciously her left hand drifted slowly down Cleo's chest and gently pressed against the pinkish mark.

Wait!

Now she remembered!

Sophie's expression turned serious and she hesitantly opened her mouth to explain to Cleo what had happened,

"Cleo don't freak out…. but I saw an alien inside your body and that was what triggered me."

"It looked like a humanoid stick figure with four shadowy tendrils that were wrapping around your organs."

"I couldn't tell if these tendrils merged with your other organs but for some reason these appendages stayed away from your heart."

Sophie was unsure of why her girlfriend's heart had remained free of the tendril's influence but speculated that it might have something to do with the mark on her chest.

"Wait…. what?" Cleo asked in confusion.

"What do you mean that an alien is inside of me? Like a symbiote? But the qi in my body would prevent any symbiote from assimilating."

Sophie paused for a moment as she realised that Cleo was right about the impossibility of the situation.

The qi stored in the dantian would act as a natural barrier to prevent symbiotic lifeforms from fusing into the host body of a cultivator.

However, she did not doubt what she had seen inside Cleo's body so there must be another explanation.

"Cleo… What happens if a symbiote enters a host before the host starts cultivating?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Well then in that case there would be a high chance that the qi formed would recognise the symbiote as one of the host's organs," Cleo replied after giving the matter some thought.

"I started cultivating pretty early and I also stayed in the Imperial Complex for most of my life so how could a symbiote have entered my body?"

"Plus, I did numerous medical scans and physical augment procedures just like my other siblings. Any symbiote hiding inside my body would have been detected immediately."

Cleo's mood was uneasy as the very notion of some foreign creature hiding away in her body was deeply disturbing.

A small piece of the shadows beneath her feet began to writhe and contort into various horrific shapes.

Neither girl noticed these changes as the light in the hotel room was pretty dim and Sophie was preoccupied with digesting this new information.

Logically speaking, there was no way that a princess could have been exposed to a symbiote much less go through years of different medical scans and procedures without any detection.

"Sorry if I sound crazy and I know it makes no sense, but I know what I saw. There was something there," Sophie desperately tried to convince her girlfriend.

"Relax babe," Cleo chuckled and brushed her lips against Sophie's.

"I believe you."