Quadruple split.

Chapter 2734 Pain?
Game time: 23:19 PM
Onic City, Core Laboratory [Workshop Red], Fourth Basement Level, First Research Lab

"Gahrez".

In a quiet, clean corner lit by soft wall lamps, Merlin, having just finished reviewing two reports, took a large gulp of coffee, his brow furrowed, pulled a microphone to his face, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing right now?"

"Uh."

Two seconds later, Gahrez's slightly distorted voice came from the makeshift speaker next to the microphone, sounding somewhat nervous: "I'm testing the underlying logic of the [Tower of Sin] at Test Site Four. I'm currently on the third round of calculations. If all goes well, it should be ready before dawn..."

"Stop the calculation for a moment, come up to me now."

Merlin calmly interrupted Gajres, adding just as the latter was about to say something more: "Immediately."

"Yes, mentor!"

The sound from the speaker suddenly became tense, followed by a series of keystrokes and hurried footsteps. After that, Merlin turned off the increasingly noisy speaker and continued to gulp down his coffee, doing nothing for the first time, just patiently... or perhaps not so patiently, waiting for his student.

Coffee is a good civilization, and the [Innocent Realm], where one can drink coffee to one's heart's content without any negative impact on the body, is also a good civilization. It's just a pity that Merlin knows very well that there are some things that he shouldn't be curious about, otherwise he probably would have left the Academy of Sciences long ago and applied for a job at the [Innocent Company].

Of course, settling for second best like we are now is not bad either.

"Ah."

Slowly setting down the cup in his hand, the old man's lips curled into a cold smile: "Upon closer reflection, even the 'reality' we live in is perhaps another 'realm of innocence'."

click-

Immediately afterward, the crudely made 'elevator' not far away rumbled open, and Gahrez, dressed in a black 'resistance suit' in the style of a trench coat and carrying a face mask similar to that of a plague doctor, walked out with a somewhat flustered expression. He then ran up to Merlin and bowed tremblingly.

Although Gajres didn't know what he had done wrong, judging from Merlin's tone, he felt that he must have messed something up.

"sit."

However, the old man only glanced at Gajres and did not start scolding him directly. Instead, he even let Gajres sit in front of him.

The young man was immediately flattered and became even more nervous.

It was as if he was about to sit not on a wooden high-backed chair, but on a giant dragon whose savings and dragon eggs had just been stolen.

In fact, Merlin simply asked him to sit down normally. Anyone who has carefully observed the daily routine here knows that although the old man is indeed very strict in many situations, he rarely insults his permanent or temporary assistants like Gaheres, Osiris, or Yintian, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

In other words, unless Gajres really messed up a huge mess, Merlin would almost always make him sit down and talk instead of subjecting him to meaningless and worthless 'standing punishment'.

As for the latter's reaction, it was simply a stress response caused by tension.

This is normal. After all, Merlin has an unattainable ability and status for Gahrez, both in and out of the game. Especially in the real world, it is no exaggeration to say that an old man can change the life of an ordinary student with just a casual statement. So this situation is completely understandable.

What the elderly found hard to understand was—

"take a look."

Merlin casually pushed a piece of parchment in front of him toward Gajres and asked indifferently, "Tell me what this is?"

Gahrez glanced down at the parchment in front of him and immediately replied, "This is the experimental report for the [Dissimilar Agent FIII] type."

Merlin nodded slightly and then asked, "Why are there experimental reports for the [Dissimilar Agent FIII] type?"

"what?"

Gahrez paused for a moment, then hesitated, "Because... I conducted the experiment?"

"Yes, you did the experiment."

Merlin narrowed his eyes, gently placed his hand on the experimental report, and asked calmly, "Then please tell me, Mr. Gahrez, where are the test subjects you selected?"

Gajres paused slightly, then immediately replied, "F-S07, F-S09, F-S31, and myself."

"I see, F-S07, F-S09, F-S31..."

Merlin lowered his eyes, glancing at the concise yet clear report, and said calmly, "As I expected, it all failed because it couldn't withstand the second upgrade of the mutated agent. A complete waste."

However, Gahrez shook his head. Although he still looked somewhat timid and uneasy as ever, he said in a firm tone, "I don't think the first three tests were a complete waste."

"Oh?"

Merlin wasn't angry; instead, he asked with interest, "Then why did you conduct the experiment three times in a row, knowing that the result would inevitably be failure?"

"I want to find a threshold based on the results of these three experiments."

Gahrez composed himself and said seriously, "Based on previous experiments, we have proven that once the mutator is fully effective, it will rapidly reset the victim's body structure. Without exception, the reset structure and organs will experience extremely severe rejection reactions, making it difficult for the test subject to withstand, and ultimately leading to complete death."

"Don't waste your breath on things I know better than you do."

Merlin glanced at Gajres and tapped the table lightly: "Get to the point."

"Yes, mentor."

Gahrez immediately sat up straight, tensing, and said quickly, "In previous experiments, although the subjects' body structures were reset and mutated, causing rejection reactions, during the process of the subjects' complete collapse due to the rejection reaction, those mutated parts were actually adapting at a high speed, but..."

"However, the adaptation speed of those mutated parts is far slower than the speed of the rejection reaction."

Merlin interrupted Gahrez and calmly stated his conclusion: "Although there are significant differences in the physical condition and resistance of each subject, the only constant is that, at least at this stage, no one has been able to successfully adapt."

"Only from a data perspective, the individual with the best performance so far is codenamed [F-S02]. When she died due to rejection, the core organs had already achieved an adaptation rate of nearly 25% to the mutation."

Gahrez nodded and said seriously, "The worst performing individual was codenamed [F-S26]. When he died, his core organs had less than 3% adaptability to the mutation."

Merlin looked at Gahrez expressionlessly: "So? What's your reason for conducting three experiments on your own?"

“Safety test.” Gahrez lowered his eyes and looked at the shortest line on the parchment, the only one marked with the word 'success,' and the first entry in the [Subject] column that read 'Gahrez.' He said meticulously, “I need some data to find a dilution range to ensure that the [Anti-Agent FIII] can exert its maximum effect while I am alive.”

Merlin frowned and asked, "So you think it's perfectly normal for a researcher to lie on a lab table?"

"I don't know if this is normal, but what I am sure of is that this method is relatively more efficient."

After a moment's thought, Gahrez carefully chose his words and said, "We have a relatively small number of test subjects. Under this premise, as a player with a relatively low cost of death and who can directly and accurately monitor his own stats through the character panel, I perfectly fit the criteria of an ideal test subject. In addition, I also have the identity of a researcher, which gives me an advantage in terms of feedback."

Merlin raised an eyebrow and asked, "What about the 'physical sensation' aspect?"

"Regarding the physical sensation?"

Gahrez blinked, then regrouped and continued, "Although we players have a 'personal sensory protection system' that the system will provide in most cases, this system also has accurate data. Although it may cause deviations in experimental results, overall, such flaws are completely acceptable."

Merlin chuckled softly and continued, "What do you mean by 'completely acceptable'?"

"My personal understanding is that even if we take into account the bias caused by the personal sensory protection system, my participation in the experiment can still increase the efficiency of the experiment by at least five to six times, while our losses in all aspects, especially the losses of the experimental subjects, will be reduced by at least 60% to 70%."

Gahrez meticulously gave what he considered the most reasonable explanation, then smiled somewhat shyly: "Besides that, I think I have another advantage."

"Hmm, I can probably guess that."

Merlin deftly lifted the thermos using the force field device built into his cane, elegantly refilled his coffee, and said casually, "It should be the talents [Venomous Blood] and [Deteriorating Mutation], right?"

Gahrez nodded vigorously and said, "That's right. Because of these two talents, I have a very good compatibility with those experiments related to toxins and diseases. Moreover, I have basically tested the specific reduction range of these two talents during this period of time."

"I understand."

Merlin took a sip of coffee and said calmly, "So, based on all of the above, you've concluded that using yourself as a test subject can significantly improve experimental efficiency, not only saving time for many crucial experiments but also reducing the rate at which test subjects are consumed, right?"

Gahrez pursed his lips nervously and said, "I just think this approach is relatively cost-effective, since we're short on time and don't have a large number of test subjects or other materials, so..."

"No need for so much explanation, I wasn't scolding you."

Merlin impatiently waved his hand to interrupt Gajeres' explanation, saying indifferently, "I'm just a little curious about your way of thinking."

Gahrez swallowed hard, unsure of what to say, so he could only shrink back and give a forced smile.

"Well then, in order not to disappoint your 'good intentions,' I'll just take a quick look."

Merlin adjusted the seat cushion, then leaned back in a more comfortable position, casually asking, "How many times did you dilute the [Antidote FIII] you injected?"

Gahrez paused for a moment: "Uh, in that regard, mentor, you can directly refer to the experimental days..."

"Just say it right here."

Merlin interrupted Gajres, saying casually, "I'm too lazy to look through those things, just tell me directly."

The latter immediately sat up straight and said seriously, "Yes, mentor. Considering that I might lose those two key talents if I rebuild the character, I diluted [Agent FIII] three times to ensure the highest possible survival probability."

"What about the physical sensation?"

Merlin looked at Gajres, whose expression was normal and who seemed no different from usual except for a little nervousness, and asked, "For you, if the worst nurse at the hospital made you feel one standard unit of pain when you went for a physical exam and had your finger pricked, or if you fell off your bike in shorts and your knees were covered in blood, how many units of pain would that be?"

After thinking for a moment, Gahrez replied confidently, "It's probably around 5 to 7, about the same as the pain of your toes hitting the corner of a cabinet when you're walking barefoot."

"very smart."

Merlin, who had immediately perfected the standardized units for measuring pain, nodded in satisfaction and asked directly, "Now tell me, how much pain did you feel when using [Antidote FIII]?"

"Let me think about it."

Because he hadn't considered this aspect at all when writing his experimental log, Gahrez awkwardly stroked his chin and frowned, saying, "Although I didn't keep specific records at the time, I can still roughly recall the physical sensations of the experiment..."

Merlin nodded and said casually, "Okay, hurry up."

So, Gahrez began to recall his feelings at the time and said to Merlin, "As for the head, the condition is the best. Although it will affect thinking, the pain is only around 1000."

"Um……"

The old man nodded and asked, "What did you just say?"

"Eh?"

Gahrez scratched his head and repeated, "What I mean is, after injecting yourself with diluted [Aberrant Agent FIII], your head should be in relatively good condition, and based on the pain we just talked about, it should only be around 1000."

"Um……"

"……tutor?"

"It's nothing, please continue."

"Then there's the internal organs. It feels like they're being continuously melted by high temperatures. But even though they're being melted, the quality and density of the organs themselves don't change much. In fact, there's some proliferation."

"proliferation?"

"Yes, it feels like it's melted, but the 'abundance' of the internal organs has actually increased."

"Hmm, that's a very unique description. What about the pain?"

"Around 3000, I guess?"

"Um……"

"tutor?"

Chapter 2725: The End