death of hope

Chapter 963: "Psychic Storm" (39) Fatal Test
(This... is the institute's top secret? A half-dead human genius?)

The scene before him was far beyond Li Ang's expectations. He had already prepared himself to stay calm no matter how horrible the thing was, and not embarrass himself in front of the director.
But he is just a mortal after all. It would be self-deception to say that he is not afraid at all.

Passing through the iron-clad underground fortifications and the tight security system, we arrived at the B14 area deep underground and opened the Pandora's Box that exuded an ominous atmosphere.

Even the most courageous people would have to be on high alert after going through all this, because what they are about to face is definitely not a good thing.

What's in Pandora's Box?

A deformed and horrible alien monster? A hideous corpse-eating savage? Or an evil and cunning alien psychic wizard?
The result was far beyond Li Ang's expectations: the blonde girl looked half-dead, at the mercy of others, and looked pitiful.

It felt like trying to smash a wall with all your strength, only to find out that the wall was made of paper.

Li Ang let out a long sigh, half of which was relief and half of which was disappointment. He loosened his clenched fists and waited for the director's instructions with a humble attitude.

·
Since entering the glass curtain wall, the old man's expression has obviously changed:
Joseph HF Dann, as the leader of the psychic world, embraced the big tree of Sakura Corporation.

He has status and money, and can get any precious and rare materials.

The old man had seen a lot of big scenes and thought he had mastered the wisdom of the Creator. He always had an arrogant expression that looked down on everyone, even genius prodigies and gifted psychics.

However, ever since the old man entered the compartment behind the curtain wall, the arrogance in his bones instantly diminished by half.

He lowered his posture and became humble, cautious and polite, like a devout believer holding an incense burner, ready to worship the gods:

"The top secret of our institute, the most precious psychic gifted person, should have the most special number, so I give her the number: zero."

The old man's tone became excited, his cloudy eyes widened. Leon noticed that his legs were trembling slightly, and he became curious:

(What's wrong with you, old man? Is your calf cramped?)
Joseph is a pedantic old-school intellectual, reserved and taciturn, and there are very few things that can excite or scare him.

Now, Joseph's tone was like that of an eight-year-old boy showing his most cherished plastic dinosaur doll to his friends, and he said with an intoxicated look on his face:

"Zero, ah~ She is such an extraordinary beauty, isn't she? I can never get tired of looking at her~"

"You're right, it's really beautiful~" Li Ang lied without hesitation.
In fact, because he was standing too far away, he couldn't see what the girl looked like.
Unconsciously, the passionate and energetic young man has been tortured by fate and turned into a shameless office worker who can lie without blushing or feeling any pain.

·
"It's really beautiful and pleasing to the eye. I don't feel tired when I'm working~"

At the control console behind the curtain wall, project leader Ryan El Johnson said with a silly smile:

"This girl's face is as pretty as that of the famous singer Taylor Swift~"

"Both Shxt!"

(Nonsense!)

Joseph suddenly became angry, frowned and scolded his student:
"Just relying on that heavily made-up internet celebrity!? She is worthy of colluded with our Zero?!"

"Sorry~"

Dr. Ryan understood the old man's temper very well, and quickly bowed his head to apologize:
"I'm sorry, teacher, I'm a fan of Taylor Swift, and I tend to compare myself to her when I see other women~"

"Hmph, you haven't made much progress in your studies, but you've been wasting your time chasing stars all day. Now, log into the system, shut down the shield, and shut down the psychic interference field."

"Ah? This..."

Dr. Ryan was stunned for a moment, seemed a little embarrassed, and said stutteringly:
"Teacher, I suggest that you stay away from getting close to me for now. Just watch from a distance."

"Do you understand, or do I? I was the one who reviewed your doctoral thesis."

"No, teacher... I am considering your safety... Zero is still unstable..."

As he spoke, Dr. Ryan shuddered, as if recalling some horrible experience: "Teacher, your last assistant, Mr. Diego, just got into trouble. We haven't hired a new anti-psychic security expert yet. But there will always be brave men under a big reward. I suggest you be patient and wait."

"Idiot! Who said I was going alone? I brought people with me!"

·
"Oh oh! Look at my brain! I'm confused from working overtime~"

Ryan glanced at Leon behind the director, casting aside his sympathetic look, as if he was looking at a dying man. His gaze quickly returned to the monitor screen and he quickly tapped on the keyboard:
"Turn off shields 1, 2, and 3, and turn off the psychic interference field, okay~"

The lights on several devices in the secret room went out and the speakers emitted short beeps, warning of abnormal psychic readings.

The old man was still angry and continued to scold the student: "Ryan, you are not allowed to chase stars. How can you study if you are absent-minded all day long!"

"Is it okay for me to quit right now? But I have to wait a week. Taylor has a concert next week..."

"You're not allowed to go! If you go, get out of here!"

"Uh... okay..." The old man stopped glaring at his student and walked towards the multifunctional nursing bed angrily.

He walked to the junction of the stainless steel floor and the ceramic tiles, then suddenly stopped and looked straight at the air in front of him, as if he was alert to some invisible danger that could kill him.

"Director, what's wrong?" Li Ang asked.

"Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to ask you something."

"You can ask whatever you want, and I will answer whatever you know."

"You are an Ixian. You often escorted merchant ships and fought against the Elves pirates. You used swords and guns to fight against psychic witchcraft. Is that right or not?"

Li Ang was stunned for a moment: "What I said is absolutely true. Oh... are you trying to test my courage?"

Li Ang straightened his chest, and just as his long legs were about to cross the boundary between the stainless steel floor and the tiles;
"Wait a moment."

The old man pressed his palm hard on his stomach to stop him. His serious look didn't seem like he was joking at all, as if he would step on a landmine if he crossed this line:

"Don't leave in a hurry, young man. There's danger ahead. Ryan and the others have shut down the shield and psychic interference equipment. Zero's ability is no joke. Do you know how my last assistant Diego died?"

There was no fear in Li Ang's eyes, instead he showed his desire for fame, wealth and money, and his determination to be fearless in the face of death.

(To end this shameful exile and return home in glory, one must pass through the gates of hell)
"Director, I don't know how my predecessor died, but I'm not afraid. I want to prove myself and take over Mr. Diego's job and become your new assistant."

·
"Very good, there is a future~" the old man nodded continuously.

"Director, you have already chosen me, right?"

"Of course. The aliens of the Charming Spirit Clan are the most intelligent race with the strongest psychic talents in the Milky Way. They are good at using the evil psychic magic of the alien space.

You are so young, yet you fought those monsters head-on and survived to adulthood. You must have a good anti-psychic talent, just like Mr. Diego."

Li Ang was a little confused: (The old man was beating around the bush, what exactly did he want to ask me?)

"I went to military school in my hometown of Ix, and I never studied psychic powers, let alone what anti-psychic powers are..."

"Oh! If it's not acquired inspiration, then it must be a natural talent, at the genetic level...um...how did you survive against the pirates?"

Li Ang looked down at the wound on the back of his hand, thinking of the glorious days when he fought side by side with the sailors, and sighed:
"Experience, wisdom, and most importantly, courage and fearlessness."

"What's your reason for risking your life? As far as I know, the Vilnius family is not short of money. What other secrets does your family have?"

"My uncle, Count Dominic Vilnius, is a war hero. He taught me honor and responsibility. We, the Vilnius family, have an obligation to protect our people and survive in this cold and dark universe."

"Go on, I'm listening." The old man showed rare patience and a solemn expression, as if he was listening to someone's last words.

"The Vilnius family's wealth is risky and fragile. My hometown, Ix, has poor soil and a harsh climate. It is impossible to cultivate agriculture. We have to live underground. It is a colony with an industrial hive as its core. We have to buy food and drink.

Whether it is importing raw materials or exporting products, we have to rely on interstellar routes. If the Ixians cannot protect their fleet, our competitors will snatch away the orders, and the people will immigrate to other planets if they cannot make money. Therefore, the Eldar pirates have become a major concern.

We must fight to defend our family's honor and wealth from those pointy-eared pirates."

·
Li Ang's eyes welled up with tears as he spoke, and he was so moved that he realized that Joseph was looking at him with extremely disappointed eyes:

"So, your Vilnius family doesn't have anti-psychic genetic traits as the rumors say. There is no secret to defeating the Eldar pirates, and it all depends on bravery?" The old man waved his hand.

"What's the point of testing if you don't have genetic talent? Really, I've waited so long for nothing. Don't go. You'll just give up your life in vain."

Leon was furious. The old man described his and the sailors' love for their hometown Ix and their fearless spirit of sacrifice as foolish bravery, and even despised his own abilities.
If this person was not his great benefactor and mentor, he would have slapped him in the face long ago. At this moment, he tried his best to suppress his anger and said with gritted teeth:
"Director... I don't know what you want to find out from my past experiences. I'm sorry to disappoint you.
I… just want to be your assistant and be useful to the institute, so please let me take the test as planned, please…"

"Blame me. I was wrong."

Joseph was like a deflated ball, his originally straight back became hunched, he put down his hand and stopped trying to stop Leon.

He took out a transparent plastic sealed bag from his white coat pocket. Inside was a black PCB circuit board filled with micro capacitors and chips:

"Since you insist on testing it, this is an intracranial psychic suppressor. Install it into the brain-computer slot in the temporal lobe of Zero's brain. It sounds simple, right?"

(Poor girl, she also had a craniotomy like Evelyn Darkmoon? What a sin...)
This time it was different, there was no need for a hangover, the desire to change fate quickly overcame conscience;

"Got it. I can do that."

Li Ang grabbed the plastic sealed bag, gritted his teeth and held back his determination, crossed the "life and death line" where the stainless steel floor and the ceramic tile met, and walked quickly towards Zero.

"Humph, you're walking so fast, you think you're too old, you fool, it's easy for you to think, it's impossible without talent, the lethality of psychic energy is no less than that of radiation, the difficulty of this test is like asking you to hold a uranium rod and swim in a pool that is soaking in the core of a nuclear power plant reactor."

The old man muttered to himself, then turned to Dr. Ryan, the project leader, and said:
"Hey, stop watching the fun, get the doctor and the cleaner over here and prepare to collect the body..."