American comic book: An aging Wolverine, doing whatever he wants.

Chapter 30 Replicas in the Laboratory

Rows of neatly arranged cages, various experimental data hanging on the walls—Logan could even imagine the dying cries of his kin in those cages when this place was still in operation.

In this laboratory, mutants are nothing more than a group of animals that are not much different from pigs, cows, dogs, and sheep.

Logan clenched his fists involuntarily. He hadn't expected that the goods Donald had mentioned would be experimental samples of mutants!

"Mutants are indeed complex beings."

Samuel bent down and stared intently at a cage. Through the gaps in the cage, he could see that it was empty.

He turned to Donald and asked, "But...isn't conducting human experimentation a crime?"

From the information on the walls, he could tell that various experiments had been conducted on mutants here.

However, he didn't have any particular feelings about mutants.

The term "mutants" refers to humans living in the new era, and they sound more like mysterious creatures from the last century.

In addition, the government deliberately erases information about mutants, trying to make people forget that they once saved the world. So young people like Samuel know very little about mutants, have no feelings for them, do not hate them, and do not care.

Therefore, they were not nearly as deeply shocked by the idea of ​​using mutants for research as Logan was.

"This is legal."

Donald spoke with a smile, glancing at Logan's slightly somber expression with a playful look in his eyes.

"Alright, where's the goods? Get them and get out of here quickly. I don't want to spend the night here; there might be mutant ghosts tonight!"

Josh asked a question, the surrounding environment giving him a creepy feeling.

He could guess that countless mutants must have been killed here, and judging from the photos on the wall, there seemed to be some minor mutants among them.

"Come with me."

Donald smiled, walked to a wall, and knocked on it. The hollow echo indicated that there was a hole behind the wall.

He used both hands to forcefully open the wall, creating a dark passage. Dust kept falling, and a putrid smell wafted out from inside.

"Generally, the experimental subjects or samples outside are child's play and not worth much money at all. They wouldn't even cover the cost of transporting them back."

Donald smiled and pointed to the passageway, "The main event is at the very back."

"What do you mean by that?"

Samuel looked at the passageway with a puzzled expression.

Logan remained silent. He knew that Donald was deliberately mocking the cheapness of mutants, saying that some mutants were worth less than the cost of gas.

It's also implying that mutants are simply a group of things that can be measured by price and are not worthy of being compared to humans.

Logan knew that this was Donald's true nature; he loved to poke at people's sore spots and make them look bad, and he took pleasure in it.

The group walked through a narrow passage and arrived at a more secretive laboratory.

Donald turned on the light, and the dimly lit laboratory was instantly illuminated by a bright light.

What came into view were twenty-four iron boxes, and through the gaps in twenty-two of them, one could vaguely see "people" lying inside.

"A corpse?"

Samuel peered intently into a crack and jumped up in fright.

He wasn't afraid of dead people, but the rows of gruesome mutant corpses really made him a little uneasy.

It really gives off a Resident Evil vibe.

"Don't be afraid."

Donald walked deeper into the area, smiling as he said, "They can no longer pose a threat to us."

After saying that, he pointed to several iron boxes behind him and said, "The first few are not important; these are the main attraction."

"The first one only acquired the characteristics of a mutant, with his whole body covered in wolf fur, but he had no superpowers. He was a failed experiment and was executed."

Donald chuckled and patted the first metal box, then pointed to the second. "The second one shows some improvement; he's regained his mutant abilities. It's just a pity his cells divide too quickly, and he's literally worn his organs out."

"And the third one..."

Donald walked to the third iron box and said with a regretful look, "He almost succeeded and replicated all the mutant abilities, but unfortunately his willpower was too weak. He couldn't withstand the metal being poured in and died on the test table."

Samuel and Josh frowned involuntarily; Donald had made death sound far too easy for them.

"That's too cruel."

Samuel couldn't help but raise his concerns. These methods of death were somewhat unacceptable to normal people, and judging from the appearance of these corpses, they didn't seem to be very old.

Donald smiled and shook his head, saying, "There's no need to feel sorry for the death of the lab rats. They were just test subjects. Their sole purpose was to allow us to record data."

"So, the experiment was a success, and this place was abandoned?" Josh couldn't help but ask.

"Um..." Donald thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "More or less, we are currently on the borderline between success and failure."

"What do you mean?" Samuel asked, puzzled.

Donald approached the last two boxes. "You've probably noticed, there are two empty boxes here."

"What do you mean?"

Samuel ran to the empty crate and asked curiously, "They succeeded, so they weren't executed?"

"Yes."

Donald pointed to the empty box numbered X-24, "It's not bad except for its weaker capabilities."

"What about X-23?"

Samuel looked at another empty box next to him.

"She ran away."

Donald shook his head with a regretful expression. "She's the most successful one. She practically replicated all the mutant's strengths, and in some ways, she's even better than that mutant!"

After saying that, he suddenly looked up and continued with a smile, "I'm looking for her now. I've heard she's in Santa Fe City. If any of you can help me find her, I'll reward you handsomely."

"You've used up more than twenty experimental subjects..."

Josh glanced back at the rows of boxes behind him and couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly are you trying to replicate?"

After the introduction, he could tell that the ultimate goal of these test subjects seemed to be to replicate the abilities of a mutant.

To achieve this goal, they did not hesitate to kill more than twenty "people".

And it is clear that perhaps only two, or even just one, will succeed.

Just how special must the object being replicated be to warrant such a high price from the laboratory?

"Who?"

Donald suddenly smiled, took out a very old-looking blueprint from under an iron box, and gently unfolded it and laid it on the box.

The top of the paper reads "Conceptual Anatomy of Wolverine".

Below is anatomical information for a humanoid figure with steel claws, with labels next to each organ.

Josh leaned closer to the top of the paper and murmured the name on it: "Wolverine?"

Upon hearing the name, Logan's face instantly darkened.

(End of this chapter)