No strange things are allowed to evolve!

And then there's frostbite. Whether it's medicine or medical skills, Yamato is much more adept at treating frostbite. Why is that?

It was during this day-to-day research that the scientists in Yamato were shocked to discover that a very small percentage of them had mutated.

They possessed powers that were beyond the control of scientists at the time.

Although reason told those scientists at the time that it was best not to get involved with uncontrollable and unstable forces, their greed for this power ultimately caused them to lose their reason.

Because at that time, the pressure on the front lines had almost crushed the empire and was gradually pushing it into the abyss.

This power was naturally seen by the authorities as the key to turning defeat into victory, and as the only means to counter, or even surpass, the secret weapons that their opponents were researching at the time.

Thus, such laboratories began to be secretly established around the world, searching for local prisoners of war and ordinary civilians.

Ignoring risks, disregarding humanity, and completely abandoning all conscience, they spared no expense in trying to build an army composed entirely of warriors with superpowers.

At the cost of millions of lives, they successfully mutated hundreds of individuals.

After numerous attempts, researchers discovered that the younger the child, the higher the probability of mutation, and the more extreme the suffering they endure, the stronger the power they gain after mutation.

Everything seemed to be developing in a direction favorable to Yamato, and the core researchers had even begun to fantasize about the magnitude of the impact their inventions would have on the world.

However, to everyone's delight, they ultimately failed.

It wasn't just because the technology at the time wasn't advanced enough for them to find a way to control these unstable superpowered individuals.

Furthermore, the divine intervention of two beings, one named Fatty and the other Little Boy, shattered the authorities' confidence and ambition, broke Yamato's backbone, and showed the most fanatical warmongers, or rather, the war criminals, what it meant to be something that carbon-based life forms could never defeat.

Therefore, they no longer had the courage to continue that war.

Human experimentation thus lost time.

More than tackling the experimental challenges, almost everyone was more concerned about whether they could return to their homeland alive.

The experimental plan was completely shelved.

Before they had figured out how to control the mutations in the test subjects, the researchers froze all the test subjects—these heartless bastards knew exactly how to preserve the human body like frozen meat without causing it to freeze or become damaged.

In short, the experimental subjects that successfully mutated, along with a large amount of experimental data, were all secretly sent back to Yamato's mainland from all over the world, mixed in with various goods.

Originally, these experimental subjects, along with all the secrets related to the experiments, should have disappeared forever into the dust of history with the deaths of those war criminals, never to be remembered again.

But no one expected that, for some unknown reason, some of the test subjects from back then were unsealed by an unknown person.

However, these were mostly still children who were being tested, and they were not directly taken in by the new generation of researchers to continue the experiments from back then.

Instead, after excluding some of the older ones and those who unfortunately froze to death during long-term freezing, they were all brainwashed and then put into modern civilized society.

Everyone, under the intervention or covert arrangement of relevant departments, was adopted as an orphan by ordinary families unaware of the truth, and then lived the same life as all the Yamato people.

Like No. 369, also known as Jiang Shu, his daily life was no different from that of an ordinary adult or child.

The only difference was that when she was first adopted, she instinctively resisted learning Japanese culture, which led to her being isolated and bullied from a young age. She always sat in the back row by the window when she went to school, and occasionally she would show a melancholy look in her eyes.

In short, he is a dark and cruel young man from the bottom of society. Since there is no protagonist template in reality, his future development will most likely be a crazy, erratic path towards becoming a landmine brother.

It wasn't until Jiang Shu caused the disaster that the laboratory internally called the "mass extinction," which wiped out the entire town, that no one knew what had happened. Because the agent responsible for monitoring Jiang Shu also perished in the disaster, no one knows what exactly happened.

Then, Jiang Shu was taken in by the laboratory.

In subsequent reports, the laboratory gave Jiang Shu extremely high praise.

It seems that his superpowers are among the best in the superpowered world, and he has been given special attention from the very beginning.

That is why the information about him is so detailed, even including special notes about his origin from Kanto, which allowed Jiang Shu to deduce the whole story from the various details hidden in the information.

With these prerequisites in mind, Jiang Shu understood the true intentions behind the resurgence of those who had seemingly died out.

Back then, they couldn't control these superhumans. In their view, the core of the problem was that these superhumans were passively subjected to experiments as victims of invasion, so they felt resistant and disagreed with helping the Empire.

Their solution was to send those superpowered individuals from back then to various parts of the country, let them grow up as Yamato people, and let them be baptized by various elements of Yamato, so that they would become Yamato people in spirit.

This training will continue until their superpowers begin to emerge and reach a certain level, perhaps like Xiong Tank, with the strength to uproot mountains and overwhelming power, or perhaps like Jiang Shu, who directly blasts out a meteorite crater.

In short, once they have become a threat to society, they are recycled, and then their superpowers are further developed.

Many of the settings that Jiang Shu found strange before now have answers.

For example, pain and despair can inspire superpowers because mutations are born in extreme suffering, and emerge amidst countless deaths and cries of agony.

It was precisely because Jiang Shu understood these things that he became so furious.

Because these secrets hidden in the shadows perfectly matched the history he knew, they successfully reminded him of some deep-seated hatred.

Looking at Jiang Shu, whose personality had suddenly changed, Xiong Tank felt inexplicably afraid.

Are you alright?

He asked cautiously.

Jiang Shu looked at him and stared at him silently for a long time, as if trying to figure something out, which made Xiong Tank feel uneasy.

Then they turned their attention to other superpowered individuals.

The more Jiang Shu looked at them, the more he felt they really didn't seem like locals.

Just as everyone was confused and had a vague sense of foreboding as they faced Jiang Shu's gaze, Jiang Shu finally spoke.

"Xiong Tank, have you seen these documents before?" Jiang Shu paused, then added, "I'm not talking about mine, I'm talking about documents involving anyone else. Have you seen them?"

“There really isn’t one.” Xiong Tank shook his head: “Because it has to be nine parts combined. We usually only keep our own part, so we don’t have the opportunity or the authority to learn about these things.”

"Where are you from?" Jiang Shu asked again.

"I'm from Kyoto," Xiong Tank replied with a touch of pride. "Don't let my appearance fool you, I've been a Kyoto kid since I was a child. Every morning, I'd start with a bowl of miso soup, followed by a bowl of ramen—it was so authentic! At noon, I'd have a bowl of rice, topped with a few pieces of freshly grilled eel, drizzled with a little sauce, and slurp it all up. Heh, it was amazing! In the evenings, we Kyoto people eat something lighter—a few pieces of sushi with wasabi. Wow, I wouldn't trade that for the Emperor! You know, for us old Kyoto men, all we do every day is eat and sleep, nothing else!"

Jiang Shu blinked.

Why are they even announcing the names of the dishes?

However, judging from this, the lab's plan seems to have succeeded.

Xiong Tank now not only strongly identifies with his Yamato identity, but is also very proud to be a Kyoto native. Although he has tried his best to restrain his sense of superiority, Jiang Shu can still detect a hint of "we Kyoto people are the bosses" in his voice.

Jiang Shu asked several other superpowered individuals, and the answers were all similar.

They have now been completely assimilated by the Yamato people, and their words are filled with longing for their homeland.

Jiang Shu's feelings were somewhat complicated.

He knew that it wasn't their hometown. Although he didn't know where in the world they came from, the distance between their hometown and them was probably much, much farther than they imagined.

Looking at Xiong Tank, Jiang Shu hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Do you like American-style barbecue?"

"How did you know?" Xiong Tank was very surprised: "I love American barbecue. To be honest, every time I eat American barbecue, it gives me a very warm feeling."

Jiang Shu nodded to himself.

Sure enough, with that physique and those tastes, he's definitely a US soldier stationed in Japan.

Just say that Yamato doesn't have the gene for being tall.

However, Jiang Shu ultimately did not tell them the truth.

It's not just because their patriotism towards Yamato is still needed now, but more importantly, Jiang Shu feels that this truth is too cruel to them.

It's like saying your parents aren't your parents, but your mortal enemies.

Those with weaker mental resilience might break down on the spot.

Therefore, Jiang Shu simply put away his documents and then ordered someone to set them on fire.

As if sensing the resolve in Jiang Shu's heart, Saeko, who was beside him, asked softly, "Mentor, you seem even more determined now. Have you found a reason in your past life that you must fight for?"

Jiang Shu was somewhat surprised: "What? Didn't I seem to have a compelling reason to fight for it before?"

“Yes, but…” Saeko hesitated, “I don’t know if I’m right, but I have a feeling that if you were just trying to change the world before, now you are single-mindedly trying to completely overturn it and start over.”

Jiang Shu thought for a moment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but simply nodded slightly.

"Indeed, if that's the case, then it seems I have indeed found a reason to fight for it."

Jiang Shu blew away the scattered, flickering embers of the documents that had turned to ashes on the ground, feeling a sense of helplessness.

I didn't intend to take it that seriously, but I never expected that even after a century, some people would still be so incorrigible.

Since the roots are all rotten, we have no choice but to uproot them.

After a cursory glance at the new abilities granted by the side quest objectives, Jiang Shu's confidence reached an unprecedented level.

"Continue the Northern Expedition!"

He gently raised his right hand, then swung it down sharply.

Chapter 274 The Final Battlefield

"Damn it, weren't they supposed to be able to stop these traitors? Why is there no signal even on the second floor?"

Inside the villa, a man with a mustache was throwing a tantrum.

In front of him, another man was bowing and scraping, silent as a cicada in winter.

This is directly above the underground laboratory, and to the outside is a private ranch, a large area of ​​land that is off-limits to anyone.

No one would have imagined that beneath the feet of those leisurely grazing cows and horses lay a place worse than hell.

And this man with the mustache is Dr. Yamamoto, the highest-ranking person in charge of this laboratory.

Standing before him was Dr. Nakamura, the second-in-command of the laboratory.

Seeing that Nakamura remained silent, Yamamoto pressed, "Speak up, why aren't you saying anything?"

Nakamura, with his head down, had a somewhat smug expression on his face.

“Actually…” he suddenly said, “this is a great thing.”

"A good thing? You call this a good thing?" Yamamoto laughed in exasperation. "If this continues, I'm afraid I'll have to consider destroying this laboratory, and you're saying that's a good thing?"

For some reason, Nakamura seemed to have been prepared all along.

“Here’s what I’m thinking…” he explained calmly, “The source of the loss of control is No. 369, who was originally our key experimental subject, whom we planned to fully activate all his potential. If he broke through the second underground level, wouldn’t that mean we achieved our goal without paying any cost?”

"No cost whatsoever?" Yamamoto slammed his fist on the table. "You dare say that! Do you not know how many people have died down there? And if things worsen to the point where we have to destroy the lab to destroy evidence, what good will it do even if we achieve our goal? A force that cannot be controlled and cannot be used by the Empire is meaningless!"

"And what about Tanabe?" Nakamura countered. "The number of victims harmed by Tanabe when No. 369 awakened should be far, far higher than the current number, right?"

Yamamoto was speechless for a moment.

But he clearly didn't want to lose face, so he could only stubbornly say, "How can that be the same? Every minute and every second, those dying are the elite of the empire."

"But in the eyes of superpowered individuals, they are all ordinary people."

Nakamura was clearly getting into the swing of things, and his tone became much firmer:

"To restore the glory of the empire, some sacrifices are inevitable, but as long as it helps us regain our former glory, then it will all be worthwhile!"

Yamamoto remained silent for a long time.

After careful consideration, he finally conceded and decided to listen to Nakamura's different perspective.

"Then tell me, in your opinion, what exactly is the current situation like?"

Nakamura thought for a moment and analyzed:

"Actually, if we look at it this way, our losses are not that great. We just lost some roles that are dispensable in a macro sense in order to cultivate No. 369."

Although they are all highly skilled professionals, it is difficult to find snow women dressed in clothes, but there are plenty of unemployed college students. As long as the project is successful, there will be as many such talents as needed in the future.

Moreover, having learned from the experience of the third underground level, all researchers on the second underground level were evacuated before No. 369 even entered the upper level, leaving only the military and superpowered troops on the second underground level.

So even if they were all wiped out, it wouldn't be an unacceptable price to pay; on the contrary, it would only prove the value of No. 369.

In conclusion, the current situation is actually in our favor. If we can control it, we can obtain a fully awakened, top-tier superhuman.

"Isn't that obvious?" Yamamoto said, utterly disappointed. "The problem right now is that we can't figure out how to control him, can we?"

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly."

Nakamura Town Shizuka Tunnel:

"Although No. 369's performance far exceeded our expectations, he is not without weaknesses."

Number 369 isn't particularly skilled in combat; his superpowers are primarily telepathic, allowing him to manipulate people's minds. This is difficult for both ordinary people and those with superpowers to deal with, except for one particular group.

Yamamoto looked thoughtful: "You mean... androids?"

"Yes."

Nakamura replied: