Chapter 748 - 47: Gene Modification Injections
Following the plan, Chen Zhou made a big detour from the bottom of the cliff back into the Black Forest, and by the time he rushed to where Paul was, it was already noon the next day.
Fifty-four straight hours of traveling left Chen Zhou radiating a heavy weariness from the inside out.
His normally light footsteps had turned sluggish, his bright eyes were bloodshot, and even keeping his thoughts running smoothly now required him to constantly force himself to stay focused.
...
At the edge of the Black Forest, the campfire burned quietly. Paul, leaning on his crutch, saw Chen Zhou return and quickly went up to meet him.
Even though there were no visible injuries on Chen Zhou, just looking at his state made it clear how exhausting and dangerous the last two days had been.
Tiger First and Tiger Second had been playing around five or six meters away from the fire. Smelling the familiar scent, they also ran over, jumping and bouncing around Chen Zhou. Especially the less steady Tiger Second, who kept trying to wrap its broad paws around Chen Zhou’s leg—
In a young Saw-toothed Tiger’s heart, the tribe always needs a leader; only when the leader is present do they feel truly safe.
Seeing the two little ones so lively, Chen Zhou figured their injuries must have healed, and couldn’t help sighing over how tenacious wild animals’ vitality was.
He set down the black box in his hand, patted Tiger First and Tiger Second, and after slightly soothing their excitement, walked straight to Tiger Third, who was still lying wrapped in the black robe.
"How’s its bowel movements?"
Seeing that Tiger Third was still breathing, eyes slightly closed, its body noticeably thinner but showing no signs of organ failure, Chen Zhou let out a breath and asked Paul as he checked Tiger Third’s condition.
"Not great. Right now it has to be assisted to defecate, otherwise it can’t manage to excrete on its own.
Its appetite isn’t strong either. When I feed it, it only eats a little."
Paul spoke, worried, then glanced at the black box Chen Zhou had put on the ground. His gaze was drawn by that crystal-like texture, but didn’t linger for long before he quickly looked away.
"Relax, it’s fine."
Noticing Paul’s restraint, Chen Zhou forced himself to perk up and moved the black box next to Tiger Third.
"Any food left?"
His stomach was truly empty. Chen Zhou ran his fingers along the edge of the black box, searching for a way to open it as he asked Paul.
"Yeah."
Only then did Paul realize Chen Zhou hadn’t eaten in a long while, and hurriedly pulled out a piece of roasted venison to hand to him.
Chen Zhou took the venison and shoved it into his mouth. Starving as he was, he couldn’t taste anything at all. He chewed twice, bit the meat into a few chunks, and forced them straight down into his stomach.
"A few more pieces."
Still asking for more, Chen Zhou’s fingers touched a round button halfway up the side of the black box. He quickly pressed it.
...
Once the switch was triggered, the black box popped open like a suitcase, and its contents were fully revealed to Chen Zhou and Paul.
Chen Zhou had received plenty of rewards from the Space-Time Administration Bureau before, even once getting a black casket that could steadily produce smokeless coal. But this was the first time he’d seen a supply box that opened this easily as a reward.
He even found it a bit unbelievable—
The Space-Time Administration Bureau didn’t set up a few tricky problems and just handed them the supplies like this. That was honestly unexpected.
With his mind on getting Paul and Tiger Third treated as soon as possible, Chen Zhou pushed down his surprise and examined the items inside the box.
...
Despite the black box being very heavy, once opened it became clear that most of its weight came from the padding inside the case. The actual "supplies" didn’t take up much space.
From left to right, the box held six injectors, two small blue bottles, and a delicate long wooden case.
Everything was snugly fitted into the grooves inside the box, surrounded by solid black padding that also acted as shock absorption.
Once opened, the two small blue bottles were what first caught Chen Zhou’s eye.
That familiar color made him think of the little bottle he’d seized from the Black-robed Man containing those so-called "Weak Regeneration Capsules."
With a vague feeling that these might be drugs, Chen Zhou quickly took out one of the blue bottles and, with practiced motions, used the light to observe the patterns on the inner wall.
Soon, the complicated patterns simplified into familiar bold Chinese characters—
"Weak Detoxification Capsules."
"Fuck, why is it this crap?"
Chen Zhou cursed out loud, his expectations crushed. This wasn’t what he needed at all!
He shook the bottle, counted four capsules inside, then put it back into its groove and picked up the other small blue bottle, still clinging to hope.
This time he was even more practiced in finding the angle. When sunlight passed through the bottle, the words that appeared only made his head ache—
It turned out to be two identical bottles, both filled with Weak Detoxification Capsules.
"Goddamn Space-Time Administration Bureau, you’re screwing with me on purpose!"
Now Chen Zhou got it: the injectors and medicines arranged symmetrically in the box were probably one type in two copies, meant for the same group of challengers. In other words, he only needed to check half of them; they’d all be the same anyway.
Of course, that wooden case was an exception—there was only one.
But judging from its totally non-techy look, odds were it held some useless commemorative junk. Chen Zhou decided to open it last.
...
The Weak Detoxification Capsules might not be totally useless, but they were basically pointless right now.
Letting his gaze sweep over the contents of the box, Chen Zhou pinned his hopes on the injectors.
All the injectors were housed in metallic syringes that gleamed silver. There were no needles at the top, just flat ends. Each was filled with an equal 25 ml of clear liquid that, at first glance, looked no different from normal saline.