27: Interrogation and silencing: The shocking secret of the twelve sparks

After the battle, the black iron ghost regained its ghostly silence.

Only the unceasing sound of rain beat against the hull, washing away the residual blood and the scent of gunpowder on the aft deck.

Jiang Ran sat in the cockpit's rest area, fiddling with a military dagger he had just scavenged from Li Sen's corpse.

Though his gaze was calm, his mind was racing, digesting the intelligence he had just obtained.

“Twelve Embers... planetary cleansing...”

If what Li Sen said was true...

Then this Black Stone Tablet located beneath the Jiangcheng Museum was not merely a treasure.

It was a ticket to a new class of species.

Whether it was to upgrade the level of the black iron, or to survive on this Earth that was about to become unsuitable for old humans...

He had to get his hands on it.

“Jiang Ran, come over here for a moment.”

Su Qingyu's slightly exhausted yet unusually excited voice came through the communicator in the lower deck:

“I've discovered something... it might overturn your understanding of things.”

Jiang Ran put away the dagger, stood up, and walked into the expanded Biochemical Laboratory.

The air conditioning in the lab was running at full blast, and the air was filled with a faint scent of ozone and disinfectant.

Su Qingyu, wearing her white coat stained with many spots, stood before the holographic projection table.

The screen displayed the data stream sent back by the nautilus in the final seconds before it was destroyed by the tentacle monster.

As well as a blurry image of that Black Stone Tablet.

“You asked me before why the fish underwater evolve so quickly.”

“While humans only turn into those low-intelligence water ghouls, or simply rot and die?”

Su Qingyu didn't waste words and threw out the question directly.

“Because of genetics?”

Jiang Ran pulled over a chair and sat down.

“Yes, and no.”

Su Qingyu swiped her fingers in the air, bringing up a set of complex 3D double-helix structures.

“I analyzed the radiation spectrum recorded by the nautilus as it approached the stone tablet.”

“That stone tablet—the 'Ember' mentioned in the Ark Project—isn't just emitting sonar signals to gather monsters.”

“It is itself a massive radiation source.”

Su Qingyu pointed at a red curve on the screen that soared almost vertically: “It is continuously releasing a type of high-energy particle wave into its surroundings.”

“This wave has only one purpose—to brute-force crack a biological organism's genetic lock.”

“Brute-force cracking?” Jiang Ran frowned.

“It’s like forcibly installing the latest operating system onto an ancient computer.”

Su Qingyu used an analogy: “For fish and reptiles with simple genetic structures, their gene chains are like simple code, easily rewritten.”

“So, under the stimulation of the radiation, they mutate rapidly, growing scales and bone armor, adapting to the Heavy Water environment.”

“But humans...”

Su Qingyu sighed and brought up a fragmented human DNA map: “Human genes are too complex, too precise.”

“Hitting a person with this kind of violent radiation wave is like using a sledgehammer to repair a mechanical watch.”

“99.9% of people cannot withstand such violent genetic recombination, causing the gene chain to collapse directly, turning them into zombies or rotten meat.”

“That's why the 'Ark' people don't dare to go down directly.”

Jiang Ran understood instantly.

Even if they had submarines and heavy weapons, as long as they approached that stone tablet, a person would melt in the radiation or go mad.

That place was a 'life exclusion zone' specifically for old humans.

“Exactly.”

Su Qingyu looked at Jiang Ran, her expression becoming incredibly serious: “The concentration of Heavy Water and the intensity of radiation inside are dozens of times higher than outside.”

“Even if I could make you the best lead-lined diving suit, it wouldn't block those penetrating particle waves.”

“If an ordinary person goes down, in less than ten minutes, their cells will necrotize, and their internal organs will flow out like melting candles.”

“So?”

Jiang Ran looked at her. He knew that since Su Qingyu had called him here, it wasn't just to tell him 'this path is blocked.'

With her personality, since she had identified the problem, she must have found that crazy 'solution.'

“So, if you absolutely must go down to get that stone.”

Su Qingyu turned around and took a metal rack out of the refrigerator behind her.

As the white mist of cold air dissipated, a tube of viscous, dark gold liquid was revealed on the rack.

It was captivating, with countless tiny golden specks seemingly swimming within the liquid, exuding an unsettling, eerie beauty.

“Since the environment won't let humans live, then let's stop being 'human.'”

Su Qingyu looked at the tube of liquid, a flash of mad scientific light in her eyes: “We must actively induce your genetic evolution.”

“Before the environment kills you, we'll turn you into a monster that fits the environment.”

“This is the Type I Genetic Enhancement Serum.”

“Do you dare to try?”

Su Qingyu's question echoed in the cold laboratory.

Jiang Ran didn't reach out immediately; instead, he leaned in closer, observing it through the glass.

“Tell me its components.”

Jiang Ran asked calmly: “And the success rate.”

Su Qingyu took a deep breath, reciting the details like a death sentence, her speech rapid and precise: “The base fluid consists of highly active stem cells extracted from the spinal cord of that mutated iron-boned black fish.”

“They possess extremely strong bone calcification capabilities and muscular explosive power.”

“The additive is an extract from those radiation-hungry microorganisms.”

“This will teach your cells how to 'eat' radiation instead of being killed by it.”

“To prevent your immune system from collapsing instantly...”

“I've also added a large amount of broad-spectrum antibiotics and that precious anti-viral serum as 'brake pads.'”

At this point, she paused, her gaze becoming somewhat complex: “But in essence, this is still a high-concentration viral cocktail.”

“Once it enters your body, it will immediately launch a war.”

“If your genes can suppress and integrate them...”

“You will break the shackles known as 'human' and gain the ability to survive in Heavy Water and radiation environments.”

“If it fails...”

Su Qingyu pointed at a clump of black dead meat under a nearby microscope: “Your gene chain will instantly disintegrate.”

“The best-case scenario is turning into one of those mindless water ghouls; the worst is total cellular dissolution, turning into a puddle of pus.”

“According to my calculations, the survival rate... is less than 40%.”

Less than forty percent.

This was a probability enough to make any rational person shrink back.

In times of peace, this would be suicide.

But after hearing this, Jiang Ran not only felt no fear but instead let out a light chuckle.

“40%? That's much higher than I imagined.”

He stood up, walked to the lab bench, and grabbed the injection gun from the metal rack.

“Are you crazy?”

Su Qingyu pressed down on his hand, her icy palm firmly gripping Jiang Ran's wrist.

For the first time, anxiety appeared in her eyes; she was no longer the calm doctor: “Jiang Ran, we have other ways!”

“Like building thicker lead plate armor, or creating fully enclosed remote-controlled robots... you don't need to gamble with your life!”

“If you die, this ship is just an iron coffin, and I won't survive either!”

“Robots?”

Jiang Ran looked into Su Qingyu's anxious eyes and shook his head: “Have you forgotten how the nautilus was destroyed?”

“That stone tablet releases high-dimensional signals that can overwrite systems.”

“The more sophisticated the electronic equipment, the easier it is to be hijacked there.”

Jiang Ran brushed off Su Qingyu's hand and held the injection gun filled with dark gold liquid before his eyes.

“As for lead plate armor... no matter how thick the armor is, there are gaps, and it still requires a person to operate it.”

“Dr. Su, you need to understand one thing.”

Jiang Ran's gaze, seen through the golden liquid, became deep and wild: “This is a cleansing at the species level.”

“People hiding inside iron shells will be phased out sooner or later.”

“To truly command this ship and command this world, I must be... more of a monster than those monsters.”

“But...”

Su Qingyu still wanted to say something.

“No 'buts.'”

Jiang Ran rolled up his sleeve, revealing his sturdy forearm, and found a vein.

“In the past, I might not have dared to gamble.”

“But now, I have the black iron, and I have the best doctor.”

He looked at Su Qingyu, a gambler-like smile curling at the corners of his mouth:

“If I start to mutate out of control, remember to put a blade through my head. Don't let me turn into an ugly freak like those water ghouls.”

“Sss—”

Without giving Su Qingyu another chance to stop him...

Jiang Ran thrust the needle hard into his vein and pressed the plunger with his thumb.

The tube of dark gold 'viral cocktail' followed the blood vessel and was instantly injected into his heart.