Being a villain in apocalyptic writing

"Bian Ran, has your friend ever bought it?" Jiang Ye asked directly.

Bian Ran, who was named, could no longer avoid it. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and looked at Jiang Ye with complicated eyes: "Yes."

“Hey, there really is one!”

"Is it some new product? It sounds much better than the hunger-filled liquid."

"It should be. I haven't heard of it before."

"..."

"What... happened to you?" Amid the chaotic discussions, someone finally noticed the increasingly strange condition of Bian Ran and the others.

Fear, pain and sudden enlightenment were all revealed in them.

Looking at these people, everyone realized one thing belatedly -

Perhaps Jiang Ye really found the right direction.

At this point, some people finally began to notice something unusual: "The nutrient solution you're talking about isn't what we understand, right?"

Several people remained in deathly silence.

The only one who was willing to speak was a seven or eight-year-old child who knew nothing.

Jiang Ye leaned back in his wheelchair, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible: "You are also beginning to suspect that their disappearance is due to this secret, right?"

Several people were shocked.

"You can continue to guard it and not tell anyone." Jiang Ye remained calm, "until everyone who drank this thing disappears, maybe everything will stop."

Maybe it won’t stop...

A chill ran down everyone's spine along with Jiang Ye's voice.

The room was so quiet for a moment that even the sound of breathing was noisy.

"No." Jiang Ye's words seemed to irritate Bian Ran. She shook her head absentmindedly, "That's not what I meant. I don't want to hide it. I just..."

No one said anything, giving her enough time to calm down.

After a while, Bian Ran finally moved. She leaned her head against the wall and said slowly with her eyes closed: "On the way here, Xiaoxue bought two bottles of... nutrient solution. One for her and one for me."

There was an uproar.

"The conditions for purchasing it are very harsh. Just knowing about it requires all kinds of connections. And it can only be exchanged for other things, and gold and silver are the least valuable of the exchange items."

Having said that, Bian Ran opened his eyes and smiled bitterly.

"This is the first time I've heard of this thing. On the day we bought it, we were blindfolded and led by two people for a long distance. When we took off the blindfolds, we had already arrived at a magnificent palace."

Hearing this, many people were stunned.

"It's called a palace because it's really huge. When you stand in it, it feels like walking into a desert with no end in sight. And inside the palace, there are countless three or four meter high, golden ellipsoidal objects neatly stacked up. They call them... gold capsules."

This scene is shocking just by listening to the narration.

Someone gasped: "What's in that capsule?"

Bian Ran's eyelashes trembled slightly: "I don't know, no, I——"

She seemed to be struggling to recall the past, with a conflicted look on her face. Finally, she changed her words: "I'm not sure."

"What does that mean?" someone asked.

Bian Ran lowered his head: "They drew blood from Xinxue and me, and did some tests. They said they wanted to collect our physical data so that they could match the appropriate 'nutrient solution'.

"We waited for more than three hours. Finally, Xinxue and I were taken to different capsules. I had another tube of blood drawn, and then I watched them with my own eyes—"

Bian Ran paused, "They injected my blood into the capsule through a small hole. Soon after, a window on the right side of the capsule opened, and a transparent tube was inserted, and light blue liquid flowed out through the tube...

"Finally... they mixed the liquid with the powdered medicine that had been prepared long ago. After going through several processes, they finally gave me a bottle of customized 'nutrient solution'."

When everyone heard this, their pupils shrank in shock: "What!"

"Nutrient solution...is this how it's produced?!"

"This is too..."

Amid the sounds of shock, Bian Ran let out a long sigh, as if he had let out something that had been pent up in his heart for a long time: "Yes."

this--

This doesn't look like a normal thing at all!

Just listening to this brief narration, there was a sticky feeling that made one's scalp tingle, and everyone present instantly lost interest in pursuing the details.

But Jiang Ye did not forget what Bian Ran said: "You just said you were not sure, so did you see what was in the capsule?"

"...Yes." Bian Ran didn't expect Jiang Ye to ask more questions, but he answered anyway, "I saw... a, no, a um... a huge body moving."

She hesitated over her words, pondered over them again and again, but still couldn't express them in the right tone.

But in this way, the shock her words bring to people is doubled!

Silence fell.

What does it mean that the "body" is moving? Is there a living thing inside? If so, what kind of creature is it? Why does she hesitate on a quantifier?

What's worse, could there be... people inside?

No one dared to think further, as this speculation itself went against human nature.

"So that's how it is." Jiang Ye's gentle voice brought everyone back to their senses. "Then may I ask, what is the effect of this nutrient solution?"

"..."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone, including the depressed middle-aged man and the old woman, were speechless.

This girl is really patient... Doesn't such a weird thing need some transition time?

Looking at Jiang Ye who remained calm, the same thought occurred to everyone, and some sweat appeared on their foreheads.

Bian Ran was also shocked by Jiang Ye's reaction, but he quickly answered: "It is said that it can increase the probability of mutation by 47%, and it can also strengthen the human body. If you drink it continuously for a period of time, even a thin old man can reach the physical fitness of a national first-class athlete."

"Wow, this kind of thing has actually been researched." Qiao Ying was shocked.

"It's out? Didn't they say the lab is still researching it?"

"Well, it must have been studied a long time ago, but ordinary people like us don't have the means to know it."

"Good stuff like this has already been divided up by the people in power. How can it be our turn? Even if there is, we don't have the money and resources."

"Too……"

Amidst the chattering discussions, an invisible barrier was spreading between Bian Ran and his companions and everyone else.

There's no way around it. Ordinary people don't even have the chance to come into contact with this kind of thing. When it's suddenly placed in front of them, they can't help but resist.

It was inevitable that Bian Ran and the others also felt complicated.

But ginger leaves are an exception.

She was only trying to clear her mind, so she pushed her wheelchair over and asked about the middle-aged man's condition.

Perhaps Bian Ran had said almost everything he wanted to say, the middle-aged man finally opened up and told the whole story of how he and his wife bought the medicine.

The two of them were introduced by relatives, and the medicine-buying process was not as grand as that of Bian Ran and his friends, but they also saw two golden capsules.

But their savings were only enough to buy one, so in the end it was his sick wife who took the medicine to treat her years-long illness.

As for the old woman, she was buying medicine for her son, hoping to take a chance on the 47% chance of mutation.

The missing parents of the little boy also bought two and drank them each.

At this point, Jiang Ye realized something was wrong and turned back to confirm: "Bian Ran, did you drink the potion?"