Serum

Chapter 53 — Superhuman Serum.

Superhuman Selection Program was held to have different stages of trials.

The pilots who decided to apply for the program were first required to have a physical examination. They were also examined for their psychological state.

After those tests, the pilots were now forced to undergo strenuous and intense physical activities that pushed their bodies beyond their limits everyday. Worst of all, they weren't able to sleep and rest sufficiently.

A test to understand the limits of their body and mind.

The next test was a dreadful shock therapy.

The pilots were tied on a chair, and were electrocuted with strong current. And every minute, the intensity of the current would gradually rise, making them suffer from excruciating numbness throughout their whole body.

After some more tests that challenged both the body and mind, only one pilot barely managed to pass the program. It was a pilot with slightly above average physical attributes, but possessed a superior healing factor to anyone else.

And due to him being born in the underground where the environment was extremely harsh and had very limited supplies required for life, his mental state was very firm. It was sharpened even further after having fought in life and death battles against the Gaunas.

Tanikaze Nagate!

He served as a very suitable subject for the Super Soldier Project. His quality of being an immortal clone also made his credibility even greater.

As a result of being related to this super project, Jason also managed to learn the classified background information of Nagate.

Nagate was actually a clone of a talented pilot from the past who was also hailed as a War Hero.

Although Nagate was a very precious asset for Sidonia, Yure was confident that with Nagate's immortal-like body, he would succeed with the serum.

And Nagate chose to apply for the serum on his own choice. They couldn't restrict his right to choose.

…

Day 250 | Yure's Lab.

"So this is the serum? It looks quite mystical."

Kobayashi looked very interested while twiddling around with a glass of tube filled to the brim with a red and blue sludge that had the same consistency as a honey. It wobbled. Like it was some kind of unique living organism. Moving ever so slightly, its color alternating between red and blue uniformly.

However, it wasn't the appearance that captivated her. It was the understanding of the power in the serum. The power to change the weak humans down into their very own cells and DNA; capable of spurring a qualitative change that would change humans into superhumans.

"Yes, Captain. It's the serum that will soon create a new miracle generation for Sidonia." Yure grabbed the serum out of her hand. "It's soon time to use it on the first subject."

"Can I trust you about its success?" Kobayashi sternly inquired.

Yure smiled.

"Naturally."

Next to them, Jason was silently watching the glass tube. The red and blue sludge inside it caused his heart to throb with joy and excitement.

As if he was looking at his own offspring.

…

Day 252.

Secret Research Facility | 1:42 PM.

"Will this be very painful?" Nagate asked while taking his clothes off except for his short pants, revealing his rather skinny fair body to be seen.

He glanced at the empty tank in front of him. It was made with clear glass while being connected to various wires, pipes, and cables.

Looking at Nagate's body, the researchers wondered how much it would transform after the serum.

"It will start out as a series of minimally invasive injections to allow the serum into your body. It will then start to spread throughout your body, triggering radical changes to the cells. So, it will be painful."

A researcher answered patiently.

Nagate's lips twitched, but was determined to undergo the serum injection. He applied for the program to grow stronger. To protect his friends, he wanted to quickly become stronger.

He felt the only way to immediately feel qualitative changes was by using the superhuman serum. It would enhance his body and improve the overall capabilities of his brain, helping him improve significantly when it comes to piloting.

The researchers took a picture of Nagate's body for later references. They had already gathered his current body's data.

Nagate was then instructed to enter the huge tank. After he entered, the glass closed and the inside was being filled to the brim with green liquid. The green liquid was extremely concentrated and highly rich with nutrients.

The nutrients were needed since the transformation process required a lot of energy for cell division.

Nagate was soon submerged completely with the green liquid. He floated motionlessly, breathing silently through an oxygen mask.

Around him, the researchers were busy preparing the instruments for the serum injection.

Nagate saw dozens of thin mechanical arms coming out from the hidden compartments below him, hovering closely around his skin. And they were not mechanical arms with hands, but rather have needles and vials at the end.

As the flowing sound of the green liquids filled his ears, Nagate felt dozens and dozens of cold needles piercing all over his skin, steadily being pushed deeper into his body. Mainly into the major and minor muscle groups, blood vessels and nerves, spine and bone marrow.

The last one hurts a lot. It really, really hurts badly.

At the same time, Nagate felt his limbs and head being locked by tight cuffs, preventing him from thrashing badly due to the pain.

"Inject the serum!"

Nagate soon heard Yure's voice.

The wires and cables of the instruments connected to the tank began to sizzle with strong current.

A burst of blue light flashed the entire green liquid. To allow the green liquid to be directly ingested into the skin, it needed to be activated by a very strong current. It also help activate the serum to work faster in the body after being injected.

"Aghhhh!"

Nagate widened his eyes, instantly feeling excruciating pain all over his body. It was as if his muscles fibres were being split into millions of strips.

The entire serum was finally injected into his body, bringing nothing but pain!

And not only that, the strong current made his body shiver in pain!

His whole body felt like It was being slowly torn apart from the inside out, causing him to convulse violently.

Thankfully, the tight cuffs kept him from moving harmfully. The various mechanical arms also retracted after finishing their jobs. Otherwise, the needles might already be stuck inside him while thrashing around so badly.

The pain not only affected Nagate's body, his mind also suffered from an unbearable strain!

His dreadful experience from the program was like an inferior version of this!

This wasn't the end. As time flew by to him slowly, the pain he felt also increased, allowing him to feel countless knives butchering his nerves.

In particular, as the serum became more active within his body, the more violent transformation occurred, the greater the physical and mental pain he suffered from.

Hearing Nagate's howls of pain, Jason sweated lightly. He was thankful to not experience something like that.

"The reason behind the pain is because of the cells violently dying and replicating new cells under the serum's influence."

Yure commented besides Jason.

As the serum reached 95% Activity, the pain reached the peak.

The green liquid inside the tank was already glowing brightly from being supercharged from the strong current. It was being rapidly drained by Nagate to supply energy for his cell division. The inside of the tank was now being replaced by the black matter coming out from Nagate. Still, the green liquid was still being supplied to the tank.

Nagate had already lost consciousness several times, now wanting to have his sense of pain blocked as it was simply too exhausting and painful, but they couldn't remove his pain while his cells were still unstable, or else he'll permanently become numb.

If not for his firm and determined mind, he might have already gone insane. The pain, especially to his head, was unbearably painful.

Several minutes later, with Nagate still howling painfully, the serum transformation was finally completed.

The inside of the tank was already dark and sludgy while being filled with sparks.

Nagate, who had been screaming, suddenly calmed down.

Yure hurriedly ordered the researchers to open the tank.

Soon, a burst of white and black gas scattered, and everyone showed an incredible expression.

A tall shadow slowly rose from the inside of the tank.

Tanikaze Nagate!

That previously skinny man had transformed into a tall and handsome man with perfectly chiseled muscles that bursted with explosive strength. His eyes were gleaming with an indescribable light unique to superhumans!

That perfectly defined body; those glowing eyes! A superhuman!

Nagate was a completely different man after he got out.

At this moment, although his mind felt extremely tired, his body was filled with energy!

"Succes!"

The next moment, the researchers cheered joyfully.

A miracle success!

Yure sighed, and thanked that everything went successfully.

Jason and Kobayashi also stared at Nagate in astonishment. This was an incredible sight to witness for them.

Jason admired Nagate's transformation. Although it was far away from his own physique, it was still an impressive transformation.

Soon, the three of them went down to approach Nagate.

"How do you feel?" Yure asked.

Seeing them, Nagate looked at his body with amazement.

"I feel great…!"

It was hard to describe what he was feeling. He felt different; much more superior compared to his old self. His mind felt extremely clear and sharp, now being able to think so much faster.

"That's good," Yure nodded before taking Nagate away for examination.

A detailed examination was needed to understand the new superhuman body much deeper.

Different from Jason's previous superhuman body, it excelled more deeply in the area of brain.