The True Effect of the Miracle Drug

After finishing that, Tu Ran headed toward the third deck of the cruise ship, where Ding Naiqing was. She hadn't been gone long when a series of massive waves crashed against the ship, sweeping all the residue off the deck into the sea.

When Tu Ran reached the third deck, the battle was in full swing. Yao Bei led her squad down from the fourth and fifth decks, killing the bloodsucking rabbit-toothed monsters. Ding Naiqing, along with Shen Yunhe and Yao Bei who had come to reinforce, were tangled in a fight with a winged bird monster that didn't seem to fly well.

Both battles were intense, and Tu Ran couldn't decide which to join at first.

Yao Bei's voice suddenly crackled through the earpiece. "We can handle this here. Go find Papala and the other survivors. I'm worried there might be more gene monsters on the ship. You stay with them."

So, while the two gene monsters were entangled and unable to break free, Tu Ran went to search for the survivors.

The third deck of the cruise ship had a massive swimming pool that took up a large space. The water, which should have been clear, was now stained red with blood, and strange frothy objects, like fish entrails, floated on top. Tu Ran only glanced at it briefly before turning her head away.

Passing the pool, Tu Ran entered the ship's interior, which was a leisure area equipped with all sorts of entertainment facilities—food, drinks, games, everything. The speakers were still blasting music, a popular tune these days. Beer bottles littered the sofas and the floor. Colored lights flickered in changing patterns, making it look like a dance club scene.

If you ignored the overwhelming smell of blood and the corpses lying sprawled on the ground.

These corpses all wore black tactical gear and carried firearms, likely private bodyguards. The report said there had been a hundred bodyguards on the ship. Tu Ran scanned the room; all she could see were bodyguards, many of them, too many to count at a glance.

But they were all dead, deaths that were gruesome.

Tu Ran withdrew her gaze, stepping over them as she moved forward. She heard light footsteps, mixed in with the music, soft and fragmented.

Tu Ran immediately followed the sound. After passing a single sofa in the corner, she stopped. There was something moving behind it. She approached cautiously, looked down from above, and saw a man with golden hair.

Golden hair—according to the profile photo, Papala was blond.

He was curled up in the corner, his head buried in his knees. Tu Ran couldn't see his face.

"Look up," Tu Ran said bluntly.

But the man was startled by the sudden voice, trembling violently. He wanted to scream, then realized he shouldn't, clamping his hands over his mouth and looking up in terror.

Tears and snot streaked his face, his hair was a mess, his expression twisted, and there was blood smeared all over his face from who knows where. Tu Ran couldn't immediately tell if he was Papala.

Tu Ran asked directly, "Papala?"

"...Yes... I'm him," he said, his voice still trembling.

He was badly shaken.

"Where are the others?" Tu Ran looked toward the end of the corridor.

There were several rooms there, all with their doors tightly shut.

The footsteps just now had come from that direction.

"I... I don't know," Papala stammered.

Tu Ran took a step inward. Papala called out, "Where are you going?!" As soon as he yelled, he realized his voice was too loud, looking around in a panic before shrinking back into the corner, lowering his volume. "Don't go anywhere... Stay here with me."

Tu Ran glanced at him. "You hide here for now. I'm going to find the other survivors." With that, she turned to leave.

But Papala reacted even more violently this time, jumping up and grabbing her arm tightly. "Don't go! Don't you go anywhere! It doesn't matter if those people live or die! You stay here and protect me!"

Tu Ran was exasperated. She shook his hand, but he wouldn't let go.

"Then how about you come with me?"

"No!" Papala shrieked, digging his nails into her arm.

Tu Ran frowned.

Was this guy scared out of his mind? No wonder Ding Naiqing said his mental state was unstable.

With this deadweight here, Tu Ran couldn't go anywhere. She had no choice but to send a message to Yao Bei explaining the situation.

"You're saying Papala isn't with the other survivors?" Yao Bei's breathing was heavy on the other end; they were still fighting the gene monsters.

"No, I only found him in the lounge. But there's movement in a room at the end of the corridor. The other survivors might be—"

Before Tu Ran could finish, Ding Naiqing's shout came through the earpiece: "Sister Ran, that's not Papala! I locked Papala and the other survivors in the innermost room!"

Tu Ran's eyes widened.

The next second, her long blade stabbed straight into "Papala"'s heart.

"Papala," who hadn't reacted yet, stared at Tu Ran in shock. "You... you..."

"You you you you my ass!!"

He dared to deceive her!

Tu Ran quickly pulled out the blade and swung it toward his neck.

"Papala" finally accepted that he'd been exposed. His facial features began to melt and morph.

What appeared before Tu Ran's eyes again was a beautiful woman's face.

Tu Ran had seen that face before—on billboards in the skyscrapers.

She was a somewhat famous celebrity.

Something like... Aifei'er? Something like that.

As the blade neared her neck, Aifei'er flashed aside, retreating two steps to barely dodge Tu Ran's attack.

Tu Ran quickly pulled out her pistol from her back and aimed between her eyebrows.

Just as she pulled the trigger, Aifei'er fell to her knees.

Tu Ran's finger paused on the trigger. This was the first time she'd encountered a gene monster or alien creature submitting to her in a human way. This wasn't normal.

Generally, gene monsters were close to beasts, and aliens were pure beasts. Neither possessed human intelligence or emotions. Even when they submitted, they did so in animal fashion.

"Spare me. I was forced," Aifei'er suddenly spoke.

Tu Ran's hand holding the gun trembled. This gene monster in front of her could speak?!

She had clearly already mutated! She had just transformed into Papala's face!

Up until now, all humans who had taken the miracle drug turned into gene monsters. They gained abilities normal humans didn't have, but lost their minds, completely becoming animals.

But this woman had gained abilities yet hadn't become an animal.

Wasn't this exactly what the group that developed the miracle drug had originally advertised?

"Please spare me!" Seeing Tu Ran didn't respond, Aifei'er crawled forward on her knees, trying to grab Tu Ran's leg.

Tu Ran quickly stepped back to put distance between them. "Don't come closer. Say whatever you need to say from there."

Tu Ran didn't let her guard down just because she seemed human.

Aifei'er knew she looked terrifying now—neither human nor beast. She knelt there without advancing and began to tell her story.

"I'm an artist under the Wells family's entertainment company. The others who mutated are too. We weren't high up in the company."