Chapter 098: Super Gene Enhancement Serum

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Uncertain how much time had passed, a blinding beam of light struck Su Cheng’s face. Half-awake and half-asleep, he felt as if his skull was about to split apart, waves of sharp pain surging through his head like a tidal wave.

In the dimly lit chamber, a hideous rat’s head emerged from the shadows, its eerie glowing eyes scanning Su Cheng, who was tied to the experimental table.

Su Cheng lifted his heavy eyelids to see a rat-man clad in a white lab coat approaching, holding a syringe.

The half-mutilated rat face nearly pressed against his own; he noticed one rotten eyeball dangling grotesquely from the socket, swaying back and forth. Strangely, the rat-man wore a pink butterfly hairpin atop its head.

An unsettling atmosphere filled the room, yet Su Cheng felt no fear—instead, he found the scene oddly comical.

At this moment, the rat-man in white grabbed Su Cheng’s arm and slowly injected the serum from the syringe into his body.

As the serum coursed through him, Su Cheng felt every cell awaken, his lost strength gradually restoring. Regaining some vigor, he struck with lightning speed, gripping the rat-man’s neck.

Just as he was about to crush the rat-man’s throat, a terrified scream pierced his ear.

“You’re crazy, let go! I can’t breathe!”

A woman’s voice? Or a female rat?

Su Cheng abruptly opened his eyes. The rat before him transformed into a female doctor with long black hair, dressed in a white coat.

It was only a dream.

Fully awake, Su Cheng took note of his surroundings. This must be the infirmary of the Rat Extermination Squad’s branch, so this woman was likely one of their doctors.

“Stop, let go of that girl!”

At that moment, Xu Xiaolong, lying on the adjacent bed, suddenly jumped up and shouted, a righteous expression on his face as he stood protectively in front of the doctor.

“Sorry, I just had a nightmare,” Su Cheng said apologetically, withdrawing his hand from the doctor’s graceful, alabaster neck.

The black-haired doctor’s face flushed a delicate pink, a flicker of mild anger in her eyes as she rubbed the red handprint on her neck.

“How are Thor and Zhang Wei doing?”

Su Cheng’s injuries were not severe; the adrenaline injection had exhausted him, leaving him weak, but after one shot, he had recovered.

“They’re badly hurt, but there’s no life-threatening danger. They should wake up soon.”

As professional players, their physical constitution was extraordinary, enabling them to recover much faster than ordinary people. As long as their lives were spared, even severe wounds healed quickly.

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“I’ll go check on them.”

Su Cheng was about to get out of bed after putting on some clothes but was pressed back down by the doctor.

“No, you just woke up and can’t get up immediately. You need a full check-up first,” she said seriously, with a responsible demeanor.

Xu Xiaolong on the next bed looked envious, wearing an expression that screamed, “I wish the pretty doctor would check me too!”

After more than half an hour of fussing about, Su Cheng’s legs felt weak as he got out of bed, changed clothes, and left the infirmary, heading to the central hall of the Rat Extermination Squad’s branch.

“New recruit, your health is fine now, right?”

A slender, sharply imposing middle-aged man approached in the hall, offering a friendly smile to Su Cheng.

“Thank you for your concern. May I ask who you are?”

“I’m Ryuya Shiina, captain of the Third Squad of the Rat Extermination Unit. I heard your team recently killed an elite man-eating giant rat in battle. Young people these days are truly formidable.”

According to what he knew, the Rat Extermination Unit had a total of 23 squads. The rank hierarchy from bottom to top was: trainee, regular member, elite member, squad leader, captain, and commander-in-chief.

In this terrifying game, players were assigned identities as trainee members of the 18th Squad. The higher the rank in the Rat Extermination Unit, the more resources and privileges one would enjoy. Ranking up was achieved by hunting mutant rat-men and accumulating faction contribution points.

Su Cheng checked his current faction contribution points; combined with previous missions evacuating Zone 18 and killing the man-eating giant rat, he now had 10,000 points, enough to apply for a squad leader position.

From Ryuya Shiina, Su Cheng learned that this rat plague had swept through 13 regions. Tens of thousands of Rat Extermination Unit members died without time to evacuate during this horrific flood of rats. Very few survivors made it to the unit’s branch.

Because of this catastrophe, the Rat Extermination Unit was at its weakest, constantly on the brink of collapse.

Ryuya Shiina came over to tell him this mainly because the unit was urgently recruiting, and the strength Su Cheng and his team demonstrated was exactly what they needed.

Su Cheng had no interest in the unit’s survival; his concern was how to complete missions and clear this game level.

“The 18th Squad you belonged to has been disbanded. The commander plans to reorganize a special ops unit for special missions. Are you interested?”

After all this, Ryuya Shiina’s intention was clear: he admired the players’ abilities and wanted to recruit them to serve the Rat Extermination Unit.

“Mission update: Join the Special Ops Unit!”

As Su Cheng was still considering whether to accept, a game voice echoed directly in his mind. Apparently, only by joining the special ops unit could the mission continue.

However, Su Cheng did not immediately respond. Since the Rat Extermination Unit wanted him to serve, he naturally intended to demand appropriate compensation.

“I can persuade my teammates to join the special ops unit too, but I have a few conditions.”

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Ryuya Shiina looked surprised, not expecting Su Cheng to negotiate terms. “Go ahead, what are your conditions?”

Su Cheng thought carefully before speaking. “First, I want an independent squad designation for our team. During missions, only I will command. No one else can interfere—not even the commander.”

The professional players, including Thor, were proud and would never tolerate NPCs bossing them around. Su Cheng also did not want interference from the Rat Extermination Unit during missions.

Hearing this, Ryuya Shiina hesitated but nodded. “That condition is acceptable. The commander should agree as well.”

“Also, I need the headquarters to provide the best resources and weaponry. I will prepare a detailed list shortly.” Although the unit’s weapons couldn’t be taken out of the game level, these powerful armaments were crucial for surviving the perilous environment.

“Ordinary equipment is no problem, but some special items require contribution points for exchange,” Ryuya Shiina said, his eyes flickering as he nodded discreetly.

“My final condition is to have captain-level clearance to access the database on mutant rat-men and past battle records.”

The Rat Extermination Unit had been fighting the subterranean rat-men for a long time and surely collected extensive data, though some classified information was restricted to captains.

In fact, Su Cheng’s main reason for requesting captain’s access was to investigate the origin of the mutant rat-men.

Ryuya Shiina did not doubt Su Cheng’s motive but said he needed to consult the commander before deciding on the three conditions.

While waiting for the unit’s response, Su Cheng approached a male quartermaster to exchange contribution points for useful items.

“[Internet Addict]: High-power stun gun, specialized for treating internet addiction. Requires 8,000 contribution points. (Can be taken out of the level).”

“[Assassin’s Cloak]: Grants invisibility when worn. Moving breaks invisibility. Requires 6,000 contribution points. (Can be taken out of the level).”

“[Fragrant Luncheon Meat]: Slowly restores stamina when eaten. Crafted by a chef; delicious and savory. Requires 500 contribution points. (Can be taken out of the level).”

At that moment, Su Cheng noticed a bottle priced at 10,000 contribution points—the blue Gene Optimization Serum.

[Super Gene Optimization Serum]

Type: Medicine

Quality: Rare

Effect: Optimizes gene segments, gradually enhancing the user’s physical strength over 24 hours. Developed by the Rat Extermination Unit, it is safe to use with no side effects.