69 A LOT OF PROBLEMS

The captive life in the mysterious lab was not unbearable for Hu Lei. She had a comfortable room which provided her with a private place for daily rest. She received regular meals. Though they were pre-packaged rations, they contained all essential nutrients. Moreover, she kept boredom to a minimum by working out in the gym and spending time in the considerably well-stocked library.

However, even a golden cage was still a prison. And Hu Lei was not willing to spend the rest of her life on a dead continent. She also wanted to be free from this place which reminded her of all ill in her life, including her father's betrayal.

Unfortunately, it was like Helen Brown had said. The place was impossible to leave, and it was the only safe harbour on the land of ice. If she attempted to leave, she would become a human shaped icicle in an hour. Still, how could she give up on the life she hoped to have, the life she had begun to build?

As days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, Hu Lei did not abandon the possibility of leaving the hellhole. She spent a lot of time evaluating her environment and considering her situation in an effort to come up with a plan for escape.

Regrettably, there were no multiple possibilities for leaving the land. In fact, there was only one single way off the continent, and it was not even a good one. This minute possibility was in the periodic delivery of supplies and resources from outside.

From Hu Lei's tentative calculation, these deliveries were made every three months. So far, she had been in the lab for more than eight months. She could not make an accurate evaluation because of the lack of sunlight in the underground structure. Moreover, she did not trust the calendar information provided to her in the lab where nothing was in her control. But she had been keeping her own records of the days.

During the supplies delivery, she did not know what was brought in because she had never actually left the building. However, she knew that the people who came with supplies always switched out the old guards and brought in new ones, perhaps to ensure that the level of security always remained strong, without complacency. Or the private military management did not want to leave their people on the ice rock for too long.

The reason did not matter. All she cared about was the opportunity that this process provided for her.

The nine-month delivery would be happening in a couple of days according to her calculations. Hu Lei had been watching out for signs to indicate the actual day for the deliveries. She intended to see if she could take advantage of the replacement of guards to leave the lab. With the right planning, she did not believe that she could not get out of the godforsaken place.

However, she would need a few things if she wanted a chance of exit and survival. Her plan needed a convenient place to take out two guards so that she could take their identity and leave with the rest. She also needed knockout gas to keep the people leaving under control. Additionally, a suitable weapon was required to encourage the cooperation of the person driving the vehicle or other means of transportation.

Obviously, the plan was not perfect, but she was still working on the kinks. It was also essential for her to speak to her father and convince him to leave with her. Though he had failed her, she could not leave him at the mercy of a continent that was not suited for human survival.

Under ideal circumstances, she would have planned for her departure on the upcoming day of the deliveries, marking about nine months of her stay on Antarctica. The sooner she could leave the lab, the better. However, she could not afford to be hasty. If she failed on her first try, she would not have an opportunity to try again.

The security around her would be tightened, and it would be several folds more difficult to get out. So, she planned to observe the situation closely during this period. With the right information, she could solidify her plans for escape. The three months would also be critical for convincing her father to abandon whatever project he was working on.

In another part of the underground lab, Helen Brown was meeting with one of the scientists who had been working with the company for a long time. This head scientist was a woman in her fifties who was quite passionate about her work. She had been hoping to achieve a major breakthrough before her career on the field ended, and she was forced to take up a position in academia.

"Ms Brown, we have been making a lot of progress in the Cherub Project, especially since the addition of Doctor Hu in the team. If everything continues as expected, we will be able to provide actionable results in less than five years." The woman's eyes twinkled with youthful vigour.

"What is the problem?" Helen Brown might not have the high IQ of scientists, but she understood business and humans. Therefore, she knew that this head scientist did not come to just report about their brilliant progress.

"Well, we have been experiencing a lot of problems with the test subjects." The woman paused. "They are too weak. The experiments begin quite well, but the bodies cannot handle the physical demands of the changes. Basically, once their bodies start changing, the subjects will experience haemorrhaging, tissue wear, organ stress and shutdown and nervous system expiration."

The Cherub Project was a next-generation undertaking which was aimed at changing the future of humanity. The objective was to use a double pronged approach of awakening silent portions of DNA in the human body and splicing in foreign DNA into the subjects. The scientists did not hope to create a chimera or a monster but rather to maximise the potential of human beings in terms of lifespan, strength and intelligence. It was a chance for the human race to reach their full potential from a genetic level.

"Then what would you suggest? You know even though we are where we are, finding human subjects, even weak ones, is quite difficult. We will still be subject to legal consequences on human rights violation if this project is discovered." Helen Brown said, linking her fingers in thought.

"Well, if we could use a few of these military people walking around the lab, the results could be better. Their bodies are trained, and they have a higher threshold for pain. Moreover, if we are successful, wouldn't they benefit by having super soldiers?" The scientist's eyes became brighter, almost glowing.

"Let me think about it. Continue with your work. The new subjects will arrive in a couple of days. They should help you hold on for longer. Meanwhile, I should be able to think of a solution in the next few months." Helen promised after a short moment of silence.

When the other woman left her office, Helen leaned back in her chair with a deep frown. She did not want to lower the morale of the team of scientists by speaking of the impossibility of using their private military guards as experimental subjects.

The guards did not actually belong to the company she worked for. They were, in essence, a black operations mercenary group. They were contracted for various projects around the world by their company. If she ruined the relationship between this group and the corporation, her life would not even be enough as an apology.

Moreover, the mercenaries were the people who were responsible for bringing in food and protecting them. If they were wronged, it was a guarantee that the scientists and other personnel, including herself would not have a chance in hell of leaving this place alive.

On the other hand, if she ever wanted to return to civilisation, she needed to find worthwhile experimental candidates to accelerate the Cherub Project.