As anger blazed in his eyes, the street vendor demanded clarification, his voice tinged with frustration. "What do you mean by saying that someone is responsible for my son's illness?"
Alex relaxed as he realised he had managed to capture the street vendor's attention. Until now, the street vendor had approached the situation with caution, but now, he seemed willing to listen and believe in what Alex had to say.
"It means exactly what I stated. Your son's illness is not a natural occurrence. It has been artificially induced by the individuals behind the Spider Gang. Based on my observations, they are conducting dangerous experiments on your son," Alex revealed in a grave tone.
"What kind of experiments?" the street vendor inquired, concerned.
"Have you heard about the monsters that appeared in Thira? The same monsters that I have slayed." Alex asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yes," the street vendor nodded, his expression filled with trepidation.
"They are attempting to transform your son into one of those monsters," Alex disclosed, delivering the shocking revelation.
The street vendor's mind spiralled out of control upon hearing this revelation. As he glanced back at his son, his heart constricted with a mix of fear and anguish. The magnitude of his child's plight was far worse than he had ever imagined.
"Can you save him?" the street vendor finally asked, his voice filled with desperate hope, posing the question that Alex had anticipated.
"I cannot offer a cure for your son," Alex responded, extinguishing the street vendor's final glimmer of hope. He proceeded to explain, "However, I can assist you in safely leaving this city. I can provide you with a secure place to reside. Accepting my condition and leaving the city is the only remaining option to save your son."
Although the mysterious figure clad in white robes seemed suspicious, the fact that he refrained from making false promises touched the father's heart. Having exhausted all his resources by consulting renowned shamans, herbalists, and apothecaries, the street vendor had come to realise the hopelessness of his son's condition.
If Alex had made bold claims without careful consideration, the street vendor might have been unwilling to place his trust in him. However, the absence of empty promises resonated with the street vendor, as he recognised the honesty and sincerity in Alex's words. The desperation to safeguard his child and find a way out of this dire situation began to outweigh his initial doubts.
"I am willing to assist you. Please help us." The heartbroken father said. If his son's days are numbered, he wanted to spend them far away from this city, without worry, happily, catering to all his son's needs.
The street vendor has already resigned to fate.
Alex was happy to hear the street vendor's words. But, the gloomy fate of the child still made him feel a little unsatisfied by the situation. He decided to try and find a way to cure the child.
"The information I possess regarding the Spider Gang is limited. However, I can lead you to their gathering place. That is the extent of my knowledge. Despite this, are you still willing to help us?" the street vendor sought confirmation.
"Yes, that is sufficient for me," Alex replied in a monotone voice, his commitment unwavering.
And so, the terms of their agreement were finalised. In exchange for the street vendor's cooperation, Alex pledged to protect both the father and the child, aid in their escape from the city, and secure a safe place for them to reside.
A sense of relief washed over the street vendor's face, finally able to let go of the burdens that had weighed heavily upon him. The completion of the deal with Alex, the white-robed man, brought a momentary respite from the anxieties that had plagued him.
In parallel, Alex experienced a similar relaxation of his mind. He no longer had to invest time and effort into persuading the street vendor to accept his proposal. In truth, Alex could have pursued a different path, tracking the burly man from the Spider Gang to uncover their hideouts and gather further clues.
The street vendor's contribution seemed inconsequential in the grand scheme of Alex's plan. However, driven by the dire need to save the child, he decided to include the street vendor in his arrangements. It was the only way he could find to safely relocate the child and the father. If he had decided to do it by force, the child may die or turn into a monster, neither was a good outcome in his mind.
To avoid such complications and ensure the safety of both the child and the father, Alex resolved to relocate them away from the heart of chaos. It was a necessary step, a means to protect innocent lives and find a way to address the child's disease.
—-------
In the dimly lit room of an underground laboratory situated in the impoverished district of the city, a man was sewing together the flesh on a body. His presence exuded an air of malevolence, hinting at the nefarious activities taking place within the confines of the hidden facility. Shadows danced across the walls, adding an eerie ambience to the scene as the man revelled in his action of sewing.
The needle went through the flesh and out tying up loose flesh around it. The body, which was half alive on the table before him squirmed in pain as the needle pierced its flesh.
It was a child, not older than six. The body which lay half dead in front of the man was a child.
The child was tightly bound by the metallic chains and handcuffs. It prevented the child from moving while the grotesque man covered in blood operated on him.
"Sir Kain, The specimen is showing harsh symptoms of rejection. We might need to destroy it in the coming days." The burly man that threatened the street vendor stood docilely near the man that was operating and said.
From just a glance, we could see who was the boss among them.
The person called Kain stood unbothered by his words. He was solely concentrating on the operation. He swiftly closed the open wound near the child's abdomen before looking at the burly man.
"You don't need to think, you don't need to say what I should and should not do." Admonished Kain calmly.
"Children, showing rejection reactions with the second-generation mutant cells is normal. Usually, many children die due to the corruption of cells. Only talented adults are capable of perfectly containing second-generation mutant cells."
"The one you visited today is exceptional. Usually, a child would die within a week after they show a rejection reaction, just like this bag of meat before me." Kain said while pointing to the child he had operated on.
"But, that one held on for six whole months while the mutant cells tried to devour him from the inside. He is an exceptional one. He is my last hope. How dare you say about destroying him." Kain threatened with an evil glint in his eyes.
Kain, the actual leader of the Spider Gang, held the status of a king in Pushpam City despite being considered a weak scientist stationed in the central continent. The success of the Spider Gang's development was attributed to Kain's cunningness and intricate schemes, which were fueled by the backing he received from the evil organisation once he secured his place in Pushpam.
Driven by ambition and the desire for fame and glory, Kain embarked on conducting wild experiments on the city's inhabitants.
His ultimate goal was to ascend the ranks of the evil organisation. In pursuit of this goal, he began experimenting on children. Through careful observation, he discovered that by grafting second-generation mutant cells inside children, he could create an army of controllable monsters.
Although all his experiments failed to reach his standard, he still had hope that he could succeed.
So, he continued his dark experiments by kidnapping innocent children from all over the central continent. At last, he was close to achieving his final goal.
If he could achieve that, he could swiftly rise among the ranks.
And the child of the street vendor was the closest he had come to achieving his goal. The kid's immense mental resilience along with his slightly modified second-gen mutant cells played an important role in that.
Usually, one of three should have happened after grafting the new second-gen mutant cells into the child.
One, the child would perfectly become the host. However, in this case, Kain couldn't control the mad monster that would emerge after activation.
Second, the child would reject the cell and die. Just like what was happening to the child on his operating table.
Third, the child would reject the cells and survive. And this condition was what Kain wanted. This was the only way for him to create the perfect monster of his dreams.
The feeling of imminent success in completing his experiment made Kain extremely happy. He swiftly wiped away the blood from his hands and tapped the shoulder of the burly man before walking away, humming a tune.
But, suddenly he turned to gaze at the burly man and spoke.
"If anything were to happen to that child, your life would come to an end," The menacing tone drilled the words directly into the burly man's skull.
After that, Kain continued walking away.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l