Chapter 153. Family, and Family (2)
Archons created with Abraxas’s overtechnology possessed monstrous regenerative abilities.
Minor wounds healed within seconds.
Even if a leg was severed or the spine was broken, it would regenerate in roughly thirty minutes.
They had been through plenty of battles before, but Yukgap had never once been left bedridden with a serious injury like this.
“To think one bullet could do this...”
Even Victoria was unsettled by the situation.
Yukgap was currently lying in a sickroom at the Herrington Convent, groaning in pain.
The problem was that the gunshot wound showed no sign of closing or regenerating.
They had managed to slow the bleeding with bandages and hemostatic agents, but it was nowhere near enough.
All they could do was give him painkillers and keep him asleep.
“If an Archon’s monstrous regeneration isn’t activating, then that definitely wasn’t an ordinary bullet.”
Nova cautiously offered her guess.
As though agreeing with her, a blunt voice came from the other side of the room.
“It was No. 2’s overtechnology weapon.”
“A genetic alteration bullet.”
A sharp-eyed woman approached.
Victoria immediately recognized her.
“No. 5?”
“What are you doing here?”
It was Epsilon, No. 5 of Abraxas’s Twelve Archons.
Nova quickly explained.
“I called her.”
“I thought she might know something about what happened.”
No. 5 calmly reassured Victoria.
“I am currently cooperating with Doctor Nova.”
“There is no need for concern.”
Then she continued her explanation.
“No. 2’s overtechnology weapon, the protein bio-decomposition bullet, was created specifically to control Archons.”
“He would never use it unless the situation was truly desperate.”
“It seems No. 2 was in quite a hurry.”
So the gun Yukgap had been shot with really was No. 2’s overtechnology weapon.
Victoria urgently asked,
“What exactly does it do?”
No. 5 answered,
“It is similar to my nanomachines.”
“The bullet contains a cluster of microscopic nanomachines.”
“Once lodged inside the body, they immediately disperse and begin altering the target’s genetic information.”
“One of those alterations stops cellular division and prevents recovery.”
Victoria went pale.
“Then are you saying there’s no way to heal Yukgap?”
“Because the genetic information is altered the instant the bullet hits, there is effectively no method available.”
“Alpha is an exception because she possesses technology capable of directly interfering with genetic information.”
Only then did Victoria understand why No. 2 had aimed at her.
“So that’s why he shot at me.”
“If that bullet had hit me, I would have had no choice but to return to Alpha.”
If Victoria had been struck, Yukgap would have had no treatment method available.
Whether he liked it or not, he would have been forced to bring her back to Alpha.
In a way, it was an incredibly cruel form of obsession.
“The problem is that we currently have no way to restore Yukgap’s genetic information.”
Nova analyzed the situation coldly.
Victoria quickly answered,
“That’s not entirely true.”
“I once altered an Archon’s genes and stopped his regeneration before.”
She had used the Philosopher’s Stone, but when she fought No. 3, she had completely disintegrated one of his arms and stopped it from regenerating.
Nova looked skeptical.
“Really?”
“Destroying something is easy.”
“But restoring it is difficult.”
“To do that, I would have to reconstruct Yukgap’s genetic information from the beginning.”
Complete destruction was not especially difficult.
You only had to force enough power into the target.
Repairing something that had been destroyed was several times more delicate.
One mistake could make everything far worse.
Nova immediately pointed out that exact problem.
“But Yukgap is a chimera fused with several animals.”
“Reconstructing his genetic information from the beginning would take an enormous amount of time.”
“And no one knows whether he can survive that long.”
Victoria grew increasingly anxious.
“Is there really no way?”
Silence settled over the room.
Then Nova seemed to think of something.
“If we had someone with genetic information similar to Yukgap’s, there might be a way.”
“What do you mean?”
Nova explained calmly.
“If there were someone with genes very close to his, we could treat him.”
“We could cultivate that person’s genetic material, create a healthy genetic sample, then inject a large quantity into Yukgap.”
“That genetic material could circulate through his body and rebuild the damaged systems so his regeneration starts working again.”
The idea made sense.
But there was one major problem.
Victoria raised her voice.
“Where are we supposed to find someone with genes similar to Yukgap’s?”
“If the match is even slightly wrong, his body could reject it and kill him!”
“That’s the problem.”
“If Yukgap had a blood relative, it might be possible.”
“But with our current technology, otherwise it would be difficult.”
Nova muttered as she wrestled with the problem.
But that final sentence sparked an idea in Victoria’s mind.
“Wait.”
“Did you say blood relative?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Nova looked confused.
Victoria’s eyes slowly sharpened.
“I just thought of a way to save Yukgap.”
“Scrap metal!”
“Food’s ready!”
“Take it out!”
Yukgap called Robert as he placed a dish on the counter.
As always, Robert accepted it.
[What is the menu?]
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“The customer ordered...”
Yukgap casually glanced at the plate.
Then froze.
