บท 87: Chapter 84.1 : Eternal Blood Experiment!!
The room fell into a tense silence. Some who were quick on the uptake began to turn pale.
"You're up." John pointed to a young man standing near the back of the room.
"No, Grandpa, please!" The young man cried out in fear, his voice cracking.
"As a member of the Ahhanita family, you should consider it an honor to sacrifice for our cause," John replied, his voice devoid of emotion.
But John himself felt quite the opposite. As his own mortality loomed closer, he found himself yearning for the vibrant beauty of life.
He didn't want to die!
That's why he initiated the Eternal Blood experiment—to unlock the secret of immortality.
The plan was simple, at least in theory: extract high-quality blood of young people, combine it with healing magic, and then use this concoction to rejuvenate his aging organs.
If successful, it would make his body youthful again, granting him eternal life.
And for this pursuit of immortality, John was willing to sacrifice anyone, even his own kin.
He had built the Ahhanita family into a powerful family, and these descendants of his, with their drunken parties and lavish lifestyles—all made possible by him—ought to repay him, right?
If they had to die to save his life, then so be it.
"Grandpa!" The young man screamed again as he was forcefully dragged away.
Several researchers secured him onto a bed, strapping him down with tight ropes.
Frank and his team were drenched in sweat, but not from exertion. They were anxious. The Eternal Blood experiment was far from complete. They hadn't even finished the animal testing.
That morning, they'd rushed through a few tests with alarming results: almost all the mice injected with the blood mixture died suddenly.
Only two lived for a while, but during that brief period, they became insanely strong and violent, eventually leading to their own demise.
They ripped apart anything they could reach, smashing their own limbs and, ultimately, bashing their heads until their brains spilled out.
This wasn't the sort of outcome anyone would call promising. It was pure chaos, and now they were about to test it on a human—a family member. No one knew what might happen next.
Frank and the others knew that the experiment with the eternal blood was doomed to fail at this stage. They needed more trials and more time—but they were out of both.
"What should we do, Mr. Frank?" one of his subordinates asked, his voice trembling with anxiety.
Frank gritted his teeth and replied, "The situation is dire. John's risking everything, and we have to do the same."
"How do we gamble?" another subordinate inquired, his eyes filled with fear and desperation.
Frank leaned in and whispered to a small group, "We have to make the eternal blood experiment succeed, no matter what."
It didn't take long for Frank to return, drenched in sweat and looking frantic. He rushed to John and said, "Mr. John, we almost succeeded, but we failed in the end. Everything turned into blood."
John's expression darkened, and the tension in the room skyrocketed. He coldly ordered, "Bring me another one."
The others exchanged nervous glances, unsure what to do next. Suddenly, someone shouted, "If things are this bad, why are we still scared of him? Are we going to let him kill us one by one?"
Another voice rang out, filled with anger and defiance, "Grandpa, you forced me to do this!"
"Father, I want to live!" someone else yelled, tears streaming down their face.
The room erupted into chaos. They knew that to survive and avoid becoming just another pool of blood, they had to overthrow John's brutal regime. There was no other way.
Up until today, they believed they could share in the Eternal Blood's power. But now, facing this failed experiment, they weren't willing to risk their lives.
John?
He was just an old man in a wheelchair! When he was in control and everyone needed him, they were afraid to cross him.
But now, why should they follow his orders, especially when he was telling them to risk their lives?
"How dare you defy me!" John shouted in anger.
"We just want to live! What's wrong with that?" someone from the crowd responded.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't provoked those stronger than you and meddled with that cursed Eternal Blood, you could have retired in peace! The Ahhanita family wouldn't be in this desperate situation!"
The crowd erupted with shouts and accusations against John. Someone yelled, "Kill him!" and the rest joined in, chanting the same.
The tension was reaching a boiling point, and the people started to advance.
"Do you really think I can't deal with you?" John roared back. "You ungrateful wretches!"
Magic power burst from John's body in an explosive surge.
"Blood Vines!"
Suddenly, a thick tangle of blood-red vines erupted from his back—flexible and snake-like, with hundreds of tendrils lashing out.
But the crowd was past the point of fear. They knew they had no choice but to fight. One of them shouted, "Old man, how much magic do you really have left in that worn-out body?"
Another voice chimed in, "I may not be a wizard, but I can still fight!"
The tension escalated, the air vibrating with magic energy as everyone braced for the clash.
A battle erupted.
Frank saw the commotion and bolted out of the laboratory. "Let's go!" he shouted to his crew, abandoning everything and making a run for it.
But none of them noticed the shadowy figure trailing them as they fled.
The battle didn't last long—it was over in a flash. Everyone was quickly ensnared by blood-red vines, their limbs tightly bound.
When they tried to resist, they felt a drain on their energy, as if their strength was being siphoned away.
No one expected that John, an old man who seemed like he should be lying in a coffin, still had such terrifying power.
"Grandpa, no! Please spare us!" they pleaded, but it was already too late. John was gasping for breath, his magic fluctuating wildly.
He knew his body was frail, riddled with unseen cracks that could shatter at any moment.
The battle had taken a heavy toll on him; he had used up more than half of his remaining life force. He was a dying man, and he knew it.
John struggled to control his rapid breathing and racing heart. He looked around at the defeated crowd, his expression furious at their betrayal.
"As long as I'm alive, I can sacrifice anyone!" he snarled. "As long as I'm still breathing, the Ahhanita family will thrive!"
"You ungrateful wretches! You all deserve to die!" he roared. "When I regain my youth, the Ahhanita family will prosper once more, and I will be its leader!"
"Originally, you had a chance, but you threw it away!" John said as a group of people was dragged in front of him. Among them, a thin, tall man with one eye stepped forward and said, "Mr. John, this requires additional fee."
"Thank you," John replied, looking over at the beaten bodies of Frank and his crew lying on the ground.
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