Thrive in Catastrophe by 焦糖冬瓜

Chapter 98 Grave

"No. You don't have time to wait for another body." Xiao slowly moved forward, his cold gaze projected a chilling frostiness that saturated the room. The force of it swept over Valentin like a storm.

"What are you talking about." Valentin frowned, an unmistakable hint of uneasiness stretched across his eyes.

"You don't seem to know Jane all that well. Even if I failed, he won...in his own way."

Valentin's body suddenly stiffened as a sharp pain shot from his brain and down his spine. Every cells in his body felt as though it were imploding.
Blood seeped through his vessels as his muscles tore and detached. His skin couldn't handle the pressure and began to strain and crack.

Valentin lowered his head, an incredulous expression twisting his face. He struggled to lift his hand and watched as layers of his flesh peeled off, blood dripping from the open wound.

"What is going on here... this is impossible... impossible..."

"When you transplant a brain, even if the people have the same DNA, you need to use a drug called Pandorane to stop the synapse of the nerves. That way when you implant your brain you can avoid the pain running down the spinal chord. Casey and I created a virus that is activated by this drug, it quickly replicates and attacks the hosts body, causing rapid cell degeneration."

"Lies. You are lying. This is all an illusion. You are still in my mind!"

Valentin's eyes were bloodshot with disbelief.

"You said that you entered my mind when I was unconscious. Other than my X-2 studies, didn't you see how I made the virus 'Jane'? You are doomed, Valentin. You will die."

Valentin frantically made his way to the main control station. He shakily removed a terminal and put it on.

"There are many Jane clones here...I can use any one of them..."

"Not possible. From the moment your brain was implanted in Jane's body, it was infected. No matter which body you choose, you will be unable to escape your fate."

Xioa Yan's cold voice rang through the microphone, painfully piercing Valentin's ears.

"Shut up! Shut up! I can't die! I won't..."

As Valentin shrieked in anger, his arm fell off and landed onto the ground with a splat. His muscles sloughed off his body, revealing white bone beneath.

"You...have destroyed...what...is"

Valentin stumbled toward Xiao Yan, leaving a trail of blood behind him. The flesh on his chest disintegrated until all that was visible was his sternum. Xiao could see his heart getting weaker and weaker. His face began to distort, twisting his expression horribly, he resembled more zombie than man.

"What I destroyed is the delusion of something that should never have existed."

Valentin pitched forward and his forehead smacked against the glass. His skull broke open and his brain slid out, landing heavily on the ground.

Xiao pressed his palm against the glass of the capsule. Slowly his hand passed through the material and his body followed. He looked down at the bits of flesh on the ground. Lifting his foot, he did not hesitate to crush Valentin's brain.

"In your mind...I have killed you."

Suddenly the scene shifted and faded. The thick coating of tissue and blood on the ground disappeared and instead an old man sat at the control seat of the main terminal.

Xiao moved in front of him and pressed his blade against his throat.