Chapter 69: Necessary Evil

“Welcome to the Prometheus Project, Miss.”

With Dr. Reed’s introduction, a mysterious underground world slowly opened up before their eyes.

The place was vast—far beyond what anyone could imagine. The high, arched ceiling was studded with countless soft-white lighting modules, illuminating the entire subterranean complex as bright as day.

“This underground zone spans over three thousand square meters. It is where Ruikang—no, where all of humanity—takes its first step toward touching the realm of gods.”

Dr. Reed stretched her arms wide like a queen revealing her kingdom, her smile gentle and elegant.

“It’s divided into three sectors—Alpha, which handles basic experiments; Beta, for advanced experiments; and Gamma… you’ll learn about that later.”

As she spoke, she led Lin Yu and Lin Xue toward the first pristine-white area marked “α”.

It was an observation corridor. On both sides were ecological tanks sealed with reinforced glass.

Inside the tanks were simulations of various natural environments on Earth—lush tropical rainforests, dazzling coral reefs, even grasslands and swamps.

Lin Yu stopped in front of the rainforest tank.

“Eh… what is that?”

She blurted the words out instinctively, eyes round as saucers.

At the bottom of the tank, buried in murky sediment, a massive arthropod more than two meters long raised its scythe-like forelimbs. It shoveled a chunk of rotting animal carcass—along with clumps of foul-smelling sludge—straight into its mouth.

Then something eerie happened.

Under its translucent carapace, countless glowing microorganisms lit up in ghostly blue. They devoured the filth at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within seconds, its tail-fin-like vent expelled streams of perfectly clear liquid.

“Scavenger Pseudo-Shrimp,” Dr. Reed said, her voice carrying a creator’s pride.
“The very first child of the Alpha Sector. We fused the genes of an ancient anomalocarid with archaea from deep-sea hydrothermal vents—microbes capable of breaking down sulfides and heavy metals.”

“In theory, releasing one hundred thousand of these children into the polluted waters around New Seaside City would restore the entire marine ecosystem to pre–Industrial Revolution levels within three months.”

“They consume all waste created by humans—and excrete the purest water.”

“Hehe… amazing, isn’t it?”

(This powerful?…)

Lin Yu was utterly speechless.

But at that moment, the always-silent Lin Xue finally spoke.

“Mentor.”

Her voice was as cool as ever, but carried the rigor of a researcher.

“Based on our observations, pseudo-shrimps abandon their original feeding habits upon contact with fresh flesh. Similar to the predatory catfish introduced from South America—they may hunt native fish and shrimp, causing severe ecological disasters…”
Samples even show they might venture onto land to attack—
“I’m aware,” Dr. Reed interrupted gently, her smile unchanged. She patted Lin Xue’s shoulder.

“No child is born perfect.”

“That is why the children of the Alpha Sector will always need the meticulous care of mothers like us.”

“Every tiny flaw must be guided and corrected—with love and patience.”

“That is the true essence of the Prometheus Project.”

Her words glowed with maternal tenderness and philosophical depth.

But in Lin Yu’s ears… something felt off.

Dr. Reed soon guided them to another, even more spectacular ecological tank.

A simulated deep-sea chamber.

In its center floated a giant ammonite over five meters across. Its spiral shell shimmered with flowing bioluminescence, dyeing the water in shades of ethereal blue.

“Oil-Eater Ammonite,” Dr. Reed continued.

“Its shell was reconstructed using bio-3D printing, modeled after ammonites from hundreds of millions of years ago. Its symbiotic bacterial colonies are deep-crust supermicrobes that feed on hydrocarbons.”

“Last month, a ten-thousand-ton cargo ship from Huaxia Heavy Industries caused a massive fuel leak near Abyss Harbor. Traditional cleanup would cost over a hundred million and take half a year. But we released only a hundred of these children.”

She gestured toward the glowing ammonite, her lips curved elegantly.

“—Three days. That entire oil spill was gone.”

(Three days!?)

Lin Yu felt her heart get hammered in her chest again.

She thought of how she risked her life cleaning up hazardous waste, earning maybe a hundred thousand yuan per mission—already considered a “heaven-sent bonus.”

Yet these biological “monsters” engineered by Ruikang casually erased disasters worth billions.

(So my life is… this cheap?)
(Ugh… I should ask the seniors later. Maybe their pay is higher than I think. What if they actually get million-yuan bonuses?)

“Lulu.”

Lin Xue suddenly spoke beside her.

She was already standing in front of Lin Yu, quietly watching her.

“You seem… very interested in my mentor’s research?”

“Ah? Ah! Y-Yes!”
Lin Yu straightened reflexively like a student called on in class.
“It’s… it’s fascinating haha! Feels like I’m visiting a super high-tech zoo haha…”

“Really?”

Lin Xue’s expression didn’t change. She smoothly steered the conversation toward a topic that made Lin Yu’s scalp prickle.

“Since you’re so interested in bioengineering… your Dawn Company must have similar projects, right?”

“Ah? Similar projects?”

“Yes. I heard your company has a special type of equipment. Very impressive.”

“Haha… well… we’re just a tiny labor-dispatch company. How can we compare to Ruikang Research Group…”

Lin Yu could feel what Lin Xue was hinting at. Cold sweat trickled down her back.

“Our so-called equipment is basically rented from SkyDome Group. At most some high-end protective suits, nothing more. Compared to your miracles of life creation, ours are… nothing at all…”

She waved her hands frantically while trying to keep her face sincerely humble.

But Lin Xue did not relent.

“Is that so? But I heard those protective suits grant superhuman strength. Even… alter the wearer’s appearance and body shape in miraculous ways.”

She paused—her cool gaze drifting from Lin Yu’s cute face downward.

“…as if they were magical girls blessed with new bodies by a fairy.”

“!!!”

Lin Yu felt her heart explode out of her chest.

(D-Did she just say “magical girl”!?!?)
(Crap! I shouldn’t have pretended to be a coworker earlier!)
(Has this little sister actually figured something out!?)

(Please please please don’t guess it. And even if you guessed it, don’t say it out loud! I will NEVER admit it!)
(What, tell my parents their son became a magical girl so they can buy me new dresses? Hell no!)
(They’re already desperate enough urging me to get married—if they saw what I look like now they might tell me to bring home a boyfriend instead.)

“All right, Xiaoxue.”

Dr. Reed intervened suddenly.

“Don’t use unprofessional vocabulary to describe our scientific work.”

“Miss Lulu is a guest. Don’t make things difficult for her.”

She turned to Lin Yu with an elegant smile.

“My apologies, Miss Lulu. My student tends to forget basic social etiquette when excited about a topic. Please forgive her.”

“N-No, really, it’s fine! Totally fine!”
Lin Yu forced a stiff smile.
“Miss Lin Xue is… just passionate about science! I completely understand! Really!”

“Let’s continue.”

Dr. Reed shot Lin Xue a subtle look to rein in her curiosity, then led them onward—
into the Beta Sector.

If the Alpha Sector was life-filled and vibrant, Beta felt like an armory.

The ecological tanks were replaced by reinforced alloy cages with blast-resistant glass.

Inside one such cage, Lin Yu saw a creature that made her blood run cold.

A massive armored fish, the size of a small submarine.

Its head was encased in a solid metal-like bony plate. Two rows of guillotine-like jaws lined its mouth. A primordial predator.

It floated silently in the water, pitch-black eyes staring at the three through the glass.

“Dunkleosteus,” Dr. Reed introduced with an appreciative tone.

“The first mature creation of the Beta Sector. We fused the genes of the Devonian-era apex predator with the sensory abilities of modern tiger sharks and traits from deep-sea pressure-resistant bacteria.”

“Its bite can shear through the frontal armor of a modern main battle tank in an instant.”

She pressed a button.

A block of scrap steel dropped from above.

In the very next breath—CRUNCH.

The beast snapped its jaws and pulverized the steel like a chocolate bar.

“Holy sh—”

Lin Yu instinctively staggered back.

(And magical girls are supposed to fight THESE?)
(You scientists really spend taxpayer money to make horror-show exhibits underground?!)
(Make fewer of these and maybe the government can give us another billion-yuan subsidy so normal people can eat better!)

Dr. Reed watched her frightened expression with a complex smile.

“I understand your aversion to these dangerous creatures, Miss Lulu.”

Her voice softened further.

“Believe me—I felt the same fear when they were first born.”

“They’re dangerous, yes. Even evil.”

“But technology exists for the sake of humanity. When certain people desperately need sharper ‘swords’ to protect a more important ‘order’… and offer us resources we cannot refuse…”

“What right do craftsmen like us have to decline?”

“Oppenheimer watched the first atomic bomb detonate and said he had become Death, destroyer of worlds. But the hell he opened bought humanity fifty years of peace.”

“So if for the sake of something greater—stability, order—some necessary evils must be born in this world…”

“And if some people must descend into hell because of it…”

“Is that… not worth it?”