Electric | XIAOJUN

Chapter 14

Chunhua felt like her soul had been sucked out of her body as she continued to walk with Lucas through the Research Facility.

A murder. They stopped at another panel. I just witnessed a murder.

Lucas motioned towards the glass and Chunhua looked up, hoping the sight wasn't as gruesome as the previous one. It was, but not by much.

"This is Beta Team." Lucas said, referring to the group of cyborgs training inside.

Chunhua knew that Beta Team was weaker than Alpha Team but not by this much.

Despite being cyborgs, the members of Beta Team were covered in cuts and bruises, barely standing a chance against the robots they fought. Chunhua watched as the members tried their best to attack the robots, but their modifications were no where near the level they should be.

There was one member that was doing worst than the others though, spitting out blood once he fell to the ground. Chunhua reached out but her hand only hit the glass, and the scene became a a familiar one again.

Chunhua watched as researchers quickly grabbed the fallen member, dragging the limp body that was barely breathing out of the room.

"Where are they taking him?" Chunhua asked, glancing at Lucas, who's eyes were also fixated on the cyborg.

"Elsewhere." Lucas said, letting out a deep sigh as he stepped back from the glass, beginning to walk away. "It's another failed experiment."

...

Chunhua was becoming more and more confused as she and Lucas made their way deeper into the Reserach Facility.

All her life, she had thought that her family and friends had done amazing work with Intelligence, developing cyborgs that were stronger than an average human being. It didn't take long for her to realize that with one success, there were hundreds of failures behind it as well.

"Do all failed experients die?" Chunhua suddenly asked, making Lucas freeze. She heard him take a deep breath before turning around.

"No, they don't." Lucas told her, his voice coming out soft.

"Where do they go then?" Chunhua asked, taking a few quick steps so she was walking beside Lucas instead of behind him.

"Depends on how severe of a failure it is." Lucas told her. "Most of them are simply disposed, but if they're still functioning, Intelligence might have a place for them."

"What could a failed cyborg even do?" Chunhua asked, not putting much thought into her words.

"Some of the cyborgs that help out around are failed experiments with their memory wiped." Lucas explained. "Others that are still high level fighters can do other things."

"Like what?"

"Train others." Lucas said, making Chunhua stop walking as the reality of it all hit her.

He's a failed experiment.

"Lucas." Chunhua said, grabbing onto his arm, gently tugging it so he turned around. "Do you remember what happened before you came to Intelligence?"

Lucas shook his head, pulling his arm out of his grasp. "No, none of us do. Keeping our memories only makes us weak, and battle cyborgs can't be weak."

"That's so unfair." Chunhua blurted out. "You're already sacraficing your lives to fight, why can't they at least let you to remember who you were before a cyborg?"

"I'm glad, actually." Lucas said, as they stopped at a door. "A lot of the children that come to Intelligence didn't have a good life before. They were lives full of pain and suffering. This opportunity is a chance for us to live a better life, one better than anyone our parents could have ever provided."