The Mechanic [BL]

[4]

Chapter 4 - Lost Paradise (4)

The Lab, located not far from Warehouse 8, was one of the few places in Lost Paradise that had more advanced technology. It looked like several huge rusted iron boxes of different shapes randomly stacked on top of each other, and the outside was wrapped in a complex, cobweb-like plumbing system, with huge solar panels lined up on the roof and a few chimneys that kept emitting steam. The inner structure was more complex. The main, narrow corridor had many forks, which divided into more forks. The layout of each of the three floors weren't the same. It even took the mechanics and researchers working here a year to become familiar with most areas. The entrances were protected by iris recognition locks, and the double sided doors were made of heavy alloys, driven by countless giant gears spliced ​​together. This Lab could be regarded as Zhang Xun's real "home" as he spent much more time here than in his humble hut.

After the successful god descent, Zhang Xun's first arduous task was to find a way to safely transfer Adam to the Lab. The countless soldiers outside who were staring at him and wanting to tear Eden apart were simply countless roadblocks, and even the so-called escort assigned by the Round Table couldn't be trusted at all. In the end, he wrote dozens of pages of an application form, and then contacted James to help him with talks, and finally got approval from his father and the Round Table to build a temporary sealed passage from Warehouse 8 to the Lab using parts from an abandoned pipeline. This way, from the warehouse to the Lab, there would be no one who could pose a threat to Adam, minimising the possibility of a runaway situation.

Zhang Xun took out the woollen coat he had prepared in advance from the locker and wrapped it around Adam who was in a ball, shivering from cold or fear. Adam sat on the operating table and let Zhang Xun pull his arm into the sleeves, looking down at Zhang Xun as he carefully buttoned him up.

"What are you going to do next?" Adam's voice sounded much calmer than before, but it was probably because he wasn't used to using human vocal organs. His words were very strange, like an eggplant in his mouth. He had to listen carefully to understand.

Zhang Xun raised his head and met Adam's wide-open eyes. It was really strange, when the original owner of these eyes occupied this body it was just a pair of pretty eyes, but now that Adam had moved in, he felt they were inexplicably a little more ethereal.

"I will take you to the Lab, your new home. I will study you there and tame you."

"Do you want to tame me to make me your slave?"

"..." Zhang Xun frowned, "I don't like the term 'slave'."

"You will control my behaviour, control my destiny, have the right to do anything to me or forbid me to do anything, and I can't resist, can I?" Adam asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

"...Forget it..."

"Then I'm your slave." Adam concluded with satisfaction.

Zhang Xun sighed, "Whatever you think... Now, stand up."

Adam hesitated for a moment, then moved awkwardly to the edge of the operating table and tentatively reached out with his feet, as if those legs didn't belong to him. He carefully placed his feet on the ground, then leaned forward...

and fell headfirst onto Zhang Xun in front of him.

Zhang Xun, who was thin and weak, was knocked to the ground all of a sudden, the pressure making it difficult to catch his breath. He struggled to push Adam to the side then watched Adam lying on the ground, looking at him innocently, without any temper... He stretched out his hand and pulled Adam up and held Adam's arm with both hands to help him keep his balance. Adam's hands were spread open, as if the Earth was a balance beam to him, and it looked like he was teetering, either about to fall forward or backward.