Chapter 556 - 565: Decision
Chapter 556: Chapter 565: Decision
Chief Ford’s frenzied movements came to a halt, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.
Mr. Magnus walked over to Stella Sterling’s side. "Sterling, thank goodness you arrived in time. And thank you for holding back!"
Stella Sterling turned to Mr. Magnus. "What’s going on? How did he suddenly get so strong?"
’I specifically checked these chains before I left. They were fastened securely, so this shouldn’t have happened.’
Mr. Magnus’s expression grew grim. "I don’t know. He just went berserk. I tried to inject him with the sedative, just like always, to keep him unconscious, but he... the Chief even snapped the iron chains!"
Mr. Magnus was still shaken as he spoke.
’Chief Ford’s rampage was much more violent this time. It means his condition is getting worse.’
Stella Sterling’s expression grew solemn. ’In my past life, I never heard of the mutated becoming this strong... powerful enough to snap iron chains.’
’If they were all like this, I never would have escaped the ones I encountered in my past life...’
’Chief Ford’s condition is obviously different.’
"So what do we do with him now?"
Stella Sterling gestured to the man on the floor. "The sedative only works for a limited time. He’ll go on a rampage again once it wears off."
’We have to find a way to restrain him. But if even iron chains can’t hold him, what will?’
Mr. Magnus was stumped for a moment. He frowned. "Our only option is to use chains again, but wrap him in several more layers!"
He paused before adding, "Then we’ll isolate him in the iron cage. We need multiple safeguards."
Stella Sterling had no better ideas for the moment, so she just nodded.
She told Mr. Magnus to get the materials while she stood guard over Chief Ford, in case anything unexpected happened that he couldn’t handle on his own.
Soon, Mr. Magnus returned with several heavy iron chains, each as thick as a man’s wrist, and a two-by-two-meter iron cage.
These supplies had been prepared and stored in the room beforehand, but they hadn’t had the heart to treat Chief Ford this way, so they had never put him in the cage.
But now, they had no other choice.
Just as Stella Sterling and Mr. Magnus moved to tie him up, Chief Ford’s eyes snapped open. Staring at them with blood-red eyes, he sat up, tilted his head, and lunged to bite them.
Mr. Magnus was too shocked to react. "How is this possible!!!"
’This sedative is my own formula. Every time I inject the Chief, he stays unconscious for three hours.’
’It hasn’t even been ten minutes, and he’s already awake again.’
Stella Sterling shoved Mr. Magnus out of the way just before he was bitten. She pinned Chief Ford’s arms behind his back, then chopped the back of his neck.
At the same time, an electric current flowed from her palm into his body.
Chief Ford’s body convulsed once before he collapsed again, his head hitting the ground with a loud THUD.
Stella Sterling pulled back her hand and looked away. ’Gordon Ford... you can’t blame me for this. It’s all to save your father’s life.’
’If I didn’t have to keep him alive, to hold out hope for a cure, I would’ve just killed him and been done with it. He’s too much trouble.’
But for now, she could only use enough force to knock him unconscious, not kill him.
This time, Stella Sterling moved quickly while he was unconscious, binding him with the heavy iron chains, layer after layer.
By the time she was done, his entire body was cocooned in chains, with only his head exposed.
Then, she lifted him, threw him into the iron cage, strapped him to a chair inside, and added several more layers of reinforcement.
Only then did she turn to Mr. Magnus and say, "This won’t hold him for long. We have to get him to the lab!"
"The lab has restraints for test subjects that are much stronger than these chains. Not even a bomb could break them."
Stella Sterling knew Mr. Magnus hadn’t wanted to treat Chief Ford like this, but now he had no choice.
Otherwise, the trouble would be endless.
Mr. Magnus understood this as well. He nodded, picked up a phone, and gave a few instructions to the person on the other end of the line.
Mr. Magnus stared at the man in the iron cage, his eyes heavy. "It seems the sedative has lost its effect. His body has developed a tolerance."
Stella Sterling’s face was impassive. "Or perhaps his body is becoming less and less human, so your drugs are no longer effective."
Mr. Magnus’s heart sank. He understood what Stella Sterling was implying—Chief Ford was becoming less and less human.
He squeezed his eyes shut, reining in his emotions. Now was not the time for grief. The priority was to develop a countermeasure for this condition as soon as possible.
’Otherwise, Chief Ford’s situation was dire. If this continued, then no matter how reluctant they were, they would eventually be forced to put him down.’
"Sterling, what’s going on outside? Why haven’t the guards posted out there come in?"
Mr. Magnus asked, a sudden thought striking him.
There was a huge commotion in here. The guards outside should have stormed in by now, but they haven’t. Stella Sterling got here from farther away, but the men right outside the door haven’t made a move.
He also recalled hearing a few screams earlier, but the situation with Chief Ford had been too urgent to check on what was happening outside.
At his question, Stella Sterling told him what had happened outside.
Roman Magnus stumbled back two steps, stunned. He shook his head. "It seems the situation is far worse than we ever imagined!"
’These anomalies have already appeared in Meridia Base. There’s no telling how many people like this there are.’
"Damn it! Why are there people like this in our base!"
Mr. Magnus’s voice was laced with anger. Before today, nothing like this had ever happened in the base.
’It’s obvious the people who turned today weren’t bitten. They mutated on their own.’
’Which means they must have eaten *that meat* before.’
’But we never allow that in Meridia Base! The food supply has always been steady.’
’No one here should ever go hungry, yet some people still consumed that stuff. They’re endangering us all.’
Stella Sterling, however, was not surprised by his outburst. "Meridia Base is full of all sorts of people. It’s entirely possible many of them consumed it before they ever arrived here. Besides, not everyone can resist temptation."