Chapter 10: Past(1)
A few months ago…
"Today, the government announced that they will no longer sponsor the experiments of this division of the laboratory, so the experiments will be terminated." A middle-aged man announced to a small group of scientists inside the room.
"Is this serious?" Someone asked, but none of them were surprised by what had happened.
It was as if they thought it strange that it hadn't ended sooner.
"Yes. After ten years of research, nothing new has been found about the Unknown rank skill, the Level Lock. So the governments decided that the skill was of higher rank because it made the owner of the skill a normal person like before the world changed. So, after a meeting, the governments decided to end the experiment, and from today, the guinea pig, Liu Yang, can go out to live a normal life. The meeting is over." The middle-aged man didn't need to continue the conversation because it wasn't necessary.
The scientists didn't even seem to be displeased with the decision.
"Looks like it's finally over. Liu Yang can have a normal life outside of this place." One of them commented. He was one of those who followed the experiment from the beginning.
"I thought they would finish this in five years, but it was ten years. That was a long time."
"I no longer thought anything could be discovered, but the system is very specific. If the skill says the person cannot level, he will never level. But it was still possible to learn some skills and spells over the years. Unfortunately, this is not a discovery because anyone can learn skills and spells if they meet the requirements."
"The system is impartial and never favors someone. Only luck can be the cause of deciding who will awaken a higher rank skill."
"Luck? We are scientists, there is no such thing as luck, only probabilities."
"Before the portals opened, scientists all over the world never believed in magic. Now, magic is something fundamental to humanity. We need to review some old concepts and update them. Luck is one of them. In games, there is the attribute of luck that increases the odds in favor of the player. The system is something similar, so there must be luck"
"..." This person didn't reply because there were no words for it.
It was really true.
No one ever believed in magic, but the emergence of portals changed all that.
"Let's put that aside. The experiment is over and Liu Yang can finally live a normal life. But we still have an issue to deal with. Which one of us will talk to him?"
"..." The group was silent because they didn't know how to decide this.
"I will." A pretty middle-aged woman raised her hand.
"Is there anyone else who wants to accompany Katharin on this job?" Another asked, but he didn't raise his hand either.
So, only she left the room to talk to Liu Yang.
…
Inside a monitoring room, Liu Yang was running on the treadmill as part of his daily workout.
The door opened and Katharin entered.
"Miss Katharin, has something happened?" He stopped running when he saw her enter.
But he noticed something different from her expression.
"Yes. The laboratory received orders from the government to terminate the experiment. Then you are free to live a normal life."
"Ohh…" The words really shocked him because it was so random for this to happen.
But it is also expected. It hasn't shown any change for ten years, so someday, the cancellation would happen.
"Liu Yang, do you have any plans? About what you're going to do after you get out of here," she asked worriedly.
It had been ten years looking after and watching over him, it would be a lie to say that Katharin wasn't worried about Liu Yang.
That was a long time and people develop some feel when they are so close for so many years.
"Well… I thought I'd buy a house with the money I got from the government and learn what the new world is like after ten years before thinking about what to do" Liu Yang never left the lab and went to the city after arriving. So he didn't even know what the world was like after ten years.
The only places he knows are forests, mountains, dunes, and dangerous places to survive.
The training was in these places to see if the skill would react or not.
"Liu Yang, if you want, I can help you a little bit about this."
"Won't that be troublesome?" He thought someone like her was too busy and had time to waste.
"Don't worry about that. I'm thinking of taking a little vacation. After almost ten years inside this place, it's time to rest." Her tired face showed it.
It wasn't just Liu Yang who stayed inside the lab, but some other scientists as well because they couldn't stop the observation.
Only one or the other was allowed to leave the lab.
"I'm glad for Miss Katharin's help."
"I'm happy to help." She relaxed upon hearing the confirmation.
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