Hearing the term "experimental subject," Number One's expression paused slightly, followed by a wry smile. "That title doesn't seem entirely wrong... but I'm not sure about the specifics of how they select them..."
"Then how did you become his experimental subject?" I asked.
"That's quite an interesting story..." Number One suddenly burst into laughter. "After I graduated, I was constantly looking for work. You know, the competition is fierce nowadays, and we didn't have any obvious advantages..."
"So, I never found a suitable job," Number One looked at me. "After changing jobs more than ten times, there was still no improvement..."
"I saw a recruitment advertisement then, so I happily went to work." Number One thought for a moment. "I worked there for nearly a year. The daily work was actually very simple, but the salary was ridiculously high. At least in the city where I lived, that salary was five or six times higher than that of ordinary people..."
"A year later, I suddenly received an order from my superiors, requiring us to participate in an experiment. Those who refused would be sent home immediately." Number One said with a smile. "At that time, no one wanted to give up such a job, so basically everyone agreed, except for a few people..."
"That experiment must have been it, right?" I asked.
"Yes, but at first, we didn't do anything. They just took us to a relatively hidden place for training. Unfortunately, I don't know where that was..." Number One continued. "Later, I got some inside information..."
"Those who had previously quit their jobs and didn't participate in the experiment were all killed." Number One recalled. "For the nearly year we spent there, in short, they had us try all sorts of strange things, and we gradually got used to it..."
"We were brought in, and all sorts of data were collected, even our daily preferences, living habits, food preferences, and so on. All sorts of miscellaneous things that I didn't even know what they were, were all recorded..."
"Until one day, we were taken into a highly confidential research laboratory. You can probably guess what happened afterward..." Number One said slowly. "It was very simple. We were modified..."
"Although there were over a hundred people who participated in the experiment together, only I survived in the end..." Number One said. "I lived there peacefully for several months, and then I was assigned a mission to come here and kill you..."
Hearing this, I was inwardly shocked.
Based on all the information gathered so far, Vic's method of selecting people seemed to have no pattern whatsoever.
There were no specific requirements either. Was it random selection?
Or was it to collect data from various sources to derive the most reasonable outcome?
Under these circumstances, I didn't dare to make rash conclusions and could only ponder in secret.
As it stood, Vic likely hadn't mastered the Shepherd's Art. A significant reason why these individuals were successfully modified was due to the branches of the Tree of Life.
I surmised that as long as one could tolerate the Tree of Life, it meant they could be experimented on.
However, this method was not feasible for me.
On one hand, I hadn't obtained any branches of the Tree of Life, nor could I extract the Tree of Life like Vic.
This was because the Tree of Life had now become a tattoo on my chest.
On the other hand, I didn't have enough people to experiment on. Even if I had so many people, I wouldn't have a suitable venue, nor any technology.
Looking at it this way, if I wanted to continuously improve the people around me, it seemed there was only one way.
That was to let others also cultivate the Shepherd's Art.
Seeing that I was lost in thought, Number One didn't say much. He quietly finished everything, drank more than half a pot of wine, and then patted his stomach, "This feels great..."
"Is there anything unusual about you?" I asked.
Number One looked at me when he heard this, hesitated slightly, and then rolled up his sleeve.
I saw a black spot at his elbow joint.
This black spot was almost identical to Number Three's.
"You've been in contact with Number Three for so long, you should know what this is, right?" Number One asked with a smile.
I didn't hide anything and nodded seriously. "I can find a way to remove this thing, but it will be a bit painful..."
Number One looked at me, his face full of doubt. "You can do it?"
"Number Three's has already been removed by me. As for yours, there should be no problem." I nodded with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Number One's expression instantly became serious. "Brother Ye... how about this, you help me remove this thing, and from now on, I will follow your lead!"