Resurrection Empire-Chapter 1028 - 396: Hatred and Gratitude

Sun Miao trembled with his lips, wanting to speak but ultimately just sighed, "Indeed, it's just a self-deception, only you can bear this responsibility."

Ren Zhong: "Alright. Then, the most important thing next is to select people."

Sun Miao said heavily, "Yes, select some volunteers."

Ren Zhong: "Yes, volunteers. Genuine volunteers."

Some things are easy to talk about but hard to do.

The difficulty lies not in the process of doing but in enduring the inner torment during this process.

According to Sun Miao's account, when executing the Tree Plan, the recipient's brain will remain conscious.

As the neck is altered and a new brain is split and multiplied, the conscious recipient will be subjected to prolonged torturous dual suffering of both physical and mental nature, few can withstand this pain, and will constantly seek opportunities to end it all themselves.

Mengdu Group's solution to this phenomenon is very simple and brutal, cutting half of the operation performer's brain nerves, so the brain cannot give the body active commands. As for the pain of "lab rats", no one cares.

But if the recipient is to enter the Legion Beast project, their mobility must be restored. Then those with a death wish will inevitably seek death immediately. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Therefore, to improve the success rate of the experiment and reduce unnecessary deaths, Sun Miao pointed out that volunteers must have a healthy physique and strong psychological quality, and must also highly recognize Ren Zhong's career, otherwise they will surely not withstand it.

Thus, Ren Zhong first conducted a personnel screening and could only select from the combatants who had already withstood the test.

Ren Zhong first called Zheng Tian, Yujin, Yuan Qinh, Shi Xuan, and Ma Xiaoling, and other frontline combat commanders to the office and said, "Write me a list, select such people."

"First, under the age of twenty-five. Second, have a family, with children, and not just one. Third, having no great accomplishments in the field of combat and work, and not particularly talented. Fourth, have a sense of responsibility and spiritual quality beyond their ability boundary. This batch of people will undertake a long-term mission where there is little chance of survival, enduring long-term torment. The company will make a clear promise to take permanent care of their families and will have their names engraved on the Hero Monument. These things you can know for now, and I'll explain it clearly during their interview."

About half a day later, Ren Zhong met nearly three hundred people in the small meeting room, both male and female, all young and strong.

Before speaking, he quickly browsed through the personal information of these people.

These people had mostly spent some time in the Starfire Army as professional soldiers, and a large part had now transitioned to become instructors in the basic military training center.

When the Starfire Army was short of personnel, they lowered the standard and recruited a large batch of non-professionals into the army.

By now, after long-term experience, these new soldiers had become veterans. The veterans matured through countless deadly battles, forming deep camaraderie with their comrades, and joining the Starfire Army had brought a change in their families' lives.

Some veterans, with sufficient resources, moved step by step along the path of professionals, reaching the Fourth or even Fifth Level.

Those with slightly lesser talent reached the First, Second, or Third Level, and generally entered the formal combat sequence.

But fate is different for everyone, some bottlenecks cannot be overcome due to talent, beyond human control.

Although some people were equally hardworking and enjoyed the same resource support, they could not cross the threshold of the First Level professional.

Ultimately, with more new soldiers growing and taking their positions, this group had to accept a harsh reality.

That is, they were no longer qualified to fight alongside their comrades, their lagging abilities would only become a burden on the battlefield, it was better to decisively leave rather than harm others and themselves.

Thus, carrying great regret, this group said farewell to their life-and-death comrades, retreated to the secondary line, becoming instructors who purely impart basic lessons to newbies.

Even in this role, they remained loyal and diligent, continuously providing fresh blood for the Starfire Army.

But as they watched one by one of their trainees become professionals, leave the training center, and take on new positions, the instructors gradually fell out of balance.

They deeply desired to kill enemies to repay Ren Zhong, but lacked the capacity to change things. Especially when occasionally hearing news of comrades sacrificing on the front lines, the accumulated sense of powerlessness in their hearts exploded more fiercely.

When meeting with top commanders, who told them a special important mission awaited, they signed up without hesitation.

Ren Zhong gently tapped the table, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

He opened with a candid statement, slowly saying.

"Everyone, this is a mission where you will undergo a living hell, and ultimately inevitably die. Once you join, you will immediately bid farewell to your families forever. I must also tell you, this mission concerns the long-term destiny of the Ren Clan Group. If successful, we might even replace the Association, rewrite the history of Source Star, and liberate everyone. As for you, although I cannot guarantee your lives, I can promise your families will receive long-term care. Your martyr compensations will be distributed to your family for five generations, at least one hundred years. If I can achieve what I aim to do, your family will indeed be able to continue for over a hundred years."

"This... is all I can tell you about the task. I can't say more, but you should already understand the importance and significance of this matter. Now, you have one more chance to back out, and return to your original positions. I never force anyone to do anything unwillingly, but I still want to say, I desperately need your help."

The young people below all looked up at Ren Zhong, their eyes gradually filled with feverish light.

Ren Zhong already knew their answer, but his heart felt heavy.

He finally understood the mindset of those commanders in historical stories who sent their subordinates to certain death.

About two hours later, Ren Zhong returned to his villa in the White Wall District of Starfire Town.

By this time, nearly three hundred people had entered the depths of Sun Miao's Biological Laboratory, becoming the first batch of lab rats for the pseudo-"Net" plan.

Ju Qingmeng was still dealing with matters at company headquarters, while Ren Zhong sat alone at the dining table, having the robot deliver the meal. After thinking, he uncharacteristically ordered a large bottle of high-concentration white liquor.

When Ju Qingmeng returned, Ren Zhong was already half-drunk.

She knew what Ren Zhong did today, went over, and gently embraced him, "It's alright, it will get better. I know this wasn't your intention, but didn't you once tell me? Revolution is not a dinner party, there's always bloodshed and sacrifice."

Ren Zhong looked up at Ju Qingmeng, "I know. But now I have used their fanaticism toward me, but I can also be sure, that when they fall into prolonged suffering, they will deeply hate me."

Ju Qingmeng: "No, they will alternate between hatred and gratitude until the end of their lives. Eventually, there will be even more people who thank you."