Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Formula

Huo Ning swallowed hard, then began in a soft voice.

She said in a hesitant voice,

“The institute… they were researchers, scientists, people who called themselves doctors. They told us they were trying to ‘fix’ us, that we were special.”

Su Jiyai’s eyes narrowed. “Special?”

Huo Ning nodded.

“They said we were born different, and that’s why the world outside rejected us.

They told us they could make us stronger, give us powers, so we could survive in the apocalypse better than anyone else.”

There was bitterness in her voice as if she now understood the lies that had been fed to her.

“What did the place look like?” Su Jiyai pressed on gently.

Huo Ning’s eyes grew distant as she recalled the memories.

“It was… cold. Everything was white and sterile, like a hospital but worse. No windows, just endless hallways with locked doors.

There were other kids, too—like me. Some of them were scared, others… they didn’t even remember who they were anymore.”

The mention of other children made Su Jiyai’s stomach twist. She could see the horror written on Huo Ning’s face as she continued.

“They experimented on us. I don’t know what for exactly, but they kept pushing us, injecting things into us, testing us… sometimes, they made us fight each other.”

Su Jiyai clenched her fists. The cruelty of it was unimaginable, but in this post-apocalyptic world, such atrocities had become commonplace.

“What were they trying to achieve? Did they ever tell you why they were doing all of this?” Su Jiyai asked, her voice calm but with an edge.

Huo Ning shook her head.

“Not exactly. But I did hear them say once that they were trying to find the formula for superpower awakening.”

Su Jiyai’s eyes widened slightly.

Superpower Awakening?

Wasn’t this the same as what Lin Hao had said to her?

Were both the institutes the same?

“They wanted to unlock something inside us,” Huo Ning said, her voice quiet.

“They said that some people were born with potential, that our bodies and minds were different from normal people’s.

They believed if they pushed us far enough, and put us through enough stress… something would awaken.”

Su Jiyai clenched her hand.

Trigger.

Wasn’t this what Han Weilin had told her?

As long as a human is triggered enough, they will awaken a superpower.

If Huo Ning was telling the truth, then the motive of the institute was to make a medicine that would trigger human instinct resulting in a superpower awakening…

Sick B*stards.

That was all Su Jiyai could think.

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the rising bitterness in her heart and patted Huo Ning’s head gently.

Suddenly Huo Ning’s eyes moistened,

“There were many children like me who were experimented on. All of them died. Angel…I…I thought I would awaken a superpower…but…but…in the end…I was like others…useless.”

Su Jiyai’s heart ached.

Who can know better than her how painful it was to not have any powers?

As a person who has suffered discrimination and the pain of being a non-superpower awakener, Su Jiyai could understand Huo Ning’s mental state.

When Han Weilin told her about the trigger, Su Jiyai worked hard. Maybe even harder than others.

She never showed it to anyone, nor expressed it in front of her best friend. She was fearful. What if she worked hard and yet failed to awaken a superpower?

Yet she continued. She claimed that she didn’t have any hope.

But in reality, every second, her heart would be filled with hope. Hope…that she will suddenly awaken a superpower.

What if she was special and would awaken a superpower?

What if she somehow comes across some magical artifacts or something, that will help her to awaken a superpower?

However, every day, the reality would give her a tight smack on her face.

Did she give up? No…

Though disappointed, she continued. Because that is how humans are…they work hard every day even though they know the brutal reality.

But….

“Do you know?” Su Jiyai hugged Huo Ning, “I was once like you. I had no power.”

“You did?” Huo Ning’s voice trembled in disbelief as she looked up at Su Jiyai, her small hands gripping the fabric of Su Jiyai’s shirt.

“Yes,” Su Jiyai replied with a soft smile.

“I know what it feels like to be powerless in a world that demands strength. To be treated like you’re nothing because you don’t have what others do. But that doesn’t make us useless. Not then, not now.”

Huo Ning’s eyes were still wide with astonishment.

The person she admired the most, the strong and composed Su Jiyai, had once been just like her—lost, without powers, and struggling to find her place.

“But you…” Huo Ning hesitated, unsure of how to express her thoughts.

“You’re so strong now. You’ve… awakened, haven’t you? You have powers.”

Su Jiyai nodded slowly.

“I did, eventually. But not because I gave up, or because I was chosen. It took everything in me to survive.

The world forced me to fight, to push myself beyond what I thought possible, and only then did I awaken. But it wasn’t some magical solution—it was hard and painful, and terrifying.”

She paused, gently stroking Huo Ning’s hair as she spoke.

“What I’m trying to say is that powers don’t define who we are. Whether you awaken or not, you are not useless.

You survived, Huo Ning, and that’s something most people can’t even imagine doing. You’re stronger than you know.”

Tears welled up in Huo Ning’s eyes again, but this time, they weren’t born from pain or fear. They were tears of relief.

She still felt she was useless, after all, if she wasn’t why would the institute throw her away?

But…Su Jiyai’s words motivated her.

Even if she was powerless now, one day, she would become useful and strong.

Su Jiyai smiled when she saw the hope flashing in Huo Ning’s eyes, but suddenly she saw a small green waterball-like thing.

When Su Jiyai blinked, the green water-ball-like thing disappeared.