His vision was slightly dark, but he quickly regained focus and got into his stance while the new wave of fifteen people rushed him.
.....
"Why do all the kids gang up on those two kids instead of fighting each other?" One of the people behind the glass couldn't hold back the question any longer, like a lingering taste of wine thrusting for more.
"Because just those two kids alone could beat everyone in the field," replied Shiro Ishii with a wicked smile as he watched the two fighters fend off 46 others. He thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected turn of events and the intense battle unfolding before him.
Shiro Ishii elaborated on the enhancements the children had received and their impressive achievements, using Sho as an example. "Sho, the top student in Blue class strip 10, has undergone the health regeneration procedure, which has allowed for accelerated tissue growth and increased muscle acceleration. This has enabled him to hit targets up to 35 yards away and shoot a bow to its maximum potential, with an uncanny ability to sense when it's about to break." He spoke with a sense of pride, as if he were introducing his grandchildren to an audience eager to hear his every word.
"The kid in the dog pile is Hiroto from Blue class strip 10, number 0. Hiroto is our special patient, the only one through this project to receive the number 0..." Shiro Ishii was speaking until.
"Wait, isn't that kid the only one out of the whole Failing Ark project to receive the number 0?" A man spoke with a hint of surprise in his voice.
However, no one seemed upset when he cut off the Shiro Ishii from speaking. Instead, the man's mask made any facial expressions unnoticed, while the mask was made of dark, charcoal-grey leather, intricately crafted to resemble a snarling wolf.
As everyone began to share their thoughts about Hiroto, a spark of conversation filled the room. "I heard he's a genius," someone commented.
"They say he can solve complex equations in his head and recite entire books from memory."
"That might be true, but it doesn't change the fact that he's still just a kid. What could he possibly do to help with the project?"
"I don't know," with a break between breaths, "but with a designation like that, he must be worth something."
"Wait, but what makes this kid so special? Why is he the only one with the number zero?" The masked wolf man asked in a loud voice that seemed to overlap everyone else conversation. Some were displeased, yet no one said anything because that question sparked their curiosity.
"He received the number zero because, like the meaning of zero, it's nothing. He was an unaccounted kid originally not supposed to be part of the project. At first, we thought since he was not supposed to be part of the Failing Ark project, we might treat him differently. With that said, he has gone through the most treatment and survived through everything." The roof above Shiro Ishii began to open with a screen showing Hiroto. A description of Hiroto was then displayed for everyone to see.
"If I can, please get everyone's attention briefly to the screen. Patient 0 is our most promising kid yet, surviving two genetic modifications to his body. The first is the ability to hyper think. The second is strength modification, like many other kids in the room. As the latter is more obvious, I shall further explain the ability to hyper-think."
"Hyper-thinking refers to a state of mind where an individual can process information at an extremely rapid pace, allowing them to quickly analyze and solve complex problems. However, we took it one step further and installed a chip of an AI to split up the brain's ability further and conclude the majority of the thought process between machine and human. This heightened cognitive ability allows for a more efficient and effective thought process, leading to faster problem-solving and decision-making."
"Even the survival rate of just the body modification is as low as 0.04%. However, our current medical treatments deem the brain procedure impossible. And yet, that boy stands before us, a living testament to the impossible." Shiro Ishii's laughter echoed through the room, and his smile resembled that of a proud grandfather, basking in the glory almost as if Hiroto is his descendant' of success.
"Everyone looks; one of the two kids just got captured." However, the light of Shiro Ishii's didn't last long as a man in the crowd screamed like a little kid that had just gotten his favorite toy taken away.
Shiro Ishii didn't seem to care because what's the point of making something if he could not show it off? Everyone here is here to see his success and achievements. So how could he not be happy?
"What are they doing? Why are they doing that? Shouldn't they be killing him? Why are they just capturing him? Kill the kid, why don't you?" Everyone's eyes fully stared at Sho lying on the ground, getting tied up with rope. A fat older man couldn't help but express his displeasure watching them tie Sho.
"Haha, it's not that they're scared to kill him; it's quite the opposite. It's just the most logical move to make there. If they killed that boy, then patient 0 would go berserk and end this all faster. They can fight their all by keeping a patient like that and continuing after patient 0. They don't have to worry about getting shot by an arrow while attacking. Have you heard the saying there's nothing scarier than watching your back while fighting?" Shiro Ishii's explained the events as they were happening.
"Wait, what do you mean by the end it faster?" One of the women asked with a confused look on her.
"In their last fight with class P3, one of the people, in the beginning, killed someone significant to patient 0, and he killed everyone leaving a massacre." Shiro Ishii broke out in a half-laugh when he thought back on it. He honestly thought it was a spectacular show back then.
"How many people did he kill?" The woman asked, with everyone staring at the Shiro Ishii.
He slowly puts his hand on his chin. "Well, it was in the beginning, and the class had about 80 people. So, I would say about 90 people." Remembering the number, his hand shot into the air over the sudden thought.
"Wait, you said that he killed 90, but there were only 80 people in that class." Everyone was confused about this part.
"Yup, he killed 11 of my people that day." He shakes his head in disappointment. Everyone's mouths open wide with amazement.
"Look! He just killed the four people that were just on him." One of the people watching was in amazement, watching him quickly kill the four people.
"Wait, I have a question why do they put themselves on a self-sacrifice mission? For example, the seven people holding that spot in the open were injured rather than hiding, which would be the smartest decision, but instead, they wait in the open only to be sacrificial lambs while the rest attacked." A woman holding her wine was watching down, not even glancing away from her entertainment.
"Ahhh, that's a great question! To answer your question, the kids are trained to see each treatment as a mission. To say this far, their current mission is to kill patients 1 and 0. Then comes the mission to survive because, as a whole, they realize that they can only beat patients 1 and 0 by working together. The kids understand that they will not make it if they hide or attack, so they make the most rational decision: to sacrifice themselves for the whole. I hope this answers your question?"
"Yes, thank you!" Still not giving away from the glass, the young girl, perhaps only 18 years older than Hiroto, was pleased that such a result could transpire from such a large group.
"Now, there are only 16 people left." Shiro Ishii couldn't help but be amazed that two people could accomplish so much, as he would see their number crumble by Hiroto's and Sho's hands.
...….
Sho sits on a tree, pulling another arrow, "Uhhh."
Sho couldn't help but sigh as his surroundings left him with little hope.
"Welp, Hiroto, unlike you, I don't believe I can get out of this. I hope my last arrow might help take out the closest person to you. It seemed they already had a firm plan while we were needlessly attacking around. " Surrounding Sho, 17 people ready to shoot, seven having similar looks as Hiroto, hardly any scars, and their clothes were moderately put together. The other ten were relatively normal, looking for their other surrounding peers.
They ultimately surrounded Sho, some in the trees while the majority was on the ground, slowly walking in sync as they closed the gap on Sho.
"Sending the weakest people after Hiroto while keeping him busy, right? While you look for me. Frankly, I didn't think you guys had that much rationality left. However, I guess that's to be expected for the rest of our class. Shall we begin with Michio, Ken, Shijo, Kiyoshi, Sen, Ai Sasaki, and Toyo Hirano?" The seven people said nothing. Instead, they seemed as if they didn't hear anything.
"I guess I should have known you wouldn't say anything back, hahaha, will either..." Sho grounded his feet into the tree branch, having a steady ground. Then, with all he could muster, he pulled back his string with the arrow attached. The stiff wooden bow uttered cries that couldn't go any further.
"Sending the weakest people after Hiroto while keeping him busy, right? While you look for me. I didn't think you guys had that much rationality left. However, I guess that's to be expected for the rest of our class. The strongest seven, Michio, Ken, Shijo, Kiyoshi, Sen, Ai Sasaki, and Toyo Hirano all right here after me! To think I will have to go against all of you by myself. I can already feel the chills from looking into your eyes; oh my, this is a scary sight, no?" The seven people said nothing. Instead, they seemed as if they didn't hear anything.
"I guess I should have known you wouldn't say anything back, hahaha, will either..." Sho grounded his feet into the steady large tree branch, having a firm ground. He pulled back his string with the arrow attached with all he could muster. Finally, the stiff bow let out its cries that it couldn't go any further and was already at its breaking point.
Without further delay leaving, the wooden bow with no gap between bending. Stopping mid-sentence sent the arrow straight at Ken directly at his head, hoping to catch him by surprise. However, what was this place? Do you think that such a pity surprise could do much?
Ken holding a metal spear, slightly raises the metal shaft, reflecting the arrow. His spear moved inward toward his body from the sheer force of the arrow. Ken twisted his wrist and shifted the force to the ground stabbing the grass.
"Will I guess you're not called the iron wall for no reason Ken? Remember when that name was given to you?" Sho quickly grabbed another arrow yet held off on firing. Instead, he wanted to see if a response would be given.