He felt so relieved to have survived this encounter. Now, he had to consume some of their blood to live longer and grab his loot.
He had noticed a small chariot in the burnt village when he had taken away in the humvee the day before and decided to look for it and return to take his loot.
Coming back with the chariot a few minutes later, he put all his newly acquired jetpacks and rifles in the chariot, grabbed two knives of his victims, strapped them to his belt and went on to slit his wrist and theirs to gather their genes.
"Host has obtained an additional month from the soldier's body."
He heard that notification two more times, once for each Tamarain.
After absorbing their blood, Henry became curious about the effects of draining their body completely.
So he asked, "System, would I gain more lifespan if I were to drain them of their blood completely?"
"Negative. Only the set amount of gene consumption grants the Host lifespan. This limitation was implanted to restrain unnecessary desecration of the body."
"Why? They are enemies, after all."
"A superior officer of Project GoWSS put this measure in place when maniacal tendencies were noticed in earlier subjects."
"Hmm. And is there no way to circumvent that?"
"With unlimited access to research material on project GoWSS, there is a faint possibility. Why would the Host want such measures? Should we start a mental activity scan to verify mental stability?"
"Ahh, stop it; I'm not going crazy. Just wondering if there is a way to acquire more lifespan from a kill. I don't want to kill so much just to get such measly time. I mean, one kill for a month, that's ridiculous."
"Host will get more time from higher class enemies."
"I still hope I never cross paths with one, though. I think we'll go check out the lab once more. Maybe we can find some clues on how to get more life without having to commit mass murder."
"As Host wishes."
With that decided, he began climbing the mountain path. Reaching the trail's end, he wound up back at his starting point, in front of the colossal steel door.
Entering back into the lab, he walked back to the indicator sign on the wall. This time around, he looked at the placard carefully and found what he was looking for.
The room he was looking for was the research center. The sign indicated it was in the direction of his room.
Walking past the open door he had come out from, he continued for eighty-five meters and got to an intersection. Following the signs and turning left, he soon got to his destination.
Opening the door and going in, he came before a large work table, behind which was a computer. Sitting in front of the screen, he powered it up.
After hacking into the user account with the System's help, he searched for files on Project GoWSS and soon found them. He let the System take over to take in the data, as it read way faster.
A couple of minutes later, his focus returned, which meant the System was done analyzing the data.
"So, did you find anything worthwhile?" he asked, hoping for a positive answer.
"Research data was inconclusive. The host's demand can not be answered as of now. Nonetheless, there was information about a serum here in the lab that can boost nanite efficiency to process energy gained from genetic consumption."
"So you're saying I'll gain more life from the same amount of gene material?"
"Affirmative."
"How much exactly?"
"Calculations show a hundred percent increase in energy gain."
Realizing he could double his lifespan gain, he immediately chose that option. He decided he would kill the least possible, as he was not a murderer.
Even though he hated the Tamarains, there was no need to become a genocidal monster. Hate was not the option he wished to go with.
"Where is the serum?" he asked, wishing to acquire it immediately.
Staying in here was not a good idea. He felt deep down that this place was frequently scouted and that with the entire team he had taken out; it was only a matter of time before more came.
"Files point to the serum being in the vault down the hall to your left."
"Onwards we go then."
He reached the vault pretty quickly, as it wasn't far from the lab. The vault door was a simple key pass system.
He let the System hack it, knowing he couldn't do so himself. Once opened, he found the serum in a locked glass cabinet with similar vials and devices.
Not caring about the rest of them, he smashed the glass in and took out his object of desire, the nanite booster.
"System, are there any risks with injecting myself with this?"
"Negative. There are no side effects."
He found out fast enough what the System meant when saying long term.
As soon as he pressed the injector, he felt like fire was pumping into his body. He fell to the ground, agonizing, as his body was burning up from the inside.
Feeling the same weird tick in his brain, he became numb and fainted.
Waking up sometime later, his innards still burning with pain, he sat down.
"System, WHAT THE HECK MAN?!!"
"We do not understand the question."
"OOHHH REALLY!! SO THAT WASN'T A SIDE EFFECT TO YOU?! WHAT WAS IT THEN?!"
"System meant no harmful effect to the body in the long-term."
"DAMMIT MAN!! God, I hate you. I must be cursed to have ended up with you in my head!"
"System detects no such signs in mind or body."
"OHH, screw you!! Tell me what changes it made."
"System has analyzed the body while the Host was unconscious. We have calculated the new lifespan. The previous lifespan was eight months, one week, and four days. Lifespan is now one year, four months, and two weeks."
"Wait a minute. Where are the other four days or their double?"
"Host has expended them."
"What? That can't be pos... WAIT, you're saying I was out for four days!?"
"Affirmative."
"DAMMIT!"
Getting up, he fast walked to get out of the lab. He had been here too long and was scared that a unit would soon come to find out why they had lost a squad here.
As soon as he got outside, he rushed to the clearing where he had left the chariot with the jetpacks and the rifles.
Reaching the clearing, he heard a ripping sound like never before. Lifting his eyes to where the sound came from, what he saw terrified him.
There was a giant tear from which vessels kept appearing in the sky. The System went full nuclear, yelling in his head.
"SYSTEM ON FULL ALERT!! SYSTEM FULL ALERT!! HOST IS TO LEAVE AREA IMMEDIATELY. THREAT LEVEL: IMMINENT DEATH!"
Grabbing a jetpack and a rifle from the cart and abandoning the rest, he fled the scene.