Chapter 005: The Espers
Research Log Archive Date: March 20, 2024 - 4:45 AM
After the chaos of escaping B4, Zhang Lin and I found temporary refuge in an abandoned warehouse. The cool night air did little to calm our racing hearts. For now, we were safe, but we knew it wouldn't last. We needed to regroup, piece together what we knew, and determine our next steps.
"What exactly is the 'Butterfly Project'?" I asked, my voice echoing in the empty space.
Zhang Lin sighed, her eyes betraying a mix of fear and exhaustion. "It's a covert research program aiming to unlock and control latent human abilities. They call them 'espers.'"
The word hung in the air, heavy with implications. I clenched my fists as the image of the lab's tormented subjects resurfaced in my mind. "Those test subjects… they were innocent, weren't they?"
Zhang Lin nodded solemnly. "Yes. Most of them were either coerced or deceived into participating. The true purpose of the 'Butterfly Project' is to create espers capable of manipulating energy—living weapons for the government."
"And the cost of such power?" I asked, already dreading the answer.
"No one knows for sure," Zhang Lin admitted after a pause. "But the pain and suffering we witnessed are only the tip of the iceberg."
We debated our next move until the first light of dawn began to seep through the warehouse's broken windows. We both agreed: exposing the Butterfly Project was the only way to prevent further atrocities.
"We need to find other researchers," I suggested, "people who might have insider knowledge."
Zhang Lin nodded in agreement. "Yes. The missing researchers—someone among them might hold the key to unraveling all of this."
We decided to split up. Zhang Lin would contact her connections inside Bureau 756, while I would focus on uncovering the whereabouts of the missing researchers. We agreed to reconvene the following night to share our findings.
Back in the city, I began tracing the backgrounds of the missing researchers. Many of them were specialists in parapsychology and energy manipulation—fields that aligned disturbingly well with the Butterfly Project's goals. Their disappearances were far from coincidental.
After hours of combing through records and following tenuous leads, I uncovered a potential thread: Dr. Chen, one of the missing researchers, had been in contact with a group calling itself the "Alliance of Espers" before he vanished.
That evening, I followed this lead to a rundown apartment complex on the city's outskirts—supposedly the Alliance's secret base.
Knocking cautiously, I waited until the door creaked open. A stern-faced middle-aged man peered out.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and wary.
"My name is Wang Ming," I said. "I'm investigating the Butterfly Project."
His eyes narrowed, but after a tense moment, he stepped aside and gestured for me to enter.
The apartment's interior was stark but functional. Walls were plastered with documents, photographs, and diagrams detailing experiments and suspected conspiracies. Around a battered table, a handful of individuals sat in quiet determination.
"We know about the Butterfly Project," the man said, introducing himself as Zhou Lei, the group's leader. "We've been gathering evidence to expose it."
I recounted my experiences with Zhang Lin and the horrors we'd witnessed at Bureau 756. The group listened intently, their faces hardening with each revelation.
"You're not alone in this fight," Zhou Lei said firmly. "We've been tracking similar experiments for years. If you're looking for Dr. Chen, we may be able to help."
He explained that they had a contact—a whistleblower with ties to Bureau 756—who might know where Dr. Chen was being held.
"We'll take you to meet him tomorrow," Zhou Lei promised.
I agreed. If this lead panned out, it could bring us closer to the heart of the Butterfly Project—and to dismantling it once and for all.