Chapter 255: Secrets of Cake Island’s Clone Lab

The longer you stay on Cake Island, the clearer it becomes—the island’s fighting power is nowhere near ordinary. The weapons and chemical toxins they research are useless against true top-tier powerhouses.

“Shurururu!”

Before the man even appeared, his voice echoed down the hallway. Caesar, wearing a white lab coat, came drifting over. “Quinn, you look scared out of your mind.”

“Vegapunk’s research just made a breakthrough. He’s letting us play assistant now.”

Caesar’s the perfect example of a guy who only learns when facing danger. With Karl around, he’ll show a hint of fear, but the moment Karl’s gone, he goes back to acting as wild as he wants.

“Hey there! Is this the new colleague?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Caesar.”

Don’t be fooled by Caesar’s bumbling act—he’s just as calculating as anyone. He’d overheard that Karl personally recruited this scientist, so he’s not about to trip himself up here.

Achille had heard Vegapunk’s name before and couldn’t help but be intrigued. “Hello. Would it be possible for me to watch your work?”

Quinn and Caesar both glanced at Krell. Noticing their looks, Krell gave a slight nod.

“Of course. This way, please.”

The three of them headed down the corridor. After walking dozens of meters, they arrived at a spacious laboratory hall. A middle-aged man in a white research coat sat at a workbench, fiddling with something in his hands.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he didn’t even look up. “Put this latest formula in the nutrient pod for a test.”

Caesar zipped forward, took the new serum from his hands, floated over to a ten-meter-long glass pod, pressed a few buttons, and slotted the serum into a drawer. Once it went in, changes immediately rippled through the nutrient chamber.

Vegapunk stood up, file in hand, and walked toward the pod. Achille followed behind Quinn, stepping up to the glass as well.

The only reason just the three of them were in the lab was to prevent any leaks. Even if there were other top scientists, they’d been assigned to different labs outside—they weren’t allowed in here.

That meant Quinn and Caesar also doubled as assistants.

Looking closely, there was an eight-meter-tall giant lying in the nutrient pod. Eyes tightly shut, blond hair, not a stitch of clothing, even his skin gleamed gold. Transparent liquid flowed all around him.

After Caesar inserted the serum, he fiddled with the control panel nearby. The whole nutrient pod visibly changed color.

A faint gold spread across the entire pod. Data started scrolling across the screens: height, blood pressure, pulse, heart rate—everything. This giant’s stats were insanely high.

The values shot up fast, far beyond a normal human’s range.

“Shurururu!”

“Quinn, which experiment is this now?”

Quinn grabbed a huge panel by the side and flipped through it. He said quietly, “The eighteenth trial. No idea if we’ll finally get it right.”

No sooner had he spoken than all the stats on the pod turned red and an alarm blared.

Before anyone could react, the giant’s eyes snapped open. His golden irises were veined with blood, and it looked like he was about to break out of the pod.

Haaa!

In the next instant, the giant let out a howl of agony—and his body exploded. The nutrient pod, though, remained perfectly intact.

They’d had a disaster in the first failed experiment—back then, the pod was made of glass, and it smashed half the lab equipment.

After that, Vegapunk hurriedly invented a high-tech molecular material for the nutrient pod’s shell. It’s way tougher than glass, built specifically because of those failures.

Bits of flesh and splatters of blood now filled the chamber, making for a gruesome sight.

Achille was stunned—he hadn’t expected their experiments to be on living people.

Did Karl know about these tests? Or was he the one giving the orders?

Back in his day, cloning experiments were completely outlawed. Had everything changed outside now?

Nobody noticed the look on Achille’s face.

Vegapunk didn’t even realize someone new was here. He marked an X on his file with a pencil, muttering, “This formula’s still not right. Is it too strong?”

“No, no, no!”

“The clone’s body just can’t withstand the power in Karl’s blood.”

“We need to strengthen it further.”

He bolted back to his workbench, waving his file around. Once Vegapunk goes into research mode, he’s a science maniac—he doesn’t care about the world outside.

Hearing Vegapunk’s voice, Achille turned to Caesar. “You’re making clones?”

“Isn’t this technology banned by the World Government?”

Caesar was cleaning up the pod when Achille asked. He nodded. “That’s right!”

“Stick around, listen and observe if you want to understand why things are the way they are now.”

“We’re just trying to clone Karl’s genes.”

“But you saw it—the clones can’t survive Karl’s blood.”

“Every clone is enhanced in all sorts of ways, but none of them can merge with Karl’s bloodline.”

“Maybe it’s a DNA issue, or chromosomes?” Caesar found himself thinking aloud, getting caught up in the puzzle of why the experiments kept failing.

Don’t assume Caesar only knows chemistry like in the original stories. He didn’t study biology before just because he didn’t want to. Now, pressured by Karl, he’s picked up a fair bit by osmosis—he’s practically a half-baked biologist.

Quinn was off to the side, recording data on this experiment and jotting down notes. Once he finished, he turned to Achille.

“Your name’s Achille, right? Didn’t Karl ask you to do anything special when you came here?”

Quinn regretted the question the moment he said it. The blank look on Achille’s face said it all—their situations weren’t the same.

Jealousy pricked his heart. He’d been dragged here, but Achille was obviously invited.

That envy faded as quickly as it came.

“Karl said I could do my own research here.”

“Do you have any extra labs available?”

Caesar finished cleaning the pod and shrugged. “If you want a top-tier setup, this is the only lab for it.”

“There are empty rooms, but they don’t have all the fancy equipment. Feel free to pick whichever one you want.”

Achille wanted a corner to collect himself. Once he got a clear answer, he grabbed his luggage and ducked into an empty lab.

The equipment inside was pretty complete—just not as varied as the main hall.

He set his bags down, then shut his eyes to rest.

“I should stop overthinking. Without Karl’s help, I’d still be inside that lanternfish’s belly.”

“Might not even get to see my daughter again.”

“Clones, huh? Maybe it’s not such a big deal after all.”

…