Five days after the experiment, only 56 survivors remained in the entire city.
In just five days, nearly 90% of the survivors had died.
This attrition rate was roughly in line with Tang Houde's initial predictions, as they had also experienced the early days of the apocalypse, where survivors died at a similar pace without military intervention.
"Is there anything special? For example, the bright side of human nature, or acts of courtesy and responsibility?"
Tang Houde sat on his chair, frowning, and asked the observers behind him.
At this point, due to the significant reduction in survivors, the number of observers had also decreased from the initial 50 to 21.
Some observers had only one subject left, while others had three or four. Those whose subjects had all perished had already completed their missions and withdrawn.
"This..."
The observers exchanged glances, their expressions troubled.
Tang Zhilan handed a report to Tang Houde and said,
"I've compiled all the observers' records. This is up to last night, please take a look!"
Tang Houde was responsible for many experiments, and the humanity experiment was just one of them.
Therefore, he wasn't present most of the time; Tang Zhilan usually oversaw things here.
Seeing his sister grow and even start making summaries in advance, Tang Houde's face was filled with relief.
He looked down at the compiled report, which stated:
"Survivor Death Records and Details."
"315 people died directly from zombie attacks."
"113 people died indirectly from zombie attacks due to survivors' negligence or intentional actions."
"16 deaths from accidents and suicide."
"56 survivors."
Each entry was followed by detailed information, including the serial number of the deceased survivor, the time, and the location of death.
"I feel so sorry for them... Why don't we end the experiment here?"
Tang Zhilan said with a hint of guilt.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her complexion was a little haggard, whether due to lack of rest or the torment of her conscience from witnessing innocent survivors being killed by zombies.
"It's already come this far, we can't stop now!"
"Besides... even if we stop, have you considered where to send them?"
"If they knew we were using them for experiments, would they forgive us?"
"If we were to send them back to their original world, even without the leakage of bio-energy, their clothes would inevitably carry the zombie virus to some extent, thus bringing the original world into an apocalyptic state."
"Compared to killing everyone in the entire world, it's better to let these 500 people maximize their value, at least to die for a cause!"
Tang Houde said indifferently. In his view, these people were no different from lab rats.
Moreover, after days of humanity experiments, these individuals seemed to validate Tang Houde's inner thoughts; they were all wicked and dark, showing no glimmers of humaneness in the apocalypse.
In fact, rather than saying that these people from parallel worlds were all evil, it was more accurate to say that Tang Houde had already determined such an outcome from the beginning of the experiment.
Furthermore, during the experimental design, he had deliberately steered it towards his expected results.
Therefore, everything was within his expectations.
"Isn't this a bit too cruel? After all, they are living, breathing people just like us!"
Tang Zhilan said with guilt.
She felt that as an experimental assistant, she was partly responsible for this experiment, which had led her to deep self-reproach these past few days.
"No, no, no. Only by passing the humanity experiment can they be considered human. Otherwise, they are just creatures that look like humans in countless parallel worlds."
"You can also think of them as aliens, or other creatures similar to humans."
"Look at the report you compiled for me. These guys don't understand love, nor do they understand mutual encouragement and tolerance."
"When facing disaster, they are still infighting, even sacrificing their companions to ensure their own survival."
"I don't agree with calling such creatures human."
"Does a monster cease to be a monster just because it looks like a human?"
As Tang Houde spoke, he suddenly remembered a small spider that Mo Pei kept at home.
Although it sometimes transformed into a human form, Tang Houde would never forget the fact that it had eight legs.
"But... they are not monsters, and they should not be treated like this!"
Tang Zhilan tried to argue further.
At this moment, an observer suddenly stood up and reported nervously,
"Professor Tang, there seems to be a problem here. Subject 177's behavior is somewhat abnormal!"
Upon hearing the report, Tang Houde hurried over.
Tang Zhilan had no choice but to pause their argument and follow him.
On the monitor screen, a room was filled with corpses.
A man, holding a bloody axe, was reaching out to touch the corpses on the ground, collecting all their energy and supplies.
"What is going on here?"
Tang Houde asked, bewildered.
"I'm not sure. They were originally a team of 8, and their team structure has been very stable since the beginning."
"For some reason, Subject 177 suddenly started attacking his teammates. I can't understand his behavior at all."
The observer pointed at the screen, his finger trembling.
Perhaps because he had always worked behind the scenes, this was his first time witnessing a killing so up close, and seeing so many dead bodies.
Subsequently, three other observers stood up and left.
Their assigned survivors had all been wiped out, so their tasks were complete.
"See, I told you, these people are not human at all. They all have demons living in their hearts!"
Tang Houde narrowed his eyes and said.
"I think he must have his reasons for doing this. Are we being too hasty in making a decision based solely on what we see on the monitor?"
Tang Zhilan attempted to persuade Tang Houde again.
"It's fine. These people managed to survive the first five days of the apocalypse, and they will surely become more adept in the days to come."
"We just need to observe slowly!"
Tang Houde shook his head with a smile, and at the same time, gently patted Tang Zhilan's shoulder.
In his opinion, even if another hundred days passed and thousands more people were brought in, the outcome would be the same, with no difference.
"I have something else to attend to. The Pioneer Mecha is entering its fusion phase, so I might be there overseeing it these days."
"Looking at the situation here... the conclusion should be reached within the next ten days at the latest."
"Once everything is over, you can just compile a final report for me. Remember, there should be no living people left in this city!"
Tang Houde said, then hurried away.
Meanwhile, in the shop.
The man with the axe, after collecting the corpses, sat blankly on a chair, muttering in a low voice:
"Lin Qingsong, you can't die, you must live..."