by <unknown>
No one liked to watch themselves grow old bit by bit, but so what if they did not like it? Besides getting used to it, there was no other way…
However, now this mysterious organization was telling him that they could reverse aging?
"If this technology actually succeeds…" Dlamini could not help but murmur.
"If it does, Mr. Dlamini, your bodily functions can be restored to the twenty-year-old version of you within three months. At the same time, your lifespan would easily surpass a hundred years, unless some other disease crops up halfway, such as cancer."
The voice added. "Still, it doesn't matter. God's Forbidden Zone is also actively deciphering the genetic chain of cancer. It's expected that all cancers will be cured at the genetic level in the future."
"Can you guarantee that there's no hidden risk to this technology?" Dlamini wanted further affirmation. After learning about the future of this technology, he had forgotten all about the information points for now.
"It's not like there aren't any examples of bone marrow transplantation in reality."
The voice chuckled. "You should know that people who've successfully gotten a bone marrow transplantation would even experience a genetic change. However, the age-reversal treatment itself wouldn't have any hidden dangers at the genetic level. Its only difference from bone marrow transplantation is that you'd be using your own, cloned stem cells to replace the senescent stem cells in your body. That's all.
"Moreover, this technology is only the beginning. God's Forbidden Zone has many cutting-edge technologies. As long as you have information points, you can achieve any dream you want."
After hearing this explanation, Dlamini finally made up his mind. His eyes lit up like the fierce gaze of a lion. "Mr. Judas, I hope that you haven't deceived me in all that you said. I choose the second option."
"Understood," the voice replied.
"Also, I hope to acquire more information points."
Dlamini continued. "How do I actively take on more tasks in the organization?"
"What a coincidence. I happen to have a task here that suits you well."
The voice laughed softly. "I'll send you a name list. They're all employees of your Tara Private Security Company. If you can get them out, I'll give you 1000 information points as compensation."
With that said, a short list of names appeared on the screen.
When Dlamini heard this, he took a look, only to discover that the names listed were all the trump cards of his own company…
Chapter 94: Headhunting |
After a minute of deliberation, Dlamini chose to accept the task in the end.
As Chen Chen watched the solemn face on his screen, he said to his phone, "Mr. Dlamini, I'll leave it to you."
With that, he closed the program right away without waiting for any further inquiries.
"Father, the new system for the God chip has been written!"
Little X's voice came from the phone. "Once the update starts, the God chip can immediately gain calling, camera, and recording functions."
"There's no need for an update now. Let's wait until there are more members in God's Forbidden Zone first."
Chen Chen shook his head. After thinking about it, he suggested, "X, don't call me Father from now on. Address me in another way."
"Father, then how should I address you?" Little X asked in a confused manner.
"Hmm…" Chen Chen stroked his chin with a thoughtful look. "Master, Dad, Scion? None of this really fits… How about you call me 'Sir Godfather'."
"Oh…"
Little X agreed in a bored tone, sounding a little reluctant.
After some thought, Chen Chen looked through the profiles in his hand with a pensive expression. "When Dlamini's group joins us, I can't possibly fit them into the research department. So, I'll have to set up a separate combat department.
"Cheng Cao will be able to get back soon. I can promote him to team leader first and let him manage one combat team. There'll be five members in each team and the remaining team leaders will be selected from the outstanding members…"
The personnel Chen Chen had requested from Dlamini were already trump cards that were one-in-a-hundred. All of them had participated in local wars in Africa and a few veterans had even joined the Gulf War as members of the SEAL team.
Therefore, although there were not many of them, each of them was a trump card. No wonder Dlamini was so reluctant.
If Chen Chen forced his hand, Dlamini would give them up, of course. Nevertheless, Chen Chen's objective was not to squeeze Dlamini dry like a single-use product. He was not that short-sighted.
Dlamini possessed enough potential and skills to rise from the depths. If Chen Chen could provide support at a critical point in time, perhaps he might reap more surprises in the future.
This was the reason Chen Chen did not wish to force people into joining God's Forbidden Zone.
Of course, Dlamini was an exception. Back then, the sniper who tried to assassinate Chen Chen was sent by Dlamini's company. It just so happened that Dlamini owned a thermal power plant too, which was why Chen Chen had sought him out directly.
Otherwise, there would have been no bad blood between Chen Chen and Dlamini, and he would not have to threaten Dlamini in that manner.
As for the experiment report Chen Chen showed to Dlamini, it was given to him by Samuel from the Swiss branch.
After three months of experiments, Samuel had successfully restored nine chimpanzees to their youth. In Chen Chen's view, this technology had reached a standard that was suitable for clinical application.
In other words, it had reached the standard of clinical trials.
Chen Chen had submitted the experiment application directly to the Namibian Ministry of Health. Although it had not been accepted yet, Chen Chen had started to make preliminary preparations for the experiment.
Not only that, but with the help of Little X, Chen Chen had also found dozens of biological experts online as well as hundreds of newcomers with potential in the field of biology.
By now, those people should have received their invitations. As for whether they would travel all the way here to develop their future, that depended on luck.
…
"Blacklight Biotechnology? Africa? Namibia? A level-4 biosafety lab?"
As he stared at the black invitation letter in his computer mailbox, Bernhard took a drag from his cigarette and made a puzzled face.
As a British biochemist, Bernhard had obtained a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1990 from the University of Birmingham, in the European Continent. Then, he transferred to research in yeast genetics and cell biology.
Now, Bernhard, as a research professor, presided over work on cyclin-dependent kinases in a research institute. This enzyme was abbreviated as CDK, which could repair early cancerous cells and restore them to normal cells. At the same time, it would not damage the human body.
Currently, he read this peculiar invitation letter and was about to move it to the trash can.
Of course, this was because he received similar invitations every few days. It was no longer anything new to him.
Those invitations usually came from private companies, who thought that they could earn money by developing new anti-cancer drugs just because they had set up a laboratory. Bernhard was naturally disdainful toward such emails.
This invitation letter was even more outrageous. They even claimed to have level-four biosafety labs. This sort of laboratory would require an investment worth hundreds of millions. How could they be built so easily?
Furthermore, he had never even heard of Blacklight Biotechnology Company and it was in Africa, of all places. Who would build a laboratory in a desolate place like that?
With all this in mind, Bernhard immediately deleted the email.
After deleting the email, his thoughts returned to reality and he sighed silently.
These days, his research team had not made progress for a long time. Their financier was about to l
ose patience and would probably withdraw the funds in three months.
If that happened, it would be difficult for Bernhard to look for another investor. In that case, two years of research would be cut short after coming so far.
Just as Bernhard was feeling agitated, his phone started to ring.
He took out his phone and his mouth twitched involuntarily when he saw who the caller was. "Here we go again…"
With that, he reluctantly accepted the call.
"Bernhard, your team might as well get ready to pack up and clear out," an icy voice said on the other end, "the investor has announced that they're pulling out."
"What!" Bernhard was gripped by shock and he stood up at once. "Why so soon? Don't we still have three months?"
"Too bad, the investor has given up ahead of time and has taken a liking to another investment project similar to yours," the voice said, "but this has nothing to do with you. If anything, you simply couldn't have done anything about it."
Bernhard instantly fell silent.
"Bernhard, let the rest know about this defeat." The voice reminded.
"Okay, I got it." Bernhard smiled bitterly and hung up.
What was bound to happen had happened…
After hanging up, Bernhard shut his eyes in anguish. He knew that he had found the right approach, he just needed one year at most… No! Just half a year and he would likely produce some initial results.
At that point, although he would not become famous by any means, at least the investor would still continue investing, right?
Unfortunately…
Just as Bernhard was sunken in distress, his phone rang again.
He picked up the phone irritably and shouted unceremoniously, "I said I got it, why are you calling again?"
"May I ask if you're Mr. Bernhard?" However, it was an unfamiliar male voice that came through the phone.
"That's me. I apologize…"
Good manners made Bernhard quickly change his tone. "May I know what you're calling for?"
"I'm from Blacklight Biotechnology Company," the voice replied, "I suppose you must've seen our company's invitation. I was wondering if Mr. Bernhard has any interest in developing in our company."
"Blacklight? What a familiar name…"
Bernhard frowned, then had a flash of realization. "Are you the one who sent me the invitation letter just now? Sorry, I don't have any recent plans to go abroad."
"Please don't decline so quickly, Mr. Bernhard."
The voice laughed softly. "I've just received the news from your good friend, Okoume. It seems that your recent research has hit a bottleneck and your investor has plans to divest?"
Bernhard immediately furrowed his brow. "I didn't expect you to know all this?"
"If you don't mind, our company is willing to continue supporting you and your team in the research of cyclin-dependent kinases. What do you think?"
"Do you know that the biological laboratory needs to be of a very high standard for this research?"
Bernhard asked, "Besides, the money and materials that this research takes up each month is an astronomical figure. If you can't fulfill these two requirements, I won't possibly agree."
"Please be rest assured. Blacklight Company has a complete biological research institute with the highest, internationally recognized, level-4 biosafety laboratories."
The voice on the phone said languidly, "At the same time, we're willing to allocate two hundred million USD of experimental funding for your research. If that's not enough, we can increase it later."
"…" An uncertain light glimmered in Bernhard's eyes and he lapsed into a long silence.
"Mr. Bernhard, if these conditions aren't enough to help you decide, what about this information?"
Just then, there was a notification from the computer. A new email had been sent.
"What's this?" Bernhard instinctively clicked open the email.
However, when he got a good look at its contents, his pupils shrank instantly as an expression of disbelief crossed his face. "How, how is this possible…"
"Mr. Bernhard, this isn't impossible."
The voice finally said, "This is the greatest indication of our sincerity. If you agree, our company will send an invitation letter from Namibia at once. If you still decline, then I apologize, but we will not allow a stranger to leak this information…"
"What do you mean?" Bernhard asked distractedly.
"Please look out your door." The voice suddenly prompted him.
Bernhard was still feeling befuddled when there was a sudden, soft knock on the door of his apartment…
"Knock, knock, knock…"
Chapter 95: Troublemaking Villagers |
With someone like Bernhard, who held a high-level position in academia, Chen Chen would first evaluate the chances that they would join. If the person's family and career were both stable, naturally, Chen Chen would not set himself up just to be rejected.
Only when it was someone like Bernhard who had no family and was having trouble in their career, Chen Chen would send out an invitation. He also sent Cheng Cao and the rest to where the person was staying.
If the person agreed, that would be ideal. Nevertheless, if the person still refused even after seeing the data on the age-reversal treatment, there was no choice but to erase their memory.
The five people in Cheng Cao's team had gone through a period of testing and were also implanted with the God chip, thus becoming a member of God's Forbidden Zone. Not only that, but Chen Chen had also exchanged the USB drive's remaining energy for four sets of GS Combat Suits.
The GS Combat Suit was shorthand for Gantz Suit, the essential battle suit in Gantz. Even when ordinary people wore it, they could instantly become a superhuman who had more endurance than long-distance runners, more strength than strongmen, and more speed than Usain Bolt.
At this point, Chen Chen had six combat suits in possession. Cheng Cao and the other five could each escort one target back. In less than half a month, Blacklight Biotechnology Research Institute had ushered in eighteen individuals who had attained the rank of professor in the field of biology.
These eighteen people were carefully selected by Little X. Although they had immense potential, they had always gone unrecognized, not having enough clout in academia. Therefore, their departure did not attract the authorities' attention.
Of those young talents with potential, half of them came to Namibia being tempted by a high salary. Chen Chen covered for their return tickets, promising that they could go back anytime if they were unsatisfied.
In a short while, the newly built Blacklight Biotechnology Research Center had transformed from an empty space to a lively hub.
"This is the license from the Namibian Ministry of Health."
On the third floor of the laboratory building in the research center, Chen Chen sat in the first seat of the conference table and handed a gold-stamped certificate to Bernhard. "With this clinical license, we can carry out the clinical trials of the 'stem cell age-reversal' project."
Bernhard glanced at the certificate in his hand with a strange expression, then passed it to another professor beside him.
No one spoke for a while.
"What does everyone think?" Chen Chen asked bluntly.
"It's amazing."
A middle-aged man named Evans took the certificate and considered it out loud. "Uh… If you put aside the import costs of various resources, this is truly a paradise for experimenting."
"That's true." Someone else interrupted. "No medical quality inspection, no ethical review, no experimental supervision. What else do we have to worry about?"
"I doubt if the Ministry of Health in this country can even understand the experiment material that we submitted?" someone asked, which prompted a burst of laughter around the conference room.
"Still, we'd better be careful." Chen Chen cut off their laughter and reminded them. "Don't spread this around for the time being, to prevent causing any international debate.
After all, what we'll be doing are experiments on embryo cloning."
Everyone nodded.
"Alright. Let's talk about the projects in the research center."
Chen Chen once again urged them. "Except for Professor Bernhard, everyone else has no projects. In this case, everyone can recruit their favorite assistants in the research center.
"I'm sure everyone has noticed that most of the young people I've invited are graduates from well-known universities. Even for those who aren't, they have relatively outstanding achievements and are filled with potential. If you manage to persuade them to stay on, they'll be your assistant."
Everyone nodded at this. The research center was giving them a great deal of authority.
"If you have any good projects in mind, you may apply to the research center too. Now that the research center has just opened, our resources are still more available. When everything's fully allocated, I'm afraid there wouldn't be such favorable odds anymore."
Everyone nodded as if they had expected this.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming livelier, there was a sudden commotion outside the window.
Chen Chen frowned and was about to close the window when his phone rang as well. Chen Chen looked at the call, nodded apologetically at everyone, then picked up the call.
"Boss, this isn't good. The villagers nearby are coming in and causing trouble in the research center!"
Qian Wenhuan's panicked voice came from the phone. "They're trying to rush in at the gate. We can't quite hold them back!"
"I'll be there soon." When Chen Chen heard this, he stood up and looked out the window.
Outside the gates of the research institute, hundreds of people had gathered to form a dense, moving crowd. About a dozen local security guards had surrounded the crowd in a perfunctory manner, without any intention of stopping them.
"Boss, is there a problem outside the research institute?" The one who spoke was the American biology professor, Evans. "Should we call the police?"
"That's not necessary. You're all dismissed." Chen Chen turned and walked to the door of the conference room. "Let me handle this."
