by <unknown>
"G-virus can recombine a host's DNA. It's currently known that any carbon-based life is susceptible to the effect of G-virus, which includes plants."
Chen Chen stood beside and explained, "There are currently three known branches of the G-virus, respectively enhancing its infectious trait, mutational trait, and proliferation trait. The G-virus variant with an enhanced infection rate is proven to be more contagious than the Spanish flu. Its infection quality allows it to produce a new life form which takes over the body of its original host.
"The product of the mutation-enhanced G-virus are these monstrosities you're seeing inside the isolation rooms.
"The most wondrous of them all is the G-virus variant with enhanced proliferation."
Chen Chen noted. "This variant of G-virus can alter the host's state significantly and gigantify its host. Furthermore, this effect is reversible…"
"What?"
Watson exclaimed as he scrolled back up to go through the documentation again. "How's that possible."
"I cannot see how that's possible either."
Chen Chen chuckled. "And that's the reason you're here, Sir Watson."
With that, Chen Chen presented a stack of contracts to Watson. "Sir Watson, you're already a part of Blacklight Biotechnology. I'd like to further an invitation into God's Forbidden Zone. Outstanding individuals such as you are essential on mankind's track to evolution."
Upon hearing this, Watson moved the G-virus documentation to the side momentarily and only briefly scanned through the near twenty-pages thick contract before signing it.
"Splendid!"
Chen Chen laughed heartily. "It seems like after going through the age-reversal treatment, Sir Watson has not only become younger physically but has gained the bold mentality of the youth. I'd say most people wouldn't be able to decide on something like this so hastily, don't you agree?"
"Does it make a difference?"
Watson shook his head and expressed, "I don't have any say in the matter the moment I stepped into this secret laboratory and saw the virus, am I right?"
"That's true."
Chen Chen looked at the time, then turned around and left while waving. "Sir Watson, I've authorized you as the supervisor. I leave this BSL-5 (Level 5 Biosafety) laboratory project in your capable hands. If you have any questions, you can always contact me or the X-111, the main console computer of the Spire. I hope you amass knowledge concerning the G-virus as soon as possible so you can start venturing out on your own…"
With the rattling sound of the airlock door, Chen Chen's figure vanished from the second floor, leaving behind Watson with a mixture of many emotions on his face.
Speaking of which...
With an elite scientist of this pedigree participating in the G-virus research, Chen Chen found himself considerably relieved.
The reason why Watson was brought into the Spire before being invited to God's Forbidden Zone was so that Chen Chen had the chance to install the latest rendition of God chip into Watson during the operation.
Strictly speaking, Watson had long been considered a reserve member of God's Forbidden Zone even prior to his joining. So what if Watson refused? One way or another, Chen Chen would persuade him to join.
After leaving the laboratory, Chen Chen took the elevator to the top of the Spire, which was the room where the teleportation room was.
There was a Gantz sphere in the teleportation room that would instantly transfer Chen Chen to another room on the surface.
This teleportation room was just like the underground port that ran through the Atlantic Ocean, mainly serving as a precautionary measure. Hardly anybody knew of its existence. It was what Chen Chen used to install the chip in Musk's brain without him knowing during his previous visit.
As Chen Chen stepped into the blank white room, the black sphere positioned in front of him produced a beam of blue light. Chen Chen felt his field of vision being crowded with the blue ray for a moment. Although there was no discernible change in the environment around him, he had been transported from the underground teleportation room to the one on the surface.
Chen Chen returned to the elevator. When the elevator rode downstairs and the door opened again, he found himself on the ground floor lobby of a certain office building in Eco Science City.
"Sir Godfather, I have good news."
Little X suddenly announced from Chen Chen's earpiece, "We received word from God's Forbidden Zone. They told us that the White House has agreed to our terms. Once we help them solve This Man incident, they will sign the 'Cessation of Sanctions Agreement'."
"What are the details of the agreement? Did they amend the several clauses that we brought up?"
Chen Chen asked immediately.
"There were some significant amendments made along with several new clauses. Also, they've set the duration of this agreement to ten years."
Little X replied.
"Will there be any exploitable loopholes?"
Chen Chen still found it worrisome. "Let me have a look at the draft."
"Alright."
Little X immediately forwarded the draft to Chen Chen's phone.
Chen Chen decided to sit down on a common sofa in the lobby and started scrolling through the drafted agreement on his phone.
His nonchalant action had caught the attention of a Chinese lady at the lobby front desk.
This lady worked at the front desk at the office building. When she happened to see Chen Chen sitting down, she stared at Chen Chen's face for what seemed like ages before reaching for her phone and searched for something.
When she finally found an image she was looking for and matched it with the person seated not far away from her, she was immediately floored by what she was seeing. She reached for her handbag in a hurry and dug up her makeup mirror to check her makeup.
It seemed as if she was not satisfied with her current look. She promptly took out her lipstick and applied it in two quick swipes, then she pursed her lips to distribute the colors evenly. After that, she found a disposable cup and put some tea leaves inside to make a cup of warm, aromatic tea.
"Lin, we have coffee over here, why are you still making tea?"
One of her colleagues asked curiously when the colleague noticed her strange behavior.
Lin had no time to care about what her colleague thought of her at this point. She slowly approached Chen Chen with the cup of tea in hand. Never in her life could she remember herself ever walking so gracefully. She proceeded to set the cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Chen Chen.
"Mister, please have some tea…"
She said in a gentle, even affectionate whisper. There was a tinge of tremor in her voice due to her nerves.
"Thank you."
Chen Chen looked at her briefly and thanked her before reverting his attention to the important subject on his phone.
"You're welcome…"
The lady muttered silently. When she saw Chen Chen's attention only lingering on her for a brief moment, she could not help but feel rather disappointed. She slithered back to the front desk feeling defeated.
"Who's that man? I don't think he works here now does he?"
The colleague who saw her returning immediately went to her and asked in a hushed voice, "He's a Chinese man as well. Do you know him by any chance? Is he the president of some kind of corporation?"
"Of, of course not. I, I'm just doing my job, that's all…"
The lady strung a poor excuse together. Despite her claims, she still could not stop herself from stealing sideways glances in Chen Chen's direction.
"Really?"
The colleague eyed her suspiciously and finally decided to give it a rest after a while.
Little did they know, Chen Chen had been aware of what the two of them had been doing since the very beginning.
It was only that he just saw it as a trivial matter, one of those simple, mundane happenings in daily life. He redirected his full focus to the drafted agreement.
The
mentioned cessation of sanctions implied that Northern America had to suspend all of their militaristic and economic sanctions imposed on Blacklight Biotechnology. On the other end, Blacklight Biotechnology would have to lift its ban on Northern America's application for the cancer targeted drugs while also resuming the previously terminated clinical trials for the three targeted drugs.
The offer the Northern American government made was that the terms of this agreement would only last ten years.
"They are only willing to sign a ten-year agreement at most."
Little X informed, "I haven't noticed any exploitable loophole in the agreement."
"I've gone through it as well. Even though they did alter certain clauses, it's not going to have any noticeable impact on us."
Chen Chen nodded. "The only major clause here is this ten-year duration. They probably want to give us a ten-year grace period at max to limit the ceiling of our future development."
When Chen Chen saw the quoted duration on the Cessation of Sanctions Agreement, a sly smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
So what if they only gave ten years?
The Northern American government probably had something planned in mind in ten years to exact their revenge. Could they be so naive to believe that Chen Chen would shrink away from them in ten years?
It had only been four years since acquiring the USB drive and only three years since he settled in Africa. In three short years, Blacklight Biotechnology had taken such massive strides. To what greater heights could he ascend to if given another ten years?
Chen Chen was looking forward to it…
Chapter 431: Signed Agreement |
On the first of January 2025, Qian Wenhuan led the negotiation team and carried the banner of Blacklight Biotechnology to Washington, Northern America to conduct the first round of negotiations.
At this point, there had been more than thirty million people in the continent that reported dreaming of This Man. Although various research had been conducted and verified that these dreams did not affect the physiological state of a person in any way, the truth still proved otherwise as it imposed a significant mental burden on its victims all over the country.
Some who were met with this never-seen-before phenomenon began to idolize it as a Godhood figure. Some began to form hallucinations and delusions. There were even some who formed a cult revolving This Man and recruited hundreds of members…
When these unstable factors reached a certain threshold, the avalanche effect may be enough to topple an entire country.
Up till this point, there had been a total of thirteen religious groups associated with This Man formed. Under the covers, hundreds of thousands of such cults were being formed, recruiting tens of thousands of members each day that engaged in activities that ranged from parades, gatherings, rituals to violent riots.
The ongoing chaos in Northern America had the rest of the world floored.
Facing a situation such as this, the Northern American government was entirely helpless. When Blacklight Biotechnology stepped up and claimed that they could solve this issue, the Northern American government took it very seriously.
It did not take long before a negotiation known only to the top members of the Earth Federation was conducted in the White House.
"Ladies and Gentlemen."
On the side of Blacklight Biotechnology, one of Qian Wenhuan's subordinates stood in front of a projector and announced gravely, "Allow me to extend my most sincere sympathy for what has happened to Northern America over the last month. It's an indisputable fact that ever since the day mankind was born, we had to face the world with fear stamped in our hearts.
"In the early ages, humans feared storms and thunder. We feared the sky as much as we feared the vast ocean. This was how humans came to reinforce the idea of religion. We were able to find a sense of comfort by entrusting our fate to the hands of the divine.
"As we humans continue to evolve and start to construct the foundations of civilization, we start to gain a newer perception on everything. For example, we understood the concept of gravity and how electricity was generated. This was how thunder no longer became something that inspired fear. We conquered the ocean, the sky, along with every sheltered corner and edges of the world.
"And so, we no longer had reason to fear. We no longer had to cower at the sight of the unknown. This is a product and sign of civilization's evolution, but it's also to the detriment of civilization…"
"Ahem!"
While this member was giving out his sermon, one of the officials from the White House briskly interrupted him. "What are you guys at Blackwatch trying to say? We're losing our sanity by the minute thanks to this 'This Man incident'. We'd appreciate it if you would cut to the main point right away."
"Apologies, I'll skip to the primary subject immediately."
The negotiator nodded and smiled subtly. "As many of you here should be aware of, there are still countless supernatural phenomena appearing in the world today. Some of these phenomena have been thoroughly dissected and explained from a scientific perspective. Take the 'spontaneous human combustion phenomenon', for example, this phenomenon had been occurring for three centuries but has only recently been dissected by scientists over the last few decades. Still… There are still many phenomena that cannot be explained even with the prospect of science."
The negotiation looked across his audience before revealing his subject. "For example… There's the premonition of the former president of Northern America, Mr. Lincoln and the current ongoing phenomenon known as This Man!"
This statement caught many of the negotiators from the Northern America faction off guard, one of them spoke up, "That may be true. But could you clarify what this event with Mr. Lincoln has to do with today's meeting?"
"To explain this, I'll have to start with our company's research."
The negotiator declared gravely, "Our company's biological research department found that humans can 'hear' other people's thoughts. This sense of hearing is extremely vague and is only magnified when we're dreaming. If someone constantly echoes thoughts of you, it makes it easier to dream of this person. Perhaps on the year Mr. Lincoln was assassinated, the reason he dreamt of his assassination was precisely that he 'heard' the intentions of his killer?"
At this note, the projector behind the negotiator suddenly activated and cast an image of a laboratory with several men lying on top of medical beds. There was a device shaped like a helmet strapped to each of their heads.
These machines are hooked with wire, each of them connected to a piece of unknown machinery.
"The reason that people can 'hear' other people's thoughts is probably attributed to a very common function of the human brain - the 'Quantum Effect.'"
The negotiator said with an outstretched finger, "Our thoughts are the result of the interaction of countless chemical signals. In 2015, the famous condensed matter physicist, Matthew Fischer, already published a thesis on the Annual Report of Physics. It's a thesis dedicated to discuss the possible operation of a quantum neural mechanism caused by phosphorus nuclear spin.
"The most enchanting part about this article is his proposal of a complete neural quantum information system. It includes qubits, the generation of quantum entanglement, quantum transmission and storage, quantum measurement, and quantum coherence and measurement at a molecular level. He also discussed the influence that the mechanism of nerve impulse activity has at a cellular level and more. These processes all use biomolecules and related enzymatic chemical reaction processes as carriers. All of the arguments he raised are clear, concise, and convincing."
As he said this, most of the Northern American officials looked at him with a face full of daze.
"Alright, let's go back to what we were discussing."
The negotiator explained, "After This Man incident began occurring in Northern America, our biology department started analyzing the brains of the people who have been exposed to the picture. We found that the reason s
o many locals started experiencing vivid dreams of This Man is that this picture carries a peculiar psychological hypnotic pattern. The people who have been exposed to this picture will experience a symptom wherein their brains will constantly emit this particular quantum signal which connects to others who have also been exposed to this picture.
"It has a similar principle as Lincoln's prophetic dreams, except this time the affected ones are all of the people in Northern America. Following the widespread exposure of the picture, the entirety of the Northern American Continent becomes a transmission field for This Man. You can imagine it as a laser beam being projected in a room full of mirrors. This causes the laser to constantly reflect across the room and linger in the room forever…"
"In that case, who is the perpetrator and how do we deal with it?"
Someone in the crowd asked.
"I have no idea who is behind all this, but it has to be an organization that is familiar with the underlying principles of this particular behavior. It will be easy to solve this. Our company can create a reverse-image specifically designed to counter the effect of the original picture. Its effects can be easily reversed just by looking at this picture."
The negotiator responded. Immediately, the image on the screen behind him shifted to an unorganized, messy pattern.
"This is the pattern that can be used to alleviate This Man incident occurring in the continent. The White House only has to start spreading this image across all platforms. Anyone who is affected by the original This Man pattern will be cured of their symptoms and no longer dream of This Man…"
This immediately prompted a wave of murmured discussion among the officials below the stage. Some of them even tried to use their phones to sneak pictures of the pattern cast on the screen in front.
"One moment!"
It was at this moment when one of the high-ranking officials of the White House stood up and asked suspiciously, "We'll still have to look into this theory you mentioned. This also raises another question. Why is it that Northern America is the only continent where this phenomenon is occurring out of all the continents in the Earth Federation?"
