Chapter 3
Si Chen hadn’t operated an X-series gene editor for a long time. It was only to be expected that he’d need some time to get the hang of it again.
Because of the High Dimensional Invasion events, the major conglomerates have developed near magical technologies from items left behind by higher civilizations in the Space Folds.
Gene editing and tailoring is one of them.
To put it simply, it is inserting a part of the gene of one organism into another organism to produce a new specie. The Khaos Group next door has a lab that specializes in the study of mutated species, relying on this technology to successfully develop centaurs and mermaids.
This is generally used for experiments on animals as there is a risk of death for both the donor and the carrier.
Si Chen hadn’t tried this on humans yet.
However, Shen Yanxing’s requirement was that B passes the most basic identification, ie. DNA identification.
Humans have 46 chromosomes and tens of thousands of pairs of genes. What he had to do was to select a suitable plan, modify and replace the alleles in sequence and his task was done.
Si Chen quickly got to work.
One of Si Chen’s strengths was his ability to focus. His intense focus allowed him to ignore his surroundings and get his work done efficiently.
Although the explanation was simple and easy to understand, the actual operation wasn’t so easy.
On top of that, he had no assistants. Even the simplest gene sequencing he had to do himself; not to mention the subsequent tailoring scheme.
Although Si Chen only has a bachelor’s degree, he never stopped studying. His experience working in the world’s most advanced scientific research institute has also given him a good foundation. Had they brought in a Master’s degree holder who wasn’t quite as brilliant as Si Chen, this operation would have failed.
Shen Yanxing seemed to have an inexplicable trust in him.
Last year, all institutions of higher learning around the world awarded a total of 2,176 Master’s degrees.
Subdivided into each major, there are only 35 researchers who are able to successfully obtain their certificates each year.
In comparison, several hundred thousand secondary education diplomas can be issued in a year. Even so, there are still a large number of graduate students who drop out.
But given the needs of the current society, their reserve of talents was enough. After all, a human’s lifespan has greatly increased because of the evolution fluid. With citizens reaching 160 to 170 years old, the world doesn’t need much fresh blood.
After all, compulsory education is only four years of schooling now.
Because he was locked in away in this lab, Si Chen didn’t even notice the passage of time.
When he looked up, there were already three food delivery drones flying out from ceiling vent four-meters above his head.
Due to the lack of water, a layer of dry skin has appeared on his already pale lips.
Si Chen opened the bag hanging from the drone. It contained a nutrient solution, water and the level 5 evolution fluid that he’d demanded.
There was also a card inside: ‘eat on time’.
Although Shen Yanxing had done Si Chen wrong by forcibly taking him here, Shen Yanxing was quite generous in other aspects. It was just that there had been too many people in his university days who liked or appreciated him. It was hard for Si Chen to place his face.
At its most expensive, two level 5 evolution fluids could be exchanged for a capsule room in the Safe Zone.
Were Si Chen to earn it by himself, it might take him five or six years before he had enough money to buy this evolution fluid and even then, it had to be at the discounted price for employees.
Opportunity and danger always go hand in hand.
It was a pity that Si Chen wasn’t about to let himself Stockholm Syndrome-d. This was a blessing he didn’t really want.
After taking the water and nutrient solution, Si Chen entered the first phase of the transformation plan into the editor.
His brain was in a state of numbness from overuse. He was running a slight fever and his temples were throbbing in pain.
At this time, Body A’s monitor issued an alarm, but it was only for a moment.
Si Chen checked the abnormal data. According to the RI image, it seemed to be intracranial inflammation. Pus cavities of different sizes had even formed.
But right now, the body was returning to normal.
Intracranial inflammation is usually inflammation caused by infection of the brain with bacteria or parasites. During an operation like this, it was a common stress response from the donor.
If intracranial inflammation isn’t treated as soon as possible, it can easily lead to permanent disability.
Unfortunately, although Si Chen could understand the images, he wasn’t a doctor.
His requirement for experimental subject A was simply to stay alive. After all, B was the ultimate transformation object.
Therefore, Si Chen didn’t pay much attention to it. He picked up the evolution fluid, turned and walked into the bedroom.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The incandescent lights in the operating room remained brightly lit. The machines here ran 24 hours a day.
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Experimental subject A slightly rolled his eyeballs. He was tied to the operating table and held down tightly by several straps.
A slender strip of dark black flesh protruded from his ear hole. It looked like a black earthworm with soft bristles on its surface.
The small tentacle circled in the cochlea. It seemed to be scouting, carefully observing its surroundings. Its location just so happened to be in the blind spot of monitoring camera.
After all, generally, no one would pay attention to the ear canal of the experimental subject.
Just as it was about to poke out a little more, there came a soft coughing sound from the adjoining bedroom.
The little tentacle retracted instantly and it was as if it had never been there.
…
…
Si Chen stretched a hand, supporting himself against the wall, an uncontrollable itch in his throat.
He had been born in the Disaster Zone. Growing up exposed to nuclear radiation, he was sent to the state orphanage when he was three or four years old. It was thanks to gene medicine that he has been able to survive until now.
In order for him to survive, the sisters in the orphanage would give him the best batch of gene medicine they had. This was of course in line with the rules. After all, they had applied for it specially for Si Chen.
But if the medicine had been given to other healthier children, it was possible that it could have resulted in a few “Evolutionaries”.
That was why Si Chen could somewhat understand what his peers had felt.
He could understand but he couldn’t forgive.
He was already used to this body that needed constant repair.
Si Chen saved up a lot of money when he was in college and using relationships he had built, managed to buy a tube of level 3 evolution fluid.
At the time, he had soon been schedule for an interview to a graduate program.
He had drank the medicine and lay passed out in his dorm room for two days. But when he woke up, he was still the same as before.
The evolution fluid, which claimed to be able to transform ordinary people, wasn’t able to even cure his eye defect.
This disappointment was indescribable.
It had been raining that day and the sky outside the window had been dark, absolutely devoid of light. Si Chen almost couldn’t bring himself to get up and go to the interview.
But in the end, he had forced himself to stand up. Because his life was his own and it would continue.
A level 5 evolution fluid is blue in color. It was packed in a plastic tube, much like the oral nutritional supplements he had drank was a child.
Si Chen tore open the outer packaging and drank it all in one gulp. The fluid was bitter in his mouth and he couldn’t help his brows from furrowing.
The effect of the medicine quickly weighed on his body. Si Chen’s limbs felt like they were being torn apart.
This sudden pain made him let out a weak cry.
However, Si Chen quickly got a hold of himself. He bit his lip tightly, his mouth filling with the taste of blood.
He heard a mechanical voice come from the corner of the room, “I thought you would at least wait until after the experiment to take it. You only have 8 hours to rest.”
Of course, he knew that it would affect his condition. But the only way he could rest assured was if he already had it in his stomach.
Si Chen was covered himself with a quilt and curled up on the bed. The burning pain in his body wouldn’t let him sleep.
He replied in a low voice, “It won’t affect my work.”
“If you can’t do it,” The mechanical voice paused, “I can’t guarantee that you can leave here intact.”
Si Chen didn’t continue on with this topic but asked instead, “Is there surveillance everywhere? Seems I’m talking to a pervert.”
…
Communication disconnected.
Although he had eight hours of rest time, Si Chen woke up after only six hours.
His sense of smell seemed to now be a little sharper. Si Chen could even smell the residual formalin in the air.
Probably to urge him to work, Si Chen woke up and found that the drone had sent a timer, showing that he still had 98 hours left.
Si Chen’s figure went a little wobbly — though it was all pretend.
The level 5 evolution fluid worked well and it cured the cough that had plagued Si Chen for many years.
With five more tubes, he might even become strong enough to be part of the Evolutionary Reserve.
Si Chen decided to continue using his persona of a poor but persistent college student.
After all, Shen Yanxing seemed to fall for this kind of act.
On the fourth day of work, the gene editing of the two experimental subjects was basically complete.
But in order to appear busy and so that his benefactor wouldn’t think he’d spent his money in vain, Si Chen continued to work hard for 14 hours a day.
From time to time, he would pretend to be under so much pressure that he would tear up documents and pull on his hair; playing up the general public’s stereotype of a scientific researcher.
His realistic acting skills must have moved Shen Yanxing because on the fourth day, in addition to the nutritional supplement and the evolution fluid, Si Chen also received a new reward.
A mechanical prosthetic eye.
The eyeball looked like a resin eye and the iris was still a silvery white. But it felt heavy in his hand. In it were sophisticated mechanical parts.
The manufacturer of the prosthetic eye was the Machine Core Group. This prosthetic eye was actually a combat aid. Not only can it replace the function of an ordinary eyeball but it could also perform simple data analysis.
“The mechanical prosthetic requires surgical installation and I’m guessing you wouldn’t want us anesthetizing you.”
Shen Yanxing’s voice sounded teasing.
Si Chen held the prosthetic eye and his expression softened. “Thank you. I also have good news for you. The gene editing is complete. The carrier’s vital signs are all normal. We can start the next stage of the project.”
“Okay, the next stage is to implant the High Dimensional organisms into B’s body.” No joy could be heard in Shen Yanxing’s voice. Rather, it held a kind of caution, “I’ll give you the follow-up information and the documents for the operation. Read it first.”
Si Chen was very interested in the transplantation of High Dimensional organisms. It was a pity that he still didn’t know exactly what had been planted in A’s body.
High Dimensional objects really are too expensive and money wasn’t the only thing one needed to buy something like this. Everything related to “High Dimensional Civilizations” is expensive. It’s expensive because this is the future.
Si Chen cherished his life greatly. He wasn’t going to steal anything during the transformation process. But cutting away a little sample shouldn’t be a problem.
Experiments allow a certain amount of loss.
As someone who knew, he had many means to fool the ignorant.
The information was delivered to him quickly.
It must have just been printed as the paper was still warm when it arrived.
“This is a special ink, it will evaporate automatically after 12 hours.” The mechanical voice warned him.
Si Chen turned to the first page.
【High Dimensional Organism — Eternal Life Abyss】
Introduction: A member of the longevity species from the eighth-dimensional universe (chaotic civilization), scientific name “Eternal Life Abyss”.
A parasite, needs a host to survive. Possessing a certain level of intellect.
Black, tentacle-shaped. The juvenile form is covered in a layer of fine fur. It is said that the adult body has a total of ninety-nine tentacles.
Very territorial. It has a restraining effect on most intelligent biological organisms.
Implantation method: Parasitic (The Eternal Life Abyss may choose its own host.)
Precautions:
1 After the parasitism is completed, the Eternal Life Abyss will automatically carry out biological transformation on the host
2 The physical strength of the host itself should exceed level 5, otherwise there is a high risk of death
3 The Eternal Life Abyss may divest from the host body after it matures and it is likely to result in death. Although it has strong combat effectiveness in the early stage it is not recommended for use to evolve.
4【Lost】
There was also a picture of the complete body of the Eternal Life Abyss attached to the information.
Maybe it was because of the black and white printing, but the picture was pitch black. The thick black tentacles could only vaguely be seen. It appeared like a spiky sea urchin.
Most information regarding High Dimensional organisms are kept secret from citizens of Si Chen’s level. They are only circulated among the Evolutionaries.
Therefore, he read this material very carefully.
Si Chen has experienced two A-level High Dimensional invasion events; but all he’s ever encountered were fifth-dimensional spiritual civilizations.
The High Dimensional creatures of the spiritual civilizations have no corporeal form. It had been more similar to a kind of invasion of the mind. Naturally, no evolution resulted from it.
The second document listed the steps for implanting the Eternal Life Abyss.
Si Chen couldn’t help raising his eyebrows when he read the first line.
ti1: Inject reagents a, b, and c into the head of subject A.
ti2: Cut open the head of subject A and take out the juvenile Eternal Life Abyss.
ti3: Inject reagent d into the body of subject B.
ti4: Wait for the parasitism of the Eternal Life Abyss to complete.
Reagents a,b, c and d had all been sent along with the materials. They were neatly arranged in a cooler.
The small reagent bottles contained clear liquids.
Reagents a, b and c must be nothing more than separation fluids, anesthetics and the like. Reagent d should be an attractant.
A syringe and a pulse cutter came with this cooler.
In its energized state, this kind of knife could cut even steel plates.
Si Chen remembered his persona as a simple college student and stared at these few lines for a long time.
He slowly said, “This kind of operation is not very technical, maybe you don’t need me to be the one to do it.”
“Sorry. Originally, it should have been me but I’ve got my hands full right now.” Shen Yanxing’s voice drifted through the loudspeaker.
If Si Chen had a bird’s eye view, he would find that the entire Zhuangshan District had been put under a state of martial law. Multiple surveillance drones crisscrossed the sky. Robot dogs were searching everywhere on the streets.
This was no ordinary quarantine but an armed operation launched by the higher authorities to arrest “Faceless”.
Shen Yanxing, code-named Faceless, was one of the most active Evolutinaries of Weeds in recent years.
Because his whole body had undergone mechanical transformation, liquid metal making up most of him, he was able to change gender, appearance and voice at any time; making him among one of the most difficult of the Evolutionaries to catch.
The higher authorities have always turned a blind eye to the management of the Disaster Zone. But since Faceless’ position has been exposed, there was no reason not to arrest him.
Shen Yanxing quickly cut off the call. Truthfully, he had no time to spare to watch Si Chen’s progress right now.
He rode a black motorcycle through the busy streets and alleys, surrounded by bustling crowds of people.
With leather pants, ear studs and a lip stud, if not for his handsome face, he would look like some kind of punk.
Shen Yanxing was starting to doubt he’d been implanted with a tracker without his knowledge.
Otherwise, how could these robot dogs zero in on him time and time again?
He let out a somewhat irritated “tsk”.
Honestly, Shen Yanxing hadn’t wanted to involve Si Chen.
However, there weren’t many who knew how to use gene editors, have no background and were near the Zhuangshan District.
Comparatively, Si Chen was a good choice. In particular, there wouldn’t be any who would come looking if they off-ed him after the operation.
When Shen Yanxing saw his name on the final shortlist, he remained outwardly calm but his heart already filled with shock.
If he hadn’t been the one in charge of the plan, Si Chen would have been killed after the job was over.
So, Shen Yanxing had applied to take charge.
…
…
Motorcycle boy Shen Yanxing casually walked into a roadside clothing store and when he came out, he had turned into a plaid-shirted programmer wearing glasses.
He was polite and quiet; very inconspicuous.
There have been no new decent establishments in the Zhuangshan District for a long time. Casinos and brothels lined the streets. Peddlers selling dopamine hung out on street corners.
The programmer had just taken a couple of steps when the ground suddenly shook. A huge crack appeared on the street.
The pleasure seekers realized something was wrong and started screaming and shouting. Chaos erupted on the street and everyone started running desperately, trying to make it out.
A piercing siren blared and a cloud of black mist begun to spread at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Shen Yanxing looked towards the direction of the black mist and his expression drastically changed. “Wasn’t there a Space Fold here just recently? Why is there another one now?!”
The area shrouded in black mist happened to include the laboratory where Si Chen was.
oops
Oohh this is interesting~
Thnx ya for the chappiiee~
Raise your hand if you also heard a maniacal voice shouting and laughing, “it’s alive, it’s aliiiiiive!” during the scene of the black tentacle having a look around?
I’m weird. I imagined an unhappy spiky black caterpillar looking around for a more comfy couch…
Your image was so much cuter than mine! I couldn’t see past that it was originally a morgue.
Why comments make it more disgusting than I read it in first time?
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
WOAH TRANSLATOR I LOVE THIS NOVEL ALREADY! IM SO EXCITED TO READ MORE. THANK YOU SO MUCH
Thanks for the chapter 🌹
I have a feeling the spiky caterpillar isn’t going to settle on host B 😭
Why do I feel like the tentacles thingy have some sort of connect with ml? Xd