102: Chapter 102 The Life Essence Crystal of Saint Huipu

"Fifth and sixth generation Gene Primordial Bodies are considered 'high-order conceptual entities'." The Guide's voice lowered slightly. "They incorporate more rare gene fragments, including partial... non-core gene expressions from allied races."

The Guide paused and added:

"Of course, all this research strictly adheres to the 'Inter-Civilization Gene Ethics Convention'. We only use voluntarily donated gene samples or those that have entered the public gene bank, and none of the experimental subjects possess complete consciousness—they are more like precision biological machines."

This was perfectly phrased.

But no one present was a fool.

Those traces of "mutilated wings" and "demonic horns" clearly pointed to the genetic characteristics of angels and demons. And the term "voluntarily donated," in the context of interstellar politics, often left plenty of room for interpretation.

Laya looked at the winged experimental subject, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Li Yuan noticed her unease and gently took her hand.

Laya shook her head and whispered, "It's nothing... I just feel that those wings... look a bit sad."

Just then—

"Ding-dong."

All the visitors' terminals received a push notification simultaneously.

[Supplementary Terms for Holy Brilliance Purity Group Visitors: If you feel any discomfort, hallucinations, or hear unexplained whispers during the tour, please report it to the nearest staff member immediately. This may just be a temporary phenomenon caused by environmental psionic field interference, but to ensure your safety, we recommend a basic check-up. We wish you a pleasant visit!]

Chu Xinghe stared at the message, silent for two seconds.

Then he looked up at the Guide with a sincere expression:

"Um... I feel a bit uncomfortable right now. Can I end the tour early and go get the souvenir?"

The Guide: "...Student Chu, stop messing around."

"I'm not messing around!" Chu Xinghe said righteously. "I really am uncomfortable! Look, I'm even sweating on my forehead—"

Luo Lan added from the side: "Senior Brother, you just don't want to see those sanity-draining biological experiments anymore."

"Shut up! You don't have to say it out loud even if you see through it!"

The tour continued in a subtle atmosphere.

Next was the observation of the "biological agent production line"—of course, from behind a thick, transparent isolation wall.

Huge culture tanks were arranged like mountains, with various liquids churning inside: emerald green life repair fluid, azure blue gene stabilizers, scarlet battlefield stimulants (legal version)...

Robotic arms slid along tracks, precisely filling, sealing, and labeling.

"This production line can produce enough biological agents to arm a full regiment every hour," the Guide introduced. "And Holy Brilliance Purity has over 100,000 such lines, distributed across seventeen core star sectors."

"What do you do with excess capacity?" someone asked.

"The Zerg war has never truly ended," the Guide replied calmly. "Every second, soldiers on the front lines need these agents to save their lives. Moreover, our products are widely used in civilian medicine, gene optimization, and even... the beauty industry."

The Guide pulled up a set of data: Holy Brilliance Purity's civilian product line accounted for 78% of the group's total revenue.

"For example, this 'Youth Revitalizing Essence'," the Guide pointed to a beautifully packaged small bottle, "incorporates regenerative gene fragments from a certain star sector jellyfish, which can significantly promote skin cell renewal. It sells particularly well among high-society ladies."

Chu Xinghe leaned over to look at the price tag and gasped: "This tiny bottle... is enough to cover my food expenses for a year!"

"So," Luo Lan concluded calmly, "business that saves lives in war requires money, but business that makes people beautiful... requires even more money."

"Insightful." Chu Xinghe gave a thumbs up.

The final tour item was the "Historical Archives."

It displayed important artifacts from Holy Brilliance Purity's 800-year history: the original sample of the first Infector blocking vaccine, the electronic pen used to sign the "Inter-Civilization Biotechnology Sharing Agreement," holographic portraits of past chief scientists...

And in the deepest part of the archives, there was an independent display stand.

Floating on the stand was a fist-sized crystal emitting a soft white light.

"This is a 'Life Divine Energy Crystal'." The Guide's tone carried a trace of awe. "Three hundred years ago, Holy Brilliance Purity discovered it during an archaeological excavation of Zerg ruins. Preliminary research indicates it contains a form of life energy that transcends our current technological understanding and may be related to the origin of the Zerg."

Li Yuan stared at the crystal.

"Hey, why can ordinary people see life essence now?" Customer Service Miss 1518 suddenly exclaimed.

That's right, this was life essence. It was supposed to be invisible to others, only visible to Li Yuan because of the system.

Now, it appeared clearly before Li Yuan, telling him that the things he had been collecting had long since entered the sight of humanity!!

"Does this crystal have any uses?" he asked.

"Still under research," the Guide shook their head. "Currently, we only know that placing it in a biological culture environment can significantly increase cell activity and the success rate of gene editing. Several of Holy Brilliance Purity's major breakthroughs could not have been achieved without its assistance."

The Guide paused and lowered their voice:

"There are unverified rumors that the reason the Zerg possess nearly infinite vitality and evolution speed is because a similar source of Life Divine Energy exists within their 'Brood Core'. If we could fully decipher the secret of this crystal..."

The Guide didn't finish the sentence.

But everyone understood.

That could mean that humanity would not only be able to resist the Zerg but perhaps even... surpass them.

When the tour ended and they returned to the ground lobby, it was already afternoon.

The Guide gave each person a small gift box—inside was an exquisite commemorative pen, made of biodegradable biological material, with a built-in miniature holographic projector that played a short introductory video of Holy Brilliance Purity when the button was pressed.

"Thank you all for visiting," the Guide smiled. "I hope today's content has given you a deeper understanding of Holy Brilliance Purity's philosophy and contributions."

Chu Xinghe toyed with the commemorative pen and whispered to Li Yuan: "I think they forgot to introduce one of the most important departments."

"What department?"

"The Legal Department," Chu Xinghe said seriously. "Conducting so many biological experiments without being sued into bankruptcy by the Ethics Committee—just how strong must their legal team be?"

Li Yuan: "...You have a point."

Leaving the Holy Brilliance Purity building and reboarding the hover bus, Yimoku sat quietly by the window. She lowered her head slightly, her fingertips tapping rapidly on the virtual keyboard of her personal terminal.

On the screen were dense structural sketches and data formulas, occasionally interspersed with microscopic images of biological tissues she had taken during the tour.

"So that's how it is... 'Weaving' is not just about metal and energy; the genetic coding of life itself is also a kind of 'Source Sequence'..." She whispered to herself, the flames of a pure researcher burning in her ice-blue eyes.

"Their gene editing technology is essentially a process of 'cutting,' 'reconnecting,' and 'empowering,' which has striking similarities in underlying logic to my [Source Weaver], except the object of operation has changed from macroscopic matter to microscopic gene fragments."

She pulled up a blueprint of an adaptive armor she had previously designed and imported the "memory metal slime" characteristic data she had just recorded to perform a simulation overlay.

On the screen, the armor's damage response speed and local morphological change efficiency immediately improved by several levels. The corners of Yimoku's mouth could not help but curl into a subtle arc full of a sense of achievement.

"This trip was worth it. The material concepts and self-repair logic of biotechnology can be completely reverse-empowered to mechanical creations. 'Living weapons'... perhaps that's not just a metaphor."

Li Yuan looked back at the pure white lotus building.

Sunlight spilled onto the surface of the building, and the golden patterns flowed with a warm luster.

It was beautiful.

And also... unfathomable.