266: Laboratory research CG

After the testing concluded, the Researcher's attitude toward Shen Mingyuan became noticeably warmer. He checked the time, then glanced at the lingering curiosity on Shen Mingyuan's face. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke up.

"Mr. Shen, as per our agreement, I can take you on a brief tour within the limits of security clearance. However, please be sure to follow closely behind me and do not touch anything. The projects we are currently handling... carry a certain level of biological risk."

"That strict?" Shen Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued even further.

"Safety first." The Researcher gestured for Shen Mingyuan to follow him to an adjacent preparation area, pointing to several sets of sealed light chemical protective suits hanging on the wall. "Please put this on and complete the standard airtightness check and decontamination process."

Shen Mingyuan did as instructed, donning the protective suit with efficient movements. After passing through a channel of spray disinfection and ultraviolet radiation, he followed the Researcher through a heavy airtight door. Behind the door lay a bright but quiet corridor, flanked by even more strictly controlled laboratories.

"What exactly is being researched that requires such caution?" Shen Mingyuan asked through his mask, his voice transmitted via the internal communicator.

The Researcher walked ahead, his tone like that of someone introducing an exhibit that wasn't exactly a top secret.

"Actually, it's not exactly top secret, especially for someone like you who has been in contact with core incidents multiple times. What we are currently focusing on analyzing is a batch of special pharmaceutical samples seized from several Prometheus strongholds—things specifically designed to forcibly activate the evo factor."

Shen Mingyuan paused slightly. "Forced Activation?"

"Yes. You should understand that under normal conditions, the evo factor remains dormant in the vast majority of organisms. There are usually only two natural activation paths: driven by extremely intense emotions or will, or facing a true, imminent near-death crisis."

The Researcher explained as he walked, as if giving a concise professional lecture. "Of course, there is a third scenario: inheritance."

"A very small number of individuals, whose ancestors were dominant Evolvers, may inherit this 'evolutionary trait' just like certain biological characteristics."

"Just as after the first turtle with a shell appeared, its descendants all grew shells."

"It's just that in a social species like humans, individuals who exhibit abnormal characteristics during childhood are often ostracized for being 'different,' causing many of these recessive genes to gradually fall silent and disappear over the long course of social evolution."

"But some always remain... The core members of the The Fellowship you've encountered belong to this category. They style themselves as 'higher life forms,' and their physiological foundation stems from this."

Shen Mingyuan grew thoughtful. "Telling me all this... doesn't it violate confidentiality regulations?"

The Researcher looked back and smiled; his relaxed expression was visible even through the mask.

"It's a bit of a gray area. But since you've already clashed with them on the battlefield and even faced their Immortal, knowing some background information might allow you to deal with them more effectively in the future. Besides, these basic theories aren't considered top secret among the higher-ups."

They stopped outside the observation window of a laboratory. Inside, several fully-equipped Researchers were inside isolation gloveboxes, carefully handling some dark liquids sealed in specialized containers.

"So, what's being researched here is that pharmaceutical that can bypass natural conditions and forcibly activate the evo factor?" Shen Mingyuan's gaze shifted toward those containers.

"Exactly. Its principle is very... 'ingenious,' and also extremely dangerous." The Researcher's tone turned serious. "The core of this drug is a virus vector that has undergone special genetic editing."

"It is almost harmless to human cells and won't cause disease, but it can precisely simulate and release a series of specific neurochemical signals and cellular stress signals."

"To deceive the evo factor?" Shen Mingyuan immediately caught the key point.

"Yes, a clever 'deception.'" The Researcher nodded. "It makes the host's evo factor 'mistakenly believe' that the host is experiencing extreme fear, pain, or a near-death crisis, thereby being 'startled awake' and activated."

"But since the host hasn't actually suffered the corresponding physical damage or been in absolute danger, this activation is chaotic and non-directional."

"Under a 'false state of emergency,' the evo factor will randomly select an evolutionary direction. The result is completely unpredictable; it might strengthen an insignificant organ, trigger malignant tissue hyperplasia, or lead to total physical collapse... All our preliminary conclusions are based on rigorous testing using legally approved standard laboratory animal models."

"Even at low doses, we have observed a very high probability of uncontrollable, bizarre evolution or death in mice."

"Random evolution..." he repeated in a low voice. "Is this 'randomness' what Prometheus wants?"

"Not entirely random," the Researcher shook his head, pointing through the observation window at the drugs. "Deducing from the research logs we intercepted and their experimental direction, the ultimate goal of Prometheus is likely 'Targeted Evolution.'"

"They edited this virus perhaps wanting it to become a 'precise key' that only takes effect on individuals with specific gene sequences or those who reach a certain evo concentration threshold, guiding them to evolve in a preset, controllable, and powerful direction... like a production line for biological weapons. However, this is just speculation, and I personally strongly disagree with this line of thinking."

He changed the subject, his tone carrying the pragmatism and faint sense of mission of a technical professional.

"The power of technology should be used in more constructive directions. We are currently concentrating our efforts on analyzing this virus. Our primary goal isn't to imitate it, but to 'crack' it. The higher-ups' intention is to reverse-engineer its mechanism of action and then develop specific 'Inhibitors' or 'vaccines.'"

Shen Mingyuan's eyes flickered. "Vaccines?"

"Yes." The Researcher nodded. "Imagine if we could develop a universal vaccine or a one-time neutralizer that could be deployed or used on a large scale when necessary. It would fundamentally strip away the greatest reliance of Prometheus's forced evolution drugs."

"That would be far more efficient and safer than chasing down every poor fellow who has been injected with the drug. After all, the overall safety of the people is the top priority."

Shen Mingyuan nodded thoughtfully, his voice slightly muffled under the protective suit.

"The higher-ups' decision... sounds quite pragmatic. I thought they would lean toward 'researching safer and more efficient evolutionary methods' to counter them."

"Who knows?" The Researcher shrugged and walked toward another observation window, where different colored drugs were undergoing reaction tests under precision instruments. "At least at this stage, cracking and defense are the highest priorities. Oh, look at this."

He pointed to one of the preparations glowing with an ominous ghostly blue. "This is another research direction—an attempt to directly increase the concentration of the evo factor. It's also one of the failures found in their wreckage."

"The principle of this thing is even cruder. It tries to 'dilute' the original cytoplasm through extreme acceleration of cell division, while attempting to make the newly generated cells carry a higher proportion of evo particles, thereby achieving the goal of increasing the overall concentration. However..."

The Researcher sighed and pointed to an abstract simulation animation playing on a nearby screen, clearly an experimental record. In the animation, a ball of light representing an organism divided frantically, the internal pressure rising sharply until it suddenly exploded.

"The cell division speed is pushed out of control; new cells are produced frantically, but the old cells don't have time to undergo normal apoptosis... The result is a physical 'bursting.' We call it 'Proliferative Disintegration.' The principle has touched upon something, but as for being safe and controllable... it's still a long way off."

He turned off the animation, his tone complex.

"The higher-ups haven't given clear directional instructions for this type of research yet."

"But I think, facing the current... well, evo-related incidents are becoming more frequent, as if the whole world is quietly entering some kind of 'active period' or signs of a 'great era.' Perhaps developing something that can safely increase the base concentration and enhance the ability of ordinary people to cope with risks will be put on the agenda."

"Otherwise, if there are more and more dominant evolutionary individuals in the future, ordinary people without evolutionary potential will be at a natural disadvantage. Even with the state's power as a safety net, individual insecurity will breed many problems."

He paused for a moment, his voice lower, more like he was talking to himself.

"At least in my personal hope, it would be best to research a truly safe path without side effects... but how the national level will ultimately weigh the pros and cons and what decisions they will make is not for me to speculate."