250: Chapter 247 Farmers and Livestock

Meanwhile, in a highly private office on the top floor of the research institute building, a middle-aged man in a suit with blonde hair and blue eyes sat comfortably in an office chair, idly spinning a handmade revolver in his hand, which emitted a crisp sound from time to time.

Sitting opposite him was Merk, who looked visibly constrained.

"Mr. Will, Durant is nothing but a clown. I believe he will face a severe fate."

"Understood. You did a good job on this. But what about the person he sent over?" Will said indifferently, playing with his favorite gun while smiling. "I heard one of them is quite good. Arrange for testing as soon as possible."

"As for the testing... Mr. Will, do you want to conduct extreme testing?"

Upon hearing this, Merk couldn't help but ask.

"According to previous video and data analysis, this Li is likely a human who has entered the EP state or might even be able to master this state at will," Will said calmly.

"Mr. Will, isn't the EP state said to only exist in extreme, special circumstances? It is unstable. In reality, there is no human who can stably enter this state. I think this is unreasonable."

Merk shook his head, holding a different opinion on the matter.

"Everything is possible, isn't it? We at Genentech are dedicated to researching the impossible and turning the impossible into reality."

Will smiled and said indifferently, "His testing cannot be conducted according to standard procedures; arrange the highest difficulty test for him. If it is confirmed that he can indeed enter this state at will, then he will be our perfect test subject. The military has always questioned whether our drugs are defective. If Li uses our drugs—the EP state combined with our products—what kind of terrifying human would that be? I dare not imagine. This could be a superhero walking out of a movie. Seeing such a perfect 'product,' do you think any doubts would still exist?"

"Mr. Will, you are truly a man full of wisdom. I believe you will soon become the real President." Merk quickly offered some flattery.

"However..."

"This Li is very formidable. What if he resists the experiment?"

"Merk, are you an idiot? No matter what, he is still just a human, and our security team is professional. As long as he is still human, a tranquilizer gun can make him sleep for a few days."

Hearing this, Will couldn't help but laugh.

Merk thought about it and realized it was true. He had been frightened by that video. The opponent might be very formidable, possessing incredible physical fitness and powerful combat skills, but at the end of the day, he was still a human.

"Before firearms and various instruments, the most formidable creatures in this world were beasts like lions and tigers. But now, we humans are the most powerful existence on this planet, aren't we? Merk, don't say such ridiculous things next time; it only makes me question your abilities."

"Yes... Yes, Mr. Will. You are right. I shouldn't have such foolish thoughts."

Meanwhile, at the Acupuncture Clinic—

"The tracker we installed on Brother Li has completely lost signal. It looks like he has successfully entered the Genentech company. The last displayed address is at the research branch where Dr. Zhang is located."

"The incident happened suddenly. I originally thought there would be a chance to communicate with Brother Li, but I didn't expect this Durant to be so cautious. Fortunately, we had already told Brother Li about the target's characteristics and name in advance."

"However... Captain Zhou, according to intelligence, this research institute is the main base for human experimentation, though we don't have much detailed information. But there is one thing: this institute focuses on researching something called the EP state, while genetic research is actually secondary."

At this moment, on the third floor of the Acupuncture Clinic, a man who looked like a member of the tactical team was frowning while holding a stack of documents.

"EP state? What is that? Why didn't we have intelligence on this before?" Zhou Guoli frowned.

Hearing this, the technician rubbed his nose a bit awkwardly and sighed, "Captain Zhou, we only learned about this recently when our intelligence personnel made contact with Dr. Zhang. It is said that Dr. Zhang has already completed some work on the genetics side. Because he is not only a genetic engineering expert but also has some research in neurons, he is in charge of the ep project. As for the ep project, Dr. Zhang has only just come into contact with it and does not hold a leading position in the team..."

"Stop! Tell me first, what is the ep project?" Zhou Guoli waved his hands repeatedly.

"The so-called ep project is actually a test of physical potential, named after two letters from the word 'epinephrine'."

"Explain in more detail."

"Uh..." The technician scratched his head, silently grumbling about Captain Zhou, then continued, "This is a research direction initiated by Tech Company based on some battlefield records from World War II and peculiar situations around the world. It is said that during the war, there were many instances where certain soldiers burst out with incredible potential at life-and-death moments. The strength, speed, and reaction they displayed at that time were, in a sense, still insurmountable by today's world records. Our country actually has similar phenomena, such as soldiers who, despite being shot multiple times, could still burst out with speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, only feeling the pain and subsequently dying rapidly after the combat mission was completed. Similar peculiar phenomena have also appeared around the world, such as a woman lifting a multi-ton car to save her child. It is said that during the former Soviet era, they once used electric currents to train some extreme agents. There were a large number of deaths, but those who succeeded often possessed extremely strong physical fitness and reaction capabilities."

"So Genentech is currently trying to master a method to stably enter this state?" Zhou Guoli was already beginning to understand.

"Specific intelligence is unclear, but their current research direction is the stimulation of human potential by genes, as well as the abilities displayed by genes combined with the EP state. Based on their continuous external recruitment of various test subjects—whether athletes or professional combat experts—and their frequent communication and dealings with the military, we can roughly infer... they want to cultivate a real little superman, similar to the superheroes in American movies. So... this is actually a military testing direction." The technician analyzed while looking at the data.

"Reality is truly far crazier than movies! These guys really don't make things easy for me."

Zhou Guoli rubbed his temples and sighed softly, "The trouble doesn't stop there. Now that the doctor has shifted his work focus, the department must have changed too. What I told Brother Li before won't work anymore."

This kind of accident was obviously something Zhou Guoli had not anticipated.

And one doesn't need to think twice to know how big a research institute is, how many departments it has, and that it must be vast, with over ten thousand personnel. Trying to find the target accurately in so many departments, in such a large area, and with the wrong direction—it's hard! It's too hard.

"Captain Zhou, the real trouble isn't that. According to intelligence, every month, there is a large-scale turnover of test subjects." The technician sighed.

Hearing this, Zhou Guoli's heart skipped a beat.

"You mean..."

"Yes, once a month, just like a farmer cleaning out livestock once a month. They select a large number of targets for experimentation every month."