Homo Sapiens

After several nerve-wracking bus and high-speed rail transfers, he returned to Jiangcheng University, shaken but unharmed.

As soon as he stepped off the bus.

”Senior...” The call was as crisp and pleasant as an oriole’s song. The bright-eyed girl who called out to him was as innocent and cheerful as ever.

Li Qingye nodded. ”How have you been?”

The two made small talk as they walked.

Liu Xiaoli seemed to sense the grief in Li Qingye’s heart and kept her words brief. ”I’ve given everyone at the lab time off. Only two security guards are on duty.”

”Thank you.”

”Don’t mention it. You’ve helped me so much in the past, Senior. It’s the least I can do,” Liu Xiaoli replied gently.

Before they knew it, they had arrived in front of a lecture hall. The girl handed him the lab keys, said her goodbyes, and left.

Standing outside his advisor’s office, Li Qingye knocked on the door.

”Come in.”

”Professor.”

”Hm?” His advisor looked up to see a haggard Li Qingye, his face unshaven and dejected. The professor sighed inwardly, then forced a smile. ”Your visa is all set. The flight is on May 22nd. Take this time to get your head straight. There’s no obstacle in life you can’t overcome.”

Li Qingye replied, nodding calmly, ”Thank you for your concern, Professor. I’m going to check on the company first.”

”Go on, then. Don’t forget your flight time.”

After leaving his advisor, Li Qingye wandered alone down a path on Luojia Mountain. Only a few scattered petals remained on the cherry trees lining the way.

A gentle breeze brushed his face, coaxing the last blossoms from the branches.

He sat on a bench, silently watching the petals drift down.

”Life is so fragile,” Li Qingye sighed.

’A final farewell to my lost youth.’

’Farewell, Jiangcheng University.’

’Farewell, my innocence and youth.’

At the subway station, a low-rumbling train glided to a stop. He swiped his card and boarded. The bustling crowd inside the car was a stark contrast to Li Qingye, who looked no better than a vagrant.

The train soon arrived at its destination: Jiangcheng South Station.

From there, he took a bus to his company, located near Xiaogang Village. A plaque reading ”Colorful Heart Cosmetics Research and Development Center” hung at the entrance of a small, dilapidated factory.

An elderly security guard was puffing on a pipe by the gate. Seeing Li Qingye approach, he stepped out hesitantly. ”Young man... are you...”

”It’s me, Old Wang.” Li Qingye held up his keychain and gave it a shake.

Only then did the security guard, Old Wang, recognize him. He hurried to open the gate. ”Boss! I almost didn’t recognize you, looking like that.”

”Right. Has everything been alright lately, Old Wang?”

Old Wang thought for a moment and reported a few trivial matters. Li Qingye gave some casual instructions before entering the laboratory by himself.

The entire laboratory was over eight thousand square meters, divided into Experimental Area One, Experimental Area Two, Experimental Area Three, a living quarter, a storage area, and a central utility control room.

Previously, more than twenty staff members worked here—all temporary workers Li Qingye had hired. This included his junior who helped with management. They were all students from Jiangcheng University, Jiangcheng Polytechnic, and Huazhong Agricultural University.

But Li Qingye’s personal laboratory, Experimental Area One, was accessible only to him.

Before his return, he had asked Liu Xiaoli to dismiss all the temporary staff, leaving only two security guards.

Now, he was the only person left in the entire facility.

After unlocking the keypad to Experimental Area One, Li Qingye checked the rows of test tubes in the cryogenic storage unit. Seventeen vials of the Jianmu Factor—the enzyme he had previously synthesized—were stored there, perfectly intact.

He closed the storage unit, then took a hard drive from the safe and plugged it into an air-gapped desktop computer.

He reviewed the experimental data on the Jianmu Factor again.

After more than half a year of research, he had actually developed the Jianmu Factor to its second generation. He had borrowed technology from the [CRISPR-Cas9] gene editor to improve the factor’s controllability.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing technology that has emerged in recent years. It can be used to precisely knock out target gene fragments or insert designated fragments into a gene sequence.

Li Qingye had adapted the CRISPR portion of the system—a special RNA sequence capable of binding to a specific DNA sequence.

The second-generation Jianmu Factor technology, which he called ”CRISPR-JM,” could turn a target gene sequence into a pseudogene, effectively disabling it.

This built on another of his previous discoveries: the existence of ”limiter” gene sequences within the human genome. By using the Jianmu Factor, he could disable these limiters.

Unlocking these limiters could grant extraordinary abilities, but it also came with enormous risks. The pigs and lab mice he had experimented on were a clear testament to that.

Although the side effects in the pigs and mice had lessened in later experiments, the cost was still immense.

After reviewing the research data one more time, Li Qingye knew one thing with absolute clarity: with his talent, given another ten or twenty years, he could probably develop a much safer and more controllable version of the Jianmu Factor.

But he was out of time.

He spent three days preparing a new batch of Jianmu Factor, enough for a single person. He also readied the life-support nutrient solution and the experimental bed. The day before, he had even taken a laxative to completely purge his digestive system.

Lying on the bed, he inserted a catheter into himself and connected it to a large collection bucket.

He connected the heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature monitors one by one. Then, he attached the electrodes for the automated CPR machine to his chest, programming it to activate 30 seconds after detecting cardiac arrest.

He inserted an IV line connected to an oversized bag of a special, self-made nutrient solution. The bag contained enough to sustain him for fifteen days.

He fitted the oxygen mask over his face, switched on all the equipment, and gave everything one final check.

Before all this, he had instructed Old Wang and the other guard to keep a close eye on the power and water supply. If either cut out, they were to immediately start the backup diesel generator.

He also told them he would be conducting an experiment for the next half a month, during which he was not to be disturbed and would see no one.

After being promised a bonus of 3,000, Old Wang and his colleague even brought their wives in to help. They set up a two-person rotation to watch the gate and the utilities around the clock.

Inside the laboratory.

Li Qingye gazed at the freshly thawed Jianmu Factor. Casting aside all hesitation, he inserted the needle into a vein in his other arm.

Drop by drop, the liquid infused with the Jianmu Factor permeated every corner of Li Qingye’s body.

The CRISPR molecules, which were RNA fragments, passed through the cell membranes and into the nuclei. There, they traveled to the chromosomes and bound with specific gene sequences.

The moment the CRISPR molecules bound to his genes, the Jianmu Factor they carried began to take effect.

The limiters in Li Qingye’s genes were destroyed.

But the genes of a living organism are extremely resilient. Once destroyed, the limiter genes initiated their self-repair function.

However, the presence of the Jianmu Factor interfered with this self-repair process. Although the genes were technically repaired, the sequences had lost their original function.

Countless recessive genes in Li Qingye’s DNA began to activate.

「Seventeen hours later.」

”AAAAHHH...” His body felt like it was in a furnace. He saw that his temperature had reached 39.5 degrees Celsius—a clinical symptom of a cytokine storm.

He quickly administered injections of hormones and antibiotics.

He soon felt dizzy, his breathing grew rapid, and his blood sugar plummeted.

Fortunately, the life-support solution he had prepared was continuously supplying him with nutrients and energy. Otherwise, the process might have consumed him entirely.

The high fever, dizziness, and stabbing pains wracking his body continued for two days and two nights.

At the foot of the bed, more than a dozen used syringes lay scattered across the floor.

Suddenly, Li Qingye’s heart stopped.

BEEEEEP...