Homo Sapiens

Gafei, Redis, and Harry headed straight for Dart Port once more.

However, the moment they arrived at Dart Port, they were caught in a trap.

When Gafei came to his senses again, he saw Harry locked in a cage. His expression instantly darkened.

He threatened the Soldier on guard, ”Get Mad to see me. Does he have a death wish?”

The Soldier glanced at him, then picked up a landline phone. ”Minister Phil, Gafei Fernando is awake.”

”Bring him over. The boss wants to see him.”

”Yes.”

Bound in special handcuffs, Gafei silently followed the Soldier. Even now, he still believed Mad was behind all this and wouldn’t dare do anything to him.

After an elevator ride and a walk down a corridor, Gafei found himself in an office.

”Boss, I’ve brought him,” the Soldier reported with a salute.

”Stand guard,” Li Qingye said with a wave of his hand.

Gafei looked surprised to see the middle-aged man before him. Since the Soldier had spoken English, Gafei, being from Luzon, naturally understood it.

’Who is this man? One of Mad’s underlings?’ Gafei’s face was grim as he demanded, ”Where’s Mad? Tell him to get out here. Is he too scared to even face me?”

”Mr. Gafei, are you interested in working for me?” Li Qingye asked nonchalantly from the sofa.

Gafei froze. He took a moment to properly study the man. His face, though seemingly gentle and refined, held an indescribable sharpness and arrogance.

”Who are you?”

”I’m the founder of the Homo Sapiens Company. A man who stops at nothing to achieve his goals,” Li Qingye stated directly.

”The Homo Sapiens Company? Where’s Mad?” An ominous feeling crept into Gafei’s heart.

Li Qingye smiled. ”You really want to see him? Fine.” He clapped his hands.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

The office door swung open slowly, and Mad and Redis walked in, their eyes vacant. They came to a stop at the side.

Gafei stared fixedly at his older brother, Mad, and his third uncle, Redis. His expression grew more and more horrified, and his voice trembled slightly. ”What... what did you do to them? My father won’t—”

”Why bother? Empty threats only make you look weak,” Li Qingye replied, his tone as nonchalant as ever.

Fear...

A fear like he had never known...

In Gafei’s eyes, Li Qingye’s gentle, refined face was now the face of a demon from hell.

”Will you become like Mad? Or will you become the master of Luzon? The choice is yours. And I will respect it.”

His heaving chest betrayed his intense inner struggle. But when he saw the lifeless pupils of his brother, Mad, he finally broke, his voice thick with emotion as he cried out,

”I’ll do it. As long as I don’t end up like Mad, I’ll do anything.”

Li Qingye stood up. ”A wise man knows when to yield. To the future king of Luzon, Mr. Gafei Fernando.”

PANT... PANT... Gafei was still shaken, his eyes filled with unease and panic.

”Let’s go.”

Li Qingye walked out of the office.

Gafei knew he had no other choice. He could only brace himself and follow.

When they reached an operating room, the fear in Gafei’s eyes intensified. But before he could even beg for mercy, everything went black.

Li Qingye skillfully performed the craniotomy on Gafei and implanted the bio-chip.

「The next day at noon.」

When Gafei awoke from the anesthesia, he saw Li Qingye emerging from surgery. He could feel his head wrapped in gauze, a faint stinging sensation sending a jolt of panic through him.

Li Qingye said calmly, ”Don’t worry. I’ve left everything you need in your brain. Your password is 708893. Just think it.”

’708893...’ The moment the thought formed, Gafei’s eyes shot wide, as if he were witnessing something incredible.

He became completely immersed in the administrator program, only snapping out of his shock as the sun began to set.

If before, Gafei had felt only fear and resentment toward Li Qingye, then after the ”baptism” of the administrator program, those feelings were now joined by powerlessness, adoration, and greed.

What he didn’t know was that with each technological advancement, Li Qingye’s improvements to the bio-chips were progressing at a dizzying pace.

The current bio-chips had a new hidden function: composite psychological suggestion.

The bio-chip would continuously feed the host specific visual fragments, which, combined with various hormones and pheromones, would imperceptibly bias the host in favor of Li Qingye.

This was intended to solve the drawbacks of genetic modification, while also further strengthening his control over the administrators.

After all, as the Homo Sapiens Company expanded, more and more natural humans would inevitably join its ranks, and Li Qingye couldn’t possibly convert all of them into Soldiers.

However, the program in the first-generation administrators’ bio-chips had a few flaws, namely that it preserved human desires and emotions.

The administrators might obey Li Qingye’s commands out of fear of death, but there would always be mavericks among the human species.

This meant that one day, fearless individuals might emerge from the ranks of the administrators. The damage such people could inflict upon the Homo Sapiens Company would be unimaginable.

After all, as internal members of the Homo Sapiens Company—and administrators privy to many of its secrets—if they were to lash out recklessly, the losses would be catastrophic.

To that end, Li Qingye began updating the administrator program and the Type-2 bio-chip with a psychological suggestion function.

This function took advantage of the human ability to dream. Coupled with the covert stimulation of various hormones and pheromones, it would make the host subconsciously develop a sense of belonging to the Homo Sapiens Company and, by extension, loyalty to Li Qingye.

This was the fourth line of defense Li Qingye had established, following bio-chip control, Soldier surveillance, and the Gu Insect - Malaria Parasite.

At this point, all Gafei knew was that a bio-chip had been implanted in his brain, and that it contained an administrator program.

He remained completely oblivious, however, to the Gu Insect - Malaria Parasite hidden inside his body and the psychological suggestion function of the bio-chip and its administrator program.

Unless someone knew about the psychological suggestion function from the very beginning or had undergone professional anti-brainwashing training, it was highly unlikely that anyone could resist such a subtle and pervasive influence.

Of course, even if someone could resist, the bio-chip would be able to detect the anomaly.

After all, to counteract this psychological suggestion, the brain would inevitably secrete specific hormones and pheromones as an instinctive biological response.

For instance, if an administrator’s mind was constantly filled with thoughts of fear, hatred, disgust, and destruction, their body would secrete the corresponding hormones and pheromones.

Through this monitoring, he could essentially screen out any disloyal administrators.

Unwilling to engage in political maneuvering with his subordinates, Li Qingye could only resort to technology to solve the problem.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand how to win people over. His ancestral memories contained countless methods for winning hearts and cultivating die-hard loyalists.

The problem was that winning hearts and minds was a slow, high-risk, high-cost solution with limited applicability.

And Li Qingye simply had no time to waste.

Never mind that he only had about eighteen years left to live; even with a normal lifespan, winning people over would take far too long.

Such a plan required a huge investment for pitifully small returns and was fraught with uncertainty. He’d have to be insane to use it.

Wasn’t direct technological control the far more appealing option?

It most certainly was.