Although Academician Li Yanhuang strongly opposed displaying Yan Anqing's research results to the outside world, all attempts and protests were like an ant trying to shake a tree, a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly meaningless.
The world was now bizarre and ever-changing, shifting three times a day. China needed Yan Anqing to stand at the forefront and establish the image of a positive, celebrity scientist.
Once people's faith in science collapsed, all sorts of ambitious schemers would emerge, and public sentiment would begin to waver.
Strangely enough, the Limitless Cell Proliferation Manual created by Yan Anqing was also being used by other Golden-Eyed Ones, yet they had gained little from it.
That was only to be expected.
After all, at present, only Ma Ran and Yu Hongyi had been modified by Yan Anqing and implanted with Limitless Cells. The other Golden-Eyed Ones were merely ordinary people in the truest sense.
Under such circumstances, the higher-ups attached immense importance to Yan Anqing's research experiments and poured vast resources into them.
The notion of "luck," initially treated as a joke, had gradually spread and gained recognition from more people.
Yan Anqing also understood the current situation very clearly. It looked dazzling and glorious, but in truth, it was perilous.
There were countless gifted talents in the world.
Only Yan Anqing had produced results...
For one or two months, no one would be suspicious. After all, scientific research required luck as well. But after one or two years, if no one else had achieved anything at all, what would everyone think?
What he needed to do was earn two more new achievements, complete the second stage of the Main Quest, and see whether the newly unlocked function of the cheat could help with the current situation.
If that path proved unworkable, then he would have no choice but to implement Plan B.
The hot-blooded youth Yu Hongyi failed to notice Yan Anqing's distraction. With a solemn expression, he said, "Brother Yan, I feel like I've reached a critical point. No matter how hard I train or meditate, I can't improve even a little further."
After spending some time together, Yu Hongyi's way of addressing Yan Anqing had changed as well, becoming much more familiar than before.
"I know."
Yan Anqing gave a slight nod. A faint light flickered in his eyes.
Yu Hongyi and Ma Ran, the two test subjects, had confirmed that Limitless Cells caused no rejection in the human body and had no other negative effects.
So, he had modified his own body as well.
The same ten percent Superpower Cell coverage rate.
This had reached the first limit of the extreme modification!
Yan Anqing had once tried to forcefully break through this critical point with the cheat, only to discover that his muscles could not withstand a greater load.
If he threw a full-force punch, muscle bundles such as the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and triceps would rupture outright. He might even trigger severe consequences such as shattered internal organs and burst blood vessels from exerting too much force.
The human body was the most precise instrument. Move one part, and the whole body was affected. Every component influenced the others, making it difficult to observe and modify them in isolation.
If it had been anyone else, they would probably have needed to lie in bed for a month or so before barely regaining mobility.
Yet Yan Anqing quickly repaired his body with the cheat and restored himself to perfect condition.
When facing such a bottleneck and limit, there were currently two relatively reliable solutions.
1. Conduct specialized training and allow the Limitless Cells to gradually increase the strength of the muscle bundles over time. After all, the cheat had the function of Reasonable Modification. This method was the safest and most universally applicable, but it took longer.
2. Directly replace the muscle fibers with a higher-strength material! Simple, fast, and brutal, but it might exceed the limits of the Reasonable Modification function and cause immeasurable aftereffects.
Qu Li rubbed his throbbing temples and walked grimly to the secure computer, then opened a browser.
Gathering fragmented knowledge online was one of the ways he relaxed.
Besides, sometimes the words of workers in other professions could also become a source of inspiration for research.
He opened a military forum he frequented.
Sure enough, just as Qu Li had expected.
Even this place had been flooded with posts about "Golden-Eyed Ones," "Blood Moon," "Fuxi Cells," "Superpower Cavities," and "Limitless Cells."
After idly browsing the "Domestic Current Affairs" section for a while, Qu Li was about to check another forum when a newly posted thread suddenly caught his attention.
"Insider information! I have a friend who suddenly grew two centimeters taller after the Blood Moon. He hadn't taken it seriously at first, but just yesterday, his eyes suddenly turned silver! He's confused and distressed now, and he doesn't know what to do. Everyone, please give him some advice..."
More than a hundred replies quickly appeared beneath the original poster's thread.
"Sure, 'a friend.'"
"The classic 'I have a friend'... Could the Silver-Eyed person the OP mentioned be the OP himself?"
"I'm so jealous of the OP... I heard that over in Ruonan, there was a girl who had looked completely ordinary, but after awakening silver eyes, she instantly became a perfect woman. She's so beautiful that it makes people's hearts tremble!"
"Are you talking about that 'Dong Shi' upstairs? I've seen her photo shoot. Damn, it's even more effective than plastic surgery. This big sis is almost dying of jealousy!"
"Ahhh! I missed the Golden-Eyed Ones, and I missed the Silver-Eyed too! Am I destined to be an ordinary person for the rest of my life? I refuse to accept this! I'll defy the heavens!"
"Wake up. Stop dreaming. The Golden-Eyed Ones might not actually be lucky. I heard those people were secretly captured and sliced up for experiments."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true! Otherwise, where do you think Yan Anqing's experimental results came from? Dissecting thin air?"
"Isn't this just one picture at the start, with the rest made up?"
Seeing this, Qu Li shut down the page with a twitch of his eye.
Recently, Silver-Eyed people around the world had begun appearing in droves. They numbered ten times as many as the Golden-Eyed Ones, yet they likewise displayed all sorts of physical changes.
"Yan Anqing..."
Qu Li's teeth ground together with sharp cracking sounds, as though he wanted to chew that name to pieces and swallow it whole.
Clearly, before Yu Hongyi's test data had come out, he had possessed even more research material than Yan Anqing, yet his results were far inferior to the other's.
Was it really just because his luck was worse?
Not necessarily!
Jealousy was like black flame, licking at his heart.
Qu Li knew better than anyone how deeply he resented Yan Anqing.
Yet he chose to indulge and let that emotion rage and spread.
Because...
What had supported him until now and brought him to his current position had never been friendship, family affection, or love, but hatred, desire, and jealousy.
Qu Li hated his own mediocrity, so he spared no cost and used every means possible to climb upward.
His bottomless desires ensured that he was never satisfied with the status quo. Even when his mind was exhausted to its limit, he still forced himself to keep surpassing critical points.
His jealousy toward the exceptional drove Qu Li to constantly push himself, never allowing himself to slack off for even half a day.
Qu Li had rationally analyzed himself many times.
He accepted and acknowledged this version of himself.
He had even been actively nurturing that "fire of jealousy" within his heart.
That was now his greatest source of motivation...
He firmly believed that he would eventually achieve results and surpass Yan Anqing.
Yan Anqing was merely a stepping stone before he reached the summit.
All his life, Qu Li...
Would be inferior to no one!
A reflection...
Stories needed logic. Reality truly did not need such a thing...
Before you continue