It seemed like an inconspicuous insight, but it was often precisely such seemingly insignificant knowledge that could save humanity from perishing through ignorance.
"Doctor Yi, thank you for everything you've done for humanity!" Having understood the significance of it all, Yue Yuan sincerely offered the customary words of praise. Then he stood up. "Oh, right, Doctor Yi. If the institute runs out of serum, just let me know. A few tubes of blood are nothing—I can handle it."
"That would be great. But Doctor Lu drew several tubes not long ago, so there's still some left." Yi Kai rose as well, apparently intending to walk Yue Yuan to the door.
Yue Yuan knew the Doctor Lu he meant. She was a female doctor named Lu Xiaofen, formerly a linguistics expert on Callisto and one of the people who had inhaled the Red Gas.
Since the other five had all been buried on Earth, Yue Yuan and Doctor Lu were now humanity's only living hosts of the Red Gas. Naturally, the institute used their serum for research.
They also happened to be one man and one woman, satisfying the requirements for sex-specific control experiments.
Yue Yuan stepped through the main entrance. "All right."
"Almost forgot—regarding the serum research, if Chief Yue has time in the near future, please undergo a specialized physical examination. Once the results are out, just have someone deliver them to our Life Genetics Research Institute." Yi Kai was about to turn back inside when he suddenly stopped and called out to Yue Yuan.
"A specialized physical examination? What kind of examination?" Yue Yuan straightened his slightly wrinkled shirt and turned back with a puzzled expression.
"Uh, well..." Yi Kai scratched his itchy chin, drawing out his words as though considering how best to put it.
After a few seconds of silence, Yi Kai looked at Yue Yuan and continued, "I believe Chief Yue understood what I said earlier. The Red Gas 'fooled' the instincts of the life genetic factors. Of course, from another perspective, that means the aging genes have been suppressed. But that isn't what I want to talk about now."
"Spit it out."
"I get it—cut the crap." Yi Kai smoothly picked up Yue Yuan's words, then said seriously, "Because of that, we reached a conclusion. While this conclusion is perfectly normal in lifespan research, I still think it's necessary to inform you, Chief Yue, since it concerns your body."
Seeing Yue Yuan raise an eyebrow at him, Yi Kai cleared his throat. "To put it plainly, Chief Yue, you should undergo a thorough fertility examination."
"What?" Yue Yuan looked utterly baffled.
"Exactly what it sounds like. A fertility examination," Yi Kai repeated.
After freezing for a moment, Yue Yuan understood. He quickly confirmed, "Doctor Yi, are you saying that Red Gas can make people infertile?"
"Yes. That is our conclusion. It will cause infertility, but not complete infertility." Yi Kai continued as if talking to himself. "Because the inherited information behind biological instincts has also been suppressed, hosts should theoretically lose their reproductive ability as a result. However, according to our projections, this loss should be reversed once the suppressive effect fades. Judging from the lifespan extension you've received so far, that should happen in around five hundred years."
At that, Yi Kai paused. Seeing Yue Yuan remain silent, he asked, "Chief Yue, do you understand what I mean?"
I'm not an idiot.
Yue Yuan rolled his eyes. "I understand. In roughly five hundred years, I'll return to a normal stage of growth, regain my fertility, and gradually begin aging again. Is that what you mean?"
"Chief Yue truly has a quick mind." Yi Kai gave Yue Yuan a huge thumbs-up.
Quick mind, my ass.
I just followed your train of thought.
"I understand. I'll get checked later. It'll be a deep-level genetic test, right?" Yue Yuan confirmed. He had thought it would be something serious, but it was only this.
Whether people could reproduce was indeed a major issue for humanity today, but personally, Yue Yuan did not find it that hard to accept. He had never cared much about his own fertility.
What he cared about more was how this would affect humanity.
If lifespan technology could truly be developed successfully from the serum, would it also cause temporary infertility, just as it had for him?
If so, they would need to consider policies governing the use of that technology in advance. Though the matter was still far from becoming reality, Yue Yuan believed that as long as humanity survived, such technology would eventually be achieved—and had to be achieved.
A long lifespan was not a necessary prerequisite for exploring the vast universe, but it was an important factor in determining success or failure.
Just think about voyages lasting centuries. If several generations were replaced before they even reached their destination, perhaps no one would bother setting sail in the first place. If they could not arrive within their own lifetime anyway, they might as well stay home and enjoy themselves.
Of course, Yue Yuan had also heard that Yi Kai said it was only a projection that fertility would return. A projection was just a projection; perhaps it would not return at all.
But Yue Yuan did not care much about that either. At worst, if it was truly confirmed in the future that recovery was impossible, they could formulate corresponding policies—such as requiring people to have a certain number of children before using the technology. It was no great issue.
"How come this problem wasn't discovered when I was examined in Beijing?" Yue Yuan suddenly recalled the physical examination he had undergone there. He said to Yi Kai, "I remember the examination was quite comprehensive at the time. They tested almost every bodily function, including sperm activity and sexual function, but this problem never came up."
"You can't discover the issue merely by looking at indicators like activity levels. Some things can only be known through actual experimentation. If Doctor Lu hadn't cooperated, I wouldn't have discovered this problem either." Yi Kai shook his head and answered Yue Yuan's question.
???
"Doctor Lu cooperated? How did she cooperate?" Yue Yuan seemed to have caught a keyword.
Yi Kai pretended not to hear him and turned to walk back inside. "Ahem, it's nothing. Chief Yue, you can't go wrong getting examined."
Holy shit!
Could this old man have gotten together with Doctor Lu? As Yue Yuan watched Yi Kai walk away, Doctor Lu's figure appeared in his mind.
He remembered that Lu Xiaofen was only about thirty-five this year, while Yi Kai seemed to be seventy-five already. He really could not tell that the old man still had it in him.
Not only had an old bull gone after young grass, but he had also advanced his work research while handling private business. That was what it meant to balance work and life! For some reason, Yue Yuan suddenly recalled a line from a poem written by Lu You over a thousand years ago: "Do not say the old ox plows slowly through hardship; though I am eighty, I still have strength to till."
To be honest, Yue Yuan knew he had misunderstood the line's meaning, but for some reason, he found it strangely fitting.
"An examination it is, then. Might as well see what exactly the problem is." After muttering that, Yue Yuan turned and left as well.
There was definitely nothing wrong with his performance. Yue Yuan knew his own body, and he also believed Yi Kai would not joke about something like this.
After all, judging from what he had said just now, the old man had probably tested it himself. Seventy-odd years old was not truly one foot in the grave in this day and age.
Before you continue