Gene-Seed

"Gene-Seed?"

Alexia paused, clearly hearing the concept for the first time.

"Correct." Sui Yang nodded slightly and said, "The serum extracted from my blood simply cannot be applied to normal humans; to an ordinary person, it is more like a lethal poison. The most crucial factor in why the Universal Soldiers can adapt to the serum is that they are already dead. Although the human body retains a certain level of activity after death, the immune system rapidly fails, thereby avoiding rejection and other side effects. But even if the Universal Soldiers are tuned and perfected, they are ultimately living dead—they possess no autonomous intelligence, no convictions, and no faith. They are merely consumables used to deal with superhuman scum or to execute suicidal missions. They are weapons."

"That is indeed the case..." Alexia did not deny Sui Yang's point, adding, "And Vought International's Compound V... although we do not currently have physical samples of Compound V, based on my deductions, it should be a hormone that disrupts genes and induces human potential. However, this hormone is random and cannot be programmed; otherwise, Vought International would have had thousands of Soldier Boys long ago, and they wouldn't have built research centers that claim to be orphanages but are actually human experimentation facilities for children. Tsk, trash. This kind of research has betrayed its original intent. Even if they produced a powerful individual like Soldier Boy, the lack of control, the randomness, and the severe side effects all indicate that Compound V is a failure."

Listening to this twenty-three-year-old head of biology, it seemed she held Vought and Compound V in great contempt. Sui Yang stood with his hands behind his back, offering no evaluation of Alexia's views and having no intention of playing the riddle-master. He explained to her:

"Compound V was never in my priority range from the start. Previously, you only had my blood and genetic samples; now, you have Sanguinius and Roboute, who share a direct bloodline with me. An increase in materials and samples means more possibilities. Therefore, I want you to use cloning technology to replicate my body and theirs to conduct experiments, attempting to cultivate a gland that carries genetic information. Then, from adolescents aged 8 to 11, select those with suitable physiques and genes, implant this gland into them, and carry out a slow and safe transformation. Let their bodies gradually adapt and acquire healing, strength, speed, and reaction capabilities far exceeding those of ordinary people."

"Once these candidates pass through puberty and reach adulthood, full-scale surgical modification will significantly reduce the mortality rate. However, according to my projections, by the time the first batch of super soldiers can be officially deployed to the battlefield, the R&D Department led by Dr. Wang should have already developed exclusive power armor and weapons. Only then can these candidates be considered true super soldiers. At the same time, this gland will mature twice—once when the candidates are between 22 and 25, and again between 32 and 35—and new glands can be extracted from their bodies to be implanted into and transform more candidates. As more candidates complete the transformation, the number of super soldiers will increase, thus completing the mass production phase. And this is exactly what I mean by Gene-Seed."

Sui Yang paused here, giving Alexia time to digest the information, before continuing after a moment: "Of course, this is all my projection, a hypothesis."

"No... Boss..." However, after hearing Sui Yang's explanation, Alexia's face went blank, and she rubbed her temples vigorously with her left index finger.

Suddenly, as if jolted awake, Alexia hurried back to her desk. She sat down, used the mouse to wake the sleeping computer, created a new document on the desktop, and then began typing rapidly as if struck by inspiration, her tone quite excited: "Boss! Actually, I had a very vague idea similar to this long ago, but I was young then and felt it was impractical, so I pushed it to the back of my mind. But after hearing your hypothesis, Boss, I find the feasibility of this route to be extremely high!"

Seeing Alexia fall into a state of near-mania, Sui Yang turned away, speechless. He had not expected that she had also entertained thoughts similar to "Gene-Seed." However, based on the emotional feedback he received through his psychic senses, Sui Yang was certain of one thing: there were many factors contributing to Alexia's excitement, the largest of which was the arrival of a new, challenging problem. After all, for a genius, completing a challenge that the world deems impossible is highly seductive; only then can their uniqueness, which sets them apart from the mundane, be highlighted.

As for the cloning Sui Yang mentioned, in the world before his transmigration, the first mammal had already been successfully cloned in 1996: Dolly the sheep. Most top pharmaceutical companies in the main universe possessed very mature cloning technology, and Atlas had already applied it to the Universal Soldier project. But whether it was a cloned sheep or a clone of a human, they all faced the problem of "premature aging." Taking Dolly as an example, a sheep's lifespan is usually 12 years, but at age 6, Dolly was diagnosed with severe lung disease, arthritis, and other symptoms of old age. Eventually, due to a lung infection, researchers euthanized Dolly to end her suffering. Conversely, because Sui Yang had invested heavily in Atlas, the Bioengineering Department had made breakthroughs in nuclear transfer technology, but the failure rate for cultivating synthetic egg cells remained stable at 77%. Even when embryos were cultivated and artificial wombs were used to successfully "birth" cloned organisms, more than 70% of them still had severe defects or died prematurely.

Clones of humans faced even more problems. The difference between humans and animals lies in "intelligence." A cloned sheep can eat and reproduce based on biological instinct, but the physical age of a human clone is equal to that of the donor who provided the somatic cells, while their "mind" remains at the stage of a newborn. Even with education, clones are still driven by instinct and cannot engage in normal communication. After Sui Yang opened the ruins and gained psychic powers, he discovered that clones were more like "souls without self-awareness." When the Universal Soldier project was launched, the Atlas Bioengineering Department tried to clone him using his cells, but the results were, without exception, deformities or even bloody, tumor-like tissues. However, since the goal was to cultivate Gene-Seed, deformities and tumors were of no consequence.

"Waaah!! Waaah!"

Just then, a loud cry made Sui Yang, who was about to leave the office to inspect the facility, jump slightly. He immediately walked through the automatic sensor door and entered the isolation room. Arriving between the two cribs, Sui Yang found that both children were awake, and Roboute was still the one crying the most piercingly.

"Hehe~"

But when the two children saw Sui Yang, they immediately beamed with joy and reached out their chubby little hands, seemingly wanting their father to hold them. Seeing this, Sui Yang looked up and instructed Alexia, who was outside the isolation room: "Once the Universal Soldier project is completely finished, then start the new Super Soldier Project. There is no need to rush. Also... do not attempt to clone Sanguinius or Roboute at this stage."