Snowy Night Chapter 18: Undercurrents (Part 1)

Beyond the Security Bureau's 9th and 11th Groups, there was another force, largely unknown to most: the Security Bureau's 13th Group.

While the Security Bureau's 9th and 11th Groups focused on Internal Energy and formed the absolute main force, the low-profile 13th Group specialized in physical enhancement. Most of its members were successful users of A1 and A2 Gene Potions. Although the A3 Gene Potion had also been successfully researched, its exorbitant cost prevented widespread adoption.

Despite the 13th Group boasting nearly a hundred Level 3 experts with formidable physical strength, they were still significantly outmatched by the 9th and 11th Groups. The 13th Group had long been overlooked, but this all changed with the advent of the B1 Gene Potion.

Level 4 experts were absolute powerhouses, even in the underground world, belonging to the Xiantian Stage. Though the B1 Gene Potion carried immense risks, the nation experimented on death row inmates, erasing their memories and re-educating them to become fiercely loyal soldiers.

The emergence of Level 4 experts greatly elevated the status of the Security Bureau's 13th Group, bringing them almost on par with the 11th Group. After all, cultivating Xiantian experts in the 11th Group took an exceptionally long time.

In just one year, the Security Bureau's 13th Group produced over thirty Level 4 experts. However, their pace in creating Level 4 warriors had begun to slow.

The cost of the B1 Gene Potion was comparable to the A2 Gene Potion, with each dose costing around one million US dollars. Selling it for five million dollars in the US wasn't an excessive profit, considering such items typically had profit margins exceeding tenfold; a fourfold profit was not considered substantial. The B1 Gene Potion had a 90% mortality rate, creating thirty Level 4 experts while killing nearly three hundred death row inmates. While the deaths of these inmates were deemed acceptable, as they were already slated for execution, it also consumed over three hundred doses of the B1 Gene Potion, amounting to approximately three hundred million US dollars.

The nation's annual budget for the Security Bureau was only a few billion US dollars, with most allocated to espionage and intelligence work. Despite its effectiveness, the Security Bureau's 13th Group received only five hundred million US dollars. The primary focus within the 13th Group was life science research, which was the most expensive endeavor. Normal operational research costs alone ran between two to three hundred million US dollars annually. This left the 13th Group with the capacity to create at most thirty Level 4 experts per year.

Since these Level 4 experts relied on muscular strength, their peak performance lasted only about ten years. The Security Bureau's 13th Group could maintain a maximum of three hundred Level 4 experts at any given time.

However, the Security Bureau's 11th Group possessed dozens of Level 5 experts and three to four hundred Level 4 experts. Most importantly, experts who cultivated Internal Energy generally grew stronger with age; some of the "immortals" in the 11th Group had even reached Level 6. All of this compelled the Security Bureau's 13th Group to seek a breakthrough, lest they remain unable to truly compare with, let alone surpass, the 11th Group.

The overall leader of the Security Bureau's 13th Group was the former dean of the Life Science Research Institute, also its director. His name was Bai Yang, the old man with the white beard.

Inside the old man Bai Yang's office.

"Hmph, I refuse to believe my Security Bureau's 13th Group can't measure up to your 11th Group, Old Man Zhang!" The old man Bai Yang, stroking his beard, glared at the document in his hand, clearly agitated.

The document compared the performance of the Security Bureau's 11th and 13th Groups in executing A-class or higher missions over the past year. Clearly, the 11th Group's achievements far surpassed the 13th Group's.

Who was the old man Bai Yang? He was an elder who had lived for nearly a century. He hailed from a cultivation family and, in his youth, developed a passion for life science research, dedicating himself to it wholeheartedly. His research fervor was so intense that he often forgot to eat or sleep. In his youth, he had already reached the Xiantian Stage, giving him superior physical conditioning, making it normal for him to sleep only two to three hours a day. After reaching the Golden Core Stage, he no longer needed sleep at all. In life science research, there was truly no one in the world who could compare to him. After all, the experts who researched life science in Bai Yang's era were now all dead. Even those who were still alive were in their eighties or nineties and their minds were no longer sharp. Only cultivators like Bai Yang grew stronger with age; his current state was so abnormal that he didn't need to sleep at all, and his mind was even sharper than a young man's!

With such a monstrous talent working for the nation, how could its life science not be at the forefront of the world?

The A-series Gene Potions were his creation. Later, the United States obtained a vial of the A1 Gene Potion through special means and, after two years of research, also developed the A1.

Now, having learned from past experiences, Bai Yang personally managed the B1 Gene Potion, approving each administration to experimental subjects himself. Consequently, even though other countries learned of the B1's existence and dispatched countless spies and agents, they failed to succeed. After all, trying to steal a gene potion from a cultivator was beyond the capabilities of those agents; they likely wouldn't even get close before being detected by the old man Bai Yang's Spiritual Sense.

"Hmm, an experimental subject with 30 crystals of physical energy in the past reached over 7,000 crystals of physical strength. If someone with over 100 crystals of physical energy takes the B1, could they possess over 10,000 crystals of energy?" Bai Yang was constantly contemplating the creation of Level 5 experts.

Since the number of experts created each year was fixed, he aimed to improve their quality. The value of a Level 5 expert was undoubtedly far greater than that of a Level 4 expert.

"Li Yang should be close to 100 crystals after a year of training!" Bai Yang stroked his white beard and pressed a button on his desk. A young man then entered.

"Teacher, is there something you need?" the young man asked, looking at Bai Yang with reverence.

Bai Yang smiled slightly and said, "Go bring Li Yang here!"

The young man's eyes lit up: "Teacher has finally decided to bring him! That's great! He's the strongest in terms of physical energy among us now. I wonder if he can exceed 10,000 crystals after taking the B1 Gene Potion. If he does, it means we can create Level 5 experts!"

Bai Yang looked at his student and nodded with a smile, "This is the moment that will decide the future of our 13th Group. Hurry!" Bai Yang felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

Being suppressed by the Security Bureau's 11th Group for decades, Bai Yang, with his proud nature, could not accept it. Now that the 13th Group had a chance to rise, how could he not be thrilled? His calm demeanor was merely a result of his cultivator's state of mind.

"Li Yang, get ready. We're going to the third level of the base for an experiment!"

Li Yang, leaning against the cold metal wall, jolted slightly. A smile then spread across his face: "It's been a year. A full year, and I finally get the chance to take the gene potion!" Li Yang tossed aside the strong liquor in his hand and slowly stood up