Humanity

For Professor's explanation, Li Aoz remained noncommittal. On the surface, he feigned skepticism, but in reality, his attitude towards Professor and the entire Netherhumanitarian Aid Organization wasn't much better.

Before being brought to Professor, he had already been injected with various doses of drugs and subjected to three hours of interrogation, but these were nothing to Li Aoz.

Although not a transcedent, his Charm stat was high. After taking a few hits and putting on a pitiful act, revealing only a few words, the other party would believe him.

However, Li Aoz was helpless against drugs like Truth Serum. He could only bite his tongue to prevent revealing the truth.

In fact, if Li Aoz activated his faction panel at this moment, he believed Professor's favorability towards him wouldn't be too low.

The most comfortable aspect of the [Charm] attribute is that it is released indiscriminately to the selected object. Even elemental creatures, mechanical lifeforms, and void nightmares will like to be with you if your Charm is high enough.

However, in order to gain the other party's trust, Li Aoz deliberately hesitated before asking Professor, "What exactly is Esha?"

"To answer that question—I must first ask, how much do you know about Aura?"

"Is there any connection?" Li Aoz pretended to be puzzled.

"A significant one."

Professor adjusted her glasses and patiently explained, "You should know that before the Galactic Era, in the so-called old era, the people of Azure Planet did not have Aura, nor did they have Martial Artists or Psychics. Humans greeted each other with nuclear weapons, living in the shadow and fear of nuclear war, but also because of the principle of mutual Destruction—humans almost never engaged in full-scale wars."

"It's somewhat laughable, but the most peaceful period of human civilization was actually lived on the edge of world Destruction."

"However, all of this was based on the premise that 'a nuclear war would lead to the collapse of civilization'."

"A historical philosopher once said: weapons determine the mode of war. At some point, humanity uncovered a power more sinful than nuclear weapons."

Professor paused, then suddenly asked, "Mr. Patient, what do you think of superhumans?"

Li Aoz's heart stirred, and he immediately replied in the format he had anticipated:

"Superhumans are still individuals, and they still need a group to nurture and support them. However, the emergence of a large number of superhumans will pose a great challenge to social order. The class gap, which could originally be balanced through knowledge and education, will be even more difficult to cross in the future."

Professor nodded, somewhat surprised:

"I must say, you do live up to your reputation as a civilized person who actively fled into the Outland. Truly extraordinary."

"The children of superhumans will still be superhumans, and they will be even more stable than the wealthy and royal families."

"Therefore, even if a person from the bottom changes their fate through superhuman power, their descendants will still become the rulers of the monopolistic class, even more so than before."

At this point, Professor looked at him:

"And the essence of the changes in the mode of war, the changes in class, and the great changes in world order—is the emergence of transcedent."

"Transcendents can easily infiltrate the depths of cities, carry out terrorist attacks, or assassinate corporate executives, government officials, or even cause natural disasters."

"Once such a superhuman appears, they will turn the old stable order upside down. Ultimately, this also led to the weakening of the nuclear deterrent effect. Under the assassination and Destruction of transcendents, national leaders began to recklessly wage war, no longer cherishing peace."

"The final outcome—is the world as it is today."

"So, what led to the emergence of transcendents?"

"I think you've already guessed it."

Li Aoz said in a deep voice:

"Esha."

Professor sighed, "Yes, it's all a matter of Esha."

"Although no one has ever pointed out what those red and black substances in the sky are, there is no doubt that the moment they appeared on Azure Planet, transcendents also appeared on the ground."

"Don't you think it's a coincidence?"

"Those martial arts that claim to have been passed down for thousands of years were silent during the nuclear war era, but now that technology is clearly more advanced, Martial Artists who only rely on physical strength have suddenly become super soldiers who can take the head of an enemy general from among thousands of troops."

"Abilities that defy physics, Psychics and sorcerers who were once regarded as feudal superstitions, and even special organizations that cultivate psychic potential."

"These things have existed on Azure Planet for less than three hundred years, and people have forgotten that they all emerged almost overnight."

She pointed upwards and said, "Just like... that red and black cloud. Bringing misfortune, allowing evil to run rampant."

"So, you call that red and black cloud Esha?"

Li Aoz frowned. He had not personally done this mission, and the other party's statement surprised him somewhat.

It wasn't so much that it was shocking... but rather, the guess was pretty close to the truth.

Although Li Aoz wasn't optimistic about whether a conclusion could be reached in time using the other party's research methods, the Professor's thinking was correct.

He immediately followed up with the question of triggering the mission:

"You think Esha is a virus? That's why it infected me?"

"Without a doubt, Esha is an unprecedented virus."

The Professor said in a deep voice, "It's a nanovirus. Its diameter is only a few nanometers, while conventional viruses are usually over 10 nanometers."

"Esha undoubtedly comes from substances in the atmosphere and is transmitted through the air. It doesn't directly cause death, and patients with infection levels below level 3 won't show obvious pathological features."

"Yes, judging by your expression, I can probably guess what you're thinking."

"The reason why the Outland can still retain most of its living population is actually due to the effect of Esha. It doesn't kill the host, and to some extent, as a small virus, it chooses to coexist with the host, killing other viruses and microorganisms—so basically, those infected with Esha can almost be said to be immune to all diseases."

Li Aoz nodded.

There was a reason why resistance organizations like the 'Rose Army' still appeared in the Outland, and were even able to fight against the Four Nations, which controlled interstellar technology.

But then, the Professor changed the subject: "However, once the infection level is above level 3, the situation changes."

"I said before that Esha is very small, which means it can enter the cell membranes and cell walls of organisms, directly targeting chromosomes and molecular structures."

"It kills the original chromosome fragments and then quickly replicates itself to fill the gaps."

"Among them, some people have gained unprecedented extraordinary abilities because their molecular structure has been altered by Esha, such as jumping farther, growing scales, and autonomously controlling bone hyperplasia."

"But most people aren't so lucky."

"The vast majority of level 3 infected people will quickly become deformed due to gene collapse, or age and die early, or be unable to take care of themselves, ultimately leading to death."

"At level 4, the infected will undergo new changes."

"Some of them mutate more thoroughly, even deviating from the human form and degenerating into inhuman monsters, wandering in the Outland and becoming terrifying beasts."

"I boldly believe that the other part of level 4 infected people are the most common transcendents in the world today."

"Whether it's the Internal Energy Yuanqi that controls martial arts, or the Aura that manipulates the laws of nature and is different from scientific rules, or the Spiritual Power that communicates with and drives spirits, or the magic that communicates with the elements, or even the hunters who extract power from machines, Esha components can be detected in their bodies."

"No matter how you look at it, such a virus is not a product of natural birth. After so many years of research, it has further convinced me that this red and black Esha virus is by no means the work of nature."

The Professor said here, looking at Li Aoz with a heavy expression: "In other words, this is a creation that exceeds the limits of human technology. The existing human technology and environmental level cannot create this kind of substance at all. Its source can only be from..."

The Professor didn't explicitly state the object, seemingly a little afraid.

Li Aoz didn't have such scruples. Seeing that the time was right, he interjected, "—From the abyss of the stars."

"The abyss of the stars... Heh, that's a very apt description."

The Professor glanced at Li Aoz with a complicated expression:

"You are the only existence we have observed that meets the criteria of a level 5 infected person."

"Although infected, you can still maintain your sanity and have strong self-harm tendencies and hallucinations—these are characteristics that level 4 infected people have never shown. According to research data and clinical data, we have always believed that level 5 infected people exist, but only today... have you shown the possibility of matching."

"...What do you want to do?"

"Mr. Li Aoz, you are very important."

The Professor said, "Netherhumanitarian Aid Organization is a humanitarian aid organization that emphasizes the value of people and upholds human dignity and rights. Similarly, we oppose any form of control and coercion of people's thoughts."

"Although your identity is important, and can even be said to change the fate of all mankind, the things we will do to you may not be in line with the conventional sense of humanitarian principles."

"In short, we need you to cooperate with us in research, which is of great significance to the world and can even save the lives of billions of people in the Outland."

"But, I also want to remind you."

"During the experiment, in order to achieve the goal, it is very likely that irreversible damage will be caused to your psychological and physiological well-being. I hope to inform you of such consequences in advance."

"You can choose to leave. Netherhumanitarian Aid Organization is a humanitarian aid organization. We don't want to kidnap your personal freedom of survival with the fate and future of all mankind."

"So, please make your choice."

Before she finished speaking, a system prompt immediately popped up in front of Li Aoz:

—[Join the Netherhumanitarian Aid Organization?]
[Yes/No?]