Chapter 40

May 3, 10 a.m.

Huang Ji used the medicine with an 86 percent success rate to cure Tang Yan.

There was no helping it. His virus fusion could bring about evolution in just three months, but it worked only for him.

Could he make others evolve? Yes, but he would have to devise a custom "perfect fusion formula" for each person.

He would also have to monitor them for ninety days, adjusting the formula constantly. There was no way to make that process widely available.

When entire species had evolved in nature, it had taken thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. Viruses passed from generation to generation until, by the time fusion was near, the whole population was infected. Even then, evolution took several more generations to complete.

Huang Ji had shortened the process to three months by eliminating the virus's ability to spread from the outset.

So the most broadly applicable and effective medicine he could offer was the one he had developed in just seventeen hours...

"You can leave now, Tang Yan," Huang Ji said after curing him.

"That fast?" Tang Yan stared at him. Hadn't he said twenty days?

"I just wanted to see whether you felt any remorse. Six years ago, my injuries were minor. I flew so far because the ground was slippery..." Huang Ji lied through his teeth.

Tang Yan froze. "Really?"

Huang Ji nodded. "I remembered your face, but I never looked for you. Running into you at the hospital was pure chance. After I brought you here and saw you wanted to make amends, I forgave you."

"No wonder you dodged so dramatically when I coughed," Tang Yan said in surprise. "You recognized me then, didn't you?"

Huang Ji pursed his lips. "If you catch a cold again, put on a mask around me."

"Have you really forgiven me?" Tang Yan asked.

"Then let's settle the account."

Huang Ji smiled. "Oh? Then you still owe me six thousand."

Tang Yan nodded. "That's only fair."

He wanted to make it up to Huang Ji. As he spoke, he reached for his money.

Huang Ji waved him off. "No need. Get lost, and don't let me see you again."

Tang Yan pressed the money into Zhang Junwei's hand and left, relieved. From start to finish, he never knew he was carrying a level-six virus.

And that was exactly what Huang Ji needed to keep hidden.

After all, once he had made the medicine, he had to release it to the public. It would cause an uproar.

If Tang Yan knew he had H1N1 and Huang Ji had cured him, he might not understand now, but once the virus began spreading, he would realize what Huang Ji had done.

Then the warehouse, along with Zhang Junwei and the others whose real names were on record, would inevitably come under public scrutiny.

The Illuminati might notice this place too.

Huang Ji could simply walk away, but all his preparation would go to waste.

After resting a while, Huang Ji took a ride alone to a small internet café far away.

He did not register with his ID. He merely glanced at the attendant.

Then he logged into the administrator account and got online for free.

"Research and Solutions for the Novel H1N1 Virus..."

He wrote a paper on his research into H1N1 over the past few days.

He carefully summarized the virus's incubation periods and infection rates across different age groups, then listed every preventive measure.

Most important were the test reagent and the medicine.

Huang Ji described the medicine's formula, effects, and side effects in detail.

He also covered possible allergic reactions, the concentrations required for different age groups, and other precautions.

He wrote for four hours, then uploaded the lengthy, illustrated paper as an attachment.

Then he began distributing it widely.

Using a newly created email account, he sent "Research and Solutions for the Novel H1N1 Virus" to every medical expert he had met.

Everyone he had met, including, but not limited to, the professors he had studied under.

Some might not check their email for months, but he sent it to every last one.

He also sent it to experts in the capital, Jin Men, Rong City, Yang City...

Professor Lu and Dean Hong had been in contact with these people. The top experts in the field all knew one another to some degree. Experts in major cities everywhere now received the paper.

As for the name on it, Huang Ji typed in a codename: Messiah.

"Reputation is an important kind of power."

Huang Ji had researched the Illuminati online. Stories about the organization had circulated for years.

The internet was full of conspiracy theories about it, with a smaller number of articles debunking them.

Notably, the Illuminati did not mind public discussion of its terrifying power or supposedly conspiratorial aims.

If anything, it had secretly fabricated many rumors that made it sound even more monstrous.

Huang Ji knew the Illuminati had debunked only a few claims. It had deliberately spread most of the conspiracy theories that exaggerated its power.

For one thing, there was no evidence, so every claim remained an urban legend.

For another, the sheer number of versions turned the stories into entertainment. That made the true parts seem less credible.

When Messiah exposed the Illuminati, the organization muddied the waters with more rumors. Without hard evidence, it did not matter if people called them Lizardmen.

That was precisely what made the Illuminati's approach so effective.

Messiah had exposed the Illuminati's vast reach—its control over the financial world and its manipulation of elections—but had ended up helping it instead.

Because most people had more immediate concerns!

Many might be outraged at first, but they soon put it out of mind. They had lives to lead, and it all felt too distant.

Once interest faded, even the slightest debunking would be enough to sway them.

Most of the claims were conspiracy theories and a few were debunkings. That suited the Illuminati perfectly: people liked believing the truth was held by a minority, and everyone wanted to be part of that minority...

They never considered that a debunking could be a lie too.

Without evidence that could shock the world, every exposé only made the Illuminati more famous.

That fame meant little among ordinary people. Whether they believed the stories did not matter.

But wealthy power brokers could be intimidated by its reputation.

When the Illuminati wanted something done and needed help from a wealthy outsider, sometimes a phone call or a letter was enough.

Such people knew the Illuminati existed, so they would not believe the "debunkings." In turn, the earlier conspiracy theories became "publicity."

They control the financial world... Am I really going to take them on? Forget it. I'd better get on their side.

Thus, without giving anything in return, the Illuminati extended its influence into a tangled web. Many of those eager to join could not even reach its outer circles.

Of course, it really did have that power. Its reputation simply spared it the trouble of flexing its muscles.

One of the rare occasions it had publicly flexed them was the American presidential election after Kennedy's death.

That election's forty-four to six result spoke for itself to those who knew.

Because six was the Illuminati's symbolic number.

The "666" that had captured Old Wang was not one person. It was merely the codename the Illuminati used when dealing with hired groups.

It called itself "666" in all dealings with groups outside its direct control.

The number represented the fallen Angel.

Revelation 13:18 in the Bible read: "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666."

So the fact that exactly six states had been lost in that election was chilling when you thought about it.

The Illuminati would not reveal its hidden strength when money and reputation could do the job.

When it suited them, "the conspiracy theories were all true." When it did not, "Come on, those were just rumors. You actually believed them?"

The question was not whether people believed. It was whether the Illuminati needed them to.

By contrast, Messiah was little more than a mouse...

To bring any group into its fold, Messiah had to expend enormous effort. People did not know who they were; most had never even heard of Messiah.

However capable Messiah was, it had to prove over and over that it could make people comply and that joining it offered a future.

And whenever a core member made a move to prove it, the Illuminati would find them.

Caught in that vicious cycle, Messiah grew weaker and weaker.

It met resistance everywhere. Everyone wanted it gone.

So Huang Ji had no qualms about spreading Messiah's name. He was not seeking people's affection or trust.

It did not matter if the name was smeared or turned into a joke. What mattered was that people knew it.

Then, when Messiah approached someone in secret, that person would at least think, Oh, so you're Messiah.

Fear, hatred, even admiration—any of it was better than being unknown...

P.S. Sorry, Six Nightmares Mirror. Your character is hundreds of light-years away, but your presence is already being felt.