Hidden Among the Common Folk

The difference between viruses and antibodies is that viruses can evolve indefinitely, splitting into tens of thousands of variant strains. Their mutation ability becomes increasingly terrifying, eventually forming a large family of viruses.

This is also the evolutionary source of "biochemical brain-computer interfaces".

The stronger the virus, the greater its development potential.

But antibodies work the other way around; once the virus dies, the antibodies disappear from the body automatically.

Then, something rather ironic happened—

Previously, executives from other groups had tried their best to solve the transmissibility of the "virus," but to no avail.

Now the situation has reversed; Venus Life Safety Group has tried everything, but has been unable to resolve this antibody.

Countless dangerous biological experiments have been conducted, yielding disappointing conclusions.

No viral subtype can escape this antibody.

"If the tenth-generation mutant virus fails, then let's develop the eleventh-generation virus!"

"Why is the new virus temporarily unable to access the cloud network? Is there a problem with the simulated signal frequency?"

"The experimenters underwent large-scale physical mutations and have been eliminated."

"Mobilize resources from all major biological laboratories and get help from headquarters as well. In short, we must complete the development of a higher-level viral vector as soon as possible."

"A large-scale antibody event has been detected in area 9-4-513. Network signals are down in this area. Send someone to investigate immediately!"

"One of the S-class mutants in the security department has developed symptoms such as fever, which is suspected to be due to the activation of 'antibodies.' He is suppressing his memory cells to prevent them from dividing and producing more antibodies."

"Why is there a problem with the security department? Aren't S-class mutants supposed to have the most evolved physical bodies?"

"Well, it's precisely because of their strong physiques that once antibodies appear, they can expel the virus a hundred times faster than ordinary people."

"Is he able to connect to the internet now!?"

"I'm afraid not."

"His S-rank ability data hasn't been fully uploaded to the cloud yet, damn it! One bad news after another."

In just one week, bad news came one after another, causing headaches and confusion for the higher-ups.

Who would have thought that the opponent of the painstakingly developed "brain-computer virus" would not be a super-corporation, but a targeted antibody that suddenly appeared.

Judy hurried to Cain's office with a stack of documents in her hands.

The office door was half open, and one could vaguely hear loud criticism and accusations.

"Cain, you've greatly disappointed the board. It's just a regional conflict, and you've already ordered the group to withdraw its forces and control the virus's scale. The group invested so much in developing this virus, and you haven't even utilized its full potential!"

"Don't make excuses. You are a 'Vinus,' and the 'Vinus' family motto is 'failure means death.' I'm giving you one month. Within one month, you must create an evolved sub-type of the new virus and spread it to at least three planetary regions. Our ranking in the mother city has already fallen to more than 50 places."

Even your mother has expressed her disappointment in you!

"Bang"

Cain slammed his fist on the table, creating a dent, and his handsome features contorted in a ferocious expression.

"Are all the board members idiots?" 'Judy' pushed open the door and said coldly, "If we don't develop a virus with an antibody target soon, the more the virus spreads, the worse it will be in the future. Once all brain-computer interfaces go out of control, don't they understand the consequences?"

Cain let out a sinister laugh:

"How could we not know? They're just trying to shift the blame. With such a huge investment of resources from the group, if there are no results at all, we can imagine what will happen to us."

"You're a 'Venus'," 'Judy' exclaimed in surprise.

"But the family has more than one 'Venos'," 'Cain' rubbed his temples, a gloomy expression on his face. "This isn't my doing. Why should I bear full responsibility for the mess left by the last 'me'!"

"Don't say things like that again. 'Judy' is Judy, and 'Cain' is just Cain!"

Judy quickly stopped the other person from making outrageous remarks. The most taboo thing about cloning technology is that the "self" is separated from the "self", which will bring a series of troubles.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," 'Cain' beckoned, took the documents from 'Judy' and glanced through them briefly.

"It's all bad news. With so many renowned labs like ours, can't we find any evolved subspecies of the virus?"

Judy said:

"Originally, according to the plan, as the 'brain-computer interface virus' spreads, the virus subspecies will evolve accordingly, which is a natural process."

"But we can't do that now, because if an enemy gets antibodies to the virus and we haven't developed an evolved version of the 'brain-computer interface virus,' then we're finished."

Cain nodded. Corporate warfare is a gladiatorial arena. If other companies find out that the brain-computer interface virus has produced antibodies, it is certain that all participating companies in the Southern Hemisphere will join the siege. Even those companies that have reached cooperation agreements with him will turn around and bite him to death.

According to the "Life Supreme Laboratory," they spent three years researching this type of virus, selecting many special varieties for modification, and it would never have problems on its own.

The "Life Supreme Laboratory" is the group's most powerful laboratory and also the first laboratory to develop the "brain-computer interface virus".

"Logically speaking, even if antibodies exist, they shouldn't have been developed at this time."

In their vision, during the later stages of the corporate war, that is, when the global war begins, some of their peers might develop antibodies against the virus.

But by that time, their virus would probably have evolved tens of thousands of generations.

Cain and Judy exchanged a glance, both contemplating a possibility they shouldn't have.

There is only one person who knows the complete 'gene sequence' of the virus and has the ability to reverse engineer the virus using a large-scale model.

"Did you see 'Mother'?" 'Cain' asked.

Judy shook her head:

"I went to the 'Starry Sky' more than twenty times, but I still didn't see 'Mother'."

She hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but say:

"What did the board of directors say?"

"The board of directors," Cain paused, then said, "You know they are too deeply entangled with the Mother. Every one of them, starting with their genetic code, was edited by the Mother. They cannot question the Mother."

The two exchanged a glance, neither speaking, but they understood each other implicitly.

Others edited it from the "Venus First Generation Machine".

But they aren't; they're just clones taking the blame.

Although the feelings and memories are the same, even the slightest deviation in self-perception can lead to completely different thoughts.

"Let's go again."

"Good."

The two connected to the internet, and their consciousnesses, aided by the cloud platform, instantly reached the stars. Unexpectedly, in the endless soup of numbers above the stars, they saw "Mother".

"Mother!" "Mother!"

"Good children, you've come," the woman waved kindly, and a boy and a girl ran over with their short legs.

"Here, have some candy."

Without saying a word, the woman took two green candies and stuffed one into the mouths of the little girl and the little boy.

"Mother, we encountered many things while you were away," the little girl quickly reported to the other party about the 'antibody incident'.

"I know, I know everything. The reason my mother left was to resolve this matter."

"So, do you have a solution?" The little girl 'Judy' asked, her eyes sparkling.

"We've found a clue. Soon, a new, real life will be born," the 'Mother' said slowly.

"Life is a thief. In order to meet its own growth needs, living cells have learned to disrupt molecules in order to steal electrons needed to participate in energy reactions."

"What we have done is simply to take back the evolution that can only be represented by 'life inheritance' into the hands of 380 trillion 'real individuals'."

The so-called "true individual" refers to the virus.

The two left quickly.

The mother gently stroked her belly without uttering a word.

"Using psychological manipulation on your own employees is not the style of a good boss."

A lazy male voice suddenly rang out.

Within the 'Soup of Life' beneath their feet, countless numbers began to accumulate upwards, and strands of genetic code began to weave through them. A human figure with sculpted features appeared before the other party, emitting the signature laugh of a certain young wolfhound.

"Well, after all that effort, you finally 'gave birth' to me?"

"You couldn't 'give birth' to me, but instead, you helped me deduce the antibody. Doesn't that seem ironic?"

The mother's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of gloom appeared on her face.

"The fusion power of the fusion route is beyond your imagination. Soon, you will be me, and I will become you. I will help you complete the expansion of the 'brain-computer virus'."

"However, by then, it will be hard to say who the Venus Life Security Group will actually belong to."

"What should we do? Your algorithm has been thoroughly compromised by me, and you dare not tell anyone else. If the news leaks, those high-ranking officials who have been imprinted in your mind might have other ideas. After all, the imprint has already been compromised. Sigh, do you want to consider a painless solution...?"

Before the senior engineer could finish speaking, "Mother's" eyes narrowed, and the next moment, the figure opposite exploded once again.

At the same time, her belly slowly swelled up.

"You will eventually become me, and I will replace you."

These words were spoken by the "mother".

"That's great! It seems Mother has found a way. Soon, the gene sequence of the virus subspecies will be passed down."

Judy breathed a sigh of relief and said to Cain.

"Yes, it's finally over," 'Cain' laughed.

"Are you alright?" Judy looked at the other person with suspicion. "I feel like something's wrong with you."

"I'm probably just too tired. I haven't had a proper night's sleep in the past two weeks."

"Take a break; corporate warfare is a protracted war."

Watching Judy's departing figure, Cain's eyes flickered. Finally, he made up his mind, opened his mouth, and spat out a green candy mixed with saliva.

After the "candy" landed, it emitted a wisp of blue smoke, within which a human face could be vaguely seen struggling before disappearing along with the smoke.