Modification

Research Base, Zone A6.

This was an area on the first basement level.

Of the ten large iron cages meant to hold experimental animals, seven were already in use.

But the cages didn't contain chimpanzees or other animals. They held seven people.

Baffart came to groggily. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a gray-white wall. Then he realized his hands and feet were shackled, and a ball gag was in his mouth.

All he could manage was, "Mmmph, mmmph..."

The scumbags in the other cages also woke one after another. They were bound just as tightly and could only make muffled sounds.

Of course, even if they could have shouted, it wouldn't have helped. There was nobody else in Zones A and B of the Research Base, and the basement was soundproofed.

Across Calagua Island, some of the Chinese employees had begun their New Year's break, while most of the local employees were Christians whose holiday had been Christmas. They were back at work now.

Meanwhile, inside the Research Base,

Li Qingye had already tested CRISPR on domestic pigs and mice, identifying several gene sequences related to the prefrontal cortex.

But human genes differed in certain ways from those of other animals. Success in animals didn't mean it would work in humans.

After preparing all the experimental equipment, he began his first human trial.

Baffart was terrified. He realized he wasn't in a prison, but in a place full of high-tech equipment. Having watched so many movies, he quickly thought of evil scientists and similar plots.

When he saw a man in a white lab coat appear in front of his cage, Baffart's fear reached its peak.

Li Qingye had no interest in discussing life with this kind of scumbag. He gave Baffart a shot of anesthetic, and the man promptly collapsed unconscious like a heap of mud. Li Qingye moved the test subject onto a hospital bed, secured the handcuffs and shackles, and wheeled him to the elevator.

The scumbags in the other cages trembled in terror as they watched.

Li Qingye wheeled the bed into the laboratory, deftly stripped the test subject, and connected various monitoring devices. Then he inserted a urinary catheter, an IV line for nutrients, and an oxygen mask, and finally hooked him up to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation machine.

Compared with the modifications he had undergone himself, this guy was much luckier.

Soon, a steady stream of a specially formulated CRISPR-JM solution flowed into the test subject's body.

Unlike the earlier procedure he'd undergone to remove his genetic limiters, the modifications to this test subject had only a few specific goals.

First, turn the gene sequences for the prefrontal cortex into pseudogenes;

Second, turn the reproductive gene sequences into pseudogenes;

Third, remove the limiter genes that restricted the gene sequences responsible for physical capabilities.

These three goals were straightforward. One would make the test subject lose his humanity; another would render him incapable of reproducing, to prevent him from contaminating the human gene pool; the last would make him strong and physically fit.

Under the effects of the anesthetic, Baffart only twitched occasionally. His heart rhythm sometimes became irregular, and his blood pressure fluctuated, but he never faced any danger to his life.

The modifications lasted ten days.

Once Li Qingye confirmed that the test subject's vital signs were stable, he checked the chromosome telomeres. They had shortened considerably as well, and he estimated that the test subject had no more than thirty years to live.

That was still an improvement over his own remaining lifespan of less than twenty years.

When Baffart regained consciousness, his expression was blank, and his eyes were dull and lifeless.

Li Qingye brought over a tablet, casually opened a romance movie, and set it in front of Baffart for him to watch.

Meanwhile, he continued checking the data from the monitoring equipment.

Even when the movie showed an extremely provocative scene, Baffart showed no physical response whatsoever. He was like a block of wood.

Li Qingye then tested him with comedies, tearjerkers, horror movies, and other genres. The results made it clear that the test subject had lost the ability to feel happiness, anger, sorrow, or joy.

Next, Li Qingye injected a measured dose of dopamine and established a conditioned response. He successfully got Baffart to recite his memories, confirming that stimulation by hormones and pheromones could indeed make the test subject extremely obedient.

But these people were like machines. Li Qingye had to train them and give them orders constantly before they could manage even simple tasks.

Li Qingye wasn't too disappointed by this.

The test subject was like a computer with part of its processor destroyed. The fact that he hadn't become completely nonfunctional was already a stroke of luck.

Now, Li Qingye had to use an artificial Photon biological chip to replace the test subject's damaged prefrontal cortex.

He would use "artificial" emotions and desires to replace "natural" ones.

Although the test subjects acted stiff and dull, Li Qingye continued modifying the rest. After all, the modified test subjects obeyed him without question, since he controlled their hormones.

Even if they couldn't handle delicate tasks, they could still eat and bathe by themselves, so he wouldn't have to help them.

To make future genetic modifications easier, Li Qingye even remodeled the laboratory specifically for that purpose. From then on, all he had to do was wheel someone in, and the genetic modifications would be complete ten days later.

He spent more than three months modifying test subjects, upgrading the laboratory and equipment, and developing the Biochip.

In the blink of an eye,

It was May 2018.

During that time, Homo sapiens Company had earned another 570 million US dollars in revenue. But to avoid attracting attention, Li Qingye had Li Jinglan suspend eel-fry sales.

The eel fry he'd sold earlier had all been marketed through shell accounts. Li Jinglan was very confused, but faced with Li Qingye's insistence, he still obediently followed orders.

It might have seemed like eel-breeding technology was just a small matter, but in reality, it concerned an industry worth tens of billions of US dollars.

Li Jinglan didn't know whether others would envy them, but the Japanese people definitely would.

After all, the Japanese had spent more than a decade researching eel-breeding technology, and their country was the world's largest consumer of eel. They certainly wouldn't want to give up that prize so easily.

Until he had adequate security, Li Qingye didn't want to attract attention.

He already had more than a billion US dollars on hand, so he wouldn't be short of funds in the near future. There was no need to increase sales.

Besides, scarce goods were more valuable. Selling too many eel fry would only drive down market prices and reduce the net profit from each batch. Controlling supply and using scarcity marketing was the way to go.

At the same time, Homo sapiens Company had recently shifted its focus to investing more heavily in the area around Darte Port. It planned to build thirty large aquaculture farms along the coast there.

Li Jinglan, Kang Nan, Zaxi, and the others were all busy with this.

This was one of Li Qingye's strategies: keep everyone feeling busy with work, as if there would always be more to do, so they wouldn't have time to stop and think.

When people had too much free time, they tended to let their minds wander.

Only after he had quietly built up his strength and gathered enough soldiers would it be time for Homo sapiens Company to expand its territory.

For now, he couldn't even guarantee his subordinates' loyalty. Unless he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps or throw in his lot with the capitalists, he could only endure things for the time being.

The Photon biological chip that Li Qingye had been thinking about constantly had also become much more mature after more than three months of research and experimentation.

It was still some way from what he had envisioned, but the second-generation technology was already usable, at least in a limited capacity.

The manpower shortage that plagued Li Qingye left him no time to wait for the technology to be further refined. Instead of waiting for a perfect solution, he might as well start using it and improve it along the way.

Thanks for all your support (ω｀), and special thanks to reader "Changqing1040" for the tip!