Memory

The night was deep and silent.

The wilderness of the small mountain village was exceptionally still.

The pitter-patter of raindrops, and the occasional north wind threading through the mountain forest.

In the second-floor bedroom, half-reclining on the bed, Li Qingye closed his eyes in contemplation beside the dim yellow desk lamp.

The past was vivid before his eyes.

Father...

Mother...

Eldest brother...

One figure after another, fragments page by page, echoes one after another, filled his mind.

Near Jiangcheng University, Li Qingye used the over twenty million his mother had sponsored to set up a cosmetics company here.

In reality, this company was nothing more than a shell. It was simply a vehicle for Li Qingye to circumvent the issues of applying for a private biochemical laboratory, making it convenient to establish a research institute.

However, the cosmetics company's lab had cost about twenty-two million, purchasing quite a few scientific instruments for a biochemical laboratory.

He had previously studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Jiangcheng University, completing his Master's degree in 2015, and then followed a supervisor for his doctorate.

This lab was a graduation gift from his mother in 2015.

After that, while pursuing his PhD, he researched things that interested him in his own lab, until July 2016.

An old classmate who had gone to the University of Copenhagen for his PhD sent him a gene sequence test report. It was a gene sequence detected from samples extracted from the remains of an ancient human excavated from a glacier in the Alps.

Li Qingye was very interested in this. According to his analysis, this ancient human was most likely a Neanderthal.

In the midst of his absorbed research, Li Qingye suddenly had a whim. He took out previously collected gene samples (gathered from surrounding townships through free health checkups) and analyzed the 300 gene samples on hand.

During the analysis, he extracted all the gene fragments related to Neanderthals from the samples.

After comparison and piecing together, the Neanderthal gene fragments in these samples actually had a large amount of overlap with the Neanderthal gene sequence his classmate had sent.

Li Qingye was extremely excited. If these pieced-together Neanderthal gene fragments could be recombined, was it possible to achieve the restoration of Neanderthals?

Continuing his in-depth research, Li Qingye used gene editing technology (third-generation technology: CRISPR-Cas9) to insert these gene fragments into mouse stem cells, hoping to combine these genes.

But the difficulty of this gene editing experiment exceeded his imagination. After all, the gene fragments of Neanderthals remaining in the gene sequences of modern Homo sapiens were too fragmented and scarce.

Soon, the mouse stem cells in the lab were used up.

Seeing the experiment making no progress, Li Qingye felt he had been overly fanciful.

With no stem cell material left, he had to choose other materials as a base. He performed tedious and repetitive gene editing on over a dozen types of animal stem cells.

Time passed imperceptibly until October 2016.

As usual, the first thing he did every day was observe the edited animal stem cells. He thought it would be another day of no results, until he reached Culture Medium No. 57.

Under the microscope.

The Turritopsis dohrnii stem cells in Culture Medium No. 57 had actually redeveloped into a hydra form. What was even more unexpected was that this hydra had some changes.

After further testing and analysis, a new enzyme was discovered inside the Turritopsis dohrnii.

Li Qingye conducted repeated experiments while studying this enzyme.

One month later.

Looking at the hundreds of gene-edited Turritopsis dohrnii swimming slowly in the aquarium, and the light blue liquid in the test tube in his hand.

"This thing can actually turn some genes into pseudogenes, but..." Li Qingye looked at several cages not far away, both surprised and delighted.

Inside the iron cages were several domestic pigs. These pigs all showed varying degrees of aging, organ lesions, and genetic diseases.

If it were just that, Li Qingye might not have been too interested in this enzyme. What was more important was that this enzyme could also activate some recessive genes.

"If this enzyme could be made more controllable and its side effects reduced, then perhaps..." He was evaluating the value of this enzyme in his mind.

Thinking of the immense potential in this test tube, Li Qingye was too excited to sleep at night. He continued his research on this enzyme, forgetting to eat and sleep, while also starting to try adjusting the gene sequences for editing, to see if he could synthesize new enzymes or compounds.

Actually, regarding his love for scientific research, Li Qingye was quite a contradictory person.

He had lived under his parents' protection since childhood, and his eldest brother was also very capable. Originally, his parents had hoped he would go to Beiping University to study law, then take the Civil Servant Exam, while his eldest brother continued in business, so the two brothers could complement each other.

Unfortunately, Li Qingye was very resistant to this arrangement.

For the first time, he defied his father's arrangement and enrolled in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program at Jiangcheng University, just to prove himself.

After all, in business, he might never surpass his father and eldest brother in his lifetime, and the intrigues of officialdom made him feel disgusted and uncomfortable.

After much thought, only the field of science remained.

Although he had his mother's help, talent and hard work were also very important for achievements in science.

This unexpected discovery made Li Qingye feel very encouraged, because he could finally prove himself to everyone.

To improve this special enzyme, he didn't even go back to Pengcheng to see his parents for the New Year in 2017. Instead, he stayed in the Jiangcheng lab, buried in research day and night.

Until...

That day, a phone call brought earth-shattering news.

Grief-stricken, he couldn't hold back his tears.

In that moment, his life turned to gray—all those world-shaking scientific achievements, that milestone in human evolutionary history, that proof of himself to the world—none of it mattered anymore.

If he could, he would rather give up this achievement to trade for his parents' safety.

Maybe people were just that pathetic.

Only after losing something did they learn to cherish it.

Like a walking corpse, Li Qingye returned to Pengcheng, only to see his parents' cold bodies. Regret, despair, and grief coiled in his heart, leaving him soulless.

Night deepened.

Outside the window, the rain stopped, and the north wind quieted down.

Li Qingye, plagued by nightmares, slept in exhaustion until noon the next day.

For half a month straight, he saw no one except an old village woman who brought him food, locking himself alone inside the house.

Until the afternoon of April 13th.

His mentor's phone rang. Li Qingye, stubbled and vacant-eyed, stared at the ringing phone and weakly pressed the answer button:

"Hello..."

"Qingye, my condolences. I'm planning an academic visit to America soon—want to come along? It might help clear your mind."

But Li Qingye, his heart like dead ashes, had no intention of going abroad: "Boss, I'm planning to drop out of my doctorate program..."

"What? Qingye, you have exceptional talent. Wouldn't it be a shame to give up like this? Think it through! Don't regret it later." His mentor urged with concern.

"No. None of it means anything anymore."

"..." The mentor on the other end was silent for a moment, then continued: "How about this—you're still young anyway. Take these six months to rest and sort yourself out. Decide after that."

"Thanks, I'll think about it." Li Qingye replied perfunctorily, then hung up and prepared to lie back down.

Suddenly, a breaking news headline popped up on his phone browser.

He instinctively moved to clear it...

But the next second, Li Qingye froze, then tapped to open the news.

After reading it, he felt terrible, his eyes flickering with uncertainty: "What's going on? Could it be... impossible..."

Scarcely believing it, Li Qingye continued searching for related news online. Soon, over a hundred articles appeared on his phone screen.

After browsing them one by one, his expression grew darker, and a terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.