Inside the Research Base on Calagua Island.
Li Qingye, dressed in a white lab coat, impassively examined the unconscious members of the Sea Serpent Gang. First, he divided them into two groups based on their bone age.
One group consisted of those under 30. The rest were over 30.
The reason for this distinction was the side effects of Gene Modification. If someone was too old, their body might not withstand the damage caused by the side effects, and their organs could simply fail.
The cutoff was 30, and the maximum age could not exceed 40.
According to the bone age test results, of the 43 Sea Serpent Gang members, 24 were under 30, 12 were between 30 and 40, and the remaining seven were over 40.
The seven people Baffart had brought before were all under 40.
This was perfectly normal, since the wealth gap in Luzon was enormous, and the gang's lower-ranking members were bound to be very young.
The logic was simple: poverty led to a low quality of life, and a low quality of life led to a lower average lifespan.
Being in a gang was a line of work where people risked their lives. Only the poor, with nowhere else to turn, would join.
After sorting them into groups, Li Qingye sent them into the Gene Modification chamber. The chamber was now very different from before.
Previously, it could modify only one person at a time. After the upgrade, it could handle five at once. Some equipment had also been added, making the whole process smoother and further reducing the time required.
With the improvements, Gene Modification took about six to seven days for each test subject.
They were grouped by bone age, with each batch containing test subjects of different ages whenever possible.
The first batch of test subjects was sent into the chamber.
Li Qingye worked on other projects while keeping a close eye on the progress.
Five days later, he stood beside one test subject's bed, frowning. The subject had reached the late stages of uremia, and both kidneys had completely failed.
He promptly dissected the test subject. The organs had suffered severe damage. After comparing the Chromosome Telomere lengths before and after, he shook his head and sighed.
"Age really is a problem."
The deceased test subject had been the only person in this batch over 40. Even at just 42, he hadn't been able to withstand the backlash from Gene Modification.
Li Qingye revised the modification plan. To reduce the strain on the test subjects' bodies, he removed the body-enhancement sequences from the three gene sequences.
The second batch of experiments soon began.
This time, the process was shortened again. Gene Modification was completed in about five days, and the test subjects were in better condition than those in the previous batch.
One 45-year-old test subject even survived. Based on telomere analysis and a physical examination, his remaining lifespan was about 15 years. That was just barely enough to make him usable.
He continued to adjust the Gene Modification process little by little, and took time to implant Biochips in the test subjects.
Time flew by.
The whole process—modification, interrogation, testing, and training—took Li Qingye another two months.
By then, however, he had gained 41 utterly loyal subordinates.
He planted 20 of them inside the Homo sapiens Company, openly or covertly. The remaining 21 established an intelligence network in Luzon. Their base was now in Darte Port, with a focus on infiltrating Manila's slums.
During this period, Li Qingye had not been content with the status quo. His various Biotechnology projects continued to advance. After all, he had traded decades of his life for his super brain.
In Biochip technology, he had not only produced higher-performance Biochips, but also created the Biological Computer, which integrated various biological devices: [Fuxi 1.0].
Unlike an electronic computer, the Fuxi 1.0 Biological Computer was designed to be implanted inside a living body.
Of course, it could also disguise itself as an ordinary phone or Laptop Computer.
To complement the Biological Computer, Li Qingye had also developed various biological functional devices.
He had developed the Fuxi computer partly because he didn't trust the electronic computers currently available on the market, and partly to make it easier to infiltrate enemy organizations.
After all, when entering territory controlled by a hostile force, he couldn't expect them to let him bring in a phone or computer. Even if they did allow it, they would inspect the devices.
Biological Computers had a huge advantage in this regard: they could be implanted in the body.
Li Qingye had designed two implantation methods. One fused the Biological Computer into the skull; the other reshaped it into a rib.
Both methods could fool ordinary inspections. Even hospital MRI scans and X-rays couldn't tell the difference.
Unless the inspection used high-precision, laboratory-grade equipment, the implant would be very hard to detect.
Under normal circumstances, even places like America's Fort Detrick wouldn't use high-precision equipment to scan people who weren't important. After all, every time those devices were switched on, it cost money.
As for the powers in Southeast Asia, Li Qingye didn't mean to look down on them; they simply didn't have the overall capabilities to do so.
Of course, another use of the Biological Computer was to work in tandem with other biological technologies.
For example, Li Qingye had already developed the [Fuxi 1.0 Computer—Pheromone Hive Model]. This model of Biological Computer had been specially designed to make it easier to control other Gene Modified Organisms.
The Fuxi 1.0 Computer—Pheromone Hive Model contained biological components capable of producing various pheromones. By adjusting their concentrations, it could already exert rough control over Gene Modified insects.
This was a tremendous breakthrough.
After all, the previously developed [Gu Insect—Malaria Parasite] and [Gu Insect—Coma Poison Mosquitoes] had been very difficult to control, and the slightest mistake could even endanger Li Qingye himself.
Now, with the Pheromone Hive, he could exert rough control over Gene Modified insects using pheromones.
This would be a tremendous help with intelligence gathering, infiltration, assassination, and similar operations.
Advances in Biological Computers had prompted Li Qingye to develop a series of Gene Modified Organisms.
Using Gene recombination technology, he had created many new Gene Modified Organisms at the Research Base on Calagua Island, in addition to the original [Gu Insect—Malaria Parasite] and [Gu Insect—Coma Poison Mosquitoes].
Although many of these Gene Modified Organisms were still immature, the more organisms he modified, the more stable varieties emerged.
Moreover, Li Qingye's technology was advancing very quickly. That was the terrifying thing about Biotechnology.
Achieving exponential growth in the production and development of mechanical and chemical industries was extremely difficult.
Biotechnology was different. Especially after mastering Gene Recombination Technology, he could produce all kinds of hormones by directly modifying microorganisms. Thanks to their terrifying reproduction rates, microorganisms could achieve exponential growth in just a few days.
Likewise, the more organisms Li Qingye modified, the more data he could observe, further driving technological improvements.
Still, he was very cautious when it came to modifying bacteria and viruses.
Microorganisms mutated too quickly. If a Super Virus emerged by accident and then leaked out, humanity would be welcoming a Bio-crisis.
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