All In

After changing buses several times and taking the high-speed train, Li Qingye finally made it back to Jiangcheng University without incident, though he had spent the whole trip on edge.

He had just gotten off the bus.

"Senior..." The bright, lilting call rang out like an oriole. The cheerful girl was still as innocent and carefree as ever.

Li Qingye nodded. "How have you been?"

They walked along, making a little conversation here and there.

Perhaps sensing the grief in Li Qingye's heart, Liu Xiaoli kept it brief. "I've already sent everyone in the lab on leave. There are only two security guards there now."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You helped me so much before, so this little thing is nothing." Liu Xiaoli replied gently.

Before long, they arrived at a teaching building. The girl handed him the lab keys, then said goodbye and left.

Standing outside his advisor's office, Li Qingye knocked.

"Come in."

"Boss."

"Hm?" His advisor looked up and saw Li Qingye, scruffy with stubble and utterly dejected. He sighed inwardly, then smiled and said, "Your visa's ready. Your flight is on May 22. Take some time to get your spirits back up. There's nothing in life you can't get through."

Li Qingye nodded calmly. "Thanks for your concern, Boss. I'll go check on the company first."

"Go ahead! Don't forget your flight."

After saying goodbye to his advisor, Li Qingye wandered alone along the paths of Mount Luojia. Only a few scattered petals remained on the cherry trees by the roadside.

A breeze brushed his face, and the last cherry blossoms drifted down from the branches.

He sat on a bench, quietly watching the petals fall.

"Life really is fragile," Li Qingye sighed.

He was saying his final goodbye to the youth that had passed.

Goodbye, Jiangcheng University.

Goodbye, my innocence and youth.

The subway train slowed to a stop with a low rumble. He tapped his card and boarded. Amid the bustle in the carriage, Li Qingye looked like a homeless man, completely out of place.

Soon, the train reached its destination: Jiangcheng South Station.

He took another bus to the company near Xiaogang Village. At the entrance of a shabby little factory hung a sign that read "Caixin Cosmetics Research and Development Center."

The old security guard at the gate was puffing on his pipe. When he suddenly saw Li Qingye approaching, he hesitated, then stepped out. "Young man... You are...?"

"Old Wang, it's me." Li Qingye held up his key ring and gave it a shake.

Only then did Old Wang recognize him. He hurriedly opened the gate. "Boss, I almost didn't recognize you looking like this."

"Right. Old Wang, has anything happened here lately?"

Old Wang thought for a moment, then mentioned a few trivial things. Li Qingye gave him a few casual instructions before heading into the lab alone.

The entire laboratory covered more than eight thousand square meters. It was divided into the First Experimental Zone, the Second Experimental Zone, the Third Experimental Zone, the Living Area, the storage area, and the Water and Electricity Control Area.

There had once been more than twenty staff members there, all temporary workers hired by Li Qingye. They included the junior student who had helped manage things. They were all students from Jiangcheng University, Jiangcheng Institute of Technology, and Huazhong Agricultural University.

As for Li Qingye's own lab—the First Experimental Zone—he was the only one allowed inside.

Before coming back this time, he had asked Liu Xiaoli to dismiss the lab's temporary workers, leaving only the two security guards.

Now, he was the only person left in the entire lab.

Li Qingye unlocked the First Experimental Zone's keypad lock and checked the rows of test tubes in the freezer. All seventeen samples of the Jianmu Factor—the enzyme he had synthesized earlier—were intact.

He closed the freezer again, took the hard drive out of the safe, and plugged it into the air-gapped Desktop Computer.

Then he reviewed the Jianmu Factor's experimental data.

After more than half a year of research, the Jianmu Factor had already reached its second generation. He had drawn on some of the technology behind the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editor to improve the Jianmu Factor's controllability.

CRISPR-Cas9 was a gene editing technology that had emerged in recent years. It could precisely knock out target gene segments or insert specified segments into a genetic sequence.

Li Qingye had drawn on the CRISPR part of CRISPR-Cas9. It was a special RNA genetic sequence that could bind to a designated DNA sequence.

The second-generation Jianmu Factor technology was called "CRISPR-JM." It could turn a specified gene sequence into a pseudogene—that is, make it lose its function.

Based on another discovery he had made earlier, some "limiter" gene sequences existed in the human genome. By inserting the Jianmu Factor, these limiter sequences could be rendered ineffective.

Disabling the limiters could grant a person many abilities, but it also carried enormous risks. The domestic pigs and white mice he had used in his experiments were clear examples.

Although the side effects in the pigs and mice had decreased somewhat in several later experiments, the cost remained immense.

After reviewing all the experimental materials again, Li Qingye knew perfectly well that with his talent and another decade or so of research, he might be able to develop a safer, more controllable Jianmu Factor.

But he was out of time.

He spent three days preparing enough Jianmu Factor for one person's use. He also prepared nutrient solution, a lab bed, and, the day before, took laxatives to empty his bowels.

Lying on the bed, he inserted a urinary catheter himself and set up a large bucket to collect the urine.

He connected the heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and other monitors one by one. Then he attached the defibrillator pads over his heart and set the CPR machine to start automatically thirty seconds after his heart stopped.

He inserted an extra-large bottle of specially made nutrient solution into a vein. It contained enough to keep him alive for fifteen days.

He fitted the oxygen mask, switched on all the equipment, and checked everything once more.

Beforehand, he had also told the two security guards, including Old Wang, to keep an eye on the water and electricity. If either was suddenly cut off, they were to start the backup diesel generator immediately.

He had also told them that he would be doing an experiment for the next half month, would see no one, and must not be disturbed.

After he added a three-thousand-yuan bonus, Old Wang and the other guard each brought their wives in as well. The four of them took shifts, keeping an eye on the gate and the water and electricity.

Inside the lab.

Li Qingye looked at the Jianmu Factor, freshly thawed. Casting aside all hesitation, he inserted the needle into a vein in his other arm.

Drop by drop, the liquid containing the Jianmu Factor seeped throughout Li Qingye's body.

The CRISPR molecules, made up of RNA fragments, passed through the cell membranes and entered the nuclei. They then reached the chromosomes and bound to specific gene sequences.

The moment the CRISPR bonded with the human genes, the Jianmu Factor it carried began to take effect.

The limiters in Li Qingye's genes were damaged.

But genes were remarkably stubborn. Once damaged, the limiter genes activated their self-repair mechanisms.

The Jianmu Factor disrupted the repair process. Although the gene sequences were repaired, they had already lost their original function.

Countless recessive genes in Li Qingye's genome began to activate.

Seventeen hours later.

"Ahhh..." His body felt as if it had been thrown into a furnace. He saw that his temperature had reached 39.5 degrees Celsius, a clinical symptom of inflammatory factors erupting throughout his body.

He quickly injected hormones and antibiotics.

Before long, he felt dizzy and light-headed. His breathing grew increasingly labored, and his blood sugar plummeted.

Fortunately, the nutrient solution he had prepared beforehand kept supplying him with nourishment and energy. Otherwise, he might have been drained to death.

The high fever, dizziness, and full-body pain continued for two days and two nights.

A dozen or so empty syringes lay scattered haphazardly on the floor beside the bed.

Suddenly, Li Qingye's heart stopped.

Beep...