Research Center

Wang Ziyun stopped speaking, and Wang Fantian fell silent in thought as well. Just as they had for the past decade or so, this father and son rarely communicated. More often than not, this enormous villa was merely a residence rather than a home. Wang Ziyun was always at school, while Wang Fantian was always at the company.

In the quiet hall, the soft sound of wheels began to echo. A little robot slowly rolled over to the sofa carrying a teacup and teapot, carefully setting them on the glass coffee table between them.

Ye Wan poured herself a cup of tea from the teapot and took small sips. Seeing her mother sitting off to the side as though she had nothing to do with the matter, Wang Ziyi leaned close and whispered into her ear, "Mom, aren't you going to say something?"

The silent atmosphere between father and son seemed to lower the air pressure in the hall itself. Watching from the side, Wang Ziyi felt nervous, as if a stone were pressing down on her chest.

"It's fine. We'll wait until Old Wang has thought things through. Don't be fooled by your brother's easygoing appearance. He's just as stubborn as his father. I only came today so they could have a proper talk calmly. As for whether it works out, that depends on them. No amount of persuasion from others will help." Ye Wan replied blandly.

Compared with the gentle brother in her daughter's eyes, she understood far better that beneath her son's seemingly easygoing exterior was the same stubbornness as his father's. That was why she merely watched calmly from the side.

Several minutes later, Wang Fantian broke the silence. In a deep voice, he said, "Fine. Do what you want to do. Life is unpredictable. Just make sure you don't regret it." He reached out, poured himself a cup of tea, and drained it in one gulp.

"I'll remember what you said." Wang Ziyun also poured himself a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp, just like his father.

Seeing Wang Fantian acknowledge his son's choice, Ye Wan unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Though she had appeared calm before, she knew very well that Wang Ziyun would have stuck to his choice even without his father's approval. But then the relationship between father and son would have been even worse than it was now.

Ye Wan said to Wang Fantian, "All right, stop looking so serious. It's rare for the family to be together like this."

Wang Ziyi added, "Exactly! Dad, smile more. You're getting more wrinkles on your forehead again."

"All right, I'll listen to you two." Wang Fantian smiled at that, smoothing out the furrows that had long creased his brow. The mother and daughter were the lubricant in the relationship between father and son. If they had not been here today, perhaps his son still would not have spoken, and he himself would not have calmly considered things properly.

Watching this, Wang Ziyun smiled as well. His only dissatisfaction with his father was that work had made him neglect his mother. Now that the family was sitting together again after so long, the trace of resentment in his heart quietly faded away.

"Da-la-la~ You have an important message."

A message notification sounded from the smartwatch on Wang Ziyun's left wrist. Somewhat puzzled, he tapped it open. Aside from his family, only a handful of people knew this private number.

After opening it, Wang Ziyun discovered it was a message from Li Heng:

"Something has changed with my body. Help bring your father to the Biological Gene Research Center."

Wang Ziyun's brows furrowed slightly. Given Li Heng's personality, he would not casually ask him for help, much less seek out his father. Thinking of Li Heng's abnormal physical condition and the words "something has changed with my body," this was probably no simple change.

Seeing his son frown, Wang Fantian asked, "Did something happen?"

Wang Ziyun looked up, his usual gentle smile returning. "It's a friend of mine. He needs to go to the xx Biological Gene Research Center this afternoon to cooperate with some research, and I was considering whether I should go see him."

"It's that one called Li Heng, isn't it?" Wang Fantian answered after some thought. Several years ago, because his son had rarely asked him for help, he had looked into the matter. Li Heng was someone with a somewhat abnormal body who had been assisting with research into intelligent support programs.

But it had only been a minor matter, insignificant amid the Southern Region's complicated affairs. There had been no major discoveries afterward, so he had stopped paying attention to it.

Wang Ziyun said, "That's right. He's a good friend. Since my sister is here today, why don't we visit my university? I can show Zi Yi around my school. That research center is near my university, and after lunch, we can also stop by to see my friend."

Hearing that she could visit her brother's university, Wang Ziyi immediately nodded her little head in agreement, widening her eyes as she looked at her father.

Wang Fantian checked the detailed information on the research center and Li Heng's project through his smartwatch. After thinking for a moment, he nodded. "All right. This should be your friend's last time participating. The project's confidentiality agreement will be lifted soon, so it's fine to take you there."

If it had been an important project with a high level of secrecy, Wang Fantian would not have agreed. But this was merely a Level Three intelligent assistance project for individual exoskeleton armor, and it was already nearing its end. Even if Wang Ziyun had applied himself, he would have been approved easily.

With the family's plans for the day decided, Wang Ziyi happily sprang up from the sofa. It was rare for her to have a holiday, and she could even visit her brother's school with him. She decided to take lots of pictures with him later so she could slowly admire them after returning home.

Wang Fantian and Ye Wan smiled knowingly as they watched their daughter bounce around. Compared with their son, who was always unruffled, their energetic daughter allowed them to better experience the joy of being parents.

I'm sorry, Father, Wang Ziyun silently said to himself.

He had not lied, but he had concealed some crucial details. Since Li Heng had chosen to ask for help despite knowing his father's identity, the so-called "change in his body" might not be a small matter.

At one in the afternoon, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sky cleared once more. The air after the rain carried a faint scent of wet earth and grass.

At the xx Biological Gene Research Center, Li Heng had already entered the laboratory after undergoing full-body disinfection. Bare-chested, he lay on a bed. Only a fully protected researcher had accompanied him for the routine examinations.

Years of research had made the researchers highly familiar with the process. Li Heng's body was almost no different from that of an ordinary person, so this was merely the final routine check. In the minds of the laboratory staff, Li Heng would not be coming here again after this.

However, the world was never short of accidents.

A problem arose during the routine blood draw. The researcher operated the equipment, attempting to draw Li Heng's blood, but the tiny needle beneath the mechanical arm was like a needle pressing into leather. His skin and blood vessels dented inward without being pierced, while the thin needle itself bent and warped under the pressure.

The researcher stared blankly at the sight. He was a newly hired graduate with a master's degree, currently responsible mainly for data collection and analysis in unimportant projects. He had no decision-making authority.

An unexpected situation had occurred. Once he came to his senses, he immediately requested a call with the laboratory supervisor.

A slightly translucent projection appeared. It showed a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, his hair somewhat disheveled as he wrote an experimental report.

The researcher explained the accident that had occurred during the examination and sent over the footage from moments ago. The middle-aged man in the projection frowned as he listened, then said, "Seal the doors. Level Three alert. I'll be there immediately."

Upon hearing the order, the researcher immediately activated the Level Three alert. Blue restraints bound Li Heng's hands and feet to the bed, while the laboratory ceiling split open and several silver machine guns extended from within, aiming at him.

Seeing this, Li Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry. Since I came here on my own, I'm not going to run."

The researcher said nothing. He retreated to a corner and waited silently. Since an abnormal situation had arisen, his best choice was to follow instructions while staying as far away as possible from this potentially abnormal person.

Seeing that the researcher had moved aside and ignored him, Li Heng stopped speaking as well. He closed his eyes and silently organized the information in his mind. Only a few hours had passed since he woke up that morning, yet he had absorbed an amount of information comparable to several months in the past. However, not only did he feel no fatigue, his thinking speed was becoming faster and faster.

The human brain accounted for around 2% of total body mass, yet it consumed roughly 20% of the body's total energy. That consumption continued to increase during thought.

Li Heng could feel his body consuming energy. After several hours, he had gradually begun to feel hungry. Yet all of that energy was being supplied to his powerful body, while his brain had not used even the slightest bit.

Not only that, he could even directly charge his body's cells by consuming the information in his mind.

He had not eaten or digested food, nor had he absorbed energy from the outside world. Some information vanished from his mind, and the evolved energy-storage cells developed an electrical potential difference. As current flowed through them, his body no longer felt hungry.

"It's practically a living wish-granting machine. Input information, and it gives you the answer you want." Li Heng understood that only his brain had truly mutated. The changes to his body had merely been unconscious actions during his sleep last night.

It was also because he discovered this method of consuming information for energy that Li Heng understood why his mind was not filled with all sorts of chaotic sensations like Lucy's.

Most of the memories buried deep in the human brain were various physical sensations. Much trivial information had vanished last night, driving his body's evolution. For instance, memories from his childhood had almost disappeared without a trace, just as they had in the past.

Over the course of the morning, Li Heng reached several simple conclusions.

First, the more chaotic and disordered the information, the lower its value. The smaller its effect on the material world, the sooner it was erased and consumed.

Second, the range he could alter was limited to body cells that he could directly control. Once they left his body, he could no longer affect them.

Third, the amount of information corresponded to energy. The information currently stored in Li Heng's mind was roughly equivalent to all the memories accumulated over more than twenty years by an ordinary person with perfect recall. If it were all erased, the energy exchanged would be comparable to an Explosion of several tons of TNT. That was also why he had dared to come here.

Unfortunately, he had too little time. If he had enough time to absorb information, perhaps he could restore his body to its original state.

With his current amount of information, reverting to his original body would require erasing many important memories. That might cause unknowable changes to his personality, which was something he could not accept.

Furthermore, if basic information such as mathematics, language, and writing were erased, Li Heng suspected he would become an idiot outright.

Though it seemed like he had thought through many things, only a few seconds had passed outside. His increasingly multithreaded thinking made Li Heng's thought processes faster and faster.

Several minutes later, feeling a faint vibration from the ground, Li Heng turned his head toward the laboratory's sealed metal door. He was no longer limited to ordinary human hearing. He could sense certain infrasonic and ultrasonic waves and receive information from them.

"Ding. Identity confirmed: Zou Yi. Level Two authorization. Entry permitted."

A mechanical prompt sounded. The metal door slid open, and the middle-aged man from the projection entered first, now wearing a blue-and-white protective suit with a transparent helmet. Several other similarly dressed personnel followed behind him.

The middle-aged man named Zou Yi spoke to Li Heng, who was tied to the bed with guns aimed at him. "Mr. Li Heng, I'm sorry for treating you this way. I hope you can understand. Your body has undergone further mutation, and we must ensure the safety of the researchers here."

His voice came from the helmet of his protective suit, where a small speaking device was installed.

"It's all right. I've been here for several years, so I understand some of the rules." Li Heng replied calmly. He had already prepared himself when he decided to come.

Zou Yi nodded. It was precisely because Li Heng had undergone research and examinations here many times, and the laboratory staff understood his usual behavior, that they had only activated the standard Level Three alert procedure.

He said, "Now, according to the agreement signed previously, we have the right to require you to cooperate with reasonable research work, including but not limited to blood tests."

Li Heng nodded to show that he understood. Seeing this, Zou Yi said, "Number 2237, take him to the Level Two laboratory."

"Received." A mechanical voice sounded. The wheels beneath Li Heng's bed began to roll, carrying him through the metal corridor. All along the way, the silver-white machine guns on both sides of the corridor remained trained on him.