Just as Gaius had said, five days later, he had actually managed to create a Protoss-exclusive Super Gene!
Shen Jun stared at the test tube filled with dark blue liquid in his hand, his face full of deep suspicion. According to Gaius, this thing could be drunk directly—only for Shen Jun; normal Protoss needed injections—and it would take effect immediately with no side effects.
There would be no discomfort, no pain, not even any outward changes. Gaius had discarded all his long-held assumptions about Protoss genes and merely made minor adjustments to the genetic sequence at the genetic level. The changes mainly targeted the body's internal circulation, so there would not be any visible alterations.
As long as one possessed Protoss genes, drinking this potion—whose name was so absurdly long that Shen Jun could not be bothered to remember it—would extend one's lifespan to over ten thousand years. That referred only to biological lifespan. For Protoss with higher levels of psionic control, their life cycles would increase geometrically. If someone were a freak like Kerrigan, with nearly infinite psionic power, Shen Jun did not know whether she could attain true immortality, but one thing was certain: she would not die of old age.
With that, Gaius's two major research projects had been declared successful. However, that did not mean the underground base would be disbanded. On the contrary, their task had become even heavier. Developing weapons specifically designed to counter divine bodies could only be handled by Gaius's team. Super Genes of the third generation and above might be called genes, but they had long ceased to be genes in the ordinary sense. They were a segment of Dark Data.
As long as Dark Data existed in the universe, even if one completely annihilated a divine body, gods would always have ways to revive. Therefore, the best method was to use specialized weapons to destroy the fundamental data of their genes, cutting off every means of resurrection. That was the true form of a God-Slaying Weapon.
"Genetic Engineering cannot be completely abandoned by the Protoss either... Arming a portion of them with genetic engines on a small scale would still bring plenty of benefits... And there was that damn Void Engine."
Shen Jun thought of how grand the name Three Great God-Making Projects sounded, and how their strength truly lived up to that reputation. Yet the god-making projects originating from Deno had been successively touched by Lieyang and the angels. Lieyang had taken the Sunlight without a second word, while the angels were even worse—they had directly added angel genes to the God River Power's design and hidden them at the very bottom of its genetic chain.
As the God River Power continuously developed its genetic abilities, it would eventually transform into a new generation of Male Angel—noble, kind, strong, in short, perfectly suited to female angels' tastes.
Simply put, the original concepts behind the Three Great God-Making Projects had all come from Kiran, and their first experimental site had been Deno. Yet for some unknown reason, Kiran seemed unconcerned with which civilization ultimately realized the projects. When Lieyang wanted the Sunlight, he could not have been happier. When the angels wanted the God River Power, he did not mind in the slightest.
In the end, only the Nuo Star War God could be considered a genuine Deno product.
No matter how one looked at it, Kiran's sole purpose seemed to be completing the Three Great God-Making Projects. He did not care at all which civilization the finished products ultimately belonged to.
The Sunlight was one thing, but the God River Power was somewhat strange. The most advanced technology Kiran had added while designing the God River Power was the Anti-Void Engine—not a Void Engine, but an Anti-Void Engine. Across the entire Super God Academy series, it was one of a kind. Although Ge Xiaolun had yet to develop any particularly powerful abilities in the story, its potential ceiling was certainly extremely high. Would Kiran really let the angels benefit from that?
What was more, the angels had only added angel genes to the design. It was the Deno Civilization that had put in the effort to manufacture it, while the angels merely had to wait for the God River Power to reach its complete form and come to them. If anyone saw their research concept turned into something like that, they would fight the angels to the death. Yet Kiran had tacitly allowed it.
Shen Jun believed there had to be an extraordinary reason behind this.
After thinking it over and over without figuring anything out, he simply stopped thinking about it. In any case, the Golden Armada's main structure was more or less complete. All they lacked was combat experience. The Protoss had no need to fear any schemes or conspiracies.
After hesitating for a long time, Shen Jun still drank the unidentified liquid in his hand. Hmm... it had no taste. After finishing it, he smacked his lips. It really had no taste, and there were no changes to his body either.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
So there really was no sensation at all... my ass!
About three seconds after drinking it, Shen Jun suddenly felt a burning sensation in his stomach, and it began spreading through his internal organs. A fierce wave of pain struck him...
"Gaius! I'll f*** your mother, you f***ing f*** are a f***ing f***..."
The pain spread throughout his entire body and grew more intense by the second. After offering Gaius a cordial greeting, Shen Jun's vision went black and he lost consciousness.
In the most advanced treatment room of the Protoss Medical Center, Shen Jun slowly woke up. The moment he saw Gaius beside him, his anger flared.
"Gaius, didn't you say there wouldn't be any discomfort?"
"Hierarch, none of the Protoss who received injections have ever experienced adverse reactions. Therefore, I suspect it is because you drank it directly. After all, the Protoss do not have human digestive systems, so many things cannot be universally applied. If you had chosen an injection, you probably would not have had such a severe reaction... Hierarch, you are too unique."
Shen Jun nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Why the hell had he not said that earlier? If he had known, he would have gotten an injection too.
"Furthermore, Hierarch, I currently cannot determine whether your condition will allow the potion's effects to fully manifest, so further observation is required."
As he spoke, Gaius walked to Shen Jun's bedside and took out a syringe. The syringe was not large, but for the Protoss, it was roughly the size of the syringe humans used for a shot in the butt after catching a cold or fever. Well... for the Protoss, anyway.
"Holy shit! Gaius, what are you trying to do...?"
Too weak to move, Shen Jun could only watch helplessly as Gaius shoved the syringe they used for "butt shots" into his left arm, drew a full syringe of blood, then turned and left.
Shen Jun was neither a medical student nor a chemistry student, so he could not estimate exactly how much blood that syringe had taken. He only felt as though he were about to black out again. Fortunately, the Protoss possessed impressive blood regeneration abilities, and he recovered within minutes.
In less than half an hour, he had regained the ability to move.
In truth, the Protoss had barely fought any wars over the past century, and few of them fell ill, so the Medical Center was empty year-round. Now that they were giving every Protoss a vaccination... no, strengthening everyone's genes, the Medical Center had become packed, with long lines forming outside.
As Shen Jun walked around and saw that the Protoss truly showed no abnormalities at all after receiving their injections, he could not help feeling even more resentment toward Gaius.
Based on the production rate of the gene-enhancement potion, it would take roughly ten days for all 250,000 Protoss to complete their injections. Furthermore, according to Gaius, sometime after the gene enhancement, the Protoss population might experience a small-scale boom—or perhaps the largest population boom they would ever see. After that, the Protoss's desire to reproduce would most likely become even lower than before.
Before you continue