The Absurdity Brought About by Common Accord

Zhang Xuezhou has been promoted to honorary professor, and his research involves life-extending drugs.

There have always been many stories about life extension, so this drug doesn't seem out of the ordinary. What really matters is the signature that proves the drug's effectiveness.

That involved the signatures of eighteen former members of the sequence committee, with the handwritten signatures of Changkong Luo and others appearing as witnesses.

The conferment ceremony experienced a very brief moment of silence, which was followed by a frenzy of applause and shouts.

Without validation, no life-extending drug is effective, and it may never even gain formal recognition.

No one knows for sure how long an individual human can live, nor does anyone know whether taking a certain drug actually extends lifespan.

However, the elderly residents of the Twilight Years Mansion became the best evidence. These were the most authoritative people in the past of the Alliance States, and also those whose time was coming to an end. But as time went by, these former time bombs had not yet exploded.

Whether driven by practical needs, political motives, or other reasons, these individuals acted as experimenters and made solemn guarantees.

This situation is extremely rare, and no one is stubborn enough to jump out and question or deny it.

When Zhang Xuezhou stood on the stage to receive his title, many of the older researchers even showed longing in their eyes.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou's current research is only on basic drugs, and it will be a long time before they are used on a large scale, no matter how strong or weak the effect of this drug in prolonging life is, no one would not want to participate in such research and obtain the relevant drugs.

Young people don't care much about lifespan, but for many elderly people, it is indeed a need they yearn for to the extreme.

"This longevity medicine..."

As the recipient of the award, Zhang Xuezhou needed to say a few words about his related research.

Although this kind of introduction doesn't need to be a lecture like a lecturer's or a live demonstration like an associate professor certification meeting, he must give some general descriptions to satisfy the curiosity of many people.

This is a top-level academic event in the Scarlet Alliance State, and appearing on this podium signifies acceptance from the very top of the academic community.

Zhang Xuezhou was called a 'committee member' by some professors because he had not been officially recognized. Once he was formally accepted into this circle, he would gain high recognition in various research institutes, participate in the research circle, and even have others actively seeking to attach themselves to him.

Just as there are rules for Sequence Holder Sequence Holder, there are also rules for academic circles. Joining a circle allows you to gain mutual assistance and shared research.

For example, Song Bu'er was skilled in firearms research, and related researchers would take the initiative to visit him, even providing Song Bu'er's designs and asking for his help in bringing them to life.

For example, the weak gene technology researched by the Zuo Household has brought together nearly 90% of the relevant researchers in the Alliance States.

For example, in Ren Yisheng's psychology circle, many people automatically became alliance members, and their relationships were so close that outsiders found it difficult to separate them.

Each circle represents the potential collective strength of many people, and also the ever-present potential for profit.

"I only started researching ancient medicine because I was sick and afraid of dying, hoping to cure myself. I just didn't expect it to produce some unexpected effects. I can understand everyone's feelings, but the road to extending lifespan with medicine is still very long. We are currently conducting experiments and tests to see if we can produce some stable drugs."

"Becoming a test subject is not an easy task. The current drugs are quite potent, and only those with Sequence Holder can barely withstand them!"

"The Changkong Committee was involved in a testing accident and nearly died in his residence. This should be documented!"

"This is a still-developing drug, and I am truly humbled and honored to be promoted to honorary professor because of it!"

Zhang Xuezhou had a bad feeling before he went on stage.

He likely became the central figure in the power struggle between Changkong Luo and others and the committee.

Changkong Luo and others yearn to prolong their lives and also desire to return to normalcy, thus supporting Zhang Xuezhou.

Ren Yisheng and his group likely intended to use the large number of people in the Twilight Years Mansion to draw attention away from the conflict, not only to suppress heretics like Huang Daoxian with the help of the elderly, but also to lay the groundwork for the upcoming international dispute.

In the two cases combined, the procedure of skinning Zhang Xuezhou was not carried out. Instead, he was given the actual longevity drug and awarded a rank.

Zhang Xuezhou could only make excuses again and again. He not only claimed that he was sick, but also that the medication was faulty, and even attributed his promotion to honorary professorship to his status as an alternate member.

For various reasons, his immature drug was successfully nominated.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning. With you as the starting point, if anyone else follows in that direction and develops a new drug, you will also deserve half the credit," said Li Yingbo, the organizer of the awarding ceremony, with a smile.

"Compared to the possibility of extended lifespans for everyone in the future, professional titles will always seem too insignificant," Changkong Yinghao agreed. "If someone can discover a new starting point in a certain field, even if the product is not yet mature, we will still award them a corresponding title, so that more people can participate in promoting it!"

"Research results shouldn't be celebrated only after achieving fame and success; those can only serve as honors," Changkong Yinglian said. "For some special products, we need to view them dialectically and actively promote them so that the research can develop and progress rapidly!"

"Longevity is probably everyone's wish, right?" Qin Wenhan said. "I dare say 99% of people yearn for longevity, and it's possible that we'll live to be 100, 150, or even 200 years old in the future!"

"Nothing is impossible in the future. The important thing is whether someone discovers this starting point and whether someone takes action!"

Even if this starting point is wrong, perhaps we can discover a new starting point in our research!

"Everything is difficult at the beginning, but once you get started, things become much easier, and life extension has always been a key project in our gene research."

For many on the committee, the longevity elixir was not the point; the point was to quell the rebellion and stabilize the Alliance States.

But everyone's comments at this moment all proved one thing: the matter was in their own best interest.

It may benefit Changkong Luo and others, or Ren Yisheng and others, or Zhang Xuezhou and others.

Perhaps because Zhang Xuezhou declined to accept the conferment ceremony, everyone's continued speaking was also aimed at minimizing interference with Zhang Xuezhou.

Li Yingbo and others had no choice but to protect their own people, Changkong Yinghao and others wanted to protect those who could heal them, while Changkong Luo and others were seeking medicine.

When the three leading parties reach a consensus, more people will agree with them.

Many people had never even seen the medicine before; even Changkong Luo and others only conducted some simple tests.

Despite being a pill with little to no life-extending effect, lacking social promotion and not intended for the benefit of Sequence Tier social classes, it gained widespread support and ultimately became a new starting point for gene-based life extension, even leading to Zhang Xuezhou being awarded an honorary professorship with remarkable ease.

No one voiced any objection; many were even fervent and eager to become testers or researchers in the field.

This is absurd, yet it actually happened in this very venue.