Although Chen Xu is currently in a period of temporary peace with the European Tarot organization, his attitude towards this mysterious organization is completely opposite to that towards another powerful organization, the X organization—no matter how much the Tarot organization tries to curry favor with him, from the very beginning, Chen Xu has regarded them as enemies!
Because this organization almost killed him!
Chen Xu is the kind of person who holds grudges—of course, this doesn't mean he's petty. If the previous conflict between the two sides was a misunderstanding, then once the misunderstanding is cleared up, it's not a big deal, and Chen Xu wouldn't hold a grudge. But the problem now is that the Tarot organization is showing goodwill to Chen Xu because they've realized they can't do anything to Chen Xu and SMMH behind him for the time being!
It's not because they had a change of heart!
So, in essence, they wanted to kill Chen Xu and even deployed a large number of assassins, while Chen Xu also called on the US military to retaliate and destroy their assassin organization—the Twelve Golden Chrysanthemums. Thus, the enmity between the two sides has been established! Although the Tarot's higher-ups have temporarily compromised with Chen Xu under the principle of "there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests," they are still enemies, and one day they will still have to fight each other.
Therefore, Chen Xu has no intention of letting this mad dog go.
"What exactly happened?" Guan Yi walked to Chen Xu's side, looked at the medicine bottle, and frowned. "What kind of medicine is this? And what's wrong with this mad dog?"
Chen Xu sighed. He knew that he definitely wouldn't get anything out of Mad Dog in his current state—his brain was in chaos, completely in a state of no thought, unable to obtain any information from the outside world. Well, he'd better wait until he recovered before asking him.
"Quickly send someone to give him a sedative injection, then settle him down, but don't let him leave. I still have something to ask him later." Chen Xu said directly to the supervisor before turning to Guan Yi: "Uh, this is your territory, you make the arrangements. Don't mistreat him, and don't ask him anything. Even if you kill him now, he won't wake up... Hmm, call me when he wakes up."
Guan Yi smiled, about to give the order. The supervisor had already nodded in agreement and quickly arranged for people to carry the mad dog out. However, their movements weren't gentle. Firstly, everyone was angry at the mad dog's previous insolence; secondly, the mad dog was unpopular and had offended many people. Most importantly, this incident involved two hundred million US dollars! The Dong family would definitely be furious, and the mad dog's fate was predictable—not everyone is willing to offer help in times of need, but many are willing to kick a dog when it's down. Everyone knew this mad dog was finished.
“They all admire you now,” Guan Yi said with a smile, leaning on Chen Xu’s arm. “Some people might have been unhappy about your status as the future son-in-law of the housekeeper, but at least because of your amazing memory, they have to admit it. You’re a gambling god! I reckon even Pierre Carson couldn’t beat you at gambling; at least he couldn’t possibly have such a powerful memory!”
Chen Xu scratched his head, and Guan Yi pulled his hand and laughed, "Stop scratching your head, or you'll lose all your expert aura."
Chen Xu smiled wryly: "I was never a master to begin with."
But to others, this was just excessive modesty. Everyone knew that with such a terrifying memory, with a little guidance, he would definitely become a new gambling god. However, as the butler's future son-in-law, he didn't need to rely on gambling skills to make money. But for the butler, having such a master in charge would make their business in Las Vegas much easier.
After all, this place is full of hidden talents. Not only the butler, but also some powerful European and American families are dividing up their influence here. The strength of those families is no weaker than that of the butler.
Guan Yi was also very happy. Chen Xu had earned two hundred million US dollars for the family in just one afternoon, and had also gotten rid of a very annoying guy. This would greatly reduce the opposition within the family regarding their future marriage and cooperation with SMMH. Guan Yi didn't let Chen Xu take the two hundred million US dollars, and Chen Xu didn't mention it either—because Guan Yi had won the bet, and such a small amount would inevitably give others cause for gossip. But everyone knew the true nature of the bet: two hundred million US dollars for a future was a very worthwhile deal.
Back in the room, Guan Yi asked, "Ah Xu, what exactly happened to Mad Dog just now... What kind of medicine is that? Also, his sudden incredible memory and mental arithmetic abilities, is that...?"
Guan Yi also knew a little about "smart drugs." Chen Xu nodded and said, "That's right, this bottle of medicine should be the kind that can improve human intelligence, but you've seen the side effects. It's not a good drug; the harm to the human body far outweighs the benefits... But some people may not care. In their view, sacrificing a little harm for greater profits is a worthwhile business deal."
"That kind of loss...would be very serious?"
"Ten years," Chen Xu gestured with his two hands, "basically, those who take too much of this drug will become idiots in ten years at most. Their dependence on this drug will become more and more serious. Once they stop using it... just like drugs, they will suffer unbearable pain."
Yes, it's like drugs!
This drug can force a person into a focused and calm state of mind. However, it's important to know that this external force is ultimately not the right approach! The body will reject this external force, gradually developing drug resistance! Once drug resistance develops, the dosage needs to be increased, and after becoming familiar with that "feeling good" mental state, without the drug's effect, a person will inevitably become increasingly anxious and worried.
Moreover, losing the advantage of "high intelligence" is something many people find unacceptable.
So, they become increasingly dependent on drugs, which in itself is a form of "drug addiction" and complies with all international regulations on drugs!
It's fair to say that these so-called "smart drugs" went down the wrong path from the very beginning! Their initial approach led to the final outcome!
Not to mention that this drug can also damage the human brain.
“This is a new kind of drug…” Chen Xu sighed. “A high-tech drug, especially targeting high-tech talents. However, there is no definition of this drug in the world yet.”
“It’s not difficult to define it!” Guan Yi suddenly said.
Chen Xu looked at her, and the woman smiled and said, "I know a few friends in international anti-drug organizations. If you want, I can help you make contact. Also, with your teacher SMMH's reputation, you can provide them with an analysis document on this type of drug, and with my help behind the scenes, we should be able to classify this drug as a formal narcotics soon."
"What's the point of officially classifying it as a drug..." Chen Xu suddenly paused, "It's useful! It's useful!"
Many scientists are now developing this type of drug. Their original intention may be for the future of mankind. Their intentions are good, and they did not expect the serious consequences that this drug might bring. But if they knew such serious consequences and knew that this research was impossible to achieve, how many people would still be willing to work hard on this?
Science is a double-edged sword, and its application is not subject to human will.
It seems that opium was originally used as medicine, but what happened later? Things like morphine and pethidine, which are now officially classified as drugs, are still used in hospitals, but under strict control. Doctors and patients use them very carefully because they know that these things are addictive.
A central nervous system drug called "Ritalin" has become a "new favorite" among university students in Western countries, and some countries have already classified it as a soft drug.
However, in some major cities in China, this situation has occurred—some ignorant parents are going to hospitals to ask doctors to prescribe "Ritalin" for their children!
Are they trying to harm the child?
Of course not. Parents' intentions are certainly good. While methylphenidate is quite effective in treating ADHD, it's common for children these days to be playful and not interested in studying. However, using this medication to make a child study harder is a huge mistake!
This kind of thing can only be attributed to ignorance. It's important to know that Ritalin is a strictly controlled psychotropic drug; how could it be given to children as a "smart drug"?
Many researchers today are initially researching "smart drugs" with the intention of enabling themselves and others to learn better and faster. While this intention is good, they are unaware of the consequences their inventions will have. It's like when computers were first invented, before the concept of computer viruses existed, a group of fun computer scientists played a game where they each wrote a program and then made these programs fight each other, copying and devouring one another...
This is the prototype of a computer virus—self-replication.
These scientists, who were just playing a game, opened Pandora's box. If they had known beforehand that computer viruses would become this rampant in the future, would they still have opened the box?
If the scientists dedicated to researching the human brain knew about the terrible, unavoidable side effects that such a "smart drug" would bring, would they still have gone ahead with it?
After Chen Xu raised this point, Guan Yi thought about it for a moment, but shook her head: "Honey, I think your idea is a bit too naive."
Chapter 354 Guan Yi's Three Strategies
"Innocent?"
“Hmm,” Guan Yi smiled, “You know, there are still many people in this world who are willing to take risks, and many who want to take shortcuts. This kind of drug certainly has terrible consequences, but at the same time, it can also bring high profits and convenience in a short period of time… I know some scientists, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them crazy. Think about it, if you tell these scholars who are crazy about scientific research that they will suffer some harm, but in a short period of time, their intelligence will be improved, and this improvement may even solve a problem that has plagued them for many years… what do you think they would choose?”
"If you told an ordinary person that you'd give them $100 million to shorten their lifespan by 30 years—meaning they'd only live to 50 instead of 80—how many people do you think would be willing to do that?"
Chen Xu fell silent.
He wasn't the type to be a fanatic or a research geek for the first question, so he didn't know the answer. But the answer to the second question...
If you asked Chen Xu now, he definitely wouldn't answer—he's so rich now, a hundred million dollars to buy thirty years of his life? Dream on! Not to mention, he just won two hundred million!
But what about the many people who have no money, who work hard as mortgage slaves to own a house, and some who can't even afford to eat?
I'm sure many people would be willing—if Xiaoice were to choose, we'd be willing too!
A hundred million dollars may not seem like a lot—it depends on who you're talking to! For ordinary people, it's an astronomical figure! Think about winning five million in the lottery, but who would dare to dream of winning a hundred million dollars? With that much money, even if you only live to 50, you can basically buy whatever you want and enjoy life however you want during that time.
Rather than working yourself to death until you're 80, it's better to enjoy life and live to 50.
Many people probably think this way: to put it in a very righteous way, it's a very irresponsible attitude—but what can you do? This society is even more irresponsible.
"Honey, you seem to care a lot about this?" Guan Yi leaned into Chen Xu's arms, hugging him and warming him with her body heat. "My husband isn't an ordinary person. If there are things you don't want to talk about, then I won't press you, and there's no need to. I believe you'll tell me yourself when you're ready to..." Chen Xu was stunned for a moment. Guan Yi buried her face in Chen Xu's chest and said, "Is it possible to keep Pandora's box closed?"
Chen Xu was truly stunned.
"Honey, your computer skills must be pretty good by now. So let me ask you this: even if those few playful computer experts hadn't existed, would computer viruses still have existed?"
Chen Xu was truly dumbfounded!
He had told Guan Yi about the origins of computer viruses, which was actually a kind of "showing off." At the time, Chen Xu used the term "Pandora's box" to describe the event—those computer experts opened Pandora's box.
But if they weren't there, would this box never be opened?
How is that possible?!
From today's perspective, computer viruses are an inevitable product of the development of computer software and hardware. Even if those scientists hadn't discovered them, even if they hadn't existed in history, computer viruses would still have been born and would still have become stumbling blocks in computer and network security.
"I'm a woman, and I don't understand many other things, but there's one thing I do know: some things are inevitable in the course of history, and there's no escaping them. Even if you escape for a day, they will still appear again. It's a rule, and even if what appears isn't a good thing, what's meant to come will eventually come, and you can't avoid it."
"If we can't avoid it... then how should we deal with it?"
“It’s simple. We’ll deal with whatever comes our way.” Guan Yi raised his head, revealing bright eyes. “I don’t know if there are any ‘smart drugs’ in this world, but after the school incident, Zhan Jing said that even if there were, they would definitely be poison. But in the face of huge profits, such drawbacks simply won’t be noticed, and even if they are, they won’t take them seriously. Most people only care about immediate gains. Unless they suffer a terrible fall, they won’t learn their lesson. Bloody lessons are cruel, but they are an inevitable part of historical development…”
"Zhan Jing said that? What did she say?"
Guan Yi sighed softly, "Zhan Jing is truly a woman I can't describe in words... Last time you went for special training, those guys from the School of Life Sciences were incredibly arrogant, and somehow, rumors started circulating in the school that they had achieved their current intelligence level after taking a 'smart drug' developed by Dr. Li. After hearing this rumor, Gao Xiaojie excitedly said that if she could get some to take, she wouldn't be so depressed about the exams... And at that time, Zhan Jing said something that I still remember vividly."
Guan Yi's mind raced, and he quietly mimicked Zhan Jing's tone.
At that moment, Chen Xu felt as if the girl with a few strands of light blue hair was sitting there quietly, speaking calmly, as if nothing around her had any effect on her...
"Using drugs to make people smarter is always a misconception. Because any drug has an effect. When the drug takes effect, he might be Einstein. But after the effect wears off, he will become an ordinary person... If you were Einstein, would you accept that your thinking would regress to that of an ordinary person overnight? Or, if you woke up one night and found that the knowledge you knew well yesterday, the knowledge you were proud of, you couldn't remember it at all today, would you still be able to maintain a normal mindset? Therefore, people who obtain high intelligence through this means are unwilling to return to being ordinary. They will continue to take drugs, like drug addicts, becoming more and more unable to extricate themselves... until death!"
Chen Xu was stunned!
To draw such a conclusion based solely on the name of a medicine... Zhan Jing truly has a heart of crystal!
Guan Yi continued, "So I asked her, why did she die? The medicine might not have been poisonous. Zhan Jing replied, 'All medicines have some degree of toxicity, and if a person can only survive or find confidence by relying on medicine, then in essence, they are already dead.'"
"..."
Chen Xu really didn't know what to say. Guan Yi sighed and said, "Zhan Jing is indeed the most threatening girl I've ever met in my life. I can't describe my feelings for her. It's a kind of complicated feeling that I can't explain."
Chen Xu felt the same way!
That child with a few strands of light blue hair on his forehead was truly the softest spot in the deepest part of his heart!
She is like a blooming snow lotus on a snow-capped mountain; just looking at her brings peace to one's mind. In this tranquil state of mind, even getting close to her feels like a desecration!
She was too perfect, perhaps because this girl knew how to hide her flaws. She concealed her shortcomings, which is why she seemed so perfect, so perfect that it made people feel ashamed of themselves.
Seeing the thoughtful look on Chen Xu's face, Guan Yi sighed inwardly.
In his heart, that girl was probably someone he could never forget... Thinking of this, Guan Yi couldn't help but feel a little jealous, so he snuggled closer to Chen Xu and hugged him even tighter.
Feeling Guan Yi's actions and her soft, alluring body pressed against him, Chen Xu quickly composed himself and silently slapped himself in the face—he already had a deadly vixen like Guan Yi and an adorable angel like Gao Xiaojie, yet he was still thinking about others; he truly deserved a beating!
But deep down he knew that he could never truly let go of Zhan Jing...
“But this kind of ‘smart drug’…” Chen Xu took a breath and said, “It’s not that I’m being overly pessimistic, but I’m worried that once this smart drug spreads beyond a certain circle, its harmful effects will be endless! Think about it, it’s understandable that parents nowadays want their children to succeed. It’s just that children face a lot of pressure these days. I’ve even heard that some parents are giving their children a psychotropic drug called ‘Ritalin.’ This drug can reduce the excitation of the central nervous system and has some effect on treating ‘ADHD.’ When children concentrate, their grades naturally improve. So many people think it’s a smart drug. But once this real, but even more toxic, smart drug is on the market, I’m afraid some parents will be ungrateful and let their children take it… The effects will be immediate, and many people will probably follow suit. At that time, even some of our relatives might suffer.”
Chen Xu was not a saint, but he remembered one sentence.
When they were killing the Jews, I did not speak up because I was not a Jew; when they were killing the Christians, I did not speak up because I was not a Christian; when they came to arrest the Communists, I kept silent because I was not a Communist; when they came to kill me, there was no one left to speak up for me…
This quote is a famous warning written by the German pastor Martin Niemöller in his later years when he repented for his moral shortcomings.
This quote is inscribed on the Holocaust Memorial in Boston, USA.
The world is interconnected. Scientists have calculated that any two people in the world can be connected through six people—this is the famous "six degrees of separation" theory.
Chen Xu was worried that this "smart drug" might leave harmful effects on humanity, and even more worried that one day it might harm someone close to him, or someone's children or offspring.
This is not an unfounded worry, nor is it the time to stand aside and pretend to be arrogant and indifferent.
“If I don’t care about this matter, if I look at this seemingly unrelated thing with the attitude of ‘other people die, so what’s it to me,’ but one day the people around me are hurt because of it, who should I blame?”
Guan Yi lowered her head and thought for a moment, then smiled: "As expected of the man I've chosen, you're thinking long-term. Okay, although I really hate those perfect saviors in American blockbusters, I might as well let my man play that role once. At least, I agree with your starting point." She sighed: "After all, if this kind of drug were to appear, it would be a blow to us casino owners."
Definitely!
Just think about someone like Mad Dog, who, after taking drugs, somehow becomes a semi-gambling god! If everyone took these drugs and came to casinos... then Las Vegas casinos would probably only be able to offer low-skill games like dice.
Chen Xu smiled. This was Guan Yi. She had her own thoughts, an independent, thoughtful, and intelligent girl.
"What, do you have some brilliant idea?"