Chapter 313 The Organization (Part 2)...The Rothschild Family!
A man's knees are worth their weight in gold; Chinese people take kneeling and bowing very seriously. Chen Xu and the others quickly helped Dr. Li up. Lü Xiang was stunned and stepped forward, saying, "Dr., please don't do this. I... I don't blame you."
To be honest, it's impossible not to find fault. Think about it, this drug has turned them into addicts. Everyone has their own selfish motives; no one is a saint. Moreover, people tend to hold grudges against others. It's impossible to say that Dr. Li is completely blameless! That's why last night, most of them were cold and indifferent towards Dr. Li, except for Huang Chong and that girl, Xiao Ye, who were slightly better to him.
But to be fair, did Dr. Li really want to harm them?
Although they were among the first human test subjects for this drug, Dr. Li had already conducted very rigorous and detailed tests on it to ensure it was harmless to humans. However, he did not expect that the dependence would be so strong.
Actually, Huang Chong and his group are not yet deeply addicted to this drug... but only physically!
Dr. Li has been researching drugs for decades, and most of his experiments are based on experimental data. Although this drug can cause a certain degree of physical dependence and damage to the brain, this damage is very slow.
Like the military's physical recovery fluid, it has an incubation period, and the effects can only be seen when it becomes irreversible.
But why are people like Lü Xiang so dependent on drugs now?
This kind of dependence should have been anticipated long ago. It's not a physical dependence on physical stimuli, but a psychological one!
Dr. Li was just a scholar who studied drugs, but he completely overlooked another very important factor... people!
If someone suddenly gained superpowers, would they willingly turn back into an ordinary person?
Impossible. That's a common human trait. Unless one is a saint who lives in seclusion, how could they possibly give up an extraordinary ability they suddenly gained?!
The main reason for Lü Xiang's agonizing headache yesterday was that when the medication wore off, he suddenly felt like his brain had become a complete mess!
This is the biggest side effect after the drug's effects wear off, and even Dr. Li himself knows this! When the drug's effects wear off, a person's IQ suddenly drops, which can cause errors in thinking and result in severe headaches.
Dr. Li believes this is simply a normal phenomenon and not a side effect at all; all you need to do is calm yourself down. It will only last a few minutes. Afterward, take the medication again, or, if the effect doesn't wear off, take another dose at the right time.
He never imagined the serious consequences this drug would bring!
Humans are always greedy.
This isn't Chen Xu boasting about his own nobility; giving up Xiao Min is absolutely impossible for him. Having gained an extraordinary ability, how many people could remain calm about losing her?
However, while Xiaomin didn't cause Chen Xu any truly terrible side effects, the "smart drug" forced them to give it up, albeit unwillingly. Otherwise, at the latest, they would all become drooling idiots within ten years.
Along the original trajectory of history, how many scientists, in their pursuit of temporary intellectual advancement, ultimately transformed from among the most intelligent people in the world into pitifully intellectually disabled individuals?
"Although I haven't fully studied Mr. SMMH's data yet, I've already figured it out: this kind of 'smart drug' really shouldn't exist in this world." Dr. Li gave a self-deprecating smile. He understood the attitude of his students last night. He had dedicated his entire life to scientific research, yet he still didn't understand the most despicable aspect of humanity... greed. He had truly lived such a long life in vain.
“Then I’ll keep my promise and tell you about my organization. The abbreviation of my organization is PRO,” Dr. Li said. “Promethu, Prometheus!”
"The god of fire in Greek mythology? The one who brought fire to mankind and was later tied to a cliff?" Chen Xu was fairly familiar with Greek mythology and immediately said, "Judging from your organization's name, you must be dedicated to contributing to the technological development of mankind? But if it's Prometheus, why is the organization's symbol a chrysanthemum?"
"That chrysanthemum doesn't belong to PRO. We'll talk about that later. PRO is very famous in academia. It's the only academic research organization that can be compared to Organization X."
Chen Xu exclaimed in surprise: "The X Organization?!"
Dr. Li looked at him curiously: "You know about the X Organization?"
"We know it inside and out!" Chen Xu nodded with a wry smile. "It's said to have been founded by Marie Curie's eldest daughter and a group of scientists, maintaining the world's technological efficiency and sustainable development in the shadows."
"As expected of SMMH's apprentice, you even know about the X organization," Dr. Li praised. "Ordinary people would never have heard of such an organization in their entire lives... As for maintaining the development of technology in this world, humph, that's just them patting themselves on the back. The nature of the X organization has long been corrupted. We PROs split off from X, and now we call them - Zeus."
“Zeus?!” Chen Xu immediately understood the meaning of those two names and said, “Oh, in ancient Greek mythology, Zeus was a tyrant with supreme power but a narrow mind. Prometheus gave fire to mankind, giving them light, and Zeus was unhappy about it, so he tied him to a cliff and let an eagle eat his entrails, over and over again. He even suspected his own children. When Athena was born, he was afraid that this child would affect his position and almost killed Athena... You mean, Organization X is a dark organization like Zeus, arrogant and proud, but afraid of being replaced?”
Dr. Li was genuinely surprised that Chen Xu could deduce so much from just two names. Little did he know that Chen Xu had long been familiar with and had dealings with the X organization, and was very knowledgeable about their modus operandi, which was why he could deduce so much from just two names.
“Yes, you really surprise me,” Dr. Li said. “Organization X claims to be the guardian of this world’s technology, but in reality, they are the culprits hindering the world’s technological development. Because Organization X knows very well that if this world of knowledge explosion is allowed to develop technology so rapidly, their leading advantage will vanish, and they will lose everything they have now… their supreme status, countless riches, and glory. They are nominally maintaining the world’s technological development, but in reality, they are hindering the progress of technology! Ten years ago, a group of selfless scientists within Organization X united, left Organization X, and created PRO to fight against X…”
"Wait a minute..." Chen Xu suddenly said, "Excuse me for interrupting. I've heard my teacher mention the strength of the X Organization to some extent. They're an enemy that even my teacher doesn't want to confront head-on. They control both parties in the US Congress, multiple families, and you could even say they control the entire American political system, and even the military. Moreover, the X Organization's principle for those who don't obey is to first win them over. If that fails, they eliminate them. How could your PRO have been established?" "That's what I wanted to talk about. The organization behind Jimmy, the one with the chrysanthemum logo... I still don't know who's behind it. I only know that their headquarters are in Europe, and over the past few decades, that organization's power and influence have infiltrated various European countries. It's said that the Rothschild family is the financial group behind this organization, but that's just hearsay."
"Roscher?!"
Chen Xu exclaimed in amazement, "The Rothschild family is known as the number one family in the shadow world. They control the economic lifeline of the entire world and even the Federal Reserve!"
Hearing Chen Xu say this, Dr. Li smiled and said, "Where did you hear that? It's an exaggeration. The Rothschild family doesn't have that much power. Right now, America belongs to the Morgan and Rockefeller families. One is a donkey, and the other is an elephant. They control the Republican and Democratic parties respectively... But it's undeniable that the rise of these two families was also due to the strong support of the Rothschild family during World War II. However, given their current status, the Rothschild family has long since lost control of them."
"The Rothschild family was glorious more than a hundred years ago. Centuries of accumulation and the emergence of many talented people earned them the reputation of being the sixth largest empire in Europe. However, it should be noted that the Rothschild family suffered heavy losses during World War II and made some wrong decisions. They were stabbed in the back by the Americans and Germans..." Dr. Li looked at Chen Xu, a smile appearing on his lips: "The Rothschild family is Jewish."
Chen Xu had a look of sudden realization. The killing of Jews by Hitler during World War II was heartbreaking. Could there be a reason related to the Rothschild family?
"Before World War I, no financial conglomerate could compare to the Rothschild family. Even after the devastating blows to Europe following the First World War, no financial group could defeat the Rothschild family. They were so terrifying that they had to be eliminated. Moreover, the family was extremely united and exclusive. Business affairs within the family had to be handled by male members of the family. Therefore, this family could never be controlled and could only be destroyed."
"Before that, the four major American families—Morgan, Rockefeller, DuPont, and Mellon—were all controlled by the Rothschild family, as well as various European conglomerates. That was the Rothschild family's most glorious era... They truly controlled the economic lifeline of the entire world single-handedly!"
"However, the Rothschild family made a very serious mistake. Although they spent a lot of money cultivating the Morgan family to counter the Rockefeller family and the other two major American financial groups that had betrayed them, the Rothschild family failed to realize the enormous potential for development in the American economy. The core of their family, and the core of their economy, remained entirely in Europe. Until... the outbreak of World War II."
"Before the outbreak of World War II, American and German financial groups had already joined forces to prepare. They used the most vicious method of undermining the Rothschild family's foundation... the Jews!"
"They were supporting Hitler behind the scenes?!"
"That's right. At that time, the Rothschild family suffered an incredibly heavy blow. Many family members were brutally murdered, and the family almost completely collapsed. Meanwhile, the United States and Germany seized the opportunity to take over nearly two-thirds of the Rothschild family's assets... in the Americas and Australia, far from the war. And many of their businesses in Europe were also interrupted due to the war. So, the Rothschild family's biggest mistake was underestimating the enormous influence of the United States on the future world and failing to recognize the development potential of the United States, a country far from the battlefields of the world."
Chen Xu remained silent. Indeed, how much did the United States profit from the two world wars? It became the world's leading superpower overnight. It seems that in addition to arms sales, it also seized a large amount of the Rothschild family's wealth.
"But the Rothschild family, like a centipede that dies but doesn't fall, rose again after the war. Their political center remains in Europe, but they also wield considerable influence in the United States. However, it's impossible for them to control the lifeline of the world economy as they did a hundred years ago. Although there are no permanent enemies in business, only interests, the Rothschild family, under the influence of families like Rockefeller, Morgan, Citibank, and Mellon, cannot yet control American politics. But in Europe, it's a different story..."
What does "hard to say" mean?
"This is just a rumor. You have to understand, the Rothschild family is extremely mysterious and low-profile. Even we don't know if the organization behind us is actually the Rothschilds. We're just guessing based on past experience. Looking across Europe, the only family with the power and financial resources to rival Organization X and the major American conglomerates behind it is the Rothschild family! This rumor is that after World War II, the Rothschild family set out a century-long plan to restore their former glory. And economic development requires political support, a policy the Rothschild family has consistently followed for centuries. But now, they've discovered that unless all of Europe unites, they cannot politically compete with the United States..."
Chen Xu's back hairs stood on end: "You mean... the establishment of the European Union was driven by the Rothschild family?!"
Chapter 314 Chrysanthemum Party (Part 1)
"There is no doubt that several financial groups and forces supported the establishment of the European Union, but whether the Rothschild family was really behind it is not supported by any evidence, and nobody knows. However, such rumors are quite common in the world. After all, when it comes to intelligence and unity, the former may be comparable to the Jews, but the latter, and the combination of the two, is something that no other nation can match."
At this point, Dr. Li shook his head and sighed, and Chen Xu also sighed.
The reason for their sighs was the same: when it comes to intelligence, the Chinese are definitely no less intelligent than any other nation. It's just a pity that they are too intelligent, unwilling to be managed, and their internal strife is too fierce!
One Chinese person is a dragon, a group of Chinese people are a bunch of worms. This saying is not just for show.
"The power behind PRO is probably like this. Although it may not really be the Rothschild family, its strength is probably no less than that of the legendary family... But if it's not the Rothschilds, then who could it be? Who else could have such great financial resources and infiltration capabilities?"
This statement implies that the power behind it is the legendary Rothschild family, because there are very few families with such resources.
The formation of the European Union has gone through three stages: the Benelux Economic Union, the European Community, and now the European Union. Since the end of World War II, the idea of unifying European countries into a single, large nation or alliance has been very popular, which was also a natural consequence of historical development. After World War II, Europe, as one of the main battlefields, was in dire need of reconstruction and could no longer compete with the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Enlightened Europeans realized that continuing to fight separately was not a sustainable solution, and the idea of European integration became very popular at that time.
(Whether the Rothschild family was behind it is merely the novelist's speculation, but there's no doubt that the lifeline of capitalist countries is in the hands of financial groups and banks. Without their approval, the European Union would never have been established. This is because the EU member states are relatively politically independent, and the biggest benefit and starting point for forming the union is economic.)
Dr. Li said, "The chrysanthemum symbol comes from the organization behind PRO. We don't know which conglomerate or family has this twelve-petaled golden chrysanthemum as their emblem. But in our opinion, this chrysanthemum is not to be offended. We call this organization... the Chrysanthemum Party."
Chen Xu's face instantly lit up with a radiant glow. What a wonderful name!
Of course, the term "chrysanthemum" is a relatively new one, only emerging in the last two years. As the saying goes, men are like one-yuan coins: one on the front and a chrysanthemum on the back... This organization, however, has existed for at least several decades. Being labeled with evil ideologies, the "Chrysanthemum Party," is somewhat unfairly accused.
Dr. Li, an old scholar, naturally didn't understand the sinister connotations of the word "chrysanthemum" in the past. He continued, "This Chrysanthemum Party is very powerful and shrouded in mystery. Even we are just one of their research institutions. Of course, we are the most important one. As far as I know, PRO receives at least a billion dollars in sponsorship from the Chrysanthemum Party every year. While PRO has created a considerable amount of value, it has generally maintained a slight loss over the past ten years, but the funding from the Chrysanthemum Party has never decreased. In other words, they don't expect PRO to make a profit, or even a profit in the short term." Feeling somewhat embarrassed about receiving a billion dollars a year without producing any results, Dr. Li added, "Of course, PRO's value is definitely enough for the Chrysanthemum Party to make a steady profit. Many research projects, after ten years of accumulation, have now reached a critical moment where quantitative change is turning into qualitative change. Once our major projects make breakthrough progress, we can earn not just 10 billion, but even 100 billion!"
"Including this smart drug?" Chen Xu said casually, almost making Dr. Li choke on his words.
"If they're all like 'smart drugs,' exploiting the human body and attempting to give humans divine powers through scientific research... then forget it." Chen Xu shook his head and sighed, "The rules won't allow it."
Dr. Li was puzzled: "Gods? What gods?"
Chen Xu was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled at himself for thinking too far ahead of his time.
At the beginning of the great hoax, human desires had not yet risen to such a terrifying level as to think about turning people into gods; they were still within the realm of humanity itself, trying to maximize human potential.
Chen Xu casually steered the conversation away from the topic, asking, "So, where did this research on smart drugs come from? Could you elaborate on the motivation, when it started... and especially the inspiration—how did you come up with the idea? Also, what is the attitude of the 'Chrysanthemum Party' behind you towards this kind of research? And besides smart drugs, what other products are there that are similar to this research?"
After asking so many questions in one go, Chen Xu said, "I'm sorry, Dr. Li, I don't mean to interrogate you, but there are some things involved that are of great importance. I hope you can tell me everything you know."
Dr. Li thought for a moment and said, "I don't think I need to elaborate on the motivation, right? After all, our research is for the benefit of all humankind. As you said before, if this kind of smart drug really has no side effects... and becomes widespread, then an ordinary person could learn highly specialized advanced knowledge at the age of twenty. This would be incredibly powerful for the progress of humankind. As for inspiration... I don't know either. It seems there haven't been any particularly brilliant flashes of inspiration. It's just that we keep researching and one day we suddenly discover a clue and start working in that direction."
That's not for any other reason, but simply because, as history unfolds, there will always be a group of scientists who are the first to enter this field.
"What other similar research projects do you have? What is the attitude of the 'Chrysanthemum Party' that you support?"
"I'm in charge of developing the human brain, as well as research on human potential. There are many other studies that I'm not in charge of. I'm specifically responsible for improving brainpower and intelligence, so I'm not very clear about other aspects. As for the 'Chrysanthemum Party'... they seem to be very interested in this kind of research, but that's to be expected. Research with such potential is bound to interest them."
Chen Xu asked some more questions, but found that Dr. Li didn't understand many things and didn't think deeply about them.
He was, after all, a scientist. Scientists are often oblivious and insensitive to the darker aspects of their surroundings, so Dr. Li could only see the surface of many things and not the darker parts. And because of that organization Xu Jiang mentioned, which had been like a fishbone stuck in Chen Xu's throat all along, Chen Xu wouldn't immediately assume the worst about everything.
Besides Xu Jiang's words, there was something else that made Chen Xu very uneasy.
The more he came into contact with it, the more he felt the horror of this century-old scam.
When Chen Xu first approached Organization X with this grand hoax, his intention was simply to disrupt their plans, preventing this world-renowned and powerful organization from dealing with him and giving him time to develop. Subconsciously, he still believed that this grand hoax was nothing more than a scientific joke.
There are actually many such jokes in the scientific community. For example, some bored guy might create a giant footprint, then claim it's a UFO or the footprint of some prehistoric civilization, thus fooling the entire scientific community. He only tells the media with a grin when he's about to die... It was just his prank.
But the more he learned and the more he interacted with others, the more doubts arose in Chen Xu's mind.
Xiao Min's information deliberately erased the serious consequences that the "century-long scam" would cause in the future. His grandson, Xiao Fei, had already told him part of this.
But what exactly are these serious consequences?
In Chen Fei's words, due to the constraints of the laws of nature, Chen Xu cannot be informed about such momentous historical events, as the future is subject to countless changes. While the protagonist's destiny is predetermined, a specific path cannot be artificially predetermined. There's a saying, "Heaven's secrets are unpredictable." This demonstrates the terrifying wisdom of the ancient Chinese… they discovered these hidden rules thousands of years ago.
And yet, what we now call science, what we call a highly developed civilized society, has not even come close to the level of the ancients in this day and age.
On a side note, what Chen Xu is really annoyed by now are those people who think science is omnipotent, and those who, after learning some systematic scientific knowledge developed and extended from the West, completely deny ancient Chinese culture... including denying traditional Chinese medicine, denying traditional Chinese feng shui and astrology, etc.
This doesn't mean Chen Xu was an extremely radical patriot, what we now call a radical youth, defending his ancient and long-standing civilization without reason or cause. Rather, it's because current science is far from perfect, and excessive reliance on science is itself a form of superstition!
Leaving aside Chen Xu's current level, where he has already come into contact with the mystical rules of the Heavenly Dao, is the theory of feng shui, dragon veins, and astrology truly nonsense?
How could that be!
Although much of the recorded knowledge that has been preserved contains some random and miscellaneous information, we cannot rule out the existence of things of great value among them.
For example, in feng shui, there's a saying about "a beam pressing down on the bed"... Nowadays, it's rare to see roof beams in modern apartment buildings, but they were very common in ancient tile-roofed houses. "A beam pressing down on the bed" means the bed is placed directly under a beam, forming a cross shape with it. So, when a person sleeps under the beam every day, over time, it can lead to poor mental health and even general illness.
This is an ancient Chinese belief based on feng shui, but modern scientific research has proven that every object has its own magnetic field, the only difference being the magnitude. A beam above the bed is like having a magnetic field opposite to the human body suspended in mid-sleep, causing a feeling of oppression… Is this superstition? It's simply a collection of knowledge accumulated through experience.
But I digress. Since we can't get anything out of Dr. Li, we'll have to find that little guy, Jimmy.
However, this guy seems pretty stubborn. I wonder how those special forces soldiers dealt with him...
Chapter 315 Chrysanthemum Party (Part 2)
When Chen Xu saw Jimmy again, the once arrogant and domineering guy looked incredibly haggard. Wolf Fang and his men had transported him in a delivery truck; Jimmy was hanging from the back of the truck bed. When Chen Xu saw him, the guy's eyes were empty and filled with fear, as if he had been gang-raped by seventeen or eighteen burly men…
Upon seeing Chen Xu, he immediately said, "I've already told you what you want to ask. Ask away, and then kill me!"