"Impossible!" Even with Zhan Jing's usual composure, she couldn't help but groan. The myth of the Nine Provinces Cauldron was only passed down in legends. She never expected that it actually existed. Moreover, such a treasure with historical value no less than the Imperial Seal of the State was not placed in a history museum, but was studied in such a secret research institute. This was because, in addition to its unparalleled historical significance, the cauldron also possessed immense scientific research value!
Professor Jefferson is right...it is indeed true.
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing were able to enter this laboratory thanks to SMMH's status. Neither Guan Yi nor Gao Xiaojie possessed this qualification. Only SMMH and her eldest apprentice, Chen Xu, the current head of Tongchi Island, were qualified to access this secret. This was entirely due to the enormous contributions Tongchi Island had made to the country recently, and the higher-ups hoped that the two's knowledge could be of assistance in the research—looking across all of China, including the elderly professors in this research institute, fewer than a hundred people knew of the existence of the Nine Provinces Cauldron!
"This cauldron should be called the Xuzhou Cauldron, one of the Nine Cauldrons. It was cast by Xia Qi, the first king of the Great Xia Dynasty..."
"Xia Qi? Isn't that Yu the Great?" Chen Xu asked, puzzled. "Wasn't it said that this was cast after Yu the Great controlled the floods?"
Zhan Jing rolled her eyes at him: "You've been reading too many online novels, haven't you? It's about how after Yu the Great controlled the floods, he divided the land into nine provinces. Then, his son Qi succeeded him, beginning the history of the Chinese dynasty. Qi ordered the governors of the nine provinces to contribute bronze and refined gold to cast nine tripods. He then ordered craftsmen to carve the mountains, rivers, and mythical beasts of each province onto the tripods. Thus, each tripod symbolized one province, and the nine tripods were equivalent to the land of the nine provinces of China. So, from then on, the nine provinces became synonymous with China, and these nine tripods became synonymous with the royal power of the land."
Chen Xu was greatly ashamed. He had always thought that the Nine Cauldrons were cast by Yu the Great, but he knew what Zhan Jing said later, and he learned something new.
The white-bearded director surnamed Wang chuckled and said, "Miss Zhan Jing is absolutely right. The Nine Provinces Cauldron was cast by Qi of Xia and passed down through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. By the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the royal power had declined, and the Nine Provinces Cauldron disappeared. According to Ban Gu's Book of Han, the Nine Provinces Cauldron sank into the Si River in Pengcheng in 327 BC. This claim has now been partially confirmed, but it has not been made public because Pengcheng is now Xuzhou, Jiangsu. The Xuzhou Cauldron was salvaged from the remains of a dried-up riverbed in Xuzhou, but not the Si River."
"What about the other eight tripods?"
"Only this cauldron was salvaged at the time. As for the other eight, their whereabouts are still unknown." Director Wang shook his head and sighed, "We don't know where they are buried, and there are rumors that some of the cauldrons have been lost overseas. Alas, if foreigners discover the secret of this cauldron first, and if they use it to create terrible weapons of war, then it will not be a blessing for us!"
"arms?!"
“That’s right,” Director Wang’s eyes blazed with unprecedented fervor as he pointed to the Xuzhou Cauldron in the sealed chamber beneath a thick glass dome. “Do you know why we’ve hidden the cauldron here? The walls around it have been renovated several times, and now they’re made of the same materials as those used in a nuclear power plant’s reactor chamber! They can strictly protect the cauldron from leaking its energy! You simply can’t believe that inside this bronze cauldron lies an incredibly powerful energy!”
"Energy can be hidden in bronze?!" Chen Xu and Zhan Jing exchanged a glance. This old man probably didn't know about Jefferson's paper, which is why Chen Xu asked this question on purpose.
"Who said this cauldron is made of bronze? That's a misconception!" Director Wang was somewhat agitated, but after calming down, he said, "That's right. According to publicly available history, ancient humans were primitive people who ate raw meat and drank blood. Even if they had civilization, it was very limited. Being able to use bronze tools was already a major leap forward. However, this history has been concealed by various countries according to a secret agreement. And who dares to speak the truth? Who dares to reveal it?"
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing exchanged a glance, and Director Wang continued, "To be honest, I'm very ashamed. Even now, we don't know the structure of the Xuzhou Cauldron. It's an unknown alloy, and no matter what method we use, we can't figure out its internal structure. Moreover, we dare not act rashly... because the Xuzhou Cauldron contains extremely powerful energy. If we accidentally cause even a tiny fraction of it to explode... our research institute will cease to exist. If, and I mean if, we were to detonate all the energy of the Xuzhou Cauldron, the entire northern part of China would be destroyed..."
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing both changed color; this power was truly terrifying!
Director Wang gazed affectionately at the cauldron below and slowly said, "The ability to preserve energy within matter and use it at any time is a method we have never heard of before. Since you two have come here, it means I no longer need to hide anything from you. Some documents unearthed from this Xuzhou cauldron record certain things, which you may also take a look at."
"Is it oracle bone script?" Chen Xu exclaimed upon seeing the photos that Director Wang had brought.
Zhan Jing looked at him as if he were an idiot. Of course, what else could this be but oracle bone script? It's carved on tortoise shells and bones.
Director Wang chuckled and said, "That's right, it's oracle bone script, but it's not the oracle bone script we know today. It's a more advanced script, a script used within the court at that time. Even in ancient times, only a few people knew it. Now, we have deciphered most of the script and finally know that it was a script used exclusively by the priests at that time."
"A sacrificial ceremony?!"
"That's right. In ancient times, offering sacrifices to Heaven was a very important ceremony. Do you know the list of crimes that King Wu of Zhou listed when he attacked King Zhou of Shang?"
Chen Xu, who had been familiar with the Investiture of the Gods since childhood, quickly replied, "I know, I know." He thought for a moment and said, "I can't remember the specifics, but I do remember that the first crime was indulging in wine and women, associating with sycophants and distancing himself from virtuous men; the second crime was killing the crown prince and cutting off his lineage; the third crime was murdering loyal ministers in the court; the fourth crime was causing the death of the Marquis of the Southeast and imprisoning the Marquis of the West, Ji Chang; the fifth crime was cruel torture, setting up the torture devices of branding and pit of scorpions; the sixth crime was building the Deer Terrace and the wine pool and meat forest; the seventh crime was imposing heavy taxes; the eighth crime was lust, forcing Huang Feihu's wife, Jia Shi, and his sister, Huang Fei, to their deaths; the ninth crime was for pleasure, dissecting pregnant women; the tenth crime, um, let me think, oh, that's it, still indulging in wine and women. It is said that Daji and Xi Mei ate human kidneys for supplements, and he didn't care. These are the ten major crimes."
Looking at Director Wang's somewhat dazed face, Chen Xu thought to himself that he was really too handsome, his memory was so good that it even scared the old professor. But then Zhan Jing next to him chuckled and said, "I've heard of people who are so engrossed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms that they treat it as historical fact, but this is the first time I've seen someone treat Investiture of the Gods as historical fact... Huang Feihu is a fictional character in the novel, and you actually believed it? You even believed that he killed the crown prince? You really are... I can't even say anything to you."
Chen Xu was speechless. Well, he'd really made a fool of himself. It's one thing to take Luo Guanzhong's *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* too literally, but to actually use *Investiture of the Gods* as a history textbook is truly absurd…
However, Zhan Jing has changed a lot lately. She used to never talk back to me or make sarcastic remarks... When did she become like this?
Director Wang finally realized what was happening and chuckled, "Little Chen's memory is indeed quite good. I've also read *Investiture of the Gods*, but I didn't remember these ten crimes. In fact, it's mentioned in *Zuo Zhuan* that King Wu announced six crimes of King Zhou. While some of these crimes seem insignificant to us now, they were considered truths back then. The first was alcoholism; the second was not employing nobles and old ministers; the third was appointing sycophants; the fourth was listening to women's words; the fifth was believing in fate; and the sixth was neglecting sacrifices. So you can see the importance of sacrifices in ancient times."
Chen Xu curled his lip. Goodness, these charges are really "serious"! No wonder Xu Zhonglin changed them in "Investiture of the Gods." These six charges would be laughable even in the Ming Dynasty, let alone in modern times. It seems that King Wu, this so-called benevolent ruler, wasn't very cultured after all...
Zhan Jing asked, "What is recorded in the documents left behind by the priests?"
Director Wang's expression turned serious. He said, "There are many mysterious things in it, but it doesn't seem like a myth. The most important thing is that the Nine Tripods were able to stabilize the world because they were used to offer sacrifices to Heaven."
"Offering sacrifices to Heaven?"
"That's right. Offering sacrifices to Heaven was a very important ritual in ancient times. In ancient times, due to the lack of advanced technology, people could not explain many mysterious phenomena, especially natural disasters. The Nine Tripods were used to protect the whole world! According to these sacrificial records, in ancient times, if a place experienced a severe drought, heavy rain, or even a locust plague or earthquake, and if the disaster was serious, people would offer sacrifices and use the Nine Tripods to offer sacrifices to Heaven, begging Heaven to send rain or stop the rain to eliminate the disaster."
Chen Xu listened with puzzlement. Let alone ancient times, this was something that was done throughout all dynasties of ancient China. The ancients did not have enough knowledge and could only rely on the heavens. In particular, agriculture was the pillar industry in ancient times, and agriculture in ancient times was also a typical example of relying on the heavens for the harvest. If the weather was bad, it was normal for people to offer sacrifices to the heavens and pray.
Seeing Director Wang's serious expression, Chen Xu had a sudden thought and blurted out, "Could it be that using the Nine Cauldrons to offer sacrifices to Heaven can really quell these disasters?!"
Zhan Jing looked at Director Wang, and had the same thought in her mind.
Director Wang nodded very solemnly: "That's right, they succeeded."
Chapter 401 Ancient Civilizations
"Hiss!" Chen Xu hissed as if in pain. Using the Nine Provinces Cauldrons for a sacrificial ceremony could influence the weather of the Nine Provinces? This couldn't be fake, could it?!
"We initially thought this was just the priests boasting, but based on our research over the years, we've discovered that the energy of the Xuzhou Cauldron alone is terrifyingly powerful. If all nine cauldrons were together... then influencing celestial phenomena would be a minor matter," Director Wang said slowly. "Ancient priests used a strange ritual to unleash the power of the nine cauldrons. And these priests held extremely high positions; their status... was even above that of the monarchy at the time."
"According to the records in these oracle bone inscriptions, these priests were all of the same lineage. Because they could use the Nine Tripods, their status was extremely high. However, at the end of the Xia Dynasty and the end of the Shang Dynasty, because the two great kings, Jie of Xia and Zhou of Yin, indulged in pleasure and neglected the sacrifices, the priests led a rebellion. They stopped using the power of the Nine Tripods and spread rumors that the true Son of Heaven was someone else. As a result, the people, because of their worship of the priests, chose the so-called benevolent ruler described by the priests."
Chen Xu's toothache returned, but it was true that in that era, sacrificial rites were equivalent to holding the lifeline of the entire nation's people in their hands with the Nine Tripods, and they were not afraid that the people would not listen to them... They could use the Nine Tripods to quell disasters, and they could also create disasters!
So that's what "establishing the rule over the world" means. No wonder the Nine Cauldrons were ancient artifacts. During the Spring and Autumn Period, when the Zhou Dynasty's royal power was in decline, so many people wanted to obtain the Nine Cauldrons—it really was true that whoever possessed the Nine Cauldrons would rule the world!
However, Chen Xu thought of another question: where did these sacrifices go afterward?
Director Wang shook his head and said, "Nobody knows... The last period of these sacrificial documents we have is at the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty. After that, there is no more information. Based on our deductions from these materials, the transmission of sacrificial rites is a very important and sacred task. Generally, each generation has a high priest, and only this high priest can use the Nine Provinces Cauldron. When the high priest senses that he is about to die, he will use a special ritual to pass on his... well, we don't know that term, and we haven't found a suitable definition yet. However, in the words of novels, it should be a method similar to the transmission of cultivation or power, completely passing on his knowledge, memories, and methods of using the Nine Provinces Cauldron to the next high priest. According to our speculation, since this kind of transmission is done by one person per generation, problems are bound to arise sooner or later. However, the truth of history has long been buried in the long river of history. Now, all we can do is speculate."
"Is it a matter of bloodline?" Zhan Jing suddenly asked, "Are there any records of how the ancient priests used the Nine Provinces Cauldron? Are there any conditions or anything like that? Was the selection of those high priests hereditary or by selection?"
“Oh, this is also recorded, which is what I was just about to mention.” Director Wang quickly said, “According to the records, these high priests, including those selected as candidates for the next generation of priests, are all referred to as ‘divine lineages.’ Based on their surnames, we infer that these people come from several families, because many of their surnames are the same. This is what we are going to talk about next—this magical bloodline!”
"This 'divine lineage' refers to the bloodline of the gods. This isn't just documented in the priests' records; other materials also mention it—though many dismiss it as ancient nonsense. You should know that ancient emperors were called 'Sons of Heaven,' claiming they were ordained by Heaven. Have you noticed that in King Wu of Zhou's six major crimes against King Zhou of Shang, the second to last charge was King Zhou's claim of being ordained by Heaven? Coincidentally, the last king of the Xia Dynasty, also known as the tyrant Jie, similarly proclaimed himself the eternal sun. Later emperors, while few compared themselves to the sun, all claimed to be ordained by Heaven and called themselves Sons of Heaven. Isn't this contradictory?"
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing listened attentively and couldn't help but nod. There was something strange about what Director Wang was saying. When Chen Xu first heard about the six major crimes, he found it amusing, thinking about the vast differences between ancient and modern times. Now, however, he sensed a special meaning in it.
Director Wang shook his head and said, "We have too little information after all. Some of what follows is based on records, but most of it is our speculation. It may be inappropriate for a scholar to say these things, but please just take it as a story."
Chen Xu chuckled and said, "There's nothing wrong with listening to stories. No matter how fantastical they are, they can't be any more fantastical than the Investiture of the Gods."
Director Wang chuckled: "Then just take it as a prequel to Investiture of the Gods. After all, these stories are practically fantasy to historians. When the Qin Dynasty burned books and buried scholars alive, a large number of records about gods and monsters were destroyed. Later scholars also believed that Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits, so these records are now very rare."
After a pause, Director Wang said, "Regarding this so-called divine lineage, or the bloodline of the gods, it seems to refer to people with special bloodlines. Their greatest characteristic is their ability to use the Nine Cauldrons of the Nine Provinces, possessing the power to summon wind and rain. However, the reproductive capacity of this bloodline is extremely weak, as can be seen from the number of priest candidates. In the earliest generation, when King Qi of Xia cast the Nine Cauldrons, there were nine Grand Priests and thousands of people in the Witch Temple, each in charge of one cauldron. But when King Wu of Zhou conquered Muye and displayed the Nine Cauldrons again to worship Heaven, declaring himself the true ruler of the world, there was only one Grand Priest left, and the Witch Temple that trained priests numbered less than a hundred. The ability to use the Nine Cauldrons also weakened. The last recorded use of the Nine Cauldrons was during the Eastern Zhou period, when the Grand Priest, although he performed the worship ceremony, no longer had the power to summon wind and rain."
Chen Xu immediately thought of the ancient civilization Chen Fei had mentioned before, whose inhabitants possessed immense power but had extremely low reproductive capacity, numbering only 300,000 worldwide—that was around 10,000 years ago. The Shang-Zhou War, according to historical records, occurred over 3,000 years ago… Could there be some connection between the two?
Could it be that the divine veins are the bloodlines of these ancient humans?
Chen Xu immediately asked, "Then it must be because of these bloodlines... Could it be that these so-called divine bloodlines are really the bloodlines of gods? Then, who are these gods? Are they descendants of King Yu of Xia?"
“It shouldn’t be,” Director Wang said. “Although it has been confirmed that this situation is related to bloodline inheritance, the further back in time one goes, the weaker the bloodline and the weaker the energy in these so-called divine bloodlines become. However, it shouldn’t be a descendant of King Yu of Xia, because King Qi of Xia did not have this legendary ability. The great shaman of that generation was someone else.”
"Could it be even earlier?" Zhan Jing asked softly, "Does it go back to the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? Or perhaps the Yellow Emperor, or even the God of War, Chi You?"
“That’s right,” Director Wang nodded. “Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, the tribal leaders of that time, especially the Yellow Emperor and Chi You, were extraordinary, whether in legend or in historical records. There are many points of correspondence with these sacrificial documents. For example, legend has it that the Yellow Emperor could speak from birth, and every high priest, or even a candidate for high priest, who is a person of divine lineage, is recorded to have awakened their intelligence very early. There are many who could speak from birth.”
Zhan Jing nodded and said, "Legend has it that Chi You possessed a copper wall and iron armor, impervious to swords and spears. He was also extremely ferocious, as were his brothers. Therefore, the Yan Emperor's army was terrified and retreated in disarray upon encountering Chi You and his brothers. Moreover, Chi You could summon wind and rain and create clouds and mist, which led to his defeat by the Yellow Emperor's compass chariot. However, historians consider this legend to be an exaggeration. They believe that Chi You lived in the south and was the first to master bronze smelting, while the armies of the Yan and Huang Emperors at that time mostly used wooden weapons. Wood would inevitably be defeated by bronze. As for the invulnerability to swords and spears, it was due to the bronze armor. I have always agreed with this view, believing that ancient legends are mostly exaggerated by later generations. Wars between a few small tribes are written as battles of thousands of troops, with ancient gods descending to help. I just read them and let them go, without delving into them."
"How many people actually delve into this?" Director Wang said with a wry smile. "Most of them just treat it as mythology and legend, something to look at and forget. We wouldn't have believed it before, but now, with the discoveries in our research, we are becoming more and more certain that in ancient times, even before the battle between the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor against Chiyou, many regions had once-glorious and highly developed civilizations! Moreover, wars broke out among these civilizations!"
"An even earlier period?!"
“That’s right, even earlier, around 10,000 BC.” Director Wang’s expression was not like he was telling a story at all. He said very seriously, “Extremely powerful civilizations appeared all over the world. Even in earlier times, extremely powerful and terrifying civilizations appeared! At that time, there were two of the major civilizations in China. One was in the Central Plains region, and the other was in the Bashu region, which is now Sichuan.”
"Bashu civilization?"
"Yes, these civilizations haven't been included in history; official history doesn't recognize them because the traces they left are too few, and too overwhelming, so people dare not publish them... Besides these two regions, in Northern Europe, before ancient Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and the Mayan civilization in South America, there were also very powerful civilizations. And..."
"besides?!"
Director Wang smiled and said, "There are two more regions. You may not be familiar with one, but I think the other one is very well-known to you young people. That is the legendary Atlantis—the sunken Atlantis!"
Chapter 402 of the main text: The Prelude to Unveiling the Mystery
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing's eyes widened immediately: "Atlantis?!"
"That's right. It's Atlantis, the sunken continent that Plato spoke of. According to the timeline, Atlantis sank 12,000 years ago, which is very similar to the time when the previous civilization we discovered emerged and completely disappeared."
"And what's the last one?"
"That was also an island civilization, located on a small island in the Pacific Ocean. It was also a lost civilization, and not many people know about it. That civilization was called 'Mu,' which we call the Mu Continent."
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing were both very knowledgeable and had excellent memories. They had heard of this civilization before; it was a legendary civilization in the central Pacific Ocean, which, like the sunken Atlantis, eventually sank. However, this civilization wasn't as famous as Atlantis.
"You're saying these civilizations fought wars?"
"Yes, this is based on some fragmentary records describing that era... They were very few in number, but each one possessed immense power, like legendary gods. And according to the records, the warring groups at that time were divided into two parts. One was these gods, and the other was humans!"
"Humans evolved from ancient apes?"
"Perhaps," Director Wang said. "Back then, the gods ruled the entire world, and humans were merely their appendages. Because the gods possessed immense power, humans simply could not withstand their wars and could only rely on the powerful gods and worship them until the war escalated to a full extent. Then... came the monstrous flood, which destroyed countless ancient civilizations. The gods also seemed to have suffered a severe blow and ultimately became nothing more than legends."
Director Wang gave a wry smile: "I'm sorry, this is all the information we have. I'm not a comedian, so I can't describe it vividly. However, we believe that King Yu was just an ordinary human, and his descendants were also ordinary humans. But in his time, there should still be some descendants of ancient gods who possessed great power. Later, they intermarried with humans, which led to the bloodline becoming increasingly diluted and eventually disappearing completely. Or perhaps they became ordinary people. As for the Nine Cauldrons, they may have lost their original function, but those who knew about them at the time were afraid that they would fall into the hands of others, so they hid them."
Chen Xu and Zhan Jing exchanged a glance… This was indeed too brief. However, since Director Wang said so, it truly proved that civilization existed in ancient times. Just like the Mayan records, there were four powerful civilizations in human history. The earliest one can even be traced back 400 million years…
No wonder the century-long hoax was accepted so easily—scientists went crazy when the news was revealed. After all, only a small number of people had kept these secrets. Once the secrets were revealed, the scientific community would soon launch a wave of research into those powerful ancient humans, that is, gods. This was the beginning of the century-long hoax.
Chen Xu looked at Zhan Jing. She was clearly very interested… Researching ancient and mysterious civilizations is an irresistible temptation for anyone with a strong sense of curiosity. However, Chen Xu wanted to tell her early on that such research was unlikely to yield results, and the demise of the previous civilization was shrouded in mystery…
Was it because of war that the great flood occurred?
This statement is consistent with the Mayan account, which also claims that the previous civilization was wiped out by a great flood. But what caused the great flood?
A strange thought suddenly occurred to Chen Xu—the previous civilization perished because it violated the rules of Heaven, but they had existed for a very long time. How could they suddenly violate the rules of Heaven? Or perhaps something happened later that caused the previous civilization to be mercilessly wiped out by Heaven?
Is all of this related to the research on the biggest scam of the century?
…………
“Ancient civilizations are very powerful. No wonder the authorities have been trying so hard to keep it a secret,” Chen Xu sighed, looking at the research materials on ancient civilizations he brought back from the lab. “But I’m curious, how did Professor Jefferson dare to reveal this secret? And what was his motivation for doing so?”
“They want to be famous, and S Company’s rise has been too rapid lately. Many people abroad feel threatened,” Gao Xiaojie said, walking over with a stack of documents. “They’re eager to make a splash to prove themselves. Besides, judging from Jefferson’s information, he’s always been arrogant and loves the limelight. In addition, Western media control is far worse than in China. Even if something is classified as top secret, if the confidentiality clauses aren’t strict, or if the confidentiality clauses aren’t as strong as a person’s personal interests, even if he makes this public, he’ll only be detained for a few years at most. Moreover, judging from the global reaction, the British government no longer has the guts to detain him. This paper has had a huge impact internationally. Several authoritative scientific media outlets in Europe and America have published it. Now, Jefferson has become the most sought-after figure in the scientific community.”
Guan Yi added, "Moreover, according to our intelligence, the governments of Europe and the United States have a very ambiguous attitude towards this matter. Just as Xiao Jie said, they feel a great threat. Moreover, with the opening of Tongchi Island, many foreign media have pessimistically stated that the world's center of gravity will shift eastward. At this time, it is expected that they will unblock some data to stimulate the development of the scientific community."
Gao Xiaojie's current job is Chen Xu's personal secretary, while Guan Yi's job is to collect and organize a lot of confidential information. Therefore, after Chen Xu raised the question, the two quickly gave the answers they knew.
"Research?" Chen Xu chuckled dismissively. "It would be a miracle if they actually discovered anything. Don't worry. Xiaojie, issue a document to the research department stating that regardless of how foreign countries study this prehistoric civilization, Tongchi Island will not offer any opinions or participate."
"Is this a good idea?" Gao Xiaojie asked. "Professor Jefferson's paper has been proven by several world-renowned research institutions. His points and related research have demonstrated that this research could potentially improve human beings' overall quality, even lifespan. If we don't conduct this research, won't we be left behind?"
"Don't worry about that. You'll regret it once you actually participate in the research," Chen Xu sneered. "The rules set by Heaven aren't so easily broken. They won't be able to research anything; they'll just be wasting manpower and resources. I'm certain of that!"
Although they had always trusted Chen Xu, Gao Xiaojie and Guan Yi both looked somewhat troubled after hearing these words.
Chen Xu, observing this, sighed: "Have you forgotten about the smart drug?"
This statement startled the two women. They had known about the "smart drug" from the beginning, including the assassination attempt on Chen Xu. Dr. Li Liangyan was still working on Tongchi Island and occasionally met with them. Fortunately, the students who had taken the drug hadn't been using it for long and weren't yet highly dependent. Under treatment on Tongchi Island, they had completely overcome the drug's effects and were now working as assistants to Dr. Li. Normally, their knowledge level wouldn't have been sufficient for this job, but out of guilt and a desire to make amends, Dr. Li had kept them under his wing, carefully training them. Moreover, these individuals were exceptionally intelligent; otherwise, Dr. Li wouldn't have chosen them as assistants. Currently on Tongchi Island, they were exposed to all sorts of high-tech things. While they still lacked some advanced knowledge, they were doing a decent job. Although they hadn't graduated, they had already officially become members of S Company, a company countless people would kill for, and were earning a substantial salary. This could be considered a blessing in disguise.
Gao Xiaojie murmured, "But not all research will have serious side effects like smart drugs, right?"