Could they really succeed in cloning with just a few scraps of flesh? Or is Chen Xu just throwing money away?
This secret is probably known only to the most core members of Tongchi Island...
The military control zone of Tongchi Island is the center of scientific research on the island—because all of S Company's highest-level research laboratories are located here, under the strict 24-hour protection of the mecha forces.
Chen Xu, along with Guan Yi, Zhan Jing, Gao Xiaojie, and Dr. Li Liangyan, were watching with smiles as they observed the rather cute little animals in the independent ecosystem.
This independent ecosystem is enormous, covering an area equivalent to two Bird's Nest stadiums, and reaching a height of four stories. Within this ecosystem, there are independent artificial suns and moons, as well as flowing water, plants, air, and so on... it's essentially a miniature artificial Earth.
This ecosystem simulates the state of the Earth 13,000 years ago, when it experienced its last ice age.
and……
"It's basically confirmed," Dr. Li said. "These creatures mostly starved to death. The experimental results show that the dragons are indeed descendants of the dinosaurs, while Medusa and Cerberus were mutated creatures, extremely rare even in the ancient civilizations. As for..." Dr. Li smiled and pointed to a small white horse grazing leisurely in the ecosystem, with a small horn on its head, saying, "These unicorns are even more precious; it's no wonder they went extinct! Their digestive systems are extremely poor; they can only eat the purest feed. Later, when natural disasters struck, these unicorns simply starved to death."
The girls looked down at the snow-white unicorns grazing peacefully, their eyes filled with deep affection—girls always have a soft spot for pretty animals, especially since these were the purest of animals in legend, said to be able to communicate only with pure virgins.
Perhaps thinking of this legend at the same time, Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie glared fiercely at Chen Xu. Their fierce looks made Chen Xu's heart pound wildly. He thought to himself, "Oh no, I probably won't be able to sleep in bed tonight..."
He quickly explained, "Well, these unicorns aren't that precious. Actually, they're quite intelligent. Look, doesn't Xiao Ye get along well with them? Um, Lao Huang, don't tell me you didn't act first and ask for permission later!"
The people around burst into laughter, and the girl named Xiao Ye couldn't help but spit at Chen Xu, her face turning red.
Xiao Ye and Huang Chong were both Dr. Li's assistants back then, and among the first batch of test subjects who helped Dr. Li experiment with that smart drug. Now they both work for Company S on Tongchi Island, and are even core members. This Xiao Ye is the one who was forced by Jimmy to seduce Chen Xu back then. As for her appearance, she was quite good-looking, and now, in the past few years, she has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Although she wears a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses, she is still a pretty girl.
Three years have passed in the blink of an eye!
Chapter 405: The Awkward Nature
Huang Chong, who was called out by Chen Xu, wasn't embarrassed at all. Everyone was an adult, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with such a joke. Huang Chong laughed and retorted, "That's not necessarily true. You know, these little guys were taken care of by Xiao Ye when they were just cloned and were very small. Maybe they already think of Xiao Ye as their mother. I don't think it has much to do with whether they are virgins or not."
Seeing this kid's uncooperative and disruptive behavior, Chen Xu angrily gave him a light kick. Turning around and seeing Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie's murderous expressions, he quickly cupped his hands and begged for mercy: "At worst, I'll just hand over the next batch of cloned unicorns to you two to take care of as soon as they're born. I won't mind if you two sleep with it!"
Both women gave him a disdainful look at the same time, while Zhan Jing smiled and covered her mouth with her hand.
As for the relationship between Chen Xu and his two "secretaries," Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie, everyone in the S company knew about it. Because the S company did not oppose office romances, also known as "office love," the managers would usually use Chen Xu as an example when reprimanding their male colleagues: "Look at our Chairman Chen, so capable at such a young age, he can pick up two girls at once. If you're so capable, you should pick up two girls at the same time."
Yi Shuihan and his wife, standing to the side, shook their heads and laughed at Chen Xu's cowardly appearance.
Yi Shuihan is still the CEO of Company S, but over the past few years, he has become more composed. He and his wife, who has always silently supported him, have a lovely daughter who is now a year and a half old and her name is Yingying.
Right now, little Yingying is leaning against the glass window, pointing at the little unicorn below and babbling something, meaning she wants it.
Yi Shuihan looked at his daughter with affection and smiled, "I hope it really has nothing to do with virginity, otherwise among our group, the only ones who can play with such cute little ones are probably the teacher and Yingying."
Although Yi Shuihan vaguely knew that Zhan Jing was definitely not SMMH, since the matter had already been made public, he simply called Zhan Jing "Teacher"—unlike Chen Xu, who was so disrespectful as to call her by her name directly.
"Junior brother, let's go down and take a look."
The proposal was immediately approved by everyone—because these ancient creatures below were not actually the first batch of cloned creatures, but the third batch.
The first two batches of cloned organisms failed because the researchers lacked experience. It was not without reason that these organisms went extinct 10,000 years ago; they were simply not adapted to the current environment.
Scientists speculate that 10,000 years ago, the oxygen content on Earth was quite high, at least much higher than it is now—and even earlier, the oxygen concentration was even higher, which led to many organisms, including many plants and insects, becoming gigantic.
Therefore, the current oxygen levels are not suitable for these organisms to survive, in addition to other constraints. That's why Chen Xu built this simulated ecosystem, in which these organisms can only survive.
This ecosystem poses no problem for humans, but the germs that humans may carry are the greatest enemies of these ancient creatures. Therefore, Chen Xu and his team changed into clean protective suits and underwent strict disinfection before entering.
Upon suddenly seeing so many people, some ancient animals in the ecosystem, such as Medusa and unicorns, showed wary expressions. However, the giant dragons, which were only about the size of adult golden retrievers, were still playing leisurely by the water. Meanwhile, the smaller three-headed dogs came over with their tongues hanging out and nuzzled their heads affectionately against the legs of the leaf that was taking care of them.
After rubbing this head, rub the next one...
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat. To be honest, the ugliest creature there was the Medusa. Because of their potential danger, these Medusas were kept on an island in the center of the artificial lake, isolated from the other animals. But the strangest creature was the three-headed dog.
Legend has it that the three-headed dog is the messenger guarding the gates of hell—this legend is somewhat plausible, since dogs are indeed used for guarding doors!
In reality, although these three-headed dogs look strange, they are not fierce at all. On the contrary, they are very friendly, just like ordinary small dogs. Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie boldly stroked its head, and seeing the guy's comfortable and enjoyable expression, it shows that their nature does not reject human contact, and their intimacy with humans is even higher than that of cats.
Dr. Li explained from the side: "Actually, these three-headed dogs should not belong to wild animals, but rather be the result of modification by people or gods of a previous civilization, or perhaps accidental hybridization. Apart from having three heads and being larger in size when they grow up, we haven't found any significant differences between them and ordinary dogs. Of course, the biggest difference is that they have three heads, but based on our experiments over this period, these three heads are not actually that surprising."
"It, or rather, these are them. This three-headed dog is actually a kind of conjoined twin—everyone knows about conjoined twins, right? They occasionally occur in humans and are a kind of congenital malformation. This is probably because, in the womb, due to special reasons, such as gene mutation or other reasons, two or more babies share a body, but their heads are separated, and they have two independent and different minds."
"As we all know, there are many breeds of dogs now because dogs' fertilization process is slightly different from other animals. New breeds born from crossbreeding within the same species have a high chance of retaining this morphology and recording it in their DNA, and continuing to reproduce in this form. For example, the Golden Retriever, which we know, is actually a crossbreed of two sheepdog breeds."
"This three-headed dog is probably a special state of triplets that occurred after some kind of hybridization, and this state has been preserved. However, because the number of three-headed dogs was too small, they eventually either became extinct, or they were mated with other dog breeds and the offspring did not have three heads. These are things we do not know."
Everyone suddenly realized. It turned out that the legendary Cerberus didn't have any special abilities; its three heads were just quite frightening. Perhaps in the primitive stages of this civilization, such dogs still existed, and because of their unusual appearance, they were considered mythical beasts.
The girls clearly preferred the unicorns, letting the three-headed dogs follow them around. Xiao Ye whistled at the somewhat wary unicorns in the distance, and immediately the unicorns came running over happily. Although they were still small, their long white fur made them look quite dashing as they ran.
The girls' eyes immediately lit up, watching eagerly as Xiao Ye gestured for them not to move, and then started getting close to the unicorns.
While stroking the unicorn's fur, Xiao Ye smiled and said, "These unicorns are very intelligent and gentle. I think they can be tamed. According to our tests, their intelligence is roughly equivalent to that of a seven-year-old child. However, they are too delicate; the polluted air outside would kill them. Come here, Yingying, let me hold you and let you take a look." She bent down and picked up Yingying, who was only a little over a year old. The little girl's eyes shone with curiosity and affection as she slowly approached the unicorn.
Seeing that the unicorn didn't seem to mind, Xiao Ye boldly let Yingying get a little closer. They were almost touching the little unicorn's face when the unicorn turned its head, looked at Yingying, and suddenly stuck out its tongue and licked her delicate little face, making Yingying giggle.
Xiao Ye breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time these little unicorns had interacted with strangers other than themselves. She put Yingying on the ground. Yingying hugged the unicorn's hoof, rubbing her little face against its fluffy body, and the little unicorn would occasionally turn its head to lick her, appearing very friendly.
"It should be fine. These little unicorns haven't encountered any danger since they were young, and they're in contact with humans every day, so they're not wary of humans. Hmm, Zhan Jing, you go up and take a look first."
Huang Chong saw a hint of amusement in his girlfriend's eyes and couldn't help but laugh inwardly as well—Xiao Ye deliberately called Zhan Jing, her purpose being to get a little revenge on Chen Xu, because the way Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie looked at Chen Xu was as if they were about to devour him alive.
Zhan Jing, being incredibly intelligent, naturally understood Xiao Ye's meaning. However, she also had a vague, inexplicable feeling in her heart. She slowly walked towards a unicorn. Sensing someone approaching, the unicorn cautiously raised its head. Upon seeing Zhan Jing, it seemed slightly frightened. Xiao Ye quickly told Zhan Jing to stop. This unicorn was the largest of the group, belonging to the second batch of experimental products. Although it contracted a serious illness at birth due to environmental maladjustment, it was eventually rescued. Now, at six months old, it was almost as tall as Zhan Jing. Xiao Ye was afraid that the little creature might accidentally kick Zhan Jing, which would be a grave mistake on her part.
Zhan Jing obediently stopped, but the unicorn looked at her with some fear before cautiously taking two steps forward.
Now Zhan Jing didn't know what to do, so she could only stand there.
Although the unicorn was somewhat afraid, there seemed to be something about Zhan Jing that attracted it. It was like a kitten that had just arrived at its owner's house and was not yet familiar with its owner, but couldn't help but come over when it saw its owner carrying a bowl of fragrant fish.
Xiao Ye said excitedly, "Zhan Jing, don't be afraid. It's obvious that it likes you, but it's a little scared because it's never seen you before. Don't move, let it come to you by itself."
Zhan Jing smiled calmly, watching the little guy carefully approach her step by step. Finally, it reached her side and cautiously stretched its head over to sniff Zhan Jing. It tilted its head as if to feel something, then knelt down on its front legs as if to pay its respects, and lowered its head as well.
"Wow! The legend is true!" Xiao Ye exclaimed excitedly, "Quickly, write it down! Quickly, take pictures! Record videos! The unicorn really is as the legend says, unable to resist a pure virgin. Zhan Jing, it's bowing to you, it must be inviting you to ride on its back!"
Zhan Jing was taken aback. She reached out and touched the unicorn's head. Seeing that it not only did not resist but also looked like it was enjoying it, but it did not stand up, Zhan Jing turned to look at everyone. Chen Xu looked a little nervous, while Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie were blatantly envious.
"He's worried about me too." Zhan Jing felt a sweet warmth in her heart. She walked to the unicorn's side, stepped onto its back, and the unicorn let out a joyful cry, slowly stood up, and began to jog on the simulated grass with Zhan Jing on its back.
Zhan Jing hugged the unicorn's neck, feeling the soft fur on its neck, and felt a sense of peace in her heart. At this moment, the unicorn's pace quickened, and then it even started running around happily.
Chen Xu watched with some trepidation, but Zhan Jing, on the unicorn's back, felt that the unicorn was running unusually smoothly, and she couldn't feel any bumps. She waved to the others from its back to indicate that she was alright.
After running two laps, the unicorn reluctantly stopped at Xiao Ye's whistle. Zhan Jing lightly jumped to the ground, and the unicorn stretched out its big head and rubbed against her affectionately.
Chen Xu and the others rushed over to greet her. Seeing that she was not only unharmed, but also so affectionate with the unicorn, Guan Yi and Gao Xiaojie were extremely envious.
Gao Xiaojie couldn't resist reaching out to touch the unicorn's head, but the unicorn glanced at her, snorted, and ignored her completely, going off to be affectionate with Zhan Jing...
Awkward, yet menacing!
Chen Xu could clearly feel two murderous gazes fixed on his face. It was obvious whose gazes they were... Then, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, because everyone knew that Chen Xu could forget about going to bed tonight!
Chapter 406 Terrible Side Effects (Part 1)
"We've gathered a lot of information about unicorns now. And, just like in the legends, they're powerless against pure virgins. The difference is, even if they're not virgins, it doesn't mean you can't get close to them, but it takes time." A few days later, when Xiao Ye was reporting this, she couldn't help but give Chen Xu a strange look. Immediately, suppressed laughter filled the conference room.
Now all the senior management of Company S know about Chen Xu's embarrassing incident. It is said that Chen Xu has been staying in the employee dormitory for the past few nights, looking extremely unlucky.
Sigh, the husband's authority is waning... Chen Xu shrugged: "Laugh if you want."
Suddenly, a burst of laughter erupted in the conference room. Many people were rubbing their stomachs and lying on the table, completely losing their composure. Chen Xu was laughing so hard he wanted to disappear into the ground.
Even the usually serious Yi Shuihan couldn't help but smile, but still stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, alright. Stop laughing, I'm pitiful too. My daughter is loved, but my wife isn't. My wife has been sulking with me these past few days."
It would have been better if these words hadn't been mentioned, because once they were, everyone laughed even harder. Whether it was true or not, it was a rare opportunity to make fun of Yi Shuihan, and they couldn't let it go.
After a while of laughter, the meeting resumed. Xiao Ye continued, "According to our tests, some of the legends are not unfounded. Unicorn blood contains an active factor, and according to our tests, the effects of this factor are simply terrifying. It has multiple functions such as beautifying, anti-cancer, detoxifying, and inhibiting cell aging. Therefore, I suggest that a special research team be established. If we can really discover the secrets of unicorn blood, this new type of drug will become the most sought-after treasure."
A commotion broke out in the conference room, but Chen Xu spoke up at this moment: "No, I refuse. S Company's research and development projects on ancient civilization creatures are limited to cloning and restoration of these creatures. We will use this method to restore these extinct creatures, but we strictly prohibit any scientific research on these ancient creatures."
This caused an even greater commotion in the meeting room, with many people expressing their disagreement.
Before everyone lay Xiao Ye's research report, which clearly stated that if unicorn blood were used as a sample to create a drug, it would be a great boon to the seriously ill, the elderly, and those near death. Especially for wealthy women, unicorn blood possessed a powerful anti-aging effect, and it was believed that these women would be willing to spend a considerable sum to maintain their youth.
However, Chen Xu abandoned this potentially monopolistic industry with just one sentence, and everyone wanted to know why.
"We've confirmed the reliability of the legend from many aspects, but have you heard of another legend about unicorns?" Chen Xu said calmly, "The legend says that anyone on the verge of death can be brought back to life if they drink the blood of a unicorn, right? But what comes next?" Chen Xu's voice turned stern, "The next part is that this person becomes a cursed creature! Because unicorns are the purest of creatures, using their blood to prolong one's life comes at a price!"
Chen Xu's voice reverberated throughout the office. The senior executives of Company S in the conference room exchanged glances, wondering if Chen Xu's excessive belief in legends was too old-fashioned.
"You don't believe me? It seems you've only seen the profits, but haven't considered what lies behind them." Chen Xu sighed and said, "S Company has reached this point thanks to everyone's efforts, but now that you're in high positions, your thinking can't be limited to just the word 'profit.' I have some data here. Distribute it and take a look. This is the result Zhan Jing and I obtained using the latest simulation technology... It's shocking, everyone!"
Amidst everyone's suspicion, Gao Xiaojie, the secretary, distributed the research report. After reading only a short while, everyone's expression changed drastically!
This report is far more detailed than Xiao Ye's; it's practically a comprehensive investigation and feedback report on the drug made from unicorn blood!
The contents of the report, as Chen Xu said, were... shocking!
The power of unicorn blood far exceeds Xiaoye's report effect. Even if consumed directly without any processing, it can revive a dying person and has miraculous effects on beauty! However, after consuming even a small amount, it will cause a strong craving for fresh blood!
It's like drugs!
If they lose their supply of unicorn blood, they will frantically search for the blood of other creatures to replace it... and the report points out that the blood that tastes closest to unicorn blood, and is also the only blood that can relieve the addiction of these people, is primate blood!
That is, monkeys, gorillas, baboons, and... humans!
Moreover, they must be young females... In human terms, they must be young girls!
Upon seeing this, everyone's expression changed.
What's this?
Vampires!
And they only suck the blood of young girls... In this era, there aren't that many gorillas and monkeys left, so what's the most common species?
It's a human!
Unicorn blood will turn the consumer into a vampire!
Everyone present, especially the women, looked extremely grim.
Chen Xu slowly said, "Zhan Jing and I are both very confident in the authenticity of this analysis report. Furthermore, during our investigation over this period, we also obtained some evidence from ancient times... Please look at the screen. In European legends, there are many stories about vampires. Some people believe they are fabrications, while others believe they are simply symptoms. However, because science and medical technology were not advanced enough in the past, these stories were passed down through generations and became known as vampires. There is also the fear and worship of blood and death, which led to the birth of these legends. But according to historical records, there really were humans who seemed to be vampires... For example, this Countess Bathory."
"Countess Bathory was a 17th-century Hungarian noblewoman. It is said that she learned a wicked magic from her maid, and then, in an ancient castle in a mountain range, she cruelly murdered three hundred young girls, drank their blood, and even filled bathtubs with their blood to bathe in, hoping to maintain her eternal youth in this way. Can you make any connections to this?"
Someone immediately asked, "But shouldn't unicorns have disappeared by the 17th century?"