Chen Xu nodded and said, "Unicorns should have been extinct by that time, but that doesn't mean there's no unicorn blood left behind..." At this moment, Gao Xiaojie switched the scene to a dagger. The dagger looked very ancient, with rust on the blade.
Chen Xu said, "This dagger is said to be the treasure of Countess Bathory. It passed into the hands of a collector who, after his child was bitten by his dog and contracted rabies, was saved thanks to a rabies remedy produced by my father, gifted the antique to my father. My father, having no interest in such things, then passed it on to me. And there's something I'm sure everyone is curious about... where did the unicorn's genetic specimen come from? Right now, apart from our Tongchi Island, no other country or organization has claimed to possess specimens of this primitive animal, the unicorn."
"In fact, unicorns were not numerous in ancient times, and they did not live in cold regions like Northern Europe. Therefore, after they died, their bodies basically decomposed and entered the earth. Moreover, unicorns were actually similar in size to horses. If you only look at the shape of their skeletons, the only difference was the single horn on their heads. However, what most people don't know is that unicorn horns are not made of bone, but rather a gelatinous substance. Therefore, after a unicorn dies, its horn decomposes along with its body. So even if later generations occasionally find their fossils, they might think it's just an ordinary wild horse and not associate it with unicorns."
So that's how it is. Everyone's interest was piqued by Chen Xu's words. Huang Chong raised his hand and said, "Does that mean that the unicorn we cloned wasn't based on the corpses of those primitive animals like the Medusa dragon? Instead, it's related to that dagger?"
“That’s right,” Chen Xu said. “Actually, it’s like this: after our biological laboratory was completed, I was so bored that I took some random things to test. I remember reading a novel that said six of Jesus’ thirteen disciples were vampires, so I found a lot of ancient artifacts to test their blood, but in the end, I didn’t find anything… However, by chance, I discovered a blood DNA sample on this Countess Bathory’s dagger, which was different from any of the organisms recorded in our database. Later, after our cloning laboratory was built, I asked Dr. Li to extract and cultivate this blood sample, and as a result, we created this long-extinct unicorn.”
"That dagger has unicorn blood on it?!"
“Those unicorns are still running around freely in the simulation lab. With such irrefutable evidence right here, what is there to doubt?” Chen Xu laughed. “This dagger has a long history. Carbon-14 dating revealed that it belongs to an ancient artifact from a previous civilization, but we don’t know why it ended up in the hands of Madame Bathory, that vampire. Moreover, while researching Madame Bathory, we found some records about this vampire countess—they were probably the butler’s diary. One point caught our attention: the countess had a very un-aristocratic habit since childhood… she particularly liked to lick knives.”
Chapter 407 Terrible Side Effects (Part 2)
"As everyone knows, Westerners don't use chopsticks. They mainly use knives and forks to eat. This countess, from a young age, liked to lick the sides of her knife with her tongue. This is recorded many times in the old butler's diary. Later, the countess would also coolly lick the sides of her dagger, a gesture probably for show. Combining this information, we have reason to infer that the countess also licked this ancient dagger, and although a very long time has passed, a trace of unicorn blood still remains on it."
“And this blood…” Chen Xu scanned the entire room solemnly: “This blood contains highly toxic substances, even gene toxins!”
Everyone fell silent.
If what Chen Xu said is true, a mere, unintentional action could allow blood that has remained for millions of years to enter the body, turning a normal person into an incredibly bloodthirsty individual… then, what if unicorn blood were used to make medicine and distributed…
That's terrifying!
"Fortunately," Chen Xu smiled, "unicorns have very thick fur, so they won't easily get scratched and bleed. However, for safety reasons, everyone must take precautions when handling unicorns in the future. Xiao Ye, your people need to be especially careful. If you find a unicorn bleeding, you must report it immediately. Also, be extremely careful when researching unicorn blood, or better yet, just stop the research altogether. From now on, let these animals live freely in that simulated environment as ornamental animals. Also, if any of your researchers show signs of bloodlust, you must report it immediately. According to our tests, if the contact with unicorn blood is limited, even if there is poisoning, there are ways to treat it. But if this bloodlust is allowed to continue, and the bloodlust seeks out other blood, then this tendency will deepen until it becomes uncontrollable!"
Xiao Ye nodded somewhat sadly, and Chen Xu continued, "There's one more thing... All Medusas must be destroyed! From now on, Tongchi Island will prohibit all research on Medusas!"
This statement was even more shocking than before. For unicorns, research on them was merely halted, but they were preserved as ornamental species. However, for Medusa, the goal was to eradicate this creature, which they had painstakingly cloned, once again!
"Not only will all living Medusas be destroyed, but all Medusa specimens will also be destroyed. From now on, Medusa research will be prohibited on Tongchi Island. Xiao Ye, you can explain it to us."
Xiao Ye nodded and stepped forward. She said, "Please turn to page 21 of your materials. I will tell you about how terrifying the legendary Medusa is... It is said that James Cameron is going to make a film about Medusa. I suggest that after the meeting, the entertainment team contact Mr. Cameron. We are willing to provide him with some material about Medusa so that he can create a realistic disaster film that may actually happen."
"Let's talk about Medusa's reproduction first."
"Reproduction?!" Everyone was stunned by this word.
Because all the Medusas on Tongchi Island are cloned from a piece of Medusa flesh from Sweden, meaning that these Medusas are actually multiples and look exactly the same. So how can these Medusas, which are all of the same sex, reproduce?
“This has to do with Medusa’s body structure,” Xiao Ye said. “We all see that Medusa has hair made up of countless venomous snakes, but that’s just an illusion. Medusa is just Medusa, and the venomous snakes are venomous snakes.”
A biologist immediately realized: "They are symbiotic?"
"That's roughly it," Xiao Ye said. "Please turn to the next page and look at the photo. This is actually the real Medusa." At the same time, a projection of the photo appeared on the big screen. It was a serpentine creature. However, its lower body was a snake, but its upper body was more like a human! And on its head, instead of venomous snakes, there were grooves and ridges.
"The idea that Medusa's hair was from venomous snakes is actually just a rumor. Admittedly, the Medusa specimen unearthed in Sweden shows snake bone fossils on its head. But in reality, Medusa was a mutated snake, and this animal was hermaphroditic! That is to say, they did not actually have a sex in the traditional sense, which is somewhat similar to earthworms. Their method of reproduction is very disgusting, somewhat similar to the movie 'Alien', which is to lay eggs inside the prey's body, allowing these eggs to attach to the prey's blood and grow... until the eggs hatch and emerge from the prey's body."
At this point, Xiao Ye and the other girls in the room all wore expressions of extreme disgust, and even the men's expressions were very unpleasant!
This kind of breeding is terrifying!
Xiao Ye paused for a moment, then said, "In other words, the legendary Medusa wasn't just one, but a combination of countless Medusas! The snake hair on their heads is their offspring!"
Apart from Chen Xu and other insiders, everyone was stunned by the news.
Think about those terrifying Medusas we saw before; they were only three months old, yet they had so much hair… How could they reproduce in just three months?!
"Medusa snakes reproduce very quickly; they reach physiological maturity in just two months. While they are still growing, they are already capable of reproduction. The offspring attach to their heads, forming the common Medusa form. The legend that Medusa's eyes can turn people to stone is clearly incorrect. Medusa's eyes don't possess such power, but like other venomous snakes, they have venom sacs in their mouths containing highly toxic venom… and even more terrifyingly, this neurotoxic venom can be transmitted through the bloodstream!"
"This venom contains a very potent neurotoxin; just one milligram is enough to instantly paralyze an adult! This toxin is very strange; it's not fatal, which is probably why Medusa can petrify people. According to our observations, Medusa's ancient hunting methods were unique. They would only consume their prey and offspring simultaneously when extremely hungry, but otherwise, they would continue hunting. They would bite their prey, paralyzing it, but instead of eating or taking it away, they would leave it there to attract other predators… Once these predators ate the prey poisoned by Medusa's venom, they too would be poisoned and collapse, becoming the next bait."
This is terrifying!
"What's even more terrifying is... our analysis shows that in ancient times, the ecological environment was actually not suitable for Medusa's survival!" Xiao Ye smiled bitterly: "It's ironic that Medusas don't need high levels of oxygen or a pure natural environment... our experiments show that they thrive more comfortably and happily in polluted environments, such as sewage and exhaust fumes containing industrial heavy metals, and they reproduce much faster!"
"This means that in the current Earth's environment, Medusas will thrive, and their adaptability is extremely strong. They can even survive in seawater! If any Medusa or even their eggs leak out of our laboratory, these Medusas can escape into the ocean through underground pipes, and the countless fish in the ocean will be the best breeding ground for them... Give them a year, and the number of these Medusas could reach a terrifying ten million! As their reproduction rate increases, they will eventually land on the coast, and then it will be a disaster for humanity."
Everyone gasped. No wonder Chen Xu gave such an extreme order... Faced with Medusa's ubiquitous and rapidly reproducing methods, there was no room for error... The threat would far outweigh the gains from studying this creature.
Of course, some people didn't believe it, saying, "If that's the case, then Medusa should have been rampant in ancient times. Why have we only found one Medusa fossil so far?"
Xiao Ye said, "That's a very valid question, but according to our research, the main reason that determines the sexual maturity of Medusa is the surrounding temperature. Everyone knows that snakes are cold-blooded animals, and Medusa originally only existed in the cold mountains of Northern Europe, so their reproduction rate was far slower than it is now in greenhouses. Another major reason should be that in ancient times, there must have been a nemesis of Medusa!"
"This world is incredibly balanced, a balance so profound that even counting it sends chills down our spines, a testament to the wonders of creation! We firmly believe that in ancient times, there must have been creatures that could subdue the terrifying Medusa, but by now, these creatures must have become extinct over time. Therefore, our current task is to both eradicate the Medusa and search for its ancient nemesis. We have already informed the Swedish government of the horrors of the Medusa… but clearly, their attitude has been perfunctory. Moreover, besides them, we believe many others are also considering how to successfully clone and resurrect this ancient creature, which could potentially lead to a catastrophe. Therefore, our expedition team has already traveled to Northern Europe to search for fossils of ancient organisms, using our world's most advanced cloning technology to recreate these creatures and thus find the Medusa's nemesis."
"On the other hand, we also need to take advantage of the current public opinion pressure to push things along. The first step is to fund Mr. Cameron to make this movie, to recreate the horror of Medusa, and thus buy us time. Therefore, the entertainment department must speed up its pace. If Mr. Cameron does not agree, then the entertainment department must find another well-known Hollywood director as a partner in a short period of time... However, I believe Mr. Cameron will agree, because with the current popularity of virtual reality, he certainly wants to quickly create the first classic and realistic disaster movie on the virtual reality system platform."
"But for us, we can't treat these things as disaster movies... because they could happen at any time."
Xiao Ye's words made the atmosphere in the entire conference room extremely heavy.
At this moment, Chen Xu said, "What, are you scared already? The main purpose of this meeting today is to make everyone understand the current situation. Although the world is peaceful right now, violent upheavals can happen at any time. Medusa is just one example. I know that many people in the company are dissatisfied that Tongchi Island has not joined the current research on ancient civilizations, believing that this may cause us to lose our superior position and fall behind in these areas. Let me be clear today: Tongchi Island and Company S will not participate in any research on ancient civilizations or the development of human potential, except for limited use of cloning technology to restore these ancient creatures for display."
This statement sparked another round of discussion.
Chen Xu continued, “I know that various laboratories are currently conducting research in this area, and if we don’t speed up our pace, we will soon be left behind… But I don’t mind; let them do their research. I can only tell you all that this kind of research is not a good thing! If you don’t believe me, you can look at unicorns and Medusa, and Dr. Li’s previous work on drugs to improve human intelligence… While these studies have all yielded very attractive results, the price to be paid is also unbearable! I hereby assert that this research will definitely produce various attractive results in the next few years, attracting more people to this field. However, in a few more years, the side effects behind these results will appear one after another, and then it will be too late to regret it!”
"Gentlemen, if you don't believe me, then just wait. Of course, while we wait, we can't be idle... From now on, Tongchi Island's annual military budget will be increased by another $100 million! Apply to the central government to expand the garrison on Tongchi Island, requesting priority to deploy the nation's most elite soldiers. In six months, I need to see the mecha squadron reach 50,000 men, and all other branches of the military equipped with the most advanced weapons. To all the other profit-making departments, I hope you all work hard. Everything you are doing now is not just for Tongchi Island and S Company, but for all of humanity."
History will remember you.
Some have raised the question: "But, if the military is expanded again, will it provoke a backlash from Western countries?"
Chen Xu smiled slyly: "Suppress all research reports on unicorn blood, and announce to the public that Tongchi Island has successfully cloned the legendary purest creature, the unicorn, and welcomes everyone to visit... After creating enough hype, in the name of the nation, present the United States with a few unicorns."
This statement stunned everyone. What did Chen Xu mean by doing this?
Isn't he afraid that foreign powers will obtain the unicorn and then study it?
"Just do as I say, I'm doing this for an old friend!"
Chapter 408 Sending a Sheep into the Tiger's Mouth (Part 1)
The news that Tongchi Island had successfully cloned the legendary purest unicorn quickly spread throughout the world.
In this era of incredibly advanced media, Tongchi Island has always played the role of a news-making machine, so any little thing they do quickly makes headlines—let alone sensational news like a unicorn!
The public reacted strongly, with some questioning, some disbelieving, and some eager to see for themselves.
After being interviewed by several world-renowned media outlets, the unicorn's adorable and elegant appearance appeared in various media. At the same time, the island opened a simulation laboratory, allowing tourists to come and see the unicorn in person. Moreover, for just $100,000, visitors can have close contact with the unicorn and take photos with it, accompanied by staff.
The prerequisite is that only pure virgins are allowed.
After this news was released, the public became even more excited, looking at S Company's report and the joint experiment conducted by several world-class media outlets—these media outlets selected one hundred female volunteers, including virgins and young women… and some with a perverse sense of humor even specially arranged for several beauties who had undergone hymenoplasty to participate, as well as several female athletes—because some athletes undergo high-intensity training from a young age, and might unintentionally tear their hymens, becoming "pseudo-virgins"—the reporters' perverse sense of humor was to verify whether the method of determining unicorns was the same as humans, only looking at that membrane…
What excites people is that, just as the legend says, the unicorn is only interested in pure virgins, even those female athletes who have never been with a man but whose hymens have been torn due to exercise. It disdains those who have had surgery or are simply married women.
This caused a sensation online. People were extremely interested in the magical abilities of the unicorn. Then, it was reported that several princes from various countries brought their future princesses to the unicorn for testing... As it turned out, some of them were imposters and were rudely sprayed in the face by the unicorn. The final result, of course, is self-evident.
Online, these unicorns are jokingly called the nemesis of "false virgins." If the "testing fees" weren't so exorbitant, many men with a virginity complex would probably take their soon-to-be wives for testing, potentially leading to countless tragedies. However, people's opinions on these pure creatures are naturally different from those on hideous creatures like Medusa. An online poll showed that over 95% of respondents believed that Tongchi Island should use its technology to revive those extinct but docile creatures.
Then, taking advantage of the invitation to the US president to visit, Tongchi Island presented Ao Xiaohei with two unicorns as a symbol of the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and American people...
This form of gifting has many precedents. For example, many countries have gifted their unique animals to other countries as a symbol of peace. For instance, China's giant pandas now live a rather tedious "overseas" life in zoos in many countries.
For a time, various countries extended invitations to Tongchi Island and the Chinese government, hoping to receive a pair of unicorns as a gift. However, Tongchi Island politely declined... The reason given was that unicorns are very delicate and not adapted to the current environment, so they cannot be kept in zoos like ordinary animals. Fortunately, Tongchi Island was collaborating with the US government on the construction of such a simulated ecosystem, and the project was nearing completion. This allowed them to send the unicorns there for rearing. Other countries wishing to obtain unicorns would also first need to establish such a simulated ecosystem.
A week later, a pair of unicorns named "Baby" boarded a private jet and traveled across the ocean to the United States.
After a perfect handover ceremony, the U.S. government declined the protection of the Totem Island mech guard and instead sent the two unicorns to the newly built simulated ecosystem in Washington National Park.
However, no one expected that shortly after the escort team left the airport, they were suddenly attacked by a group of mysterious figures!
After a brief exchange of fire, the poor American escort unit was easily wiped out. These unidentified attackers killed everyone, destroyed all the video surveillance systems, and then mysteriously disappeared with the two unicorns…
The whole process lasted less than five minutes.
The entire US escort team was wiped out in less than a minute... These poor American soldiers didn't even have time to sound the alarm!
It wasn't until the people waiting in the national park sensed something was wrong and led a search along the route that they found the devastated battlefield. By then, both the attackers and the unicorn had vanished.
The American media was outraged. The Washington Post called it the greatest disgrace in the history of the United States—the first country to receive a unicorn as a gift had suffered such a loss. Not only was the unicorn stolen, but the perpetrator's methods and even the timing of the crime were unknown! The renowned Navy SEALs were completely wiped out, and they couldn't even send out a distress signal. Furthermore, none of the more than two hundred American satellites orbiting in space detected anything!
What's even more infuriating is that these arrogant American soldiers actually refused the request from the Island Mech Guard to escort the unicorn to the national park beforehand, and instead simply handed it over at the airport! Now the whole world is laughing at America!
The US government's current mood can only be described as "swallowing a bitter pill."
Based on the traces found during the subsequent investigation, the Pentagon determined that the other party was definitely not one of the terrorist organizations that are now clamoring to take responsibility for the incident—they don't have that capability!
The opponent must be a very powerful being!
They first hacked into the military's network, isolating all signals from the SEAL team, and used a special method to keep the satellite monitoring in a false image—then they wiped out all the members of the SEAL team in a short time, and there was no trace of enemy ammunition left at the scene—all the soldiers died from various strange wounds... but definitely no ammunition!
Who exactly are these people?
Looking at the world... perhaps only All-Eat Island can achieve this, and those that can compare to All-Eat Island...
The US government immediately ordered the investigation to be stopped, and only made empty threats to the outside world... They had already figured out that, apart from Tongchi Island, there were only two other forces with this kind of power.
Two forces that have been gone for a long time!
The X organization that once ruled the entire United States, and the Tarot that secretly controlled the political lifeline of Europe!
On American soil, there is only one entity with this power! Without a doubt!
Organization X!
Although the X organization has been gone for several years, during which time the United States' military technology has also entered an awkward stagnation, otherwise it would not have been so badly suppressed by the island of Tongchi. Now, all signs indicate that the X organization is back! Considering the X organization's domineering behavior when it controlled Congress, how could the Pentagon dare to continue its investigation?
In fact, they were right; it was the X organization that made the move this time!
In the highest-level conference room on Tongchi Island, Chen Xu and the others were watching a video recording of the battle.
What a terrifying group of warriors!
What a terrifying battle scene!
That's right, this matter had actually been part of Chen Xu's plan all along.
Looking across the world, no one understands the X organization better than Chen Xu. Since the battle in the Spratly Islands in early 2008, the X organization vanished without a trace. For the next three years, they truly seemed to have evaporated into thin air. They not only abandoned all peripheral research institutions and their control over parliament, but even the four major American families, led by Rockefeller, had no idea where they went—the X organization had previously relied on funding from these four families to grow and thrive, and now they had deliberately cut off this economic lifeline, disappearing without a trace with all their core members!
For the past three years, there have been occasional reports of cyborgs around the world, but there has never been any news about the X organization. To be honest, Chen Xu admires them greatly; they are incredibly patient!
However, Chen Xu understands them best!