Tall clones floated in the red solution within glass chambers, like fetuses in amniotic fluid, their faces peaceful, filled with childlike innocence and ignorance, still in the womb, not yet born into the world.
But the sheer number—tens of thousands stretching endlessly into the distance—was enough to make one’s scalp tingle and send chills down the spine.
Only the instruments in the glass chambers revealed their extraordinary nature: each had a life force as high as 3.0, with slender, powerful physiques, like incarnations of Greek gods descending to earth.
If it were just one or two, it might be tolerable, but there were tens of thousands of these clones, vast as an army. If they were ever released and exposed to the outside world, it would be a catastrophe!
These were the thoughts of the experimental subjects, flashing through Feng Lin’s mind in an instant, only to be immediately marked with a mental “”.
With such high life force, these clones had clearly undergone genetic engineering adjustments to their genes. Each one would cost a fortune to produce, so they couldn’t possibly be disposable experimental subjects.
That left only one possibility!
A clone army!
The Mars Revolutionary Army’s people hadn’t been wrong after all.
Feng Lin connected this to what Luke had said earlier.
But Luke hadn’t been entirely correct.
Giant Pharmaceutical was indeed building an army, but it wasn’t an ordinary one—it was a clone army composed purely of clones.
A clone with a life force of 3.0 was equivalent to thirty times that of an ordinary person. Such a terrifying army, once fully formed, would be no pushover in the entire solar system.
Though it wasn’t the same as the genetic troops Luke had mentioned—these clones, despite their terrifying life force, were still at the level of apprentice cultivators, not yet reaching the rank of genetic cultivators, so they couldn’t be called a genetic army—it was still horrifying enough.
Banning clones was a universally recognized interstellar convention among humanity, not just in the superpowers of the stars, but also in smaller nations and chaotic star regions.
Because if clones proliferated, they would violate human ethics, cause genetic chaos, and over time, threaten the extinction of pure-blooded humans. The health and diversity of human genes would be severely damaged, leading to this interstellar ban.
Anyone secretly creating clones, once exposed, would instantly become the enemy of all humanity, with no place to stand in the vastness of the stars.
…
Feng Lin’s heart was in turmoil. He hadn’t expected Giant Pharmaceutical to be so bold, willing to defy the interstellar convention. What exactly were they planning?
Though his mind was churning, his face remained calm, betraying none of his thoughts.
Just then, Frank walked over, studying him with a probing look. “It seems you’ve already figured out these are clones. So, do you know what they’re used for?”
“Are they all for experiments?” Feng Lin feigned ignorance, hesitating.
“You’re still too young!” Frank chuckled. “Clones have their genes adjusted from the fertilized egg stage through genetic engineering, losing their original genetic purity. For experiments, unmodified native specimens are better. Since you’re now a core member of Giant Pharmaceutical, there’s no need to hide this from you—you’ll find out sooner or later anyway. To be honest, these are an army!”
“A clone army?!” Feng Lin exclaimed, as if just discovering it, then suddenly seemed to think of something, his voice rising in shock: “Isn’t cloning banned by the interstellar convention? Doing this, building an army—won’t it bring condemnation from all of interstellar humanity?”
He played the part of a clueless newcomer, his face full of shock and surprise.
Frank nodded, pleased with Feng Lin’s reaction, and said dismissively, “Laws are just for ordinary people. Cloning is explicitly banned, but which major interstellar conglomerate isn’t secretly creating clones behind the scenes? The reason we’re building an army is that the solar system is a chaotic domain, and Giant Pharmaceutical has vast assets, so we need a powerful force to protect ourselves.”
Who’s he trying to fool?
Feng Lin sneered inwardly, but nodded in apparent agreement.
Frank, still unaware of any flaw in Feng Lin, finally let down his last shred of suspicion.
“But does this relate to our research topic?” Feng Lin asked curiously.
Frank smiled mysteriously. “Follow me!”
Feng Lin followed him deeper among the clones.
The glass chambers lined up like pillars, the clones inside standing like guards, exuding a sinister, eerie aura.
As they went further in, Feng Lin soon spotted a group of figures in white lab coats moving among the clones, closely observing them, recording data nonstop, as if analyzing something.
Feng Lin thought to himself that his earlier guess had been correct—this was indeed an underground core laboratory.
What puzzled him was that all these researchers had blond hair and blue eyes, the purest white people.
Since when did Giant Pharmaceutical only hire white employees?
Feng Lin was secretly baffled, but he couldn’t ask, so he kept it to himself.
“Feng Lin, from now on, these will be your team members!” Frank said, pointing to the group of white researchers.
“What?” Feng Lin was taken aback.
“These are the true technical elites of Giant Pharmaceutical, all geniuses specially recruited like you once were. Each of them is an expert in genetic theory. I’m now assigning them to you to focus on cracking the crystallization pharmaceutical technique. This new path has a higher chance of success than any of our previous methods. Once we achieve results, we can overcome the research hurdles, unlock the secrets of the ancient divine medicine, and create gene potions that ordinary people can take.” Frank smiled.
Feng Lin nodded, looking at these people, a strange feeling rising in him.
So these were the genetic geniuses he’d heard were specially recruited by Giant Pharmaceutical before him, all hidden here. No wonder the Mars Revolutionary Army couldn’t find them and thought they’d gone missing.
From this perspective, Giant Pharmaceutical didn’t seem as dangerous as they’d claimed.
But Feng Lin immediately sensed something was off.
The fact that they were all white was just too strange!
Did Giant Pharmaceutical only hire white people? Then what about him?…
A chill crept from his spine, spreading through his entire body, leaving Feng Lin cold from the inside out.
While Feng Lin was unsettled by the group of whites, they were equally puzzled by him.
“This is our team leader?”
“How could a greenhorn like him end up as team leader?”
“Crystallization pharmaceutical technique? What’s that?”
…
They whispered among themselves, sizing Feng Lin up, looking incredulous.
Feng Lin remained expressionless.
Just then, a short, stout middle-aged white man with a traditional Japanese chonmage hairstyle—bald on top with the remaining hair tied into a topknot—looked utterly ridiculous and bizarre. He stepped forward, bowing obsequiously. “Director, how can a greenhorn like this be our team leader? And a yellow-skinned man at that! What skills does he have?”
Frank’s face immediately turned stern. “Matsushita Kijin, I hope you won’t question my decision. Feng Lin has already cracked part of the ancient divine medicine’s secrets and initially recreated the crystallization pharmaceutical technique. So I need you all to fully cooperate with Feng Lin to perfect this technology! Anyone who pays lip service but disobeys will be fired from the company!”
“How is that possible?” The researchers couldn’t believe it. The ancient divine medicine was so mysterious, and so many geniuses had failed to crack it—how could this greenhorn have done it?
But since Frank himself said so, they dared not doubt him.
Frank showed them the footage of Feng Lin refining the crystallized adrenaline potion and the human experiments via his identity chip.
After seeing it, they had nothing more to say, convinced and accepting Feng Lin as their team leader.
“Feng-san, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have doubted you. Please accept my apology!” Matsushita Kijin came before Feng Lin, bowing deeply, his forehead touching the ground.
Feng Lin’s eyes narrowed. This middle-aged white man was steeped in Japanese mannerisms, yet he had blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin—how bizarre.
But on the surface, he smiled and said, “Matsushita Kijin, no need to be so formal! We’re colleagues now. Please guide me!”
“Hai!” Matsushita Kijin straightened up respectfully.
“What should I do next?” Feng Lin pressed further.
“Do you know why our company is called Giant Pharmaceutical?” Frank asked instead of answering.
Feng Lin shook his head, feeling he was about to uncover the biggest secret hidden by Giant Pharmaceutical.
Frank smiled. “It’s because we’ve mastered a path of giant mythology. All our efforts are aimed at developing a gene potion that can awaken the giant gene in ordinary people, creating interstellar cultivators of various giant paths at different levels!”
With that, he produced a bottle of green amber-like potion, radiating a狂暴 and scorching aura.
“This is a low-level, high-grade green giant gene potion! Your task is to crystallize it so it can be used by ordinary people. If you succeed, we’ll benefit all of interstellar humanity, allowing everyone to awaken the green giant gene. If you manage it, I’ll grant you a spot in the divine blood ritual, transforming you into a child of the gods, granting you an extended lifespan and a leap in life essence! Then you’ll be one of us, with a chance to become a high-ranking executive at Giant Pharmaceutical, or even gain a precious opportunity to enter the true interstellar world for advanced training at headquarters.”
“Divine blood ritual? Child of the gods!” Feng Lin exclaimed in shock.
“That’s right!” Frank laughed. “It’s a genetic transformation ritual that can convert your genetic bloodline, making you a child of the gods!”
“Are they…” Feng Lin couldn’t help but look at the white researchers, who, despite having features and builds from various human races, all had blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin.
“Exactly! They’ve already undergone the divine blood ritual and become children of the gods. Blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin are one of the main traits, but it’s far more than that.” Frank said with fervor.
Feng Lin stood rooted to the spot, already cold from the inside out, his heart sinking to the depths.