Chapter 367: Without Delay
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A few days later…
“Xing Hai Hospital Achieves Major Breakthrough in the Life Prolonging Medical Field”
“Human Lifespan Can Be Prolonged By At Least 50%”
“Immortality Is No Longer A Myth!”
“Over 99.99% Reliability, Only Hindered By Law and Ethics”
“The Quest of Ancient Emperors Now Made Possible by Technology”
It was like a blockbuster.
Xing Hai Hospital immediately became the focus of both the local and foreign media and received unprecedented attention from billions of people worldwide. It swiftly triggered discussions among netizens all around the globe.
“Marvelous! We can live for another 50 years at least! That is almost half of our entire lifespan! I can live to see the next century now.”
“After treatment, you will gain the appearance of a thirty-year-old. Your grey hair will become black once again and walking sticks can be cast aside. You will be revitalized as if you were reborn… this is even more exciting than simply prolonging lifespan. Everyone wishes to stay young forever.”
“The structure of the human body is very complicated, and there are many factors that affect life expectancy. All of these cannot be easily manipulated. Theoretically, medical science would only achieve an initial breakthrough in the mystery of human lifespan in about a decades’ time. The fact that Xing Hai Hospital is able to make a breakthrough now is truly amazing.
“Huh-uh, it’s too soon to be happy. The privilege to experience any high-end technology firsthand will be with the rich and powerful. The poor will be at the back of the queue and might not even be able to afford the hefty treatment fees, not to mention getting to enjoy the technology. The wealth gap between the rich and the poor is also constantly expanding. Now, the rich will be able to live for another 50 years, and the poor will still kick the bucket when the time’s up. The poor will never be treated fairly.”
“In the past, a wastrel might appear in a rich household and wither away every single advantage he or she is born with. What about now? The jewels will always stay with the wealthy. The poor are not ent.i.tled to even the slightest chance now.”
“True, if the cost of the life-prolonging treatment is too high and the poor can’t afford it, I would rather it not exist! Everyone dies together. This is the only fairness left in this world and the bottom line of humanity!”
“I hope that the treatment cost stays under 500,000 dollars. I’m dirt poor. This is the most I can afford.”
“Are you dreaming my friend? 500,000 in exchange for 50 years to live. On average, that would be ten thousand dollars a year? How will our precious years to live be so cheap? Nowadays, even a regular sanitary worker earns more than 5 to 6k a month. a.s.suming that the treatment costs 2000 dollars per month, multiply that into 50 years, the treatment will cost a million dollars by the very least! Xing Hai Technologies is not a charity. They will most certainly be aiming for the highest profitability.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Income might have increased, but the cost of living is rising as well. A simple house loan will put you in debt for 20 to 30 years, and you still have a whole family to care for. Even one to two thousand dollars of extra cash every month is considered good enough. If the life-prolonging treatment costs over a million, I’m afraid that there won’t be much that could come out with that hefty amount at one go!”
“After scrolling through all the comments, I think I might just be okay with it. Although it is all about profits for Xing Hai Technologies, their product pricing is more towards taking care of the middle cla.s.s. Anyone would be able to afford the treatment by grinding their teeth a little. Furthermore, I’m a happy single man that can save up five grand every month! If I spend less on games, I can definitely get to enjoy this wonderful world for an additional 50 years.”
“Haha, I can relate to you.”
But there were also a small number of local netizens and a portion of the foreign netizens that heavily criticized Xing Hai Technologies’ life-prolonging experiment.
“Such experiments should not be allowed! They are literally toying with people’s life and death. They should be punished by law!”
“Xing Hai Technologies, where did you get those 10 elderly people? Do they know about the experiment’s risks? Were their family members made aware of the situation? Has this illegal experiment been approved by the relevant authorities? Are all procedures of the experiment compliant? All of these should be investigated thoroughly!”
“The ten kind old people have become poor lab rats. If the treatment fails and they are declared dead, this can be cla.s.sed as murder!
“Life and death is the law of nature and lifespan itself is decided by the Heavens! How could you go against Heaven’s law? The Heavens will punish you for this.”
“Xing Hai Technologies is being too sloppy. If one day my grandfather suddenly becomes young again, even younger than myself and has almost the same time to live as me, I will not be happy. Instead, I’ll be at a loss! I don’t even know how I would then look at the relations.h.i.+p between us. I won’t even feel that he’s my grandfather because he will no longer have that kind face on him, but I would still have to fulfill my duties as his grandchild. Should this kind of obligation last for another 50 years?
“Sweet lord, my grandfather is a stubborn old fart! He has been reluctant to relinquish control of the company. For each day that he stays alive, we will never get the chance, and now there’s medical technology that could let him live for another 50 years. Why can’t such technology appear at a later time?”
“Honestly speaking, I do not wish for those relatives of mine who are three to four generations above me to live on forever. They should take the initiative and let go of many of the resources they possess. You may call me selfish, but an environment without a metabolism is completely terrifying! The procedure should be carefully studied for another one or two decades before being promoted to the public.”
“Yes, the time is still not ripe. The tech must wait for, uhm… at least another three months!”
Among the netizens, some questioned the procedure’s compliance, some firmly defended the law of nature, some accused Xing Hai Hospital of deliberate murder, and some did not wish for the life-prolonging technology to be released so soon for their own various reasons.
But in point of fact, Xing Hai Technologies’ experiment was approved by the relevant departments and was cla.s.sified under the “health care” category.
Most of the ten old people were experiencing difficulty in mobility or were suffering from various diseases. All of them had heart and kidney failure and already had one foot in the grave. It would be expected that some of them might die during the treatment. It won’t even be considered “medical malpractice”. Moreover, all of them were gathered from various nursing homes across the nation. They had no family. Only they had to sign and agree to the treatment.
In terms of procedures, Xing Hai Hospital was legal and compliant in their doings. There were absolutely no problems that existed.
Besides, according to domestic media and public opinion, more than 90% of people possessed a welcoming and antic.i.p.ating att.i.tude towards the life-prolonging technology with the vast majority expressing their support towards the tech.
Why?
Aging.
Severe aging!
Some netizens expressed their feelings anxiously.
“According to statistics, the number of elderly people over 60 years old in Z has reached 350 million in the year 20X0. This accounts for about a quarter of our total population. That would mean that one out of every four people in Z is over 60 years of age.”
“By 20X5, the elderly population in Z will reach its peak at 400 million. One person out of every three will be over the age of 60. Most people will be middle-aged and elderly people!”
“This is a serious problem. There is no conventional solution. The state’s financial pressure is getting bigger and bigger, economic growth is stagnating, and our whole society is shrouded in gloominess and has no vitality at all! In the long run, our so-called revival will be no more than a bubble. After a few decades, the Z nation will most likely be outrun by other young countries.
“For various reasons, it is very difficult to improve our country’s fertility rate.”
“The best solution now is to extend human lifespan and break out of our current predicament!”
“Therefore, it is not necessary to ask Xing Hai Hospital about whether their experiment was compliant or not, and there is no need to confirm whether the treatment’s reliability is truly 99.99%. As long as it is effective for more than 80% of the elderly, and the side effects of the treatment do not lead to a large number of deaths, the treatment will be worth promoting!
“And it must be done without delay. We must not wait for a single second! We must terminate our country’s aging issue with the fastest efficiency possible!”
“Population! A young and energetic workforce is the resource we need the most now.”