Chapter 430: Mutual Cessation of Sanctions Agreement
Watson did not know anything about the G-virus. All he knew was that this laboratory was completely sectioned off. It was divided into sections including a changing section, filtration section, buffer section, disinfection section, central section, and such. One had to go through ten different gates before entering the innermost central section.
By the time the two entered the central area wearing positive pressure protective suits, half an hour had pa.s.sed. Such advanced security protocol was something that even the well-experienced Watson was impressed by.
The two of them arrived at the second floor of the central section. The second floor was essentially the main control room. There were dozens of b.u.t.tons on the panels and even more semi-transparent monitors lined along the walls. The walls were floor-length gla.s.s panels that provided un.o.bstructed vision into the laboratory section right below.
At this moment, there were already several research members charting statistics in front of various machines. These researchers were talented individuals Chen Chen had employed at a steep price from all over the world. He had filtered through a lot of potential recruits before inducting this group into G.o.d’s Forbidden Zone and bringing them here.
Although they saw Chen Chen arriving, none of them made a point of welcoming him ceremoniously but instead continued focusing on their respective tasks.
Watson approached the observation deck and looked over the main hall that was the laboratory. One of the first things he immediately noticed were several armed soldiers also dressed in protective suits stationed at the corners.
Apart from that, he saw dozens of busy researchers.
Watson silently bemused at the sheer size of this laboratory. He soon found his attention grabbed by a row of isolation rooms on the first floor.
These isolation rooms were arranged like prison cells, lined along the walls on the opposite end of where he stood. Through the viewing gla.s.s, he could see strange, undistinguishable creatures trapped inside them.
What in the world were they...
Watson immediately became perplexed. He rubbed his eyes to check if his eyes were deceiving him. In the first isolation room, he saw a creature that resembled a chimpanzee. Unlike regular chimpanzees, this particular chimpanzee had tentacles-like arms and spikes lined along its spine. The only feature that was reminiscent of a chimpanzee was its head.
The monstrosity was leaned against the window of the isolation room, continuously squirming up and down, pasting its sticky goo all over the window.
Inside the next quarantine room was an even stranger creature that was a ma.s.s of slime, like a real-life rendition of the slime monster. What stood out was the countless round substances of various sizes all over its body. They would sink and float along its slimy surfaces, vanishing and appearing at irregular intervals while occasionally moving.
Upon closer inspection, Watson noticed that these round objects all over its body were eyeb.a.l.l.s. They were the many eyes of this slime monster!
Inside the third and fourth isolation rooms were monsters of comparable aesthetic. One still had some bare resemblance of a chimpanzee while the other was impossible to identify.
Upon seeing this, Watson quickly turned to Chen Chen and broke the question that had been brewing in his mind. “What are these creatures? Are they products of genetic synthesis or alien life?”
“Would you believe me if I told you that they are the product of G-virus infection?”
Instead of answering, Chen Chen asked.
Watson immediately became silent. He had a hard time deciding whether he could believe that or not.
Naturally, this person would not go through all this effort just to deceive him. However, the biological knowledge that he had acc.u.mulated over his lifetime told him that something like this should not be possible.
It was true that viruses could alter the DNA structure of living beings but these changes should be subtle and almost unnoticeable. It would take years on top of years before substantial changes could be noticed. What he was looking at here could only be described as abominations that came from the underworld.
“That’s the truth.”
Chen Chen smiled and waved his hand to summon a semi-transparent display right beside him. With a gentle swipe, the wall of text on the display scrolled on its own.
“This is...”
Watson was astounded by this. He quickly registered that this wondrous display must be the reveled HP3D holographic device.
Upon making this connection, he turned to the array of semi-transparent displays lined along the walls and realized that they were holographic displays as well. He originally thought they were some sort of modern monitors.
His mind quickly shifted away from these irrelevant details as the wall of text on the display called for his attention.
“This is...”
Watson found himself enchanted by what he was seeing. After he had finished the current page, he instinctively lifted a finger and swiped. The display started to scroll on its own to the next page like he was reading an ebook.
They were the doc.u.mented details of the past and present rendition of the G-virus, which included the genetic sequences and various experiment reports.
According to the presented data, the so-called G-virus was a mutated variant of the Ebola virus and Blacklight virus. It was catalyzed using a special polymer compound to produce a super virus.
“G-virus can recombine a host’s DNA. It’s currently known that any carbon-based life is susceptible to the effect of G-virus, which includes plants.”
Chen Chen stood beside and explained, “There are currently three known branches of the G-virus, respectively enhancing its infectious trait, mutational trait, and proliferation trait. The G-virus variant with an enhanced infection rate is proven to be more contagious than the Spanish flu. Its infection quality allows it to produce a new life form which takes over the body of its original host.
“The product of the mutation-enhanced G-virus are these monstrosities you’re seeing inside the isolation rooms.
“The most wondrous of them all is the G-virus variant with enhanced proliferation.”
Chen Chen noted. “This variant of G-virus can alter the host’s state significantly and gigantify its host. Furthermore, this effect is reversible...”
“What?”
Watson exclaimed as he scrolled back up to go through the doc.u.mentation again. “How’s that possible.”
“I cannot see how that’s possible either.”
Chen Chen chuckled. “And that’s the reason you’re here, Sir Watson.”
With that, Chen Chen presented a stack of contracts to Watson. “Sir Watson, you’re already a part of Blacklight Biotechnology. I’d like to further an invitation into G.o.d’s Forbidden Zone. Outstanding individuals such as you are essential on mankind’s track to evolution.”
Upon hearing this, Watson moved the G-virus doc.u.mentation to the side momentarily and only briefly scanned through the near twenty-pages thick contract before signing it.
“Splendid!”
Chen Chen laughed heartily. “It seems like after going through the age-reversal treatment, Sir Watson has not only become younger physically but has gained the bold mentality of the youth. I’d say most people wouldn’t be able to decide on something like this so hastily, don’t you agree?”
“Does it make a difference?”
Watson shook his head and expressed, “I don’t have any say in the matter the moment I stepped into this secret laboratory and saw the virus, am I right?”
“That’s true.”
Chen Chen looked at the time, then turned around and left while waving. “Sir Watson, I’ve authorized you as the supervisor. I leave this BSL-5 (Level 5 Biosafety) laboratory project in your capable hands. If you have any questions, you can always contact me or the X-111, the main console computer of the Spire. I hope you ama.s.s knowledge concerning the G-virus as soon as possible so you can start venturing out on your own...”
With the rattling sound of the airlock door, Chen Chen’s figure vanished from the second floor, leaving behind Watson with a mixture of many emotions on his face.
Speaking of which...
With an elite scientist of this pedigree partic.i.p.ating in the G-virus research, Chen Chen found himself considerably relieved.
The reason why Watson was brought into the Spire before being invited to G.o.d’s Forbidden Zone was so that Chen Chen had the chance to install the latest rendition of G.o.d chip into Watson during the operation.
Strictly speaking, Watson had long been considered a reserve member of G.o.d’s Forbidden Zone even prior to his joining. So what if Watson refused? One way or another, Chen Chen would persuade him to join.
After leaving the laboratory, Chen Chen took the elevator to the top of the Spire, which was the room where the teleportation room was.
There was a Gantz sphere in the teleportation room that would instantly transfer Chen Chen to another room on the surface.
This teleportation room was just like the underground port that ran through the Atlantic Ocean, mainly serving as a precautionary measure. Hardly anybody knew of its existence. It was what Chen Chen used to install the chip in Musk’s brain without him knowing during his previous visit.
As Chen Chen stepped into the blank white room, the black sphere positioned in front of him produced a beam of blue light. Chen Chen felt his field of vision being crowded with the blue ray for a moment. Although there was no discernible change in the environment around him, he had been transported from the underground teleportation room to the one on the surface.
Chen Chen returned to the elevator. When the elevator rode downstairs and the door opened again, he found himself on the ground floor lobby of a certain office building in Eco Science City.
“Sir G.o.dfather, I have good news.”
Little X suddenly announced from Chen Chen’s earpiece, “We received word from G.o.d’s Forbidden Zone. They told us that the White House has agreed to our terms. Once we help them solve This Man incident, they will sign the ‘Cessation of Sanctions Agreement’.”
“What are the details of the agreement? Did they amend the several clauses that we brought up?”
Chen Chen asked immediately.
“There were some significant amendments made along with several new clauses. Also, they’ve set the duration of this agreement to ten years.”
Little X replied.
“Will there be any exploitable loopholes?”
Chen Chen still found it worrisome. “Let me have a look at the draft.”
“Alright.”
Little X immediately forwarded the draft to Chen Chen’s phone.
Chen Chen decided to sit down on a common sofa in the lobby and started scrolling through the drafted agreement on his phone.
His nonchalant action had caught the attention of a Chinese lady at the lobby front desk.
This lady worked at the front desk at the office building. When she happened to see Chen Chen sitting down, she stared at Chen Chen’s face for what seemed like ages before reaching for her phone and searched for something.
When she finally found an image she was looking for and matched it with the person seated not far away from her, she was immediately floored by what she was seeing. She reached for her handbag in a hurry and dug up her makeup mirror to check her makeup.
It seemed as if she was not satisfied with her current look. She promptly took out her lipstick and applied it in two quick swipes, then she pursed her lips to distribute the colors evenly. After that, she found a disposable cup and put some tea leaves inside to make a cup of warm, aromatic tea.
“Lin, we have coffee over here, why are you still making tea?”
One of her colleagues asked curiously when the colleague noticed her strange behavior.
Lin had no time to care about what her colleague thought of her at this point. She slowly approached Chen Chen with the cup of tea in hand. Never in her life could she remember herself ever walking so gracefully. She proceeded to set the cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Chen Chen.
“Mister, please have some tea...”
She said in a gentle, even affectionate whisper. There was a tinge of tremor in her voice due to her nerves.
“Thank you.”
Chen Chen looked at her briefly and thanked her before reverting his attention to the important subject on his phone.
“You’re welcome...”
The lady muttered silently. When she saw Chen Chen’s attention only lingering on her for a brief moment, she could not help but feel rather disappointed. She slithered back to the front desk feeling defeated.
“Who’s that man? I don’t think he works here now does he?”
The colleague who saw her returning immediately went to her and asked in a hushed voice, “He’s a Chinese man as well. Do you know him by any chance? Is he the president of some kind of corporation?”
“Of, of course not. I, I’m just doing my job, that’s all...”
The lady strung a poor excuse together. Despite her claims, she still could not stop herself from stealing sideways glances in Chen Chen’s direction.
“Really?”
The colleague eyed her suspiciously and finally decided to give it a rest after a while.
Little did they know, Chen Chen had been aware of what the two of them had been doing since the very beginning.
It was only that he just saw it as a trivial matter, one of those simple, mundane happenings in daily life. He redirected his full focus to the drafted agreement.
The mentioned cessation of sanctions implied that Northern America had to suspend all of their militaristic and economic sanctions imposed on Blacklight Biotechnology. On the other end, Blacklight Biotechnology would have to lift its ban on Northern America’s application for the cancer targeted drugs while also resuming the previously terminated clinical trials for the three targeted drugs.
The offer the Northern American government made was that the terms of this agreement would only last ten years.
“They are only willing to sign a ten-year agreement at most.”
Little X informed, “I haven’t noticed any exploitable loophole in the agreement.”
“I’ve gone through it as well. Even though they did alter certain clauses, it’s not going to have any noticeable impact on us.”
Chen Chen nodded. “The only major clause here is this ten-year duration. They probably want to give us a ten-year grace period at max to limit the ceiling of our future development.”
When Chen Chen saw the quoted duration on the Cessation of Sanctions Agreement, a sly smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
So what if they only gave ten years?
The Northern American government probably had something planned in mind in ten years to exact their revenge. Could they be so naive to believe that Chen Chen would shrink away from them in ten years?
It had only been four years since acquiring the USB drive and only three years since he settled in Africa. In three short years, Blacklight Biotechnology had taken such ma.s.sive strides. To what greater heights could he ascend to if given another ten years?
Chen Chen was looking forward to it...