Chapter 1826: Appeas.e.m.e.nt, and 084
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Selina’s birthday was at the end of April.
Compared with the previous times, she kept a low profile on her birthday this time — she tactfully turned down everyone’s party proposals and only accepted their congratulations.
After all, it was hard to say if this could be considered a blessing.
For a woman who was 29 years old, a birthday really wasn’t a happy thing.
Sensing that she was a little depressed, Luke simply pulled her into the bas.e.m.e.nt for a ‘special’ birthday activity — to check the research report put together by the medical program, Osiris.
The report was divided roughly into two parts.
Firstly, the Kunlun Chi Refining Technique could delay aging.
Given Selina’s progress with the Chi Refining Technique, she could live to 120 to 150 years old, but that wasn’t the main point.
The main point was that based on calculations, she would still be as active as an ordinary person under 30 years old even when she turned 50 to 60, thanks to the Chi Refining Technique.
Secondly, the symbiosis with Gold Nugget could transform the human body.
Dollar was now fifteen years old, which was the twilight years for a dog. Thanks to the symbiosis, however, It had aged backward to some extent, and looked even younger and healthier.
Selina, who combined with Gold Nugget for an hour every night, was in a similar situation. She looked even younger than when she had first become a police officer in Shackelford.
After explaining the data in detail to Selina, Luke patted her head and said, “Girl, do you know what this means?”
Selina had some understanding of machines and electronics, but wasn’t interested in biology at all. Her head spun from the weird-sounding words and figures.
She simply jabbed her elbow into Luke’s stomach. “Stop messing around and just tell me.”
Luke didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out to adjust the line graph for age and aging on the virtual screen.
He drew a straight horizontal line between Selina, who was 29 years old, to the age of the ordinary person on the diagram. “Congratulations, little sister Selina. You are now on par with an ordinary 12-year-old.”
Selina stuck out her chest. “… I might not have studied much, but don’t try to fool me! Can an ordinary 12-year-old girl look like me?”
Luke shrugged. “This is just a comparison of physical activity. You can think of yourself as a 60-year-old who is forever in your early twenties. Got it?”
Selina was stunned for a long while before she mumbled, “Are you serious?”
Luke had mentioned longevity to her before, but hadn’t explained it in detail.
There was no standard value for a lifespan, so short-term tests couldn’t be carried out.
In the early stages, Luke’s equipment had been limited, and thus couldn’t be used as evidence.
Now, however, there were three PhDs holders in biology and the A.I. Ultima in s.p.a.ce 2, and the a.n.a.lysis of previous data was pretty accurate.
As the saying went, your thirties were close to middle age. This age held a lot of meaning for many people.
Those who were rich and talented could still be called young, but ordinary people really became middle-aged dregs.
So, Luke made use of this opportunity to tell Selina about these verified conclusions, so that this silly girl wouldn’t be sad for no reason.
It was more effective than Luke had imagined.
After a brief daze, Selina suddenly had an enormous appet.i.te, and she hankered for more food. The dog head whined on the side to say that it had also played a part.
Luke went along with it and fired up the grill.
The next day, Selina was back to work in high spirits.
In her own words, one had to work harder while they were young. What else could the younger Luke say?
In fact, he had done more than Selina could ever imagine.
He had already expected Selina’s aging to slow down, and he wasn’t surprised at all.
What he wanted was something that could slow down aging for ordinary people, like Life 1.
Now that he had the raw ingredient, the Blood Orchid, there would be no tricks or hidden dangers with Life 1.
In comparison, the Chi Refining Technique came from Kunlun.
He spread the word among the superhumans that Robert and Catherine were reclusive, and it was hard for outsiders to come into contact with them.
But Selina also had her parents and siblings.
If this big family also learned the Chi Refining Technique, it would be hard to keep their daily cultivation a secret, and even harder to explain.
As long as any hidden dangers with Life 1 were eliminated, Luke could covertly inject it into the other party.
Since the beneficiaries themselves wouldn’t know about it, there was naturally no way for them to leak the secret.
…
A few days after appeasing Selina, Luke received a call – Phil said that he wanted to talk to him about something.
Luke subconsciously thought of Tamiya.
But he then came back to his senses. Phil was looking for Luke himself. Ryoko Tamiya had been part of the deal between Big Dipper and Phil, so it had to be something else.
Luke didn’t interact much with Phil as himself. At most, he sent a few conventional greetings during the holidays.
For a moment, he didn’t know why his uncle was looking for him.
That night, Phil went to Luke’s place in disguise.
Luke led him upstairs to the living room, and they made awkward small talk over coffee.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Luke said, “Just spit it out. You seem busy.”
“Fine.” Phil smiled in embarra.s.sment. “You and that girl called Skye are quite close?”
Surprised, Luke hummed and said, “We have a good relations.h.i.+p.”
He stressed “good,” which meant that he was the one protecting Skye.
Phil was smart enough to get it. Pondering for a moment, he said, “Recently, we ran into two old agents from s.h.i.+ELD. They had been carrying out a secret a.s.signment for many years – to protect Skye.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected that.
Phil said, “It’s a pity my men were too late. The two agents were attacked at the time, and one was killed while the other was seriously injured. He conveyed only that, and died not long after.”
Luke found that odd. “The old s.h.i.+ELD fell over two years ago. Why were they still carrying out this a.s.signment?”
Phil sighed. “This was the only thing they’d been doing for over a decade, and they lost contact with HQ in the last few years. If they suddenly stopped doing this, what could they do?”
Luke nodded in understanding.
After doing something for so many years, it naturally became a habit.
Phil collected his gloomy thoughts and didn’t immerse himself in his memories of s.h.i.+ELD. “The reason a team of agents was specially a.s.signed to protect Skye for over ten years is because Skye is actually an 084.”
“Huh?” Luke sat up straight. “An unknown object?”
084 was an old s.h.i.+ELD code for strange objects whose origins couldn’t be determined.
Generally speaking, 084 also meant that there was something unusual about the object.
For example, Phil had once cla.s.sified Thor’s Mjölnir as an 084.
Frowning, Luke asked, “Is it because she has a superpower?”
Phil was surprised. “What superpower?”
Luke was certain that Phil didn’t know. “Vibrations – it’s very powerful.”
Phil was a little tempted. “This ability… seems pretty good.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Please, it’s not like you don’t have any men. Why do you want everything?”