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Chapter 271: Nuclear War

The reason for strapping safety belts to the Black Knight was to serve as insurance since the Prometheus Spaceship was destroyed at the end of the movie.

Chen Chen was unsure if there was still anything useful at the coordinate or if the passage led to the room on the spaceship. There was a chance the passage would lead to a void in space or simply to the wreckages of the spaceship.

Contrary to Chen Chen's expectations, the Black Knight had returned from the opposite end of the passage in less than ten minutes.

Unlike previously, the Black Knight labeled T0421 was covered all over in a layer of grayish-brown dust as if he had weathered a sandstorm in the other end of the passage.

The Black Knight also brought back a recording with him.

"Minor traces of radiation detected!"

Little X immediately alerted, "Sir Godfather, please be careful. The dust particles on T0421 are radioactive dust."

"It's alright, this radiation is only in the range of several X-rays. Besides, I'm wearing the GS Combat Suit."

Chen Chen made a waving gesture. "It's not the void or the planet LV-223 on the other end?"

After a brief exchange, Chen Chen made the Black Knight get disinfected while he took the recording and played it.

Chen Chen was immediately greeted with the sight of a vast landscape.

The video showed broken remains of structures and a depressing amber sky spelling the end times. A ruthless sandstorm whirled on endlessly and the ruins of a city could be seen off in the distance. They were what remained of skyscrapers, the greatest badge of achievement left behind by mankind.

Chen Chen even saw a black tower-shaped building that had partly collapsed. It was the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Chen Chen's pupils shrunk when he saw this.

The passage did not lead to the planet LV-223 nor did it lead to a void in space, it led to Earth...

"Isn't this scenery quite familiar?"

Chen Chen mused pensively and turned to Little X. "If I'm not mistaken, the footage returned by the Black Knight should be the ending sequence in Alien 4, right?"

"Yes."

Little X answered, "I looked it up, there are two separate endings to Alien 4. One of them is where the protagonist Ripley and the cyborg Call overlooked the comely natural terrain of the Earth from their spaceship. The other ending is one where they landed the spaceship on Earth and upon walking out, found out that Earth and its cities were devastated with mankind seemingly wiped out.

"What's also worth mentioning is that in the latter ending, a destroyed Eiffel Tower could be seen as well. The footage taken by the Black Knight may display a different angle but it's otherwise completely identical..."

"I knew it!"

Upon receiving the conclusion, Chen Chen could not help but nod as he smiled bitterly. "USB drive, you're something alright. The movie I selected is Prometheus, but you went ahead and skipped to the timeline in Alien 4. Prometheus should be set in the year 2091 and the timeline of Alien 4 is set in 2381. It skipped nearly three-hundred years ahead..."

"So, it's just as we presumed, all the worlds connected via the USB drive cannot escape their fate of destruction?"

"Should we continue the mission then?"

Little X asked, "Even though Earth is mostly rendered a wasteland, there's still the chance of us finding the holographic imaging technology among the ruins."

Chen Chen immediately fell silent following the remark.

It was then when the test result of the previous Black Knight labeled T0421 was produced. Apart from the layer of radioactive dust on the Black Knight, there were no signs of any abnormal bacteria or viruses in the dust. It may appear that the virus was all killed by radiation.

"Since it's radioactive dust, then I believe the situation is clear."

Chen Chen went on. "This implies that there was a nuclear war on Earth which destroyed the Earth's habitat, bringing an end to civilization. This explains why there's so much radioactive dust.

"However, more so than the nuclear war, what I'm more concerned with is..."

Chen Chen suddenly altered his tone. "The exact motivation for humans inciting a nuclear war in the Alien universe. Or better yet, could they have started a nuclear war due to an external threat?"

"Are you referring to... A war between mankind and aliens?"

Little X remarked suspiciously, "If the people in the movie Alien 4 knows that Earth has been destroyed by aliens, then there's no explanation behind them stubbornly trying to keep the aliens in space. I believe that the people in the movie had no idea that Earth had been destroyed. It was only until the protagonist returned to Earth when they realized everything that had happened. All of this doesn't make sense at all."

"Your analysis is excellent, but you may have taken the wrong approach."

Chen Chen considered for a moment before continuing. "First of all, the ending of the movie only showed Earth as a barren wasteland, but there was no mention whatsoever of civilization perishing. This means that a nuclear war did break out, but humans were not completely wiped out.

"Second, the true subject matter in the Alien series isn't humans nor aliens. There's another far more secluded factor. With this clue exposed, the cause behind mankind starting a nuclear war becomes apparent."

"You're saying?" Little X sounded uncertain.

"Cyborg."

Chen Chen nodded. "From Prometheus onward, there was a cyborg called David. If it wasn't for him bringing the black goo on board and secretly feeding Halloway the scientist, the protagonist Elizabeth Shaw wouldn't have got pregnant and given birth to the octopus-like monster.

"From there on, in the sequel Alien: Covenant, David used the black goo to eradicate the 'Engineer' race, even killing the protagonist of the previous film, morphing her into the alien queen. You could say that David was the one behind the formation of the alien.

"That's not the end of it. There had always been appearances of cyborgs from the first Alien film to the fourth. It was not so bad in the first three films when people were still relatively tolerant of the cyborgs. However, from the fourth installation of the Alien series onward, there was a sudden major shift in people's attitudes toward cyborgs. Upon discovering that Call was a cyborg, there was a strong sense of distrust and disappointment. What does that make you think of?"

Chen Chen asked.

"Are you saying that there was a war between mankind and cyborgs? Following that theory, the poor state of Earth was the result of the war between mankind and cyborgs?" Little X was astonished.

"Yes, that's my speculation."

Chen Chen snapped his fingers. "The main theme of the movie Prometheus is a narrative of how the creator and the creation can co-exist. For example, the 'Engineers' created mankind but later decided to wipe them out. Humans created the cyborg 'David' who was responsible for vanquishing the 'Engineer' race and created the alien. There are many themes revolving around the director's perspective on religion and even Godhood. The way I see it, the most important element is David's attitude toward mankind.

"It's rather obvious that as a new form of life, David held a grudge toward mankind and all other life forms..."

With this in mind, Chen Chen could not stop himself from letting out a sigh. "No, perhaps it's not so much as a grudge, but a belief of 'impunity'. The life and death of mankind and all life forms are hardly more significant than an experiment to him..."

Chapter 272: Black Goo

Upon hearing Chen Chen's analysis, Little X remarked thoughtfully, "Which means that a nuclear war between mankind and cyborgs did break out. According to the details provided in Alien 4, mankind only managed to achieve a pyrrhic victory, even losing the ability to restore the Earth's condition in the process?"

"Yes, but now I suspect that mankind might have gone extinct."

Chen Chen replied.

"Why, didn't mankind emerge victorious? Or was it that mankind was unable to survive in the aftermath of a post-nuclear world?"

Little X was slightly confused.

"This speculation isn't related to the Alien dimension, it has to do with the USB drive..."

Chen Chen shot a glance at the USB drive plugged into the computer and expressed with a frown, "Alright, there's no point making all these assumptions, the most important thing now is to continue exploring. In this case, Little X, dispatch four Black Knights to head into the world and explore it and rendezvous in seventy-two hours. In this seventy-two-hour, collect as much information on the dimension as possible while prioritizing on safety."

"Understood."

Following Little X's response, four fully suited Black Knights immediately got up. They filed into the passage one after the other, vanishing into the computer display...

This time around, Chen Chen had expected the Black Knights to return empty-handed or potentially face their demise on the other end. Surprisingly, they returned to the rendezvous point at the seventy-two-hour mark, all four of them unscathed.

On top of that, the Black Knights brought back information concerning the environmental holographic simulator as well as titbits of cyborg technology and nuclear power technology similar to the ones in Elysium.

The Black Knights also returned with reports of the dimension on the other end of the passage. They had verified that human civilization in the dimension had perished.

Nuclear war was the cause for their extinction, but that was not the sole reason...

At this moment, Chen Chen was fiddling with a Rubik's cube in his hand.

This was a regular 3 by 3 Rubik's cube. However, anyone acquainted with Prometheus would know that this was also a form of mini holographic device. The only difference was that the functionality of these portable devices was not as complete as the large environmental holographic simulators.

In the opening sequence of the movie, Professor Halloway, the one who was drugged by David, had used this exact device to project the star pattern in the murals.

This magic cube device was found among the ruins by one of the Black Knights.

After being disinfected and thoroughly inspected to ensure it was harmless, it was delivered to Chen Chen's hands.

Following the sequence as shown in the movie, Chen Chen tried to click several buttons before clicking the play button on its center. The magic cube activated instantly, transforming Chen Chen's current surroundings into a room covered in rusted spots.

At the same time, a red-haired young lady wearing futuristic high-tech clothing appeared out of thin air before Chen Chen.

Her clothing was immediately distinguishable as high-tech wear because the suit managed to fuse its exoskeleton coverings with the fitting blue tights underneath. Despite it being tattered and full of stains, Chen Chen could tell it was something extraordinary at first glance.

"This is a holographic image!"

Little X marveled. "It's strikingly similar to the environmental holographic simulator. It also utilizes a form of light scribing technology in conjunction with the principle of refraction to restore previously recorded footage. In truth, your surrounding environment is still the same."

"I understand."

Chen Chen nodded and looked around him. He saw that the room projected by the hologram device was covered in rusted spots. Apart from a sealed door, there were no windows to be seen in the room while a dim yellow light source hung overhead.

This simulated environment filled Chen Chen with an overwhelming sense of dread.

The young woman standing before Chen Chen blended in very well with the surrounding environment. Her cheeks were sunken and dry, her expression haggard. Due to her hair not being washed for an extended period, they stuck together in unordered clumps.

Needless to be said, she was not doing very well here.

Chen Chen only surveyed his surroundings briefly before directing his full attention to this lady. At the same time, the lady began speaking.

"Today is day 875. Ever since Fusafa's death, I haven't been able to find any similar species, only strange monsters everywhere."

Her voice was unbearably hoarse and without any trace of emotion like a completely indifferent robot. It was only Chen Chen who was able to sense great despair underneath this monotone voice.

The voice continued. "I'm not sure how much longer I can keep doing this. A year or a month, maybe I won't even be able to last another week. I can only hide in the safehouse and await Death itself to come...

"Last night, a monster almost noticed me. Fortunately, I activated the emergency broadcast in time and distracted the monster with a noise in the distance. Otherwise, I may find myself in the underground nest of the monster upon waking up...

"Also, the food from the last forage was finished today. I have to head outside and forage again, I hope I get to record again, if at all..."

What came after were just regular ramblings. This lady seemed to be using this as an outlet to vent the pent-up pressure she was feeling. Without doing this, any other person would crumble under the pressure of having to survive alone in a post-apocalyptic world with monsters hunting them down.

According to Chen Chen's understanding, this device was found in the ruins. This suggested that it was extremely likely that the person shown in the holographic display had met her demise after heading out, otherwise, she would not have left the device behind.

"She may have referred to them as monsters, but what she's saying suggests that there are still aliens on Earth..."

Chen Chen expressed gravely as he turned to face Little X. "Are you sure the Black Knights didn't encounter aliens?"

"None at all."

Little X responded, "Everything the Black Knights saw was recorded in the chip. I've gone through the databank in the chip and didn't find anything concerning aliens."

"This means that the aliens have entered hibernation."

Chen Chen suddenly jolted and seemed to have realized something.

In the second installation of the Alien series, it was mentioned that humans had migrated to a planet called LV-223 and that there were alien life forms on that planet.

Initially, the colonizers did not encounter anything at all. As they began to build the migration camps and started to thrive on the planet, they awakened the alien that had been asleep underground for years. In the end, the entire migration base turned into a vessel for the aliens to reproduce.

"With no food available to them, the aliens entered a state of hibernation just like how cold-blooded animals hibernate during the winter. The only difference was that they could hibernate for far longer, up to several hundreds of thousands of years at a time."

Little X began explaining, "But what I'm more curious about is how these aliens made it to Earth. Is there a chance that your speculation was false? That the Earth was in ruins because of a major battle between mankind and the aliens?"

"Impossible!"

Chen Chen abruptly interjected, "The timeline in the Prometheus universe says everything you need to know. In 2091, humans were already capable of migrating to space. It'd be natural to assume that three-hundred years later in the Alien dimension, mankind would be more capable of doing so with far more advanced technology. By that point, mankind must have plenty of colonies in outer space. Aliens couldn't possibly completely eradicate human civilization.

"In that vein, as long as mankind wasn't completely wiped out, there was a small chance of Earth, the first home of civilization being simply abandoned. It's even more unlikely that Earth would be left in complete ruins. This is why I'm sure that the humans in the Alien dimension have been completely wiped out, including the colonies in other planets.

"Therefore, only the cyborgs who were tightly integrated into human society and potentially understood humans even more than humans themselves could've incited the nuclear war. Since the cyborgs had the same control over the internet network as humans did, the first thing they would do once they began rebelling was to launch nuclear missiles to destroy mankind's civilization. After that, they could assume control. This was the only chance the cyborgs had at emerging victorious!"

"Then how does this explain the hologram suggesting that there are aliens on Earth?"

The puzzled Little X asked.

"It has to be the work of the cyborgs."

Chen Chen sneered. "Isn't everything explained clearly in Alien: Covenant? David successfully blended into human society in the end. After the war between mankind and cyborgs where the cyborgs were wiped out, the humans suffered heavy losses as well. David, who was bitter about the defeat, sent the black goo to Earth as well as all the planets populated by humans.

"By this point, Earth had become a wasteland. Also, since all of the cyborg population was in the rebellion, none of the colonized planets was spared. Hundreds of years of human industrial development were left in ruins overnight and while they were the most vulnerable, an alien life form began to surface on Earth. What do you think happens after this?"

Little X was still somewhat doubtful. "Then why didn't David use the black goo right away? Judging by his fervent research on the black goo in the movie, wouldn't it be easier to wipe out mankind with the black goo than to resort to nuclear options?"

Chen Chen went on explaining, "There wasn't a lot of black goo. Besides, society wasn't as underdeveloped as the Engineers race civilization depicted in the movie to be so easily overcome by mere black goo. Even if black goo were to be used to create aliens, do you think they could pose a substantial threat to human civilization, regardless of how powerful they were?

"Forget about the future set several centuries from now, let's take our current age for example. Suppose that an alien egg appeared in one of the cities in North America and it successfully kills a human to give birth to an alien. After several months of growth, the alien evolves into an alien queen on its own and begins laying eggs, creating more alien eggs...

"Maybe within a short time, the alien population explodes into the range of hundreds or even thousands, but what happens after that?"

Chen Chen raised the question. "A large number of the population goes missing along with an even greater number of witnesses. These abnormal activities will surely alert the government. What comes after that is that the army will be mobilized with battle tanks and helicopters and the city locked down for them to rain hellfire on the aliens. Suppose that by that point, the alien population has grown to ten thousand, so what?

"Suppose that a handful manages to escape and sneak into neighboring villages or cities, so what? Worst comes to worst, the exact scenario is repeated with another city, which by this point the government will become far more alert. The moment they notice something amiss, they take the appropriate measures. The aliens that escape wouldn't have any time at all to repopulate.

"Suppose that there's a measly one-percent chance that the North American Continent suffers a devastating defeat in their first major battle with the aliens. What will the other continents do? Will the Earth Federation remain idle?

"All this is to say that the aliens may only prove to be a major challenge, but not enough to threaten the very existence of civilization. Especially if we're talking about modern civilization several centuries from here on."

"That's true, if this was in the ancient times or medieval ages, the aliens may be able to wipe out humans. However, this wouldn't be possible in modern times." Little X agreed.

"Therefore, nuclear missiles are still the best option for eradicating mankind. The black goo was only released when the cyborg realized they had been utterly defeated. In the end, the black goo became the straw that broke the camel's back."

Chen Chen concluded. "This is my speculation on the devastation of mankind in the Alien universe."

"I see..." Little X suddenly understood.

"Of course, there's no telling if this was what happened yet."

Chen Chen considered briefly before picking up the silver-white magic cube from the ground again. "Crack it. Chart a complete report of all the footage recorded by this woman, perhaps all of the answers we need are inside them."

"Understood!"

After Little X gave its word, Chen Chen returned to the computer where he shut off the passage.

Since he managed to acquire what he needed relatively easy on this attempt, Chen Chen decided to stop exploring for now. Just as he was about to unplug the USB drive, his hand suddenly paused mid-motion.

"Black goo..."

Chen Chen muttered to himself, "The functionalities of the black goo were clearly defined in the movies Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. It's a form of bioenergy in which a small amount of infection may cause genetic restructuring while infection in large doses may dehydrate and carbonize the body. Upon coming in contact with water after the carbonization, new DNA will be formed, thus giving birth to a new life form.

"The reason the Engineers race developed the black goo was to solve their struggles with continued reproduction."

Based on the movie narration, the Engineers race had an extremely long lifespan up to 330,000 years. However, their lifespan proved to be detrimental to them as somewhere along the lines, the Engineers race had lost the ability to reproduce.

So, they began searching for their "God", which was the alien-like life form shown in the murals in Prometheus. In truth, they were not aliens. Among the Engineers race, the alien-like God was referred to as "Deacon". By drinking the blood of Deacon, the Engineers may find hope for the continued reproduction of their race.

There was a good reason behind the Engineers worshipping Deacon and even believing that the Deacon's blood may restore their ability to reproduce.

In the extended cut of the movie, it was very subtly hinted that Deacon was the being that created the Engineers race. Later on, to restore their ability to reproduce, the Engineers began drinking the blood of Deacon. This was shown in the opening sequence of the movie.

In a ceremony resembling a sacrificial ritual, an Engineer having consumed the blood of Deacon was put to death, which the genetic of the dead was restructured to give birth to a new life form – humans.

The black goo shown in the later stages of the movie was merely artificial Deacon blood. After all, natural Deacon blood was scarce. Despite being an artificial product, it was still capable of restructuring genetics, its potential was unlimited...

The idea suddenly occurred to Chen Chen like a brilliant spark. Chen Chen narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Can it create new life?

"The only question is, will I be able to do it better than David did in the movie?"

Chen Chen murmured as the corner of his lips turned up into a faint smirk. He suddenly opened the USB drive again, slowly reaching into the display with his left hand...

Chapter 273: The True Nature of Black Goo

Shortly after, a dark cylindrical jar 40 centimeters tall and 15 centimeters thick appeared before Chen Chen.

Chen Chen took several paces back when he saw this all-too-familiar object, he ordered, "X, send this item to the Spire Experimental Base, put it in the highest grade biosafety laboratory."

"Understood, what do you plan to do with this object you instantiated?"

Little X asked curiously, "Based on what was seen in the movie, black goo seemed to only be able to create life forms like aliens."

"Nothing major, it's just that for someone dealing with biology research, a substance like black goo raises one's interest."

Shaking his head, Chen Chen expressed with a mild smile. "You won't be able to understand such human emotions for now. Also, the primary usage of the black goo is certainly for the creation of aliens, however, this isn't the only thing it's capable of."

"You mean to say ..." Little X asked with a mix of emotions.

"Based on what was seen in the movie, when the black goo infects its subject from the inside, it causes the cells to break down, which are then substituted with newly-formed DNA. In contrast, when it infects its subjects from the outside, it will begin to mutate rapidly and aggressively."

Chen Chen continued his explanation. "Later on in Alien: Covenant, David explained the usage of black goo again. The nature of the black goo is like an invasive AI, it disrupts substances and provokes unique reactions in each cell. From it, it reconstructs a new life form, its potential is immeasurable...

"Do you understand now? The terror of the black goo doesn't lie in its ability to create aliens, but in its ability to create a new life form. If a new advanced life form able to reproduce and evolve independently, this is a wonder unable to be replicated by any current technology."

It was only after Chen Chen finished when he unplugged the USB drive and disinfected himself thoroughly before exiting the isolation room.

An hour later, when Chen Chen returned the USB drive to the control center and returned to the Spire Experimental Base, the Black Knights had already taken the jar of black goo to a level-4 biosafety laboratory.

After going through the processes of disinfection again, Chen Chen put on the positive pressure protective suit properly. He then proceeded to step into the highest-grade biosafety laboratory that had been sealed till now.

Based on international standards, biosafety laboratories were divided into four grades. Level-one laboratory had a defined specialization and was proven not to cause disease such as measles virus and mumps virus.

A level-two laboratory researched microbial substances related to some common human diseases such as influenza virus, with a moderate degree of risk.

The three-level biosafety level laboratory researched high-risk microbial substances such as Yersinia pestis, rabies virus, and HIV. Biosafety laboratories of this level should already be equipped with advanced protective facilities.

The highest grading was the level-four biosafety laboratory. This class specializes in extremely dangerous microorganisms such as Ebola. Even the slightest drop of water or puff of air produced from the laboratory had to be decontaminated thoroughly before allowed to be disposed of outside the laboratory.

Meanwhile, Chen Chen had trumped the list with an even higher, level-five biosafety laboratory. Protective features, rate of contamination, all of the related features of this laboratory were several times higher than that of a level-four biosafety lab. Raising aliens in this place should not be worrisome.

The reason that the level-five biosafety laboratory was never officially put into operation was that no substance had ever passed the need for a biosafety laboratory above level-four. Even the BE-006 Blacklight virus that came close to wiping out the entirety of Africa was not subjected to a level-five biosafety laboratory.

Today marked the day for the very first time the level-five biosafety laboratory that had been vacant all this time was put into operation. There was no ceremony whatsoever. Not a single staff member of the Spire Experimental Base was informed of this, just like how it was with the T-virus which Chen Chen was modifying in the secret laboratory.

Entering the laboratory, Chen Chen first did a visual sweep of the environment. The level-five biosafety laboratory was not located on the top floor of the Spire, but on the unknown-to-public bottom floor.

Chen Chen had an isolated space excavated deep below the Spire Experimental Base that could sever the connection with the Spire above at any time. Covering an area of 5,000 square meters, there were a total of 13 laboratories all with different functions, and two sets of living rooms with four rooms and a hall. The implemented security measures were dialed up to maximum.

At the present, only four Black Knights tasked with the research operation entered with Chen Chen. Each one of them carried an identical disinfected cage made for mice. There were four groups of mice in total that would soon become the first subject for the black goo.

There was no need for Chen Chen to micromanage as the Black Knights displayed discipline above that of professors and started the experiment following all standard protocols.

One of the Black Knights approached a biosafety cabinet. Beneath the thick glasses of the cabinet, the jar of black goo could be seen sitting idly.

The level-three biosafety cabinet was designed for usage in level-three and four biosafety laboratories. They were suitable for use in extremely high-risk biology research. The cabinet was completely enclosed. The only way for the researcher to interact with the substance was by using the pair of built-in gloves joined to the inside of the cabinet. This was the reason it was also named the glove box.

The black knights swiftly reached in with his hands padded with protective suit material and began fixing the jar of black goo inside the biosafety cabinet.

Based on an observation of David in the movie, it could be seen that the jar was easily opened. The Black Knight only barely twisted the lid before the jar opened.

"The jar seems to be made of silica, hard and brittle, but not dangerous."

Little X provided a live narration of the angle of observation from the Black Knights' eyes.

Chen Chen remained silent and stepped forward. He immediately met a jelly-like substance inside the jar. There were four popsicles in the clump of jelly.

"This jelly-like substance should be a buffer, helps buffer and shockproof its contents."

Following Little X's mention, the Black Knight promptly removed the four popsicles. The popsicles miraculously popped out immediately, their surface completely unstained.

"The buffer solution appears to consist of nanomaterial, they are very silky and don't easily attach to the surface of objects." Little X made further observations.

Chen Chen had a good look at the popsicle-like objects as well. It was referred to as popsicles because the shape of the object closely resembled a popsicle, with split sections in between. The popsicles took on a semi-transparent form with mild green liquid inside.

The only difference was that the outer shell of the popsicles was made of glass material. Apart from a large portion of its contents being the green liquid, there was a small residue of black substance at its bottom.

When the Black Knight gave it a gentle shake, the black substance immediately fused with the green liquid, transforming the popsicle into pure black color.

This was the true nature of the black goo.

Chapter 274: Prion?

When Chen Chen saw this, his eyes grew solemn. In the movie, David had only added one small drop into a drink to infect a human adult, who had transformed into a humanoid monster within ten hours.

It was evident that the black goo was not a bacteria or a virus, but a very stable polymer compound. Otherwise, it would not be able to withstand the damaging effects of alcohol so easily.

At this time, the Black Knight was copying David's actions in the movie. He broke off the tip of the popsicle, then inserted a syringe from one side and extracted a very small amount of liquid black goo from the popsicle.

Some of the Black Knights immediately placed a part of the black goo under the microscope for analysis and observation while others injected the fluid into a white mouse that had been prepared in advance.

Soon, Chen Chen saw that the mouse injected with black goo had begun to develop fever and convulsions.

In no time, this little white mouse started to shed its fur everywhere and the pink skin under the fur was exposed to the air. However, at this moment, the other white mice seemed to perceive this abnormality and they all surrounded the sick little white mouse.

Nonetheless, this heart-warming scene was immediately subverted. The sick mouse suddenly leaped up, lunged ferociously at one of the mice, and began tearing it apart with its teeth!

At once, the white mouse that was bitten was bleeding all over!

"After being infected with the black goo, one will lose all sense of reason and become very aggressive."

Chen Chen observed silently. Quickly, the infected mouse easily killed the other mice in the cage. Chen Chen continued to note down. "After being infected with black goo, the host's strength will suddenly increase and it can easily kill others of the same species, as was shown in the movie..."

After recording all these changes, Chen Chen noted that the body of the mouse in the cage was turning from bright red to grayish-white. At the same time, it began to consume the flesh and blood of its own kind, seemingly to accumulate energy for the next mutation.

Soon, this little white mouse's body gradually grew a layer of stratum corneum, which began to blacken. Meanwhile, beneath the blackness, there were glimpses of crimson flesh.

In the end, a fine and dense layer of needle-like spikes came out of its body, replacing the original white fur. What was even stranger was that these spikes were still growing in and out endlessly. It was a chilling sight...

"This is a new species."

Chen Chen was astounded. He summoned a Black Knight, who then stepped forward, put on thick protective gloves, and extended the needle into the cage. As the Black Knight gently held the mutated mouse, he extracted a blood sample.

After it was caught, the white mouse began to struggle violently while unleashing a strange piercing scream.

This sound was beyond the normal vocal range of a typical white mouse. It sounded harsh and savage. This mouse had undergone essential changes in both its genes and body structure.

Nonetheless, although this little white mouse had mutated so terrifyingly, the difference in size still existed. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not break free of the Black Knight's grasp.

Still, before the blood of the mutated mice had been fully analyzed, the analysis of the black goo was completed.

When the composition of the black goo was determined, Chen Chen gasped in shock.

"Are you sure there's no mistake?"

As Chen Chen stared at the test report in his hand, he displayed a befuddled look. "You mean, this black goo is a protein composed of more than 20 amino acids?"

"Yes, it's a protein molecule that can infect a variety of carbon-based life."

Little X replied, "If the facts weren't right before our eyes, even I wouldn't believe that there's such a strange protein molecule in the world."

"In other words, is this something similar to a prion?"

Chen Chen inhaled sharply. "Then how does it infect people? Is it the same as prions?"

"Yes, based on the blood test of the mice, we've gotten a rough answer."

Little X said again, "But unlike other prions, this protein doesn't sediment in the brain and damage the brain of organisms. Rather, it directly alters the human genetic chain."

After hearing these words, Chen Chen understood it completely.

A prion was not a virus because in international textbooks, viruses were categorized as organisms. However, prions were not considered organisms but a system composed only of proteins, with traits of self-replication and infectivity.

Still, prions were filterable, infectious, and pathogenic, like conventional viruses, but they were much smaller than the smallest known conventional virus. The structure of their virus particles thus could not be observed under the electron microscope and they would not present an immune response.

As Chen Chen continued reading, he instantly understood why the black goo was a type of prion.

This was because when the prion protein of the black goo entered the host's body, the normal PrP protein of the human body would be easily assimilated by the prion protein of the black goo. The proteins with normal configuration would take on the molecular structure of black goo, which increased exponentially and expanded rapidly.

Even so, if that was all, the black goo would at most be a new type of prion that was rapid and infective. However, what was more surprising was that the prion protein of black goo not only had the ability to assimilate proteins in the host's body, but also the ability to disassemble nucleic acids in the host!

When the black goo's prion protein encountered the host's nucleic acid chain, it seemed to trigger a certain program to begin disassembly of the host's DNA nucleic acid chain and recombine it into a new form.

After the nucleic acid chain was recombined, the black goo's prion protein would also envelop this new nucleic acid chain to form a new virus structure.

At this point, the prions in the black goo had successfully evolved into a complete virus by plundering the DNA of organisms. This virus would work with the black goo to carry out a second transformation of the host's body.

All of this had happened with that little white mouse's body...

After reading the report in his hand, Chen Chen looked even more troubled. "It's no wonder that the black goo can be extracted through the USB flash drive. I didn't expect it to be a prion-like substance. But based on this report, I think that the prion protein of black goo is more like an artificial protein robot..."

"I thought so too."

Little X echoed, "The black goo is hundreds and thousands of times more amazing than prions. It cannot be defined as a prion at all.

"After all, it's the supreme creation of the Engineer civilization."

Chen Chen nodded and said with emotion, "Still, at this point, I finally understand the precious value of the black goo. Compared to the black goo, the T-virus is like a cheap toy. Most organisms infected by the T-virus suffer from unstable disadvantages such as zombies. Only products that are infected at the stage of being fertilized eggs can become healthy mutant creatures.

"However, the black goo is different. It can be used directly on adult life forms. Any organism can directly mutate into a new species after coming into contact with it. What's more remarkable is that this new species has the ability to reproduce. It's completely possible to form a new population independently, unlike the T-virus that can only mutate on an individual basis without any way to continue."

"Doesn't that mean that the black goo can accelerate the evolution of life?"

Little X asked.

"No, there's still a disparity between this and evolution."

Here, Chen Chen paused and shook his head. "What is evolution? Only the transformation through constant adaptation to the environment can be called evolution. This isn't the case at all with black goo. From the fate of the little white mouse, we know that the changes caused by this black goo are better understood as uncontrollable mutations.

"Moreover, the direction of this mutation is uncertain. It may be in a good direction or a bad one. Even humans are likely to lose the characteristics and intellect of high-level creatures after infection, just like in the movie..."

"Ah, if the black goo is so dangerous, then why do you still want to examine it?" Little X suddenly turned puzzled.

"Although the black goo is dangerous, there are two sides to everything."

Chen Chen smiled. "After all, it's a biological weapon that is dozens or even hundreds of times stronger than the T-virus. It's useful. Besides... The Engineer race could live for more than 300,000 years and humans were created from the combination of Engineers and black goo. In that case, is it possible that we can uncover the secret of the Engineers' longevity from the black goo?"

Chapter 275: New Way of Thinking

The reason Chen Chen had extracted the black goo was ultimately to use it as a longevity technology.

Why was Chen Chen obsessed with longevity? In other words, why did human beings pursue longevity?

It was because this was an inevitable phenomenon.

As science and technology became more advanced, mankind was bound to be unwilling to live for only a brief one hundred years. Compared to the span of time measured out in hundreds of millions of years, a hundred years was like the twinkling of an eye, almost meaningless.

Furthermore, with the development of science and technology, the accumulation of knowledge became increasingly difficult. In ancient times, people could inherit the wealth of knowledge accumulated by civilization in just ten years of diligent study.

However, in modern times, a nine-year compulsory education could only build a mere foundation. Human knowledge had been divided into hundreds of branches. One person could only obtain achievements in a few branches in one lifetime.

The accumulation of civilization's sum knowledge would only grow more abundant. Did it mean that in the future, a person would have to undergo compulsory education for decades?

By the time someone had painstakingly acquired the knowledge of a field, would they be near their deathbed then and be cremated and buried in just a few years?

Clearly, no one wanted this. If human civilization were to move forward, the need for longevity would become more urgent. This was a general trend that would not be shifted by anyone's will.

According to what Chen Chen knew, there were probably three options for human beings to attain immortality.

Number one: keep their bodies and undergo genetic evolution.

It was true that the conventional means of human evolution employed reproduction as a way to make different groups evolve simultaneously. However, this did not mean that humans could not choose more efficient ways of evolution such as genes.

Humans could use genetic technology to strengthen themselves, putting humanity ahead of the pack. Evolution would occur in advance, thereby extending life.

This was the most ideal path.

Why so? As the human body was a sophisticated and complicated machine, it was composed of organic matter, not steel.

Perhaps this body was extremely fragile that a bullet or a sharp knife could terminate human life, but human beings also had the ability to multiply and evolve. They were capable of thought, consciousness, creativity, and personal agency.

All this was made possible by that fragile body.

The human body was a jewel born through a process of evolution that took millions of years, the most magnificent miracle of nature.

As long as human beings had complete bodies, there were unlimited possibilities.

Number two: Flesh was out, machines were in.

Although the potential of this path was not as great as the first option, it was a path that more readily promised longevity and even something close to immortality.

For example, the bionic technology that Chen Chen was zealously developing — replacing old organs was like replacing the parts of a machine. In this way, life could last longer.

If one were to be even more radical, one could also choose to keep the brain only and replace the entire body with machinery, so that the lifespan of human beings would be equal to the lifespan of the brain.

The lifespan of the brain alone was one hundred and fifty years. If this was combined with some special technology, the lifespan of the brain might be doubled a few times.

Nevertheless, although this method would easily allow people to live longer and further ensure the security of existence, it lacked part of the potential that all life should possess. Thus, unless civilization was at its end, Chen Chen would not regard this path as the main one.

The third and last path was the method of soul sublimation.

The rough idea of this path was: abandon the body and exist in the world in the form of a soul. Human beings would develop into a ubiquitous, yet incorporeal civilization.

It was just that modern science had not yet confirmed the existence of the soul, so this path was just an idea for now.

Chen Chen still remembered what Professor Wang Xi said: "We humans are still completely ignorant in the face of the boundless ocean of truth. Perhaps a distant, impossible dream like immortality is only the first step in the search for truth..."

It was this statement that sparked Chen Chen's desire for longevity.

Chen Chen came back to the present. Now, he was staring at a humanoid monster covered in black armor in the isolation room, whose head was like a winter melon. Chen Chen's expression was a probing one.

This monster had still been an ordinary human a day ago.

His name was Patton. He was once a murderer sentenced to life imprisonment. He was later purchased by Chen Chen and kept in the Delta-level experimental dormitory of the Spire Experimental Base.

Still, this Delta experiment subject started his journey mutation after being injected with five milliliters of black goo yesterday.

The experimental subject first showed pathological signs of flushing and fever, then hemorrhages all over the body, confusion, and finally a descent into a state of shock.

Within the body, the proteins of the experimental subject were rapidly converted into the prion protein of the black goo. At the same time, these prion proteins began to decompose the DNA of the experimental subject and combined with the DNA fragments, forming a retrovirus that only affected the experimental body itself.

After that, because of how the retrovirus functioned, the subject started to undergo violent physical mutations. During the mutation process, the subject developed an intense sense of hunger and any organic matter and protein were devoured as sustenance.

By this morning, the subject drifted between sleep and consciousness, then finally lost all rational thought and became an ugly monster with low intelligence and no humanity.

"The black goo promotes the forceful and rapid division of biological cells, greatly increases the mutation rate, produces all kinds of abnormal cells, and eventually produces a new organism..."

While he described the functions of the black goo, Chen Chen looked at the monster in the isolation room and sighed. "However, when the genes of the organism itself are altered in an instant, the combination of individual proteins, enzymes, and the DNA itself would cause tens of thousands of unpredictable results. Therefore, it's no surprise no matter what the experimental subject becomes, but... This appearance is really ugly...

"However, after being infected by the black goo, the test subject exhibits extremely high energy metabolism efficiency and cell division rate, both unprecedented in the human body."

Little X added. "Before the black goo was injected, the subject weighed 55 kg. After the black goo was injected, the subject spent five hours consuming food equal to his own weight. Only half of this amount was converted into useless urine and excrement that were discharged from the body. All the rest has been converted into the bodyweight of the subject."

Chen Chen looked at the report in his hand. Sure enough, the bodyweight after the mutation had now reached 80 kg, which was 25 kg more than before.

"This is probably why the alien grew so fast."

As he observed the enlarged test subject, Chen Chen pondered aloud. "In the movies, the aliens can often grow, in a few hours, from a small size into a beast that weighs hundreds of kilograms. Although the movies rarely show the aliens eating, it now appears that the aliens still need to eat, with a greater eating capacity than humans."

At this point, Chen Chen suddenly took two steps forward, walked to the window of the isolation room, and looked at the subject carefully.

As Chen Chen approached, the test subject in the isolation room suddenly burst out in a screech and immediately pounced toward Chen Chen!

"Bang!"

There was a loud impact as the test subject hit his head on the glass of the isolation room. A large amount of light yellow blood splattered on the glass.

"Intelligence is very low."

Little X sounded rueful. "And the blood isn't corrosive. Besides a head that's somewhat similar to the alien's, the experimental subject before us can only be regarded as an alternative zombie at best."

"That's to be expected. In the movie, the process of the aliens' birth requires the participation of the Engineers."

Chen Chen explained, "The alien exoskeleton has a mechanical aesthetic, which is derived from the exoskeleton structure worn by the Engineers. Later, in Alien: Covenant, there's a spore plant infected by the black goo. After the spores infect the human body, a white alien form without a mechanical-style exoskeleton will be born, which illustrates the problem.

"Thus, the acidic blood of the alien may also come from the Engineers."

With this in mind, Chen Chen snapped his fingers lightly. "Okay, let's dissect this monster into sections. I need a diagram of his organs and a gene map..."

"Understood."

...

This took a few more hours. When Chen Chen walked out of the laboratory, he heaved a long sigh.

To Chen Chen's disappointment, when the subject was completely dissected and sliced, Chen Chen did not find anything unusual. The subject did undergo genetic recombination, but after the recombination, it was just a savage beast without intelligence.

Even its brain structure had become much smaller and its plasticity was not as good as human's.

Still, Chen Chen knew that this was a normal phenomenon. Human beings could be regarded as the supreme product of the Earth, the only high-level life form. It was impossible for the black goo's mutation to make humans even better than before.

The only thing that surprised Chen Chen was that the test subject was originally a male, but when it was dissected, an immature reproductive organ was discovered in the body.

It was a cyst structure that existed in the lower abdomen. After opening it, he found that there were dense piles of larvae that looked like tadpoles.

Those tadpole-like larvae were fully transparent. Their biological structure was simple, but they were alive. They were first conceived in the cyst but would be released later at a critical time.

Looking at the structure of this cyst, Little X could roughly determine that when these tadpole-like larvae matured, they would be ejected through the belly button of the test subject before they penetrated their target's body as parasites.

This was how this new species reproduced — parasitic reproduction that was similar to the aliens, simple yet horrifying.

At present, it seemed that Chen Chen could forget about using the black goo to strengthen the human body. Drinking it would certainly be a fatal move. Its lethality was comparable to paraquat. However, if it was used to develop chemical weapons, that should be relatively easy.

Next, one of Chen Chen's research directions would be to combine the black goo with spore plants to form the kind of spores that could parasitize the human body, as in the movie Alien: Covenant.

He wondered how David in the movie discovered this idea. After parasitizing the human body, the spores would not cause humans to mutate but instead form an embryo in the human body.

Following that, the embryo would grow silently, until it was able to break away from the human body. Then it would break out through the back or chest and grow into a white-skinned creature, like the alien.

Chen Chen had to admit that he still had a long way to go in terms of researching the black goo.

Even so, at present, it appeared that the reproduction method of the monsters produced by the black goo was parasitic reproduction. Even the perfect creature that was finally born — the Alien — was the same. This reproduction method reminded Chen Chen of a virus.

A virus called Golgotha or G-virus for short.

This virus was almost the same as the black goo. It could also mutate biological genes, resurrect the dead, and even give birth to a new species on the basis of infecting a life form.

It even earned itself a label: a "thoroughly evil substance" that went against God.

The crucial thing was that the G-virus was modified from the T-virus.

"I could try to combine the black goo with T-virus. Maybe there will be new discoveries..."

Chen Chen had a flash of inspiration and he started to muse in silence.