Initial Symptoms

Chen Chen slowly opened his eyes.

It was as if a blind man had regained his sight. What appeared before him was like a brand new world.

The lamp overhead was flickering at a frequency that could otherwise not be observed by the normal eye.

Figures were going back and forth from the gap below the door to the emergency room.

Furthermore, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant. They came in waves one after another…

All of this information appeared vividly in his mind as everything he saw came to life. The sound of footsteps, conversations and even the tempo of their breathing…

Not a single detail went unnoticed.

It was like watching a real movie and having the movie resolution switch from 360p to ultra HD 1080p, every frame was complete.

Everything in the world remained the same and yet it was like the world had been turned upside down.

That was right, the world remained unchanged. What changed instead was Chen Chen's perspective of the world.

Countless inspiration danced about in his mind. He only had to invoke a thought to recall any memory and knowledge, from the most minute detail to the most significant.

He seemed to have suddenly recalled something. Chen Chen lifted his eyebrow and pulled out his phone and looked up the word Limitless. Only this time, Chen Chen added several additional words behind the phrase and added "TV series".

The poster and summary of the TV series Limitless instantly showed up on his search results.

"In the conclusion of the movie, the main character, Eddie Morra, finds out how to counteract the side-effects of the drug. But since it wasn't shown in the movie, the flash drive isn't able to instantiate it.

"However, three years later, the movie was readapted into a TV series. Due to the longer runtime, the TV series will need a more engaging story than the movie. Therefore, there's an eighty percent chance that the TV series will reveal the solution to counteracting the side-effects of NZT…"

The idea flashed through Chen Chen's mind.

For some reason, both the TV series and movie version of Limitless were blocked in Mainland China. Only a brief introduction of the series could be found on the official website. It was not possible to watch them.

However, it was on the internet. After some further investigation, Chen Chen was able to find all episodes of the TV series on an inconspicuous niche website.

Chen Chen skipped to the final episode and fast-forwarded it to the end of the episode.

Sure enough, in the TV series Limitless, the solution to counteracting the side-effects of NZT-48 was revealed.

It was something known as an "immunity shot."

According to the TV series, there were two categories of "immunity shot". One of them rendered the user immune to the side-effects of NZT for several weeks. The other kind granted the user permanent immunity to the side-effects of NZT.

There was only one permanent immunity shot in the world and it only made an appearance in the twenty-second episode, the grand finale.

This meant that if Chen Chen was able to get his hands on this permanent version of the "immunity shot", he would be able to use NZT-48 to his heart's content without having to worry about side-effects.

Chen Chen closed his phone and leaned back on the chair.

Even though they were both parts of the Earth Federation, perhaps due to political reasons, Mainland China and North America had always been at odds with each other.

The battle they were fighting was not necessarily a war but a competition of culture, information, technology, economics, and various other forms.

Therefore, now and then there were TV series originating from North America that were not audited by Mainland China, which included the TV series Limitless.

In Chen Chen's memory, he was just randomly browsing online when he came across news of Limitless being adapted into a film series. He was only fourteen-years-old at the time.

He had only casually glanced past it at that time where this information was then buried into the mountain's load of information swarming on the internet.

Furthermore, even if the TV series was a big hit in North America, he still would not have thought of it when he got the flash drive seven days ago.

This was the effect of NZT-48…

Within three minutes of taking the drug, he was able to pick up distant memories from four years ago to help him find the solution to combat the side-effects of NZT.

He had taken the wrong approach in his very first step.

Chen Chen reflected silently.

Choosing NZT-48 was not the most optimal option, the best option would have been the Crystalline from Chronicles.

Why say so?

It was because researching the flash drive would require a great, great, great deal of funds.

Even if the technology was unable to explain the existence of the flash drive, it would still be very worthwhile to solve the energy problem of the flash drive.

As long as the flash drive had ample energy, the possibilities were endless.

If Chen Chen had selected the superpower, he would have millions of ways to attain a large number of funds.

However, NZT was different.

NZT was just a drug used to stimulate the brain. Though its value was immeasurable, if Chen Chen really wanted to use NZT to make money, he would first have to accumulate enough knowledge, only then he could use that knowledge to help him make money.

Suddenly, there was an additional step in the entire process.

He did not need to even bother with the idea of using the stock market to make money. First of all, Chen Chen did not have the capital funds needed.

Secondly, it usually took years for stock prices to fluctuate. If Chen Chen wanted to use the stock market, he would have to resort to high-risk maneuvers like chasing the peak, short-term speculation or taking loans.

Furthermore, the stock market in China was manipulated by stockbrokers.

Besides, the NZT-48 drugs were numbered.

Chen Chen had calculated before that the sack contained exactly five hundred pills. Each pill lasted approximately twelve hours.

Even if Chen Chen only took one pill per day, it would only sustain him for one and a half years.

Not to mention the significant drawbacks of NZT-48.

If the flash drive were to become unusable, Chen Chen would not be able to find other solutions for dealing with the side-effects of NZT-48. Things would certainly get interesting then…

In conclusion, NZT-48 was not the best selection available.

Since the choice had already been made, there was no point regretting now.

Chen Chen continued thinking while heading toward the door.

At this point, Chen Chen had verified that the NZT was not lethal hence, there was no need to remain here.

However, when Chen Chen passed by the pair of mother and daughter, his ears suddenly jerked. He promptly turned to the little girl and said to her, "Your father will be coming out soon."

"Really?"

The little girl adorably raised her head.

The young mother beside her was taken back. She raised her head in astonishment and looked at Chen Chen.

What she saw before her was a boy with a pair of clear eyes like a pool of dark crystal without a trace of impurity in them. She could even see her reflection in those eyes

"He's a hero, he'll turn the situation around."

The boy smiled gently, then turned around and left. What he said seemed to make no sense but was somehow very convincing.

The little girl looked back at her mother innocently. "Mom, is what the brother said true?"

The young mother opened her mouth and did not know how to answer her. At that moment, the door to the emergency room number two suddenly opened.

"May I know who the family members of Yang Yuexin are?"

A stretcher was pushed out of emergency room number two. One of the nurses turned to the pair of mother and daughter who was getting up hurriedly. "You must be the family of Yang Yuexin. After the operation, the patient's condition has stabilized for the moment. Why don't you head inside and sort out the official documents."

"Ah!" The young mother was so surprised that her body trembled. "Alright! Alright…"

…

After Chen Chen had left the hospital, he took the subway back to the school.

It was not some sort of act of prophecy that helped him determine that the little girl's father was safe. It was because Chen Chen had heard the conversation coming from inside the emergency room.

The television on the subway had broadcasted the incident earlier. Even though Chen Chen did not pay attention at that time, after taking NZT, he was able to notice that the little girl's eyebrows were identical to the eyebrows of the brave man on the news.

In addition, the incident occurred on Renmin Road, which was not far away from Shangdu People's Hospital. If they called 120, it was very likely it was Shangdu People's Hospital that had dispatched an ambulance.

The age, time, and location added up. Coupled with the little girl's appearance, anyone would be able to identify the pair of mother and daughter.

Of course, being able to identify them was one matter. First, you had to be able to extract all this information from all the other countless information in your brain and then form a connection between them.

Chen Chen, who had taken NZT, possessed the exact skill to do so.

Astonishing perception and deduction ability. Everything the eyes saw, the ears heard, and every single memory and information could be instantly utilized to string together a connection to form a plausible explanation…

This was what NZT-48 was capable of.