Chapter 178: Gene Expert

“Xia Fei, you’ve taken Amethyst before, haven’t you?”

Xia Fei shook his head. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. You don’t have much time, so I hope that you stop talking about irrelevant things. All I care about now is your identity, your motives, and why you’re spying on me.”

It was inaccurate to say that Xia Fei did not have a menacing aura. Although he was still quite young, every time he got serious, the air would be enveloped by palpable killing intent. After all, not many people in this world had been through hell, but Xia Fei just happened to be one of those few.

Anyone who made a trip back from hell would have this unique quality. This quality was inviting yet dangerous—something no words could describe, but if it had to be put in word, ‘despair’ would probably be the closest one.

When someone had gone through a hellish experience, they would emanate something that made their opponents feel a sense of despair. This had nothing to do with their strength as it was a pressure purely out of temperament.

Surprisingly, Harris was not overwhelmed by Xia Fei’s killing intent, saying with a bitter smile, “Of course, it’s relevant; it’s my life’s work, after all.”

Xia Fei could not understand why Harris looked so forlorn.

“What’s Amethyst?” Xia Fei secretly asked Phantom.

Phantom was even more confused than he was. “How would I know?”

Harris looked outside the window, saying in a depressed tone, “Amethyst is also known as purple jade—a type of gene optimization fluid. If I’m correct, you probably consumed it, and that’s why you’re able to open your seventh brain region fully.”

Xia Fei glanced at Phantom, only to find the latter’s mouth completely ajar and Phantom very still as though his spirit had left his body.

Of course, Xia Fei was shocked, too. A fully opened seventh brain region was his biggest secret thus far. Xia Fei was only who he was today not just because of his unique way of doing things and tireless efforts but also that bottle of purple liquid.

‘His life’s work?’ Xia Fei pondered inside. ‘Does this mean that Harris has a deep connection to that bottle of purple liquid?’

Despite being deeply shaken, Xia Fei still looked calm and composed. “Harris, I have indeed consumed a purple gene optimization fluid, but I can’t be sure that the bottle is the same as the Amethyst you’re referring to.”

Harris stared at Xia Fei. “The Amethyst has a slightly sour taste. Depending on one’s physique, it takes effect one to fifteen minutes after consumption. At that time, the cells in the body will overheat from being on overdrive, causing the temperature of one’s body to increase. An eighth of a second later, the cell activity starts affecting the normal functions of the brain, making a person feel groggy to the point of fainting.

“The seventh brain region will start opening at this moment. The explosive overdriven cells start hitting the barriers one after another, then 30.96 seconds later, the seventh brain region will be completely opened, but the cell overdrive will last for another minute and a half before ending.

“I know all these experiment metrics, but unfortunately nobody has been able to survive the two horrible minutes. Everyone who participated in the experiment all died without exception. You’re the first one to survive after consuming Amethyst,” said Harris in a deep voice, yet his tone held a trace of excitement.Harris

Xia Fei glanced at Phantom who was at the corner of the room. After consuming the gene optimization fluid, Xia Fei fainted, so he had no clue what happened next. When he opened his eyes, his seventh brain region was already fully opened.

Phantom nodded, agreeing with everything Harris said. As a witness of the incident, Phantom obviously knew everything.

“How did you manage to survive? Not one out of the thousands of participants lived to the end, yet you did. Could it be that you have an extraordinary physique?”

Xia Fei lit a cigarette before saying plainly, “I encourage you to worry about yourself. Even if you manage to prove that I’ve consumed Amethyst, none of that is your business.”

“Why would it have nothing to do with me? I invented Amethyst. I’m Harris, the former first executive officer of the Alliance Gene Research Center,” quipped Harris, who was actually Harris.

Xai Fei smirked. “So what?”

Harris was left speechless. Even though Xia Fei managed to survive the violent medicinal properties of Amethyst, it did not clear up any problems. The other thousands of deaths were still on his head, and he would surely be punished for it once he returned to the Alliance.

Harris let out a sigh before going through his story from the start.

“Back then, I was one of the top researchers in genetics, specializing in the humans’ seventh brain region. In order to learn more about the mysterious seventh brain region, I’ve looked through countless information left by the ancient civilization. I discovered that the seventh brain region is just like a wall, locking up the humans’ abilities. If we could successfully remove the blockage, humans would reach previously unthinkable heights.

“The seventh brain region is locked up by something known as the zero-degree mezon. It’s quite a weird thing. All newborns have completely opened seventh brain regions, but twenty-four hours after their birth, the zero-degree mezon will start multiplying in countless numbers, and seventy-two hours later, they fully lock up every new-born baby human’s seventh brain region.

“I discovered, through years of research, that in ancient times, the seventh brain region of humans was completely opened, but some time later, the zero-degree mezon started appearing, turning humans into incredibly ordinary individuals, perhaps even weak.”

Harris’s narration got himself quite worked up. “Did you know? This is quite unfair. Humans should be an incredibly powerful race that could ignore the entire universe, but that thin layer of zero-degree mezon caused humans to become completely ordinary. Humans aren’t as battle-fueled as insectoids, not as smart as the Na’vi.”

Harris rubbed his red eyes in melancholia. “From then on, I’ve spent dozens of years looking for a method to break the zero-degree mezon, and I’ve never given up despite all the failures.

“All the blood sweat and tears weren’t for nothing, for I eventually found a mineral that could neutralize the zero-degree mezon, Nocxium. This unique mineral can trigger the most extreme powers from the cells. After a specific sequence of events, it can completely destroy the zero-degree mezon. It would break through the barrier and allow humans to have a completely opened seventh brain region.

“Unfortunately, without the seventh brain region, humans become incredibly weak. Thousands of volunteers died because they weren’t able to survive the energy change in their cells, and thus, I’m now a wanted man to the Alliance.

“I wasn’t satisfied with my experiment ending just like that, so I came all the way here in this desolate, unoccupied area, hoping to find a new material that can counteract the zero-degree mezon. After some time, my money began to dwindle, and slowly I became a smuggler.”

Harris let out a bitter smile. “If my parents were still alive, who knows what they would think about their incredible son who became a smuggler?”

Xia Fei would have never guessed that Harris was a top-tier geneticist; it was just that his actions were somewhat insane.

Perhaps it was also because Xia Fei was also somewhat deranged, for he did not find Harris’ actions to be too much. Of course, Xia Fei was not okay with that one aspect of doing human experimentation without knowing the dangers of Amethyst withheld.

“You said that you’ve done research for decades; wouldn’t it mean that you’re well over a hundred?” asked Xia Fei.

Harris took a few moments to recall. “If my memory serves me right, I’m probably a hundred thirty-six years old this year.”

Xia Fei was surprised. From his looks, Harris appeared to be sixty years old at most, but his real age was more than double that.

“Really? You don’t look that old at all.”

Harris laughed. “You probably don’t know that every increase in the level of a person’s ability, their lifespan increases with it. Apparently, there were a few during the ancient times who reached immortality. There are probably a few like that in the Alliance, but they are so high up that we will never have a chance to meet them.”

Xia Fei finally realized that although Qin Mang, Thuram, and the others looked incredibly old, they were still of decent mental and physical capacities. This was probably because of the level of cultivation they had. As for their real age, Xia Fei had never looked into it.

“It is as he said; the higher the cultivation status, the longer you live,” concurred Phantom.

Xia Fei furrowed his eyebrows. “Why are you only telling me this now?”

“You’ve never asked.”

Xia Fei pouted before continuing his questioning. “You’re in this uninhabited area for this long; have you found the material that you’ve been looking for?”

Harris shook his head. “No. Space is incredibly vast, and this uninhabited area is just a small part of it. As long as I live, I’ll travel even farther to look for it.”

Xia Fei could not help but be moved by Harris’s resolve.

Anyone who worked hard to achieve their goals deserved to be respected. Everyone had dreams when they were young; some dreamed of being scientists, some dreamed of being presidents, and so on, but how many of them actually worked hard and managed to achieve their dreams? Even if they tried, how many would keep going, never giving up?

Although Harris was quite insane, at least he had been trying hard all along without entertaining any notions of giving up. Nobody could refute this fact. Xia Fei never liked the so-called rules, so the deviant Harris, in the eyes of a judge, was just an overly stubborn person; it was just that his methods were all wrong.

“I truly understand you,” Xia Fei said plainly.

“You understand me?” Harris was confused.

Xia Fei nodded. “It’s just that you went at it using the wrong methods. There are many in this world who don’t deserve to live; you should’ve used those people if you wanted to do human experimentation. Only you could come up with experimenting using innocent humans. If I were the judge, I’d give you the death penalty.”

With that, Xia Fei stood up and was ready to leave.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?” asked Harris.

Xia Fei smiled. “No need to be in such a hurry. I can take your life any time, but I still have some questions that I would like to mull over.”