Chapter 42: An Unexpected Rumor a

Puzzlingly, after this, Yao Kui did not continue to harm anyone he encountered, but instead walked alone toward the wide lakeside, looking as though he intended to jump in and drown himself. By the time numerous security guards rushed to the lakeshore, he had already collapsed from exhaustion.

Ultimately, this thrilling wounding incident was classified as a medical accident. Covetous of exorbitant profits, the Life Reconstruction Laboratory of Country W's Surreal Stem Cell Treatment Center had injected abnormal stem cells into a client, causing the client to suffer genetic mutations and temporary insanity. Severely violating stem cell usage laws, the center was ordered to suspend operations and slapped with a hefty fine of 300,000 euros.

As for Yao Kui, he received a staggering compensation of 100,000 US dollars and was safely escorted back to his home country.

The failure of Country W's abnormal stem cell treatment left Chen Houyan filled with trepidation, his heart pounding like fifteen buckets drawing water—seven buckets up and eight buckets down. Although the chairman had not yet blamed him, he knew very well that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world; this matter could by no means be settled so easily.

Nursing his anxiety, Chen Houyan poured out his grievances to Yao Kui: "Chairman, I am truly sorry for what happened this time. Those foreigners only care about money, and they are completely untrustworthy. We had clearly agreed to use the cytokine formula I prepared, but who could have imagined that they would secretly add genetic components from other animals..."

Upon hearing this, a surge of sudden rage ignited in Yao Kui's heart. He never expected that Chen Houyan would use such immature technology to treat him as a test subject—this was sheer madness!

Seeing the chairman's expression grow increasingly dark, Chen Houyan hurriedly explained: "Chairman, all the faults and errors are entirely mine! Yet I remain firmly convinced that as long as we can acquire ancient genes, I will surely make you undergo a total transformation and grant you a new lease on life."

In truth, Yao Kui's heart was also filled with helplessness. Although this experiment had ended in failure, he had genuinely experienced the miraculous changes brought about by the stem cells. Little did he know, a genetic mutation was currently triggering unprecedented changes deep within his body.

After returning to the country, he frequently felt abnormally energized, especially when angered; his skin would gradually turn green, and a fierce, violent impulse would well up inside him. At the same time, the muscles and skin all over his body had become exceptionally tough and strong, save for the fact that this appearance was truly hideous and unsightly.

Just at that moment, an online report hit like a blockbuster bomb, instantly detonating news headlines across the Himalayan region. Rumors spread that an asteroid was about to impact the Earth, and even the legendary wildmen were reportedly roaming the plateau.

As soon as this news broke, the scientific community exploded into turmoil, with various opinions and voices emerging and endless arguments ensuing. People universally plunged into panic, with many believing that this omen heralded the end of human civilization on Earth. It was just like the Asteroid Adonis from a few years ago, but that time it had turned out to be a close call with no harm done, whereas this time would be like the catastrophic doom that befell the dinosaurs back then, facing the complete annihilation of mankind.

Although reports of this nature had always been strictly restricted for fear of causing social panic and unrest, the news had spread by word of mouth and had already caused severe consequences in society.

This sudden rumor deeply shocked Yao Kui, but Chen Houyan was ecstatic. Highly emotional and with his voice trembling slightly, he said: "Chairman, our turning point has arrived! This indicates that the world is about to undergo a major transformation, and the timing is now ripe. I hear that wildmen have appeared; if we could capture a wildman, it would be immensely helpful for our cultivation of the God gene. I stand by what I say: only humans who have undergone genetic modification are truly pure humans."

"By the time you find a wildman, the Earth will be gone," Duan Jinhu, who had survived the catastrophic floods caused by Adonis, said bluntly.

A slight, disdainful smirk hung on his face.

Yao Kui thought to himself that a few days ago, certain religious masters had prophesied that the Earth would suffer divine retribution; could humanity truly be facing the Final Judgment?

Chen Houyan immediately retorted: "Brother Jinhu, are we simply going to ignore the chairman's illness?" This question left Duan Jinhu momentarily speechless, not knowing how to reply.

Chen Houyan continued: "With the God gene, we can re-cultivate genetic tissue. This will not only benefit those suffering from illnesses, but it will also be a tremendous boon to the entire degenerating human population."

With that, he turned to face Yao Kui, his gaze filled with firmness and a promise: "I swear that I will make you shed your mortal coil and be reborn, becoming the most perfect person in the world."

"Don't feed me empty promises," Yao Kui frowned, a flash of skepticism crossing his eyes.

Chen Houyan hastily explained: "Not at all. Look, my newly developed Type I Gene Potentiator is complete, and you have personally experienced its efficacy."

Yao Kui recalled that a few days ago, Chen Houyan had claimed to have developed the Type I Gene Potentiator, stating that it could suppress his condition. At the time, he didn't think much of it and took the injection. His condition had indeed stabilized considerably afterward, but the hyper-energetic state of his body had not only failed to diminish—it had become even more robust. His muscles were taut and powerful, as if he had practiced an invulnerable martial art body-conditioning technique, making him virtually impervious to blades and spears.

Yao Kui was both troubled by his own bizarre affliction and secretly elated by the special abilities he had acquired. Yet he remained entirely unaware that this Type I Gene Potentiator had been extracted and refined by Chen Houyan from cold-blooded animals.

Sensing that Yao Kui's mood seemed slightly improved upon his return this time, Du Yanxiang spoke softly: "Chairman, why not let him look for it? If he really finds it, wouldn't that be a happy ending for everyone?"

Yao Kui reflected that things had reached this point, and reproaches were of no use. Since he could not become a perfect human, he might as well become a superman. Despite his dissatisfaction etched across his face, he said: "For Yanxiang's sake, I still acknowledge you as an expert in charge of the Fukuijian Group's bio-gene modification project. You must step up your research on stem cells and find the God gene as soon as possible."

Knowing he had committed a grave error, Chen Houyan had never expected the chairman to be so magnanimous, not only sparing him from blame but even allowing him to continue leading the search for the supreme gene. Tears of gratitude welled up in his eyes as he repeated endlessly: "Rest assured, Chairman! Rest assured! This time I will ensure everything is foolproof and will never let you down again!"

Yao Kui glanced at him, let out a cold "hum," said nothing more, and departed with Du Yanxiang...

The various rumors regarding the asteroid also affected Shen Xingyun in the research office of the Lijiang Astronomical Observatory. With a fluttering heart, he once again cross-referenced the comprehensive data of the Little Shenxing asteroid group with the members of the Lijiang Star-Universe Observation Team.

In fact, the threat and panic posed by asteroids to the Earth had a long history, but only insiders knew that under normal circumstances, if an asteroid about 50 meters in diameter were to impact the Earth, it would burn violently in the atmosphere and trigger an explosion, releasing energy equivalent to several megatons of TNT. This would be sufficient to cause devastating local impacts and highly likely trigger a series of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and fires. However, if a 1-kilometer-wide asteroid were to strike the Earth, it would release an immensely massive amount of energy, potentially triggering global climate catastrophes and leading to the mass extinction of numerous species. It would be just like the Chicxulub asteroid, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter, that struck the Earth 65 million years ago and directly caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Therefore, from the perspective of catastrophic destruction to Earth's ecosystem and the grave threat to the continuation of human civilization, even if just a single asteroid several kilometers or more in diameter successfully impacted the Earth, the consequences would be unimaginable and catastrophic.

After several days of intense work, the analysis results finally came out. The moment they saw the data, everyone was utterly shocked, for this asteroid's orbital range had reached 13.9 kilometers, and its trajectory appeared extremely unstable.

Yuan Jie asked anxiously, "Professor, will this state have any connection with the Earth?"

Frowning, Professor Shen said uncertainly, "Perhaps." According to preliminary measurements, they would merge into Earth's orbit in the near future and were highly likely to collide with the Earth.

He decided to report the recent changes in outer space and on the plateau to the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The observatory attached great importance to this major discovery and promptly notified the Committee on Astrometry of the International Astronomical Union.

Upon receiving the report, the committee held emergency meetings over several days and ultimately named the asteroid "Little Shenxing" after Shen Xingyun.

Shen Xingyun felt no joy whatsoever that an asteroid had been named after him; instead, he grew even more uneasy. The transient excitement upon discovering the asteroid vanished instantly, forcing him to face the grim reality before him.

He said to his assistants with deep concern, "Although the Earth was fortunate enough to escape the Asteroid Adonis last time, can we be that lucky again this time?"

Climbed up a tall bookshelf to search for reference materials, he thought to himself that nature was like a double-edged sword, capable of both benefiting humanity and bringing devastating destruction upon it. What should they do if Little Shenxing really crashed into the Earth? This was a matter concerning the survival of all mankind.

Shen Xingyun reviewed the contingency plans the world had formulated back when facing Asteroid Adonis, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly as he finished reading them, for those plans were indeed devoid of any new ideas. He reflected that it seemed the Adonis asteroid of years past was merely a warning to humanity; hidden within the vast and boundless universe were tens of thousands of other lurking dangers.

At the same time, the unexpected appearance of this asteroid also reminded him of another issue: the neutrino experiment being conducted by Su Chunyang in the Himalayas. Because this experimental station was engaged in antimatter research, it could easily render the Earth a target of attack if things went wrong.

He suspected that this experiment might have triggered a localized collapse of the Earth, causing the orbits of certain special celestial bodies in the surrounding spacetime to shift. He decided he must talk to Professor Su Chunyang, but little did he know that Beijing had already prepared to dispatch a secret envoy to Kunming...