Chapter Eighteen: Martial Arts

To truly embark on experimentation, a complete tree of knowledge is absolutely indispensable. Without it, you wouldn’t even understand what happens during an experiment—how could you speak of research at all?

In some respects, Adonsa’s ideology is singularly pure. The distractions and muddled thoughts of humanity—laziness, procrastination, fear, hesitation—are entirely absent from Adonsa. It can devote, with perfect focus, the full force of a mind amplified tenfold by parallel brains to the pursuit of learning. Eidetic memory is but a rudimentary skill.

In the acquisition of hard knowledge, Adonsa has an unparalleled advantage. In merely three days, it had mastered all the advanced courses. Hand it a graduate-level biology exam, and it could answer over ninety-nine percent of the questions without the slightest hesitation.

Perhaps it’s an exaggeration to say it could see the whole from a single detail, but within a specific domain, mastering seventy or eighty percent of the knowledge makes deducing the remaining portion a matter of course.

In actual research, Adonsa performed with a finesse and brilliance surpassing even the rising stars and seasoned veterans of the biological sciences. The technical hurdles that left humanity baffled for years, Adonsa overcame in a flash of inspiration—after all, the evolution of life was its innate talent. It was born knowing how cells should differentiate, how muscles should contract, how nerves should conduct signals.

While the world’s greatest scientists exhausted themselves rallying global efforts to classify protein structures and decode genetic codes, Adonsa needed only a glance to discern the trait expressed by each base pair.

This had nothing to do with knowledge, but everything to do with instinct.

Just as fish are born to swim, birds to fly, in the realm of biotechnology humanity could never hope to match a parasite like Adonsa, created purely for the sake of evolution and endowed with a certain spiritual acuity.

Of course, if Adonsa stood still while humanity advanced for five or six centuries, the outcome might well be different.

Ultimately, Adonsa is simply a superlative life form with a high starting point, not an innate deity. What it lacks is merely the knowledge and time required to unlock its full potential.

As its reservoir of knowledge grew, the bodily modifications it once performed by instinct became smoother and more efficient, marked by a calculated elegance. Adonsa could even sense the loosening of layer upon layer of shackles, a lightness never felt before, making its parasitic transformations ever more effortless.

Yet, after a brief moment of exhilaration, Adonsa became acutely aware of an invisible barrier before it—a shackle limiting all its potential within certain bounds, preventing it from transforming at will.

This shackle was the “difference between species.”

It is precisely this difference that makes a tiger a tiger, a lion a lion, a human a human—and it also constrains Adonsa from altering its own life form.

There might be shortcuts, but unless this problem is truly solved, Adonsa could never take a bold new step on the path of evolution.

Sharpening the axe will not delay the cutting of firewood. With all the preparations complete, it was time for Adonsa to formally launch its evolutionary project.

The project was distilled into two succinct topics:

“Gene-Directed Expression Technology” and “Gene Editing Technology.”

In fact, these two areas had already been the subjects of extensive human research. The famous genetically modified foods are a manifestation of gene editing technology. Humans have already edited antibiotic-producing gene fragments into yeast, harvesting large quantities of high-purity antibiotics. Simply by programmatically splicing a few desirable genes into yeast, precious medicines can be mass-produced—an application whose significance is obvious.

Gene-directed expression technology is more ambiguous. If a person subsists long-term on high-calorie foods, causing their metabolism to retain excess fat, sugar, and protein, that too is a form of gene-directed expression—albeit a harmful one.

During various stages of human development, gene-directed expression plays an irreplaceable role, guiding the formation of regular facial features, limbs, internal organs, and the central nervous system.

Should gene expression become disordered, humans grow distorted and grotesque—albinism from a lack of tyrosinase expression, dwarfism or acromegaly from growth hormone imbalances.

All of these are natural cases of gene-directed expression.

If artificial gene-directed expression technology were perfected, one could control the body’s form at will: tall or short, fat or thin, beautiful or ugly, old or young, wise or foolish—everything would be determined in a single thought.

What would happen if these two technologies were perfectly integrated? Would that not mark Adonsa’s true entry into a new phase of evolution?

The answer would soon be revealed.

Yuan Liming sat back in his familiar armchair, eyes half-closed in comfort.

But at the sound of steady footsteps, he instantly sharpened his gaze and stood up.

Li Zhicheng entered, pushing open the door. “Not only did we have to bail you out, but we had to secure for you the highest position and authority in the Social Security Bureau. It took a great deal of persuasion. You should have seen the look in the former director’s eyes—he looked ready to devour someone.”

Yuan Liming was no stranger to the brutality of power struggles. He could only deflect, saying, “It’s just basic political negotiation. You people are so out of touch with reality—do you really consider yourselves a ruling class, acting so indolent?”

Li Zhicheng retorted disdainfully, “Do you think martial arts training drains one’s energy? Who’s got the time to deal with those tedious mundane affairs?”

Yuan Liming frowned. “Then why has the capital, Tianjing, ended up in such a state? The central government turns a blind eye, local authorities are corrupt and autonomous—the nation is barely a nation, families barely families.”

Li Zhicheng was about to reply when Guo Yixian preempted him. “The Council of Elders chose to withdraw the main leaders into the background. That’s not something you need to know. Just focus on helping us catch the man-eater and the terrorists.”

Yuan Liming pondered for a moment. “Man-eater... that term is actually inaccurate, much like you wouldn’t call a tiger a man-eating tiger—it’s an unnecessary label.”

Guo Yixian’s eyes narrowed. “So it really isn’t human?”

Yuan Liming began to pace. “It’s most accurate to describe it as a beast in human skin. But unlike a beast, it’s clever—and it’s getting smarter.”

Guo Yixian frowned. “What do you mean?”

“When the first murder occurred, the scene was a bloody mess—the stench of blood was so intense you could smell it down the street. But the more murders followed, the more concealed and clean the scenes became. Only the keen noses of police dogs could yield any clues. Now, we’ve gone nearly three days without a single reported homicide. Its ability to hide has grown ever stronger. Doesn’t that suggest its intelligence is rising rapidly?”

Yuan Liming spoke with some regret. “My greatest mistake was misjudging its nature—a beast with intelligence. Its physical prowess and ruthless cunning have torn our net to shreds and landed me in jail.”

As he finished, a trace of self-deprecation slipped into his tone, revealing how deeply he remained troubled by it.