Chapter 120 – “Brain Theory”

The factory renovation was still being rushed along without a moment’s pause. It was expected to be finished within the next few days.

Before heading home, Su Lifeng went to the laboratory and had a discussion with Shen Fei and the newly arrived experts.

“You’re saying this is the true body of a Xenospecies?” A biologist with a modest reputation in the country stared at the Black Thread in front of him, listening to Su Lifeng’s explanation with disbelief written all over his face. If there had not been news reports beforehand and a sample right in front of him now, he would never have believed a word from a kid like this. But the facts were right there. This unremarkable little thing was actually a Xenospecies.

A creature like this obviously did not belong to Earth’s biosphere, but Su Lifeng had no way to explain the Spatial Gate to them, so he simply glossed over the issue and continued, “Yes, but this is only one type of Xenospecies. I can’t say for certain whether the others look like this too. What I can say for sure is that this threadlike organism can’t be understood solely through biological common sense from Earth. Besides possessing multiple unusual traits, it also has a very high level of intelligence.”

“But if you’re hoping to find their brain through dissection, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Maybe they don’t have brains at all. Or maybe every one of their cells contains a miniature brain, with the ability to store knowledge, think through problems, and communicate with one another.” Su Lifeng picked up a glass slide as he spoke.

“Exactly.” Another biologist nodded in agreement. As soon as they had moved in, they had thrown themselves into work and had already dissected the corpse of that E-class Xenospecies together with Shen Fei. Yet Su Lifeng had pointed out the problem they were currently facing the moment he came in, without even doing anything himself: when dealing with Xenospecies, dissection alone could not produce any substantive progress.

Su Lifeng was not surprised by this. If Xenospecies were that easy to study, the countries around the world would not still be stuck in a passive position.

“So we might as well consider it from this angle. You may have already noticed that among the material I provided, two samples possess a certain degree of similarity.” Su Lifeng placed both Li Yi’s and the current E-class Xenospecies’ blood samples and experimental test reports together. “This similarity isn’t the same as blood relations among humans, but the concept may be similar. Compare their cellular test results, and it isn’t hard to see.”

“And if we combine that with the idea that cells are the ‘brain’… Su-Ge, you mean?” Shen Fei thought for a moment with a frown, then asked.

“No, no, no. I’m only speculating. Perhaps these cells can sense one another through some kind of bioelectricity…” Su Lifeng said aloud, but the Wisdom Species inside his own body suddenly came to mind.

Those Xenospecies could sense one another, and they could also distinguish whether the other party belonged to their own “kind.” It was like blood relations among humans, only far more direct. As for the Wisdom Species, it could go a step further and become an information hub among these Xenospecies, with even stronger sensory ability.

“Now that I’ve completed the Wisdom Species, is it possible that I have gained sensory ability as well? If so, it would be equivalent to having an extra alarm for Xenospecies or Mutants.” Su Lifeng had been researching Xenospecies for so long, and apart from caring deeply about their genetic changes, this was what interested him the most. However, after trying once before and finding nothing, it was only now, after completing the Wisdom Species, that the idea was stirred up again.

“Want to try?”

Su Lifeng focused all his attention on the blood sample before him. The bright red gradually replaced his surroundings, becoming the only color in his eyes. He did not know how much time passed. Then, in a daze, Su Lifeng suddenly heard a heartbeat by his ear.

Thump.

A heartbeat, faint and distant.

“That’s one possibility! Plenty of living creatures have abilities like that, don’t they? We’ve just boxed in our own thinking…”

“But it’s still only an idea. Until the experiments produce results, I won’t make wild guesses the way you people do!”

The experts’ heated discussion rushed back into Su Lifeng’s ears all at once. He snapped back to himself, and that heartbeat felt almost like an auditory hallucination.

“Su-Ge, what do you think? We should start researching this immediately, right?” Shen Fei suddenly turned to Su Lifeng and asked.

For a moment, everyone fell silent and looked at Su Lifeng. Every person here could be considered reputable, even famous, within the field. But when it came to the Xenospecies research project, none of them dared look down on Su Lifeng, someone who by all rights should still have been their student. Perhaps when Su Lifeng first walked through the door, they had not taken a young man like him seriously. Now, however, they had no choice but to be convinced.

Whether in terms of ideas or his understanding of the Xenospecies, Su Lifeng was far ahead of them. In just a few sentences, he had pointed out the most critical issue and found the direction for their next stage of research.

“Of… of course…”

Under everyone’s gaze, Su Lifeng finally recovered from his earlier shock and continued, “Their ‘brains’ are the most worthwhile thing to study. Aside from Telepathic Communication, I suspect their weaknesses are also related to the brain. But by ‘brain,’ I don’t mean theirs. I mean the brains of living creatures on Earth. The simpler a creature’s thought processes are, the faster they can absorb… infect it. But creatures like humans are much more complicated for them.”

“You can start experimenting in that direction first. I have something else to take care of, so I’ll be leaving now.”

That heartbeat was still echoing through Su Lifeng’s mind, and he had no desire to keep discussing things with them. He hurriedly said his goodbyes.

Just then, a biologist suddenly caught up with him and stopped him.

“You probably don’t know me…” The biologist looked to be around seventy. The top of his head was somewhat bald, and his eye sockets carried the sunken look and dark circles that were practically the trademark of researchers. Even his smile seemed rather “out of practice.”

“May I ask…” Su Lifeng paused, then felt a little awkward. The moment he had entered, Shen Fei had impatiently dragged him over to the lab bench, and then the discussion had begun. He had mostly been the one explaining things, so he really had not had time to get acquainted with these people.

“No need. You know how it is. None of us care about those empty formalities. You only need to know that He Jingyu and I go way back.” The man interrupted Su Lifeng, then looked at him with some excitement and said, “What I wanted to say is, Old He really did take in a fine student. These may not be good times, but they are precisely the times when people like us can be useful. Young man, you’re impressive. Very impressive. Who knows? In this era, you may make a name for yourself. Perhaps you can even win Huaxia a tremendous reputation on the international stage.”

After saying this, he reached out and patted Su Lifeng on the arm, then hurried back to his own work.

Su Lifeng stood where he was for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

He had been regarded highly… in the most unexpected area of all.