(Thanks to the book friend "Streamline under the Sky" reward, don't make a crazy 12,000 urge, the author still wants to live a few more years.) Please search, the novel is better and faster and faster!

Corbister Lab 1, the largest laboratory in the building, has been completely remodeled. The security team in uniform in uniform is on guard with guns and patrolling around, not to mention the super security measures that have been built with a lot of money in the open and in the dark.

"Oh God! Are you going to turn this place into a military base or a prison? Gilbert Gordon's eyes widened as he looked at the rows of cells made of special steel in the deepest part of the lab.

"Dr. Gordon, you are the person I have the most high hopes for, and I will entrust you with the most core and important research project of the Corona Corporation." Li Jie looked at the laboratory that had initially completed the transformation, although it was still relatively simple, but it could only be done for the time being.

"What the hell is the experiment?" Speaking of this, Gilbert couldn't help but ask curiously, he is also the only laboratory leader who has not received a new R&D plan until now. If Li Jie can't fulfill his original promise to lead a team to carry out cutting-edge genetic engineering research, he will not hesitate to leave Corona.

"Dr. Gordon, what is the future of humanity?" Li Jie did not answer his question, but walked slowly and leisurely, and finally stopped in front of a steel cage, where an experimental chimpanzee was staring at him with wide eyes, curious and wary.

"What do you mean? The future of human development? Gilbert Gordon didn't understand what he meant, and looked puzzled.

"Where do humans come from?"

"What is the essence of human beings?"

"Where is the future of humanity headed?"

Li Jie threw out one question after another in his mouth, and at the same time gently tapped the special railing as thick as a child's arm with his fingers, making a crisp sound, and the chimpanzee inside was so excited that he let out a howl in his mouth, obviously a little angry, but he didn't dare to step forward, so he could only keep spinning in place anxiously.

This is the ultimate proposition that has always plagued humanity. Doctor, what do you think about this? Li Jie watched the chimpanzee move as if he had seen the most interesting thing in the world, but his mouth was talking about the future of humanity as if it were inconsequential.

Who am I? (who_am_I?) Where am I from? (where_am_I_from?) Where am I going? (where_am_I_going?)

These three questions are known as the ultimate three questions in human philosophy, and they are also the biggest mystery that has plagued the sages of mankind. In the end, different disciplines gave completely different interpretations, theology, Buddhism, chemistry, biology, physics, ......

And Li Kit asked Gilbert Gordon this question, apparently from the perspective of biology.

In fact, the scientific community has different views on the future of humanity.

There is a part of the view that it is no longer possible for humans to divide into several species, because they now occupy all imaginable ecological foci (Note (1)). In today's globalized world, interactions within the entire human group are too frequent to form any form of long-term effective segregation that may lead to species (Note (2)) events. Although it is true that there are genetic variations in human genotypes (Note (3)) that can be used as appropriate selection materials, the conditions present are different from those when Homo erectus evolved into Homo sapiens. Humanity now constitutes a large society, and there is no indication of any natural selection that can be selected for a more superior genotype, and correspondingly, it is impossible to produce a more capable and superior human race than it is now. As the ameliorating choices cease to work, there is no chance of evolving a more superior human species.

Another view is that progress has been made in genetic engineering research on microorganisms, plants, and animals, and that the heritability of the target can be improved by removing harmful genes or increasing the amount of favorable genes, changing the original gene structure, or the amount of original gene expression, so as to obtain the superior varieties that humans need. Therefore, it is also possible to carry out human genetic engineering, delete and add to the genes of human beings, change their regulation, and even reconstruct the human genome to achieve the purpose of improving the human race!

Gilbert Gordon, who was clearly a proponent of the second view, did not notice that Lee's wording seemed alienated and cold to the term human, but became interested in the question, and after careful consideration, replied: "Human beings are intelligent creatures, and the rapid development of science and technology has determined that we will be able to find ways to improve ourselves by reconstructing the genome." ”

"Doctor, I've done an in-depth understanding of you, your research direction is human genetic engineering, right? -- That is, the 'improvement' of human genes. Li Jie nodded, not surprised. Now that he knew what Gilbert Gordon had been working tirelessly in, he could have guessed which point of view he had.

"To be precise, it is to reconstruct the entire genome through the 'correction' and 'improvement' of individual genes in human autologous reproductive cells." When it comes to his major and research direction, Gilbert Gordon calms down a lot and unconsciously begins to correct Li Jie's statement. Germ cells (germ_cell) are a general term for cells in the human body that can reproduce offspring, as opposed to somatic cells, and genetic information is not passed on to the next generation like germ cells. That is, the modification of somatic cells is limited to the experimental subjects themselves, while the modification of germ cells is a revision of the future of the entire racial group.

"Sorry, what I said may not be accurate, you are the authority."; Li Jie casually made an apologetic gesture and continued. "A great scientist once put forward the idea that human genetic engineering, the transmission of information through external non-biological means, has the opportunity to put humanity above the world and to increase the population exponentially, so that we can increase the complexity of our internal record, i.e., DNA, without waiting for the slow steps of biological evolution, and completely redesign DNA to create an improved or even more advanced human race.

"This is what Mr. Stephen William Hawking said, and his greatness is incomparable." Gilbert Gordon had a feverish look on his face, like a believer hearing someone talk about God. Stephen William Hawking is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding physicists after Newton and Einstein, and is known as the "King of the Universe".

"But, as Mr. Hawking has said, even if we spend hundreds or thousands of years researching, it offers only a glimmer of improvement. So, there's a good chance you'll not see a breakthrough in your lifetime, so why are you willing to work on it, doctor? Li Jie stared at Gilbert Gordon in front of him, his gaze deep and difficult to see.

"The progress of science requires the sacrifice and dedication of countless people! In addition, many gene therapies have been successful, and since genetic manipulation in somatic cells can be realized, I believe that genetic engineering of people targeting germ cells will also be realized! Gilbert Gordon became agitated, splattering and flushing cheeks, as if he had been poked in the foot, apparently believing that Li Jie was still as unoptimistic about his research as everyone else.

"I admire your willingness to sacrifice for humanity and for science, Gilbert." Li Jie inadvertently changed his name to Gilbert Gordon, as if he saw his prey crawling towards the trap step by step, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. "So what if there was an opportunity to speed up this process and reduce the time frame of research from hundreds to thousands of years to decades, years, or even less?"

"What?! How is this possible? Gilbert froze, although he firmly believed that the future of human genetic engineering was bright, but he did not have much hope that it would be realized in the short term, and it would be nice to be able to make some sporadic breakthroughs.

"If there is a species that is more perfect and more evolutionary than humans, then it should be more fruitful than your current blind research by mixing in genetically modified humans, right?" Li Jie smiled irrefutably, but meaningfully.

"Humans are already intelligent beings of the highest order! Of all known creatures......" Gilbert Gordon suddenly stopped as if he had been choked by the neck.

In front of him, the originally handsome Li Jie started from the top of his forehead, and countless crimson scales like blood pierced the skin and burst out, extending down his face, occupying every inch of his body in a matter of seconds. The muscles and bones of his whole body grew wildly, and his skin rose and fell like waves, and he noticed indescribable changes every moment, almost in the blink of an eye, he turned into an image of a demon god with a body more than two meters high.

This terrifying demon god has six pairs of thick horns on his forehead, large, medium, and small, and the whites of his eyes have all become as black as ink, and his body is covered with armor full of metallic texture, the scales are deep and vivid like blood, and the profound and mysterious lines on it are naturally looming, and the breath of endless vastness and destruction fills the entire space.

Gilbert Gordon felt as if everything around him had disappeared, and the whole world was only Li Jie in front of him. Although he became unrecognizable, he was as powerful as a god, full of strange, mysterious, and unobtrusive beauty, as if every scale and armor was the most perfect creation from God.

The large and small experimental creatures that were originally emitting all kinds of strange cries in the cage seemed to sense something, and all of them were shocked and trembled, and there was a dead silence.

Li Jie, who revealed his true body, lowered his head slightly, and a pair of golden pupils appeared in his dark and deep nightmarish eyes, turning slightly to stare at Gilbert Gordon, and his open mouth revealed dense sharp teeth, and his voice was ethereal and vast: "Gilbert Gordon, are you willing to surrender to me and contribute to science and the evolution of human beings to a more perfect species?" ”

There is such a perfect species in the world! Gilbert felt that his breathing and heartbeat were completely controlled by the majestic presence in front of him, and several attempts to open his mouth could only make a meaningless syllable in his throat in vain......

―――――― the dividing line of terror――――――

Note (1): Ecological stove (ecological_niche), also translated as ecological niche and ecological melting pot, refers to the utensils used for artificial catalysis in a specific biological or physical environment, which can be understood as a relatively closed and unique ecological environment (for example, the ancient Eurasian continent and southern Africa and the Americas had geographical isolation and different ecological environments, so the races in these areas are very different).

Note (2): Breeding refers to the formation of exotic species (allopatric_speciation), which occurs within groups living in different regions, and leads to the formation of reproductive isolation mechanism between two groups due to geographical isolation.

Note (3): Genotype, also known as hereditary type, is a general term for all the genetic combinations of an organism.

(The story has just begun, friends who have enjoyed watching it, please vote more and collect more to give me some motivation!) ）