Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1225: Chapter 66: Life Forbidden Zone

“Wait a moment…” Ren Ziling said, beginning to pull out her phone and enter a search, “Got it, Will Douglas…”

Will Douglas, a well-known researcher in the field of bioengineering, was an early participant in the ‘Human Genome Project.’ This project wasn’t an independent group or personal undertaking, but a grand collaboration of major world powers at the time.

The grand project involved numerous different teams and lasted sixteen years.

Finally, in 2006, Will Douglas’s team published the gene sequencing of the final human chromosome—Chromosome 1. With this, the ‘Human Genome Project’ reached its completion, announcing that the decoding of the human genome had achieved 99.99% accuracy.

However, for six years following this, Will Douglas wasn’t satisfied with the 99.99% completion and wished to uncover the remaining percentage completely. What he wanted was a complete picture, not just a blueprint with seemingly no differences.

Finally, seven years ago, Will Douglas personally advanced the 99.99% progress to 99.999%, even discovering a unique chromosome never seen before. This discovery was heralded in the field of bioengineering as ‘possibly the true Life Forbidden Zone,’ ‘the ultimate secret of God’s creation of humanity.’

Thanks to this enormous achievement, Will Douglas was awarded the Nobel Prize in bioengineering the following year, gaining global fame!

Interestingly, less than three months after receiving the award, Will Douglas was exposed by a foreign media outlet for committing ‘the most severe fraud in biological history.’ The unique chromosome he claimed to have discovered wasn’t actually found in the human genome; it was merely an artificially synthesized creation by Will Douglas himself with little real significance.

The foreign media outlet somehow obtained Will’s research data and detailed his process of synthetic chromosome creation, pointing to the significant transfer of benefits between the award committee and Will Douglas…

“… This matter caused quite an uproar in the international media back then.” Ren Ziling said while sucking on a lamb chop bone, “The lawsuit dragged on for quite a long time. Eventually, the award committee retracted Will Douglas’s prize, and several committee members were permanently expelled. After paying a substantial fine, Will Douglas vanished… Why are you all looking at me?”

“Sister Ren is really passionate about work.” You Ye smiled slightly.

Ren Ziling paused and then said awkwardly, “Occupational hazard, occupational hazard… Forgot today was a celebration. Ahahaha… Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s continue eating!”

…

No alcohol was served at the meal, and Ren Ziling, with her belly nearly bulging from food, drove away alone after dinner… Mammy Ren prudently left the remaining time to the young people.

After descending from the hotel’s top-floor self-service restaurant, Boss Luo and his maid strolled leisurely on the street.

“Is the master thinking about Dr. Will?”

Luo Qiu nodded and chuckled, “Setting aside the unique chromosome affair, 99.999% progression is quite an astounding research.”

The maid smiled, “With technological advancement, human cognition has reached the microscopic atomic level. As long as the data is sufficient, obtaining the entirety of humanity’s superficial genome is merely a matter of time.”

“Life Forbidden Zone…” Luo Qiu glanced at the various passersby beside him.

The maid suddenly said, “Actually, 99.999% is the limit; the next steps aren’t purely within the realm of life genetic engineering.”

Luo Qiu asked curiously, “Then what is it?”

You Ye replied, “Soul engineering.”

Luo Qiu knew that before joining the club, she had already explored many times and spaces under Its guidance, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Have you encountered it?”

The maid reminiscing said, “Yes, there was one.”

“Which world?”

“They gathered the entire world’s power to create what was claimed to be a perfect soul. As a result, the moment this soul was born, the entire world entered its demise. All conscious beings met their end in an instant. The world’s method turned into a Dead Star.”

Speaking, the maid gently caressed her long hair, “At that time, Angel Legion and I could only reconstruct this event roughly based on some leftover records we could find, plus some speculations. Until we left, no new life appeared in the world… Now I don’t know if it has regained its vitality.”

Luo Qiu was more interested in another matter, “What about the soul claiming to be perfect? Since it’s already born, does it still exist?”

The maid shook her head, “No idea. However, when we discovered this world’s world will, it was already very weak… It had no binding force on us outside explorers.”

“Did this perfect soul collide with the world will?”

“Possibly.” The maid naturally extended her hand to pat the master’s shoulder where a tender tree leaf sprout had landed, “If the master wishes to know about the current development of that world, You Ye can go take a look since I still remember the time-space coordinates.”

“Let’s not rush for now…” Luo Qiu held her hand and continued strolling, “The assessment is in two days. Besides, between times and spaces, a little time doesn’t make much difference… By the way, something interesting happened today.”

The maid showed a curious expression.

Luo Qiu slowly recounted the afternoon encounter with Nan Xiao Nan.

Before they knew it, they had already returned to the front of the club located in the commercial pedestrian street, where Luo Qiu took out a soft pillow.

The maid, evidently seeing the mysterious Star Creation Creature for the first time, was very interested in studying it.

“From now on, you will live here…” Luo Qiu looked at the pillow essence with a smile, then added on a whim: “Accompany Luo Ya.”

This child rarely leaves the room, probably because her power has been completely stripped away, spending most of the time asleep with very little waking time each day.

Luo Qiu couldn’t always be by Luo Ya’s side. There were times when she woke, and he wasn’t there, leading to missed opportunities.

You Ye tried several means, so far only allowing Luo Ya not to resist, but lacking much progress in the relationship… Luo Ya clung to him, to which Luo Qiu was quite helpless.

He wondered whether this Star Creation Creature, Miansu, could bring some opportunity.

He suddenly remembered the discussion about soul engineering on the way back with the maid, his heart was stirred… Could Star Creation Technique, count as another expression of soul engineering in the magic principle?

Really wanted to see the principles of this Star Creation Technique soon.

Anyway, he didn’t have to buy it himself…

…

…

Nan Xiao Nan suddenly shivered and then blew on her cold hands… She had the feeling of being held in someone’s thoughts.

Was it the super powerful Senior pressing the world will onto the ground?

Soon, Nan Xiao Nan dismissed this thought.

Given the terror of this super powerful being, what could possibly make them interested in me… It’s probably that mysterious guy targeting Nan Xiao Nan from behind.

All the way, Nan Xiao Nan didn’t feel anyone tracking her… It seems what this super powerful being said about things continuing only after she left wasn’t an exaggeration.

However, Nan Xiao Nan quickly remembered another matter.

Luo Qiu had mentioned before that he’d encountered someone similar to her, apparently called… 24.

“Not long ago…” Nan Xiao Nan suddenly felt uneasy, “Could it be… among the lost ones, there’s someone like me appearing in this city?”

At the time, the situation was critical, and she didn’t have time to consider the others’ movements. They all descended here amidst great danger, likely being extremely cautious, reluctant to expose themselves — searching would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Yet, from the hints in Luo Qiu’s words, she keenly caught the possibility of another stowaway being here as well.

“Last time a curse mark was found on Hai Dagui’s body; this type of curse power doesn’t seem native to the Sub-world… Among my enemies, none are skilled in using curse techniques…” Nan Xiao Nan popped a chocolate bean into her mouth, chewing as she muttered, “In that case, it might just be the unlucky guy caught in my battle with my enemy.”

Thinking of the previous stowaway trembling before Luo Qiu, Nan Xiao Nan’s mood instantly brightened.

She quickly arrived at Wang Liang’s rented apartment and discovered the completed Star Creation Creature.

This Star Creation Creature was the simplest she could create with her current understanding of Sub-world rules, the most low-level type. It couldn’t even compare with the fully realized, softly-created entities by Luo Qiu’s side.

It didn’t even have the ability to converse, only capable of understanding simple commands.

Furthermore, its existence wouldn’t last long, at most two days, unlike the soft creations that, barring direct destruction, could exist for a long time.

Originally, Nan Xiao Nan came here just to retrieve this Star Creation Creature to avoid exposure. But since she was already here, a slight sense of justice inherited from her true identity as Nan Xiao Nan influenced her actions, “Find who put the body in the fridge.”

Nan Xiao Nan used her unique mental waves to issue a command to this Star Creation Creature created with a compressor as its body.

Immediately, the originally motionless ‘compressor’ moved miraculously.

It gingerly lifted its component-crafted leg, taking a step… then another, moving at a pace akin to a child’s remote-controlled robot.

It took a good ten seconds to move from the living room to the door, then directly rolled down the small staircase…

“Hmm…”

…

The chatterbox raven flitted about in a cramped underground room barely ten square meters in size.

In this tiny dual-purpose living and office space, the young man 24 sat on an old sofa, gazing blankly at the cup noodles being pressed down by a thick book on the square table.

A dull throb persisted in the ribs above his abdomen.

As a Curse Killer, nothing was more painful than lacking healing abilities.

24 sighed, as three minutes had passed, and he began to enjoy this peculiar instant food… while simultaneously scrolling through his phone, checking for any lucrative business opportunities.

After his previous injury, 24 became much more cautious… Knowing that there’s a management organization for such transcendent matters, conducting business couldn’t be as carefree as before.

“However…” 24 mused while slurping the noodles, reflecting on his previous fight with the Management Bureau members, furrowing his brows slightly, “Why do I feel inexplicably like I’m being blamed?”

“Idiot 24… Idiot 24… Idiot 24…”

The young man 24 hurled a thick book, knocking the raven out of the air… at that moment, the door on the basement stairs suddenly opened.

24’s sleepy eyes opened slightly.

A slick-haired man in a suit, lightly covering his nose, walked down… Behind him, three brawny men with robust physiques followed.

“This place was really hard to find; it took two days to locate it, quite strange…” The slick-haired man muttered while surveying the surroundings after stepping in.

24 was momentarily dazed before reacting… After the battle and injury, the curse technique barrier outside the basement hadn’t been maintained for a day, rendering it ineffective.

The slick-haired man glanced at the young 24, frowning, “Are you the boss of this terrifying Curse Killing House?”

24 easily saw the disdainful gleam in the slick-haired man’s eyes.

But he couldn’t do anything about it… He was, at the moment, down-and-out, eating cup noodles called the commoners’ ration in this world.

Coupled with his listless, unkempt, dark-circled and gloomy otaku appearance, it naturally didn’t make a good impression.

“I am…” 24 responded weakly, “Are you here for a commission? If you can, let me finish eating first… I’m really hungry.”

The slick-haired man furrowed his brows again; at that moment, a man from behind brought over a chair, letting him sit down.

“I’m Cheng Yun.” The slick-haired man… Cheng Yun said calmly, “The internet says you can perform Witch Techniques, right?”

Witch Techniques?

The young man 24 froze; he’d recently looked up Witch Techniques online… But this kind of Witch Technique seemed to mainly appear in movies and series; in real life, it was mostly just trickery.

But 24 didn’t see it that way. After researching some materials on Witch Techniques, he realized they bore significant similarities to his curse techniques… though still rudimentary, they already showed a nascent form of power.

The young man 24 speculated there might truly be genuine Witch Techniques in the world, just rarely seen in society.

“Let’s say it is.” The young 24 replied once again weakly.

His understanding of Sub-world natural law was still very limited, with few abilities at his disposal. Being mistaken for using Witch Techniques was fine… mainly because he was quite lazy.

“My boss is looking for capable people,” Cheng Yun directly stated his purpose, “If you truly have talent, you’ll be well-compensated! If not, dismantle this trickery place. Guys… test him!”

One of the strong men among the three behind Cheng Yun stepped forward.

The young man 24 was momentarily stunned; this strong man exuded a strong qi-blood, indicating some physical skills training…