Chapter 133: The Direction of the New Prosthesis

Leo had indeed recruited a genius—he had been thinking that he was the lucky one, but it turned out Hammond was the one who truly struck gold! The Jurassic Zoo was already drowning in debt and entangled in legal disputes—and, as it turns out, the opposing party in the lawsuit was the same group that made movies about dinosaurs! For the zoo to survive nine years in such a state, Leo found it hard to believe there wasn't some special skill involved. This genius quickly came up with a plan, driving the zoo into bankruptcy and merging its physical assets into the Blume Corporation. While such operations weren't unheard of, it took someone with management experience to pull it off, saving Leo a lot of trouble. In the future, the bio-laboratory would gradually relocate to the former Jurassic Park site, and the old zoo would slowly transform into a real biological research center. The entire process was handled enthusiastically by Hammond—if there was anyone left in the world who could bring dinosaurs back, he believed it would be the Osborne Group. However, Osborne Group wasn't interested in such projects; they had their own plans. Hammond himself was aware of his limitations. Without this opportunity, he had been planning to sell the zoo next year and find a regular job at a company. After 10 years of perseverance, he was ready to accept his fate. But now things were different—his chance had come! He was always the type to pursue a dream once he saw a glimmer of hope, and now he worked even harder. With someone to manage finances—or rather, all company affairs—Leo was relieved. He had already prepared a company management software suite to ensure things remained under his control. It was time to continue exploring the issue with lizard serum. "Iguanas are herbivores, which means the DNA we inserted didn't just make them stronger; it also taught them to be carnivorous. This effect could be magnified in humans. There are unexpected methylation fragments in the gene. Perhaps these fragments are responsible for altering the iguana's herbivorous tendencies. But we may never know how it would affect humans." After an afternoon of observations, Connors reached a disheartening conclusion. The modified iguana had eaten its fill and appeared stable for now. It seemed that shortly after the DNA injection, the cells required a large amount of nutrients, creating an overwhelming sense of hunger. Once the iguana was full, it became much more docile—like a wild beast that calms down after eating, similar to a tiger. But what would happen if these carnivorous genes appeared in humans? Should they conduct human trials? Fortunately, Leo had already volunteered himself in another world, and had documented his biological data and models—thanks to biotechnology, they were truly good people. Leo pretended to think for a moment before starting to input data into the computer. Connors looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing?" "I'm running a decay calculation, using myself as a template. The post-injection state would be like this." Professor Connors was once again baffled. Why was it that every time Leo used a computer, the things he said became incomprehensible? Could such a thing really be calculated? Sure, they had a decay rate algorithm, but biological research was always full of surprises, nearly impossible to predict without experiments. How had Leo figured it out? Connors suspiciously examined the data. The DNA model was so accurate it didn't seem fabricated. But the physiological model—it was so monstrous, it didn't seem real—Connors' face turned pale! According to this biological model, the injection would turn a person into a monster! The coveted regenerative ability was indeed faithfully replicated in humans, but it also turned their bodies into monsters! Lizard-like visual cells, thick keratinous scales and claws, and a mass of reptilian muscle cells that combined various superior traits of reptiles. Strong, but lacking in precision. Even a tail! In other words, the injection would indeed grant powerful regenerative abilities, but at the cost of turning the person into a giant lizard-like creature! Moreover, the regrown limbs would be entirely filled with lizard cells. This crushed Connors' previous hope: The decaying drug would activate this DNA for a short period, and in the long term, the methylated segments of the improved DNA would disappear during further cell division and differentiation. Visibly, this would allow a person to regenerate limbs rapidly after injection, but in the long term, there would be no significant differences from the original form. But Leo's model showed that the methylated DNA was also causing significant reactions in terms of epigenetics, driving people into a berserk state and making them crave further activation of the lizard DNA. Once the DNA shifted from the methylation phase to the decay phase, the person would revert, but the limb made of lizard cells would disappear! In essence, this serum would turn a person more into a lizard than a human, and its safety mechanisms would barely work. Connors slumped in his chair, overwhelmed, muttering: "Methylated DNA is indeed the source of the berserk state. This drug turns people more into lizards than humans. When used on reptiles, we might get a super-lizard, but that's pointless. Once used on humans..." Leo frowned—clearly, this result hit Connors hard. Peter, standing nearby, was startled: "But Professor, have you seen the recent news? There's a Spider-Man on TV, and he hasn't turned into a giant spider!" Connors was taken aback but quickly replied, "I've seen that news. Just because he's called Spider-Man doesn't mean he's using the same technology as us." Peter realized the flaw in his logic—how could they be sure both were using the same tech? But Leo didn't bother to argue from this perspective— "Professor Connors, we've made progress, not encountered setbacks. You need to stay calm and professional. Now, let's hypothesize: what if someone wasn't affected by the berserk state? If, after injection, they suffered severe physical damage, what would happen?" Connors smiled bitterly. "I suppose you're using yourself as a blueprint again? I can tell that's the basis for this model. If you weren't affected mentally, you'd still turn into a lizard." "What if my cell decay was rapid enough to maintain my human form?" "That's nearly impossible," Connors shook his head. "The only way that could happen is if you were surrounded by fire, but if that were the case, once your body ran out of nutrients and energy, you'd burn to death. Fire is uncontrollable." Just as Leo was about to add something, he saw Connors pause. Then the professor became visibly ashamed. "Leo, I apologize. I lost my composure." Indeed, this failed experiment only left Connors with one arm. But Leo was on the brink of death! "Don't worry, Professor. I only hope you can stay calm and professional. Now, the answer?" Connors thought seriously and said, "If we really managed to achieve controlled decay, keeping the division and differentiation of lizard cells within a certain range, the experimenter could indeed maintain a human form. But the probability of cancer would increase dramatically—especially for you. Your cells already contain trace amounts of radiation! The chance of cellular mutation is much higher than that of an ordinary person." All cells have the potential for mutation, so the more times they divide, the greater the likelihood of DNA errors leading to cancerous cells. Radiation, viruses, chemicals, and other factors further increase the risk, and when combined, the risk of mutation skyrockets. Still, for Leo, this wasn't entirely unacceptable. "So, I can recover my health?" Connors nodded. "In theory, yes. As long as you keep the injections going and control the cellular decay, you could appear before the public as a healthy person. But..." Connors wondered if it was worth it. Then again, Leo only had six months left to live. Even if the risk of cancer was real, Connors quickly ran the numbers: "Even with the increased risk of cancer, your projected lifespan would exceed four years, with the highest likelihood of cancer appearing in about a year and a half. I... may have been too emotional. We can tweak the formula to extend this period!" Math doesn't lie. Emotionally, Connors felt this experiment was a failure, but logically— This was a breakthrough! Of course, this all hinged on Leo's assumptions being correct. And Leo smiled. "See? I told you, this is a major breakthrough." This wasn't just useful for Leo—cellular decay could be artificially induced. The side effects of biotech's painkillers caused neurodegenerative decline. As for the berserk state... in reality, its impact on ordinary people would be minimal. It was only dangerous in the movie because the one injected was Professor Connors. Under the influence of the berserk gene, his mind created a lizard-supremacist ideology, pushing him to spread the lizard serum. But ordinary people wouldn't know it was a lizard serum, nor would they know how to make it. Even if they did go mad, it wouldn't be much different from cyberpsychosis. In the end, it's all relative—Connors' lizard transformation might get him taken down in this world, but in the cyberpunk world, everyone knows augmentations drive people crazy, and they still get them. Besides, the serum had other potential uses beyond human injection. Perhaps Hammond and Matt had successfully navigated the legal process, or maybe Connors had finally decided to serve Leo loyally, as Leo received a notification from the system. [Bio-Laboratory Established] It was time to develop new technology.