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Deus Ex Machina: Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Yang Jin didn’t know where the water had taken them.
In the instant they were engulfed by the tremendous force, a sense of panic surged within him. He covered Shi Yixi’s nose and mouth, afraid he might suffocate instantly, and couldn’t help but want to complain about how this idiot seemed to have regressed again. The huge sound and vibrations behind them seemed to go unnoticed, and Shi Yixi just knelt on the ground like a fool.
But Shi Yixi seemed to be in a lot of pain.
The water filled the space completely, and the oxygen in their bodies grew scarcer. Yang Jin’s consciousness began to blur. He remembered Yu Chen had said that his body’s healing ability was incredibly fast and that his resistance was very high—no matter how great the impact, it wouldn’t truly harm him. But would he drown? If what Yu Chen said was true, he didn’t know if he was a creature that needed oxygen to survive. He glanced down at Shi Yixi in his arms. Bubbles were rising from Shi Yixi’s mouth and nose, and it seemed like he couldn’t control himself any longer, exhaling air and letting water pour into his mouth and nose.
Fish that crawled from the sea onto land and became new species could never return to the sea.
Yang Jin hated the feeling of losing control. This accident made him feel a strong sense of crisis. He focused his mind, and it seemed like the flow of the water had slowed a lot. With Shi Yixi in his arms, he swam desperately upwards.
“Cough cough cough…”
He broke through the surface of the water, breathing heavily, as if he hadn’t taken a proper breath in a century. Immediately, he swam toward the shore with Shi Yixi in his arms.
“Wake up.” Yang Jin slapped Shi Yixi’s face, but seeing that he didn’t react, he unbuttoned Shi Yixi’s collar, leaned down, and began to give him air, pressing on his chest as he repeated the process.
Shi Yixi didn’t respond much, and Yang Jin began to panic, wondering if he had accidentally suffocated Shi Yixi underwater. He forcefully breathed into Shi Yixi’s mouth, then slapped his face hard, angrily saying, “Wake up, damn it!”
“Cough…” Shi Yixi coughed up a mouthful of water, coughing violently.
Yang Jin finally relaxed.
“Who…” Shi Yixi asked groggily. “Where is this?”
“Heaven,” Yang Jin said. “We’re both dead.”
“Really?” Shi Yixi wasn’t surprised at all. After a moment of daze, he coughed twice and said, “Can I stay with you a little longer before I reincarnate?”
Yang Jin replied, “What are you thinking? There’s no such thing as reincarnation or gods and ghosts in this world.”
“Then what are we now?” Shi Yixi asked in confusion. “Do humans have souls?”
“No.” Yang Jin stood up, took off his clothes, and wrung them out. “We’re not dead. I was just messing with you.”
Shi Yixi looked at Yang Jin’s back, lowered his head with a soft “oh,” unsure whether to feel happy or disappointed. He adjusted his breathing, stood up as well, and surveyed their surroundings. “This place… this place…”
“It’s different, isn’t it?” Yang Jin said. “The water’s surface is calm, almost like a lake. It’s not pitch-black around us, but there aren’t any real objects either. No sky, no ground. What do you think, where are we?”
Shi Yixi shook his head. “I can’t figure it out. Could we have been washed into some hidden corner?”
Yang Jin said, “That’s impossible.” He carefully recalled what had happened in the water. Unless the space was completely filled with water, the flow speed couldn’t have changed so suddenly. But if it was filled, then why would such a space even exist?
Where exactly is this place? Is it dangerous or safe?
Yang Jin couldn’t help but feel a rising sense of unease.
“Maybe it really is heaven,” Shi Yixi said quietly.
At that moment, the bracelet on Yang Jin’s wrist suddenly lit up. “ZZ? ZZ, are you still there? Where is this place?” Yang Jin asked.
“Welcome to Universe 3821,” a gentle female voice echoed in the air. “Yang Jin, hello, it’s nice to see you again.”
“P… Pony?!” Yang Jin was shocked. “You’ve recovered?”
“Yes,” Pony replied.
Yang Jin asked, “Where are we? Why are you here? What exactly happened?” His questions came in a rapid-fire sequence, as if asking a hundred thousand questions at once. But Pony was not surprised at all. Any normal person would ask these questions. “Universe 3821…” Yang Jin muttered. “Could it be…”
“Universe 3821 is your miniature universe,” Pony said. “Mr. Yu gave it to you. It can protect you.”
Yang Jin recalled the moment when he had said goodbye to Yu Chen, and how Yu Chen had tapped his forehead.
He shook his head uncertainly. This was too surreal. If advanced civilizations could create multiverses so casually, then what was the true essence of the world—truth or lies?
It was terrifying.
Yang Jin took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and asked Pony, “Has your cooldown period ended?”
“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a cooldown period,” Pony explained. “Mr. Yu’s understanding of things is different from ours. This is a database reboot state. He modified many rule codes, so I need to adapt. During this process, a lot of old data has been restored.”
“Tell me more,” Yang Jin said, sitting down. “What exactly happened before the explosion at Qianfan?”
But instead of answering, Pony asked, “Is this child here Shi Yixi?”
Shi Yixi, being singled out, looked up, although there was nothing to see.
“Yes.” Yang Jin waved at Shi Yixi, saying, “Come here, stop standing there like an idiot.”
Shi Yixi obediently walked over and sat down next to Yang Jin. As soon as he sat down, a virtual human figure appeared before them. It was a very beautiful woman with black wavy hair, wearing a white dress, and a small mole at the corner of her mouth, which made her even more charming.
Shi Yixi had never seen someone so beautiful and couldn’t help but gape.
Yang Jin gave his head a light tap and said, “Never seen a woman before?”
“That’s not it…” Shi Yixi hurriedly explained, “I… I…”
“I am Pony.” Pony smiled, and before they knew it, a chair appeared behind her. She elegantly sat down on the chair. The surrounding environment, which had been a vast white space that made it hard to feel any sense of direction, also changed, transforming into the core machinery room of Qianfan.
Thousands of machines were running simultaneously, marking humanity’s highest achievement in artificial intelligence.
“Before the explosion, my backup system was forcibly interrupted,” Pony said. “This permission can only be authorized by more than two leaders from Qianfan.”
“You mean… this was done by Guan Jincheng and Wan Hong?” Yang Jin asked. “Why?”
Pony maintained her graceful smile. “Maybe because of a plan.”
“What plan?”
“The great plan to change humanity.”
Yang Jin immediately thought of something and asked, “Twenty years ago?”
Pony replied, “To be precise, it started thirty years ago. The complete data has been destroyed, but I am not ZZ. I secretly backed it up. It has always been stored in my database. It was damaged in the explosion, but Mr. Yu repaired it. Yang Jin, I will open it for you.”
Yang Jin felt a bit nervous. He wanted to ask Pony why, but he also knew that asking “why” was the most meaningless thing to do. Pony continued, “This is a plan that involves the fate of humanity. Its development process lasted decades, with almost all the world’s top elites sacrificing everything, including their lives, for it. But in the end, it failed.”
Hearing the word “failed,” Yang Jin felt a pang in his chest. He looked down to see that it was Shi Yixi gripping his shirt. Shi Yixi’s eyes seemed a bit dazed as he looked at Yang Jin, seemingly unaware of his own action.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Jin smiled. “Isn’t it that people love to hear secrets? What are you nervous about?”
Shi Yixi asked, “Can I listen?”
“Of course.” Yang Jin sighed. “It’s just the two of us here. No need to hold back.” He turned to Pony and asked, “What plan?”
“The ‘Son of God’s Descent’ plan.”
“June 24th, 15:06, stage 10, phase 35 of the evolutionary genome test,” a woman in a white lab coat recorded seriously.
“Flora, how’s the situation?” A young and handsome man asked.
“Very smooth, almost perfect,” Flora replied with a smile as she turned around. “Professor Guan, your idea is correct.”
“Almost?” Professor Guan Jincheng corrected Flora’s wording. “Almost doesn’t mean perfect.”
“You’re always so meticulous.” Flora shrugged, but they both knew that the result wouldn’t change because of a few words. This test data was nearly flawless. Flora was just teasing the much younger genius.
Guan Jincheng looked at the genetic patterns in the simulation and said, “It’s truly perfect, isn’t it?”
Flora nodded, “It’s simply a masterpiece of God.”
Guan Jincheng replied, “There is no God.”
Flora said, “Then we will create God.”
For the first time, Guan Jincheng curled the corner of his mouth, as if smiling.
The “Son of Heaven’s Descend” plan was the highest-level scientific project within Qianfan. From the proposal of the concept to its initiation, it took several years. Once it was started, it spanned decades to execute. The plan had been constantly drawing the most advanced scientists from within Qianfan, covering almost all fields of study at the time. The investment of both human and material resources seemed like an endless pit, but no one had ever doubted it.
Even though most people did not know the full details of the plan, they all believed they were doing something great.
Something that could change the fate of humanity.
People from the Low Tide Era had undergone genetic evolution that brought out various potentials. Evolution was a direction, but sometimes not the direction of progress, but a forced “compromise.” Earth’s environment was too harsh, and people had considered leaving Earth to search for a new home. But the essence of that process was simply moving from an old house to a new one, the endless cycle of destruction and rebirth, abandonment, and search.
Must humanity place all its hopes on Noah’s Ark? No, it doesn’t have to be that way.
On the long scientific development trajectory, people had gradually become accustomed to self-examination. Escaping wasn’t the best choice; the best choice was to fundamentally change oneself to adapt to all kinds of extreme environments.
The Prometheus Laboratory proposed a new idea based on potential activation as a practical approach: artificial gene creation. It sounds like just a few simple words, but it meant abandoning all the negative traits in human genes, integrating more potential features, and creating the perfect human being.
Perhaps those would no longer be humans; they would be “gods.” Gods created by humans themselves, all-powerful “gods.”
A large number of scientists voluntarily joined the plan, believing that science could do anything and humans could do anything. The ultimate truth of cosmic life awaited them to explore and overturn. They worked hard for the world they longed for, and they were unwavering in their resolve.
The plan was simple, but the implementation faced various challenges.
Humans have twenty-three pairs of chromosomes and over twenty thousand genes. They operate day after day, producing over a million types of proteins. This is the most miraculous life in the universe. Whether a beggar on the street or a wealthy person in a skyscraper, whether poor or rich, genius or ordinary, they are all the most exquisite individuals. Life’s changes are both simple and complex. The Prometheans needed to find the patterns within, artificially combining these genes so that every gene achieved perfection, and every chromosome became a work of art.
Not to mention the technical difficulty, the sheer time involved made it an extremely arduous task.
After countless experiments and repeated testing, the first thousand sets of chromosomes created were now reduced to only three sets. Everyone was on edge as the samples became fewer. The door to the truth was right in front of them, and they stood equally close to both success and failure.
“Tomorrow, these three sets will be released from the vault,” Guan Jincheng said. “How’s the weather tomorrow?”
Flora didn’t understand why Guan Jincheng asked such an irrelevant question, so she casually replied, “They say it’s going to snow tomorrow.”
“Snow?” Guan Jincheng thought for a moment, then muttered to himself, “Snow is good; hopefully, it’s a good omen.”
The three sets of samples were each assigned their own numbers: 1, 298, and 307. That day, they were released from the vault and successfully underwent cell division. After several dozen days of stacking, they began to form developing embryos.
Every minute and second, there were people observing their growth. These three sets of samples went from non-existence to slowly combining virtual data and invisible genes, gradually forming tiny embryos. While it only takes a few months for a human to develop from a cell to a baby, the effort behind these three samples spanned decades, with thousands of people working tirelessly day and night.
The three cold samples now had life, and it seemed as if they had become everyone’s child. Even someone as young as Guan Jincheng, a genius whose mind was filled with scientific theories, showed rare tenderness when seeing these three samples.
One month and eight days later, 298 was declared “dead.”
Three months and one day later, 307 was declared “dead.”
At three months, the “fetus” had taken some shape, and the sense of death felt even more real. Everyone was disheartened. It wasn’t just the loss of one sample, but the departure of a life that had been carefully cherished for over ten years.
All hopes now rested on Sample 1. The feeling of hope was growing stronger, but with it came an equal fear of despair.
At around four months, Sample 1 developed organs. Even before the genetic settings were finalized, high-level discussions had taken place about its gender. Some believed that a noble god should have no gender; it should combine both masculine strength and feminine grace, being brave and strong while also gentle and kind. Others argued that gender was the most obvious feature of Earthly life, and despite calling it a “god,” it was ultimately a human-made creation. They couldn’t just fabricate a new species from nothing. Humans must respect the basic laws of life.
The opinions were divided, and in the end, it was decided to assign gender randomly, creating sufficiently complex genetic codes for each group, allowing life itself to choose.
Only Sample 1, the “boy,” made it to the end.
But at five months, the last remaining hope began to fade.
“His genetic perfection is declining,” observer Amel said, unable to believe his eyes. “It’s dropped by seven percentage points!”
There was an uproar in the laboratory. Just a few minutes ago, the record showed that Sample 1’s genetic perfection was still one hundred percent. At that moment, even a drop of just a few tenths of a percent would have meant bidding farewell to the word “perfect.”
Yet, more bad news followed.
By the time of the nine-month mark, on the brink of becoming human, Sample 1’s genetic perfection had dropped to twelve percent. In the months that had passed, the higher-ups had held countless meetings to discuss contingency plans, but nothing could stop the situation from unfolding.
The “god” was no longer perfect, not suddenly, but little by little, as if being tortured by a dull knife slicing through flesh, wearing down everyone’s spirits.
Clinging to the last bit of hope, they allowed the child to “birth.” The tiny infant was hideous, curled up in the instrument-filled experimental chamber, neither crying nor making a sound. If not for its breathing and the life signs displayed on the machine, everyone would have doubted whether it was truly alive.
Guan Jincheng stood outside the glass, looking at the infant who had not yet opened its eyes. “Six percent. If it grows up normally, it will just be an exceptionally capable human.”
“At least he’s healthy,” Flora said. “Six percent is enough for him to become the most developed human in terms of potential so far. He will surpass all of us.”
“That’s still just a human,” Guan Jincheng said. “Is that really all we’ve been striving for? A slightly better human? If that’s the case, the ‘person’ hibernating in the freezer could have done that as well.”
“They’re different, sigh…” Flora hesitated, placing her hand against the glass. She whispered to the quiet infant inside, “Baby, open your eyes soon.”
Within a few seconds, the three-day-old infant slowly opened his eyes. They were dark and blurry, but he seemed to know where to look, immediately locking eyes with Guan Jincheng.
Suddenly, the voltage in the lab fluctuated drastically, all the electronic devices powered down, and alarms began to blare as everyone scrambled in confusion.
“Calm down!” Guan Jincheng shouted.
The voltage stabilized, and the instruments restarted. The infant seemed unaffected, still staring blankly at the outside.
“My God!” someone exclaimed. “He… he’s dropped to zero! Oh my God!”
“What?!” Guan Jincheng quickly walked toward the screen. The data on the display was clear, showing that the perfect genes no longer existed. From the moment the infant opened his eyes, he had completely turned into an ordinary human.
Not even potential remained.
They had spent so much time and energy, their unparalleled talents and youth devoted to this project, once full of ambition to explore the truth of life. They had fallen and risen again, and as long as there was hope, they were willing to give everything.
In the end, they had created… just an ordinary human.
Some had already collapsed, crying uncontrollably in the lab. A dark cloud seemed to hang over the laboratory.
In the oppressive atmosphere, the project moved forward another three months. Sample 1 showed no potential, and there was no longer any reason to continue the attempts.
The Prometheus Laboratory announced that the “Son of God” project had failed completely, and after several rounds of intense discussions, they decided to destroy the experimental samples.
The execution was scheduled for the following month, but during this time, the leading scientists involved in the project began to commit suicide one by one.
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