Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven: Is An Qi Not Human?

Alexander stared at the weapons and equipment Liu Hui had transferred to him, clearly bewildered, as the purpose of these items far exceeded the scope of his understanding.

Liu Hui said, "My dear Alexander, the detailed tutorials for this batch of weapons and communication gear are all in the video player I gave you. Just follow the instructions on it. As long as you can utilize these weapons and communication devices well, I guarantee you will achieve ultimate victory. Of course, these weapons are just for you to get familiar with their usage methods first, so the quantities aren't large. It doesn't matter if they are all used up. Once you truly master how to use these weapons, I will transfer a massive amount of armament to you, and then you will be able to utterly defeat those Elven warriors."

Having suddenly acquired so many weapons, Alexander was eager to test them, to see if their might was truly as formidable as Liu Hui claimed. Thus, he quickly bid farewell to Liu Hui and left immediately to familiarize himself with the power of these armaments.

Liu Hui quietly closed the Planar Trader. This time, he had truly staked everything, trading away every technological weapon he could procure on Earth to Alexander, enabling him to wage a technological-magical war in the magical plane. If he could have acquired nuclear weapons, he would have even traded those to Alexander, allowing him to instantly annihilate the Elven armies.

Liu Hui had done everything he could; now it was up to Alexander to see if he could withstand the Elven army's assault using these technological weapons. If the human forces were routed, as long as Alexander could escape, there would still be a day for regrouping. However, if that happened, the development speed of the Starry Sky Group would slow down considerably.

In the following days, Liu Hui paid constant attention to the developments in the magical plane. According to intelligence received by Alexander, the King of the Xiling Kingdom, upon learning that his son had been killed by the mountain people, was indeed enraged. He had begun mobilizing troops across the entire nation, vowing to wipe out humanity to avenge his son.

During this period, Alexander had been continuously familiarizing himself with the weapons Liu Hui provided and had already gained some insights and practical experience. After understanding the power of these weapons, he was deeply shocked, feeling that if he utilized them properly, he might actually be able to repel the Elven soldiers from the Xiling Kingdom beyond the mountains.

Once Alexander had mastered the operational methods for these weapons, Liu Hui immediately transferred the vast quantities of arms he had stockpiled, instructing Alexander to distribute them among the soldiers for familiarization and practice drills. He hoped this would allow them to launch a surprise attack on the Elven army once the war began, seizing the initiative and ultimately winning the conflict.

However, based on Alexander's news, the Xiling Kingdom was mobilizing its forces very slowly. Alexander estimated that the Elven army would not begin its attack until their mobilization was complete, likely in about two months.

Hearing that there was a two-month buffer, Liu Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief. To enhance Alexander's chances of victory, he placed an order with Xiaoyaozi in the Cultivation World for numerous high-grade cultivation mats—the kind that could increase cultivation speed by over a hundred times. He then installed Fifth-level Magical Beast cores into them before trading them to Alexander for use in boosting the soldiers' strength.

That old rogue Xiaoyaozi, being highly experienced, detected Liu Hui’s slight impatience induced by a few well-placed words, and the great profiteer began to haggle. This forced Liu Hui to pay double the spirit stones to finalize the major deal.

Although these magical beast cores cost Liu Hui virtually nothing, being forced by Xiaoyaozi to hand over double the amount left Liu Hui deeply frustrated. Liu Hui resolved internally that the next time he traded with Xiaoyaozi, he must be extremely cautious, leaving no opportunity for the trickster to exploit.

As a precaution, Liu Hui had already transferred the more than one thousand tons of narcotics he had stored in Alexander’s massive super-warehouse. These drugs were relocated to storage facilities aboard the "Starry Sky City," along with the billions of magical beast cores of various grades. If these assets were not moved in advance, Liu Hui stood to suffer catastrophic losses should Alexander be defeated and forced to flee.

The "Starry Sky City" was located beneath the sea level—the site Liu Hui had long designed for large-scale storage of rare materials traded from various planes. This construction project, however, was not yet fully completed when Liu Hui put it into premature use.

With the arrival of these items traded from the magical plane onto the "Starry Sky City," Liu Hui further strengthened the security protocols on board for the safety of these assets, ensuring that no one could board without permission, thereby keeping these possessions secret from outsiders.

With the situation in the magical plane temporarily unclear, Liu Hui had done all he could and could only leave the rest to fate. He began shifting his focus back to the development of the Starry Sky Group.

On this day, Liu Hui arrived at the Starry Sky Scientific Research Institute at the agreed time. Chen Changsheng had already gathered the research personnel. These researchers were handpicked by Chen Changsheng to receive the Body Evolution Fluid. After repeated investigations and verifications by Desheng’s Starry Sky Eye, their integrity was finally confirmed, allowing them to be injected with the fluid. After receiving the injection, they would reach the Post-Natal Great Accomplishment state. Subsequently, after receiving the Spirit Root Creation Fluid and undergoing cultivation, they could enter the early stages of cultivation, enabling them to draw upon the true essence stored in the Energy Storage Spheres to set up various formations.

As the Starry Sky Group's development accelerated, coupled with the new needs for inscribing formations on the "Starry Sky City," the "Undersea Factory Clusters," the "Super Submarines," and more, the existing personnel forcibly upgraded to formation-inscribing capability proved insufficient. Thus, it was necessary to expand the number of people capable of carving formations.

The research personnel gathered by Chen Changsheng today numbered over three hundred. If everything went smoothly, these individuals would gain the ability to inscribe formations in two months. With their addition, the construction pace across all sectors of the Starry Sky Group would accelerate further.

To Liu Hui’s surprise, the first person in this group of three hundred was An Qi. An Qi had always been intensely curious about the ability to wield true essence for inscribing formations. Therefore, she had also entered this extensive list, seeking to acquire this formation-inscribing capability through bodily modification. Only by possessing this ability herself could she gain a more direct understanding of formation usage and unleash their true potential.

Liu Hui also spotted another familiar face among the researchers: Yang Hua. Over the past year, Yang Hua had achieved excellent results at the Starry Sky Scientific Research Institute, and coupled with his clean background and lack of any suspicious elements, he too was included in this round of body modification candidates.

After delivering a rousing speech to these core researchers of the Starry Sky Scientific Research Institute, Liu Hui produced three hundred doses of the Body Evolution Fluid. The nurses selected by Mei Peng administered the injections to the researchers. Soon after, the researchers entered a deep sleep following the injection, leaving only An Qi chatting animatedly with Chen Changsheng.

Liu Hui looked at An Qi, and a fleeting sense of doubt crossed his mind. He checked the time and noticed that An Qi had not fallen asleep; she was still conversing with Chen Changsheng with perfect clarity.

Liu Hui walked over and asked, "An Qi, are you experiencing any abnormal physical reactions?"

An Qi replied with a hint of confusion, "No unusual reactions. I feel no different than usual."

Liu Hui said doubtfully, "How can that be? After being injected, everyone should immediately fall into a deep sleep. Look at the others beside you; they have all passed out. Why are you unaffected?"

An Qi suggested with some uncertainty, "Is this because my mental power is much stronger than others? I should probably drift off in a bit, right?"

So, Liu Hui stood beside An Qi, keeping track of time as he monitored her state. Half an hour passed, and An Qi still showed no signs of drowsiness, let alone unconsciousness. After three hours, An Qi did feel a little sleepy, but it was not due to the drug—it was the natural fatigue from lying down for so long. Five hours later, the researchers who had received the Body Evolution Fluid began to awaken, expressing astonishment at the sudden changes in their bodies. Meanwhile, An Qi had still not entered the state of unconsciousness.

Seeing that everyone who received the injection at the same time as her had woken up, and seemingly gained significant benefits, while her own body showed no reaction, An Qi felt a surge of imbalance. She opened her eyes and looked at Liu Hui with a slight air of complaint.

Liu Hui was completely baffled by An Qi's current physical condition. He stated, "An Qi, there might be some anomaly in your body that I don't understand, which rendered this product ineffective for you. I need to draw a blood sample now to conduct further research into your condition and pinpoint where the issue lies."

An Qi had been very enthusiastic about this Body Evolution Fluid injection, only to find that everyone else succeeded while her body remained unchanged. She felt extremely vexed. Nevertheless, An Qi cooperated, rolling up her sleeve to allow the nurse to draw a blood sample.

Liu Hui was quite curious about the abnormality in An Qi’s reaction. He took the blood sample, offered some comfort to An Qi, said goodbye to Chen Changsheng, and returned to the basement of the office building to summon Zerg from the Insect Race via the Planar Trader.

Zerg quickly appeared on the Trader’s screen. Zerg’s appearance remained as grotesque as ever, but his speech was courteous: "Respected Lord Liu Hui, greetings. What business do you have with me this time? Didn't we just complete a transaction a few days ago?"

Liu Hui replied, "Respected Lord Zerg, greetings. I have a question I need to ask you."

Zerg said, "Respected Lord Liu Hui, please proceed..."

Liu Hui inquired, "The Body Evolution Fluid you traded to me previously should be effective for all of us humans, correct?"

Zerg nodded. "That is correct. This Body Evolution Fluid was specifically developed based on human genetics. As long as a human receives the injection, their body will undergo evolution and modification."

Liu Hui pressed, "But today, I used this fluid on a human, and found it had absolutely no effect. What could account for that?"

Zerg stated, "There are only two reasons why the product would not function: first, the recipient of the Body Evolution Fluid is not human; or second, the specific dose you administered happened to be inert. However, the possibility of the latter is extremely slim, virtually nonexistent."

Liu Hui was startled. "According to what you just said, if the fluid didn't fail, then that person might not be human?"

Zerg replied, "That is a possibility. If you have her genetic sample, we can conduct a detailed analysis and study to reach a definitive conclusion."

A strange chill suddenly ran down Liu Hui’s spine. After a moment of hesitation, he finally produced the blood sample drawn from An Qi and said to Zerg, "This is the blood sample from that individual. I ask you to analyze it and see what is going on."

Zerg clicked to complete the trade, taking An Qi’s blood sample, and then hastily bid Liu Hui farewell, stating he needed to immediately begin researching the genetic sample to determine whether the subject was indeed human.

After ending the communication with Zerg, Liu Hui felt a strange sense of melancholy. His previous worry was the series of involuntary, strange occurrences whenever he made physical contact with An Qi’s body, but that seemed trivial now. The biggest issue was: was An Qi human?

Zerg had just confirmed that the Body Evolution Fluid produced by the Insect Race was universally applicable to all humans. Yet, it had no effect on An Qi alone. What did that imply?

Liu Hui immediately thought of An Qi’s prodigious scientific talent, her photographic memory, scientific concepts years ahead of the world, and her immensely powerful mental strength—all of which far surpassed the humans of this world. Even a reincarnated Einstein probably wouldn't be this capable. Could someone possess such terrifying innate ability if they were truly a product of current human evolution? If An Qi was not human, then what exactly was she?

After speaking with Zerg, Liu Hui began to harbor deeper suspicions about An Qi’s condition, but he could only await Zerg’s research findings to understand the matter.

However, Liu Hui also reflected that even if An Qi turned out not to be human, she likely wouldn't harm him. The way she looked at him suggested she stood on his side and would not betray him. Furthermore, An Qi had contributed immensely to the Starry Sky Group’s growth recently, showing she truly considered it her home. So, even if she wasn't human in the end, it shouldn't affect him much, right?

Yet, as soon as Zerg began studying An Qi’s blood sample, he failed to reach a conclusion quickly. When Liu Hui tried to inquire about the specific results, Zerg asked him to wait longer, promising to notify him as soon as the research yielded results. This left Liu Hui feeling somewhat helpless; he could only continue to wait. Meanwhile, his suspicions about An Qi’s state grew stronger. Any genetic profile that required the gene specialists of the Insect Race a significant amount of time to study must be far from ordinary.

Three months after the great Los Angeles earthquake, the US government finally announced sad news to its citizens: two carrier strike groups belonging to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet—the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and the USS Stennis Carrier Strike Group—had been completely annihilated.

The US government explained the demise of these two strike groups as follows: The Eisenhower and Stennis CSGs were conducting a top-secret military exercise off the West Coast when, unfortunately, their training area fell within the zone of influence of the Los Angeles earthquake. The resulting super-quake triggered a massive tsunami, and the giant waves engulfed both carrier strike groups, allowing no soldier to escape.

While the American people were grieving the victims of the Los Angeles earthquake, this fresh tragedy struck them. However, the public was mostly just surprised by the news and did not pursue in-depth coverage of this shocking report. In their minds, since an unprecedented super-quake had occurred, they could reluctantly accept the fact that two carrier strike groups were destroyed as a consequence of this massive event. After all, they had already witnessed such severe casualties, and the loss of these two CSGs remained within their scope of acceptance.

Although the American populace believed their government’s explanation, the bizarre annihilation of two carrier strike groups did not escape the notice of other discerning parties around the world. After all, the Fifth Fleet was primarily stationed in the Middle East, and just days before the incident, they had been on patrol in the Arabian Sea. How could they suddenly be off the West Coast of the United States and be wiped out entirely, with zero survivors?

However, the US government was unconcerned by the questioning of these interested parties. They only needed their domestic citizens to believe them; the skepticism of outsiders held no sway over them. Thus, leveraging the sudden occurrence of the super-quake in Los Angeles, the US government managed to sweep the inexplicable loss of two carrier strike groups under the rug. Furthermore, even with the loss of two CSGs, the strength of the US Navy still vastly outstripped that of any other nation’s naval power, leaving them unconcerned about any challenger to their maritime supremacy.

Liu Hui was naturally aware of the Americans' underlying calculations, but he was currently preoccupied with his own troubles and did not seek to cause further issues for the Americans regarding this matter.

In Liu Hui’s office, Desheng was reporting on his work, while Liu Hui, seated opposite him, wore a grim expression.

"Boss, the investigation you assigned me has concluded. That overseas Chinese named Donnie indeed has issues. Moreover, not just him—suspicious figures have appeared around our high-ranking Starry Sky Group personnel," Desheng reported, handing Liu Hui a stack of documents.

Liu Hui flipped through the files. The first page displayed a photograph of the man named Donnie. In the picture, Donnie appeared strikingly handsome, possessing considerable charisma and polished manners, immediately inspiring a favorable impression.

Liu Hui had a vague, uneasy feeling because seeing Donnie instantly reminded him of the Korean man named Han Joon-hee he had seen at the Macau casino. He sensed a similarity between the two. Liu Hui set the documents aside and asked, "What is wrong with this Donnie?"

Desheng explained, "Two months ago, the Boss asked us to investigate this person, supposedly to facilitate Yang Hua’s pursuit of Li Zhi. In the initial stages of the investigation, our personnel found nothing amiss with Donnie; they only perceived him as a playboy—wealthy and adept at charming women. However, Yang Hua soon established a relationship with Li Zhi, so we ceased further investigation into Donnie."

Liu Hui asked, "And then?"

De Sheng spoke, “Half a month ago, during an internal conference held by the Eye of the Starry Sky, while intelligence personnel from various branches around the world were exchanging information, I inadvertently stumbled upon a suspicious piece of news. This Donnie, when he was in Europe previously, had already employed the honey trap tactic, successfully capturing the heart of a European Duchess, defrauding her of her entire fortune, and ultimately driving the Duchess to suicide. Although this fellow wasn't called Donnie back then, and his appearance had undergone some modifications, he was instantly recognized by our intelligence personnel from the European branch; they confirmed that this Donnie was indeed the same man who had swindled the Duchess in Europe.”

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