Following Liu Hui’s major strategic realignment of Starry Sky Group, a dedicated operational team was rapidly formed.

The primary objective of this specialized unit was to liquidate all petroleum reserves from the deep-sea oil fields via futures contracts in the shortest possible time, thereby securing immense financial gains for Starry Sky Group.

Consequently, and quite strangely, colossal volumes of petroleum futures orders began appearing simultaneously across the world's four major oil futures markets. The sheer scale of these contracts immediately disrupted normal market order, causing crude oil futures prices to plummet from above $100 per barrel down to $60.

This low oil price prompted OPEC, the main organization of oil-exporting countries, to swiftly announce massive production cuts in hopes of boosting futures prices. However, contrary to their expectations, once OPEC declared the cuts, oil futures only rebounded for a single day before even larger, astronomical futures orders flooded the market. Stimulated by the OPEC news, certain international oil speculators and national governments, bullish on the future price of oil, eagerly bought up these newly appearing large futures contracts at the $60 mark.

Yet, the supply of futures contracts seemed endless; no matter how aggressively these international speculators and governments absorbed the supply, massive sell orders continued to emerge. As a result, oil futures prices dipped again, eventually falling to around $40 per barrel.

A futures price of $40 represented the lowest point in the last decade, instantly attracting a fresh wave of international speculators. These traders and governments were betting heavily that the price of oil futures would surge after hitting $40. At this juncture, oil was fundamentally irreplaceable, and its total supply was finite, convincing them that the futures contracts they held were poised for substantial appreciation. They committed their entire assets to purchasing every massive futures order that appeared on the market.

This market maneuver resulted in trading volumes across the four major oil futures exchanges in just a few months exceeding the total trade volume of the preceding decades—a genuine economic miracle that spurred countless economists to undertake extensive research into the phenomenon.

Starry Sky Group’s dedicated operations team relentlessly unleashed these massive petroleum futures orders onto the market. Although they didn't fully comprehend Liu Hui's aggressive, results-oriented approach to energy management, they exerted maximum effort to sell off all of Starry Sky Group’s petroleum assets in the shortest possible time, delivering colossal economic benefits to the corporation.

After deploying the strategic grand adjustment for Starry Sky Group, Liu Hui intently monitored the petroleum futures market. Upon seeing the vast quantities of oil resources sold off and converted into massive capital, he immediately initiated a new round of global procurement. This large-scale purchasing spree significantly boosted factory utilization rates worldwide, creating jobs for more workers, incidentally resolving domestic unemployment issues for several nations, and inflating GDP figures across the board, ultimately benefiting nearly half the globe.

Liu Hui was delighted that his initial phase had been executed perfectly. As long as things proceeded according to his plan, he believed he would soon gain complete control over the world's energy market. Just as Liu Hui was feeling particularly pleased, Zerg of the Swarm initiated contact.

“Esteemed Lord Liu Hui,” Zerg greeted him, maintaining his characteristic politeness.

“Esteemed Lord Zerg, you as well!” Liu Hui felt so joyful that even Zerg’s grotesque features appeared endearing.

“Lord Liu Hui, I seek you out today for a transaction,” Zerg stated directly.

“Oh? Has the batch of Body Evolution Fluid that I require been completely manufactured?” Liu Hui inquired.

“Indeed. The one hundred thousand units of Human Body Evolution Fluid you requested have all been produced,” Zerg confirmed with a nod.

Following the decision made during the previous conference to supply Body Evolution Fluid to those within Starry Sky Group slated for future off-world habitation, Liu Hui had placed this substantial order with Zerg to better prepare them for life in space.

Liu Hui considered this a major order because the Body Evolution Fluid commanded an extremely high price—ten units could only be exchanged for one kilogram of narcotics. These one hundred thousand units of Body Evolution Fluid were equivalent to ten tons of narcotics from Liu Hui’s perspective, a staggering thousandfold increase over the price of previous pharmacological exchanges. If Zerg were to trade other medicines, acquiring ten tons of narcotics would require providing Liu Hui with one hundred million units of medication.

Therefore, Zerg was immensely pleased to fulfill this supersized order. Upon successfully trading for the one hundred thousand units of Human Body Evolution Fluid, Zerg’s outstanding debt to Liu Hui was reduced by ten tons of narcotics.

After completing the transaction for the Human Body Evolution Fluid, Zerg added, “Esteemed Lord Liu Hui, tomorrow I shall trade you 1.2 million units of Body Evolution Fluid Sustained-Release Agent.”

Liu Hui had ordered the Sustained-Release Agent because he harbored reservations about those injected with the base Body Evolution Fluid. After their physical capabilities rapidly improved from the injection, if they chose to leave Starry Sky Group, their enhancements would revert completely to normal after three months. However, if they remained perpetually loyal to Starry Sky Group, the evolutionary effects would be maintained indefinitely, until Liu Hui eventually revoked control over the Sustained-Release Agent.

Thus, Liu Hui’s Sustained-Release Agent was intended as a preventative measure against perfidy. For true gentlemen, as long as they remained within Starry Sky Group, the agent would pose no negative consequences. After trading for the 1.2 million units of Body Evolution Fluid Sustained-Release Agent, Liu Hui concluded his exchange with Zerg.

Liu Hui then engaged Zerg in casual conversation, asking, “Esteemed Lord Zerg, regarding the genes of that colossal gorilla I tasked you with researching previously—have you reached any conclusions?”

During the previous Lunar New Year period, "The Professor" had dispatched a super-gorilla to "Starry Sky City." After being repelled by the city, the "gorilla" unexpectedly self-destructed, atomizing itself. Subsequently, Liu Hui dispatched two super-submarines to meticulously search the seabed near the detonation site, eventually recovering several fragments of the gorilla's flesh and a few massive bone segments.

Liu Hui delivered these tissue fragments and giant bones to Zerg of the Swarm for research. He intended to discover why such a gigantic gorilla could manifest on Earth and simultaneously gauge the enemy’s technological capabilities.

“We have analyzed the genes of the gorilla you provided and compared them with the baseline gorilla genes you supplied. The finding is that the creature was enlarged using an imperfect form of genetic technology,” Zerg reported.

“Are you suggesting this gorilla was artificially created using genetic technology, and an incomplete version at that?” Liu Hui asked, surprised.

“Precisely; this gorilla was engineered with flawed genetic technology. Strictly speaking, we even detected traces of our own Swarm genetic technology within this imperfect methodology,” Zerg stated.

This truly astonished Liu Hui. He quickly pressed, “Are you implying that the method used to grant this gorilla its massive size is potentially derived from your Swarm’s genetic technology? But on Earth, only I conduct transactions with you—how could they have obtained genetic technology related to you?”

Zerg shook his head. “We are uncertain how they acquired this genetic technology.”

“However, based on our thorough analysis, the imperfect genetic technology responsible for the gorilla's immense size likely evolved from the gene therapy drugs we provided you for treating AIDS. If the opposing side possesses high-level scientific research capabilities, they could potentially have drawn inspiration from the AIDS medication to develop this flawed genetic technology and engineer this gigantic gorilla…”

“You mean the genetic technology used to create this massive gorilla might have been reverse-engineered from the bodies of patients cured by the AIDS medication?” Liu Hui questioned.

Liu Hui’s AIDS medication had never been leaked. If the opposing side drew inspiration from it, the source could only be the patients who had recovered from the disease, prompting his query.

“Correct. According to our analysis, that is theoretically possible,” Zerg affirmed.

“Good heavens, so this is my own fault, my own leak. But is there anyone else in this world, besides An Qi, capable of such genius? To reverse-engineer an AIDS patient’s body and derive the genetic technology that allowed a gorilla to grow to… that size?” Liu Hui exclaimed in shock.

However, when Liu Hui recalled that "The Professor" stood behind this gorilla, and remembered Qin Zhou’s demeanor of profound reverence towards "The Professor," he began to accept that "The Professor" could indeed have engineered such potent genetic technology.

“In that case, doesn't that mean they can create these massive gorillas at will?” Liu Hui asked gloomily.

Zerg, visible on the planar transaction device screen, shook his head. “As I just stated, the genetic technology used to create that massive gorilla is incomplete and immature. The fact that they managed to produce even one successful super-gorilla is already remarkable. Based on our projections, if they continue using this flawed technique, they might not even manage to create a single successful gorilla; the one that appeared before was purely a result of exceptional luck.”

Hearing Zerg’s assessment, Liu Hui finally breathed a massive sigh of relief. If "The Professor" were truly that capable, he could render himself invincible simply by continuously manufacturing these super-gorillas.

If "The Professor" commanded a sufficient army of these powerful apes, annihilating humanity would be no challenge.

Fortunately, Zerg delivered a decisive verdict: "The Professor's" technology suffered from a critical flaw, resulting in an extremely low success rate for breeding super-gorillas. Zerg was no mere ‘expert’ from within China, and Liu Hui placed great trust in his words.

If this was true, Liu Hui no longer feared a direct confrontation with "The Professor."

Without the potential super-gorilla army at "The Professor's" command, no one in the world could stand against Starry Sky Group.

Noticing Liu Hui’s evident relief, Zerg continued, “Esteemed Lord Liu Hui, we have also reached some conclusions regarding the body of the girl you previously sent us for analysis.” Liu Hui’s spirit immediately lifted. The girl Zerg mentioned was An Qi. The first time Zerg analyzed An Qi’s body, he detected a unique, mysterious substance that perpetually altered her form, making her increasingly intelligent. Unfortunately, that special substance later vanished inexplicably, the cause of its disappearance eluding even the Swarm scientists.

Consequently, the Swarm remained intensely curious about An Qi’s physiological state, continuing their research through Liu Hui, hoping to uncover the secret behind her enhanced intelligence and the transient nature of the mysterious substance within her. Now that Zerg claimed to have research conclusions regarding her body, Liu Hui was instantly alert. An Qi was the woman he loved, and he desperately needed clarity on her condition.

“What conclusions have you reached?” Liu Hui asked.

“You once mentioned that the girl was scratched by a piece of strange glass, subsequently contracting a peculiar bacterium. This bacterium would vanish inexplicably within a few hours of leaving her body. Later, this girl supposedly died from this strange germ, only to bizarrely resurrect later, albeit having lost all memory and with her appearance entirely transformed. Is that correct?” Zerg inquired.

“Yes, that is precisely what happened,” Liu Hui confirmed. After learning about the potential connection between Shu Yan and An Qi, he had disclosed everything that happened to them to Zerg, hoping Zerg could decipher the underlying mechanism.

“Through continuous study of the girl’s body, combined with our subsequent deductive reasoning, we have arrived at this possible conclusion,” Zerg explained.

Zerg felt a degree of shame; they had studied An Qi’s body for so long without producing a definitive result, ultimately requiring inference to draw a conclusion. Liu Hui intently focused on Zerg, eager to hear the finding that concerned An Qi.

“The sequence of events was likely this: the exquisitely alluring glass shard that injured Shu Yan’s body carried an exceptionally mysterious bacterium. Upon entering Shu Yan’s body, this bacterium began to slowly remodel her physiology. Shu Yan’s physical condition exhibited a significant disparity with the requirements of the mysterious microbe, leading to a violent reaction within her body. Manifested externally, this showed as widespread ulceration, culminating in the horrific sight of writhing flesh. We believe this entire process represented the bacterium actively transforming Shu Yan’s body.”

“What you witnessed as Shu Yan’s death was merely an illusion. Although Shu Yan lost all signs of life, the mysterious bacterium’s modification of her body had not entirely ceased; this massive transformation likely concluded several days after her apparent death. Once this grand remodeling was complete, Shu Yan’s body became an environment suitable for the mysterious bacterium to thrive. Externally, this manifested as Shu Yan becoming an entirely different person—the individual you now call An Qi.”

“We have detected a special substance within An Qi’s body. This substance is also beyond our research, as it vanishes mysteriously after twenty-four hours, its destination unknown to anyone. Because of this shared characteristic, coupled with the familiar electric sensation you share with her, we can confirm one point: that An Qi is the former Shu Yan.”

“As for the mysterious bacterium within Shu Yan’s body, it likely mutated after completing the restructuring of Shu Yan’s body, transforming into an entity beyond our detection. Though we cannot perceive this entirely new entity, it ceaselessly secretes that special substance, which is precisely what renders An Qi exceptionally intelligent and grants her immense mental fortitude,” Zerg slowly articulated the conclusion of his team’s research on An Qi’s physique.

Although Liu Hui had harbored a premonition, hearing this outlandish conclusion from Zerg, a supreme expert in genetic technology, still struck him as fantastical. Yet, regardless of how unbelievable it seemed, he had to accept Zerg’s findings, as only such an explanation could plausibly account for everything that had transpired with Shu Yan and An Qi.

Liu Hui suddenly remembered one crucial point. “If An Qi is Shu Yan, then where did Shu Yan’s memories go? An Qi absolutely cannot recall anything about Shu Yan,” he asked.

Zerg shook his head. “That aspect remains unknown to us. Memory, after all, is an immensely complex phenomenon, posing numerous unresolved challenges even for our research. Therefore, discovering the fate of Shu Yan’s memories will require your own investigation.” Liu Hui wished to probe deeper into An Qi’s physiology, but even Zerg, with his advanced mastery of genetic engineering, could offer no further assistance.

Nevertheless, Liu Hui felt profoundly satisfied today. Not only had he acquired the one hundred thousand units of Body Evolution Fluid and the 1.2 million units of Sustained-Release Agent from Zerg, but he had also learned of the fatal flaw in "The Professor’s" super-gorilla scheme, and confirmed that Shu Yan and An Qi were the same person, which allowed him to confidently transfer his affections for Shu Yan onto An Qi.

Thus, Liu Hui’s mood remained exceptionally buoyant after concluding this transaction with Zerg. However, shortly after he closed the planar transaction device, he detected an incoming call via the device. Liu Hui opened the interface and saw that it was Xiaoyaozi from the Cultivation Realm calling; a jolt went through him. He wondered why the cunning old fox Xiaoyaozi would initiate contact at this moment.