The Mechanic [BL]

[101]

Chapter 101 – Feathered Serpent City (7)

For two days straight Zhang Xun didn't leave his and Pan's R&D workshop. Undoing the effects of the nanobots on the human brain was much more difficult than Zhang Xun had expected. Originally, Zhang Xun had thought that the nanobots would simply remain in the human body to modify the brain structure after repairing the damaged cells, but after a closer look at the design framework of the nanobots, he realised that Adam's design was at the genetic level.

As the nanorobots would have to identify which cells were infected by the virus and which were native, a sample of cells containing DNA information of the patient prior to infection (or the DNA of both parents if the patient's couldn't be found) would be added to the nanobots' solution for them to compare and study before entering the body, so that they could quickly target the diseased cells and either treat or kill them. To repair the damage caused by killing the cells, they then stimulated the secretion of HGH from the pituitary gland, which rapidly copied the DNA to produce new proteins.

It was clear that Eden's deciphering and decoding of human DNA was perfect, but it didn't reveal all of its knowledge to humans, only revealed selective parts. Taking advantage of this subtle knowledge gap, Adam targeted a few target chromosomal base pairs and made subtle but sophisticated modifications that resulted in controlled mutations in the copies of those DNAs. This culminated in the presentation of a surgically indistinguishable, functional 'deformity' of the corpus callosum. It was this functional deformity that deprived humans of their instinct to preserve the individual.

The problem was that Pan was unable to determine exactly which genes Adam had tampered with, since all his training data still came from the human knowledge database and Zhang Xun didn't have enough knowledge in this area to know either. To fix the nanobots at their source, he would have to work with the genetic engineers at Feathered Serpent City. Even then, they might not be able to decipher Adam's design in a short time.

But time was running out. He had to inject the nanobots into the rebels the day after tomorrow and "restore" them to normal.

So Zhang Xun was faced with a choice. He could build a batch of nanobots according to Adam's design, 'cure' the rebels and stay in the city to continue his plan. Or he could take James and Cindy, who were on the verge of death and Diego, who had been caught up in all this for no reason and go on the run again. Only this time they probably wouldn't get another chance to turn the tables.

He stared at the dense characters on the screen until his eyes hurt and his mind buzzed.

He knew that after this decision, he would never be able to turn back. Adam could use his lack of understanding of human nature as an excuse, but he couldn't.

He was about to choose to do something evil, something he knew was wrong, but would choose to do it anyway.

A day later, he arrived with twenty six injections at the institute where the prisoners were kept . The High Priest and Tian Yu were already waiting for him and they looked at him, staring at the box he carried in his hand.

"I'm going to give them the injections myself." Zhang Xun said.

The High Priest nodded and gestured for Paulino to escort the twenty-six prisoners into the observation room. All the prisoners had some sort of metal ring placed on their foreheads, which seemed to be used to control their movements in case the modified men suddenly tried to resist.

Zhang Xun entered the observation room with the case and looked into the twenty-six pairs of eyes that were tired and chaotic from all the mental illnesses that had afflicted them.