I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

  During exams, for instance, facts and complicated topics would have been studied and revised beforehand. Even so, due to problems of memory and mental capacity, a blank answer space remained a blank answer space.

  Studies on neurons in the brain indicated that, although humans used their brains at a 100% capacity, from an evolutionary point of view, there was still more cerebral potential to harvest.

  Potential here did not mean that "the brain is only using one part, another part is idle". Instead, it meant that "on the basis of already using the brain fully, we could still become smarter."

  NZT-48 was a drug that would increase one's intelligence.

  It allowed one to access the darkest recesses of one's memories as well as automatically processed and assimilated all this knowledge.

  By taking this drug, the user would have an eidetic memory and attain astonishing insight and logical thinking. One could even integrate details and data that would typically go unnoticed and swiftly arrive at a conclusion.

  As an example, the reasoning and memory of ordinary people were like a disarrayed warehouse. Volumes of memories are piled up haphazardly within. It was a momentous challenge to go through all this information.

  After taking the drug, one's reasoning and memory would be like rows of bookshelves in a library. Each memory would be organized into its appropriate position. With just one look, anything and everything could be located.

  Nonetheless, just like the other substances, NZT-48 had huge negative side effects.

  In the original work, the substance seemed like a metaphor for hard drugs. It was a novel that satirized North American society at that time.

  In the movie, the substance, just like a drug, would cause dependency. Once the user stopped taking it, they would experience intense withdrawal symptoms.

  It included headaches, dizziness, memory loss, and even…

  Brain death.

  Still, this was not a good reason to scare Chen Chen off.

  Even all the drugs in the movies had negative side effects. How could Chen Chen possibly fail to understand that there was no such thing as a free lunch?

  Furthermore, Chen Chen specialized in biosciences. As befitting of his field, he could do what the protagonist did by manufacturing an antidote to neutralize the side effects.

  With this in mind, Chen Chen immediately turned on his laptop and downloaded Limitless.

  "Ding!"

  After over ten minutes of waiting, the movie was successfully downloaded. Without hesitation, Chen Chen copied it into the USB drive, then clicked play –

  After the extended opening shot, the iconic blue eyes of the main character, Eddie Morra, appeared on screen…

  Chen Chen clicked on the movie's progress bar and slowly dragged it forward. At last, the video paused at the part where the protagonist had found the large bag of NZT-48, which his brother-in-law, Vernon, had hidden in the oven.

  "Right here!"

  Chen Chen muttered. At the same time, he subconsciously reached out toward the screen.

  Following that, an astounding sight occurred…

  In the video, the tightly sealed bag of NZT-48 floated up and gradually drifted toward the camera.

  Simultaneously, Chen Chen's hand seemed to reach through the screen, closer to its target…

  Then, there was a soft touch and Chen Chen instinctively grabbed with his right hand!

  By the time he had recovered his senses, there was a sealed bag in his hand, around the size of his palm, filled with unknown pills!

  He had succeeded!

  Chen Chen stood up with a clatter with wild glee shimmering in his eyes.

  He turned over the plastic bag in his hand with a look of incomparable wonder. He felt as if he was dreaming!

  "Relax, relax. Chen Chen, there's still much you have to do…"

  Chen Chen forced himself to calm down, then he ejected the USB drive. Chen Chen only plugged it out when the computer signified that it could be safely removed.

  USB drive…

  It was only when he noticed the USB drive's current appearance that Chen Chen thoroughly regained his composure.

  After instantiating a bag of NZT-48, the USB drive was now dull without a hint of gloss. It was like a piece of rubbish that had been left out in the weather and abandoned for decades.

  'I hope it can be recharged…'

  Chen Chen prayed silently. He patted his pockets but was not sure where to hide the USB drive.

  In his pocket? The quality of the material was so poor. What if it tore?

  In the closet? What if someone picked the lock?

  Under the bed? That was even worse…

  At this point, Chen Chen was like a farmer who had suddenly gained riches. No matter where he hid it, he would feel anxious.

  In the end, Chen Chen simply looked for some adhesive tape and bound the USB drive firmly to his arm. He wound the tape four or five times around his arm before he felt remotely safe.

  Following that, Chen Chen started up the antivirus software and deleted all the records in his laptop before shutting it down.

  "Right, there are still these…"

  Chen Chen took out the notebook he had written in and the two Pikachu caps. After that, he fished out a lighter from the drawer and walked toward the toilet.

  In the toilet, he set the notebook on fire and tossed it onto the ground, then flung the two caps into the bonfire too.

  Five minutes later, Chen Chen exited the toilet. The ashes of the fire had been swept into the urinal and flushed down the pipes. By the time the ventilation fan removed the smell of smoke, there would be nothing left.

  After patting the bag of drugs hidden in his underwear, Chen Chen did not return to the dorm but went down toward the animal laboratory center.

  He was a student at the Institute of Biological Sciences of Mainland China's Shangdu Jiao Tong University. Although he had not gone into a narrow specialization, he knew that any new drug must undergo clinical trials.

  After all, the NZT-48 extracted from the USB drive could have any sort of chemical composition. Chen Chen was not foolish enough to test it on himself.

  Currently, he did not have the means to run clinical trials. However, animal testing was still feasible.

  At the animal laboratory center, Chen Chen bought eight Kunming mice and a couple of M1 mouse cages which were used in experiments, along with other apparatuses.

  With these items, Chen Chen did not return to the dorm nor did he go to the laboratories. Instead, he went off-campus.

  There were too many people in the dorms whereas the experiments in the laboratories were monitored and recorded. Thus, it was not suitable for him.

  In the end, Chen Chen carried the two cages of Kunming mice and booked a standard room in a hotel near the campus.

  After entering the room, Chen Chen locked the door, then fished out a black marker pen to assign numbers to the white mice. They were numbered 1 to 4 in each cage, separated into two groups.

  Following that, he began the experiment.

  Chen Chen had to test the toxicity of the NZT-48 drug toward the white mice.

  Chen Chen had bought white mice that were purebred for medical purposes. The constitution and immune response of these mice were close to humans and their genomes were highly similar to humans too. Many human diseases would cause similar symptoms in these mice.

  In short, if these white mice did not die after ingesting NZT-48, theoretically, Chen Chen should not die either.

  First, he sterilized the apparatuses he purchased, then took out an NZT-48 pill and weighed it. Based on his own mass, he calculated the corresponding dose for a mouse. After that, he dissolved it in a solution and diluted it as appropriate.

  After completing these preliminary preparations, Chen Chen took out white mouse Number 1 and using a gavage needle, fed it an amount of NZT-48 liquid that was proportionate to his own body weight.

  As for white mouse Number 2, Chen Chen fed it twice the dosage.
Number 3 had three times the dosage, and Number 4, four times.

  He did the same for the second cage of mice.

  After feeding them the drug, Chen Chen stored the remaining NZT-48 liquid into a sealed vial, then carefully observed the responses of the two groups of mice.

  He was a little relieved that even white mouse Number 4, which had taken four times the dosage, did not seem to change much.

  If he was forced to make an observation, he would say they seemed to be livelier than before…

  He waited until six in the evening. Nothing abnormal had happened to the two cages of mice.

  Chen Chen heaved a sigh of relief. At least he could ascertain that the NZT-48 instantiated from the mysterious USB drive was not acutely toxic.

  In terms of chronic toxicity, he still had to observe a while longer.

  Seven days – Chen Chen was expecting to wait this long.

  As long as nothing abnormal happened within seven days, Chen Chen would begin his daredevil venture.

  Chapter 6: NZT's Effect |

  Over the next few days, Chen Chen would head to the hotel for two hours during lunch break and two hours in the evening from six to eight o'clock. He would feed the drug to the mice and swap out the mattress.

  The eight mice were resilient. There were no incidents such as signs of disease or fighting among them. The experiment was progressing smoothly.

  It was not difficult to feed the mice. A fixed daily ration of fodder was enough. Occasionally, Chen Chen would give them peanuts or walnuts, which made them jump excitedly.

  However, it cost Chen Chen an arm and a leg. His monthly expense was a thousand and five hundred and a week's rent alone cost upward of a thousand.

  Chen Chen was only halfway through the month and he could barely afford to eat at the canteen.

  "Since there are still no issues, it should be safe to say it isn't poisonous."

  Seven days later, at noon, Chen Chen came to the hotel right after his class had ended.

  Chen Chen glanced at the two cages. If his situation permitted it, he would have liked to run one more abstinence reaction test, but his living expenses said otherwise.

  Not to mention, he had already used a pill over the last seven days. It might not be a lot, but under the circumstance where he was unable to reproduce them, each of them was invaluable.

  Chen Chen took out the final dinner and let the mice fill their belly.

  He then took out the tribromoethanol solution he had prepared beforehand. With his left hand, he scooped the mice up one by one with their belly facing up and injected their lower abdomen with the syringe using his right hand. The potion slowly passed through their abdominal muscles.

  Tribromoethanol solution was commonly used as anesthesia for animals. Since Chen Chen intentionally used a higher dosage, the mice collapsed in their cage one after another within three minutes. They had entered a completely sedated stage.

  After around eight minutes had passed, all of the mice unconsciously died in their sleep due to overwhelming of their central nervous systems.

  This was death by anesthesia overdose. It was considered the most humane method of terminating animals used for experimentation.

  Hmm, at least it was more humane than methods such as decapitation, cervical dislocation, bleeding out, and air embolism.

  After making sure the mice were dead, Chen Chen left the room. He bought a bottle of alcohol from a pharmacy and chose an empty alleyway where he poured the bottle of alcohol on the carcasses of the mice.

  Followed by a faint blue flame rising, the group of mice was entirely engulfed in flames. Their bodies turned black and eventually into unrecognizable shapes.

  Whatever the drug was made of, whether it was a biochemical drug, Chinese and Eastern fusion drug or even a gene-drug, it did not matter anymore. After undergoing a five to six hundred degree high incarceration, all of the molecular bonds had been completely disintegrated.

  It could also be considered as a cremation ceremony for the eight heroes.

  After that, Chen Chen did not head back to the school. He got himself some lunch outside then took the ninth line on the subway, heading toward the most prodigious hospital in the city - Shangdu People's Hospital.

  Even though there were no issues with the animal experiment, it was better to be safe than sorry. What if the drug posed no threat to animals but was highly toxic to humans?

  These situations were not unheard of either, take chocolates for example. When people ate chocolates, not only would they be unharmed, they would probably be in a good mood. However, if a mouse ate chocolate, it would be similar to an old man who was fed up with life deciding to end it all by eating arsenic.

  This was the reason Chen Chen decided to take the drug to a hospital. At the hospital, he could still be rescued as long as what he took was not cyanide or paraquat.

  Anyone who had experience with the subway knew that the signal reception in the Shangdu Subway was a horrible mess as only emergency calls were available down here. Televisions were installed in the subway to serve as public amenities.

  Most of the programs on the television were centered around the news.

  Chen Chen sat on the subway and began watching the real-time news flashing one after another on the television out of boredom. There were legal programs and news advertising, it was at least tolerable.

  One of the news that caught his attention was a heroic story that had just happened. On Renmin road, a man was repeatedly stabbed three times by a violent criminal in an attempt of stopping a kidnap. He was promptly rescued by the police who arrived at the scene.

  It was just after the peak hour, therefore, the subway was rather spacious. There were several aunties seated nearby with their church tote bags in hand.

  It was rather obvious that these aunties were heading to church for mass.

  "Ah, Renmin Road? Isn't it just nearby?"

  One of the aunties took off her shoes and crossed her feet on her seat. She rubbed her feet while sighing, "There aren't many young men like this anymore."

  "Tch, every time I use the subway, it's so hard to get someone to give me their seat. It's always oh I don't feel well or oh it's my period. These people are ridiculous…"

  Another aunty sitting nearby, who was twice Chen Chen's size, sighed as well.

  By the time the train had arrived at the station, it was around two in the afternoon.

  Chen Chen walked around the hospital for a lap before arriving at the emergency department.

  The Emergency Center was the department responsible for attending an emergency medical situation. Whenever he was here, he could feel the heavy atmosphere.

  Ambulances roared past one after another. From time to time, stretchers clanked their way through the long corridor, followed by nurses' hurried footsteps.

  Occasionally, a large group of family members would rush in and gather around the corridor. They would bicker endlessly until eventually, a security guard would usher them to their seats in the waiting area.

  In this hectic environment, Chen Chen's arrival did not draw any attention.

  Chen Chen sat in the corner of the waiting area. He retrieved a tablet he had prepared well beforehand and inspected it closely.

  Chen Chen shook his head, took a deep breath, and gently put it in his mouth.

  He gently closed his eyes.

  One second, two seconds, three seconds…

  …

  "Little Jie, Little Jie, you have to come to the hospital now, your father just passed out…"

  …

  "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Move it, move it, don't get in the way, and open the door! Stretcher coming this way!"

  …

  "Woo… It's all your fault, would something like this happen if you didn't drive so fast? If something were to happen to Peng Peng…"

  …

  "Mum, Mum, what happened to Dad? When will he come out from behind those doors?"

  …

  Chen Chen was not sure
when it happened but he noticed that his sense of hearing became extremely sharp.

  Nearby, there was a lady with a hoarse voice speaking on the phone. She was telling her daughter about her husband's condition. She was trying to hold back tears as she spoke.

  Outside the emergency room, the stretcher produced a grating sound when moved around, the nurses pushed aside the family members who were in the way.

  A pair of married couple sat in front of Chen Chen. They were having a hushed conversation. The lady could not stop crying.

  The frail little girl kept asking her mother questions as if this young girl seemed to have finally realized something.

  Countless voices were mixed together and yet there was a clear distinction between them. The syllable in every sentence and the emotions these uttered words contained were all visualized in Chen Chen's mind…

  It was all like a grand symphony.

  Chapter 7: Initial Symptoms |

  Chen Chen slowly opened his eyes.

  It was as if a blind man had regained his sight. What appeared before him was like a brand new world.

  The lamp overhead was flickering at a frequency that could otherwise not be observed by the normal eye.

  Figures were going back and forth from the gap below the door to the emergency room.

  Furthermore, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant. They came in waves one after another…

  All of this information appeared vividly in his mind as everything he saw came to life. The sound of footsteps, conversations and even the tempo of their breathing…

  Not a single detail went unnoticed.

  It was like watching a real movie and having the movie resolution switch from 360p to ultra HD 1080p, every frame was complete.

  Everything in the world remained the same and yet it was like the world had been turned upside down.

  That was right, the world remained unchanged. What changed instead was Chen Chen's perspective of the world.

  Countless inspiration danced about in his mind. He only had to invoke a thought to recall any memory and knowledge, from the most minute detail to the most significant.

  He seemed to have suddenly recalled something. Chen Chen lifted his eyebrow and pulled out his phone and looked up the word Limitless. Only this time, Chen Chen added several additional words behind the phrase and added "TV series".