I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

  Among these three technologies, only CRISPR-Cas9 technology had the lowest off-target rate and was the most reliable. Plus, it was the only technology that could edit RNA, so it was also the most widely used genome editing technology.

  However, CRISPR-Cas9 technology currently had many problems such as complex gene editing that was difficult to achieve, low transfection efficiency, and so on.

  However, it would seem that a long time ago, Umbrella Corporation had already forged a new path. Their genome editing technology alone surpassed reality by thirty to forty years.

  Chen Chen continued his examination and soon found a large number of biological equipment that surpassed technology in the real world. With these equipment, Chen Chen could even easily observe the DNA nucleic acid chain. Other technologies were simpler and more accurate than those in reality.

  This was a paradise for those who worked in biology…

  Chen Chen sighed to himself.

  "Oh, right." As if he had just thought of something, Chen Chen asked excitedly, "Are there any samples of the T-virus in the Hive?"

  "No. According to the monitoring and records, all of the T-virus and its antidote had been lost 7 years ago. Now, only a part of the Progenitor virus's sample still exists."

  "Progenitor virus?"

  Chen Chen's heart leaped. Most people might not have heard of this virus, but Chen Chen had already investigated all the settings in Resident Evil, so he was already well acquainted with this virus.

  This Progenitor virus, according to the game's story, was the predecessor of the T-virus.

  The founder of the biological outbreak first discovered a flower called "Stairway of the Sun" in Africa. From this flower, the first RNA fragment was extracted, which was the Progenitor virus.

  The Progenitor virus had the ability to alter human genes. Therefore, after a few disappointing experiments, the founder chimerized the genetic fragments of leeches with the genes of the Progenitor virus, thus creating the first T-virus.

  "Where's the Progenitor virus?" Chen Chen asked quickly.

  "The Progenitor virus is frozen in the freezer of the Hive," X-112 replied, "do you want to thaw it now?"

  "Hold on." Chen Chen waved his hand after some thought. "Give me a copy of the information about the Progenitor virus. I'll check that out first."

  "Understood."

  X-112 assented, following which a computer beside Chen Chen turned on automatically. Then, pages of information were sent over.

  However, as he pored over the information on the Progenitor virus in detail, Chen Chen suddenly narrowed his eyes.

  According to the information, the Progenitor virus came from the Ndipaya tribe in Western Africa. The "Stairway of the Sun" flower contained a viral substance in the form of RNA, which could enhance human capabilities and extend human life.

  From a biological point of view, the RNA characteristics of the Progenitor virus could promote the evolution of human DNA, but the toxin contained in the virus would kill the human immune system, resulting in systemic inflammation, necrosis of the skin and other outer tissues, loss of a large amount of body fluids and secondary infections of various diseases, after which followed sepsis and severe shock, eventually leading to death.

  Furthermore, only a very small number of individuals would undergo a mutation in their immune receptors after infection, allowing them to survive. The survival rate did not exceed 10%.

  This disease was the same as the Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever?

  When Chen Chen read up to this part, he quickly scanned downward and immediately came across the electron microscope photo of the Progenitor virus, which looked like a worm-like filovirus.

  The Progenitor virus also came from Western African and was a filovirus. Likewise, even its symptoms upon infection were systemic inflammation, necrosis of skin, and other external tissues, and so on. These symptoms were practically identical to the Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever.

  Was there such a coincidence?

  Chen Chen checked the gene sequence of the Progenitor virus again, only to find that, as he thought, the genetic similarity between the Progenitor virus and the Ebola virus was 98%!

  They could be said to be homological.

  Chen Chen looked thoughtful.

  This was not too surprising. After all, in the perspective of ordinary people, Resident Evil was originally written by screenwriters in reality, so it was not too far-fetched to say that they used the Progenitor virus as a way to pay homage to the real-world Ebola virus.

  However, it was just designed as a homage, yet it just so happened that the virus was said to have the power to change human DNA and accelerate human evolution. This was a little bizarre…

  If the screenwriter just made up a virus, which could make humans evolve, out of thin air, Chen Chen could still swallow that. After all, he suspected that the USB drive had the power to fill out the rules. Even the existence of superpowers from Chronicle was possible. Was not a virus normal in comparison?

  However, what Chen Chen could not accept was that this virus had a genetic sequence that was 98% identical to the Ebola virus. Did it not mean that the Ebola virus held the same potential for human evolution as long as it was slightly modified?

  In that case, did the Ebola virus itself always had this potential and the story of Resident Evil simply outsmarted itself?

  The other possibility was, because a parallel universe like Resident Evil existed, a virus such as Ebola, which was almost identical to the Progenitor virus, would appear?

  To put it simply, Chen Chen's question was: Which came first, the Resident Evil movie or the Resident Evil dimension?

  Chen Chen kept reading through the documents sent by X-112, but his mind had already drifted out of the window.

  If he could clarify this issue, Chen Chen could then clear up why, when films were shot, some were recognized by the USB drive while others were not.

  Chapter 207: Solution |

  There was something called the "Red Queen" hypothesis in western biology.

  This hypothesis posited that in the evolution of the biological world, all creatures had to constantly compete with the other species around them. If a species stopped evolving, it would be eliminated mercilessly.

  The entire evolutionary process could be described by the saying, "If you're moving forward, you're moving backward". Foreigners might not have heard this before, but in the story of Alice in Wonderland, the Red Queen said this to Alice, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

  Therefore, scientists named this Red Queen hypothesis.

  When it came to evolution, one must mention viruses too.

  In the 1990s, biological sequencing technology was relatively mature. Scientists began to study the nucleotide sequences in human chromosomes to decipher the secrets of human genetic code.

  The researchers found that about 8% of the human genome was confirmed to be composed of viruses that once invaded our ancestors while an additional 40% to 50% were suspected to be likewise composed of viruses that invaded our ancestors.

  In simple terms, a virus was like a robot mainly composed of nucleic acid. When attacking humans, it would embed itself in the nucleotide chain of human cells like a parasite, then secretly tear down the nucleic acid of the cell to create something identical to itself, thus making a large number of copies of itself.

  Nonetheless, during replication, it was easy to leave part of itself in the human DNA chain. For example, the production of the placenta was the result of a virus infection. This virus could synthesize syncytin and vivipary only occurred in mammals after they were infected by this virus.

  These viruses were called "endogenous retroviruses." Some of them were the most significant enemies of humans in all of history, but they had become an indispensable part of human evolution.

  Therefore, it was very common for humans to evolve through a virus.

  Currently, Chen Chen analyzed the BE-006 virus while comparing it to t
he data of the Progenitor virus that was deciphered in the Hive.

  Through all kinds of high-end equipment in the Hive's laboratory, along with the intelligence of X-112, the various purposes of BE-006's gene were detected bit by bit at a speed that would have been incomprehensible to the real world.

  The genetic sequence of BE-006 contained 1467 genes and 50 genetic codes. Although the calculation capability of X-112, combined with the equipment in the laboratory, was extremely fast, it would still take several days.

  Thus, Chen Chen simply left the remaining Black Knight to stand guard before the passage so that he would still have an escape route. Meanwhile, Chen Chen followed the railroad tracks to head up to the ground for a look.

  The tracks on which the tram traveled were not too long, only about five kilometers, and Chen Chen came to the end in less than an hour.

  Near the end, there was a tram marred with scratches and a sealed gate.

  "X-112, open the gate."

  Chen Chen used a radio communication device to send the command to X-112, who now controlled the Hive. At once, the gate slowly rose.

  Chen Chen remembered that at the end of the first movie, Alice and Matthew escaped by tram and were attacked by a Licker on the way.

  Even so, in the end, the two of them killed the Licker and closed the gate of the Hive. They had just gotten out of the frying pan, so to speak, but they were captured by personnel from the Umbrella Corporation again, who then opened the doors and allowed the zombies to spread to Raccoon City.

  After the gate was completely opened, the once-dark passage was finally penetrated by a ray of light that shone in.

  Chen Chen squinted and raised one hand to block the glaring light. Only then did he discover that the building beyond the gate seemed to have collapsed.

  After Chen Chen allowed his eyes to slowly adjust to the light, he walked out of the gate. The ruins of a villa that was near collapse instantly appeared in front of him and it was among these ruins that Chen Chen emerged.

  Here was where the story of Resident Evil began: the mansion villa.

  There were endless weeds that reached up to one's waist. A large swathe of creeper plants enveloped the entire ruin, turning it into a green wasteland.

  Chen Chen looked around casually, but other than a few corpses that had decomposed beyond recognition, there was only a never-ending stretch of greenery.

  Chen Chen walked out of the ruins and immediately saw the dilapidated walls in the distance. That was Raccoon City, a small city hit by a nuclear power that was equivalent to five kilotons.

  Strictly speaking, the equivalent of five kilotons was not too large. Looking at it now, after the nuclear bomb exploded in mid-air, it had flattened buildings within a radius of five square kilometers. In addition, a circular crater about one kilometer in diameter was left in the center of Raccoon City.

  Even so, fortunately, the impact was not considered large, so the Hive that was located three hundred meters underground in the city center could withstand the attack without being affected much.

  Besides that, Chen Chen did not see any zombies nor any signs of humans.

  After he walked around Raccoon City, Chen Chen did not find anything of value. When the explosion destroyed Raccoon City, it also eliminated almost all the zombies here.

  As for those zombies who survived by chance, they had no choice but to waste away because they had no water and energy to replenish themselves with.

  Chen Chen entered a fairly intact house in the suburbs, only to see that countless vines had crept in. Even the room was blanketed with plants. Moreover, several bodies were lying on the ground that were fully decomposed.

  These bodies had become skeletons and it was not clear whether they had been humans or zombies when they were alive.

  After making a round, it was almost night. Out of caution, Chen Chen returned to the Hive and asked X-112 to close the door again, thus sealing the place.

  There would be time to explore this world in the future, but not now.

  Chen Chen still had many important tasks this time around.

  In the next two days, Chen Chen did not head out but instead read through all the biological information in the Hive. These data gave Chen Chen plenty of inspiration.

  Two days later, when Chen Chen was about to finish the food he had brought with him, the genetic analysis of the BE-006 virus was finally completed.

  After analyzing the role of each base pair in BE-006, the next step was simple — all Chen Chen had to do was use the adenine base editor to edit the corresponding genes of the BE-006 virus, thus transforming BE-006 into a noncontagious, non-toxic virus.

  This was a new virus obtained through gene editing engineering. It was almost identical to the original BE-006 and it was also a vaccine.

  When this new virus was implanted into the human body, the human body would have enough time to produce antibodies because it was not toxic. As long as the antibodies could be produced, the human body would naturally become immune to BE-006.

  This method was attained through an understanding of the BE-006 gene. In addition to analyzing all the genes of the virus, the difficulty also lay in being able to accurately edit the genes.

  The virus that Chen Chen would need to create through editing was only possible when both these requirements were met.

  It was immensely difficult for real-world biotechnology to achieve this. This was even harder than manufacturing viral protein vaccines, so this could only be easily achieved in Resident Evil's dimension.

  Chen Chen was right to come here.

  Chapter 208: Vaccine |

  Two days later.

  In the substation of the Blacklight Nuclear Power Plant, there was a black, void-like entrance.

  This entrance was inlaid upon the laptop's screen just like a vortex or the screen's desktop.

  At one glance, it seemed like a suffocating illusion.

  However, if this was just a desktop, it was far too realistic. It seemed to create the illusion that this vortex was far larger than the screen. It was not even a problem for people to go in and out.

  Just then, the lights in the room suddenly turned dark.

  It was as if the black hole on screen suddenly yawned wide and emitted black light. When this light withdrew once again, a white machine, about half the height of a person, appeared out of thin air before the laptop.

  A young man was pushing this machine from behind.

  Chen Chen had returned to reality.

  "Sir Godfather, you're back?"

  Little X's voice rang out, containing a huge sigh of relief.

  "Help me wrap and seal this machine first. It's a high-precision machine and cannot come into contact with any dust."

  Chen Chen spoke at once and took out two sealed test tubes from his pocket. He carefully handed them to a Black Knight standing beside him. Meanwhile, he entered the disinfection room and disinfected himself thoroughly.

  "What happened this time? Where are the other two Black Knights?"

  Little X asked.

  "I've left them over there and only brought back their God chips."

  Chen Chen took out two God chips and a hard drive from his pocket. "You can take X-112 back. X-112 has absorbed the information of the entire Hive. After you receive all that information, remember to set out a separate special database as a backup because this data can instantly propel our biotechnology from the top ranks of the world to the number one position. We would also exceed the ones in second place by more than thirty years."

  "By that much!"

  Little X exclaimed in admiration. "What about the vaccine for BE-006?"

  "I've just handed it to that Black Knight. It's an artificial virus obtained through genetic modification."

  Chen Chen said, "This virus is almost identical to BE-006. The only difference is that it will not kill people. It can be disseminated immediately after clinical trials to stop the spread of this catastrophe…

  "Not just that…"
>
  Chen Chen continued. "Other than the BE-006 vaccine, I've also acquired the Progenitor virus from Resident Evil. The only downside is that there are no T-virus samples in the Hive. Otherwise, this would be a real bounty."

  "Right. Compared to the Progenitor virus, the T-virus is the real killer."

  Little X agreed. "Still, the risks of the T-virus far exceed the Progenitor virus. At least the Progenitor virus isn't contagious."

  "Risks and benefits are two sides of the same coin."

  Chen Chen smiled, seemingly in a good mood. At the same time, he seemed to recall something and asked, "By the way, how are things in the Eco Science City during the two days I've been away? Surely the refugees haven't broken in."

  "Not for now. However, Walvis Bay International Airport has been breached."

  Little X replied, "Those refugees got smart. They knew that there's a large number of troops stationed in the Eco Science City, so it won't be easy to invade. However, the materials that we shipped are transported by plane. So yesterday, after a batch of materials were delivered, the group of refugees attacked the airport, causing two of our transport planes to be damaged."

  "What supplies did we lose?" Chen Chen looked somber.

  "It's just some masks and disinfectants. We still have some in stock," Little X said. "But if the airport is compromised, our supply line will be interrupted."

  "It's fine, we still have room to fight back. Where's the nearest airport?" After Chen Chen thought about it, he did not panic, merely frowned and asked.

  "The nearest airport is the Windhoek Airport, but that airport was closed long ago after the outbreak."

  "In that case, get the authorities to open it back up."

  Chen Chen said, "Tell the Namibian government to guard that airport. Our transport planes shall land there."

  "But the transportation line has been cut as well."

  Little X said anxiously, "Both the railway and the road from Windhoek to Walvis Bay have been paralyzed. Plus, this group of refugees has become more and more vicious recently. It's impossible that they'll simply observe the transport vehicles without intercepting them. "