Early dawn, Arsen Foster woke up in his single apartment to the crisp sounds of chirping birds.
The sun shone on his face through the windows, bringing an air of warmth to the cool morning.
“Phew!”
Arsen gently pushed open the window and exhaled the sleep built up in him overnight and stretched lazily afterward.
The man who was born with a silver spoon found a surprising amount of leisure and excitement that he had been missing for a while in a plain little apartment like this one.
Before properly getting up, Arsen could not resist the urge to look at his arms again – this was the first thing he did every morning.
He saw two well-built, delicate, and clean arms, their fingers were slender and full of strength with hardly a trace of wrinkles on them.
Nobody would have believed you if you said that this was a pair of arms that belonged to a sixty-five-year-old man.
Arson could clearly remember that just three months ago, these arms were filled with marks left behind by the passage of time despite him attentively taking care of them over the years.
It was as if the sands of time flowed backward on these arms of his.
Arsen excitedly hopped down the bed and twisted his body in all sorts of ways. He felt endless energy surging out of his body, a stark contrast to his previous experience where the slightest movement made his body scream with soreness.
After feeling the youthfulness surging across his body, Arsen hummed to the tune of a rock song from the ’70s while he stepped into the bathroom.
A Chinese man in his mid-forties appeared in the bathroom mirror. The figure had a head of long brown hair, sharp eyes like a falcon, and well-defined features resembling a sculpture.
Arsen could not contain a soft chuckle when he saw his long lost youthful appearance in the mirror.
His soft chuckle slowly grew louder and louder, soon, he had broken into a crazy fit of laughter which echoed across the walls of the apartment…
Half an hour later, Arsen dressed himself in a white tracksuit and headed downstairs all dressed up for the day.
This place was the Blackwatch Biotechnology Research Center. The place Arsen stayed in was the apartments provided by the research center for visitors.
Arsen was one of the financial oligarchs who had received a direct invitation from Chen Chen. He was a direct member of the Foster family who was none other than the younger brother of the head of the family, Norman Foster.
As usual, Arsen got up around seven in the morning and went to the cafeteria for his breakfast. After that, he went to the research building for his daily anti-aging treatment.
Chen Chen was probably the only person who could get a bunch of royalty who held the reins of the world to get up and head to the cafeteria for breakfast on their own.
Even if the cafeteria was only opened to the professors in the research teams, it still failed to meet the standards of these individuals.
Still, these financial oligarchs were hardly bothered by this. How bad could it be? They were regaining their youth after all.
The moment Arsen stepped into the cafeteria, several people could not stop themselves from craning their necks toward him. Furthermore, several ladies lit up immediately.
The mid-forties was the period where men’s mature charm was at its peak. Back in his days, Arsen’s looks and charm were widely acknowledged across the Britain royalty circle. He had countless passionate relationships with numerous ladies.
“Good morning, ladies. Gentlemen.”
Arsen politely greeted the people before sitting down at an unoccupied table.
“Mr. Arsen, what would you like to have for breakfast today?” a Chinese waiter approached and asked politely.
“I’ll have a basket of dumplings, a bowl of soy milk, and two dough sticks, thank you.” Arsen flipped through the menu and ordered several Chinese cuisines. He also spoke in Chinese when he ordered, making an impression on the crowd.
“One moment.” The waiter immediately began preparing.
“Arsen, you’re eating Chinese again,” the red-bearded Tom sitting on the next table commented candidly.
“They might not be the healthiest, but they taste splendid. I recommend you give it a try.”
Arsen said with a smile, “The heavens grant us the chance to regain our youth. In that case, it’s about time to make up for some past regrets, wouldn’t you say so buddy?”
“Hmmph, I still haven’t settled the score from back then with you either.” Tom shot Arsen a look and made no further comments.
When the waiter carefully brought the food to Arsen, he ceremoniously wrapped a scarf in front of his chest as usual, even though he was eating Chinese cuisine. After that, he picked up a dumpling with a fork and took a soft bite.
The thick aroma of meat instantly swarmed his mouth. Arsen had to blow on his red-hot lips and panted at the heat.
“Excuse me, may I sit here?”
As Arsen was gritting his teeth from the heat, he heard a familiar voice and immediately looked up. He met the eyes of a young Chinese man standing by the opposite side of the table.
Arsen could not be any more familiar with this person. He was the brains behind the “Mankind Anti-aging Project” and the one who single-handedly brought the research center to reality. Even though they were the ones paying, not a single soul in the Disciple Council wanted to get on the young man’s bad side.
“So, it’s Mr. Chen.”
Arsen smiled awkwardly and made an inviting gesture. “Come on, take a seat, the seat is unoccupied.”
“Thank you.”
Chen Chen sat opposite Arsen and snapped his finger, a waiter quickly approached. “Boss, what would you like to order for breakfast?”
Chen Chen thought for a moment before raising his finger and speaking in Chinese, “I’ll have a bowl of Dandan noodle[1], two lard cakes, and lobster fried with green onions. Make sure to not put in seasoning powder.”
“You’re Chinese but you’re not a fan of seasoning powder?” Arsen asked with a sense of intrigue.
“In moderation, I suppose.”
Chen Chen nodded. “The sodium glutamate in seasoning powder breaks down into glutamate. Consumed in excess, the solution catalyzed by enzymes is transformed into an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.”
Chen Chen pointed at his head. “This inhibitory neurotransmitter will put your nerve functions in an inhibited state, affecting your thoughts…”
“I see!”
Even though he did not understand a single word, Arsen smiled and nodded. “I never thought that seasoning powder could be this harmful, I suppose I should cut down on them in the future.”
After everyone finished their meal, they headed to the research center building together.
“I haven’t congratulated everyone here yet.”
While the crowd was chatting among themselves in a low voice, Chen Chen spoke suddenly, “Everyone, we’ll be conducting the final tests today. If no problems arise, then we can officially announce that the ‘Age-reversal treatment’ is an unqualified success.”
The group took a brief moment to process what Chen Chen just said before the joy started to surface in their eyes.
Despite Chen Chen’s best attempts at providing the best facilities possible, it did not change the fact that they were in Africa which was most lacking in natural resources. There was not much by way of entertainment or anything else, they were at their limit at this point.
This was only one of many reasons. What gave them the most pleasure was in knowing that being allowed to leave meant that the “Age-reversal treatment” they had undergone was a success.
These old men who were on the eve of their lives had extended their lives by thirty years!
This was not a life sustained by lying on a sickbed, hooked up to all sorts of devices. This was a proper chance to live again, abandoning their old and corroding body with a brand new, youthful shell!
Their eyes glowed brightly at the suggestion. This was a glowing eagerness for what the future had in stock for them…
“On top of that, I have one more good news to share with you all.”
Chen Chen paused briefly before continuing. “I know that some of you have concerns that you’ll continue to be plagued by Alzheimer’s disease despite regaining a youthful body. However, from now today onward, there’s no longer a need to worry about such disease.”
“We’ve heard about this as well.”
Tom Wilson turned to him. “I heard you discovered a therapy procedure that was able to contain the worsening effects of Alzheimer’s disease?”
“Your information network is truly impressive.”
Chen Chen answered with a swift smile, “I’ve only announced this in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and haven’t even published it in Nature. And yet, you already found out about it. However, that’s not the good news I was referring to.”
“It’s not?” Tom was surprised.
“The good news I’m talking about concerns a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s disease reversal treatment project research. In three years, we’ll be able to develop a specialized drug to completely cure Alzheimer’s disease.”
Chen Chen’s remark was met with astonishment. “Are you sure you’re not messing with us here? I thought even the cause of the disease is still largely unknown?”
“According to our latest findings, Alzheimer’s disease is a form of deterioration of the human body functionalities which in turn leads to internal deterioration. This is a disease caused by a chain reaction.”
Chen Chen approached the entrance of the research building before concluding. “Therefore, the ‘Age-reversal treatment’ also achieves an effect of suppressing Alzheimer’s disease to a certain degree. As for the true method of curing it, I will not be disclosing it for now. I just hope that everyone is ready for it…
“In three years at most, a new line of drugs will be born to bring an end to the plague of the century!”
[1] A Chinese dish from Sichuan