In a coastal villa by the bay of Eco Science City, two men were seated opposite each other. Between the two men was a square table with a set of chess arranged on top of it.
The two of them were immersed in continuous thought as they sat together at the table. It should be noted that these men looked extremely alike.
It was as if they were a pair of siblings.
However, they were not siblings, but a pair of father and son instead.
The father was none other than James Watson and his accompanying member was his son, Watson Jr.
It had been three months since James Watson’s operation.
Over the last three months, not only had James Watson fully recovered but he had also received the age-reversal treatment and reverted his body to his prime condition in his forties. His son, Watson Jr. underwent the same treatment as well.
Currently, the two of them were employed at the Eco Science City as research members. James Watson was even directly promoted to the rank of a research professor.
However, there were no signs of joy on Watson Jr’s complexion. He instead had a cloud of gloom cast over his face.
A little over two months ago, shortly after his father had recovered from the operation, he received the terrible news that his son, Bruno was dead. The body was found in the sewers of Chicago. It was presumed to be the fallout of a turf war between gangs.
Watson Jr. had to suffer the great pain of seeing his child die earlier than himself. He promptly decided to have the rest of his family settled into Eco Science City.
“Look at it this way, my son.”
Watson advised when he saw the somber display, “Everybody dies eventually. Besides, don’t you have two other sons? Now that they’re here, things will get better…”
“Maybe.”
Watson Jr. responded with a brief nod and made a move with the king chess piece.
While the father and son were dueling, there were suddenly robust rounds of chatter coming from the entrance of the villa. It was immediately followed by hectic footsteps quickly drawing closer to where the two of them were. They heard the sound of knuckles tapping against the door to the study.
“Come in!”
Watson Jr. called out.
Immediately, an old lady poked her head through the gap of the door. “There’s a black man outside who wants to meet Watson.”
“He wants to meet my father?”
Watson Jr. turned to the old lady and asked suspiciously.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
Watson suddenly perked up and checked the time. He tapped his head clumsily and chuckled. “It’s been so long since I got into a working routine. Someone phoned me yesterday and told me that I’m supposed to start heading a project from today on.”
“Is that true? Congratulations, Dad.”
Watson Jr. was delighted to hear this. It had to be the decision of the upper management of Blacklight Biotechnology to have Watson lead a project. This was a sign that they were confident in Watson’s abilities. Regardless of the politics behind it, this could only be a good thing for the Watson family.
The two of them shared a warm embrace before Watson turned to the old lady waiting for further orders at the door. “Quickly escort him inside, tell them that I’ll be right there after I change.”
After approximately ten minutes, Watson adjusted his bionic eyes properly before stepping out with Watson Jr. They immediately saw a man in a suit seated on a sofa in the living room.
“Mr. James Watson, good to see you!”
Upon meeting Watson, the black man immediately got up and shook Watson’s hands enthusiastically. He proceeded to produce an identification card. “I’m Tom, the deputy director of Blackwatch Research Institute. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”
Watson accepted the handshake. “Are you here to formally induct me?”
“Yes, I have a very special project to assign to you.”
Tom noted passionately. “It’s a very, very, very cool project. Well… Strictly speaking, it’s not me assigning this to you, it’s the orders of the upper management. It’s clear to me that they hold you in high esteem. We can discuss the particulars on our way there.”
“Alright.”
Watson turned to the others. “I won’t be having lunch at home today.” He then proceeded to leave the villa with this man named Tom.
There was already a vehicle parked outside the villa waiting for the two of them. After they entered, Tom drove them to the city center.
“Is there any more information? I’d like to know what this project assigned to me entails.”
Watson asked in an attempt to break the ice, “Especially considering that it has been several decades since I conducted any research, I’m not even confident if I can step up to this task.”
“I’m sure you’ll regain your form very quickly.”
Tom answered, slightly distracted, “Actually, even I’m not sure what sector the research you’re in charge of belongs to. I’m only tasked with bringing you to the place, I’m not informed of the other details.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
Watson was startled by this. “Aren’t you the deputy director of the research center?”
“That’s just the title the company has given me.”
Tom shrugged nonchalantly. “My actual position is what you’d describe to be the ‘inductor’ of God Forbidden Zone’s Research Institute. I’m in charge of bringing in newly recruited research members to the ‘Spire’ for their first time.”
Watson’s confusion was slowly growing, he fixed his gaze on the driver, Tom. “What God’s Forbidden Zone? What’s this about a spire?”
“Uh, there’s a lot to go into and I don’t usually go through the effort of explaining. You’ll understand everything soon enough.”
Tom replied, “But since we have nothing better to do, let me give you a brief introduction.
“God’s Forbidden Zone is a private, confidential organization backed by dozens of financial groups.
“This organization is hidden from the public view, its primary agenda is to extend the human lifespan. This comes in the form of technologies such as brain restoration technology and age-reversal treatment that you’ve gone through yourself. The recently launched cancer-targeted drugs is one of the many technologies developed by God’s Forbidden Zone as well.”
“So, you’re saying that the corporation Blacklight Biotechnology is essentially a cover for God’s Forbidden Zone?”
Watson was baffled to hear this.
“No, it’d be more accurate to say that Blacklight Biotechnology is a corporation under the wing of God’s Forbidden Zone.”
Tom laughed. “Stunning, isn’t it? Does it feel like opening a window to a brand new world?”
“If what you’re saying is true, then that’s indeed a shocking relegation.”
Watson noted solemnly. “In other words, would you say that it’s even more prestigious than the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory that I was once a director of?”
“How can Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory even compare anyway? How many projects do they have ongoing? How many funds are involved?”
Tom curled his lips in disdain. “The ‘Spire’ you’re about to head to is the rightful world-class laboratory. There are more than thirty ongoing projects, the capital ranges into tens of billions of dollars. There’s not a single laboratory in this world that can match its scale…”
“That many?”
Watson could not believe what he was hearing. “How come I’ve never heard of a laboratory of such massive scale? If it’s a secret laboratory, where does it obtain the necessary funding?”
Upon noting his passenger’s baffled expression, Tom’s smile only grew wider as he relished in the situation. “You’re about to find out…”
Shortly after that, Tom brought them to the city center and parked at the largest commercial center in Eco Science City — Blacklight Plaza.
“Alright, please come with me, Mr. Watson.”
Tom was the first to exit the vehicle. He then led Watson to the elevator.
Watson followed after, still slightly suspicious.
Upon entering the elevator, Tom ignored the row of buttons beside him. Instead, he looked up and stared into the surveillance camera.
Soon after, there was a digitally generated voice of a female. “Identity verified — C1-grade administrative staff Tom Edward, mission confirmation — escorting James Watson into A001 Spire Experimental Base, commencing transportation.”
The elevator began to move with a rumble following the brief announcement.
To Watson’s surprise, the elevator started to move downward instead of upward!
After what seemed like ten seconds, the elevator came to a stop again. The door opened to reveal a well-illuminated subway station.
The subway station took up a fair amount of space. The reason Watson identified it as a subway station was because he saw two trams parked on the track with the Blacklight Biotechnology logo printed in the front. On the platform, he saw two men in black uniforms, holding a strange firearm that he could not recognize. They stood upright, unmoving.
“This place is…”
The bewilderment in Watson’s eyes was growing wider. He looked at the large subway station and noted the piles of supplies stacked by the platform. He had a hard time describing what he was seeing.
Again, it was Tom taking the lead. He opened the door to one of the trams and made an inviting gesture at Watson’s direction. “Mr. Watson, don’t stand there all day, we have work to do.”
Watson stuttered a little before stepping onto the tram.
The interior of the tram was generously spacious. There were three rows of luxurious seating enough to fit ten passengers. There was no pilot cabin since it was an automated tram.
At the head of the tram was a giant LCD monitor. It started playing a video the moment the two of them entered.
Watson stumbled into a random seat, still confused, while Tom beside him was extremely familiar with the procedures. He immediately went to the end of the tram and found two disposable cups beside a beverage machine before turning to ask, “Do you want Coke or Sprite or coffee, Fanta?”
“A cup of hot coffee please, thank you.”
Watson replied. After that, he felt the tram jolt, signaling that it was starting to move.
The tram proceeded to head into the pitch-black tunnel.
The logo of Blacklight Biotechnology was printed on the disposable cup that Watson was holding. He immediately downed two large gulps and forced the steaming hot coffee down his throat to recover his composure. He glanced to his side and noticed there were no windows on the side of the tram. It was just the logo of Blacklight.
The tram was completely enclosed.
“There’s nothing to be concerned about, buddy.”
Tom patted Watson on the shoulder like they were close acquaintances. “I know this is crazy but believe me, you’re going to like what you see. Our goal is to construct the holy grounds of biological science in the first place.”
“Alright… I mean, understood…”
Watson cracked a bitter smile. “Are we going to a national secret laboratory?”
“No, it doesn’t have anything to do with any nations. This is just a laboratory exclusively owned by God’s Forbidden Zone.”
Tom laughed out loud as he said this. It was clear as day that he enjoyed watching the nervous and puzzled reactions of the people he led into the Spire.
They continued along the tedious journey. Watson exited the tram and entered the elevator that brought him further underground. Then, he passed through the glass corridor and the three nuclear bunker gates at the end. At last, Tom had brought Watson into the Spire Experimental Base.
The person that greeted them upon their entrance was someone that caught even Tom completely off guard.
Tom’s eyes were widened into two large orbs when he saw the raven-haired young man wielding a piercing expression. “I can’t believe it’s you, Sir Chen Chen!”
Chen Chen nodded subtly and smiled. “Thank you for your work. Your job is done here, you can leave now.”
“Understood.”
Tom left it at that and quickly returned to where he came from.
Watson was left by himself.
“Mr. Watson, long time no see.”
After Tom’s departure, Chen Chen turned to Watson who seemed to be at a loss for words. “You seem to have recovered quite well.
“If my memory serves me correctly, this should be our first time meeting.”
Watson quizzed, “Unless I lost a portion of memory due to my brain trauma?”
“No, this is certainly the first time you’ve met me, but it’s not the first time I’ve met you.”
Chen Chen made a gracious gesture to usher Tom in. “Your reputation certainly precedes you. When you were in a coma, I visited several times as well. So… Allow me to bring you on a tour around here…”
“I wouldn’t dare, I’d hate to occupy your time.”
Watson declined Chen Chen’s offer and remarked rigidly, “If I’m not mistaken, the name of the founder of Blackwatch should be Chen Chen. I wouldn’t dare to cut into your schedule so let’s just cut into the main topic. I’d like to know what sort of project you’re planning to put me in charge of. I’m more interested in the work that I’ll be conducting soon as opposed to touring the laboratory.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Chen Chen smiled as he pointed at a giant building shaped like a Mayan Pyramid further in front. “Then let’s head straight for the Spire laboratory. You’ll be spending the majority of your time here in that place.”
With that, the two men went to the Spire laboratory.
“The reason I selected you to head this project is that you’re one of the most elite biological researchers in the Earth Federation. I can’t imagine anybody else that can step up to this task other than you.”
Chen Chen said as he led Watson to a tightly enclosed gate on the top floor of the Spire Experimental Base. There were countless warning labels printed on the gate, one of the labels was especially intriguing to Watson.
“Level-5 Biosafety?”
Watson was taken aback by this and asked, “Isn’t the highest graded bio protection laboratory in the Earth Federation set at level four? Why does this read level five?”
“That’s because what’s housed here are all the deadliest filoviruses in existence. There are several mutations of them, some of them are capable of destroying the world in a matter of months while some revolutionize mankind’s understanding. This shall be the project that you’ll be commanding over.
“The name of this virus is… G-virus.”