Chapter Ten: The Human God Project, Also Known as the Human Deity Project (Part Two)

Originally, the early stages of this project had progressed quite smoothly. Several major powers from both the East and West had once expressed interest in jointly supporting it, and many volunteers willing to serve as test subjects had been recruited.

However, it was later said that under pressure from some powerful organizations and public opinion, the project came to an abrupt halt. Since then, no further news about it ever surfaced.

Quickly recalling some of the publicly available information about the project in his mind, Yan Tian, though uncertain of Leng Bingtong’s intent in asking, vaguely sensed that the plan might be connected to her answer.

Sure enough, after Yan Tian finished speaking, Leng Bingtong fell silent for a moment before saying, “Actually... the Artificial God Project and the God Project never truly stopped; they merely shifted from the surface to the underground.”

She paused, noticing Yan Tian’s intense gaze fixed on her, causing her heart to inexplicably race.

Lowering her head, she whispered, “Although the government abandoned support for the project, those scientists and their like-minded colleagues did not give up. They dared not discuss the matter publicly, but they continued to seek funding in secret. Eventually, a capitalist organization approached them, providing funds, equipment, experimental facilities, and even test subjects.

“That capitalist faction’s influence was beyond imagination. They supplied the scientists with ample funding, the world’s most advanced experimental apparatus, the most covert, secure, and comfortable facilities, as well as a group of test subjects considered the cream of humanity.

“The scientists’ dream could finally be realized, so they threw themselves into the experiments with great enthusiasm. Two years ago, using that batch of subjects, they produced the first generation of ‘Artificial Gods.’

“To be honest, most of the first batch of ‘Artificial Gods’ were volunteers. They were geniuses among ordinary people, possessing extraordinary IQs, perfect physiques, and remarkable perseverance... In short, all of humanity’s virtues could be found in these volunteers. Only such geniuses would dare to pursue the craziness of ascending beyond the current limits to become the very first ‘gods’ among mankind.

“However, being the first batch of ‘Artificial Gods,’ mistakes inevitably occurred during the experiments. You know, success is built upon countless failures, especially in the realm of science—no one can guarantee success on the first try. Sometimes, it takes hundreds of failures and much experience before finally succeeding.

“So, although the first batch of ‘Artificial Gods’ more or less succeeded in unlocking brain potential and acquiring various extraordinary abilities, they were ultimately a flawed and failed batch. Being defective, they naturally harbored various instabilities.

“Among these instabilities, the most terrifying was loss of control.

“Since unlocking brain potential involves stimulating dormant areas of the brain—an incredibly delicate and damage-intolerant organ—all the failed subjects suffered from brain issues.

“They often involuntarily slipped into uncontrollable states where rationality vanished, reverting to primal bestial instincts. Their destructive urges and bloodlust were completely unleashed, indiscriminately demolishing and slaughtering everything around them.

“Most frighteningly, once in this state, their powers would surge dramatically—some by several times, others by a dozen times, and some even by hundreds or thousands of times.

“Imagine a muscular man with the explosive strength of an elephant after brain potential development. If he went out of control and his power increased a hundredfold, unleashing that terrifying force in destruction and slaughter, what a horrific scene that would be!

“The capitalist organizations funding the scientists did so because they wanted a group of Artificial Gods who would obey their commands and serve them. These capitalists called themselves ‘Gods’ and referred to the Artificial Gods as the ‘God Armed,’ all to achieve secret, unspeakable goals. But a batch of uncontrollable Artificial Gods was nothing but ticking time bombs—impossible to command and potentially capable of destroying them.

“Therefore, those capitalists chose to annihilate all 127 of the first batch of Artificial Gods.

“Given their immense strength and the scientists’ knowledge of the Artificial Gods' weaknesses, a special weapon was developed targeting those flaws. Additionally, many in the first batch possessed non-combat abilities—some could turn chicken legs into cakes, others could transform hands into feet or heads into buttocks—useless powers. So, despite their various special abilities, the first batch was slaughtered almost to extinction.

“In the end, only nine of the strongest escaped. Of these, six sought revenge on the capitalists by founding an assassin organization. Over more than a year, they expanded their operations globally, relentlessly tracking down the capitalists’ operatives, hoping to eliminate the capitalists before they could create perfect Artificial Gods, and to send those perverted scientists to hell.

“Unfortunately, though the ‘Fate’ assassin organization created by these so-called ‘Six Heavenly Gods’ has spread worldwide and dismantled many peripheral groups, they have yet to uncover any trace of the capitalists’ main base.

“One can only say that those capitalists are hiding too deeply. The ‘Fate’ assassin organization cannot compare. To this day, it remains unknown how many defective Artificial Gods the scientists have produced, or if they have, in fact, already created perfect ones.”

At this, Leng Bingtong shook her head regretfully.

Yan Tian slowly asked, “You mentioned that nine imperfect Artificial Gods escaped, six of whom declared themselves gods and formed the Fate assassin organization. Where are the remaining three?”

Though he asked, he already had a faint idea.

Leng Bingtong replied calmly, “The other three just wanted to live ordinary lives as normal people, so they did not join the six. They secluded themselves in the same city, hiding their abilities and living quietly. Their names are Xia Tianling, Sun Shangxiang, and Gongsun Jing.”

Despite his preparation, Yan Tian was still slightly taken aback upon hearing the names directly from Leng Bingtong. “They are the three remaining Artificial Gods? They... they are the ticking time bombs who could transform into female Tyrannosaurs at any moment? Damn, Officer Leng, you can’t be so irresponsible! Bringing them here to me, what... what am I supposed to do?”

Leng Bingtong smiled warmly. “Your place is perfect! No neighbors nearby, so even if they lose control suddenly, no one else will get hurt. Besides, they won’t all lose control at once. When they did in the past, I was the one who managed them, so I know their abilities well. As long as you can knock them down before they unleash their full power, there won’t be a problem. I believe you’re capable of handling it.”

Yan Tian gritted his teeth. “Why me? Just because I’m good at martial arts? Damn it, since you were the one stopping their chaos before, why didn’t you carry the burden all the way instead of dumping it on me?”

Leng Bingtong gave a strange smile. “Because, recently, those capitalists seem to be making moves again. I guess the capitalists are growing impatient with the Six Heavenly Gods; after all, not everyone has the patience to endure constant harassment. Now, they probably want to eliminate the nine stragglers who escaped two years ago. Although the four of us—me and Tianling plus the others—have strength equivalent to four Artificial Gods, the capitalists’ power is no joke. Having you protect them puts my mind at ease. As for why I’m handing over the task of controlling their loss of control to you, it’s because... I’ve been losing control myself quite often lately, causing as much trouble as they do. And in this city, you’re the only one capable of managing all of us. Tell me, if not you, then who?”

“There were only nine defective Artificial Gods in total,” Yan Tian’s eyes burned as he fixed them on Leng Bingtong. “Then who are you? Why do you possess such strange abilities? What exactly are you? Or rather, what kind of being?”

“Me?” Leng Bingtong smiled bitterly. “I am even more unfortunate than they are.”