Yang Yang was halfway through his sentence when Zhen Nantian's deep, dark eyes fixed on him. The intensity in his gaze made he shut right up, the words dying in his throat.
He sighed, the sound heavy in the cool air. "Fine then, you will work solo. If luck isn't on our side, you will just have to lure the enemy away while we steal the formula in the chaos."
Zhen Nantian finally nodded, his expression satisfied.
Jing Shu asked, "So where exactly is this rich guy's place? And how do we get there?" Honestly, she would rather go alone. After all, if she went solo, she could grab as much loot as she wanted without anyone nagging her. Her fingers brushed the edge of her coat, thinking of the empty space waiting to be filled.
When they first arrived at Zhuangyan Temple, it was huge and quiet, but she hadn't found anything worth taking into her Rubik's Cube Space. That was disappointing. She couldn't wait to see for herself what kind of luxury "you can't even imagine a rich person's life" meant. At least she didn't fly all the way to America for nothing.
Yang Yang cleared his throat, the sound sharp against the rustle of the surrounding trees. "Actually, the moment we stepped out of Zhuangyan Temple, we were already inside the rich man's territory. All we have to do now is keep walking."
"Yeah, figures. That's close." Jing Shu clicked her tongue, looking at the sprawling landscape. "Damn, that's massive. Good thing it's the outskirts of New York, not downtown."
They left Jie Lu with Xiao Hei, who took him to rendezvous with their contact. The rest followed Yang Yang straight into the tycoon's domain. The grass was long and overgrown in places, yet it felt curated. Strangely, this rich man didn't seem like the others. There were no armed guards patrolling the perimeter, no high-tech cameras visible on the trees, nothing.
"I'm curious," Jing Shu said as they walked, her boots crunching on the dry earth. "What happens when that cauldron and the formula are combined? How exactly can it extend a person's life? If he already has the materials, why not mass-produce it so everyone can benefit?"
Her teammates were curious too. Their paces slowed slightly as they listened. After all, this was their final mission, supposedly the hardest one of all. But now that they had cleared the first stage, the second didn't look that bad. It almost felt easier than their previous tasks.
Yang Yang asked, "You know crayfish, right?"
"Huh? Crayfish?" Jing Shu blinked, then nodded. "Of course I do. I raise them myself. I like them best in thirteen-spice flavor, but garlic and spicy ones are great too."
Yang Yang was speechless for a moment. He adjusted the bundle in his arms.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
He sighed. "Crayfish are actually an invasive species. Besides being used as food, scientists also study them. Research shows that, theoretically, crayfish are biologically immortal."
"Immortal? As in never aging and never dying?" Jing Shu's eyes widened. She looked at the murky water of a nearby pond, wondering if any were lurking there.
Yang Yang nodded. "Their body functions don't decline with age. Humans age because each time our cells divide, the mitochondrial telomeres shorten. Once they shrink too much, the cells stop dividing, our body functions weaken, and we die. A human cell can divide about fifty times before it reaches that limit."
Jing Shu rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her skin feeling cold in the morning air. Her Spirit Spring once brought the dying Yi Hou back to full vitality. Did that mean it somehow increased her cell division count?
Yang Yang went on, "Crayfish produce a special enzyme that keeps their telomeres long. That means their cells can divide indefinitely, so technically, they never age."
"No wonder the bigger ones taste better! So they aren't old at all," Jing Shu said with sudden enlightenment.
Wait… wasn't that missing the point?
She coughed and nodded seriously, pretending she had understood the important part all along.
"Of course, it's only theoretical," Yang Yang continued. "Every time a crayfish molts, it consumes a massive amount of energy. As they get older, they weaken. About ten percent die of exhaustion during molting, so only a few actually live long enough to reach that so-called immortality."
"Oh, so it's like transcending a heavenly tribulation," Jing Shu said. "If you want to live forever, you have got to survive one each year, and it just gets tougher and tougher."
It made sense. Even an immortal crayfish had to struggle for it. How could humans hope to fare any better?
The more she learned, the more amazed she was by her Spirit Spring. Twenty drops a day, and its effect was insane. Her thoughts raced as she walked. Her Spirit Spring must increase a creature's cell division count, keeping the healthy even healthier and helping the sick regenerate. When she used it on crops, it probably doubled their cell count too, making them grow faster, stronger, and more nutritious.
"But I doubt my Spirit Spring is that simple," she lost in thought. "Besides boosting cell division, it must have other properties. Honestly, calling it the Fountain of Life wouldn't be an exaggeration. Even if it doesn't grant supernatural powers like in novels, its effects are ridiculous."
"So," she looked up, "how does all that tie into the cauldron and the formula?"
That was the key.
Yang Yang nodded. "This tycoon spent a fortune on research and managed to isolate an enzyme that allows human cells to divide one extra time, extending life and delaying aging. But humans can't absorb it directly. The enzyme isn't something that can just be digested or injected."
He stopped for a moment to shift the weight of the bronze tripod. "Until they found that cauldron. It contains a unique mineral found nowhere else in the world. When the enzyme is combined with that mineral, it fuses perfectly with human cells.
Drinking it extends lifespan by about two years each time. It also flushes out a ton of damaged cells, rejuvenates the body, and even cures terminal illnesses. Of course, the effect depends on the person's cell capacity. The closer someone is to their natural limit, the weaker the result."
Jing Shu stared at the ancient cauldron again, astonished. "That thing is really that magical?"
Yang Yang shook his head. "Unfortunately, neither the tycoon nor his team ever managed to reproduce the mineral's properties. They couldn't even scrape residue from it successfully. Keep in mind, this same medical team once developed the world-famous anti-aging drug that extended lifespan, and it went global."
"Wait, what drug? I have never heard of it," Jing Shu asked, confused.
Ling Ling chimed in, "It's a stem-cell anti-aging treatment, sixty thousand dollars per shot. Each treatment course is three shots, one every six months. It's an upgraded version of stem-cell therapy. The more undifferentiated cells you have, the more vitality and life force you gain. The injections help regenerate tissues and organs, basically forcing extra cell divisions. It works, but it only delays aging."
She paused, looking toward the distant silhouette of the manor. "What this guy is making, though, increases your total division limit. It doesn't just slow aging, it reverses it."
Jing Shu felt dizzy just listening. So this was the world of the rich?
No wonder ordinary people didn't know about it. The joy of the rich was something the poor could never imagine. Rich people could literally buy more years to live!
That stem-cell anti-aging thing was real enough. Damn, it must be nice being rich. (●°u°●)」