The Perfect Commodity

"I...I'm sorry." Jessica lowered her head, her face as red as a tomato. "I...I was daydreaming."

"It's alright." Wu Yanzu patted her shoulder magnanimously. "I know that my charm can sometimes be a distraction."

"One more time."

Wu Yanzu pasted it on again.

"This time, we'll practice 'pushing hands'."

The two were face to face.

Hands pressed together.

"Feel my power... Here it comes."

Wu Yanzu's palm rotated and entwined in hers.

This is an extremely ambiguous action.

The two were less than ten centimeters apart.

Their breaths mingled.

Jessica could even count Wu Yanzu's long eyelashes.

As she looked at this man, the strong defenses she had built up in her heart were crumbling little by little.

Is this... the feeling of being surrounded by the aura of a powerful being?

Is this... what they call a sense of security?

She no longer resisted, and even subconsciously went along with Wu Yanzu's actions.

At that moment, the training ground transformed into a dance floor.

……

"drop--!"

The electronic doors to the training ground slid open at a very inopportune moment.

"Sir! There's something over at the lab..."

Ashley, in her high heels, burst in with a whirlwind of energy.

Then, she froze.

She glanced at Jessica, whose face was flushed and covered in sweat, then at Wu Yanzu, who was holding her wrist and whose face was only ten centimeters away from hers. Her expression instantly became quite interesting.

"Uh...did I come at the wrong time?" Ashley pushed up her glasses, a little embarrassed. "I can come back in ten minutes."

"No, you've come at the perfect time." Wu Yanzu released Jessica, picked up a towel and wiped his forehead, which wasn't sweaty at all. "The special training is over. Jessica, go take a shower. You smell like a homeless person."

"Fuck you, Starr." Jessica grabbed a towel and glared at him fiercely, but her tone lacked its usual sharpness.

"Tomorrow at the same time!" she said, leaving the words at the door without daring to turn her head.

"Ding! Special popularity points +3000!"

Hearing the pleasant system notification, Wu Yanzu revealed a satisfied smile.

After watching Jessica disappear through the locker room door, he turned to Ashley.

"Speak, what is it?"

Ashley immediately regained her professional demeanor, lowered her voice, and became serious.

"Sir, this is Dr. Connor. The lab... has the results."

Wu Yanzu stopped wiping his sweat.

That was "Compound No. 5" that he had opened from a blind box, and he sent it to the Starr Group's laboratory.

Wu Yanzu tossed the towel aside. "Go to the lab."

……

Starr Group, Life Sciences Division, Underground Core Area.

This is the most secretive place in the Starr Corporation, with a security level exceeding that of Vought headquarters.

Without fingerprint, iris, gait recognition, and DNA verification, not even a fly could get in.

Wu Yanzu changed into a white lab coat and walked into the constant temperature laboratory.

An elderly man with gray hair and thick-rimmed glasses sat in front of a bunch of complicated instruments, looking both fervent and exhausted.

Dr. John Connor.

He was a veteran of the Starr Group and a college classmate of Anthony's father. He was not only a top-notch biologist and genetic engineer, but also an elder who watched Anthony grow up.

"Anthony, you've arrived."

"Doctor," Wu Yanzu stepped forward, his tone unusually respectful, "it seems you've been up all night."

"It's worth it, child. It's absolutely worth it."

Dr. Connor pointed to the blue liquid under the microscope, which was the "blind box" concentrate that Wu Yanzu had given him.

"This thing...this is simply a masterpiece of God." Connor's voice trembled. "This molecular structure...this energy density...it completely defies all our known biological common sense. It can rewrite DNA, giving cells almost unlimited energy."

"Can you replicate it?" Wu Yanzu cut straight to the point.

Connor's eyes dimmed slightly.

"cannot."

He shook his head and sighed.

"It's too perfect. Its synthesis process is beyond our current technological understanding. Some of the catalyst elements simply don't exist on Earth... I even suspect it wasn't manufactured under the physical rules of this universe."

Expected.

If a system's technology were so easily cracked by Earth's technology, that would be a bug.

Wu Yanzu was not disappointed; he simply asked, "So, it's bad news?"

"No, that's just the truth." Dr. Connor suddenly changed the subject, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "Although we can't perfectly replicate the 'original,'... through reverse engineering, we've cracked part of its working mechanism."

He pressed a button.

The laboratory's robotic arm moved a metal tray over.

The glass test tubes were neatly arranged on top.

The liquid inside wasn't a pure azure blue, but rather a... emerald green with a hint of fluorescence.

"What is this?" Wu Yanzu picked up a cigarette.

"We call it... T-Vex," Dr. Connor explained.

"We cannot stabilize that kind of permanent gene rewriting. The original energy is too strong; if we forcibly replicate it, the experimental subject will explode within three seconds."

"So we diluted it and added an inhibitor to make it a 'temporary' state."

Wu Yanzu looked at the green potion in his hand, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Effect?"

"Incredible." Dr. Connor pulled up a set of data. "After the injection, an ordinary person can gain superhuman physical abilities within 10 seconds. Strength is increased by about 20-50 times, skin hardness can withstand 9mm bullets, pain perception is reduced, and adrenaline surges. Some individuals may even develop extremely weak special abilities, such as... releasing a spark from their hand, or releasing high voltage electricity."

"aging?"

"Ten minutes later," Connor said, opening his palms, "after ten minutes, the drug's effects will rapidly wear off, and the user will feel extreme fatigue and hunger."

"What about the side effects?" Wu Yanzu asked, getting to the crucial point.

Dr. Connor's expression turned serious.

"That's the biggest problem, Anthony."

"This energy is toxic to the human body. Inhibitors can only delay it, not eliminate it; it can only be eliminated through the body's own metabolism."

"Using one vial within 24 hours will not have any effect. However, if two vials are used consecutively, the strengthening effect will be halved, and it will put a greater burden on the internal organs."

"If you use three vials consecutively..." Connor adjusted his glasses, "the human immune system will develop permanent antibody tolerance. In other words... using it again after that will be like drinking water—it will have no effect whatsoever. In severe cases, it could even lead to genetic chain collapse."

"Moreover, production is extremely difficult. We need to purify specific isotopes. The current classified production line, operating at full capacity, can only produce... 100 vials per day."

"100 pieces..."

Wu Yanzu fiddled with the green test tube.

A ten-minute Superman experience card.

It has low yield, drug resistance, and side effects.

It sounds like a defective product.

But in Wu Yanzu's eyes, nothing is useless. From another perspective, this is... a perfect product.