The former captain of the company's security team, Captain Cheng Wu, fulfilled his promise and brought his team to become your personal bodyguards. He previously served the company because he had the soft spot of family.
You and Cheng Wu quickly organized an armed force, and the struggle with major companies began immediately. This time, the liquidation targeting the companies was called: The Company Liquidation Operation.
The branch companies and remaining shareholders of Caesar Life quickly united and formed a counter-attack alliance with several major companies. They believed they controlled absolute power, but they never expected to be met by a group of muscle-bound monstrosities.
You used a Gene Hacker to precisely modify their genes. These people were all robust youths in their twenties. Ordinary Gene Weapons were useless against them. Their powerful physical quality shocked even you. You truly didn't expect that applying perfect gene-editing technology to humans would be so effective.
At the same time, you were also inquiring about Lin Ran's whereabouts. You knew very well that Lin Ran had not been captured by Caesar Life. With such a huge commotion, you didn't believe Lin Ran wouldn't come to find you. And on the fourth day after you took down Caesar Life, you finally saw the person you had been longing for.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. In a temporary camp, Zhang Jie was meticulously studying the company's defense data, unaware that a figure had quietly appeared behind him and covered his eyes.
"Guess who I am?"
Zhang Jie's lips curved into a smile. This faint scent of jasmine was one he had smelled since childhood, so there was no need to say who it was.
Zhang Jie suddenly burst up, turned around, grabbed Lin Ran by the waist, and quickly attacked her soft spot.
Lin Ran giggled as she was tickled, swaying from side to side like a fish. The two of them laughed and played like this, as if they had never been separated.
"Tell me! How did you sneak in and ambush me!"
"Haha... Of course... by sheer skill!"
Zhang Jie stopped his hands and looked at Lin Ran in surprise, her life code appearing before his eyes.
"You broke through the Fourth Gene Lock!"
Zhang Jie was extremely surprised. This meant that Lin Ran, without Gene Medicine, had reached the Fourth Gene Warrior level purely by repeatedly pushing her physical limits through willpower. This had never happened in the entire Rong Country, no, in the entire history of humanity!
"Seriously, if you had been two days later, it would have been my turn to challenge Caesar Life."
Lin Ran put her hands on her hips, looking proud.
Zhang Jie couldn't help but laugh at her boastful appearance.
"Really? How come I don't believe it?"
"Hehe, I'm definitely not as good as you. I can't charge in head-on like you, but I'm confident I can sneak in and take off their boss's head!"
Zhang Jie thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed as she said. With Lu Xuefei's pathetic state, without encountering the Calamity experimental subjects and Cheng Wu's security team, it would have been quite easy for Lin Ran to take his head.
A monster that could grow stronger without relying on Gene Medicine, just thinking about it was terrifying...
Wait!
Without relying on Gene Medicine?
Zhang Jie had a new idea. Just as he was about to think about it carefully, Lin Ran threw herself into his arms, affectionately rubbing against his clothes.
"It's all over, isn't it... Zhang Jie..."
"No, it's not over."
Lin Ran looked up, meeting Zhang Jie's eyes.
"There's still the Calamity. The companies are just small fry in front of them."
"Don't forget Uncle Lin and my dad. Their revenge hasn't been taken yet."
"Mmm, you're right."
Lin Ran buried her head back into Zhang Jie's chest.
"No matter what you do, I'll support you."
"Mmm."
"Next time you do something so dangerous, remember to call me. No acting like a hero by yourself! Did you hear me!"
Lin Ran punched Zhang Jie, her fierce expression making Zhang Jie laugh. He couldn't help but recall Lin Ran's image as a tomboy in elementary school. He wondered when she had reverted to her docile childhood self.
"What are you laughing at!"
With Lin Ran joining, you gained another major general under your command. Under your superb command talent and the offensive of the Gene Army you created, the armed forces that those companies prided themselves on successively failed within six months. You grew stronger with each battle, and nine months later, the Company Liquidation War officially concluded, marking the true beginning of a new era for Rong Country.
You did not use extreme methods to liquidate the companies. Instead, you purged a group of heinous individuals and stripped key technologies like Gene Medicine from their hands, establishing strict standards for them.
Companies were forbidden from possessing their own armed forces, monopolizing critical technologies, or conducting dangerous and major biological experiments, among other stipulations. However, they were allowed to research new technologies and were required to report their progress.
The reason they could act as kings was that no one had the power to suppress them. But you appeared. Although it was somewhat like a fox borrowing a tiger's prestige, no one knew your trump card. Even if someone questioned your age, no one would question your strength.
You easily obtained the formula for Gene Medicine. You couldn't help but feel that your past self, two years ago when you were taking university entrance exams, was an utter idiot. There's a good saying: if you don't think your past self from last year was an idiot, it only means you haven't made any progress this year.
This year, you thoroughly investigated all the companies across the country. During this period, there were not a few companies that wanted to resist. You knew at a glance that they had something to hide and quickly purged them. Your prestige spread throughout Rong Country. Because your characteristic of 'whoever you investigate dies' was strikingly similar to the King of Hell's roll call, you earned the nickname 'King of Hell'.
You first began to restore Rong Country's public security forces. Everything was in ruins waiting to be rebuilt, and you were busy every day.
Prices of other food items also gradually began to decrease, and voices questioning your age and ability significantly lessened. You finally had free time to continue researching the Gene Lock and other things.
After understanding the principle of Gene Medicine, you also discovered a huge secret about it: human genes are, to some extent, flawed. These flaws are actually identical to those in extraordinary genes. If these flaws are compensated for, humans can normally break through the Gene Lock on their own. And the Gene Medicine made from those extraordinary creatures happens to, to some extent, compensate for human genes, which is why humans can break through the Gene Lock.
There's no need to worry about over-hunting those extraordinary creatures. The genes of a single extraordinary creature are enough to make countless bottles of Gene Medicine. The difference between a ninth-level and a first-level is merely a matter of concentration. It's like a key; as long as willpower and body control are up to standard, it can unlock the Gene Lock.
Thinking of this, you immediately thought of Lin Ran. How did she break through?
You found Lin Ran secretly eating cake and meticulously scanned her from head to toe under her bewildered gaze. After careful analysis, you found that her genes also had flaws, but her genetic flaws were not too many.
But she still gave you inspiration. You began to research the perfect gene in your mind.
19 years old: Rong Country's internal affairs were still in the midst of rectification and construction, and you gradually shifted your focus to accumulating strength.
Due to the gradual popularization of Gene Medicine, people who were previously unable to break through due to the lack of Gene Medicine experienced an explosive increase in strength. Rong Country's public security was greatly strengthened, and many Third Gene Warriors were born in less than two years, but this was still far from enough to counter the Calamity again.
The Calamity was still lurking. You dared not act rashly. Before Rong Country possessed absolute power, you could not alert the enemy.