Chapter 00010: The Janitor Monk of Yujiang University
# The Janitor Monk of Yujiang University
Chapter 10
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 10: The Janitor Monk of Yujiang University
In an era where gene fusion is on everyone's lips, a university's gene laboratory is undoubtedly a top priority.
Whether the gene department is strong or average, the gene lab is always a key investment for any university.
However, Ding Huan had no expectations for Yujiang University's gene lab.
He even doubted whether Yujiang University had one at all.
If not, he would have to find a way to rent one elsewhere.
To his surprise, Yujiang University not only had a gene lab, but it also seemed quite large from the outside.
From a distance, he could see the sign for the Gene Department Experimental Building, and he didn’t even need to ask anyone for directions.
But despite being a key facility, the gene lab building had no security guards, and there were no students or teachers coming and going.
When Ding Huan entered the building, it felt like stepping into a no-man's land.
Except for the lights in the corridors and stairwells, there wasn’t a single person in sight.
At the entrance of the stairs, there was a clear sign: 1F - Gene Collection, 2F - Gene Samples, 3F - Gene Experiments...
Ding Huan went straight to the third floor.
As soon as he arrived, he noticed that one of the labs had its lights on.
What? Yujiang University is on the verge of collapse, and yet someone is still conducting gene experiments here?
Ding Huan knocked on the glass door, but there was no response.
He opened the door himself and saw a man in a lab coat hunched over a table, completely absorbed in adjusting something.
The lab environment... was hard to describe.
It was so basic that even the glass door didn’t have an internal lock.
"Excuse me, professor," Ding Huan knocked again, this time with more force.
The man finally looked up and turned to Ding Huan, who was still carrying his backpack.
After a few seconds, he asked blankly, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"
"I’m here to see you," Ding Huan smiled as he walked into the lab and closed the door behind him.
He had already noticed the man’s name tag: Geng Qianxing, Gene Department, Yujiang University.
Ding Huan had originally come to borrow the lab, but then he saw the research materials on Geng Qianxing’s desk—all related to endurance gene serum.
One of the pages was open, filled with recorded data and various extraction symptoms.
In his memory, the endurance gene was supposed to have been developed by Heluo Shangwu University, and it was supposed to happen by the end of this year.
Ding Huan had faced life-and-death situations countless times, and in the end, he had died while being hunted down.
When he saw that Geng Qianxing was researching the endurance gene, and considering that he had never heard of Geng Qianxing in his previous life, something felt off.
"Looking for me?" Geng Qianxing finally put down the test tube in his hand and looked at Ding Huan with confusion.
He rarely socialized and spent all day in the lab.
What could this young man, whom he didn’t know, possibly want from him?
Ding Huan sat down in front of Geng Qianxing and said, "I’m here to save your life."
Geng Qianxing frowned, his tone turning slightly hostile.
"I’m doing just fine. I don’t need you to save me."
Ding Huan chuckled.
"You’re fine now, but once your endurance gene serum is developed, you’ll be facing death."
After saying this, Ding Huan became even more certain of his guess.
Based on his experience, Geng Qianxing’s endurance gene experiment was nearing its final stages, and results would be achieved in just a few months.
Since the endurance gene serum was developed by Geng Qianxing, and Ding Huan had never heard of him in his previous life, it was clear that this man had either been controlled or eliminated.
But this guy was impressive—a true "janitor monk," managing to develop the endurance gene serum all on his own.
Geng Qianxing’s eyes showed surprise, and after a while, he asked again, "How do you know I’m researching the endurance gene serum?"
He had never told anyone about his research on this gene serum, so how could this stranger know? He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Ding Huan replied, "Because I also research gene fusion, and I know a bit more than you do. In fact, I can confidently say that on Earth, no one understands the fusion of human genes with other genes better than I do—at least not right now."
This wasn’t an exaggeration.
In his previous life, Ding Huan had fused six different genes, all on his own.
Two hundred years of wandering through the universe, combined with attending lectures by many renowned gene masters, had allowed him to develop his own understanding of gene fusion.
Those gene masters were unparalleled in their field, and any one of them could dominate Earth’s gene research.
But that wasn’t all.
The knowledge contained in that ancient scroll went beyond current gene research, opening up a whole new world for Ding Huan.
All this knowledge combined had allowed Ding Huan to form his own system of understanding genes.
Although it wasn’t fully clear yet, he believed that with continuous verification, he would eventually perfect his gene system.
Under normal circumstances, without undergoing gene foundation-building, a person could only fuse up to nine foreign genes.
Any more, and the body wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Ding Huan hadn’t undergone gene foundation-building, but he had found a way to fuse more genes.
However, before he could implement it, he was hunted down.
During his pursuit, he gradually realized that even if he fused more genes and gained various abilities, it wouldn’t fundamentally change his situation.
Because, at its core, his strength hadn’t undergone a qualitative transformation.
To achieve a qualitative transformation through gene modification, one needed to undergo gene foundation-building.
Geng Qianxing glanced at Ding Huan.
He wasn’t much of a social person and was usually quiet, but that didn’t mean he was stupid.
He had seen plenty of people like Ding Huan who talked big, and he didn’t take them seriously.
Ding Huan knew Geng Qianxing didn’t believe him, so he calmly said, "Fusing foreign genes into the human body is actually very difficult. Right now, there aren’t many advanced methods on Earth. The more well-known ones include destructive fusion, intervention fusion, similarity fusion, and devouring fusion. If I’m not mistaken, your research direction is growth fusion. This method is not only safe but also has a very high fusion rate."
When gene fusion first began on Earth, countless people died.
It wasn’t until the Ocean Gene Institute developed the Semi-Gamma gene serum that things changed.
The Semi-Gamma gene serum could increase human lifespan.
This serum used intervention fusion, increasing the success rate of gene fusion to over 60%, with an extremely low—almost nonexistent—failure rate.
What’s more, if the first fusion attempt failed, a second or even third attempt could be made.
This marked the beginning of the gene fusion era.
"You really know..."
Geng Qianxing looked at Ding Huan in disbelief.
There were many ways to achieve growth fusion, but the method he was using was one he had developed himself.
No one else should know about it.
Seeing that he had impressed Geng Qianxing, Ding Huan continued, "No one else knows or believes that you can develop the endurance gene serum, but I do."
He paused, then dropped another bombshell.
"I’m also certain that when others find out about the endurance gene serum, it will be the day you die."
"Why?" Geng Qianxing instinctively asked.
In his eyes, talking about death so casually was too sensational.
This was a society governed by law, not the African wilderness.
Although human life had become cheap due to the rampant beasts, that was only in unregulated areas.
Ding Huan chuckled.
"You know how influential and powerful the endurance gene serum is. Do you think anyone would let you hold onto such a money-making machine? Moreover, this isn’t just about money. There are deeper implications that you haven’t even considered."
"If someone wants it, I’ll just give it to them. I don’t fight or compete. Would they really kill me?" Geng Qianxing frowned.
Ding Huan could only sigh at Geng Qianxing’s naivety.
He had once been the same.
In fact, he had been even more naive than Geng Qianxing.
He sighed, "You were able to develop the endurance gene serum all on your own, which means your understanding of genes surpasses 99.9% of your peers. Even if those people don’t kill you, they’ll definitely imprison you and force you to research new gene serums in some dark, hidden place. That might be worse than death."
In his previous life, Ding Huan had been imprisoned just for being a gene affinity carrier, let alone someone like Geng Qianxing, a gene scholar.
Geng Qianxing shuddered involuntarily.
After a while, he said, "Then I’ll just stop my research."
Researching gene serums and human gene fusion was his favorite work, but he didn’t want to lose his life—or be imprisoned in a living hell—because of it.
Ding Huan shook his head.
"No, you not only need to continue your research, but I’ll also help you. Together, we’ll speed up the development of the endurance gene serum."
"But you just said..."
Geng Qianxing looked at Ding Huan, confused.
Ding Huan slowly explained, "You know what the world has become, right? Countries are releasing toxins without restraint, and nuclear pollution is rampant. The world is polluted, human lifespans are shortening, and to survive, humans must strengthen themselves. Martial arts are flourishing worldwide, and gene studies are catching up fast. Otherwise, why would you be researching genes? So, only by becoming stronger can you ensure that you won’t be bullied and that you can survive. Running away only works temporarily. Can you run forever?"
"So you’re saying that once I develop the endurance gene serum, we’ll take it ourselves to enhance our strength?" Geng Qianxing understood Ding Huan’s meaning.
Ding Huan nodded and continued, "But that alone might not be enough. If I’m not mistaken, the endurance gene serum you’re developing is only a low-grade, first-level gene serum. This kind of gene fusion can only improve endurance. Without gene cultivation methods, these enhancements might turn us into gene mutants, but it still wouldn’t be enough to protect ourselves."
"Gene serums have grades?" Geng Qianxing looked at Ding Huan in shock.
This was something he had never heard of.
Had he been studying outdated gene knowledge from a century ago?
(Thank you to all the fellow Daoists who voted and tipped for *After the Myth*.
Today, we’ve gained another alliance leader, Fellow Daoist Fang Dandan.
Thank you.)
(End of Chapter)