amaotonovel Chapter 4364 The Justice League Assembles (2)
Chapter 4364 The Justice League Assembles (2)
Chapter 4364 Justice League: Assemble (Part 12)
Bruce had a deeper understanding of the pharmaceutical industry. Generally speaking, pharmaceutical companies don't want to cause trouble. If they go too far, with people dying rapidly shortly after a new drug is introduced, they'll definitely face lawsuits from the families. With so many deaths, the jury might very well rule against them.
Therefore, new drugs may have slightly reduced efficacy or contain trace amounts of harmful substances, but they won't kill you instantly like poison. You'll need to take them for at least six months to a year. Furthermore, some patients with less severe conditions and stronger constitutions will experience no problems; at most, they'll suffer a little more, making it less likely they'll lose a lawsuit.
The new pills he had were the same. They were definitely harmful, but they didn't work that quickly. Unless the person was already terminally ill, meaning their heart couldn't beat on its own, they might die after taking just two pills. Even if they were doing relatively well before, it would take at least six months of medication before symptoms appeared.
Rong En thought about it and realized that it definitely wouldn't make sense. The doctor did die shortly after the medication was changed. So the medication wasn't the main problem?
Ron was in a bit of a daze and couldn't figure things out, so he told Bruce everything. After thinking for a moment, Bruce said, "The medication may have played a supporting role, but it wasn't the culprit. Think about what happened that day again."
Ron squinted at him. Bruce said, "I don't know the details of your friend's situation, but I can tell you that during the period you described, the US government initiated a human modification program. They believed that humans possess enormous potential and that this potential should be stimulated through various methods to achieve near-superpower effects."
Barry also perked up his ears. This was government secret that you wouldn't normally hear about, but Bruce knew it all.
Ron nodded in agreement: "Back then, we were still in the Cold War. Both sides had similar unreliable plans, like super-powered warriors. It wasn't anything new."
"Through numerous experiments, researchers have discovered that the potential of adults is almost fixed. No matter how much stimulation is applied, it is impossible to unleash more. They have conducted some space radiation experiments on adults and observed changes in certain cells, but the changes were very subtle and not enough to reach the level of superpowers."
Ron and Barry's hearts sank lower and lower. They seemed to know exactly what Bruce was going to say next.
"In contrast, they believe that infants and children have a greater potential for variation..."
“Wait a minute,” Rong En said, extending a hand. “Butler, could you please bring me another cup of calming tea? Thank you.”
Ah Fu brewed him another cup of calming tea, and Ron listened while holding the cup. Bruce continued, "So this project includes a very inhumane program called the 'Infant and Toddler Cosmic Medical Experiment Project'."
“Ugh…” Barry started gagging again. “Could you also give me a cup of calming tea?” he said.
Both men sat there, holding teacups. Bruce continued, "They believe that sending human infants into space through some means and exposing them to space radiation could significantly activate the potential hidden in their genes, giving them superpowers."
"So this plan..."
"It didn't succeed. In fact, the experiment was never conducted. It wasn't because they had a change of heart, since the hundreds of baby samples needed were already prepared. As far as I know, it seems that a key part of the experiment went wrong, forcing the federal government to abandon the plan."
Ron rubbed his eyes hard and then said, "Teleportation device."
"what?"
"I came to Earth because the teleportation device developed by Dr. Ode, which was designed for Mars, malfunctioned. That device was originally meant to send people to Mars, but it ended up pulling me here instead."
Barry turned to look at him and said, "Why would astronomers study teleportation devices that send themselves to stars?"
That's certainly a good question. Ron had never doubted it before. He assumed it was because Dr. O'De was interested in it and exceptionally talented, which was why he created such a powerful machine. Now, thinking about it, even if that were true, how could someone with no backing have such a sophisticated laboratory and so much funding to squander?
Rong En had spent quite a bit of time in the lab, and looking back now, it's clear that what Dr. O'De created was basically impossible to commercialize, and it didn't have much value in warfare—after all, they weren't planning on going to war with the Martians. So this kind of research was pure investment, completely out of touch with reality.
Unless, from the very beginning, the funders behind Dr. Ode intended to use this machine for something, such as sending people into space and using space radiation to activate superpowers.
This theory seems absurd now, but back then, it was all about the space race. Whoever could launch their rocket the highest, the farthest, and the most elaborate maneuvers won. So, these kinds of projects often didn't consider feasibility; they'd even force-feed out scrap metal and rivets to make a tin bucket.
In addition, at that time, the major country across the strait did indeed produce many people who appeared to have superpowers, so it was natural for them to be very anxious. Even judging from the disclosed documents, they never gave up researching superpowers, so it's not surprising that they would do such things.
It would be better if the Russian and German doctors didn't come up with a solution; they could just keep dragging it out and living off the funding until the Cold War ended, and they could all live peacefully.
But he turned out to be a genius, and he actually figured it out. The people above, seeing that he had figured it out, decided to get to work.
Rong En is more inclined to believe that Dr. Ode had no idea what the device was for. Moreover, counter-espionage was rampant at the time, and knowledgeable researchers like him were the most heavily guarded against, given the many precedents. Therefore, it was unlikely that the higher-ups would tell him.
So when he found out that the machine was used for this purpose, his entire worldview collapsed.
It's important to know that Dr. O'Dea is someone who could pull a Martian manhunter back from the brink of despair. Such a person must possess strong empathy and be extremely kind.
After all, Martians can read minds. If there's even a hint of evil in one's heart, it's impossible to gain their complete trust, let alone offer guidance. It was precisely because Martian Hunter was inspired by Dr. O'De's righteous and kind heart that he was able to gradually emerge from the shadows of his past.
If you let this kind of person use the machines he built to throw hundreds of innocent babies into space, he will definitely show you what it means to be unyielding to the death.
Thinking of this, Rong En suddenly paused. He suddenly remembered that something very unusual had happened that day, but because it was a small matter, he had overlooked it.
“I usually go to the break room to prepare coffee for the two of us, but that day, he suddenly said he was going to pour some. Because he had mentioned things like controlling sugar intake before, I thought he didn't want me to add too much sugar, so I let him go. Then, about two hours later, he collapsed…”
Ron's entire body began to tremble. Barry quickly pressed down on his shoulders, which brought him back to his senses. He stared at Bruce with his bloodshot eyes, seemingly wanting a negative answer from him.
"Where did the body go?" Bruce asked.
“The hospital took it to be kept,” Rong En said. “At that time, I didn’t understand human society very well, and I was afraid they would find me. So I saw medical staff taking the body away…”
“They were probably taken for an autopsy,” Bruce said. “The brains of people like that are usually preserved…”
Ron jumped to his feet. Bruce quickly stood up as well, pressed down on his shoulder, and said, "Calm down. I know this sounds inhumane, but it might help us figure out the cause of his death more clearly."
Bruce started searching again. He quickly said, "We can't find out where the brain was stored, and the body was probably destroyed as well. So now there are two options: find the doctor who performed the autopsy, or find the autopsy report. The latter is simpler because the former may have been silenced as well."
Bruce fiddled with it again, then said to Barry, “University of Colorado Hospital. Put this on the interface of their electronic systems.”
Bruce handed Barry a small cube with a picture of a bat on it. Barry immediately recognized it as a physical hacking tool and vanished in a flash. When he returned, he nodded and said, "All done."
Bruce continued working on the computer, soon revealing a knowing expression. Ron walked over to him and immediately recognized the corpse's familiar face.
He couldn't bear to watch any longer, collapsing onto the sofa beside him, covering his face with his hands and sobbing. Bruce continued, "You can see that the hormone levels in his blood are clearly abnormal. He must have taken some extremely high concentrations of hormones, which stimulated his heart and caused a heart attack. That special drug only worsened his heart condition, and combined with the final stimulation, it ultimately led to his death."
“It was him…” Rong En said weakly, “He must have added something to the coffee himself…”
After sitting there for a while, he said, "I know why he chose this method. He needed it all to look like an accident. Because he had asked me before what I would do if he died. I said I would definitely avenge him. He didn't want me to seek revenge."
“But that’s not because he forgave the people who did those things. He just didn’t want you to be trapped in hatred anymore.” Bruce turned to look at him and said, “He personally rescued you from the abyss of hatred, and he couldn’t bear to see you fall into it again.”
“From an outsider’s perspective, if you had directly wiped out the federal government back then, it would have been avenging him and would have been very satisfying. But afterwards, you would have lost all your peaceful life and become as lost and confused as you would be after the death of your family. He didn’t want you to become like that.”
Ron closed his eyes tightly. He knew Bruce was right; Dr. Oed was indeed that kind of person. Ron had only ever seen pity and compassion in him, and it was this gentle emotion that had led him out of the vortex.
Ron fell silent, and so did Barry. Then they talked about other things, as if the matter were over. But everyone knew no, far from it.
When a volcano doesn't erupt, people shouldn't assume it's dead. The immense energy beneath the Earth's crust is simply accumulating, waiting for the next eruption. The longer it remains silent, the more energy accumulates, and the more violent the eruption will be when it finally does.