Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 619 Wolf Warrior 3 (Part 2)
Compared to joint peacekeeping teams that set up camps near towns to observe local festivals, the US Delta Force's camps were deliberately set up separately on an open plain 20 kilometers away.

As the commander of Delta Force, Colonel Stanton, a graduate of a prestigious military academy, refused to have much contact with Zambian personnel, a decision based on both orders from their country's high-ranking government and his own personal will.

His soldiers, after the camp was established, began to use drones to conduct a carpet scan of the rainforest, trying to locate all the cyborg settlements. Their overall behavior showed an aggressive posture.

"These people are no longer purely human."

Stanton told the joint peacekeeping team in a video conference, with a map of the distribution of the modified settlements compiled by the U.S. military on the screen.

Minister Li, the Chinese representative who led the delegation, raised questions at the meeting after seeing the relevant materials.

"Dr. Ita, we'd like to know, how many reprogrammed humans are there in Zambia?"

"Currently, there are fewer than one hundred adults among them because we do not yet have a full grasp of how genes are programmed."

The reprogrammed Zambians are mainly the same two groups from ten years ago.

However, of the 21043 fertilized eggs programmed using macro assembly language and 'Life BASIC', 20816 survived and were delivered normally.

With a loud crash, Frances, a French biologist who had accompanied the joint peacekeeping team to the conference room and was a member of the Biological Security Council, a previous Nobel Prize laureate in Biology, and who was involved in the assessment of the biological crisis, fainted.

Beside her, another Nobel laureate, German physiologist Dr. Stauffinger, the rotating vice president of the current Biological Security Council, also looked extremely unwell, breathing rapidly as he fumbled for his blood pressure medication in his pocket.

Seeing that several older scientists at the scene were extremely agitated, Minister Li, who was leading the team, tried to calm them down, but Dr. Stauffinger, who was taking antihypertensive medication, had already started roaring like a volcano erupting:
"Arrest him! Did you hear me?! Arrest him!!"

Forget about political implications, he's a devil!
Those were over 20,000 children! Living, breathing lives, not your experimental subjects! You destroyed them!

Dr. Stauffinger's eyes were filled with tears of grief and indignation. Liu Peiqiang, who had been wondering why they were so emotional, finally understood after hearing what was going on.

More than 2 gene-edited fertilized eggs survived and were delivered normally, which means that they created more than 2 children with genetic mutations.

"You and this damned country have violated the highest prohibitions of the United Nations Biosafety Treaty!"
Reprogramming the human genome is neither ethical nor intelligent; you have violated fundamental ethics, you have uprooted the cornerstone of human civilization!

"The cornerstone of human civilization is first and foremost survival!"

"The Zambians just want to eat, Doctor. You say I ruined those children, but do you know how many children in Zambia die of hunger every day? It's my technology that has kept them alive, and doing well."

Dr. Ita said in his characteristically slow tone.

However, the representatives from various countries stood like stone statues around the large round table, their somber gazes fixed on him. Dr. Ita calmly accepted these heavy stares and said:

"That's the truth, everyone. I have no intention of hiding this, because you will all be able to find out for yourselves later."

However, I would also like to convey President Daruviga's words to you gentlemen:

Sambia is prepared to bear any consequences for this.

"Ah!"

On the other end of the video call, Colonel Stanton, the U.S. representative who had been watching the situation live, gave a cold laugh.

In his view, these guys in front of him were full of the pedantry and ridiculous idealism of scholars.

However, he still said:
"I think it's already quite obvious that there's no need to continue the investigation. Our task is to prevent the spread of technology and avoid its outflow to destroy humanity, not to witness the mutation of the species."

So let's issue an ultimatum.

The Zambian government must hand over all biologists and relevant technicians within its borders, all reprogrammed individuals, and destroy all genetically engineered facilities.

Furthermore, the country's head of state should also be tried in a special court alongside other principal offenders and accomplices!

Colonel Stanton's voice was cold and cruel, and some other country representatives in the joint peacekeeping team subconsciously nodded in agreement with his views.

However, it is clear that neither Dr. Ita nor Zambia intends to compromise, and the situation seems to be getting tense.

"I don't think the UN would send us here just to start shouting for war as soon as we arrive."

Liu Peiqiang then spoke up to smooth things over.

On the one hand, China is averse to forcibly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries; on the other hand, the peacekeeping team did not come to Zambia with the intention of starting a war.

He had already subtly reminded everyone of this in his previous words: they were on someone else's territory, and they were at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, logistics, and intelligence. How could they expect the other side to just surrender like that? They were insane!
When Liu Peiqiang suggested first assessing the effectiveness of the technology in alleviating the famine, some people nodded in agreement.

Stanton sneered, "You guys are always good at trying to smooth things over, but once Pandora's box is opened, it can't be closed."

The conflict and main storyline of the entire film are now fully established.

Next, the joint investigation team and the peacekeeping squad began to take action. Although Zambia took a tough stance, it did not dare to declare war on the whole world.

Meanwhile, the Chinese team was assigned tasks to visit surrounding villages, investigate the current living conditions of the genetically modified children, and review Dr. Ita's experimental process.

During this process, Li Hongqi of the Wolf Fang Squad encountered a girl named Asha.

Her younger brother starved to death outside the relief station because he wasn't modified, while she, being a modified human, not only survived but was also able to gather rainforest fruits with her siblings and live a good life.

"Dr. Ita said that only those who survive have the right to talk about dignity."

Asha showed the genetically modified marker on her arm, which recorded her identity information. It was clear that Dr. Ita and the Zambian government were also worried about problems with the experiment and were keeping a close eye on these test subjects.

However, after seeing that the famine situation in Zambia had indeed improved significantly due to Dr. Ita's research, differing opinions emerged within the joint investigation team and the peacekeeping squad.

"I think we should take a rational approach to this matter. The international reaction to this issue is currently too intense."

"The rapid development of biology and genetic engineering will inevitably lead to this kind of problem. There was the Brilliant Group in Japan before, and now there is Zambia. Some institutions are also doing similar things in secret. In the future, there will only be more of this kind of situation."

"We cannot lower our guard against the misuse of technology just because it is developing! You should know how much harm it would cause to arbitrarily reprogram human genes. This is tantamount to placing humans in a position where they can be disassembled and manufactured at will, which would deal a devastating blow to the entire legal and ethical system of modern civilization!"

"It's not that serious, Ms. Frances. The belief and ethical system you mentioned is based on the existing Western culture, and other cultures may not necessarily agree with this system."

For example, Africa, and also our Chinese friends.

Minister Li remained silent, but Dr. Zhao Hailun, who had accompanied him, spoke up.

"According to our Eastern philosophy, we believe that human beings can overcome nature. In Eastern myths and legends, there are many stories of mortals cultivating themselves into saints and immortals."

Therefore, when it comes to the evolution and advancement of life, Easterners tend to be more pragmatic.

Although she is Korean, Dr. Zhao Hailun has lived in China for almost ten years. Not only does she speak fluent Chinese, but her thinking has also been completely Sinicized.

"However, although we do not have as many taboos about human intervention in the evolution of life as the West, there are indeed many potential problems in applying gene editing to human modification and evolution."

For example, there's the issue of contamination of the human gene pool, and the artificially created genetic uniformity. Our understanding of the human genome is still far too limited; we are far from being able to safely apply it in practical applications.

"The social progress brought about by technological innovation will make us realize how unnecessary and ridiculous our past worries about new technologies were!"

"But you can't deny that there are some idiots among humans. Once technology spreads, there will always be fools who have a brilliant idea. The American fleet across the Pacific has recently suffered enough from those bio-modified sea monsters."

"I think the first priority should be to 'prevent the spread of inhumane experiments,' and sealing off Zambia is absolutely the right thing to do."

The discussions in the joint command center had been going on for days, and no one had a good solution to the current situation in Zambia.

In contrast, the American representatives reacted swiftly and forcefully; Colonel Stanton even privately told his adjutant:

"Whenever there is a need, ethics will always come second, and interests will always come first."

Those genetic engineering technologies are valuable enough that the military technology research institute was unable to obtain them from the Brilliant Group.

It now appears that Zambia definitely had connections with the ETO organization and received related technical support.

If we obtain this, it is entirely possible to create more outstanding young men for the United States, helping us gain more say in the future global united government.

The Chinese side sent that 'Leng Feng' here, definitely with similar intentions, so we need to act quickly.”

Colonel Stanton certainly didn't have evidence of collusion between the Zambian government and the ETO, but sometimes evidence doesn't seem to matter that much.

Thus, a turning point in the tense situation soon emerged.

The US launched a raid on a suspected ETO stronghold, citing the ETO's presence in Zambia and its close cooperation with the local government, and captured many genetically modified children inside.

Meanwhile, a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aid convoy was also attacked. Several trucks loaded with relief food were hijacked by unidentified armed men on the edge of the rainforest, and the shell casings left at the scene bore the markings of the Zambian government army.

This seems to confirm that the Zambian government has ties to the ETO.

Dr. Ita also broke down in tears during a televised address to the nation and neighboring countries:

"Some people are afraid that we will get rid of hunger, afraid that African countries will take control of their own destiny!"

These remarks provoked hostility towards the peacekeeping force among the Zambian people and even in neighboring countries, and several villages began to resist the joint team's scientific expeditions.

Meanwhile, Zambia and several neighboring African countries also began military mobilization.

Their move touched a nerve with several major powers. To these powers, the military mobilization in Zambia and several neighboring African countries was nothing short of a joke.

The following afternoon, a large supersonic stealth bomber flew over the capital of Zambia from the United States. The huge sonic boom generated by the plane as it broke through the air terrified the civilians of Zambia.

Furthermore, even though the monster in the Pacific Ocean slowed down the US Navy, they still dispatched the USS Lincoln H carrier strike group to this area.

Compared to the powerful new equipment of the US military, the weapons possessed by Zambia, a poor African country, are really nothing.

They only have an air force consisting of about twenty old MiG fighters and a navy with only a few Russian-made patrol boats. As for Zambia's army, they have more weapons and equipment, including more than two hundred old tanks and armored vehicles.

Even with these weapons, the US is confident it can send Zambia back to the Stone Age within two hours.

The only thing that could stop them was that the Chinese representative in the joint investigation team did not want the situation to escalate to war.

China has been urging both sides to exercise restraint, which has had some effect, but the atmosphere in Zambia remains very tense.

Meanwhile, while the situation remained deadlocked, Liu Peiqiang and his team were secretly investigating the strange hostage incident.

Thanks to the fact that the "Wolf Fang Squad" had spent a few years in Africa, they still had some connections in this land and did manage to uncover some things.

According to intelligence and information about weapons left at the scene, the hostage situation does indeed suggest that the ETO organization is behind it. Colonel Stanton's public statements were actually a fluke.

Moreover, it wasn't just the ETO organization; investigations revealed that Dr. Ita also seemed far less selfless than he appeared.

He also has a group of supporters within Zambia, and his genetic modification technology has won him a lot of public support. Many local people suffering from hunger even regard him as a savior.

For example, the crowds holding signs that read "Is your ethics to let us starve to death?" and surrounding the American camp are so fanatical that they have completely disregarded life and death.

They were clearly influenced by Dr. Ita.

The members of the "Wolf Fang" special operations team, who were observing all of this, couldn't help but sigh.

"This is what the people want! Dr. Ita is wasting his talents by not doing political work."

(End of this chapter)