Chapter 146: The Dawn of Humanity’s Second Evolution

A month later.

The follow-up testing for the first trial phase was finally complete.

Each of the ten participants saw their brain development increase by varying amounts.

Tracking reports showed that in the initial ten days after using the Gene Enhancer, their brain development soared—the fastest growth phase—with gains of almost 0.2 to 0.3% per day.

But after those ten days, the growth rate plummeted and by day twenty to twenty-two, everyone returned to their previous annual increase—just a fraction of a percent per year.

Overall, their improvements ranged from 2.5% to 3.9%.

But there was one exception: Su He.

She gained a full 5.7%, pushing her brain development to 33.2%.

That was honestly a little terrifying. So, does every Neo-human have this kind of monstrous growth?

Lin Yun wasn’t sure, after all…

Aside from Su He, only two other Neo-humans existed—her father, Lin Yu, and her mother, Mu Qingxue.

She wouldn’t dare let her parents take the injection before the experiments were finished.

What if something went wrong?

Humanity couldn’t afford that kind of loss…

As for Su He, well, she’d been a complete accident. If they’d known her innate brain development was over 25%, she never would’ve been allowed in the clinical trials.

Now, as long as the second and third rounds of testing went smoothly with no problems…

They could push forward with mass production of the Gene Enhancer, and humanity’s second great evolutionary era could officially begin.

——

“What do you think separates a competent commander from a truly outstanding one?”

“A competent commander follows the playbook, matching tactics to each scenario. But an outstanding commander? They don’t stick to the script at all.”

“Su He, remember, textbooks are just textbooks. You need to break down what you learn, pick out the pieces that fit the situation, and put them together into the best tactic for the moment.”

Inside the simulation training room.

Right now, Lin Yu was tutoring Su He with unwavering focus.

Suddenly, the cabin door slid open.

“Old man! Get ready—this is the day I finally take you down!”

Lin Yu didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was.

His son, Lin Feng.

Unlike his daughter Lin Yun, Lin Feng was… well…

Forget it.

“Su He, let’s pause for now. This is the perfect chance for a live demonstration.”

“Yes, Commander!”

Su He had seen all this before—this was nothing new to her.

Ever since she finished the experiment three months ago and was brought to the Houyi by Lin Yu for hands-on fleet command training, she’d witnessed countless scenes just like this.

She was completely used to it by now.

Soon enough, just like always, Lin Yu and Lin Feng both dove into their respective virtual simulators.

A three-dimensional star chart appeared in the center, showing the simulated battle in real time.

An hour later…

As Su He let out a sigh, thinking “Some things never change,” the panels on both simulator pods slid open.

“So, that was your 1,276th simulated battle. And your 1,276th loss, right?”

“Damn it, old man! Just wait—I’ll be back!”

Lin Feng gritted his teeth, fired off a parting shot, and dashed out of the room.

The whole scene made Su He burst out laughing.

Lin Feng was honestly a riot—he always brought a bit of fun whenever he showed up.

Lin Yu watched the whole thing, rubbing his chin in thought.

On the Houyi, Lin Feng was basically a walking disaster, a real headache for the crew.

For someone like Su He to still be able to laugh when she saw him… that was truly rare.

He couldn’t help but notice.

Lin Yu gave Su He a careful look.

Objectively, his disciple wasn’t as stunning as Mu Qingxue, but she was still a beauty—tall, well-built… not bad at all.

“This could actually work out,” he thought. After all…

Why let good things go to outsiders?

The age gap was only six years—nothing compared to what he and Mu Qingxue had overcome.

Suddenly, Su He felt a chill under Lin Yu’s gaze.

Was the Commander getting some weird ideas about her?

“Su He…”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ve got a new assignment for you…”

A few minutes later.

Lin Yu had left.

Su He stood there, a bit lost.

Starting tomorrow, she was supposed to spend more time interacting with Lin Feng?

Wait, what was that supposed to mean?

——

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was Federal Year 223.

Three rounds of testing and three more years of continuous observation had passed.

By now, it was confirmed: the Gene Enhancer worked with no long-term side effects.

The entire Human Federation leadership was thrilled.

Because…

Humanity’s second great evolutionary era was going to begin in their hands.

Most importantly, human lifespans would jump to around 500 years.

What did that mean?

It meant the population would skyrocket. After all, nobody would die of old age for centuries, so how could numbers not explode?

For research and science, the impact would be even greater.

That included their own leadership, of course.

Who wouldn’t want three extra centuries of life?

The decision was made to build Gene Enhancer production facilities on Proxima and begin mass production.

Given early supply limits, for the first three years the enhancer would only go to Federation Fleet soldiers and scientists.

It would go out to the general population starting from the fourth year.

No one among the leadership opposed this.

After all, giving the Federation soldiers the enhancer would boost their combat strength.

Scientists…

Would see huge surges in stamina and brainpower.

There was no doubt the Federation’s science and research would leap forward fast.

Of course, if a high-value figure was about to die during those three years, they could receive the enhancer ahead of schedule.

While Proxima ramped up production lines for the Gene Enhancer, getting ready for mass production…

On Tianyuan IV, Tuoba was nearly tearing out what little hair he had left.

Eight years!

It had been eight years since that battle with the Third Legion!

And yet, he still commanded only 1,200 Seawolf-class warships. According to intelligence, the four royal legions in the neighboring star systems already had over 6,000 warships between them.

And in just two years, that number would soar to over 9,000.

Sure, three years ago Bilodis had promised to prioritize delivering ships as soon as production resumed.

But now there were only two years left…

For some reason, Tuoba grew more and more anxious.

With no other choice, he made another trip to the Elven Consulate in this sector, seeking out Bilodis…

Hoping for an update on the latest progress.