Chapter 1

Standing on the streets of Taiwan, Chen Ang silently swallowed a small, transparent pill. Time suddenly slowed down in his eyes, and the chaotic information around him entered his brain, making him feel extremely noisy and disoriented. But as the drug took effect, his eyes quickly became clear.

His rapidly operating brain processed various pieces of information, categorizing them. Everything he saw and heard was systematically processed by his brain, and he specifically picked out a few pieces of information.

About 500 meters ahead, a blonde foreign woman was talking to another foreign man, her eyes weary. Their voices were not loud, so by the time they reached Chen Ang, they were just a faint whisper. But with the brain's analysis, the sound became abnormally clear in his ears.

"Baby! Don't do this!"

"Richard, I have to go!"

The two were pulling at each other. In fact, Chen Ang had already known what they were going to say. In this state, he could recall any detail from his memory, even a movie he had watched out of boredom.

Yes, for Chen Ang, this was a scene from a movie, "Lucy," a science fiction film released in the United States. The main storyline was about a foolish girl becoming a god, and this scene was the opening of the movie.

Three days ago in the real world, Chen Ang was an ordinary high school student, striving for the college entrance exam. But an accidental awakening of his supernatural abilities allowed him to travel through worlds derived from human imagination, leading him down a completely different path in life. Now, he was a beneficiary of the NZT drug in the "Limitless" world, a scientist with thirteen doctoral degrees.

His purpose for being here was the silver briefcase in the man's hand, which contained a new type of virus called CPH4. It originated from the growth hormone in human fetuses and had the ability to develop brain potential.

In the movie, Lucy was injected with a large amount of CPH4, which stimulated her cells and brain, gradually increasing her brain's development from 20% to 40%, and eventually to 100%, merging with the universe.

Chen Ang's goal was not to merge with the universe, but this miraculous drug was an excellent research material for him. Having taken a similar brain-boosting drug, NZT, Chen Ang had a strong desire for this more powerful drug.

He knew from his experience with NZT in the "Limitless" world that the state of increased brain development was incredibly tempting. Complex information that was once incomprehensible, and knowledge that was difficult to learn and understand, became easy to grasp and apply instinctively.

In modern society, knowledge is both cheap and expensive. It is cheap in terms of access, as people can obtain a large amount of knowledge through the internet and libraries at a low cost. However, knowledge itself is priceless.

Similarly, CPH4, which can grant knowledge, is also priceless.

At this moment, the two people in front of him were arguing. Richard suddenly handcuffed Lucy, making her very angry. She screamed, "Untie me now!"

"I can't, Mr. Jiang is the only one with the key!"

Chen Ang had already walked up to them and suddenly said, "That's not true!"

"Who are you!" Richard was shocked and then threatened him fiercely, "Listen, kid! No matter who you are, forget what you heard, or I'll..."

He suddenly stopped when he saw the gun in Chen Ang's hand. Richard obediently raised his hands, and Lucy, shocked by the scene, covered her mouth and sobbed.

"Alright! As long as you cooperate, I promise you'll be fine!" Chen Ang's voice was full of charm, "Now, get in the car with me!"

Using some hypnotic techniques, he made the two of them obediently get into the bus parked nearby. Without waiting for Richard to sit down, Chen Ang struck the back of his head, knocking him unconscious in the seat. Lucy wisely sat down beside him and pleaded, "I don't know anything, no, in fact, I just met this guy!"

"Lucy, everything will be fine soon!" Chen Ang reassured her.

Soon, Chen Ang drove the car to a building, locked Richard in the basement, and brought Lucy to a large laboratory.

Looking at the cold instruments, the lined-up beakers and test tubes, Lucy shrank back and asked in a small voice, "Sir, can I go now?"

Chen Ang patted the reclining chair in the laboratory and said to Lucy, "Lie down here now. I need to make sure you forget some things!"

Lucy pleaded, "No, sir, I promise..."

" Lie down!" Chen Ang's voice turned cold.

Not wanting to anger him, Lucy, hoping for a chance, obediently lay down on the reclining chair. She watched as Chen Ang put his ear to the lock on the silver briefcase, fiddled with it a bit, and opened it. Inside were four packets of blue powder.

Before she could see clearly, her head grew heavy, and she fainted.

Chen Ang ignored her and carefully selected some of the CPH4 from the four packets, nervously beginning his analysis. This substance, which is secreted in small amounts during the sixth week of pregnancy and affects fetal brain development, had incredibly magical properties.

It was a crucial element in endowing human intelligence, but for adults, it was a deadly poison that could be fatal with even a small dose. Chen Ang needed a long time to study it.

For this process, Chen Ang had special techniques.

"In the movie, NZT and CPH4 are two completely different things, but in reality, it's impossible for these two drugs to have no similarities. Their mechanisms of action and effects on the brain must have some similarities."

"And these similar mechanisms will be the key direction for improving CPH4." Chen Ang, holding a test tube containing CPH4, disappeared into the laboratory.

Soon, in the underground laboratory of the "Limitless" world, he put on a white lab coat and greeted people enthusiastically.

"Dr. Chen! We've made progress with NZT! The basic pharmacological analysis results are ready, and the expert team is preparing!" A researcher wearing a mask handed Chen Ang a report.

"Dr. Chen, the laboratory is ready," another researcher rushed over to say.

Without a word, Chen Ang turned to the laboratory. This was the best laboratory in the "Limitless" world, capable of producing higher-precision NZT. If not for the strong side effects, Chen Ang's brain capacity could be developed to 40%, but he would become a vegetable after two hours.

According to experiments, the time in the different worlds Chen Ang traveled to was relatively independent. Time stopped in the world he was not in, making it difficult for him to use time acceleration to cheat. In fact, life expectancy had become the second major issue Chen Ang needed to solve after the side effects of brain development.

With Lucy's blood and CPH4, Chen Ang spent the afternoon working. The deep blue liquid in front of him was his only achievement, "The side effects of NZT have been reduced by half, but there has been no progress in the study of CPH4. It only proves that Lucy's serum is effective in reducing the side effects of NZT!"

"It seems it's time to go to the second overclocking level!" Chen Ang frowned.

He referred to the state of accelerated brain operation as overclocking. The side-effect-free version of the NZT drug could achieve ordinary overclocking, the normal version of the NZT drug could achieve first-level overclocking, and the enhanced version of the NZT drug could achieve second-level overclocking. There was also a concentrated version called third-level overclocking, which Chen Ang jokingly referred to as a half-finished brain-destroying drug.

In the following six months, the research and development of the NZT drug made significant progress. Not only did it achieve a side-effect-free first-level overclocking drug, but it also developed a practical low-side-effect second-level overclocking drug. Additionally, the initial pharmacological study of CPH4 was completed, but its severe side effects still troubled Chen Ang.

Lucy had been detained in the "Lucy" world for a week. For this precious material, Chen Ang was extremely careful to maintain her relatively happy mood and obtain a limited amount of blood. A few weeks ago, Chen Ang冒险取了她脊髓中的一点干细胞，拿到《永无止境》世界研究，现在快到出成果的时候了。

Chen Ang observed the changes in the experimental subject's body due to NZT, frowning in thought.

He opened the experimental notes and recorded: In the experiment, "Eddie" did not become more efficient with higher concentration. On the contrary, the appropriate concentration was necessary for optimal performance. However, when "Eddie" was injected throughout the body, its efficiency increased dramatically. This proved that "Eddie" did not just work in the brain but was closely linked to the entire body.

Perhaps ancient Chinese medicine was correct—human intelligence does not just come from the brain and spine. The theory of the human body system and systems theory has been proven to exist. The injection of "Eddie" into the internal organs confirmed the role of the five organs and six腑 in regulating human emotions, which aligns with traditional Chinese medicine.

Chen Ang picked up a copy of "The Plain Questions" and flipped to the chapter on qi, continuing to record in his notes: The reasonable development of "Lucy" and "Eddie" cannot be separated from the wisdom of ancient Chinese medicine. The side-effect-free use of "Lucy" may be closely related to the "qi" in the human body. In this aspect, the two masters, Jin and Gu, can provide me with significant help.

"Dr. Chen! We have an important breakthrough!" A researcher rushed over.

"It seems 'Lucy' has given us a surprise!" Chen Ang strode to the second laboratory, delighted.

An elderly man with graying hair saw Chen Ang and quickly approached. He was still under the influence of the NZT drug, with clear and determined eyes, but his voice was unusually excited. The biggest side effect of the improved NZT was the suppression of emotions, so for someone in this state to show any reaction, the actual emotion must be very intense.

"'Lucy' has succeeded! Under the influence of the second catalyst, 'Lucy' has shown remarkable stability, and we've even made an unexpected discovery!" He pointed to the central liquid platform.

A purple liquid shimmered beautifully under the light, and the researchers around it were captivated, as if looking at a rare gem. Even if a real gem were placed in front of them, it would be discarded without a second thought.