Chapter 20: Fate That Cannot Be Escaped (Revised A, with an Additional Chapter)

Inside the airport, Zhu Lan sat in the departure lounge, waiting for the plane to take off. After being busy for half a month, Zhu Lan was finally about to board the flight to Germany.

This time, aside from Zhu Lan, Cheng Xue was also accompanying the group as an interpreter. Although her German wasn’t completely fluent, it was sufficient. Moreover, a student studying in Germany had already been contacted to pick them up and serve as Zhu Lan’s translator during their stay.

Along with Cheng Xue, Zhu Lan brought Qin Shi and another man named Wang Sheng, both top-notch security guards from the company. Their sole purpose was to ensure the safety of the gene optimization serum.

There was one more member in the group—Zhai Bang, sent by the military.

It had taken Zhu Lan considerable effort to obtain permission to take the gene optimization serum abroad. The agreement was finally reached on the condition that a military representative would accompany them, and Zhai Bang was assigned this role.

After a flight of more than ten hours, Zhu Lan and the others landed at Berlin International Airport. Upon exiting, they were greeted by Cheng Xue’s classmate.

"Hello, I'm Fang Yicheng!"

"Hello!" Zhu Lan extended a hand for a shake.

"Let’s go! The car’s ready," Fang Yicheng said, smiling at Cheng Xue, though she seemed indifferent to him. Awkwardly, Fang Yicheng touched his nose and continued.

Zhu Lan nodded, and Qin Shi followed with the luggage.

Because Zhu Lan had already sent an advance payment, the group didn’t need to take a taxi—Fang Yicheng had arranged everything.

Everyone received their room key. The hotel was a five-star establishment in central Berlin. Since Zhu Lan was paying, Fang Yicheng naturally provided the best service—after all, the fee was enough to cover three years of his tuition and living expenses. As long as he accompanied Zhu Lan and completed his duties, he would receive a sum that made his heart race.

"An appointment with Maidebier has already been set. You can go there tomorrow morning."

Zhu Lan nodded. "Understood. Thank you for your trouble."

Fang Yicheng said nothing further but walked over to Cheng Xue. Seeing this, Zhu Lan shook his head helplessly, signaled to Qin Shi and the others, and headed for the elevator.

Late at night, after a Western-style dinner, Zhu Lan stood by the window in his room, gazing at Berlin’s dazzling cityscape through the glass—his thoughts already adrift.

Going abroad brought a sense of foreboding—his sixth sense warned him of potential mishaps.

Strangely, even a month earlier, this feeling had persisted, but it vanished last week. Previously, whenever the idea of going abroad crossed his mind, a suffocating anxiety would well up inside him, as if he might die in the next moment—a sensation so intense it felt like the arrival of death itself.

Zhu Lan could have sent someone else; there was no need to come in person. Yet this feeling left him uneasy, and he refused to be cowed. He needed to find out what it truly was.

He wasn’t acting recklessly. To prevent any accidents, he had purchased a small tablet loaded with hundreds of camera feeds—clips from various movies. Whenever necessary, Zhu Lan could summon anything he needed from it, such as a gun.

Bringing Qin Shi and the others was ostensibly for the protection of the gene optimization serum, but in truth, it was to guard against unforeseen incidents.

Even if the serum were lost, Zhu Lan wasn't worried. The gene code for the stimulant of the interstellar era was exceedingly complex; it had taken Zhu Lan a long time to decipher it, and only after consuming a vast quantity of stimulants. If a single optimization serum could be reverse-engineered, Zhu Lan’s business would be redundant—any product launched would soon be copied.

To prevent reverse engineering, Zhu Lan had borrowed a gene lock program from a rather comical film. This program was embedded within the gene optimization serum and did not affect its efficacy. It was akin to putting a lock around a string of source code.

Anyone hoping to reverse-engineer the serum would first have to unlock this gene lock. In reality, the concept of a gene lock was still theoretical; the combinations of genes were far from fully understood. Even if someone attempted it, Zhu Lan wasn’t concerned—it would take at least three years to break the lock without the specific decryption program, unless someone boasted an IQ of 160.

Phantom Technology wasn’t well-known, even locally. When Zhu Lan arrived at the Maidebier Institute, he was made to wait, told that the manager was not yet in.

Though he was displeased, Zhu Lan had no choice but to wait. The wait stretched from morning to afternoon before someone was finally available to see them.

"Welcome! Maidebier is your best choice—we can provide you with the finest testing services."

Inside an office, a German man wearing gold-rimmed glasses greeted them with a slogan.

"Your company’s service is really poor!" Cheng Xue translated Zhu Lan’s complaint word for word.

The man’s face darkened, but understanding that these Chinese clients were bringing money, he forced a smile. China was no longer what it once was—especially after the European debt crisis and the waning support from the United States. Many countries had abandoned NATO agreements and opened various forms of cooperation with China. In recent years, Chinese investments worldwide had made it clear to Europeans that China, as a developing nation, was very wealthy.

Their host, Jin He’er, was a senior researcher at the Maidebier Institute. Since Zhu Lan had sent over some information in advance, a specialist in biology like Jin He’er was assigned to receive them.

"I sincerely apologize for the earlier inconvenience. Please understand that Maidebier is one of Germany’s premier testing centers. We will complete your project perfectly."

"Very well," Zhu Lan replied with resignation after Cheng Xue translated.

The handover was managed by Cheng Xue, and both parties signed a confidentiality agreement. According to the contract, Zhu Lan, as the supplier, would provide samples to Maidebier for testing. Should the sample be leaked or lost, Maidebier would compensate ten times the agreed price.

With the paperwork done, Zhu Lan signaled Qin Shi to bring the goods.

Jin He’er accepted the sample with only a cursory glance, thinking it was probably just a reverse-engineered domestic product.

"Sir, the testing will take about three to five days. We’ll call you once it’s complete."

Zhu Lan nodded. "Thank you for your trouble."

Leaving the Maidebier Institute, Zhu Lan glanced at the building next door with a police badge above the entrance—a police station. He found it interesting that the institute was located right next to a station, suggesting its considerable influence.

The Maidebier Institute wasn’t on the outskirts but near Berlin’s third ring road, at the edge of the city center. Though the area wasn’t bustling, it was surrounded by residential neighborhoods—a decent location.

Returning to the hotel, Zhu Lan told Qin Shi and the others to go out and enjoy themselves—a small reward.

Turning on his laptop and connecting to the hotel’s WiFi, Zhu Lan fell into deep thought.

In recent months, Zhu Lan had felt increasingly powerless, especially in his collaboration with Luo Guoqiang. He realized his thinking couldn’t keep pace.

Though he had started shifting his mindset after acquiring the Phantom System—no longer thinking like an ordinary person—old habits die hard. After more than twenty years as a regular citizen, it was difficult to change overnight. At first, Zhu Lan thought he had transformed, but working with Luo Guoqiang made him realize he had only been deceiving himself.

Despite knowing the dangers, Zhu Lan had chosen to go abroad in hopes of changing himself.

From the perspective of fate, obtaining the Phantom System had altered his destiny, but as the saying goes: you gain as much as you pay, and such payment is always a test.

For instance, if an ordinary man robs a bank, his trial is evading the police. If the police never catch him, the case goes cold, and he can spend the money openly.

Every gain comes with a corresponding cost.

Zhu Lan had been preparing for this so-called cost.

As mysterious as the concept of destiny was, Zhu Lan believed in gods and ghosts—why not fate?

His desire to go abroad had brought on the suffocating feeling that he saw as fate’s challenge. Only by overcoming it could he safely use the Phantom System.

For the most part, Zhu Lan had hidden away in his lab, hoping to avoid the entanglements of fate, but trouble found him anyway.

Phantom Technology was virtually unknown—neither spies nor ordinary people cared about what the company did.

Yet fate intervened. A Japanese corporate spy inexplicably stole the company’s most valuable gene enhancement serum, setting off a chain of events.

From that moment, Zhu Lan realized he couldn’t escape destiny’s changes. That led him to hand over the gene enhancement serum to the state—he was certain that if he hadn’t, he’d have ended up wanted or locked away for good.

Even after surrendering the serum, Zhu Lan still felt uneasy and chose to expose himself to the dangers of a foreign land. He understood that he had to face the trial fate had set for him—otherwise, he might end up like the protagonist in "Final Destination," shunned by the world. If he survived, the world’s will would acknowledge the Phantom System as his own, just as a thief who manages to openly claim his loot without attracting pursuit. Zhu Lan was risking his life to test the boundaries.