The town was not big, with only one or two hundred residents. It was much more shabby than the villas they had just passed. The few people soon arrived in front of the building. The building was surrounded by a wall covered with weeds and smoke. A large iron door was ajar. When Dong Ying pushed the door open, it made a rusty creaking sound that irritated people's eardrums. The outer wall of the building was covered with hanging creepers and other vines. It was autumn, and they had gradually lost their green color and turned into a light yellow, adding a bit of desolate atmosphere to the building.
"The Superman Research Society is in a place like this?" Although Zheng Yubai had attended college in Jinghai City for four years and often went on outings to the suburbs, he had never seen a house like this that was suitable for the location of a haunted house in a movie.
"Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a bit eerie. Fortunately, it's cheap. The land prices in the city are too expensive now, and we can't even rent it. The membership fees of the association are all sponsored by members, and it's very tight. We can only do research in remote places." Dong Ying smiled.
"Another advantage is that no one disturbs us here." Yang Feiyan said with a smile. Zheng Yubai looked at the surrounding environment and couldn't help laughing. He thought that he would have to be very brave to disturb us here. If he accidentally walked into this place in the middle of the night, he would be scared.
The steps at the main entrance of the building were covered with thick fallen leaves. Judging from how dry they were, they were probably from last year or the year before. When you stepped on them, the dead leaves made a rustling sound and crumbled into powder. Dong Ying walked in front, pushed open the wooden door, and said to everyone, "Come in."
Walking into the building, Zheng Yubai was stunned. It turned out that there was a different world inside. From the outside of the building, it seemed that no one had lived in it for hundreds of years, which made him wonder if the building was full of ghosts and man-eating bats. However, when he entered the building, he found that the inside was in good condition.
The first floor was a hall, and its structure and layout were similar to those of a star-rated hotel. Although the empty hall could not be said to be spotlessly clean, at least it was not as messy and dusty as Zheng Yubai had imagined. Although there were no enthusiastic service staff to greet him, there were no ghosts wandering around, which made him feel relieved.
"Are there new friends?" A voice sounded in the deep hall, followed by steady footsteps, and a figure gradually became clear. Zheng Yubai saw a middle-aged man who was about the same age as Dong Ying. He had a square face, big ears, a short beard, and was wearing a Tang suit. He looked like an old-fashioned person.
"President, I brought someone here who you might be interested in," said Dong Ying.
Zheng Yubai took two steps forward and said, "Hello, my name is Zheng Yubai."
The president came over and glanced at Zheng Yubai. When their eyes met, Zheng Yubai felt as if a warm current was transmitted from his gaze, and it quickly circulated in his body. Suddenly, he felt as if the other party had seen through everything.
"My name is Zhang Daosheng, nice to meet you." The president stretched out his hand and shook hands gently with Zheng Yubai.
Zhang Daosheng walked up the dark and gloomy stairs and came to the second floor. There was a long corridor that seemed to have no end, it was long and dark.
"I'm sorry this place is so simple." Zhang Daosheng laughed with a graceful demeanor.
"A mountain is not high, but it is famous if there are immortals..." Zheng Yubai suddenly thought of Liu Yuxi's "Praise of the Humble House" and blurted it out.
Zhang Daosheng opened a door in the corridor, revealing a fairly spacious and bright reception room, where everyone sat down.
Zheng Yubai made his intention clear, and Zhang Daosheng said with a smile: "Fei Yan, you must not be so willful in the future, or I will tell your grandfather."
Yang Feiyan said coquettishly: "Uncle Zhang, I won't dare to do it next time."
Zhang Daosheng stroked his short beard and said to Zheng Yubai, "Since you are here, you are a guest. We, the aliens, need more friends to help us find an answer as soon as possible."
With Zhang Daosheng's explanation, Zheng Yubai learned more about the Superman Research Society and the aliens.
As early as the 1930s, reports about aliens appeared in the news media of various countries. At first, they were just regarded as after-dinner gossips, but gradually they were taken seriously by the military of various countries. In World War II, both the Axis and the Allies more or less used the power of aliens to carry out important tasks such as espionage, assassination, and lurking. Many aliens became unsung heroes behind the war.
After the Cold War, the research on aliens has been the focus of all countries, and the United States and the Soviet Union have invested a lot of money in research. The aliens of the two countries have also fought openly and secretly on different occasions. It is said that the crash of a space shuttle and the leak of a nuclear power plant were the masterpieces of the aliens of the other side.
With the end of the Cold War, the great confrontation became a thing of the past, and the research on aliens gradually fell into a trough. The country basically did not invest too much money and energy in the research of aliens. On the contrary, aliens began to use the power of the people to unite and find a direction for their own rights and interests and the future.
The Transhumanist Association, founded in 1998 in the United States, is the first civilian organization of transhumans. It was founded by philosophers Nick Bostrom and David Pierce and is referred to as WTA. They believe that transhumans are the first generation of superhumans that will emerge after human society develops to the singularity. Human society will undergo a drastic change due to the development of science and technology and the evolution of genes, and the world will enter the era of superhumans. Transhumans are the pioneers of this era. The purpose of the association is to unite transhumans from all over the world, study the generation and development of superpowers, and create a beautiful new world for transhumans.
With the establishment of the American Transhumanist Association, many branches have sprung up all over the world. The place where Zheng Yubai is now is the largest branch in Asia. Zhang Daosheng was a household name as a "special ability master" as early as the 1980s. However, since he founded the Transhuman Research Society, he has gradually faded out of the public eye and devoted himself to research.
"I see. The world is so big, and there are so many things. I thought many rumors were just nonsense." Zheng Yubai listened to Zhang Daosheng's explanation and realized that many of the rumors about superpowers he had heard before were true. Moreover, the research on superpowers began a long time ago. It was just that as a state secret, ordinary people could not know the details.
"There are many magical things in the world, and the existence of aliens is just one of them. When I was your age, I thought the world was very simple and that you could do whatever you wanted if you had superpowers. It wasn't until I was over 40 that I finally got the idea. The ancients said that people are free from doubts at forty, and it's true for me." Zhang Daosheng said with a hint of self-mockery.
"I wonder what I can do to help you?" Zheng Yubai asked. When he first learned about the existence of the aliens from Yang Feiyan, Zheng Yubai was very envious of them. But now he felt that walking on an unknown road like them, not only felt alienated from ordinary people, but also had to solve many problems caused by superpowers, which was actually a very painful thing.
Zhang Daosheng looked at Zheng Yubai seriously: "As soon as you came in, I looked inside your body. I think you are very suitable to help us do an experiment."
"What experiment?" Zheng Yubai asked.
"An experiment on how humans acquire super powers." (To be continued)