"This is indeed a very important breakthrough. With slight improvements, it could even be used now."
Dr. Zola stayed up late reviewing the research report and shared his opinion with Schmidt the next day.
"The purpose of this technology is to enhance nerve reflex speed through drugs. You'll need to consult them for more specific details, but I can confirm that part of the drug's pharmacology affects the nerve myelin."
As the head of Hydra, Schmidt's knowledge is not as extensive as that of a professional scientist, but he has some understanding. However, he didn't know what nerve myelin was, so Zola patiently explained.
"Myelin is a type of oligodendrocyte that wraps around neuronal axons to form a composite membrane."
After pausing to gather his thoughts, Zola continued, "In simple terms, aside from continuous training to build subconscious muscle memory, our reaction speed is largely determined by the myelin sheath. The thicker and more developed the myelin sheath is, the faster the response speed."
"So, this drug makes the myelin sheath thicker and more developed?"
"No, not exactly. Theoretically, it can enhance nerve reflex speed in a short period through drug stimulation. They probably don't have specific enhancement data yet because no experiments have been conducted."
Upon hearing this, Schmidt's eyes flickered slightly, and he then instructed the adjutant next to him, "Find some volunteers—men, women, and children—and bring Miss Rhine to the testing site as well."
The adjutant moved quickly, and Rhine looked at him in confusion. She couldn't understand Schmidt's plans. Hadn't they agreed to keep everything as usual? Why was she being summoned again?
"What's going on? I have other work to do."
Rhine crossed her arms in annoyance, glaring at the adjutant. She was not only starting research on human enhancement but also analyzing technology related to the study of the Tesseract. She was really busy.
The adjutant could only offer a wry smile and wave his hands, explaining that he didn't know the reason and that it was all arranged by Schmidt.
Rhine didn't make it difficult for the adjutant, but she was irritated by being called around all day. As she turned to leave, the person who annoyed her arrived.
"Schmidt, unless it's urgent, I suggest you not bother me. I'm really busy."
Hearing this, the adjutant standing at the door silently clicked his tongue. It seemed Miss Rhine was the only one in all of Hydra who dared to speak to Schmidt like that.
Schmidt shrugged, stating that it was indeed official business.
"Of course, it's very important. Didn't you say you were lacking experimental materials before? I happened to find some on my trip."
Rhine looked at him suspiciously, feeling something was off. Chimpanzees aren't easy to find, and the efficiency of obtaining them the very next day seemed unusually high.
Since she was already there, she decided to proceed with the second stage of the experiment and then move on to the next stage after some optimizations.
"Fine, let me grab some things from the lab first."
She hurried to fetch a small black leather case, which contained six potions for the second stage. She hadn't made more because the preparation was manual and slow. Many of the chemical reagents, like modafinil and amphetamine, weren't readily available and had to be synthesized manually, which was quite troublesome.
Walking towards the test site, Rhine's mood improved as she prepared to start the next stage of research. She noticed Schmidt occasionally glancing at the case in her hand and said, "This is the reagent. It's currently a neuro-synthetic drug that can enhance brain metabolism, improve circulation, and has some cognitive enhancement effects."
"Hmm, that sounds great," Schmidt nodded unconsciously. He stepped forward to open the door to the testing site for Rhine, gesturing for her to enter.
Rhine was amused by Schmidt's gesture. At that moment, she thought that if Schmidt weren't so cruel, they might have been good friends.
Upon arriving at the test site, what she saw wasn't a caged chimpanzee, but a group of men, women, and children.
Seeing this, the smile on Rhine's face gradually faded.
"Schmidt, what is this?"
"Didn't you need experimental materials? Here they are."
Schmidt walked around in front of the one-way glass, pointing at the chaotic crowd inside. "They're all volunteers, and I've generously compensated their families."
"Schmidt!"
Rhine rushed in front of him, her face flushed with anger, her eyes wide. "I asked for chimpanzees! Do you understand? Chimpanzees! Not humans—humans are not experiments!"
"Of course, they're not experimental subjects; they're volunteers... Now, dear Miss Rhine, it's time to conduct your experiment."
Schmidt remained unmoved. If the person in front of him were a strong man, he might have shown some restraint, but he didn't see the small, angry woman as a real threat.
"You... I'm not playing word games with you. I won't let them participate in the experiment."
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Rhine held the suitcase and sat down, unhurried. After all, she wasn't the one eager to proceed with the experiment.
"Then we'll do as you say."
"?"
What's going on? Did he change his mind? But Schmidt's next words made her silently curse his shamelessness.
"Since they can't participate in the experiment, we'll get rid of them all. This is a highly confidential site, and anyone unrelated will be shot for espionage."
"You!"
Rhine stood up and glared at Schmidt, who continued to go about his business as usual. Now, she had a headache.
Lainten stood up and glared at Schmidt, who continued to go about his business, leaving her with a headache.
The synthetic drugs were still immature. While she was confident in them, she couldn't guarantee they were completely harmless to humans. But if they didn't conduct the experiment, these people would be sent to meet their fate now.
She blamed herself. If only she had discussed this matter privately with Dr. Erskine earlier, things wouldn't have escalated to this point, dragging innocent people into the mess.
This guilt weighed heavily on her, but there was no other choice now except to ensure the drug's stability as much as possible to avoid any negative effects.
"Fine, I agree to the experiment, but it must be conducted strictly according to my requirements and procedures."
"No problem, I'll accommodate any cooperation you need," Schmidt replied, as if he had anticipated her reaction. He seemed to understand Rhine's character well, and she was aware of this, but she had no strategy to counter his move.
With no other option, she focused on directing the people on site to prepare for the experiment, hoping that no accidents would occur.