Chapter 105: Suspicion

Although Norman was sixty-nine years old by now, he could swear that he had no signs of Alzheimer’s. He even had a doctor who helped him conduct monthly tests to look for signs of Alzheimer’s.

On top of that, throughout all of these tests, his brain had always remained in exemplary condition.

Which was to say, everything that had just occurred was not just in his head?

Somebody came beside him while he had his eyes closed and hastily swapped out the newspaper with the invitation card?

Norman was certain that he was no senile old fool just yet. Besides, how was anyone supposed to sneak past his bodyguards and secretary unnoticed?

Norman looked up again and carefully surveyed his surroundings.

His surroundings remained as tranquil as it had always been. His secretary was behind him tidying up the bookshelves while two bodyguards stood guard silently by the door.

At this point, if it was not for the invitation card that reminded Norman that this was all real, he might have even begun to start questioning his sanity.

“Emily...”

Norman could not stop himself from asking.

“Yes, Mr. Norman. Here I am.”

A woman cloaked in a strong scent of perfume immediately approached him when he called for her. She leaned down, revealing her well-endowed chest. “Do you need me to pour you a cup of tea?”

“No, Emily. Did anyone appear by my side just now?”

Norman looked intently into the woman’s eyes like he was trying to pierce through her with his sheer gaze.

“Th- that wouldn’t be possible, Mr. Norman.”

The secretary raised the question with a minor shift in expression. “This is your private office. Apart from me and Leo, how is anyone supposed to just sneak in unnoticed?”

“Is that so?” Norman slowly averted his gaze and looked down at the invitation card he had grasped in his hands. A look of intrigue appeared on his face.

“Hmm, Mr. Norman, when did this invitation card...”

The secretary finally saw the invitation card which showed up out of nowhere in Norman’s hands as well and asked with mild wonder.

“None of your business.”

Before she could finish the question, Norman shot her an icy glare.

The secretary quickly realized her mistake and quickly swallowed the words that were about to come out of her lips.

She had undergone professional training and knew better than to ask questions she should not ask. She accidentally blurted the question because of how surprised she was by the card that was not in the boss’ hands just ten minutes ago.

Norman waited until she went back to her seat before delicately inspecting the invitation card.

To be able to sneak past his elite bodyguards and this foolish woman, and deliver this invitation card right into his hands. Regardless of how the other person had pulled this off, this invitation card was certainly worth a look at.

On the invitation card’s cover was a strange logo. It depicted a mechanical arm trying to touch a human’s arm and right below the logo was a short sentence:

“The Holy Ground of Science, Forbidden Zone of God.”

Norman was never a particularly devout Christian. He instinctively frowned when he saw the logo.

“What audacity. Are these slogans and logos supposed to imply that science could replace God?”

Norman mumbled to himself and scoffed before flipping to the first page.

Suddenly, a paragraph of text written with a gel pen was revealed before him.

These passages did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. However, upon closer inspection, he was able to tell there was something extraordinary about them.

The size of each letter, the spaces between each letter and sentence, and the strokes of each letter – they were all nearly completely identical.

Even the most experienced calligrapher who spent decades honing their craft could not write two completely identical letters. This had nothing to do with technique, it was merely a matter of the lack of human control over their muscles

The only way someone could pull a feat like this off was if they had extremely precise control over their muscles down to the most minute detail.

Did someone like this exist in the world?

Norman may have his doubts in the past but now he was left with no choice but to believe it. The evidence was presented right before him in the form of the extreme precision of each letter like they were printed out with a printer.

Anyone could tell that this was not the work of a printer because each letter oozed a distinct personal style. Each stroke performed was bold and distinct, this was not something a computer could simply mimic.

Who in the world was able to produce such a bizarre letter?

Norman took in a deep breath. He could tell his interest in this invitation letter was growing with each passing second.

“Dear Mr. Norman Foster:”

“If you’re reading this letter now, it’d mean that it was successfully delivered into your hands. Please do forgive our manners in not presenting ourselves properly in the delivery of the letter.

“As you can tell, we’re an organization that goes by the name ‘God’s Forbidden Zone’. We’re an organization comprised of members seeking the key to extending our lifespan. Our goal is to overcome the Hayflick limit imposed on the human body and subsequently attain that which only the divine beings have access to – Immortality.

“As a step toward this plan, we have launched the ‘Mankind Anti-aging Project”. The project includes hundreds of scientific and technological projects that serve to prolong the human lifespan. The current implemented ones include Aging Reversal Therapy, Cloned Organ Transplantation, Alzheimer Reversal Therapy, Neural Stem Cell Connection Regeneration, Cancerous Cyclin-dependent Kinases, and various others amounting to thirteen in total.

“Among these mentioned projects, the ‘Aging Reversal Therapy’ and ‘Cloned Organ Transplantation’ have proved to be a success. We believe that used in conjunction, these two technological breakthroughs will be able to extend the natural lifespan of a person by more than thirty years.

“We’ve made sure to enclose a portion of the relevant details regarding these two techniques employed. If you don’t find these data to be convincing, please log in to the URL provided in the invitation card to view the relevant video data of these two techniques.

“If you find yourself intrigued by our projects, please do contact us on our website.”

It was concluded with the signature of God’s Forbidden Zone.

Norman felt his eyes twitching involuntarily by the time he had finished reading the contents.

He had to admit that when he saw the text reading “Aging Reversal Therapy”, he could feel his heart skipping a beat even when he thought he had come to terms with his own mortality.

This sense of intrigue was immediately followed by suspicions.

Scam organization?

This was not the first time Norman had encountered such a scenario.

Even in his social circle, there had been similar cases. Several billionaire associates of his stumbled into some organization along the lines of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. They were persuaded into investing tens of millions into the foundation only to have them run away with the cheque in just two days. These few billionaires were turned into a laughingstock of the business world overnight.

Norman would not have his long-standing legacy crumble to dust overnight.

Still...

What if they were telling the truth?

Norman fell silent for a moment before breaking into a bitter laugh. Even if there was a chance this organization turned out to be a scam, was he going to just stand by idly?

Norman fixed his gaze on the texts which read “Extend the natural lifespan of a person by more than thirty years”.

He was a ripe sixty-nine-year-old today. Even though he was still largely healthy, how long was this going to last?

He was no longer the young man he was. Perhaps he could live another ten to twenty years or maybe he would be struck by a terrible illness the very next day. Who could have a read on these things?

Norman heaved an exasperated sigh when he thought of this and got up from his chair. “Emily, bring me my son, Leo.”

“Got it, Mr. Norman.”