Chapter 368 - 365: 2045: Concentration Zero

In a mountain villa on Panay Island.

Sangjibada Laiyal was massaging his shoulders while Li Qingye sat on the sofa, a tablet in his hands, frowning as he scrolled through it.

'Homo Sapiens Company Medical Division, 2022 Annual Report...'

Through the company's efforts, the current average life expectancy of employees within each branch had been raised to around 89 years, and it was still rising rapidly.

This was thanks to the Homo Sapiens Company's advantages in biotechnology. As the number of New Human employees expanded, the average life expectancy naturally skyrocketed.

Li Qingye wasn't the least bit surprised by this. It would have been a problem if the employees' average life expectancy *didn't* increase under the Homo Sapiens Company's powerful biotechnology.

The reason for his furrowed brow wasn't the life expectancy figures, but another statistic mentioned in the report.

According to the Medical Division's data, they had compiled statistics on the physical condition of all employees from 2019 to 2022 and discovered a terrifying phenomenon.

The average sperm concentration for young and middle-aged male employees in the Hongsawaddy and Luzon Branches had declined steadily: 53.71 million per milliliter in 2019, 49.52 million/ml in 2020, 45.11 million/ml in 2021, and 42.83 million/ml in 2022.

The Siam, Malacca, Java, and Borneo Branches showed a similar situation.

The situation was most severe at the Xingdao Branch, where some employees' levels had dropped to 14.28 million per milliliter.

Conversely, the rate of decline at the Mad Branch was comparatively smaller, with the current average still at 86.71 million per milliliter.

Why was this happening?

At first, the Medical Division suspected poisoning by hostile forces, but as the investigation deepened, they discovered that the situation within the Homo Sapiens Company was not an isolated case. It was a widespread global phenomenon.

The more developed the region, the lower the male sperm concentration.

Among these, Europe, North America, Oceania, East Japan, and South Korea had the lowest concentrations, already down to levels of ten to twenty million per milliliter.

Next were the more developed regions, such as the Far East and the West Asian Oil Tyrants, which were down to levels of twenty to thirty million per milliliter.

The third-tier regions were Southeast Asia and Latin America, with levels around forty to fifty million per milliliter.

Finally, the regions with the highest concentration were in Southern Africa, which could reach levels of 50 million to 200 million per milliliter.

If this trend continued, by around 2045, the sperm concentration of men in Europe, America, and some of the more developed regions would drop to nearly zero.

The other, less developed regions would likely not be far behind.

The Medical Division organized professional biological and medical researchers to conduct a comprehensive study on the situation.

After analyzing the comprehensive physical examination reports of 800 million employees and cross-referencing them with their job positions, residential areas, daily diets, and lifestyles, the research group reached a shocking conclusion.

Genetic damage was the cause of the decline in sperm concentration and quality.

Then why didn't women experience a similar situation?

The reason lies in the differences between their reproductive cells.

Once a male's reproductive cells sustain genetic damage, they cannot self-repair, but they can survive for a period of time.

In contrast, when a female's reproductive cells sustain genetic damage, they attempt to self-repair. If the repair is successful, the egg can develop and grow. If it fails, the egg dies.

It is precisely this characteristic that allows males to pass their genetic damage on to the next generation.

This has led to a terrifying problem: male reproductive cells are progressively deteriorating, and their numbers are rapidly declining.

To put it in perspective, back in the 1970s, statistics from developed countries showed an average level of 50 million to 300 million per milliliter.

So what exactly caused this widespread genetic damage in humans?

The answer was actually quite obvious.

There are two main causes of genetic damage: one is ionizing radiation, and the other is chemical substances.

By tracing back the historical development of developed regions, the key chemical substance causing genetic damage was identified as nicotine.

As for genetic damage from ionizing radiation, the key factor was the large-scale nuclear tests of the 1950s and 60s. The radioactive dust from these tests has already spread across the globe via atmospheric circulation.

This point could actually be seen from a regional analysis.

Southern Africa and Latin America have had basically no large-scale nuclear detonation tests, while other regions have all had them to varying degrees.

In the Oceania Region, for instance, Great Britain conducted nuclear tests in its desert territories, and France conducted them in the South Pacific.

Southeast Asia is an even clearer case. To its east, the Pacific Ocean is home to numerous American nuclear test sites. To its west, although Tianzhu and Xiba conducted tests in their own deserts, atmospheric circulation happens to carry airborne particles from there to Southeast Asia.

In West Asia and North Africa, the Kingdom of Judah and France also conducted numerous nuclear tests.

The timelines also match up perfectly. Following the large-scale nuclear tests of the 1950s and 60s, human male reproductive cells began showing problems starting in 1970.

With the cumulative genetic damage over several generations, humanity's overall infertility problems have become increasingly severe in the 21st century.

The Medical Division's investigative report also mentioned another crucial and often-overlooked source of ionizing radiation.

Medical X-ray imaging.

Why is genetic damage more severe in more developed regions? It has a lot to do with their mature healthcare systems and the widespread practice of annual physical examinations.

Although the dose of ionizing radiation from X-ray imaging equipment is not high, the genetic damage it causes cannot be ignored, especially for those who undergo frequent physicals.

In less developed regions, on the other hand, medical resources are scarcer, and some people may go their entire lives without ever encountering an X-ray machine.

Through this series of studies, the Medical Division had clearly identified the main culprits behind human genetic damage: radioactive dust, nicotine, and X-ray equipment.

However, this discovery was of little use in curbing the trend of human genetic damage.

The New Human employees of the Homo Sapiens Company could perhaps be forced to quit smoking.

But radioactive dust has long since spread to every corner of human society through atmospheric and water cycles, and these trace radioactive substances are extremely difficult to completely remove.

As for X-ray equipment, it is a nearly indispensable part of the current medical system. Even though the Homo Sapiens Company possesses magnetic field imaging technology, it is still impossible to completely phase out X-ray imaging devices.

Li Qingye set down the tablet and sighed, "Humans are always so good at destroying themselves."

Sangjibada Laiyal, standing behind him, silently massaged his temples.

Li Qingye was all too familiar with the problem of genetic damage.

After all, he had genetically modified himself in the past to gain the power for his revenge, and now, his own sperm were completely inactive.

It was a classic case of genetic damage.

And while it was very easy to damage genes, repairing and treating them was extremely difficult.

He couldn't care less about people in other regions, but the New Human employees were his loyal followers. Li Qingye definitely didn't want anything to happen to his own subordinates.

It was just that the relevant gene therapy technologies were still immature and not suitable for widespread application in the short term.

But the problem of genetic damage was imminent. Given the Homo Sapiens Company's rate of development, even with an understanding of the causes, it would be difficult to curb the spread of genetic damage. At best, they could only delay it by a decade or so.

Therefore, he had to find a way to solve this problem now.