Chapter 351: (EDT) Second Part - Listen
"Duranium Crystal?" Zhang Qin Feng had a puzzling expression written on his face. The name was given to this product the researchers manufactured accurately reflects the crystal growing out of the leeches' flesh.
But naming sense aside, Zhang Qin Feng finds it hardly convincing.
In a sense, the way these Duranium Crystals grow out from the leech resembles one of the fungi treated as a traditional medicine in the modern world he's from. And the difference between these Duranium Crystals and the fungi cordyceps was their texture usability.
The cordyceps were treated like a treasure in traditional medicine research. While the Duranium Crystal is more like a pure formation of exhaustible fuel. But there's still a gap to go between these crystals to reach the level of energy a single piece of Duranium Shard could carry.
Although the purity of these sky-bluish crystals is unquestionable, they're too dangerous to be used as accessories. The viral content hidden inside this culture tank was ten times more potent than before from Stein's optical scanner alone.
Evidently, all of them knew about this. Perhaps this is why this crystal cultivation tank was built differently from the others and protected behind a tight air-sealed zone. It was an excellent choice, considering how eager they looked.
Furthermore, Zhang Qin Feng could notice the trivial energy inside of the crystals. He could see that the power inside the crystal is barely a hundredth of what the Duranium Shard holds.
But being an understanding leader, Zhang Qin Feng knows that he shouldn't demand too much from them over this initial phase. For the sixteen researchers to quickly come out with a variant of the virus carrier in a month is considered quite successful.
If they were given another month or two, added with the help from the Computing AI, perhaps the matter in energy differences and production can be slowly improved. But again, they'll have to sort out the issue with the viral density inside the cultivating tank.
Were any accident to happen, the one that got exposed with the viral content inside the tank would no doubt turn into a Tyrant-Variant in a flash. And this could spell another problem if the containment was a failure.
The most important to Zhang Qin Feng right now was maintaining a steady production instead of being the god himself.
Also, the research team was in a hurry to do their presentation because they were looking for additional funds to support the research.
Before coming over here, Zhang Qin Feng was told by Valerian in secret that the research had already drained over half of the fund he had given them in two weeks.
And with the addition of this Duranium Crystal in their studying list, the cost would only get higher than before. Even if the Duranium Crystals could cover some of the cost when the production followed, their process would eventually stagnate when it arrived at their first critical junction.
Furthermore, this project was just at its starting point. There are many kinds of possibilities that could happen in between. From possible mutation, growth, reduction, or separation, all of these factors could affect the development of Duranium Crystals.
Eventually, there would be only more places to require their attention in the coming future. And by that time, a team of sixteen researchers would be insufficient to handle all the workload.
"Boss, do you have any questions so far?" Lucian asked.
There's a hint of impatience written on his face because Zhang Qin Feng's response towards their initial result seems to be ordinary without any great expectations. This made Lucian worried as he had to somewhat convince Zhang Qin Feng to inject more funds into the project.
With barely 25,000 Duranium Shards left in their treasury, Lucian knew that it wouldn't be enough for him to last for the next two weeks.
Although he barely knew Zhang Qin Feng, it was not hard to presume that Zhang Qin Feng had no intention to inject more funds into the research team at all. All of these can be seen from his cold demeanor after listening to what Lucian just presented to him.
Furthermore, they could do nothing if Zhang Qin Feng bluntly rejected Lucian's request for an additional research fund. For a research team of sixteen people to burn away twenty-five thousand Duranium Shards in less than two weeks, he was out was an enormous cost.
Also, even if Zhang Qin Feng was running a zombie farm, it would be hard for him to provide 100,000 Duranium Shards in a month for the name of research.
"What is the energy disparity between the crystals and the shard? How wide are the differences between them?" Zhang Qin Feng asked to respond to Lucian's question. Even if he looked unwilling, Zhang Qin Feng still had to give him a chance for his success in breeding these leeches within weeks.
If Lucian wanted to get additional funds for the research, he would have to fight for it using his knowledge. But this is bound to be a cruel test for Lucian, as Stein would be monitoring his every speech, tone, and gesture.
All it took Zhang Qin Feng to reduce the fund would be from how confident Lucian answered him.
"From my initial report over the Duranium Crystals matured for harvest, the energy within is about 1/100 of a single shard. But the…" Lucian honestly answered. But as he was trying to continue, Zhang Qin Feng angrily stared at him with a warning look.
"Shh…" he made a soft whistling sound with a finger placed in the middle between his lips.
It was made on purpose to keep Lucian in control.
"Only answer me things I wanted to listen. I know you're eager, Lucian. And I like that eagerness because I believe you can deliver what I want faster, better, and more reliable than anyone else." Zhang Qin Feng said.
"But you're in a team right now. And in a group, the most fatal mistake is to decide on your own, without listening to the others. Now… Answer me. Have you ever listened to any of their opinions before you're seeking for my presence today?" Zhang Qin Feng asked.
Foll𝑜w current novels on fre(e)w𝒆bnovel