Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Methane Bacteria
Dart Port.
Pineapple Garden Science and Technology Park. This was originally a pineapple plantation that Homo Sapiens Company took over from the Fernando Clan, and it had now been converted into a research base.
The entire science park spanned over 6,900 acres. Currently, a tenth of the area had been redeveloped, with five small laboratories constructed.
Although Homo Sapiens Company’s main focus was biotechnology, that didn’t mean it wasn’t developing other technologies.
These five small laboratories were: the Biomaterials Lab, the Methanogen Lab, the Gas Engine Lab, the Food Additive Lab, and the Pharmacology Lab.
A total of 183 researchers had been recruited from all over Southeast Asia and Huaguo. The vast majority held master’s or doctoral degrees in fields like biology, chemistry, environmental science, and materials science. Many of them had been poached because they had no room for career growth in their previous positions, or they were simply recent graduates.
Although Luzon itself wasn’t a major player in Southeast Asia, Homo Sapiens Company had branches in Xiangjiang and Yangcheng, making it easy to bring people over first and sort things out later.
Besides, the compensation package at Homo Sapiens Company was impeccable. The average annual salary for researchers was around 30,000 to 80,000 US dollars, and the company also covered food, housing, and flights.
As the main base of operations for Homo Sapiens Company, Dart Port’s living amenities were also being rapidly improved.
After absorbing the Fernando Clan, Homo Sapiens Company now controlled a cash flow of nearly 8 billion US dollars.
What was the point of letting all that money sit in a bank and depreciate? It had to be invested in strengthening their foundation.
In the area around Dart Port alone, Homo Sapiens Company was investing 300 million US dollars to improve infrastructure. Thanks to its comprehensive internal surveillance system and supply chain advantages, this 300 million US Dollar investment would be as effective as spending over a billion.
After all, in other parts of Luzon, if you invested 300 million US dollars in infrastructure, you’d be lucky if even a third of it was actually put to use. That would require the corrupt parasites to have a sudden crisis of conscience.
...
Ma Lan, a recent graduate from Jinling University, stood up from her lab bench and stretched. She looked around at the various pieces of experimental equipment in the lab, many of which were incredibly expensive.
"Xiaolan, the Chairman will be stopping by around two this afternoon. You and Sass should tidy up the lab equipment," instructed Jiang Mingxuan, the lab director.
"OK."
"Got it."
Within Homo Sapiens Company, researchers had their own specific ratings and positions, similar to the levels and roles for regular employees.
Researchers were divided into Intern, Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and Top-tier Researchers, corresponding to the ratings D, C, B, A, and S.
In terms of positions within the research division, there was also a five-tier system: Technician, Team Lead, Lab Director, Institute Director, and Dean.
Similarly, other employees at Homo Sapiens Company were also graded, but with a simpler S-A-B-C-D rating. Their job titles were also ranked in five tiers: General Staff, Team Lead, Section Chief, Department Head, and General Manager.
However, positions at a subsidiary were typically one level lower than their counterparts at the parent company.
Beyond these, there was a hidden sixth level within Homo Sapiens Company: the administrators of the Spider Web.
And at the very top was the Chairman—Li Qingye.
Since Homo Sapiens Company had only recently been established, while the job structure was relatively complete, most employees’ ratings were concentrated in the B, C, and D tiers.
Jiang Mingxuan was previously a Ph.D. at a research institute in Xing Island, specializing in methanogenic archaea. However, the cost of living in Xing Island was quite high, and he was also ostracized by several of his colleagues from Tianzhu at the institute.
Last month, he happened to see that Homo Sapiens Company was hiring locally, so he decided to give it a try.
「Afternoon. 2:30 PM.」
Under the protection of Phil and his men, Li Qingye made a low-key appearance at the Pineapple Garden Science and Technology Park.
Jiang Mingxuan and the others gave him a tour of the lab.
"I came here today for one primary reason. The company needs your lab to design a dedicated methane production line. The Production Process Department will also be involved."
Hearing this, Jiang Mingxuan immediately asked, "Boss, are we planning to build a biogas fermentation plant? If so, we might consider importing dry fermentation technology from Germany."
"That won’t be necessary. I want you to develop a production line based on this genetically modified methanogen."
As Li Qingye finished speaking, Phil, who was standing beside him, placed a briefcase on the lab bench. He entered the password and opened it, revealing a row of frozen vials.
"Genetically modified methanogens?" Jiang Mingxuan was stunned. He knew that using genetic modification to alter bacteria was an incredibly difficult and high-risk endeavor.
Li Qingye turned and handed a special USB drive to the other lab director, instructing, "Accra, you will be in charge of managing this data."
As the director responsible for daily administrative work, Accra took the USB drive and replied meticulously, "Yes, Boss."
Accra led the group to an isolated server room in the lab, then opened a safe that was bolted to the wall.
Jiang Mingxuan and the other researchers were surprised by this, as they had used the computers in the server room before and had seen the safe.
They just never imagined that inside the safe was another computer. It wasn’t connected to any cables, and beside it were five pairs of goggles.
Accra inserted the USB drive into one of the computer’s ports. The screen flickered with light, but no information appeared.
Li Qingye picked up one pair of goggles and put them on. He then handed the remaining four to Jiang Mingxuan and the others. "The screen of this computer can only be viewed with these special goggles."
In reality, this was a measure to prevent espionage.
The computer, USB drive, and goggles were all custom-made. The machine was a type of biological computer, the USB drive was a DNA data storage device, and the goggles were made from mineralized abalone shell nanoparticles modeled after photoreceptor cells, which allowed them to perceive only specific wavelengths of light.
These measures effectively prevented online data theft and also defended against espionage from infiltrating spies.
And Accra, the Soldier who controlled the safe’s password, was another layer of security.
Seeing such tight security measures made Jiang Mingxuan a little nervous. He was reminded of the extremely harsh non-disclosure agreement the company had required him to sign. ’It feels like I’ve joined some kind of secret organization,’ he thought.
The moment he put on the goggles.
Jiang Mingxuan looked closely at the computer screen, which was now filled with text, formulas, symbols, and charts.
[Strain (JW0027): Methanogen No. 27, Genetically Recombinant Type...]
[Optimal reproduction temperature for this strain is 23-28°C. It does not require synergistic fermentative bacteria, hydrogen-producing acetogenic bacteria, or oxygen-consuming acetogenic bacteria. It can directly decompose organic matter to produce methane...]
[This strain requires stimulation from Growth Hormone A-15 to continuously reproduce and generate methane...]
After reading the data, Jiang Mingxuan looked at the vials on the side, his face flushing with excitement. "This is a revolutionary modification."
Li Qingye ignored his excitement and disbelief, giving his orders directly:
"The brown vials contain the genetically modified methanogens, and the blue vials contain Growth Hormone A-15. Arrange the experiments as soon as possible to test and verify the relevant data. Then, coordinate with the Production Process Department and the other labs to complete the production line design."
"If this methanogen truly performs as described, then I’ll have no problem on my end," Jiang Mingxuan replied confidently.
"Good. Keep up the good work." Li Qingye turned and led Phil and the others to the next laboratory.
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