Fang Zhao snapped out of his daze and asked the guide, "When will these go on sale?"
Seeing that Fang Zhao was interested, the guide became even more enthusiastic. "Soon. As these experiments are conducted in secret, everyone who comes here has to sign confidentiality agreements. Currently, no information has been leaked. The higher-ups want to see the progress of the experiments, but based on the current situation, perhaps they will be made public this year."
The experiments here were nearing the end, and there were no more technical difficulties to solve, so the ones left behind were the researchers working under the big bosses of the research teams.
According to the guide, Fan Lin also had quite a number of experiments here, but they no longer required Fan Lin's personal supervision. A few years ago, a few of Fan Lin's students had already been in charge of the final stages of the project. Because of this, Fan Lin could now focus most of his attention on planet Baiji. If the experiments there were successful, it would be a technological breakthrough that would increase Fan Lin's influence in the industry.
Because of the confidentiality period, channel S4's live broadcast had not reported on this.
The gene bank had once been known as the last line of defense. Perhaps only those who had lived through that era would understand its value.
There was a saying in the Old Era: "Food is the most important thing."
There were many plants, but they were not necessarily suitable for human consumption.
As the granary of Earth, Muzhou had initially planted the seeds of crops preserved in the gene bank. Later, as technology had improved, new crops had gradually been developed.
Following the pace of space exploration and the proposal of the immigration plan, whenever a planet was designated as habitable and troops were stationed, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences would select a batch of seeds based on the planet's conditions for the troops to plant. At first, they would plant them on a small scale. Then, based on the results of the planting, year after year, they would gradually expand the scale of planting.
Apart from that, the restriction on hunting was for the soldiers' own good, besides restricting their behavior and abiding by relevant treaties.
No one knew if animals on a foreign planet carried any unknown viruses that could not be resolved, and there was no way to determine if long-term consumption would have any other negative effects.
The decision to "resurrect" the seeds in the gene bank had been made after a discussion between a dozen experienced professors from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
To test whether long-term consumption of these plants and animals on a foreign planet would have any negative effects on the base's soldiers and whether it would hinder the immigration plan required long-term experiments and many years of observation before a definite result could be obtained. This was one of the reasons why the soldiers of the base went for physical examinations several times a year.
In order to reach a definite conclusion, the experiment cycle would be too long, and it would consume even more manpower and financial resources. In comparison, it would be better to resurrect some safer and more suitable crops from the gene bank. Although it would require many years of experimentation, and it would require a large number of plants and seeds, the cost would be lower.
When they lacked food or were in a desperate situation, they wouldn't care about anything. But since they had the conditions, they would naturally choose a safer and more efficient method.
In order to resurrect extinct plants from the gene bank, food crops take precedence, because you have to eat first.
Only after eating their fill would they want to eat well. More delicious fruits and vegetables were also proposed one by one. Then, there were those ornamental and recreational landscape plants.
There weren't that many medicinal plants, because many plants had survived the Period of Destruction and were more useful in terms of resistance to diseases.
The experimental plots on planet Wai weren't small, but the application for a "research base" had never been successful. This was because planet Wai's development was lagging behind. The cost of transportation was too high, and traveling was inconvenient. Therefore, only a few researchers were sent over every year. As for the expenses that exceeded the budget, each project team had to figure out their own way.
Seeing that Fang Zhao was interested, the guide said a lot more, hoping that Fang Zhao would invest here. Over here, big investors looked down on them because they knew that investing in planet Wai wouldn't bring them much profit in the short term. Now that planet Baiji had jumped out and invested in planet Baiji, planet Wai wouldn't be able to pull anyone in.
Fang Zhao didn't say he would invest, but he didn't say he wouldn't either. The guide wasn't sure what Fang Zhao was thinking. He wanted to say a few more words, but the weather suddenly turned bad and it started raining, so he hurriedly brought Fang Zhao back to the base.
The accommodations that Wai base had arranged for Fang Zhao were pretty good. Fang Zhao didn't see channel S4's Tianhao or the special correspondent. He heard that they had gone somewhere else. During this period, Tianhao had been running around, either doing live broadcasts of fishing in wild lakes or viciously raping flowers. Literal meaning. The fish he caught were even preserved as dried fish, and the wild flowers that Tianhao had plucked were made into specimens. It was rumored that the lucky viewers would be chosen online.
This was also a method that channel S4 had come up with to boost their popularity after channel S5's strong push.
Actually, it didn't matter if he couldn't see Tianhao. Kevin Lin saw channel S4's Tianhao and the special correspondent as rivals, while Fang Zhao saw Tianhao as a junior from an old friend's family.
Wai base provided him with good food and drinks. The next day, Fang Zhao was woken up early.
"The flying transport is ready, and Commander Huo Yi is personally leading the team. Seems like planet Wai is taking this matter very seriously," a bodyguard told Fang Zhao.
When Fang Zhao saw Huo Yi, he realized that Huo Yi wasn't in a good state of mind. At first glance, Fang Zhao couldn't tell. Huo Yi hid it well.
Last night, Huo Yi had seen planet Baiji's development plan. He had been so envious that he hadn't slept a wink. What would he do if he really found a grade A ore? Then his rational mind would tell him that it was impossible to find a grade A ore, and he would have to accept reality.
Huo Yi forced a smile when he saw Fang Zhao. "Let's go. Let's head to the nearest mining site."
When they arrived at the first mining site, Fang Zhao did the same thing he had done during the live broadcast. He tapped and listened. Huo Yi and the others were familiar with this. They had watched the footage of Fang Zhao discovering the ore on planet Baiji countless times. They remembered Fang Zhao's every move clearly.
When Fang Zhao stopped tapping, a major general standing beside Huo Yi couldn't help but ask, "How was it?"
Fang Zhao shook his head. "Nope."
Everyone's faces were filled with disappointment.
Next mining site.
"Did you?" the major general asked again.
"No," Fang Zhao replied.
Next mining site.
"No."
Next.
"No."
...
"No."
...
"No."
...
After the last mining site was over, the few senior executives of the Wai base who had accompanied Fang Zhao were numb. They had been disappointed at the start, but now they were numb. They had expected this outcome. Could it be that the latest detector model was inferior to humans? But they couldn't help but hold on to their expectations. Now, there was nothing to look forward to.
Huo Yi could still be considered rational. He had already adjusted his state of mind during the first mining site.
So be it.
That was fate.
Back then, if he hadn't thought he was smart enough to snatch planet Wai, perhaps he would have been assigned planet Baiji. However, there was no point in thinking about this now. He might as well be more open-minded. The more he thought about it, the more upset he felt.
Fang Zhao had also expected this. His hearing was not bad, but it was not as good as the latest detectors. Technology still had its advantages. He had been able to discover the ore on planet Baiji because back then, planet Baiji had been poor and poor, and they had still been using old detectors. There were some things that could not be detected, but with the latest detectors, things were different.
Thus, Fang Zhao wasn't disappointed that he didn't discover any new ore. But along the way, he took a good look at planet Wai's environment. It was indeed much milder than planet Baiji. Even the most primitive forests were a piece of cake for the base's military, which possessed firearms and all kinds of combat equipment.
Because planet Baiji was listed at the top of the development sequence, every piece of land had been properly planned. It was not something that the current Fang Zhao could meddle in. That was a place for the various big shots to split up the cake and wealthy businessmen to fish for gold. The current Fang Zhao was not qualified to participate.
And on planet Wai, power ore production couldn't keep up. There was a lot of advanced equipment, and the new warships couldn't be docked for long. It was destined to remain in its current awkward state for a short period of time. If the application for a research base was approved, planet Wai base would have an additional source of funding. If the application failed, planet Wai could only maintain its current state.
There was no grade A ore here, and perhaps even in a hundred years, no large investment groups would be willing to come over. The difference between planet Baiji and planet Wai would only grow. In a few years, perhaps it would be like the difference between a first-tier city and a remote village during the Old Era.
This was the reality that everyone on planet Wai base had to accept.
When he returned to planet Wai base, the atmosphere was a little gloomy. The people on planet Wai base weren't as enthusiastic, but Fang Zhao didn't mind. He didn't enter the base immediately. Instead, he found a rock outside the base near the research area and sat down.
The people on the base didn't bother with him. The three bodyguards were very responsible and stood guard beside Fang Zhao, even though they didn't know what Fang Zhao was doing there. The three exchanged glances and ridiculed Fang Zhao's strange behavior in a way that only they could understand.
One of them noticed Fang Zhao suddenly turn his head to look at a certain part of the forest and immediately became alert.
They didn't see anyone else there, but Fang Zhao's behavior clearly indicated that he had discovered something. The three bodyguards also knew that they might not be a match for Fang Zhao in terms of strength, and their hearing abilities were crushed by Fang Zhao's. Since Fang Zhao had discovered something strange, there was definitely something going on.
"Are your ears really as amazing as the rumors say?!"
A figure walked out from behind a tree in the forest, but he didn't seem the least bit embarrassed about being discovered.
The newcomer was channel S4's Tianhao. He had heard that Fang Zhao had arrived on planet Wai yesterday, but it had been too late and they had been too far from the base. Today, he had returned to the base to wait. He had originally wanted to test out Fang Zhao's skills and see if he really had the ability to earn a second-class merit. Even if Fang Zhao had three bodyguards by his side, he had thought that his sneak attack would be a success. He had never expected that he would be discovered before he could even get close.
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