“Turn into a butterfly?!”
When Xue Wenhui heard Jiang Ming say those words, he froze for a moment.
Then, in a voice filled with utter shock, he exclaimed, “You solved the genetic incompatibility problems associated with metamorphosis? How is that even possible?!”
Metamorphosis refers to the changes in an animal’s form and habits during its post-embryonic development.
The transformation of an insect from a larva into an adult is one example.
Unlike the ordinary growth process of most plants and animals, which primarily involves getting bigger, the genetic technologies required for metamorphosis presented one of the greatest challenges in the field of genetic-organism cultivation worldwide.
Simply modifying a few genes was one thing.
But attempting large-scale changes—or even creating an entirely new organism from scratch—sent the difficulty skyrocketing.
Even if the cultivation process ultimately succeeded, there was a good chance the resulting organism would be unable to develop into a normal adult, or would suffer from various genetic defects.
At present, only a handful of companies across the entire planet possessed this technology.
Within the Donghuang Federation, there were only two.
Xue Wenhui had gone out of his way to study these matters after seeing Jiang Ming achieve genuine results in biological cultivation.
Otherwise, as the vice president of Zhengming Company, knowing so little about the company’s own business would have made him a laughingstock if word ever got out.
Faced with Xue Wenhui’s doubts, Jiang Ming was well prepared.
Even an outsider like himself knew how difficult this technology was, so naturally, Jiang Ming understood the problem too.
There were two reasons he’d decided to introduce Caterpie now.
First, he happened to possess its genetic template.
Second, he wanted to lay the groundwork for the concept of evolution.
In the world of Pokémon, evolution was something that simply couldn’t be avoided.
But if Jiang Ming suddenly presented this world’s people with Pokémon capable of evolving, changes in their physical appearance might be relatively easy to explain.
What about the enormous increase in strength that accompanied those changes?
When confronted with the unknown, people instinctively tended to resist it.
If humanity hadn’t already endured so many shocks following the Revival of Spiritual Energy, Jiang Ming might not have dared to reveal the existence of evolution at this stage.
After all, it was one thing to explain Pokémon whose appearances changed only slightly after evolving.
But what if he had to explain a transformation like Magikarp evolving into Gyarados?
How on earth was he supposed to justify that?!
Fortunately, Jiang Ming had found a possible explanation in the metamorphosis of insect-type genetic organisms.
As genetic-organism cultivation technology continued to advance at an ever-increasing pace, nobody could guarantee when the next groundbreaking discovery would emerge.
Perhaps a major corporation already had a laboratory conducting research similar to Pokémon evolution. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
That possibility offered Jiang Ming the perfect opportunity to muddy the waters and slip his own discoveries into the mix.
There was just one problem: how had a single person managed to accomplish something that elite research teams at countless major corporations had failed to achieve?
Inevitably, countless voices would rise up to question him.
For an ordinary person, such scrutiny would have been a catastrophic disaster.
But Jiang Ming was different.
As long as he could withstand the pressure himself, his older brother, Jiang Zheng, would naturally help shoulder the burden from the outside.
At the very least, there would be no problem in the areas surrounding Coastal City!
Jiang Ming was confident.
Inside the laboratory, Xue Wenhui listened to Jiang Ming’s explanation of metamorphosis.
Although he barely understood any of it, Caterpie was already a finished product standing right in front of him.
All he really needed to do was accept that fact.
“Xiao Ming, you’ve really grown up.”
Xue Wenhui looked at Jiang Ming with another heartfelt sigh.
For various reasons, he’d never had children of his own, and he’d long since come to regard the Jiang brothers as his own sons.
Seeing how capable and independent the two young men had become filled him with relief.
At the same time, he couldn’t help lamenting that Jiang Ming’s parents would never get the chance to witness this moment.
“Xiao Ming, when you have some free time in the next few days, go visit your parents. Tell them this good news properly, too.”
After giving that instruction, Xue Wenhui turned and left, leaving Jiang Ming standing there in silence.
Jiang Ming was running short on time.
As more and more Pokémon were created in the future, even the most basic tasks of observing and monitoring their growth would become a major undertaking.
He urgently needed more help.
After all, this was a civilized society.
If newly developed genetic organisms were to be introduced to the public, impressive capabilities alone wouldn’t be enough.
They would also need all kinds of supporting data.
Take Caterpie’s evolution, for example.
Jiang Ming planned to assign someone specifically to look after it—essentially, a dedicated caretaker who would record every stage of its development in real time while ensuring it received proper care.
That way, when the time came to hold a press conference, he’d have concrete data to present.
Unfortunately, his only existing assistant was currently working around the clock on Sunkern cultivation and couldn’t spare any time.
Jiang Ming had no choice but to find someone else for this important task.
As for the candidate, Jiang Ming and Xue Wenhui shared the same opinion: it would be best to choose someone from among the company’s existing employees. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Under normal conditions, and provided it had enough food, Caterpie should be able to develop at a reasonable pace, spin a cocoon, and evolve into Metapod within a few weeks.
It would then emerge from its cocoon a short time later, evolving into its final form, Butterfree.
Hiring a temporary employee specifically for such a short-term assignment would be too wasteful.
Besides, Jiang Ming wouldn’t be able to trust a complete outsider entirely.
After several rounds of internal screening, a candidate’s file was eventually placed on Jiang Ming’s desk.
Her name was Yao Shirui.
She was a young woman who had only recently joined Zhengming Company as a legal affairs employee—in other words, the very ornamental position that had been mentioned earlier.
As for the company’s previous legal affairs employee…
That had been Jiang Ming’s mother.
Jiang Ming carefully examined Yao Shirui’s file.
He’d already shown her a photograph of Caterpie beforehand.
After all, the creature was nearly thirty centimeters long.
Even if it looked cute, any normal person would think twice before approaching such a large caterpillar.
Yet, surprisingly, this seemingly adorable young woman was incredibly brave.
Not only had she shown no fear, but she’d actually looked at the photograph with an inexplicably excited expression, practically on the verge of squealing.
When Jiang Ming brought Yao Shirui to the cultivation room, Caterpie had just finished eating and was practicing its String Shot move.
Jiang Ming had conducted some analyses of the silk it produced and discovered that its quality was astonishing.
It was every bit as good as the luxurious silk cultivated by Jinyun Company in District Six.
The only disappointing part was that Coastal City’s downstream processing technology remained underdeveloped.
As a result, the finished silk products simply couldn’t compare with those produced by its competitor.
The moment Caterpie spotted Jiang Ming, it immediately abandoned its training.
Its tiny legs on either side of its body began moving at incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it had reached Jiang Ming’s side.
It gently rubbed itself against his trouser leg.
Jiang Ming hurriedly picked Caterpie up.
Then he pointed toward Yao Shirui, whose eyes were practically sparkling with excitement, and introduced her.
“From now on, she’ll be taking care of you. Make sure you behave yourself, okay?”
“Caterpie~!”
Caterpie tilted its head and glanced at Yao Shirui.
It didn’t take long for it to accept its new temporary caretaker.