Thanks to Jiang Ming’s fairly decent writing skills, Lin Chengfeng had gained a basic understanding of his new partner after finishing the handbook.
As for the finer details, he’d have to learn them gradually through experience.
Seeing this, Jiang Ming didn’t say much more.
He simply told Lin Chengfeng to visit his home when he had some free time, as he had something to give him.
Time passed slowly.
During this period, Zhengming Company and Coastal City as a whole continued moving forward just as they had through countless ordinary days before.
Everything seemed to be proceeding as usual, yet beneath the surface, countless undercurrents were stirring.
In the southern district of Coastal City stood a biotechnology company called Haisheng.
As the undisputed giant of Coastal City’s biotechnology industry, Haisheng Company had been the region’s leading force ever since the Third Technological Explosion.
Its position had risen even further with the creation of a brand-new genetic organism, the Purification Vine, which Haisheng had cultivated entirely through its own efforts.
Its success had earned the company fame throughout the Donghuang Federation.
Over the years, more and more companies had acquired the ability to cultivate plant-type genetic organisms.
Nevertheless, Haisheng was an established powerhouse that had benefited enormously from being among the earliest companies to enter the field.
Its accumulated resources and technical expertise remained formidable, and nobody knew when it might unveil another groundbreaking creation.
However, insiders knew the truth about their own situation.
For years, Haisheng had been trying to cultivate another new genetic organism, but for reasons nobody could quite explain, its efforts had repeatedly failed.
As a result, the company had been forced to rely on the Purification Vine’s established success to maintain its prestigious reputation.
At first, Haisheng had hoped to use the immense reputation and financial resources brought by the Purification Vine to push its research to the next level.
Reality, however, had proven that developing the genetic code required for biological cultivation wasn’t something that could be achieved simply by throwing enough money and manpower at the problem.
Even if a company believed it had prepared for everything, without that final bit of luck, all its efforts could still come to nothing.
Fortunately, the Purification Vine had been among the earliest genetic organisms to appear.
Although many of its performance metrics had long since been surpassed by newer creations, its powerful air-purification capabilities remained unmatched.
That was the main reason Haisheng had managed to maintain its current position.
Then, some time ago, news broke that another company in Coastal City had successfully cultivated an entirely new genetic organism.
At first, Haisheng Company had refused to believe it.
After all, practically everyone in Coastal City with any real expertise in biotechnology had been recruited by Haisheng.
Even if other companies wanted to enter the field, they simply didn’t have the resources or personnel to do so. Get faster updates on g.com.
But then Zhengming Company held its press conference.
The genetic organism known as Sunkern was officially unveiled before the entire population of Coastal City.
And judging by how effortlessly Zhengming Company had produced a hundred Sunkern for its initial rental and energy-generation arrangements, it was clear that the company had already mastered the cultivation technology.
Faced with such a formidable new competitor, Haisheng couldn’t afford to be careless.
It immediately devoted substantial resources to investigating the people behind Zhengming Company.
Within two days, all the available information concerning Zhengming Company and Sunkern had been placed on the desk of Haisheng’s owner.
Zhengming Company itself needed little introduction.
It had operated in Coastal City for more than twenty years, and with Jiang Zheng—the youngest deputy commander of the City Guard—associated with it, the company was practically a household name.
As for Sunkern, Jiang Ming had been eager to accumulate more Reputation Points, so he’d revealed virtually all the information he could during the original press conference.
Anything he hadn’t mentioned could be discovered by visiting Zhengming Company’s official website or simply asking anyone who had rented a Sunkern.
For instance, a photocopy of the Sunkern Care Guide was already sitting on Haisheng’s owner’s desk.
Since the matter involved Jiang Zheng, Haisheng’s investigators had been careful not to overstep their bounds.
They hadn’t even wanted to leave behind the sort of evidence that possessing an original copy might provide.
The owner of Haisheng Company was He Ruiming, a man who was currently seventy years old and also the company’s founder.
After reading through every document, word by word, He Ruiming found himself at a loss for words.
“Could this be what they call a genius…?”
Jiang Ming was only twenty-two, yet he’d already managed to cultivate a genetic organism like Sunkern.
Even with He Ruiming’s exacting standards, all he could do was acknowledge the young man’s talent.
After all, when Haisheng had first developed the Purification Vine, it had already been one of Coastal City’s major corporations.
Although the technology available back then hadn’t been as advanced as it was today, the company hadn’t been lacking in resources or expertise.
How, then, could a young man like Jiang Ming have accomplished something that Haisheng itself had struggled to achieve?
But after thinking it over, He Ruiming reconsidered.
With an older brother like Jiang Zheng backing him, perhaps Jiang Ming’s achievements weren’t quite as outrageous as they seemed.
Compared with a Tier Six Evolver who hadn’t even reached thirty, He Ruiming felt he could probably accept almost anything else that seemed extraordinary.
He Ruiming called his secretary into the office.
“Xiao Liu, make another attempt to obtain more detailed information about Sunkern. See if you can get your hands on some biological samples or something similar. Anything with viable biological material will do!”
“Also, if any important news concerning Zhengming Company comes out in the near future, report it to me immediately. Don’t even bother knocking.”
“Understood, Mr. He.”
Xiao Liu carefully memorized the instructions before leaving.
Ideally, He Ruiming wanted to obtain a living Sunkern for research.
That would be the best way to study the organism.
Unfortunately, every Sunkern currently available was either in the hands of the Energy Bureau or rented out to individuals.
Ownership still belonged to Zhengming Company, making it extremely difficult for Haisheng to acquire one.
And even if He Ruiming had the ability to seize a Sunkern by force, doing so would require resorting to some rather unconventional methods.
But what would happen if he used such methods to get what he wanted, only for Jiang Zheng to return from his current patrol expedition and retaliate in kind?
He Ruiming couldn’t help feeling a headache coming on.
That young man Jiang Ming could have stayed behind his older brother and enjoyed a comfortable life.
Why did he have to jump into the murky waters of biotechnology?
And, more importantly, why did he actually manage to produce something worthwhile?
Just as He Ruiming was sighing in frustration, Xiao Liu—who had left only a short while earlier—suddenly shoved the office door open and rushed back inside.
“M-Mr. He!” Xiao Liu gasped, barely able to catch his breath.
“Z-Zhengming Company… they’re holding another press conference! Apparently, their young President Jiang is going to unveil another groundbreaking genetic organism!”
“What?!”
He Ruiming shot to his feet.
How much time had even passed?
How could Jiang Ming possibly have cultivated another new genetic organism already?
Thinking about how Haisheng had poured so many resources into research over the years without producing any significant results, He Ruiming couldn’t help feeling indignant.
What makes Jiang Ming so special?!
Just as his frustration threatened to overwhelm him, the office door was violently shoved open once again.
A wild-looking man in a laboratory coat rushed inside and shouted at the top of his lungs:
“We did it! We finally succeeded!!!”