Chapter 39: Is This Enough?
Chapter 39: Is This Enough?
42 years later,
Qin Yu was 40 years old.
By traditional standards, this age meant stepping into middle age.
With the current average life expectancy of 180 years, he was still considered young.
Perhaps because Qin Yu remained single, the higher-ups, though never openly mentioning it, clearly cared about this important life matter for him.
Many more surrounded Qin Yu than just Wei Muyun as life assistants.
Several other talented, suitable young women—with pleasant looks and respectable family backgrounds—also served as his life assistants, work assistants, and other roles.
It wasn’t exactly an arranged match by the country.
But realistically, if Qin Yu expressed interest in any single woman near him, few could refuse him.
Still, no one ever directly brought the topic up to him.
It was all left to Qin Yu’s own choice.
Meanwhile, over the years, no woman had expressed romantic feelings toward Qin Yu either.
For most people, Qin Yu emerged already bearing the title “Father of 2611 Longevity Injection,” introduced to the world as the century’s greatest biologist.
This looming presence made people feel hidden fear toward him.
A small gap might spark fondness, but a vast one inspires only looking up.
For Qin Yu, most truly placed him on a pedestal,
daring not to tarnish Professor Qin Yu with worldly desires.
Though all knew how outstanding he was, deep inside, few imagined any relationship between them and Professor Qin Yu could exist.
As for Qin Yu himself,
he hadn’t fully sorted through his feelings about it either.
Should he find one companion for life?
He was an Absolute Immortal, but his partner likely could not be.
Even if he delved back into Life Extension Technology, how long could he stretch a partner’s lifespan?
Hundreds of years? Thousands? To an Absolute Immortal, either would merely be a short flicker.
More importantly, he felt no desire to live alongside anyone at the present moment.
He couldn’t just pick someone solely for companionship’s sake.
To get married, and then seek someone out to marry.
For Qin Yu now, that didn’t seem needed.
If someday he met someone he truly wished to marry, not mere convenience,
he might then strive to make their time together last as long as possible.
But such a person wasn’t there now.
Of course, Qin Yu also understood:
Finding someone like that would likely only grow harder the longer he lived.
…
That same year Qin Yu turned forty,
maybe fate liked round numbers, or Qin Yu wanted meaningful progress,
so he poured a little extra “strength” into his research.
Research Institute 011, part of the Negentropy Research Institute, produced two major breakthroughs.
First came the trial results of the environmental transformation plant project.
While alternative methods were explored,
researchers at Institute 011’s dedicated team mostly focused on fungi.
They aimed to develop a fungus capable of thriving in deserts, wastelands,
areas with large day-night heat shifts and scarce rainfall.
Its fine threads would weave through topsoil as it grew,
solidifying loose earth or sand, improving water storage.
Early in this project,
Researchers and professors at Institute 011, as requested by Qin Yu,
conducted wide-scale studies on Earth’s existing wide variety of fungi.
Before creating that unique bacterium Institute 011 needed,
they built a foundational system of knowledge and theory,
guided by Qin Yu.
This marked a huge victory for Computational Biology.
Biology, materials science, chemistry— fields often depend on luck.
But Qin Yu refused to leave things to chance.
Using that early theoretical framework,
He made a “theoretical prediction” about the special bacteria fulfilling Institute 011’s goals.
He described its core structure while showing the path to creating it.
Meaning, before it existed, researchers knew almost precisely what it would be.
The project took ten years— eight spent building the theory alone.
Yet throughout this, the researchers felt deep excitement.
For Life Science and biology, a solid system of ideas was vital.
With this complete fungal framework in place,
creating one successful special bacterium meant they could create more.
If the first fell short, scientifically improving it became possible.
Far better than relying on luck or racing blindly against time.
To all researchers, this theoretical system outweighed the bacteria itself in value.
It meant humanity’s biology leaped forward massively within that area.
Now, theoretical support allowed studying fungi not only for desert transformation, but endless other future needs too.
Finally,
that highly-anticipated special bacterium was born.
Collaborating, guided by Professor Qin Yu’s prediction and research plan,
The team spent two years testing and exploring before achieving success.
Unanimously, researchers suggested naming it after Qin Yu:
Yu-type Bacteria.
Or simply: Yu Bacteria.
…
Through many different methods—adjusting, guiding, creating—
the Yu Bacteria arrived in the world.
From its beginning,
it met nearly every hope held for it.
The Yu-type Bacteria, in simple terms, was a kind of ‘mushroom’ that rarely produced actual mushrooms.
It had strong survival abilities, boasting a ‘tough’ and ‘sturdy’ fungal network.
When growing in shallow soil, this ‘sturdy’ network would spread densely through the ground, binding the entire area of soil it covered firmly together.
Binding loose sand into solid, somewhat plate-like soil greatly helped store water.
However,
right after the Yu-type Bacteria was created, the researchers discovered a problem with it.
Strong survival skills and adaptability were good,
but too strong was no longer good.
Though artificially developed for deserts and barren lands, this fungus could grow practically anywhere.
In essence, it was also dangerously abnormal.
If released uncontrolled, its rapid spread and repeated reproduction could severely impact Earth’s entire ecosystem in no time.
With its extreme adaptability and survival skills, it would fiercely squeeze out the living space of other plants on Earth.
Worse still, it might turn the whole Earth into a ‘Planet of Fungi’, causing total ecological extinction.
To prevent this,
led by Qin Yu, the researchers naturally made a few ‘small modifications’ to this special fungus.
They put strict genetic limits on its reproduction and spread right at its core.
After reproducing for two generations, the ‘descendants’ of the Yu-type Bacteria would lose the ability to reproduce further.
This ensured the Yu-type Bacteria could fulfill its intended purpose, forming a large enough colony within the needed area,
while stopping it from spreading endlessly.
…
Year 42,
inside the Laboratory at Research Institute 011, the Yu-type Bacteria was born.
After completing lab cultivation, small-scale indoor tests, and safety trials,
Research Institute 011 prepared for large-scale experiments on this special environment-changing fungus.
Qin Yu discussed this matter with higher authorities over a secure phone line.
Regarding the request from Research Institute 011 and Qin Yu,
the higher-ups naturally had no objections.
Within a very short time, the official procedures were completed, and Research Institute 011’s Yu-type Bacteria research project was granted ten thousand mu of barren land in the northwest region for the first large-scale experiment.
If this phase of testing met expectations, further experimental grounds would be provided.
…
Year 42, June, during the rainy season.
The first large-scale field experiment with the Yu-type Bacteria began.
Qin Yu also made a rare trip outside Research Institute 011.
He led a group of core researchers from the project
to the Great Northwest to witness and oversee the first application of the Yu-type Bacteria.
Shuling City, Weizhou Province.
Qin Yu and the researchers arrived by special plane at a non-civilian airport in Shuling City.
They then rode vehicles, gradually leaving the urban center of Shuling City.
Shuling City was a city in the northwest region of the Huaxia Nation, very close to vast desert areas.
At its worst, desertification directly threatened the city’s edge. When windy seasons came,
yellow dust filled the sky, sand covered the ground, and footprints clearly marked the sand wherever one walked.
A car left outside overnight could be coated by yellow dust over a finger thick.
Thanks to decades of desert control efforts, protective forests expanded from the city’s outskirts,
pushing bit by bit back into the desert areas, easing the situation.
But beyond the dense forests of the shelterbelt system, vast deserts still remained.
And that desert was their destination.
The vehicle drove a long way away from the city center of Shuling.
For a while, it was hard to tell this place bordered the desert.
Large stretches of trees lined both sides of the road, creating a pleasing sight.
However,
after travelling further, the scenery changed completely.
The closer they got to the desert,
the shorter and sparser the trees along the road became—a result of planting at different times.
Then they completely left the forested area behind and entered the rocky wasteland, or Gobi Desert zone.
Though much barren yellow earth was visible here, they could see countless ‘grassy squares’, early-stage shrubbery,
some weeds and green plants, and traces of bird activity.
After crossing the Gobi region,
they reached the utterly desolate desert.
Plants were even scarcer. Looking around, apart from the way they came, almost no green could be seen.
The open landscape seemed wind-swept with nothing to block it.
The ground soil was now pure sand—loose, unable to hold water, making it difficult for plants to take root.
Wind constantly picked up yellow sand and dust, piling it up until stopped by the shelterbelt forests.
It happened to be cloudy when Qin Yu’s group arrived. Workers from the desert control project were seen laying more grassy squares at the desert’s edge.
As their vehicle stopped,
people came forward to greet them.
“Professor Qin, I’m the person in charge of the engineering unit. We’ve been ordered to assist with your experiment.”
“And this person manages the Shuling City branch of the National Desertification Control Project.”
The Research Institute 011 group had many members,
but spreading the Yu-type Bacteria across thousands of acres was clearly beyond them.
Higher authorities, when approving the land for the experiment, had anticipated this.
They coordinated local support from relevant personnel in Shuling City.
Communication was already established beforehand,
so Qin Yu’s arrival didn’t necessitate a larger welcome party.
“Professor Qin, we’ve learned about your task. Your goal aligns perfectly with what we’ve been doing all along.”
“Please tell us how we can help. We will give our full support to your research and experiment!”
Professor Qin’s face was known to most people worldwide.
Seeing Qin Yu now, the local desert control project manager felt both nervous and immensely excited.
This large-scale test by Research Institute 011 involved their field.
He had heard a little about what this research could do.
Even just a rough idea filled him with excitement.
The more involved one was in this work, the better one understood what this breakthrough could mean.
Qin Yu observed the manager closely.
His skin was dark and rough from long-term sun exposure,
and he wore a face scarf against sand and wind, currently pulled down to hang around his neck as he spoke.
His cheeks showed a faint, persistent flushed redness, like mild sunburn, almost like the high-altitude tan,
indicating he personally worked outdoors on desert control.
“Special preparations won’t be necessary. Our research largely aims to reduce the costs of environmental transformation. For this large-scale test,”
Qin Yu surveyed the wind-blown, sandy terrain as he replied,
“we want to simulate the simplest, most cost-effective method possible for widespread use.”
“You likely have mobile seeding and transport equipment? Just spread the ‘bacterial culture’ we provide during the cooler parts of the day—morning, evening, or overcast—over the designated area.”
“If water transport is manageable, after seeding, lightly mist the area to make it very slightly damp. No need for heavy watering.”
The managers coordinating with Research Institute 011 paused, processing Qin Yu’s instructions.
Finally, the desert control project manager asked,
“How should it be spread? Any special way? Does it need burying?”
“Burying isn’t necessary. If you have agricultural drones, just dust the seeds from the air—but prevent the wind from carrying them too far.”
“So this will do?”
“That’s all that’s needed.”