Chapter 76 - 71: Secret Laboratory

Chapter 76: Chapter 71: Secret Laboratory

In a private room, Carolyn sat at the head of a long table. Seated around it were the top executives from Beiluo City’s leading food and agricultural technology companies.

The atmosphere in the room was stagnant. The executives either rested their chins on their hands in silence, closed their eyes to rest, or simply looked indifferent.

Clearly, no one was particularly interested in Director Caroline’s recent proposal.

"...I understand your concerns, but I hope you will all take a longer view. If we don’t solve the fundamental problem of survival, what’s the point of having a mountain of gold in your homes?"

To Carolyn’s left, a stern-faced, middle-aged man with sharp features spoke up. "Director, with all due respect, I find that hard to agree with. Which one of us here hasn’t fully cooperated with the official requirements? Even with frequent disasters and heavy losses, we’ve always handed over the requisite grain reserves on time and in full. But we are just ordinary businessmen. To place the burden of solving humanity’s basic survival on our shoulders... Director, you’re asking too much of us."

Another sharp voice chimed in. "Mr. Lao is absolutely right! Director Caroline, we’re not like you—exceptionally talented, accomplished at a young age, and holding a high-ranking position. The small businesses we have are the result of decades of hard work. We admire your great ambitions, but if you insist that we wager our entire fortunes to gamble with you, I’m afraid we can’t possibly comply!"

Carolyn’s expression remained unchanged as she stood up.

"You all have a point. If there were no guarantee of success, there would be no reason to invest in this."

Carolyn gestured with her hand, and an assistant next to her turned on a projector. An image of a gray building surrounded by high walls appeared on the wall.

"What is this...?" someone asked.

"This is my show of good faith. A high-level breeding laboratory."

A stir went through the room.

The cost of building a breeding lab, from construction to equipment, was astronomical. More importantly, some research equipment couldn’t even be bought. To say nothing of a high-level one; there were only a handful in the entire Alliance.

Mr. Lao, sitting at the front, carefully examined the building’s surroundings in the image, and his expression suddenly changed.

"Isn’t that the old Duke Caroline’s manor? You actually turned it into a laboratory?!"

Everyone present looked shocked, finding it almost unbelievable.

After the cataclysms back then, aside from large safe zones like Beiluo City, some exceptionally capable individuals had also led groups of people to establish their own territories.

Carolyn’s great-grandfather was one of them.

Qilan Manor, twenty kilometers from Beiluo City, once housed over two thousand people. They were all brave and skilled, having scavenged countless treasures from the surrounding abandoned cities, and for a time, it was a place of splendor and wealth. It was only when the land contamination worsened and a food crisis emerged that the residents of Qilan Manor moved into Beiluo City. Qilan Manor then became the private property of the Caroline family. It was rumored to hold countless antiques and rare treasures, and even to have one or two plots of uncontaminated land, making it priceless.

"That’s right. I converted Qilan Manor into a laboratory."

Carolyn’s tone was as casual as if she were commenting on the weather.

Mr. Lao’s breathing grew ragged, and it took him a moment to compose himself. He looked at Carolyn, his eyes filled with deep regret.

"That is such a magnificent legacy, the old Duke Caroline’s life’s work. How could you so easily erase its existence?"

"No. On the contrary, I am giving it new life."

Carolyn placed her hands on either side of the table and leaned forward slightly. Her face remained largely expressionless, but her eyes shone with an incredibly firm and confident light.

"The greatness of Qilan Manor was never in the treasures it held, but in the shelter it provided for the survivors, including my great-grandfather, giving hope to people in desperate situations. Turning it into a laboratory allows it to continue that mission. This world may seem stable on the surface, but it is fraught with peril and in constant danger of collapse. Only by completely solving the food problem, by removing this sword hanging over our heads, will we have the capacity to solve our other problems."

The room fell silent.

After a long moment, a woman in a white hat sitting across from Mr. Lao spoke softly.

"If my sources are correct, the next beast tide is not far off. Is there even enough time to do all this now?"

The pupils of the others at the table contracted. A few even gasped in shock, "The beast tide is coming again?!"

The beast tide was the greatest nightmare of every resident of Beiluo City—no, of every resident in the Alliance.

Ferocious, mutated beasts would descend upon the city like a flood. Their hides were so tough that even bullets and cannon fire could not easily pierce them.

Once weapons were depleted and defenses failed, it meant a bloodbath. The city, which had worked so hard to become prosperous and lively, would return to a cold, deathly silence.

Since its founding, Beiluo City had luckily survived three of them, but no one knew if it would be as fortunate the next time.

"It’s been twenty years. By my count, it’s about time," Mr. Lao said, his voice bleak. He looked at the still-unflinching Carolyn. "You must have known about this for a while. Are you still insisting on this plan?"

Carolyn straightened up, her gaze fixed on the space before her as if she were staring down an opponent. Her voice reached everyone’s ears, crisp and clear.

"It is precisely because a threat as great as the beast tide exists that we cannot afford to be complacent. Even if it’s a desperate struggle, we must give it our all!"

After a moment of silence, the woman in the hat spoke again.

"I understand your determination, Director Caroline. So, can you tell us what exactly you need us to do? As Mr. Lao said earlier, we are just small-time merchants. We may have some reputation in Beiluo City, but in the grand scheme of the Alliance, we are nobodies. If your demands are too high, I’m afraid we may be willing but unable to help."

"I have invited you here to cooperate in the hope of pooling the resources and talent of all the food tech companies present at this new research institute. We will research hybridization techniques for mutated plants and crops to overcome the food problem imposed by the cataclysms. This is a dangerous and bold endeavor. It will require not only your financial support but also for each of you to share your valuable experience, without holding anything back."

The woman’s brow furrowed.

Each food and agricultural technology company had its own unique, signature products they had cultivated.

For example, the high-yield pumpkins cultivated by Mr. Lao’s company and the fast-ripening tomatoes from the woman’s company were major players in the market, the primary money-makers for their businesses. The cost of cultivating these varieties was substantial, and the experience and talent behind them were equally precious. To simply share all that would make anyone hesitate.

Seeing everyone fall silent again, Carolyn tapped lightly on the table. An assistant immediately brought over a vase from the side, which contained the very same tobacco wood from before.

The faces of the crowd changed instantly.

"For the long-term survival of Beiluo City, this plan is imperative. If you are unwilling to cooperate, you may refuse. But please understand that I will then have to question your loyalty to Beiluo City. After all, your businesses have left quite a few traces in the Security Bureau’s old files. We might just have to shut you down for an investigation. I imagine none of you want things to go that far, do you?"

"You... you’re threatening us!" someone exclaimed, slamming their hand on the table in a mix of anger and shock.

If Carolyn could set a trap like the tobacco wood in the notoriously cautious Exchange, then dealing with ordinary companies like theirs would be child’s play for her. They would be completely at her mercy!

"I’m just following procedure. Perhaps you should reconsider."

"Alright," a middle-aged man sitting in the middle of one side of the long table suddenly spoke. "It seems you’re determined to see this through, so we’ll agree. But I have one condition."

The faces of those around him changed, and they looked at him in astonishment. "President?!"

The middle-aged man waved his hand dismissively. "She’s causing such a stir, and the higher-ups haven’t said a word. Don’t you get it? If we don’t agree, we’ll have endless headaches down the line. Let’s just treat it as a high-risk investment. Who knows, if we get lucky and the research pays off, we’ll strike it rich, won’t we? But let’s set a deadline. Our money doesn’t grow on trees."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man held up two fingers. "Two years. How about it?"

Carolyn smiled and held up five fingers.

"No, no way. That’s too much money, we can’t afford it. At most... three years." The middle-aged man shook his head frantically.

Carolyn pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Three years, then. Sign it!"

In the end, everyone at the table reluctantly signed the laboratory cooperation agreement, their faces as black as thunder.

"Alright, it’s settled then. Draw up the specific details of the cooperation and send them to us. I have to get to the Food Festival. It’s rare to have such a lively event, and I don’t want to miss it."

The middle-aged man stood up and walked casually toward the door. The others followed suit, flicking their hands in dismissal.

"We hope Director Caroline won’t disappoint us."

Carolyn gave the woman in the hat a faint smile.

"Likewise."