Materials for Cultivating Seeds

"Ashford."

Hearing someone speak her surname, Alexia finally shifted her gaze away from the computer screen.

She merely lifted her head slightly to see Sui Yang, dressed in casual business attire, standing before her desk.

"Boss, I apologize, I was a bit..."

"Just stay seated."

Sui Yang raised a hand to signal that she needn't rise or offer any pleasantries. Instead, he walked around the desk to stand beside Alexia, fixing his own gaze on the computer screen as he said:

"I simply wish to understand the specific properties of the God's Flower discovered by Cadet Kennedy."

"One moment, Boss." Alexia resumed operating the mouse and keyboard, calling up several holographic screens that hovered over the desk to present Sui Yang with more relevant data and video footage.

These included the various stages of the infected villagers: eyes flooded with blood, plant-like thorns sprouting from their skin, and eventually, heads replaced by tumors and vine-like tentacles.

As for the video footage, it was recorded by the ARS elites who had assisted Leon in venturing deep into the rainforest to locate the ancient city and the "God's Flower."

Through the recordings, one could intuitively observe the ancient ruins from multiple angles.

As the boss, Sui Yang was naturally kept abreast of all developments; furthermore, he had little need for sleep, leaving him with plenty of time and energy to handle company affairs.

Three days ago, on July 18th—the same day Arthur and his team launched their raid on the Ruff Research Center—Leon and his group had followed the trails left by the infected, trekking over ten kilometers into the rainforest to successfully locate an ancient city heavily weathered and eroded by time.

Though called a city, its actual area was only about the size of four football fields. It lacked outer walls and contained numerous stone houses covered in vines, arranged in a chaotic layout.

However, in the center of the ancient city sat a structured, stepped altar roughly fourteen meters high and fourteen meters wide, topped with a small megalithic circle.

As for the source of the anomalies in Lojia Town—the reason the villagers and rebels had become infected—it lay within that stone circle...

It was a massive "man-eating flower."

At a glance, it appeared no different from a Rafflesia gadutensis: five deep-red, spotted petals, yet the central portion was a "mouthpart" filled with fangs.

Its blood-red vines and stems had long since taken root in the altar and stone circle, and beneath the platform, it was surrounded by numerous smaller red flowers of ordinary size.

Upon sensing the intruders, those red flowers, roughly the size of a human palm, were actually able to detach from the soil and crawl rapidly using their roots.

It appeared they intended to launch an attack on Leon and his team, or more likely, to parasitize them directly.

This explained why the infected and mutants displayed such distinct botanical characteristics.

Facing the aggressive, soil-detaching red flowers, it was an inevitable conclusion that the unarmed villagers would become their nutrients.

But how could the well-prepared ARS, knowing they were heading deep into the rainforest, not carry flamethrowers with them?

Thus, the so-called God's Flower was successfully recovered by Leon and his team.

"Through preliminary research on the samples, my team and I discovered that the God's Flower contains an RNA-based virus, but its characteristics differ vastly from those described in the Captain's notes."

"This suggests that over the past few centuries, the God's Flower has undergone some form of mutation. However, because there are no texts or murals in the ancient city, that team of Cambridge history students had no way to proceed."

Alexia leaned back in her chair and chuckled at Sui Yang, continuing: "However, I have no interest in what effects it had before the mutation or the history of that ancient city. After all, when it comes to curing all diseases, I believe nanomedicine is far more realistic."

"So, I am actually quite satisfied with the mutated properties of the God's Flower—for instance, it can strengthen the physical power of the host, and all infected seem to possess a form of collective consciousness."

Sui Yang became slightly interested.

"Boss, please look." Without waiting for Sui Yang to ask, Alexia manipulated the mouse and keyboard again, causing the holographic screen to display the experimental process of D-00267, and explained:

"Based on the shallow research of the last two days, I discovered that the large specimen rooted on the altar is the mother body, the source of everything. The little things that attacked Cadet Kennedy and his team, as well as the parasitized infected, all accept the unified coordination and command of the mother body."

"This immediately reminded me of ant colonies and beehives. So, I conducted an initial experiment using carpenter ants and the mutated flower samples, which indirectly confirmed my hypothesis."

"It seems that over the past few centuries, colonial activities and massive human migration have caused biological invasions across continents and countries, severely damaging local ecosystems, and the God's Flower was no exception."

"But to avoid being eaten to extinction by invasive species, the God's Flower was forced to develop a coping mechanism, mutating to ensure its own survival."

"As for how it mutated, my hypothesis is that the God's Flower devoured a type of hive-social insect, significantly increasing its information processing efficiency while gaining the ability to move, parasitize, and coexist."

"The latest experiment perfectly validates my hypothesis; the virus extracted from the samples has a strong compatibility with carpenter ants, although..."

At this point, Alexia glanced at the holographic screen, specifically at the miserable state of D-00267, then shrugged and spread her hands:

"Although the experiment quickly led to the death of the D-Class Materials, it also demonstrates that the virus possesses multiple possibilities."

"Once my team and I have finished analyzing the samples, we can begin research using your clones, Boss. Perhaps... we could cultivate the so-called Gene-Seed?"

After hearing Alexia's description, Sui Yang felt more and more that the "God's Flower" was very similar to the Stairway of the Sun from Resident Evil, especially in its containment of an RNA virus.

"You've done well; keep it up." Sui Yang did not dwell too much on the differences between the two flowers and said: "The Hunter squad has already transferred Soldier Boy to the fourth basement level of this building, and they have also brought all the research data from Gogoski-Ruff Military Industry, as well as samples of Compound V."

"Understood, Boss..." Alexia nodded slightly, though she frowned a little.

Without needing psionic perception, Sui Yang sensed her exhaustion and immediately said: "I will keep an eye out for top experts in the biological and chemical fields to share the research burden with you and your team."

"There is no need to rush the new Super Soldier Project. The portal will open soon; perhaps Universe 02 also contains materials for cultivating Gene-Seed."

As Sui Yang spoke, he turned to leave the office. However, while waiting for the sensor door to open, he added: "Bonuses have been deposited into your accounts. If you are too tired during this period, feel free to find some recreation; you may decide your own time off."

"Don't worry, Boss. I know the importance of balancing work and rest..."

Alexia merely gave Sui Yang a thumbs-up with a slightly languid air, showing little reaction to the bonus. However, once the sensor door slid shut and silence returned to the office...

She instantly shed her weary facade, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she seemed to immerse herself in a "sea" of work with great delight.