"Ashford."
?
Hearing someone speak her surname, Alexia finally looked away from her computer screen.
!
With only a slight lift of her head, she saw Sui Yang standing before her desk, dressed in casual business attire.
"Boss, sorry, I was a little..."
"Just stay seated."
Sui Yang raised a hand, signaling that she need not stand or exchange pleasantries. He walked around the desk to Alexia's side, looked at the computer screen as well, and said,
"I only wanted to learn what properties God's Flower, discovered by Cadet Kennedy, actually possesses."
"Just a moment, Boss." Alexia resumed operating the mouse and keyboard, bringing up several holographic displays above the desk to show Sui Yang more relevant images and footage.
They included the appearances of Infected villagers at every stage: blood filling their eyes, plant-like thorny branches emerging from their skin, and then their heads being replaced by tumors and even more vine-like tentacles.
The footage consisted of helmet-camera recordings taken by ARS elites who had accompanied Leon deep into the rainforest in search of the ancient city and God's Flower.
Through the recordings, they could clearly see the ancient ruins from multiple angles.
As the boss, Sui Yang naturally knew the latest developments on every front. Besides, he barely needed sleep and had plenty of time and energy to deal with company affairs.
Three days earlier, on July 18—the day Arthur's group launched their raid on the Ruff Research Center—Leon and the others had followed the traces left behind by the Infected and traveled more than ten kilometers into the rainforest, successfully locating an ancient city badly weathered and eroded.
It was called a city, but its actual area was only about the size of four football fields. There were no walls around its perimeter, while inside stood numerous stone houses covered in vines, arranged in a disorderly fashion.
At the center of the ancient city, however, stood a regular stepped altar roughly fourteen meters high and fourteen meters on each side. Atop the altar was a small stone circle.
And the source behind the abnormalities in Lojia Town—the thing that had turned the villagers and rebels into infected—lay within that stone circle...
It was a massive "man-eating flower."
Its appearance seemed no different from Rafflesia gadutensis: five dark red, spotted petals. Yet at its center was a "mouth" filled with fangs.
Its blood-red vines and vascular stems had long since taken root in the altar and stone circle, while countless ordinary-sized red flowers clung beneath the platform.
Upon noticing the intruders, those red flowers, each about as large as an outstretched hand, were actually able to detach themselves from the soil and rapidly crawl using their roots and stems.
It looked as though they intended to attack Leon and the others—or more likely, directly parasitize them.
That also explained why the Infected and mutants displayed such obvious plant-like characteristics.
When facing those blood-red flowers charging in after leaving the soil, unarmed villagers becoming their nourishment had been inevitable.
But how could ARS, fully prepared for a deep rainforest operation, possibly have failed to carry flamethrowers with them?
Thus, God's Flower was successfully recovered by Leon and the others.
"Through preliminary research on the samples, my team and I discovered that God's Flower contains an RNA-form virus, but its properties differ drastically from those described in the captain's journal.
"This suggests that God's Flower underwent some kind of mutation over the past several centuries. However, there were no writings or murals in the ancient city, leaving that team of Cambridge history professors and students with nowhere to begin."
Leaning back in her chair, Alexia gave Sui Yang a soft laugh and continued, "Still, I have no interest in what effects it possessed before mutating, nor in the history of that ancient city. As for curing all diseases, I consider nanomedical technology far more realistic.
"So I'm actually quite satisfied with God's Flower's mutated properties. For example, it can enhance the strength of parasitized organisms, and all the Infected seem to possess some sort of collective consciousness."
?
Sui Yang's interest was piqued.
"Boss, please look." Without waiting for Sui Yang to ask, Alexia operated the mouse and keyboard again, displaying the experimental process of D-00267 on the holographic screens as she explained,
"Based on the shallow research conducted over the past two days, I found that the big thing rooted atop the altar is the mother body—the source of everything. The little things that attacked Cadet Kennedy and the others, as well as the Infected that have been parasitized, all receive unified dispatches and commands from the mother body.
"That immediately made me think of ant colonies and bee colonies. So I used Carpenter Ants and mutated flower samples in an initial experiment, indirectly confirming my hypothesis.
"Over the past several centuries, colonial expansion and large-scale population movement caused biological invasions across continents and nations, severely damaging ecosystems everywhere. God's Flower was no exception.
"But to avoid being completely devoured by invasive organisms, God's Flower was forced to develop a response mechanism. It mutated and successfully ensured its own survival.
"As for how it mutated, my guess is that God's Flower consumed some type of hive-dwelling insect. While greatly improving its information-processing efficiency, it also gained the abilities to move, parasitize, and coexist symbiotically.
"And the latest experiment happened to confirm my hypothesis. The virus extracted from the samples has strong compatibility with Carpenter Ants, although..."
At that point, Alexia glanced at the holographic display, particularly D-00267's miserable condition. Then she shrugged and spread her hands.
"Although the experiment quickly resulted in the death of the D-Class Materials, it also proves that this virus has many possibilities.
"Once my team and I completely analyze the samples, we can begin research using your clones, Boss. Perhaps... we can cultivate so-called Gene-Seeds?"
After hearing Alexia's description, Sui Yang felt that God's Flower was increasingly similar to the Stairway of the Sun from Resident Evil, especially in how both contained RNA viruses.
"You've done well. Keep it up." However, Sui Yang did not dwell too much on the differences between the two flowers. "Hunter Squad has already transferred Soldier Boy to the fourth underground floor of this building. They also brought back all of Gogoski-Ruff Military Industry's research data, along with samples of Compound V."
"Understood, Boss..." Alexia nodded lightly, though her brows furrowed slightly.
Without needing Psychic Power, Sui Yang could sense her exhaustion. He then said, "I'll try to keep an eye out for top experts in biology and chemistry to share the research burden on you and your team.
"There's no need to rush the new Super Soldier Project either. The Space Gate will open soon. Perhaps Universe 02 also has materials for cultivating Gene-Seeds."
As he spoke, Sui Yang turned and headed out of the office. However, while waiting for the sensor door to open, he added, "The bonuses have been transferred to your accounts. If you're too tired during this period, feel free to relax and have some fun. You can decide your own vacations as well."
"Don't worry, Boss. I do understand the importance of work-life balance..."
Alexia merely raised her right thumb at Sui Yang with a somewhat languid expression. She was not particularly moved by the bonus, but once the sensor door closed and silence returned to the office...
Her fatigue vanished instantly. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she happily immersed herself once more in the vast "ocean" of work.
(End of Chapter)
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