The enticing reward of being First Author instantly roused everyone's fighting spirit!
The atmosphere in the laboratory was positively explosive. The students brought out more Petri Dishes and culture flasks, cultivating them with the River God's formula while also starting to develop their own methods.
Developing their own methods was no easy task. Everyone was fumbling around like headless flies.
They changed the pH, adjusted the temperature, pumped in Carbon Dioxide, altered the lighting...
Someone even added urine to the culture medium. No one knew where they had gotten that bizarre inspiration.
"Trying to imitate an expert and only making a fool of yourself!" Song He watched helplessly.
As before, he made his rounds, examining each sample and stopping in front of the microscopes at every lab bench.
The culture media the students had developed themselves basically died off almost immediately, so there was no need to inspect them closely.
The culture media made according to the River God's formula, however, at least kept the bacteria alive.
They were alive, but the situation was far from optimistic. Song Bacteria's ability to reproduce was simply too poor. Every one of them seemed to have anorexia. Before they could produce more than a few generations, the River Bacteria—which were devouring nutrients and reproducing furiously—had already surrounded them in overwhelming numbers, desperately draining the nutrients from the culture medium.
By lunchtime, in nearly every microscope field Song He observed, there were hardly any living Song Bacteria left. All he could see were the arrogantly growing River Bacteria, thin and elongated, covering the field of view like seaweed.
"The first batch is a failure. Everyone, go eat. We'll cultivate the second batch when you get back," Song He said solemnly.
The atmosphere in the laboratory grew somewhat stiff, but overall, everyone remained optimistic.
The