Chapter 183: The Irritable Bo Xiangdong_1
Number Three spoke in an unhurried tone, "Now, Moon City has roughly divided into two factions, one led by Burton, the administrative faction, and one led by Bil, the scientific research faction.
"Besides, there is also a commercial faction that operates in the shadows, led by Beck.
"The three sides have some contradictions regarding the future development strategy of Moon City, and Director Di seems to favor the Burton faction, thus he was pressured by Bil and Beck several times.
"To avoid brewing greater internal strife, Director Di is preparing to take charge of the work in Mars City."
Jiang Yu asked, "Has Mars City been completed?"
"It is still under construction," answered Number Three, "but there are already more than a thousand people living on Mars, most of whom are your supporters.
"There's also a small part, who are adventurers.
"Neither your supporters nor the adventurers are too willing to accept a mayor dispatched by the PDC.
"Since Director Di is your assistant and even made a trip to Mars the year before last, your supporters have a kind of transference of affection, hoping that Director Di would take on the role of mayor of Mars City.
"Compared to the bureaucrats sent by the PDC, even the adventurers prefer to follow Director Di's leadership.
"Mars, due to the journey of over two months from Earth and the several months when it is on the opposite side of the Sun with no ships traveling to Mars,
"Some people compare it to the voyage from Europe to the New World during the Age of Exploration, when the duration of the journey was about the same as from Earth to Mars, and they also could only set sail during the appropriate seasons!
"The overly long journey makes Mars City highly autonomous, and the PDC can only respect the choices of the Martian residents."
Jiang Yu nodded, "I see."
Then he asked, "It seems that Di Fengyi has already decided to work in Mars City, and has even chosen his own successor. Does he want to go to Mars City?"
"Willing or not, he has to be." Number Three said with a laugh, "I'm not the one who said this, but Thirty-Six did."
Jiang Yu asked with a smile, "What else did he say?"
Number Three said, "Thirty-Six also said that Di Fengyi failed to represent your stance consistently. When there were internal conflicts with people like Burton, he clearly supported one side, causing a tilt in the power system of Moon City you had previously constructed.
"If Director Di continues to stay on Earth, it's likely to lead to further internal contradictions in Moon City."
Jiang Yu nodded, "Let's wait until I've been to the Moon to make a final decision!"
After speaking, he looked out the window at the clouds outside and did not continue the conversation.
Number Three spoke again, "Last time I saw Dr. Bo Xiangdong, he seemed rather agitated.
"I even called yesterday to inquire, and Dr. Bo Xiangdong's agitation seems to have not improved. I hope you're prepared for this."
Jiang Yu was startled, "Why would he be agitated?"
"It's said to be too much pressure. At the beginning of the year, the Star Defense Department already notified Dr. Bo's planning group that if there aren't any useful results by the end of the year, the group will be cancelled."
Jiang Yu frowned, "Does the Star Defense Department have a screw loose? Seven-tenths of the funding for Bo Xiangdong's project group comes from Moon City, and the results are shared by everyone. How can they push away such a good thing?"
Number Three said, "I heard it's because Bo Xiangdong's experiments don't conform to current human ethical standards and carry immense risks, already completely deviating from the original intent of the project.
"To avoid being besieged by world public opinion, the Star Defense Department decided to cancel the project group."
Jiang Yu scratched his head, "If I'm not mistaken, did the head of the Star Defense Department change again?"
"Yes," Number Three replied, "The new director took office and immediately proposed a policy focused entirely on the space industry.
"The PDC countries are now dividing up the interests of Moon and Mars, each making significant investments."
"This is a contest in space, and the policy of the new director is to prevent China from losing in this competition."
Jiang Yu nodded, "Not bad, the preparation is very comprehensive."
His praise was for Number Three; no matter what question he asked, it seemed Number Three had done some homework and identified the interests involved.
By the time they arrived at the northwestern airport, it was already nightfall, and Jiang Yu and his group settled into the military hostel at the airport.
The next morning, Jiang Yu and others took a helicopter to Bo Xiangdong's laboratory.
Now that the people from the Black Faction Research Group had withdrawn, only Bo Xiangdong's laboratory remained, which appeared somewhat desolate.
Jiang Yu jumped down from the aircraft and saw Bo Xiangdong waiting beside the helipad, his face overcast.
The two shook hands, and Jiang Yu smiled, "I heard you've been in a bad mood lately?"
Bo Xiangdong waved his hand, "If you've been stuck in this godforsaken place for over a decade, and the achievements aren't what you wanted, your mood wouldn't be any better."
Jiang Yu patted his shoulder, "Those days are about to end!"
Bo Xiangdong laughed, "Yeah, I'm about to be unemployed, damn it, these short-sighted bureaucrats!"
He waved his hand in front of his eyes as if trying to shoo something away, "Come on, let me show you the fruits of these years."
The group entered the lab building together, and as they walked inside, Bo Xiangdong said, "The experiment with mechanical prosthetics was stopped four years ago.
"Even with the enhancement of mechanical limbs, human strength is still limited; at most, they can carry more weapons...
"What's the damn point of experimenting? If you have a mechanical dog on the battlefield, what weapon can't you carry?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Number Three, "The highest achievement of this experiment is right by your side, the ability to turn human warriors into someone like Number Three.
"But the degree of physical improvement is limited, and they would have to give up their physical bodies; no one would want to do that."
Griping, Bo Xiangdong led Jiang Yu to a laboratory with an airtight door.
The walls of the laboratory were clearly made of metal, with a metal rectangular column in the center.
After closing the airtight door, the outer metal layer of the column rose to reveal the tempered glass cover inside.
The lights inside randomly turned on, and Jiang Yu saw a mass of grey, irregular substance inside the glass cover.
Bo Xiangdong pointed at the grey substance, "This is something I cultivated based on Gu Zhize's discovery, well... I don't even know what to call it, so I just gave it a code name, No. 7 Bacterium."
He laughed as he said this, "I've had contact with Gu Zhize. His experiments are too conservative. I'd bet that his results aren't even a tenth of what I have here.
"Look, it's waking up."
Jiang Yu saw the No. 7 Bacterium in the glass cover start to move; they quickly layered upon each other, and surprisingly, they formed the shape of a person in no time!
Jiang Yu couldn't believe his eyes, "This is a bacterium?"
Bo Xiangdong laughed heartily, "Surprised, huh! Of course, they're not bacteria; to be precise, they are a mutated strain of fungi!
"Gu Zhize's research gave me a hint. Actually, there are organisms in nature similar to the exchange at the cellular level. Could their state changes be the key to unlocking human genetic constraints?
"Have you heard of slime molds? Those things have 720 genders, and it's hard to determine whether they're fungi or animals.
"For instance, there's a type called Dictyostelium discoideum; it starts out like a single-celled organism, but when it comes to reproduction, tens of thousands come together to form a mushroom-like structure!
"So I crossed this type of fungus with a Martian fungus and combined it with the findings of Gu Zhize's research to cultivate this guy inside the glass cover, who seems to have a collective intelligence."