Great Power Reclamation

Chapter 2966 Isn't this just using barbarians to control barbarians?
With the rise of military reclamation seed industry, Ye Yuze realized that simply relying on Lisa Wang's analysis of public databases and Raj Patel's "exploratory research" was no longer enough.

They need more cutting-edge, more core, and unpublished data. This is tantamount to taking something from the vaults of the giants.

"Brother, we need to upgrade our 'logistics system'."

Ye Yuze stared at the complex gene sequence code on the computer screen and said to Yang Geyong:
“The risk of transmitting physical seeds is too high, so we have to rely mainly on this.” He tapped on the keyboard.

A completely new and more covert method of data transmission was developed. They were no longer satisfied with simply encrypting data packets.

"Image steganography": Key genetic marker data is converted into tiny amplitude changes in pixels and hidden in the massive amount of landscape photos and funny posed photos taken by tourists in the dugout experience camp, and then transmitted through a public cloud drive.

The military reclamation seed industry has a specific decoding program that can extract scientific data from these "ordinary" photos, just like extracting a treasure map.

"Audio Code": By utilizing the "Country Music Festival" held regularly on the farm, some experimental parameters are encoded into specific note sequences, mixed into the music of the live performance, and broadcast online.

To outsiders, it sounds like an impromptu guitar solo, but to the recipients at Junken Seed Industry, it is a valuable spectrum expressing cold-resistant traits.

“Social code words”: They even used the official social media accounts of the dugout experience camp to post content that looked like marketing copy, visitor testimonials or interesting stories about the farm.

For example, “Today, another brave challenger stayed in our ‘extreme dungeon’ for three days. He said he felt the four basic energies of ‘GTC-A’ circulating in his body!”

—Anyone in the know will immediately recognize that this mentions DNA bases (G, C, T, A), implying that some progress related to basic DNA research has been communicated through this channel.

These methods greatly reduce the risk of being monitored and intercepted, and the efficiency and capacity of data transmission also increase exponentially.

The R&D team at Junken Seed Industry can almost simultaneously obtain key research progress with the "shadow team" on the US side.

However, the greatest risks often come from within. Raj Patel, an idealist, gradually became aware of something amiss after becoming deeply involved in the project.

He discovered that some of his "exploratory" research results seemed to have been transformed into patent prototypes for practical application at an astonishing speed by a company in China that he had never heard of.

While he agrees that technology should benefit all, he is uneasy about the blurred boundaries of intellectual property rights.

On one occasion, he went directly to Ye Yuze. "Ye, I hope we are contributing to agriculture for all of humanity, rather than becoming tools of a particular country or company. I need to know where the results of my work ultimately go?"

This is a crisis, but also an opportunity.

Ye Yuze remained calm; he had already prepared his explanation. He led Raj on a tour of the "Agricultural Technology Exchange Center" open to the public.

They presented a cooperation proposal with a (fictitious) "International Smallholders Alliance," outlining a project blueprint aimed at helping increase food production in Africa and Southeast Asia.

“Raje, look,” Ye Yuze said sincerely, “Junken Seed Industry is an important partner of ours because they have the capability and willingness to provide seeds to these developing countries at cost price.”

"Our technology, through them, can reach those who need it most quickly. Commercial success is for the sustainable support of this philanthropic cause. Isn't that what you want?"

These words, half-true and half-false, full of idealism, temporarily appeased Raj.

But Ye Yuze knew that someone as intelligent and conscientious as Raj could not rely on lies to maintain his position indefinitely.

He must speed things up and secure the most crucial results before Raj becomes completely suspicious or other unforeseen events occur.

Ye Yuze and Yang Geyong's goal is to conduct preliminary research on a disruptive technology known as the "photosynthesis optimization engine".

This technology aims to significantly improve crops' efficiency in utilizing light energy by modifying the genes of key photosynthetic enzymes, theoretically increasing the yield of major grains by more than 30%.

The core theory of this technology was mastered by Elliott Foster, a top botanist at Stanford University who was a reclusive man who had almost no contact with industry.

Professor Foster is like Prometheus guarding the flame, but his "flame" is locked within heavy academic barriers and personal principles.

He rejected all conventional approaches—high-salary offers and collaborative research.

"This is a tough nut to crack." Ye Yuze frowned.

"If it's a tough bone, we'll gnaw on it with tough teeth!" Yang Geyong said fiercely.

They devised an extremely audacious plan. Through various channels, Ye Yuze arranged for a researcher from Junken Seed Industry to enter Professor Foster's laboratory as a visiting scholar, "legally and legitimately" to conduct a year-long collaborative research project (the topic was public and non-sensitive).

This researcher, codenamed "Gardener," was not really studying, but observing and recording, especially Professor Foster's key experimental ideas, failures, and flashes of inspiration that were never written into papers.

Meanwhile, Yang Geyong was responsible for providing external support. He figured out Professor Foster's habits and discovered that he would regularly go to a specific café near the campus to read every Saturday morning.

Yang Geyong arranged for Lisa Wang to "accidentally" appear there, "meet" the professor, and "consult" him on some complex computational biology problems (which happened to be related to the optimization of photosynthesis).

Professor Foster is a pure scholar in academia, and he greatly appreciates young people who can raise profound questions. In a relaxed coffee atmosphere, he often reveals some key ideas.

These fragmented and informal pieces of information were gathered together through the two lines of "Gardener" and Lisa Wang, and then integrated, analyzed, and verified by the team organized by Ye Yuze, gradually piecing together the technical roadmap of the "Photosynthesis Optimization Engine".

This process is slow and difficult, like groping for a jigsaw puzzle in the dark.

But with each additional piece of the puzzle, we get one step closer to the ultimate goal.

Based on this intelligence, the team at Junken Seed Industry has already begun parallel, verification experiments in China and has made some preliminary and encouraging progress.

Just as the "Prometheus" project was progressing steadily, the hidden dangers from before began to emerge.

Agassi Biotechnology Company did not completely abandon its skepticism. Through analysis of some non-public patents, they discovered that the theoretical breakthroughs of several core patents recently held by Junken Seed Industry had a high degree of "coincidence" with certain basic research papers published by several top laboratories in the United States a few years ago.

The main participants or related persons of these papers have more or less crossed paths with Ye Yuze's farm (for example, Lisa Wang is the third author of one of the papers, and Raj Patel has given a report at a related seminar).

To make matters worse, Raj Patel ran into his former Monsanto colleague at an academic conference; the colleague now works at Agshe.

During the conversation, the other party mentioned that Agshi was investigating a technology leak and subtly mentioned "Huaxia Background Farm," which Raj was currently collaborating with.

When Raj returned, he was clearly in a bad mood and questioned Ye Yuze again, this time with a more forceful attitude.

Ye Yuze felt unprecedented pressure. He knew his opponent had already reached the doorstep. Meanwhile, Lisa Wang's visa was about to expire, raising the question of whether to renew it, which added to the uncertainty.

"Yuze, things are getting tense. Shouldn't we close the net?" Yang Geyong asked worriedly.

"We just need one last push!" Ye Yuze's eyes were resolute. "We're almost there with the core key to 'Photosynthesis Optimization'! If we retreat now, all our previous efforts will be in vain. We must speed things up and send out the most important thing before the real storm hits!"

Ye Yuze decided to take a risky gamble. He activated a backup emergency transmission channel, preparing to send all the integrated intelligence on "photosynthesis optimization" up to this point back to China in one go.

At the same time, he also began to plan possible evacuation routes for Lisa Wong, Raj, and others, and to clean up any traces that might be left inside the farm.

The final transmission moment arrived. Ye Yuze chose what seemed to be the most unguarded time—the farm was hosting a large-scale "Western Cowboy Barbecue Night," with tourists, employees, and even local residents gathering together, creating a bustling atmosphere and causing a surge in network traffic.

The data was fragmented into countless pieces and, using the on-site open Wi-Fi network (which was specially reinforced and disguised), mixed in with the massive data streams of videos and photos uploaded by tourists, flowed to multiple relay servers and ultimately pointed to China.

Just as the data transmission reached its most critical point, several unmarked black SUVs appeared on the outskirts of the farm. It seemed that people from Agasi, possibly in conjunction with some official forces, had finally taken action.

Yang Geyong had already planted spies and noticed the anomaly immediately. "They're here!" he growled into the walkie-talkie.

Despite the crisis, Ye Yuze remained calm and initiated the "Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell" plan. The farm was instantly brightly lit, and the stereo was turned up to full volume, blasting exciting Western cowboy music.

The pre-arranged "show" unfolded—dozens of employees and volunteers dressed in cowboy outfits and wearing masks, riding farm-owned horses (and some rented ones), began a chaotic and noisy "nighttime horse parade," cleverly breaking up the other side's encirclement and creating great chaos.

Under the cover of chaos, the final data packet was successfully sent.

Lisa Wang was quickly put into another car that had been prepared and taken to the airport, where she would "as scheduled" return to China to visit her relatives.

Raj Patel was personally stopped by Ye Yuze, who handed him some authentic information about plans to help developing countries and earnestly said:
“Raj, remember our original intentions. It’s not safe here anymore, but I want you to believe that our cause is just.”

Faced with the sudden turn of events and Ye Yuze's final "sincerity," Raj had mixed feelings but chose to remain silent and cooperate.

When investigators broke through the "celebration" crowd and entered the core area of ​​the farm, they only saw Ye Yuze and Yang Geyong sweating profusely as they directed "maintaining order."

They complained, "I don't know which bastard played this prank." The surprise inspection of the secret laboratory only found some perfectly legal equipment and materials used for ordinary breeding.

The most crucial gene-editing instruments and tissue culture samples had already been transferred or destroyed by Yang Geyong using the farm's complex drainage system and unknown underground storage rooms.

The investigation yielded no results. The lack of direct evidence, coupled with the local impact and employment generated by the farm tourism business, prevented the other party from taking further action.

Several months later, China.

Junken Seed Industry held a globally sensational press conference in Beijing, officially announcing a major breakthrough in "photosynthesis enhancement technology".

Based on this, a new generation of "Fengji" series crop seeds was launched, which is expected to significantly increase grain production.

At the press conference, the chief scientist of Junken Seed Industry (one of whom was the "gardener" sent as a visiting scholar back then) confidently introduced the technical details and answered questions from global media.

All the technical paths and patent documents are clear and complete, with no trace of direct plagiarism. It is more like a precise and efficient innovation integration built on the shoulders of giants.

Only a very few people know how difficult it was to reach the shoulders of this "giant".

On the same day, at a farm in California.

The dugout experience camp was still bustling with activity, and the new "drama queens" continued their performances. Ye Yuze and Yang Geyong stood on that familiar high ground, looking at everything before them.

"Is it over?" Yang Geyong asked.

“One phase is over,” Ye Yuze replied. “Agesi and the others suffered a loss this time, and they won’t let it go. The situation will become more complicated in the future.”

"Then let's..."

"Our mission is half complete." Ye Yuze gazed into the distance:

"Junken Seed Industry has now obtained the key to the world's top seed industry club. Next, it's their turn to fight openly. And we..."

He paused, a more thoughtful expression appearing on his face:
“We need to find the next ‘dugout.’ Maybe in South America, maybe in Africa. There are many places in the world that need better seeds, and the game of ‘learning’ and innovation will never stop.”

Yang Geyong paused for a moment, then understood what his old buddy meant, and grinned: "Alright! Anyway, when it comes to digging holes to bury people... no, digging holes to plant crops, we're professionals!"

The setting sun cast long shadows that blended seamlessly with the land beneath their feet, a land brimming with absurdity and reality, clamor and secrets.

The California farm, as a footnote to a legend, will continue its bustling life. And the story of Ye Yuze and Yang Geyong, like an optimized seed, once it takes root, will quietly spread to a wider world.

Using barbarians to control barbarians is the wisdom of our ancestors, and Ye Yuze and Yang Geyong have mastered its application to perfection.