My abstract plant was exposed by my sister.

Xiao Kui brought in a delivery box. The box wasn't big, and it was wrapped with tape more than a dozen times.

As she unpacked it, she explained, "Brother, this is something a fan asked for help with."

Her younger sister, who is in elementary school, has recently become obsessed with a cartoon character and insists on dyeing her hair red.

She tried using dragon fruit to dye her hair once, but the effect was very weak, and her sister insisted on going to a hair salon. So she wants to enhance the dyeing effect of the dragon fruit and make it more noticeable.

Lin Muyang picked up the bag of dragon fruit seeds, which were thinner than sesame seeds, without any expression on his face.

Big Orange squatted on the control panel, sniffed the seed bag, sneezed, thought the smell was so-so, and slowly went outside to play.

The guy with the middle finger was still pointing his middle finger at the windowsill. Lin Muyang glanced at him and asked, "Is he related to you?"

The middle finger guy remained silent, only continuing to raise his middle finger.

Lin Muyang took out his notebook and began to record:

Objective: To activate genes related to betalain synthesis in dragon fruit pulp, enhance pigment deposition, and improve staining brightness and stability.

Expected result: The color will last for about three days after dyeing.

Once you have a goal, you can start working.

He first used instruments to scan the dragon fruit's genes in detail, and then identified the key gene components that control the staining effect based on the data.

Then, based on the relevant gene fragments, the composition of the induction solution is precisely adjusted.

Then soak the dragon fruit seeds in the induction solution and let them sit for two hours. The seeds gradually turned from black to pink, like mini candies.

After the seeds were properly moistened, Lin Muyang sowed the dragon fruit seeds into the seedling tray, watered them, and covered them with a layer of plastic wrap.

Then place the seedling trays on the shelves in the greenhouse, next to the pyrethrum.

The pyrethrum is in full bloom, its purple flowers are very beautiful, and its pollen is everywhere.

Lin Muyang had to hold his breath every time he went in. The big orange dog was used to it. It would sneeze every five minutes, then look around blankly, and then continue patrolling with its head empty.

As the biggest "victim," Liu Xudong has recently suffered greatly from pyrethrum.

The day before yesterday, he forgot why he came to the greenhouse; yesterday, he forgot his own name; and today, he forgot whether he had eaten breakfast.

As a result, I went back and ate two meals, and soon I was so full that I kept burping.

Liu Xudong rubbed his stomach, looking distressed: "Teacher Lin, is this pyrethrum okay? If this keeps up, I'll forget even my own name."

Lin Muyang thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

The amnesia effect doesn't seem to be very useful at the moment. As for the mosquito repellent effect, mosquitoes will get disoriented and start flying around randomly when they get close, and they won't bite people at all.

So, in a way, pyrethrum can be considered a success?

Yes, an absolute success!

As for now, we can try to make improvements, since summer is the time when mosquitoes are at their most numerous.

The next day, Lin Muyang began to modify the insect repellent chrysanthemum.

He cut a few leaves from the pyrethrum, extracted DNA, and used a gene sequencing instrument to analyze the gene sequences related to the active ingredients.

A long list of ATCGs popped up on the screen. He stared at it for ten minutes and found two key genes.

"These two genes control the synthesis of active substances in pollen, and they must be knocked out," Lin Muyang noted in his notebook.

After editing, Lin Muyang placed the leaves of the pyrethrum into a petri dish and waited for the cells to regenerate.

Based on previous records, new seedlings are expected to sprout within a few days.

He stood up, walked to the dragon fruit seedling tray, and checked the humidity.

The seeds haven't germinated yet, but the temperature in the seedling tray is 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than room temperature, indicating that the induction solution is working.

The gene-edited pyrethrum quickly sprouted new seedlings, and Lin Muyang transplanted them from the petri dish into small flower pots.

There are six pots in total. The leaves are smaller than the original and the color is lighter.

Liu Xudong squatted down beside them, staring at the seedlings for a long time: "Teacher Lin, what exactly are the effects of this 2.0 version of pyrethrum?"

Lin Muyang said expressionlessly, "Of course it's to repel mosquitoes."

Liu Xudong scratched his head: "But you said the same thing last time..."

Lin Muyang glanced at him, and Liu Xudong obediently shut up.

Can that be called a rollover? Definitely not.

The effect was slightly off.

Lin Muyang looked at him: "The specific mosquito-repellent effect still needs to be tested."

Liu Xudong understood.

So he volunteered: "I'll do it! I have thick skin, mosquitoes love to bite me, I'm the perfect tester!"

Lin Muyang glanced at him and said, "Okay."

As time went by, Lin Muyang not only cultivated tomato seeds and seedlings every day, but also checked the growth of dragon fruit.

Meanwhile, the dozens of bean sprouts in the corner of the greenhouse, under his careful care, have begun to grow taller.

Lin Muyang is most looking forward to Pyrethrum 2.0, after all, it is the first product of the institute that combines induction fluid with gene editing. If it is successful, the rest will be much easier.

Why isn't dragon fruit the first one? Because it grows too slowly.

Thanks to everyone's efforts, the second batch of tomatoes has been transplanted, and the pyrethrum 2.0 has gradually begun to bloom.

The next step is to test its actual effectiveness.

For this experiment, Liu Xudong volunteered to catch mosquitoes.

So, in the nights leading up to the test, he spent his time catching mosquitoes with a net in different places, such as the warehouse, corridor, and yard.

The test was conducted in the selected greenhouse. Lin Muyang placed the pyrethrum 2.0 in the middle of the greenhouse, next to a cage of mosquitoes caught by Liu Xudong.

To make observation and recording easier, he deliberately starved the mosquitoes for two days, and now they are extremely aggressive.

Xiao Kui had already started her live stream early.

"Family members, the pyrethrum 2.0 has bloomed, and we'll be testing it today."

She pointed the camera at the greenhouse, and through the plastic film, she could see Lin Muyang tidying up the flower pots.

The barrage of comments instantly flooded in:

"Last time it was to cause amnesia in people, this time it's to cause amnesia in mosquitoes?"

Do mosquitoes have memory?

"Never mind, let's see."

Xiao Kui continued, "My brother is using the new equipment to gene-edit them; this time it definitely won't fail!"

She patted her chest confidently to assure him.

None of the viewers in the live chat believed it.

"Xiao Kui, you also said last time that purple tomatoes wouldn't turn out badly."

"Last time, Liu Xudong ate a purple tomato and became a broken record."

"The last time, the bitter orange thorn said it wouldn't cry, but it ended up sending people to jail."

"Xiao Kui's 'Absolutely no mishaps' is a sure sign of a mishap."

Xiao Kui panicked: "This time is different! This time we have a gene testing machine, there will definitely be no problem."

A fan sent a gift and commented, "I bet a bag of spicy strips that this will definitely backfire again."

Another fan chimed in: "I bet ten bags that losing is the norm."

"I bet a hundred bags that if I don't mess this up, I'll eat a cactus on live stream."

When Xiao Kui saw this comment, she smiled confidently: "You'd better not regret it, my brother definitely won't mess up this time."