boyutpedia Chapter 348: They're all people forced by life's hardships.
Chapter 348: They're all people forced by life's hardships.
"Is it you?"
Lin Fan looked in surprise at the tall, bearded man who walked in.
He recognized the person who came.
It was none other than one of the three people from that marijuana plantation.
Bruce recognized him and gave him a somewhat awkward smile.
"Mr. Lin, hello! It's been a long time!"
What are you doing here?
Lin Fan nodded, and then asked the question that had been on his mind.
Of course, he didn't mean to ask why the other person was at a nuclear power plant, but rather to refer to this laboratory.
Bruce clearly understood his meaning instantly, scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and said:
"Initially, I followed Captain Miller, but I didn't have much combat ability, so I just helped with logistics. Then, an accident..."
He paused, then looked at Helen.
"It's Ms. Helen who wants to do the research, and I know a little about it too, so..."
"I never knew you had this much skill."
Lin Fan didn't delve into it further, and looked at Helen.
"Why did you call him here? Can he even tell what kind of seed this is?"
Helen smiled and said, "Don't let his appearance fool you, Bruce is a proper PhD in biology."
"..."
What the hell?
You're telling me... a burly man who grows marijuana is actually a PhD in biology?
Upon hearing Helen's words, Lin Fan felt his mind go blank for a moment.
It even felt a bit crazy.
He turned to look at Bruce in disbelief.
Looking at the burly, bearded redneck man in front of me, who clearly did manual labor.
He doesn't look like a scholar at all, especially not a PhD...
"Are you really a PhD?"
"And he studied biology?"
Bruce seemed a little embarrassed by the question, and nodded while stroking his beard:
"Uh...yes. Graduated from Stanford. Specialized in molecular biology."
"All right."
Seeing Bruce's serious expression, Lin Fan fell silent.
This is truly a ridiculous story.
He tried to forcefully equate the rough-looking man in front of him with the words "PhD in Molecular Biology from Stanford University".
But no matter how you look at it or think about it, it's hard to connect the two.
It even felt incredibly disconnected.
Are you sure you're a Stanford PhD?
"right."
"So you grow marijuana?"
Bruce's expression became even more awkward: "Well... it's a long story..."
"Then cut to the chase."
"Because it makes more money."
Well, yet another high-achieving student succumbs to the allure of money.
Upon hearing Bruce's answer, Lin Fan subconsciously turned to look at Helen.
Just then, Bruce added, to himself:
"Moreover, after I graduated, I went to work for a biopharmaceutical company. I was doing very well, but then the company was acquired, and the new boss cut our entire R&D department."
I've been looking for a job in my field for six months without finding one, then my brother said that growing this would be a quick way to make money...
"stop."
Lin Fan raised his hand to interrupt him.
"So you, a Stanford biology PhD, couldn't find a job, so you went and started growing marijuana?"
"……yes."
Lin Fan stared at him for several seconds.
Then he took a deep breath.
"Holy crap, is the job market in America really this absurd?"
Bruce didn't reply, but just awkwardly rubbed his hands together.
Helen, standing nearby, said with a smile:
"I was shocked after I learned about his background."
His skills in cultivating those mutated cannabis varieties are indeed impressive, but what truly makes him stand out is not his cultivation experience, but his academic background.
He's more knowledgeable than I am about plant genes, cell division, and mutation mechanisms.
"That's true."
When it came to his profession, Bruce finally regained some confidence, patting his chest proudly.
"Growing marijuana is just a side job for me; biology is my main profession. It's just that times are tough, and I can't do my main job, so I took on this side job."
"Okay, okay, okay."
Lin Fan waved his hand, not wanting to dwell on this absurd topic any longer.
He pointed to the seed on the lab table.
"Since you're so awesome, let's stop with the nonsense and see what that is. Can you recognize it?"
Upon hearing this, Bruce did not hesitate and went closer to pick up the seed.
He held it in his hand and examined it for a few seconds, then, like Helen, looked at it over and over again.
But unlike Helen, his expression changed quickly.
First came curiosity.
Then came the doubt.
Then came the shock.
"this……"
Bruce held the seed up to the light, squinting as he stared at the patterns on its surface.
"The texture on this surface... no, this isn't an ordinary texture."
"Why isn't it a normal pattern anymore?" Lin Fan asked.
"Wait a minute."
Bruce didn't answer. Instead, he took the seed to a high-powered magnifying glass and examined it carefully.
Time passed slowly, and after a good two or three minutes, he finally looked up at Lin Fan.
His expression was very strange. After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked:
"Boss, where did you get this?"
"Never mind where you got it, just tell me if you can tell anything about it?"
Bruce hesitated for a moment, then handed the magnifying glass to Lin Fan:
"Look for yourself. If you magnify the surface of the seed, you'll see that the patterns aren't random, natural textures."
Lin Fan took the magnifying glass and leaned closer to look.
Under high magnification, the densely packed patterns that originally appeared to be arranged in a... regular manner.
Some of those lines are parallel, some intersect, and some fork at certain points, so they certainly don't look like they were formed naturally.
"It doesn't look like a natural texture, but I don't find it strange."
Knowing the origin of the seeds, Lin Fan didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
But to everyone's surprise, Bruce took a deep breath and gave an answer that shocked everyone present.
"Don't you think this pattern looks a bit like a genetic map?"
Gene map?
Upon hearing this, everyone in the laboratory was stunned and looked at Bruce with some confusion.
What do you mean?
Lin Fan hadn't thought that much about it at the moment and asked instinctively.
"Boss, what I mean is, the arrangement of these patterns is very similar to the base pair arrangement after the DNA double helix structure unfolds."
Bruce's tone became serious.
"Of course, I'm not sure. But if that's the case... then the information density of this seed probably far exceeds that of any known plant."
Upon hearing this, Lin Fan fell silent.
Could this thing actually be some kind of living creature?
Lin Fan, whose curiosity had been successfully piqued, looked up at Bruce.
Are you confident you can grow this?
Bruce was taken aback: "What?"
"I'm asking you, can this thing be grown?"
Bruce and Helen exchanged a glance.
How to grow it?
The two of them subconsciously looked at the seed again...
"Theoretically speaking... any seed, given the right environmental conditions, has the potential to germinate."
Bruce said carefully,
"But the seed coat of this thing is unusually hard, and it may not be possible to make it absorb water and germinate using ordinary methods."
Furthermore... I'm not sure what kind of growing conditions it needs. Temperature, humidity, light, soil composition... all of these are unknowns.