Homo Sapiens

The rough draft Carl and the others had come up with was actually very simple.

It was to leave the MiG-25’s aerodynamic layout unchanged, but to carry out a comprehensive upgrade and overhaul of its materials.

They spent a week at the Flying Fish Company headquarters before heading to the Sea Snail New Materials Company on Negros Island.

It was here that Carl met Li Qingye.

Li Qingye had been conducting experiments here recently, while also supervising the company’s technology transfer efforts.

With an excited expression, Carl shook Li Qingye’s hand. "Mr. Chairman, it’s a great honor to meet you! I’m Carl Lovsky."

"Hello! You’re Carl, the one who came over from the Antonov Company?" Li Qingye had an excellent memory.

As if snapping out of a daze, Carl quickly released his hand. "Yes, I’ve recently come here for study and exchange."

"You’ve already thought of a plan to upgrade the MiG-25, haven’t you?" Li Qingye said, pointing to the cultivation vats behind him.

Carl nodded. "Yes, I understand your intentions, Mr. Chairman. After discussing it with a few colleagues, we plan not to change the aerodynamic layout, but instead to upgrade and overhaul the materials of the components."

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP...

Li Qingye clapped his hands in satisfaction. "Excellent, Engineer Carl. You’ve grasped my idea. At this stage, the company doesn’t have much energy or research power to spare, so we need to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses."

His encouragement and approval made Carl and the others even more energized.

After talking for a while, Carl looked again at the rows of cultivation vats of various sizes. "Mr. Chairman, are these vats where the components are produced?"

"Yes. These cultivation vats can grow components of all specifications. This base can currently produce 15 types of materials. Here is the materials list, you can take a look."

Li Qingye glanced at a research assistant standing nearby.

The assistant quickly took out his tablet and handed it to Carl.

Carl didn’t stand on ceremony, taking it and skillfully scrolling through the contents.

[Wave-Absorbing Type—Nano High-Carbon Steel...], [Heat-Resistant Type—Nano High-Manganese Molybdenum Steel...], [High-Strength Type—Nano High-Manganese Chromium Steel...], [Ultralight Type—Titanium-Manganese Steel...], [Heat-Resistant Type—Iron-Molybdenum Nano-Ceramic...], [Composite Type—Nano Titanium-Zinc-Aluminum...]

He read with extreme care, poring over every characteristic of each material before passing the tablet to the others.

"These materials are all excellent. They can basically be used to upgrade the engines and airframes. However, we’ll need to make secondary adjustments to the production line."

Modifying and adjusting the production line was inevitable; after all, it was a relic from several decades ago.

Li Qingye wasn’t too concerned. "No problem. Proceed at your own pace."

"Rest assured, Mr. Chairman, I will give it my all and strive to complete the production line integration before June," Carl replied with great seriousness.

Li Qingye hadn’t set a firm deadline precisely because he didn’t want to put too much pressure on them. "Take care of yourself. Don’t push too hard."

"My body is still fine. I can serve the company for at least another twenty years." Carl sounded like a soldier.

"I can feel your loyalty, but you will still take your regular vacations. That’s an order."

"Yes, Mr. Chairman."

Li Qingye clapped him on the shoulder. "Let’s go take a look at the component production process in these cultivation vats!"

"It would be my honor." Carl quickly followed.

The cultivation vats were divided into individual zones, partitioned according to specification.

Inside were vast quantities of genetically modified coral. They grew tirelessly, induced by an abundance of nutrient solution, various specific hormones, and pheromones. Combined with genes and molds, this caused them to grow rapidly along specific patterns.

They could grow several dozen centimeters in thickness each day.

Some small parts could be grown in just a few hours.

The ceramic-based materials, in particular, had the fastest growth rate.

Meanwhile, the scale of the entire factory was also expanding rapidly.

However, to minimize attention, the factory buildings here had been fixed in place. New facilities were being set up on the other side of the mountain, connected by underground tunnels. Those buildings were also situated under the Green Umbrella system.

At the same time, a second branch factory had been opened in the mountains of northern Luzon Island.

And in the future, the demand for components from Hongsawaddy would be met by establishing a third branch factory.

As they continued their whirlwind tour, an idea suddenly struck Carl. "Mr. Chairman, these genetically modified coral polyps can create composite materials, right?"

"Yes, they can. Is there a problem?" Li Qingye turned his head, slightly puzzled.

"Then in the future, could we directly grow complete products in the cultivation vats? That would eliminate the need for many unnecessary production lines," Carl replied, his imagination running wild.

Li Qingye smiled. "That is one direction for technological development. However, for overly complex products, it’s still impossible to achieve complete vat-based generation in the short term."

"I have faith in your genius, Mr. Chairman," Carl said, full of confidence in Li Qingye.

The group’s inspection of the new material cultivation technology sparked a great deal of inspiration for their future aircraft designs.

It was like trying to make an imperial court dish out of a block of tofu. No matter how well you prepared it, it was still just tofu.

But if you took a piece of marbled wagyu beef, even simply searing it would turn it into a delicacy.

The material foundation has an enormous impact on product design. Humanity has come up with countless exquisite designs, but because the materials couldn’t meet the requirements, they had to settle for second best.

Now, with so many good materials available, even an ordinary design could achieve excellent results.

After having lunch together, Li Qingye returned to his temporary manor.

As soon as he returned to the manor, Sangjibada Laiyal appeared before him.

"Sir, the hibernation pod is ready."

"Mm."

After a quick rinse in the shower, he appeared in the underground hall wrapped in a towel.

A single hibernation pod was situated here. He handed the towel to Sangjibada Laiyal, stepped into the pod, and slowly lay down.

He set the pod to deactivate hibernation at 2:30 PM, then initiated the hibernation system.

The pod’s transparent lid slowly closed, and a special, pale blue liquid immediately submerged Li Qingye’s body.

A special symbiotic virus latent within him was rapidly activated by pheromones and began to produce a unique polysaccharide. Every cell in his body quickly became dormant, reducing life energy consumption to a minimum.

At this moment, Li Qingye was like a tardigrade in its dormant state.

He used this method to replace sleep. The benefit of this hibernation was that his cells entered a state of minimum consumption. Coupled with maintenance from various drugs and nutrient solutions, his chromosomal telomeres suffered almost no damage during hibernation.

This effectively extended his lifespan. Previously, Li Qingye had about 16 years of life left. After this conditioning, he could now live for about another 21 years.

Furthermore, his issues with high blood pressure, color blindness, and organ failure had also been partially addressed through bio-chips, new medications, and restorative surgery—at least treating the symptoms.

For now, Li Qingye had not touched his own genes, mainly because the risks of gene therapy were too great.

He also had clones as a backup plan, so there was no need to bet everything on a single throw.

He also wanted to try reversing the length of his chromosomal telomeres to rejuvenate his body, which was currently the most promising approach.

The hibernation pod merely borrowed from the unique life mechanisms of the tardigrade, allowing him to barely reclaim a portion of his lifespan from the time he would have spent sleeping.

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