Genius of the Rules-Style System

Chapter 1463: Chapter 693: Li Renzhe’s Great Discovery_2

"This mutated red spirulina has an exceptionally strong ability to survive, able to adapt to various harsh environments, and perhaps because of the mutation, it can also reproduce exponentially in a short amount of time,"

"I have already cultivated the fifth generation, and after the third generation, the traits became relatively stable."

Li Renzhe said, pointing to several culture tanks inside the laboratory.

Zhao Yi looked over, he noticed that one of the culture tanks seemed to be a different color, and asked with some confusion, "That one is—?"

"Most of them are dead."

Li Renzhe said with some regret, "I came to you because I encountered a problem. When it got to the fifth generation, the bacteria in many of the culture tanks started dying off after just two days, and I don’t know why."

"I went to ask Professor Wei, but he didn’t have any good suggestions either."

"Could it be an environmental issue?" Zhao Yi asked doubtfully.

"That shouldn’t be the case," Li Renzhe said, "The environment they are cultured in is the most favorable for the reproduction of red spirulina."

"Is that so?"

Zhao Yi looked over doubtfully, then put on his work clothes, disinfected himself head to toe, and walked into the laboratory.

Li Renzhe followed after, explaining as he went, "These are the culture tanks, the color changes indicate that a large number of red spirulina are dying."

Zhao Yi glanced over and knew what the problem was. He asked, "Didn’t you think to open the lid? The sealed environment might be having an impact, right?"

"That can’t be!"

Li Renzhe replied, "These red spirulina are a special type of anaerobic bacteria."

Zhao Yi took a closer look at the culture tank, and shook his head, "You should check the composition inside, it might be filled with a large amount of oxygen."

"Ah?"

Li Renzhe had not considered this reason, and he was somewhat incredulous as he prepared to run a test, "Wait a moment, let me check!"

Testing the air inside a culture tank is somewhat complex, but if just checking for oxygen content, it becomes much simpler, which can be done with a machine.

Li Renzhe took a culture tank to the main laboratory nearby, and quickly got the results. As he walked back, he called out, "Zhao Yi, it’s just like you said, the oxygen content is as high as sixty percent!"

"I told you—"

Zhao Yi started to speak but suddenly stopped. He felt that the data was somewhat off.

"Oxygen content of sixty percent, are you sure?" he asked in surprise.

Wei Shiqing had followed Li Renzhe, he had come along after hearing that Zhao Yi had arrived, and immediately said upon hearing Zhao Yi’s comment, "How could there be a mistake? Zhao Yi, we’ve just measured it on the machine." He felt that his professional expertise was being questioned.

"Professor Wei!"

Zhao Yi called out the name as a greeting, then immediately gestured with his hand, "That’s not what I mean. You know, I’m sensitive to data. Red spirulina can indeed secrete oxygen under certain special conditions, but the oxygen content in this culture tank seems too high. Not to mention sixty percent, even thirty would be an astonishing figure."

"This is very important!"

"You should know, bacteria that can secrete oxygen are very rare, most consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide."

"Red spirulina is a special strain of bacteria, but it can only perform plant-like photosynthesis under certain conditions."

"There must be a lot of organic matter in your culture tanks, in which case it’s unlikely that the red spirulina would produce oxygen."

Wei Shiqing and Li Renzhe also caught on after listening to Zhao Yi’s explanation, they were not as sensitive to numbers, but they immediately realized there was a problem.

Wei Shiqing exclaimed in surprise, "Are you suggesting that these mutated red spirulina might be actively secreting oxygen? Or are you saying that their bodies have undergone some change, forcing them to only perform metabolism similar to photosynthesis?"

"Yes!"

Zhao Yi nodded vigorously.

His words had now reached a conclusive tone, and he spoke with certainty.

Wei Shiqing and Li Renzhe exchanged glances, both recognizing that the mutant red spirulina they had cultured was not ordinary.

This is a bacteria capable of actively engaging in photosynthesis, which sounds incredibly unbelievable and may have other uses.

Zhao Yi said, "This mutation in bacteria likely harbors immense practical value, Old Li, this time, you might have made a very valuable discovery!"

"Really?" Li Renzhe suddenly felt a mix of excitement and anticipation.

Although he already worked in a microbial technology lab, his research ability ranked at the bottom, and the culture tank before him represented one of the few achievements he had made over the years.

Now, affirmed by Zhao Yi potentially having made a major discovery, he was suddenly thrilled.

This was Zhao Yi, after all!

Even though Zhao Yi was his friend, a close dormitory mate, and mutual teasing had become the norm, there was no denying Zhao Yi’s academic prowess.

Zhao Yi was the world’s leading scientist.

Even in the biological research field, he was undeniably at the top, so having such an individual confirm his discovery was indeed cause for great excitement and anticipation.

Li Renzhe could not think of any use for the Mutated Red Spirulina he held, so he immediately asked Zhao Yi, "What should be done next?"

"Cultivate it!"

Zhao Yi said, "Cultivate more and examine the specific metabolic circumstances of this mutated bacterium. If it is confirmed to have a strong oxygen-production capability, it will hold significant economic and practical value, and even,"

"This research could be enough to win you a biological science prize!"

"Ah? Win a prize?"

Li Renzhe’s eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly replied, "Hurry! Hurry up! I want to win a prize! Let’s start cultivating and testing right away!"

Wei Shiqing was also eager to join in.

But, the next words out of Li Renzhe cooled Wei Shiqing’s enthusiasm by half, "Zhao Yi, you’re not too busy lately, are you? Let’s research this together, you’ll own half of the outcome." After saying this, he turned his head, saw Wei Shiqing picking up a culture tank, and immediately asked in confusion, "Professor Wei, what are you doing with my culture tank?"

"—!"

"This—"

Wei Shiqing suddenly felt a bit awkward and reluctant to put the culture tank down.

Zhao Yi, shaking his head with a smile, said, "It’s not necessary. You and Professor Wei go ahead with the research. Professor Wei is a microbial expert, he can provide you with a lot of help."

"Alright then!"

Li Renzhe considered it for a moment and accepted the suggestion.

Actually, he wanted to conduct the research with Zhao Yi. Having Zhao Yi by his side gave him a strong sense of confidence, as if the success was right before his eyes.

Although Wei Shiqing was indeed a formidable microbial expert, he paled in comparison to Zhao Yi and was only a secondary choice.

Li Renzhe did indeed have the final decision on the research, as this was a small project he had applied for independently, and the experimental funds were separate, with no connection to anyone else. freēwebnovel.com

Now, by allowing Wei Shiqing to join in, he was essentially sharing a portion of his potential achievements. He harbored no ulterior motives, but the idea of someone else owning a part of his research still felt awkward.

Wei Shiqing knew his involvement equated to ’reaping the benefits; he immediately said, "Renzhe, rest assured, I’m just here to help you with the research. When the time comes, whether it’s for publishing papers or winning awards, it will all be yours."

The unspoken part was, ’I’m just here for the acknowledgement,’ because it was certain he would be involved.

Now Li Renzhe felt at ease.

Zhao Yi was actually indifferent to the results, as he looked forward to more detailed outcomes, for a bacteria that secreted large amounts of oxygen could have many applications.

He immediately thought of the Lunar Base.

If a base were to be created on the moon, oxygen supply would pose a significant issue.

Using plants for photosynthesis to establish a normal ecological cycle was indeed a good approach, but initially, oxygen would still have to be produced through water electrolysis. Having bacteria capable of producing oxygen would be greatly beneficial for base construction.

Furthermore, oxygen-producing bacteria would have a wide range of industrial applications.

This was indeed a significant and meaningful discovery.