I Can Control Resources

Chapter 368: Chapter 306: Changing Destiny, I Am the Master

Wu Qingjing’s arrival, of course, drew the attention of Fang Tangtang and Shen Ning’Er.

Fang Tangtang looked relatively composed, as if a doctor suddenly appearing behind them was nothing to be surprised about.

But the corner of Shen Ning’Er’s mouth twitched slightly.

However, she quickly composed herself.

Then, Shen Ning’Er subconsciously glanced at Gao Neng, giving his arm a discreet, light pinch.

If Gao Neng hadn’t figured out Wu Qingjing’s identity, his mind would have been filled with questions. But the problem was, he had.

So, he casually gave her waist a squeeze in return.

Mmm...

’A fitting response!’

Then, he saw Shen Ning’Er look over at him, her expression full of question marks?

Gao Neng immediately responded. He gave Shen Ning’Er a serious nod, then squeezed her waist twice more, this time with a little more force.

Shen Ning’Er immediately fell silent, seemingly pondering the meaning of his response.

Just then, Wu Qingjing, looking every bit the old-fashioned scholar with his hands clasped behind his back, ambled over to Gao Neng and began his performance.

"You must be Gao Neng, correct?" Wu Qingjing asked, his expression kind and amiable.

"Nope," Gao Neng said, shaking his head.

"???" Wu Qingjing was stunned.

"Gao Neng is just a name. I can be called Gao Neng, and so can other people. Dr. Wu, if you wish to address me, please add ’the super genius with 20 maxed-out talents’ before my name. That way, I’ll be the only one in the entire Human Alliance," Gao Neng explained patiently.

"..." Wu Qingjing was speechless. ’This kid’s ego isn’t just big; it’s out of control. Doesn’t he know the nail that sticks out gets hammered down?’

Wu Qingjing suppressed his annoyance.

He took a deep breath and continued, "Gao Neng, the super genius with 20 maxed-out talents, that was an excellent question you just asked!"

"That wasn’t me," Gao Neng replied again.

"What do you mean, ’that wasn’t me’?"

"I mean, I wasn’t the one who asked the question; Fang Tangtang was. I may be a genius, but I have high moral standards. I don’t go around taking credit for other people’s work," Gao Neng patiently explained once more.

"Er..." Wu Qingjing froze for a moment.

’Now that I think about it, that really is my mistake. I was so focused on coming over to sound out Gao Neng that I got the person who asked the question wrong.’

’But that’s not really the point, is it?’

’Normally, as a doctor from the genetic weapons lab stepping forward to answer your questions, shouldn’t you all be gazing up at me in awe?’

’Why isn’t this kid playing by the script?’

Just as he was thinking this, Fang Tangtang spoke up indignantly.

"That’s right! It was clearly me, Death God Fang Tangtang, who asked that question! Why did you say it was Gao Neng? Are you plotting something against him? Oh, forget it... You’re just a crotchety old man, so your memory must be failing. I’ll just have Sister Xiaobing answer my question instead."

"..." Lan Xiaobing.

"..." Wu Qingjing.

’This entrance isn’t going as planned, is it?’

Lan Xiaobing glanced at Wu Qingjing. She was meant to be good at acting and was only following orders to help set up Wu Qingjing’s grand entrance. But what was the result?

The conversation had gone completely off the rails.

So, what was she supposed to do now?

Lan Xiaobing’s face gradually turned red. She mulled over Fang Tangtang’s words, then hesitated. "Um... actually, my memory is also..."

"Tangtang, stop messing around. Since Dr. Wu is an expert from the genetic weapons lab, he should be the one to answer your question," Shen Ning’Er interjected.

"Right, right! Dr. Wu is the expert. Yes, he’s the expert! Oh, my dad’s calling me. Hello? Dad, what’s that? Ah, you need me to come over? Okay, okay, I’m on my way!" Lan Xiaobing instantly caught on. She pulled out her phone and started talking before she even answered the call, then vanished in a flash.

"Ning’Er, how would you rate Sister Xiaobing’s performance just now?" Gao Neng asked casually, watching Lan Xiaobing’s retreating figure.

"A 15, I suppose. At least Sister Xiaobing found a decent excuse to leave," Shen Ning’Er replied nonchalantly.

"Dr. Wu, you came looking for me specifically, didn’t you?" Gao Neng nodded, then turned to look at Wu Qingjing, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Ahem... Yes, I suppose you could say that," Wu Qingjing mumbled, looking somewhat embarrassed. ’Are all young people this perceptive nowadays?’

’It was such a perfect entrance. Where did it all go wrong?’

"I knew it! You crotchety old man, you are after Gao Neng! Good thing I, Death God Fang Tangtang, have eyes like a hawk and saw right through you!" Fang Tangtang said triumphantly upon hearing this.

"Meow..." Gao Xiaomeng let out a yawn.

"Heh." Wu Qingjing chuckled, but his expression gradually grew solemn. "The initial development of genetic weapons actually began more than thirty years ago. At the time, the Human Alliance had just been through a great war—the first great war I ever participated in. I personally witnessed my teachers and my classmates fall before my very eyes... And so, an idea came to me: wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a weapon that could be sacrificed in place of human beings?"

Gao Neng’s eyes narrowed slightly. He understood. What he hadn’t expected, however, was that the Speaker of the Federation Supreme Council was the founder of genetic weapons.

"Yes, your guess is correct. It was I who proposed the concept of genetic weapons. Within a few short years, it received immense support from the Federation Government and the major corporations, because it truly is an invention that can change the fate of humanity. Just as you saw earlier, genetic weapons can possess the power of Energy Warriors, and in terms of combat capability, they are no different from humans!" Wu Qingjing continued.

"Wow! In that case, are we guaranteed to win the great war in a year and a half?" Fang Tangtang’s eyes lit up as she heard this.

"Is that what you think?" Wu Qingjing asked, looking at Fang Tangtang.

"Of course! If we just make enough genetic weapons, we can definitely defeat the alien races, right?" Fang Tangtang replied with certainty.

"Gao Neng, what do you think?" Wu Qingjing nodded and turned to Gao Neng.

"I think so, too," Gao Neng said earnestly.

"Hm? You’re not expressing any doubt?" Wu Qingjing seemed somewhat surprised.

"Why should I doubt it? If genetic weapons can truly fight with the same capability as a human, then it is indeed an invention that can change the destiny of the Human Alliance." A corner of Gao Neng’s mouth lifted into a smile.

"Hahaha... Honestly, Gao Neng, your answer surprises me. Since you’ve already figured out I came here specifically for you, you should know my purpose. For you to still stick to that answer under these circumstances... that’s truly unexpected," Wu Qingjing suddenly burst out laughing.

"Are you here to persuade me to provide my genes to the Alliance? As long as I’m not imprisoned or physically harmed, I’m not against providing a limited amount," Gao Neng said calmly.

"..." Wu Qingjing’s laughter died down. He studied Gao Neng’s face intently, then finally shook his head. "There’s no need. My purpose in coming here isn’t to ask you for your genes. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’m here to tell you not to get involved in the genetic weapon experiments."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because this invention, genetic weapons, has a bottleneck."

"A bottleneck?"

"Yes, a very difficult one to break. Although you aren’t a genetic researcher, you should still understand the basics. The genetic sequence has always been of paramount importance in biology. The slightest difference or error can cause an entire experiment to fail completely," Wu Qingjing explained.

Gao Neng said nothing.

Wu Qingjing continued, "To put it simply, the manufacturing cost for genetic weapons is extremely high. From cultivating the cells to growing an artificial heart and so on, the process is very time-consuming. Furthermore, enabling a genetic weapon to control ’energy’ requires a specific genetic sequence. Just imagine how difficult it is to combine all the necessary genetic sequences."

"Yes, that does sound very difficult," Gao Neng said, as if in sudden understanding.

"The success rate for creating genetic weapons is far too low! A single successful unit, from development to completion, takes at least one to two years. The resources and costs involved are astronomical. Even after a successful creation, the replication success rate is less than twenty percent. After all, there are far too few scientists in the Alliance specializing in genetic research! On top of that, the higher the rank of the genetic weapon, the higher the cost. For example, a Rank-5 genetic weapon costs between one hundred and two hundred million, but a Rank-7 genetic weapon can cost as much as twenty billion!" Wu Qingjing nodded.

"Twenty billion?!" Gao Neng’s eyes widened.

"That’s right. And that’s assuming the technology is mature, not even counting the prior experimental costs. At least twenty billion. Now, do you know how much a Rank-8 genetic weapon costs?"

"Fifty billion?"

"No... One hundred and fifty billion!"

"Is this a stick-up?" Even though Gao Neng was now considered wealthy, with several billion to his name, he couldn’t afford to burn money like that. Twenty billion here, a hundred and fifty billion there?

’It’s like money grows on trees, right?’

"Heh, so now you understand, don’t you? Why the Alliance doesn’t mass-produce genetic weapons. It’s just not cost-effective... The success rate is too low. Besides that, there are other special reasons, but I won’t go into detail about those today," Wu Qingjing chuckled again.

"Wait a minute. If the manufacturing success rate for genetic weapons was one hundred percent, what would the cost be then?" Gao Neng asked.

"A one-hundred-percent success rate? That kind of hypothetical... Fine. If we could really achieve a one-hundred-percent success rate, it would be very cheap. A Rank-7 would cost about one or two hundred million, and a Rank-8 would be around two billion at most," Wu Qingjing replied after a moment’s thought.

"Wow, that’s an absolute bargain!" Gao Neng’s eyes instantly lit up.