CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 447 VARIOUS PROJECTS

After moving into the research base, Tang Tang quickly got started on her work.

All the researchers needed accommodation arrangements, logistical supplies had to be distributed, and a myriad of important yet complex tasks suddenly piled up on her desk.

She allocated the base’s dormitories to accommodate the incoming researchers; inventoried various supplies and arranged usage plans; understood the specific conditions of each laboratory and formulated management guidelines...

Tang Tang never imagined that managing a research base would require so much work.

Although she had done management work before, at that time it was mainly managing an investigation team of just a few people, which was nothing compared to the large scale of this research base.

However, luckily, these tasks were relatively simpler compared to the complex cases she had to investigate before. With the help of her team, Tang Tang quickly got the hang of it, organized all the tasks, and got the research base operational.

As for the scientific research work, it was not under Tang Tang’s management but was personally overseen by Chen Xin, with Mr. Li assisting him in management.

Though Mr. Li was quite old, he was in good health. Moreover, age also meant seniority and experience, and with his prestige, he could maintain authority without having to handle specifics, helping Chen Xin coordinate relationships and issues between various research groups.

So after a few busy days, the entire research base finally got on track, with all departments running smoothly and all research work steadily advancing.

Tang Tang summarized the current various situations and problems into a document, intending to submit it for Chen Xin’s review.

This had been her work habit for many years—no matter how much work there was, she would organize and list it to facilitate checking and resolving each item individually.

Chen Xin also somewhat had this habit, having been influenced by Tang Tang when they ran a club together during their school days.

Back then, Tang Tang was the club president, and Chen Xin was her assistant, but their roles were now reversed with Chen Xin being the head of the research base and Tang Tang becoming his "manager."

"Currently, the progress of each project group is fairly smooth. The group working on the Taunting Wind Fighter is improving the weapon bay fittings, and Mr. Li is designing the ecosystem construction inside the Ecological Dome. The first batch of crops has already been planted in the greenhouse. According to Mr. Li, this was a research project before the disaster, and now it’s perfect for continuation." Tang Tang reported the current situation to Chen Xin. Although she summarized it in just a few sentences, it encompassed the entirety of her tireless work over the past few days.

Chen Xin was very satisfied with Tang Tang’s work efficiency, but after flipping through a few pages of her submitted report, he still asked her, "Senior, how are the physics and biology laboratories doing now? I see you’ve written here that the related equipment is not complete, and the research hasn’t yet begun?"

"Yes, the physics lab is still missing graphene fabrication equipment, so relevant material research hasn’t started yet. Plus, the leading researcher told me that even with equipment and sufficient raw materials, it would take a long time to make breakthroughs in new materials." Since she had fully taken over the related work, Tang Tang naturally understood the situation and explained it to Chen Xin when he asked.

This is understandable, as lightweight material research needs graphene as a foundation. Without raw materials, even the most skilled scientists can’t develop new materials out of thin air.

Practical research is ultimately different from theoretical research, requiring numerous actual results to prove theories, and repeated experiments to demonstrate result reproducibility.

Moreover, what Chen Xin wants is a method for large-scale, low-cost production of new materials. Without the fabrication equipment and raw materials, conducting specific research experiments is indeed difficult.

Chen Xin nodded understandingly at this and said to Tang Tang, "Senior, please inform them to focus on advanced theoretical research, and also keep an eye on the matters of equipment and raw materials."

"I understand, don’t worry." Tang Tang committed these things to memory and agreed while also saying, "As for the biology lab, all the relevant equipment is in place. However, the person in charge said that the delivered live embryos and genetic samples are too precious. Before the disaster, they hadn’t done animal gene editing work, so they dare not waste them.

Also, the person in charge said that even if they could complete the gene compilation work you require, without a maternal womb, they wouldn’t be able to cultivate them. Right now, there’s no way to complete the entire process of embryo development through artificial means."

This answer was within Chen Xin’s expectations, and he was already prepared and had plans in place.

Embryo development requires a necessary environment, a basic biological fact.

Egg-laying relies on eggs, and live-bearing relies on the maternal uterus—this is the result of biological evolution and a necessary condition for the continuation of life.

The wolf gene modification research Chen Xin planned required a maternal womb for wolf embryo development, but in these conditions, it’s hard to find even a living dog, let alone a wolf.

So the method that can be adopted is either to find a dog as a maternal host to attempt interspecies reproduction, or use artificial cultivation technology.

Using a dog as the maternal host poses significant issues. Though wolves and dogs are indeed relatives, they are still two different species. Whether it would be problematic to cultivate wolf embryos in a dog is unknown.

Moreover, the more critical issue is that even if dogs could serve as maternal hosts, in an environment where living animals are scarce, where would such a dog be found?

Hence, Chen Xin chose the second method: cultivating embryos through artificial technology.

This technology already existed before the disaster, known as artificial womb technology. It was just that the related technology wasn’t mature, incapable of truly completing the process of developing a fertilized egg into a mature individual.

But for Chen Xin, this was not a problem at all. The artificial womb is something he can entirely develop into a usable and mature technology.

"There’s no need to worry about this matter; I’ll resolve the embryo cultivation problem later. Since they’re afraid of wasting precious experimental samples, let them perfect the related research on theory first. Once I equip them with the necessary devices, they can perform actual operations," Chen Xin thought, considering the situation. The live embryos and genetic samples are indeed precious and should not be wasted, so theoretical research should be done first, and practical experiments conducted later after furnishing the equipment.