Other People's Kids

Phew... A long while later, Director Yu Lei set down the report in his hands. While reading it, he had even forgotten to take a puff of his pipe. One could well imagine how captivating the report was! So this was what people meant by a discerning eye for talent! Yu Lei marveled inwardly. The Luoshui scholar couple had died in an accident, and the Luoshui Research Institute had originally been slated for reclamation. After all, the institute's precious experimental equipment had all been purchased and maintained by the island, merely allocated to its researchers for use. Handing the institute over to their son instead—even though Luo Yu had met the minimum threshold—would easily have invited gossip. If simply meeting the minimum threshold qualified a person for the use of a research institute, plenty of people on the island had that qualification. As for Luo Yu's talk of carrying on his parents' research project, no one believed it could succeed. After all, the method for evolving inkfish had eluded even Canglan Ocean University—hailed as the light of humanity's hope—with all its brilliant research scholars. For a research project all but impossible to complete, Yu Lei had privately found it unrealistic too. And yet to Luo Yu's request, he had not refused outright. He had wanted to give the young man a chance, and had even passed along the "Ancient Grotto" lead, providing Luo Yu with a direction for his pet beast breeding. But now... who would have thought Luo Yu would repay him with a surprise so soon? It wasn't the inkfish evolution method—but he had set another heavyweight research achievement before Yu Lei's eyes! Yu Lei asked, "This stable method for breeding medical inkfish—did you discover it yourself, or had your parents already uncovered clues that you refined afterward?" No sooner had he asked than he shook his head. "Never mind. It's not important." "Well then, everyone, next let's discuss the Luo Yu Research Institute's research results." "What do you all think?" "Elder Bai, you seem to have something you'd like to say." He first looked at a silver-haired old woman: Bai Dong. Her institute also conducted breeding research—but not same-species breeding. Hers were cross-species hybridization experiments. There was a case where a "Mid-tier Common Species: Netherwater Turtle" had been successfully hybridized from a "Lower Common Species: Greenwater Turtle" and a "Lower Common Species: Blackthorn Turtle"—a brand-new species bred into existence. "It's nothing... I just wanted to say... inkfish and vampire octopuses can crossbreed. I've run the experiments myself. If Researcher Luo Yu is interested in hybridizing them, I can provide the relevant data." "Mm." Yu Lei nodded and looked at Shen Mo, the researcher who studied mutated corpse beasts. "The Great Tide is ten months away, and the Tide Zombie Cataclysm is nearly upon us. If there truly is a stable method for breeding medical pet beasts, then the most urgent task is naturally to breed as many medical inkfish as possible—and to drill their healing skills." "As for the hybridization experiments Elder Bai mentioned, there's no need to waste the time. Wouldn't it be better to wait until the Tide Zombie Cataclysm has passed?" Shen Mo said. "Of course I know that." The old lady gave him a look. "Xiao Shen has a point. But the key question is this: Researcher Luo Yu, how do you plan to arrange these medical inkfish?" Lin Hai, the old scholar who studied the origin of rainstorms, looked toward Luo Yu. Seniority notwithstanding, every researcher present had changed how they addressed Luo Yu, adding the title "Researcher." Clearly, they already accepted him. In this Great Navigation Era of a rebuilding civilization, biological researchers were talent in desperately short supply. The big places offered better research conditions, so talent liked to run toward the big places. Small places that wanted to keep such talent had to promise richer terms. In some of the big places, if a research project's site, equipment, and funding were all provided by the authorities, then even if the researcher produced results, the right to dispose of those results belonged entirely to the authorities. Researchers could not freely do as they pleased with their findings; they held only the intellectual property, and if the results were turned into commercial profit, they received nothing more than a share of the dividends. But in a small place like Jingyue Island, although the island provided the research site and the funding, everything an institute produced belonged to the researcher personally. It was the unavoidable sacrifice small places made to retain talent. Which meant that under Jingyue Island's rules, however Luo Yu disposed of the inkfish—even if he gave them away to other islands for free—no one could interfere. Of course, no sane person would actually do that, unless he had grown tired of living. When facing a partner who provided the research site, the facilities, and the funding, one would ordinarily grant them priority rights of use and purchase. Only so could both sides stay happy. "As for how the medical inkfish are arranged, I'll defer to the Director," Luo Yu said. Luo Yu still needed the island to guarantee his personal safety. Even if he could negotiate terms, he had no intention of doing so. For the other researchers, one major research result might be all they'd get in a lifetime; naturally they had to fight for their own interests. But Luo Yu had the Data Eye. To put it bluntly, the medical inkfish would only ever be his least remarkable breeding result—no reason to haggle over them. At the same time, Luo Yu wanted to see what Jingyue Island would give him if he asked for nothing at all. "Good." After a moment's deliberation, Director Yu Lei looked up at Luo Yu and said, "The medical inkfish are still few in number. The highest-priority task remains stepping up the breeding." "Next, the island will allocate funds to expand the Luo Yu Research Institute and build a base for rearing and breeding inkfish. Luo Yu, you will be the project's overall lead. The requirements for the expansion are yours to set. As for funding—so long as it stays within what the island can bear, the breeding base's needs come first." "After that, the island will capture and purchase wild and farm-raised inkfish from all over and hand them over to you for selective breeding." "The costs of rearing, breeding, and training the inkfish will all be borne by the island, and you may apply separately for reasonable additional research funds." "And the inkfish you breed will remain the property of the 'Luo Yu Research Institute,' which may sell them for profit at its own discretion." Luo Yu paused, slightly taken aback. Wasn't this money handed to him for nothing? But then— "But..." Yu Lei went on after a moment's thought, "the Luo Yu Research Institute will need to become Jingyue Hospital's exclusive supplier of medical pet beasts. Each year, a set number of inkfish must serve as the hospital's 'medical staff,' and the treatment fees generated in the process will return to the institute as dividends at a fixed percentage." "Luo Yu, what do you say?" Yu Lei asked. "I have no objections," Luo Yu said. The terms on offer were already quite generous, and the room for profit buried in them was enormous. If Luo Yu were only a little harder-hearted, every step could be milked for gain. He was in charge of setting the expansion standards? Then surely it wouldn't hurt to state the requirements a little on the grand side. All the costs of rearing, breeding, and training inkfish borne by the island? He could easily fold the costs of researching and breeding inkfish with other talents—the costs of researching inkfish evolution—into the "medical inkfish project," calling it part of the research. And the whole string of results in the end would still belong to the Luo Yu Research Institute. He could open a pet beast shop and make an absolute killing, while the island looked like it was losing money pure and simple. Of course, Luo Yu stood to profit hugely, but Jingyue Island wouldn't lose either. How much could it possibly cost to rear and breed a bunch of inkfish, after all? By comparison, buying medicinal materials and medical pet beasts from other islands cost an astronomical sum. Ship wear and tear, labor costs, spending on medicinal materials and medical pet beasts, the possible "sacrifices" of the voyage... Set against all that, if Jingyue Island had its own medical pet beast breeding base, then in the long run it would profit just as hugely. What's more, even if Luo Yu sold his medical inkfish, the first to be strengthened would be Jingyue Island's civilian fleets. The other researchers all wore envious expressions. "Getting to a sufficient number of medical inkfish will take no small amount of time, I imagine." "But the Tide Zombie Cataclysm is less than a year away now." Yu Zhifeng, the mature female researcher with big wavy hair, rested her arms on the table, laced her fingers, and laid her cheek against her hands as she said slowly, "Let's first consider how to reduce the casualty rate of this zombie tide." Director Yu Lei nodded. "Mm. These medical inkfish certainly still need to stay with Researcher Luo Yu for breeding—but ideally, they should also play some part in this Tide Zombie Cataclysm itself." "Luo Yu." He looked at him. "I have an idea. Hear me out." "For now, besides the necessary breeding work, we should also drill their healing abilities to prepare for the Tide Zombie Cataclysm." "Of course, drilling special abilities out of thin air is far too extravagant. Better to hone their abilities in practice—then there's even some return on it." "Jingyue Island has a Beast Fighting Arena, where the island's Beast Masters spar within the rules. Serious casualties are unlikely, but ordinary injuries are unavoidable. The arena has an infirmary that stocks a range of treatment medicines." "My thought is this: first, establish a measure of medical cooperation between the institute and the arena, and let some of the male inkfish train their abilities there, treating simple injuries." Luo Yu listened, then nodded; naturally he had no objections. "Good. In that case, when the time comes, you will serve as deputy director of the Beast Fighting Arena infirmary, in charge of managing these inkfish." Director Yu Lei chuckled. "If I remember correctly, Luo Yu, you only became a Beast Master fairly recently. Besides the beast fights, the arena has plenty of training grounds—once you take up the post, you may use them freely." "Good." Luo Yu hadn't expected this windfall. One remark after another, the group traded thoughts on the medical inkfish. The research report meeting ran until very late, yet the Ancient Grotto—the true topic of this meeting—occupied only a sliver of it. The so-called interim progress in exploring the Ancient Grotto seemed hardly worth mentioning beside the medical inkfish. Unless a method had already been found to let avian mutated beasts evolve within the Ancient Grotto and steadily raise their species rank, nothing could compare with a stable breeding channel for medical pet beasts. After the meeting ended. "Xiao Wan," Director Yu Lei said. "Here." Yuwan, who had been listening quietly at the side the whole time, answered. "We'll go see Luo Yu off and take a look around the institute. Afterward, if Luo Yu has any requests, you're responsible for collecting them..." ... At noon, Researcher Chen Zhuo returned home. "Dad, you're back! Let me tell you, this time the Breeding Qualification Examination is in the bag!" Chen Bo said delightedly. He had sat the Breeding Qualification Examination again this month, and his answers had been flawless. "Hmph." Chen Zhuo gave his son a look of exasperated disappointment and said, "That's it?" Chen Bo: ?