193: The father of ecology? No! God of ecology!

“Lin? Do you see any problems with submitting the report like this?”

Seeing Lin Yang seemingly lost in thought, Yuan Zhihe directly opened the electronic document and pulled up the draft of the report for Lin Yang to see.

Lin Yang came back to his senses and scanned the report's content.

Most of it was data, followed by an emphasis on his crucial role in the process, some professional terminology, and sections applying for relevant honors; the wording was very clever.

He only glanced at it before telling Yuan Zhihe, “Yuan President, just go with what you think is best. I don’t really understand these things.”

He genuinely didn't understand much.

He had never written an academic report, and the wording in the section applying for honors was incredibly precise, showing a profound mastery of human relations expressed through writing.

It was simply not something a newcomer could write.

Clearly, Yuan Zhihe had put a lot of effort and meticulous thought into the phrasing to help him apply for this honor.

Anyone slightly younger wouldn't be able to capture that kind of nuance.

It was evident that Yuan Zhihe had pondered and written this report word by word himself.

This was truly rare; for the President of the Ecology Institute to personally write such a report.

As far as Lin Yang knew, people of Yuan Zhihe's caliber generally wouldn't personally write similar reports.

For example, Zhao Zizhen's reports were basically ghostwritten by Wang Guang, with Zhao Zizhen only doing the final review.

The report Yuan Zhihe showed him made Lin Yang feel that even an intelligent system couldn't write it better than Yuan Zhihe.

It could be said that some parts of this report couldn't be written with that kind of flavor unless one reached a certain age, gained certain experiences, or even held a specific position!

Seeing him say this, Yuan Zhihe smiled again and said, “Since Lin has no objections, then we will issue the formal report based on this.”

“Uh… actually, it’s not that I have no objections…” Lin Yang hesitated.

“Ah?” Yuan Zhihe was instantly stunned, then quickly asked, “Lin, please point out any opinions you have, and I will revise it.”

“Cough cough, Yuan President, please don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean anything else. I just feel that this report mainly emphasizes my contributions, isn’t that a bit too much…”

Lin Yang explained softly.

“I didn't do much. All those plants were cultivated by you, Yuan President. If all the credit goes to me, I feel a bit undeserving.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhihe burst into laughter: “I thought it was something else! Lin, what you’re saying isn’t accurate. Without your help in improving the seed genes, there’s no way we could have successfully cultivated them. So the main credit is still yours!”

“At most, our Ecology Institute just played a supporting role in this process. It’s mainly because you, Lin, improved the genes of those plant seeds too perfectly. Even without us, any experienced gardener could cultivate those plants to survive.”

“We just conducted a few more data studies, that’s all.”

“This…” Lin Yang was a bit at a loss for words.

Zhao Zizhen saw this and interjected, “Lin, don’t be modest. Old Yuan is right. If you hadn’t improved the plant seed genes, even with decades more time, they wouldn’t have been able to cultivate those plants. You can rest assured and accept this credit.”

At this point, Zhao Zizhen paused, glanced at Yuan Zhihe, and chuckled softly: “Lin, you feel embarrassed taking most of the credit, but in reality, for Old Yuan and the guys at the Ecology Institute, this time all of them actually benefited greatly because of you!”

“If it weren’t for you improving the seed genes, allowing those special plants to grow and survive, even with decades or a century more time, they might not have gotten this honor.”

“If I’m not mistaken, those guys at the Ecology Institute, because of those special plants that are growing again, now each have a research report waiting to be published. They’ve all risen with you, and you taking the main credit is well-deserved, so don’t decline!”

Zhao Zizhen’s words had a bit of a revealing tone about the Ecology Institute’s past, but Yuan Zhihe wasn’t angry; instead, he nodded slightly:

“Old Zhao is right. We have already benefited greatly from you, Lin, this time. Let’s submit this report as is.”

“Alright then.” Lin Yang spread his hands.

Since it had come to this, he had nothing else to say.

“Good, then we’ll issue the formal report like this, and then Lin, you just need to sign it. Old Zhao, can I borrow your office for a bit?” Yuan Zhihe said to Zhao Zizhen.

Zhao Zizhen naturally had no objections.

On the way to Zhao Zizhen’s office, Lin Yang proactively asked, “Yuan President, if these originally extinct plant seeds can be integrated into the existing ecology and bring such huge benefits, then if those extinct animals could also be integrated into the existing ecology, would there be any good changes?”

Yuan Zhihe didn’t answer this question immediately, but thought carefully for a moment before saying, “I really can’t say for sure. Animals and plants are still quite different.”

“We have also researched extinct animals from ancient times, but we can basically only rely on extracting information from fossils. We cannot determine if those extinct animals, if revived, could also have some positive effects on today’s ecology.”

“Oh…” Lin Yang blinked.

“Lin, what made you think of asking this?”

Yuan Zhihe turned his head to look at him, and then, without waiting for Lin Yang’s answer, continued:

“Actually, the study of ancient animals might have greater significance for us. Even if it doesn’t have a good effect on the existing animal ecology, it still holds very important meaning. It’s just a pity that animals are more complex than plants; even if they could be revived, I’m afraid it would be very difficult for them to survive.”

“Oh? Why is that?” Lin Yang asked curiously.

“Because animals generally have stricter requirements for their living environment, especially those extinct ancient animals.”

Yuan Zhihe explained.

“Not to mention that the difficulty of changing animal genes is tens of thousands of times harder than improving plant seed genes, even if it were possible to change them, it would probably be difficult to make them perfectly adapt to the current environment and survive normally.”

“Is it that difficult?” Lin Yang asked again.

Yuan Zhihe chuckled again: “Yes, the genes inside animals are much more complex than plants, and to ensure animal survival, there will be even more problems to face.”

“This can actually be seen from the fact that there are no animals in that Aliens Ecological Base. Ensuring the survival of animals and preserving plant seeds are completely different levels of difficulty.”

“After all, that base is called an Ecological Base, and without animals, it cannot be considered a complete ecology. Even the technologically more advanced Aliens might have found it too troublesome to prepare animals. You can imagine how difficult it would be to revive those extinct animals.”

“But as far as I know, the Ecology Institute has always tried to revive ancient animals using fossils and other materials. Since it’s so difficult, and you know they won’t survive even if revived, why still try every possible way to revive those animals?” Lin Yang raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Well… there are many reasons. Besides the scientific significance, to put it plainly, every biologist wants to create new history from their own work. Reviving ancient animals is the ultimate dream of every ecological researcher!”

Yuan Zhihe sighed with emotion.

“Even if we know they won’t live long after being revived, we still want to witness the grandeur of ancient super animals with our own eyes!”

“What if there are existing ancient animals?” Lin Yang suddenly spoke up.

“Haha, whoever can get their hands on existing living ancient animals, that person would be a god to our entire Ecology Institute!”

Yuan Zhihe laughed again:

“We’d directly enshrine him as a patriarch, setting up a memorial tablet to worship him. Any ‘Father of Ecological Research’ would have to step aside. From now on, he would be the true Father of Modern Ecology!”

“No, he’d be the God of Ecology!”

Lin Yang: “…”

He was speechless.

Why did they always talk about enshrining people at the drop of a hat?