185: Chapter 185 Agricultural Strategies, First Encounter with the Immigration Bureau

Seeing that Lin Zhou was in a good mood, Chen Yuan swallowed the words he originally wanted to say a few times before finally letting them out.

He adjusted the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and pushed the stack of reports in front of him toward Lin Zhou's hand.

"Lord, although the numbers on the books look good, there are some things I must remind you of."

Chen Yuan pointed to several conspicuous red circles on the report, his voice lowering a few notches.

"Monsanto, Syngenta, and Bayer—these giants have issued death orders this time. They didn't just buy the seeds; they also bought our entire set of supporting organic fertilizers and growth regulators in a package deal. But these people have no intention of farming at all. Every single seed they bought back is likely soaking in the top biological laboratories in Europe and America right now."

"Those are the top minds in the world, wielding the most advanced electron microscopes and gene scissors. If they really manage to deconstruct this stuff, our business will be a one-time deal."

Lin Zhou leaned back, his swivel chair emitting a slight creak.

He held a top-secret briefing sent by Jack in his hand; it was a summary of an internal meeting at Monsanto.

I really don't know how he managed to get these documents, considering he's a one-man army.

"A two-hundred-person expert team, working in three shifts, claiming they want to produce a physiological curve chart within a week?"

Lin Zhou casually tossed the document onto the table, letting out an undisguised sneer.

"They want to play reverse engineering? Then let them play. The most expensive tuition in this world is often reserved for those who think they are smart."

Qin Yue looked at Lin Zhou with some concern; she also had some knowledge of biology.

"Brother Lin, current gene sequencing technology has reached the molecular level. Can our seeds really withstand that?"

Lin Zhou extended a finger and tapped it in the air a few times.

"This has nothing to do with technology; it's a logic problem. They think this is just complex genetic recombination, and as long as they take it apart and put it back together, they can make the same thing."

"But they don't know that I buried a 'fuse' in the core protein of the seeds."

Lin Zhou picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a casual tone, as if chatting about the weather.

"As soon as it detects high-intensity electron microscope scanning from the outside, or artificial chemical stripping, the acid-base balance inside the seed will collapse. That thing will produce a rapidly decaying enzyme that can turn all the core sequences into a mess within seconds."

"By then, there won't be anything left in the test tubes of their top laboratories except for a puddle of stinking organic garbage."

"Buying a pile of stinking mud for billions of US dollars—I, for one, would like to see how these giants' boards of directors explain it to their shareholders when the time comes."

No one in the conference room spoke for a moment, and then He Jun was the first to slap his thigh and laugh.

Chen Yuan also let out a long sigh of relief. As long as the technical barrier remained, this money-printing machine would not stop.

Qin Yue opened another document and said softly: "Apart from these big sharks trying to steal the technology, there are quite a few small countries in Southeast Asia and Africa that have placed orders. Although the orders aren't large, only a few million to tens of millions of US dollars, it's clear they really want to take them back to plant."

"They are relatively poor and are currently worried about the down payment. Lord, this is what I'm thinking: should we offer some discounts to these countries with genuine needs?"

Lin Zhou nodded and tapped on the tabletop.

"Well said. Slaughter the big ones, send warmth to the small ones. These old empires have been harvesting the world for so many years; it's time they paid us some toll money. As for those poor brothers, discounts can be given, and we can even accept mineral resources as payment. This is our mass base."

Qin Yue smiled and made a note in her notebook, then her expression turned serious.

"Since nine hundred million has already arrived in the account, can we speed up our next actions?"

"We've negotiated with Sudan. Next to the Bashayer Deepwater Port, they have allocated a dedicated port usage right to us. However..."

Qin Yue's tone was somewhat hesitant.

"I went to see the photos of the site. The scale is really too small. It's called a port, but it's actually just an abandoned, broken pier. The water depth is only a few meters, the breakwater has collapsed by half, and currently, it can only accommodate some broken wooden boats of a few hundred tons."

As soon as He Jun heard the word "port," his eyes almost popped out.

He stood up abruptly, supported himself with both hands on the table, and threw his whole body toward the map, his eyes fierce.

"What's there to fear about it being small? Even if it's rotten, it's better than having nothing! Lord, that's the sea! That's our artery to the world!"

"Right now, the National Defense Force is entirely land-based; digging holes in the desert is fine. But if one day we get blocked from the sea, we'll be like turtles in a jar in the interior. I request to immediately start naval preparations. We don't need aircraft carriers, but at the very least, we should have a few big guys capable of guarding the house, right?"

Lin Zhou looked at He Jun, who looked like he wanted to jump into the sea and swim right away, and scolded him with a laugh.

"Is that you wanting to guard the house? I think you want to go to the Red Sea to become the Pirate King."

He walked to the map by the window and pointed his finger directly at the coastline of Sudan.

"We definitely need a navy, but we can't play by the rules. If we go to buy second-hand decommissioned warships from those major powers now, the maintenance and upkeep costs alone would be enough for Minister Chen to go jump off a building tomorrow."

Chen Yuan nodded coldly from the side: "No money. I won't approve buying scrap metal to keep as a display."

Lin Zhou pondered for a while, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the tabletop.

"He Jun, in the next two days, pick a few sharp people and take a delegation to the East. Don't look at those frigates of several thousand tons; they are too eye-catching. Go buy two brand-new coast patrol boats."

"There are only three requirements: First, the power must be strong, and it must be fast. Second, the structure must be durable; don't let it fall apart after one bump. Third, it must have a full set of automated fire control interfaces reserved, and the system must be the most advanced."

He Jun's excitement stalled: "Coast patrol boats? That thing is only about a hundred tons, and at most it can mount a small cannon. What use is that?"

Lin Zhou ignored him and turned to look at Qin Yue.

"Qin Yue, use those secret connections we have in America and help me ask for a price."

"I heard that their batch of early 'Arleigh Burke'-class models from the end of the Cold War is currently queuing up to be mothballed or transferred to allies."

The conference room suddenly went quiet, and several bewildered gazes were cast at Lin Zhou.

Zhang Zhe had been bowing his head recording legal clauses on the side, but hearing this, he couldn't help but look up.

"Lord, buying ships from the East, and also coveting the Aegis ships of the American Empire? This reach... isn't it too long?"

"This isn't just about buying ships; this is walking a tightrope between two major naval powers. If things go wrong, we'll offend both sides."

Lin Zhou turned around, his eyes shining terrifyingly, filled with the confidence of someone who had calculated all the risks clearly.

"That's exactly what I want—to walk the tightrope. Buying that dilapidated Aegis ship in America is a token of allegiance. We need to make those people in Washington feel that although we are flirting with the East, our core armaments are still leaning towards them."

"This is called balance. You can look at India, look at Saudi Arabia; they have been balancing this bowl of water for decades. Why can't we?"

He Jun scratched his head: "But after we buy that thing back, we won't have the parts to fix it, nor the system to use it. That's American stuff; they will definitely lock the backdoors."

Lin Zhou sneered.

"Who said we're going to use it directly after buying it? Once that ship is bought, it won't stay in America for a single day. Just find an excuse and have it towed to a shipyard in the East for a complete 'heart surgery'."

"Rip out all those outdated, backdoored electronic components inside and replace them with the top-tier radar and fire control systems from the East. The outer shell will be Arleigh Burke-class, but the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys will all be replaced with the latest goods from the East."

"When this ship is launched again, it will be the strongest 'freak' in this sea area. The American Empire will think it's their scrap, but the East will know it's our fist. Do you understand?"

He Jun didn't close his mouth for a long time, eventually only squeezing out two words: "Awesome."

Just as his excitement passed, he faced another difficulty: "But what about the sailors? Our bunch of grunts who grew up in the desert haven't even seen a ship's wheel; they probably wouldn't even be able to find north once on board."

Lin Zhou sat back in his chair and patted a secret document with a red cover on the table.

"This is the new department I want to introduce to everyone—the Immigration Bureau."

"Leave professional matters to professional bastards. The people I asked you to find are already at the door."

Lin Zhou raised his voice and shouted outside the door: "Come in, everyone, and greet our 'international student parents'."

The door of the conference room was pushed open.

Three middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes walked in.

The leading man was about fifty years old, with a round, affluent face; when he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, looking very amiable. This appearance had both the obsequiousness of an insurance salesman and the enthusiasm of someone arranging study abroad programs.