203: Chapter 203 is rolling up! Who is the mysterious "Group B"?

National Research Institute, Group A Laboratory.

Top-tier equipment and the super AI "heimdall" were running at full capacity; Volkov and his colleagues were all putting their lives on the line.

This group of top minds from around the world poured themselves into their work day and night, their spirits pushed to the absolute limit.

It only took two weeks!

The first direction recommended by the AI, "Polymer and Microbial Composite Sand Solidification Technology," had been forcefully conquered by them!

"Look closely, everyone! The moment of witnessing a miracle has arrived!"

In the laboratory, everyone held their breath, crowding tightly around Volkov.

The old man had specially shaved his beard today, and his bloodshot eyes were full of sharp light. His fingertips trembled as he used a dropper to collect a pale yellow, viscous liquid, slowing his movements to the extreme as he dripped it onto a handful of yellow sand in the tray before him.

Sizzle...

A faint and peculiar sound rang out.

That handful of loose sand, at the instant the liquid dropped, actually came to life! The grains of sand wriggled and aggregated on their own, transforming from a pile of loose sand into a... a dark-colored clod of earth right before everyone's eyes!

Volkov reached out his finger and poked it hard.

Rock hard!

"Success! My god! We succeeded!"

"Oh! Heavens! We really did it!"

After a brief silence, the cheers were loud enough to blow the roof off the laboratory! The earth-shaking shouts threatened to break through the ceiling!

Countless people embraced in excitement, shouting and jumping like a group of athletes who had just won a world championship!

They named this miraculous agent "Sand-to-Soil No. 1"!

Although this was only the beginning and there was still a long way to go before true large-scale application, it was absolutely groundbreaking! It was a solid first step!!

But just as they were preparing to open champagne to celebrate and report the good news to that mysterious "Lord"...

Beep...

An internal email from the Research Institute's management popped up on everyone's terminals.

At first, no one took it seriously, thinking it was just a routine administrative notice.

But when Volkov inadvertently caught a glimpse of the email subject, the smile on his face instantly vanished.

《Notice Regarding the Phase Achievement of Group B's "Salt-Alkali Tolerant Fast-Growing Plants" Project》.

"G... Group B?"

Volkov's brow furrowed into a knot.

"Does our institute... even have a Group B?"

He looked around and found that all his colleagues had dazed expressions.

Since they arrived, they hadn't seen a single soul in the entire institute besides their own team. Where did this Group B come from?

A bad premonition welled up in his heart.

With a flick of his finger, he opened the email.

The next second, everyone surrounding him saw the contents of the email clearly.

"...The National Research Institute's secret scientific research Group B, relying on the core technology of the 'Miracle Seed', has successfully completed the directional genetic modification of five sand-fixing plants, including 'Sea Buckthorn' and 'Haloxylon'. The new plant series, codenamed 'Pioneer Series', can grow directly on unimproved primitive sandy land, with the growth cycle shortened by 70% and salt-alkali tolerance increased by 200%..."

In the entire laboratory, the boisterous noise of the crowd suddenly vanished.

You could hear a pin drop.

Growth cycle shortened by 70%?!

Is this something humans can fucking do?

At the end of the email, a video file was attached.

Volkov's fingers were somewhat unresponsive as he clicked play.

The video showed a bare, bright yellow sand dune. Several researchers in white hazmat suits with blurred faces were sowing things on the ground.

Immediately after, the playback speed increased.

A miracle occurred.

Sprigs of tender green broke through the sand at a speed that completely defied common sense! Their development process was compressed to the extreme, going from sprouts to half-meter-high shrubs in just the few days indicated in the video!

The entire sand dune was dyed a dazzling green!

At the end of the video, the image froze, and a line of large black characters weighed heavily on everyone's hearts:

"A tribute to the unsung Pioneers!"

Clatter.

Someone's personal terminal dropped to the floor, making a crisp sound.

In the entire Group A laboratory, you could hear a pin drop.

"No... this is impossible..." a female biologist from France murmured, her face pale, "Directional genetic modification... compressing the growth cycle to this extent... this is something only a god could do!"

"This Group B... who exactly are they? Where are they?"

"So... so we aren't the only ones... we aren't even the ones in the lead..."

The joy and sense of achievement that had just risen were smashed to pieces by this email.

A bone-chilling coldness surged from the soles of everyone's feet to the tops of their heads; it was the feeling of defeat.

They all thought they were the chosen ones, the core and the sole focus of this massive plan.

Now they realized they were just one group of actors on the stage, while in the shadows they knew nothing about, there was a stronger, more mysterious, and more powerful team hidden!

Who could accept this?!

Volkov's fists were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

He was not dejected.

A competitiveness that almost burned through his chest roared and surged in his heart!

He could sense it!

This was the Lord's method!

This was a silent spurring! An open ploy!

"Everyone, lift your heads up!"

The old man's roar exploded in the quiet laboratory!

Everyone was startled by the shout and looked at him in unison.

"We haven't lost yet!"

Volkov's chest heaved violently, two fires burning in his eyes!

"Whatever that Group B can do, we can do too! We can even do it better than them!"

"Use your brains! Is our 'Turning Sand into Soil' technology and their 'Pioneer' plants in a competitive relationship?!"

"No! This isn't competition! This is a match made in heaven!"

Volkov's voice grew louder and more provocative!

"Imagine! If we use our technology to turn the desert into fertile soil, and then plant their super plants! What would the result be?!"

"We will create a true desert oasis! We will turn every desert on this planet into granaries and forests!"

Boom!

These words made the heads of all Group A members buzz!

Their dimmed eyes were reignited!

That's right!

Volkov was right!

This isn't a zero-sum game! We and Group B aren't enemies!

We can cooperate! We can join forces!

But the premise is... we cannot be inferior to them!

A pressure known as "involution" was invisible and intangible, yet it weighed heavily on the heads of everyone in Group A.

They no longer had their previous smugness; it was replaced by a strong sense of crisis and competitiveness!

"AI Assistant!" Volkov roared directly at the central interface, "Immediately! Right now! Run a collaborative growth simulation for 'Turning Sand into Soil' and 'Pioneer' plants! Max out all parameters! I want to see the final optimization plan within three days!"

"Understood, Dr. Volkov. Task established, beginning simulation deduction," heimdall's emotionless electronic voice rang out.

The entire team sprang into action once more!

Everyone was wound up again, rushing back to their posts, throwing themselves into new research with ten or a hundred times more vigor than before!

No one mentioned opening champagne or having a victory party anymore.

Celebrate my ass! If we don't hurry, that damn Group B will slap our faces until they're swollen!

From today, the internal competition of catching up with each other officially began at the National Research Institute!

...

At the same time.

Thousands of miles away in Beijing.

Lin Zhou held a cup of hot tea and watched the bustling scene on the screen with interest through the real-time monitoring transmitted back by Jack, the corners of his lips curling into a satisfied smile.

He knew perfectly well that there was no such thing as a "Group B" in this world.

That video was something he had Jack generate using AI in a few minutes.

And those so-called "Pioneer" plant technologies originally came from the "Desert Rapid Greening Technology Pack" rewarded by the system; it was a complete set of technical data.

He had simply flicked his finger, splitting a complete technology into two halves, and then fabricated two teams to make them compete against each other from afar.

The purpose?

It was simple.

Want to make this group of geniuses unleash 120% of their potential?

There was no better way than to make them compete against themselves.