Report and official intervention
"I understand, Old Chen. You did the right thing by reporting it promptly." Zhou Zhenguo's voice remained steady. "Stay calm over there and ensure Li Qiang's safety and medical treatment. We will take over immediately.
Send someone over; it will probably take a few hours to coordinate. During this time, do not try to get him to recall or reveal any information about the source to avoid triggering it again."
"I understand." Chen Jianhua breathed a sigh of relief. Having the power of the country involved was much better than a professor like him fighting alone.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Jianhua leaned tiredly against the wall in the corridor. Looking through the window on the door, he saw Li Qiang, who was still sleeping in the ward, with mixed feelings in his heart.
This student was smart but also confused. One wrong step led to such a disaster.
A few hours later, deep inside a nondescript office building in the capital, an expedited, encrypted briefing was delivered to a small conference room.
The meeting was chaired by a middle-aged man with a stern face and sharp eyes. His epaulettes revealed his identity. He was one of the leaders of the special department's action team, code-named "Bobcat".
Professor Chen Jianhua of the School of Bioengineering reported that his student Li Qiang had discovered an unknown active substance, tentatively named 'YX Factor,' which has an extraordinary effect on promoting plant growth. The paper has been published in Cellular Discovery and has attracted international attention.
The key point is that Li Qiang seems to be interfered with by some unknown force. Every time he tries to reveal the source of the sample, it will cause extreme physical pain and lead to coma.
A female analyst wearing a white researcher coat and with a calm temperament reported, code-named "Bluebird".
"Based on Professor Chen's description and our preliminary assessment, we have ruled out simple psychological factors or known pathological phenomena. This force intervention is precise, mandatory, and clearly 'targeted.'"
Bobcat tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes scanning the briefing's description of the effects of the "YX Factor" and the vague source of "a certain village in China."
"'Cellular Discovery'... This kid is quite courageous." A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, code-named "Brain Trust", who looked gentle and elegant, pushed his glasses next to Bobcat.
"Several key foreign laboratories and intelligence agencies have indeed taken notice of this paper. We have intercepted some relevant communications, and they are attempting to locate the source of 'YX Factor', and they are moving very quickly."
Lynx said gravely, "A biological resource that has sparked international competition, has such astonishing effects, and even has its own 'protection mechanism'... This is no simple matter. Bluebird, what are the technical analysis team's preliminary conclusions regarding the existing data on the 'YX Factor' provided by Li Qiang?"
Bluebird pulled up another document: "Based on the data in the paper, its structure is extremely complex, unlike any known natural or synthetic accelerator. Its energy signature... is very strange, and seems to contain a high-level life energy that is difficult for our current theories to fully explain.
If the data is true, its application value is immeasurable, ranging from agriculture to biomedicine, and may even involve deeper fields.”
"High-level life energy...it has built-in protection..." Lynx's eyes grew deeper. "It seems we may have run into a tough nut to crack."
He looked at his advisor: "How's the background check on Li Qiang going?"
The think tank replied: "Li Qiang, male, 25 years old, is a graduate student in bioengineering at Qionghai University. His native place is Yunxi Village in Qionghai City.
My family is ordinary, my parents are farmers. Personality… Based on what I've learned from classmates and mentors, I'm quite competitive, eager to achieve success, and somewhat utilitarian.
"Yunxi Village..." Shanmao repeated the name. "'YX Factor', Yunxi... this name is quite straightforward. It seems that the source is likely in this village."
"Orders," Shanmao stood up and said decisively, "First, immediately send medical experts and a psychological assessment team to the hospital to take full control of Li Qiang's care and ensure his safety.
At the same time, try to obtain more information without triggering the 'ban'.
Second, the technical team stepped up analysis of existing data and any samples retained by Li Qiang.
Third, dispatch a field team, led by 'Hunter Falcon,' to Yunxi Village, Qionghai City, to conduct a preliminary investigation."
He emphasized, "Remember, this is a low-key investigation! Before we understand the nature and strength of that 'protection mechanism', any forced exploration that might alert the target is prohibited.
I don't want to see any of our team members end up like Li Qiang. We need intelligence, not accidents."
"Yes!" everyone in the conference room responded in unison.
Falcon, a young man with a sturdy build, dark skin and sharp eyes, immediately began to mobilize personnel and equipment after receiving the order.
As the night deepened, several off-road vehicles with ordinary license plates drove out of the capital and sped south. Their destination was Yunxi Village, a small, inconspicuous place on the map.
In the afternoon of Yunxi Village, a domestically produced off-road vehicle that looked neither new nor old drove slowly into the village entrance and stopped under the old locust tree.
Compared with those shiny luxury cars a while ago, this car is too ordinary, just like the one used to visit relatives or do business in the countryside, and it didn't attract much attention.
The car door opened and three people got out: two men and one woman. The young man in the lead was the captain codenamed "Falcon."
He was wearing an ordinary outdoor jacket and looked like someone who often went outdoors. The slightly younger man next to him, wearing glasses and with a friendly smile, was "Xiao Zhou", who was responsible for navigating the front and communicating.
The only female team member, "Kobayashi", followed quietly behind, observing the surroundings, with a low sense of presence.
"Captain, this is Yunxi Village." Xiao Zhou pushed his glasses and whispered, "The environment is even more... pristine than it looks in the documentation."
The falcon said nothing, his eyes quickly scanning the village houses, villagers and fields in the distance.
"According to the plan, find a place to stay first."
They did not go directly to the village chief Wang Jianguo as that would be too conspicuous.
Based on their prior research, they walked straight towards a house in the middle of the village that looked relatively clean.
The man in this family is called Zhao Laogen and the woman, Aunt Zhao, is called Yangmei. Their son works outside, so the old couple usually live at home.
"Knock knock knock." Xiao Zhou walked forward and knocked on the half-open courtyard door.
"Who is it?" Aunt Zhao's voice came from the room. She stuck her head out from behind the door and saw three young people with unfamiliar faces. They were not dressed like villagers, and her eyes immediately became a little wary.
"Hello, Auntie," Xiao Zhou immediately smiled harmlessly and spoke sincerely. "We are students from Qionghai University of Geology. We are here to do a small geological survey and soil sampling. We would like to stay in the village for a few days. Is that convenient? We will pay for your accommodation and meals."
"From the Geological University?" Aunt Zhao looked them up and down, her guard relaxed a little. A university student, a researcher at that? He didn't sound like a bad person.
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