PCJ – Chapter 643 Heading to the Sea

“This time, there’s something else we’ve come to discuss,” Huang Zhongfang said somewhat hesitantly, clearly worried that Zhang Jiaohua might refuse.

“Professor Huang, if you have something to say, just say it directly,” Zhang Jiaohua replied calmly—he could read people easily.

“Well, here’s the thing,” Huang Zhongfang finally said after some hesitation. “Back when foreign agents broke into the lab, the authorities had already asked me if your research had any potential military applications. At the time, you mentioned that the active reagent couldn’t be mass-produced, so I dropped the idea. But after this latest white mouse incident made such big news, they’ve become much more interested. They sent me here to discuss with you whether you might consider researching military applications. You know, at our university—one of the top institutions in the country—many of our research projects intersect with special government departments. Scientists from our school often participate in key national initiatives.”

Zhang Jiaohua had already anticipated that this kind of situation might arise. He nodded. “Professor Huang, are you familiar with what cultivators are?”

“I’ve heard of them. For scholars at our level, such things aren’t exactly a secret,” Huang replied—surprising Zhang Jiaohua slightly. But upon further thought, it made sense. Scholars like Huang Zhongfang operated at a high level and were likely to be aware of such things.

“In that case, this is easier to explain. The so-called active reagent I used isn’t really a reagent at all. It’s a type of spiritual spring water—a fairly common item in the cultivation world. Well, ‘common’ is relative. Even in cultivation circles, this resource is becoming increasingly rare. Without spiritual springs, cultivators can’t train, and without training, they can’t progress,” Zhang explained.

“So even among cultivators, it’s a scarce resource? There’s no way it could be used for large-scale production?” Huang asked.

Zhang nodded. “Exactly. It’s not about being unwilling to share—it’s just impossible. In a few decades, there might not even be any spiritual springs left on Earth.”

“What happened to them? How were they created in the first place, and why are they now so scarce? Are you cultivators also facing a kind of ecological over-exploitation?” Huang asked, clearly shocked.

Zhang smiled wryly. “It’s more or less as you said. The springs are drying up. Even cultivators don’t really understand how they form. They’re being used up faster than they can recover. Only a few places still have spiritual springs—most of the Earth’s spiritual veins have already gone dry.”

Huang sighed regretfully. “What a pity. If we had enough spiritual spring water, we could accomplish so much. Zhang Jiaohua, why haven’t you researched how spiritual springs form? If you could figure that out, we could potentially manufacture them artificially. That would provide you with a limitless supply.”

“I’d like to,” Zhang replied with a laugh, “but I don’t have the slightest clue where to start.”

Zhang eventually agreed to accompany the group out to sea—but he wasn’t going alone. Several members of the Meishan Sect were coming as well, including Kong Fangzhou. He brought a number of specially crafted cages—about a dozen in total.

These cages weren’t ordinary. They weren’t made from regular steel wire but from “iron mother,” a special material forged using unique refining techniques. They were designed specifically for capturing spiritual beasts. While the mutated white mice on the cruise ship could barely be classified as spiritual beasts, they were still among the weakest of their kind.

After getting no concrete answers from Zhang, Huang Zhongfang returned to Beijing. Mei Qing, however, decided to stay—she wanted to see those experimental mice in person. After all, she had poured a great deal of time and effort into raising them—perhaps even more than Zhang had.

“Professor Mei, going aboard that ship could be dangerous. Are you sure you want to come?” Zhang asked. He wasn’t really worried about her safety—these were just white mice, after all—but if something did happen to her, he’d lose face.

“What danger? I raised those two batches myself. They’re smart—they’ll definitely recognize me and won’t attack,” Mei Qing said confidently.

“True. Often, the real danger isn’t from beasts—it’s from humans. These Japanese really crossed the line, stealing our work like that. Luckily, it wasn’t something even more valuable—or they might have gotten away with it,” Zhang said coldly.

“That just goes to show how weak our sense of security is,” Mei Qing said with a sigh. “This in vitro embryonic cultivation technology is extremely cutting-edge and economically valuable, but we failed to realize its importance. Meanwhile, those foreign biotech companies are far more cunning. This whole incident has been a wake-up call. We must stop underestimating ourselves. We’ve always treated ourselves as students of Western science and culture—but we too can stand at the forefront of global scientific development. We can create priceless innovations of our own.”

Zhang nodded. “That’s true.”

Upon arriving at the coast, Zhang Jiaohua’s group immediately arranged for a navy vessel to head out to the location of the cruise ship.

“After receiving the distress signal from the Japanese vessel, we’ve already approached the ship. We’ve dropped off some food and fresh water. Their survival is temporarily secured. The only real concern now is the white mice. Since mutating, they’ve become highly aggressive and intelligent. Every time we try to board, they attack violently. And we can’t risk using lethal force in case we hit civilians. We initially tried high-pressure water cannons to disperse them—it worked briefly, but the mice adapted quickly and hid,” explained Major Zhu Zifan of the Marine Corps, who was in charge of receiving Zhang Jiaohua’s team.

Zhang nodded. “Just take us aboard when we’re ready.”

“That’s too dangerous. You may not understand how terrifying those mice are. They’ve already injured quite a few people,” Zhu Zifan warned.

“If they were really that violent,” Zhang asked calmly, “how many people do you think would still be alive on that ship?”

Zhu Zifan was stunned. “Their claws and teeth can cut through regular steel. The cruise ship’s structures wouldn’t hold them back. If they’d gone completely berserk, no one on board would’ve survived. But… we’ve only confirmed a few deaths so far.”

“They’re not killing indiscriminately,” Zhang said. “But that doesn’t mean they’ll let people threaten them without fighting back.”