Elder Ye did not expect Yang Chen to say such a thing.

After a long pause, Elder Ye chuckled bitterly, "It seems I underestimated your spirit and magnanimity."

He never imagined Yang Chen would say that this would be a gift to Flame Country.

Truth be told, if the parasitic organism was successfully researched, its contribution to Flame Country would be immense.

The reason Flame Country's technology lags behind, despite chasing for decades and still unable to reach world-class standards, and many things being monopolized, is because it missed both revolutions, falling behind by a century!

However, if the parasitic organism is researched successfully, the reforms it will bring to culture and technology will be boundless, allowing Flame Country to surpass all other countries by a century in biotechnology!

Indeed, it would directly monopolize this technology, benefit humanity, and stand at the pinnacle of the world!

Such a gift is undoubtedly very valuable!

Yang Chen having such a spirit is something Elder Ye could not match.

"However, this thing absolutely cannot fall into the hands of just one person. You understand the domestic situation and its inherent flaws; if someone monopolizes it, it could cause an obstruction instead," Elder Ye said slowly.

Yang Chen nodded slightly.

"Therefore, in this technology, the Ye family must have a share," Elder Ye stated directly.

Yang Chen nodded, "No problem, I've already considered it. Although the technology will be universal, I will hold forty percent fundamentally and technologically, the Ye family thirty percent, and the country thirty percent. I must have absolute control, but the right to use it belongs to you. Whether you compete or fight for it, not letting everything fall into one person's hands will accelerate technological advancement."

"Exactly!" Elder Ye's eyes gleamed, "It seems I really underestimated you. You had thought all this through from the beginning, didn't you?"

Yang Chen smiled and nodded.

Elder Ye smiled bitterly and shook his head, "It seems I was overthinking."

"No, if it weren't for you and Uncle Ye stopping it in time, the laboratory might have already been emptied, and I wouldn't have made it back in time to stop the commander," Yang Chen said with a smile.

"You don't need to be humble anymore," Elder Ye shook his head with a smile, having gained a profound understanding of Yang Chen's capabilities.

...

Artificial Sea.

The Elder had finished a day of meetings, met many people, and returned with a weary body.

The commander had been waiting here for several hours.

Seeing the commander, the Elder took off his coat, sat on the sofa, drank a cup of tea, found a comfortable position, and asked, "Have all the things been settled?"

The commander showed a difficult expression and said slowly, "We couldn't get our hands on them."

"Didn't get them?" the Elder frowned, "Was it Ye Liangcai who stopped you?"

"Not only him." The commander sighed, "Yang Chen has returned."

Hearing Yang Chen's name, the Elder frowned slightly and said slowly, "His return is expected; someone must have informed him."

"However, he was very adamant, preferring to destroy everything rather than give it to us," the commander said.

"Humph!" The Elder slammed the cup on the table with a dull thud, his anger barely contained, "What's the situation exactly? Explain to me in detail!"

"Yes!" the commander nodded and began, "He explicitly told me that the items are his, he has absolute control, and he won't give them to anyone. He only allows us to send people to research with him, and the research results can be shared. When things reach a controllable state, he might consider giving them to us. Moreover, he stated that we have no choice but to agree to his demands; otherwise, there's no need to talk."

The commander also recounted some details of the time and the experiments they performed to the Elder.

The Elder listened, his face darkened, and he pressed his index finger to his lips in deep thought.

Slowly, the Elder showed a gloomy expression, "It seems he thinks we have no way to deal with him!"

"Elder!" The commander quickly said, "I believe there's still room for negotiation in this matter. After all, he said that right now, things are only within an uncontrollable range; he won't allow us to take them. Later, when the research is complete, he will agree to give it to us."

The Elder remained silent, seemingly considering something.

The commander was very concerned, fearing the Elder might make some unpleasant decisions, so he said, "I will negotiate the specific conditions with him. If he truly refuses to give us the items, we'll proceed with the next plan. As long as he is in Jin Chen, in Flame Country, he absolutely cannot escape. And from what I know about Yang Chen, he would never hand it over to foreigners, nor would he ever do anything detrimental to Flame Country."

The Elder said slowly, "You handle it well. These things absolutely cannot be lost; they must be in our control. Also, based on what you've said, this should not be internal, nor in the city area. You find a secure base, move the laboratory there, and conduct experiments." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Yes!" The commander already had several options in mind.

Leaving the Artificial Sea, the commander still felt a lingering fear.

It had been a long time since he had seen the Elder show such an expression; in his memory, the last time he saw the Elder like this was ten years ago. A lot of terrible things happened back then, and thinking about it now still scared him.

He didn't want the same events to happen with Yang Chen.

If a conflict ever arose between the Elder and Yang Chen, it wouldn't just be an issue between the two of them but would also involve the Zhuo family and the Ye family and might even lead to turmoil throughout Flame Country, a situation he didn't want to see.

That night, the commander stayed up all night in the office, choosing the most suitable location and setting up negotiation terms with Yang Chen.

By noon, the commander arranged a meeting with Yang Chen at an office over the Artificial Sea for negotiations.

Entering the office, the commander immediately produced a topographic map and said, "After discussing with the Elder yesterday, he felt that the laboratory can't be in the city, it must be relocated outside. I also think staying in the city is too risky, especially in such an important city as Jin Chen. Therefore, I have chosen a backup base, which can be refurbished into a laboratory. Moving the laboratory there means we can easily isolate it if there's an accident."

Yang Chen glanced at the map and immediately knew which place it was.

It was once a testing range bombarded to desolation decades ago, and recently, another weapon test seemed to have burnt any newly grown weeds clean.

This place was indeed suitable, barren, devoid of other life forms, with underground facilities, fully apt for experiments. Even if parasites escaped, they wouldn't find other hosts, making it very suitable.

Yang Chen nodded, "No problem, as soon as the main lab is built, we can relocate at any time."