Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 261 - 196: Sticking a Few Needles_2

Chapter 261: Chapter 196: Sticking a Few Needles_2

Fear of snakes? Understandable.

But just because you’re afraid of snakes doesn’t mean you should turn it into something that looks like an eel!

In the end, it’s still a matter of insufficient skills!

So Feng Chi decisively switched to another team. This second team wasn’t as well-known as the first, but their snake modeling was much more impressive.

Feng Chi’s dilemma was unknown to Feng Yi.

During the voice call, Feng Yi couldn’t see what the situation was on Feng Chi’s side, but he always felt that Feng Chi’s voice carried a hint of exhaustion and anger.

However, it was also audible that this exhaustion and anger were not directed at Feng Yi.

Feng Yi guessed that it probably had something to do with that "brilliant idea" of Feng Chi’s.

Usually, Feng Chi would video call, but this time it was so secretive; Feng Yi had no clue what that brilliant idea could be.

Thinking back to what Feng Chi had mentioned on the phone, Feng Yi picked up his phone again to check the online comments.

There were those who were not optimistic about him, thinking he wouldn’t fare well against the Feng Family of Yang City, but of course, there were also those who were supportive.

The two sides were in the midst of a debate.

Especially regarding the notion of banning:

[Don’t impose the rules of the entertainment industry on Brother Se, he was still invited to the Yang City Natural History Museum for an event on the Lantern Festival, and official media released the news. Isn’t he still doing quite well?]

[Get to know the world’s most iron-clad organization—United Protection Bureau! Unless there’s a major mistake, who can ban an expert from the UPB? Not to mention Brother Se is also a member of the expert committee!]

[Ah, it’d be so nice to be born into a rich family; experts have it tough, always traveling to the wild, exposed to wind, sun, danger, and even prone to baldness.]

[Brother Se! Are you there? Rather than making money, why not join the entertainment industry? Being an expert is too wasteful for that face of yours; your face is worth so much!]

[I just want to know, does Feng Yi regret it now!]

...

Regret? That’s impossible.

Feng Yi put his phone into his pocket and went down to the basement to find Wu, to ask a few questions.

With his own affairs still unattended to, he didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to online opinions.

As the venom project at Progenitor Company was progressing, he was busy acquainting himself with more information, so much so that he didn’t have time to choose tasks from the UPB.

The more he learned, the more awed Feng Yi became by the status of the "Progenitor Core Laboratory." Its influence was even greater than he had anticipated!

The inaugural "Progenitor Y1" active protein trial package sold out the day it was launched.

Ji and Geng both entered a state of busyness. Ji stayed in the laboratory, while Geng was so busy answering calls that he didn’t even have time to eat, hurriedly grabbing a bite before continuing with calls or video chats.

Their advice to Feng Yi was to extract more venom!

The venom currently being collected might not be used immediately, but it would be stored in the warehouse. Only with stock in the warehouse could Ji and Geng feel more at ease about the work ahead.

Feng Yi once again extracted venom and sealed the small tubes filled with the venom into the storage box.

Now, every few days, Feng Yi would have Jia deliver a batch to Ji’s side, but this was just the beginning. Once production stabilized and there was inventory in the warehouse, the deliveries could be spread out further, and there’d be no worry about the lab running out of supplies.

He rubbed his cheeks to relax a bit.

Feng Yi wouldn’t risk his health; each venom extraction was done in moderation.

"Just this little bit of venom can produce so many active proteins? If Progenitor Laboratory can synthesize them, can’t other labs around the world do the same?"

Feng Yi voiced his confusion.

Wu wasn’t surprised by this and, after a moment of thought, explained to Feng Yi: "About the active proteins in your venom, let me first tell you about the structure of proteins. There are several levels to a protein molecule: primary structure, secondary structure, super-secondary structure, tertiary structure, subunits, quaternary structure..."

"...Even knowing the sequence of amino acids is just a beginning. Following that, you need to work out how they twist and fold, how they’re arranged in three-dimensional space, and during these processes, which molecular chaperones and enzymes are involved, and so on, all problems that need to be addressed."

Feng Yi: "..."

Behind his cool, sharp eyes was a look of utter cluelessness.

Perhaps realizing Feng Yi’s unfamiliarity with the subject, Wu thought for a moment and then said, "Take the giant ’fortune’ knot that was hanging in the living room during the New Year as an example. You remember it, right?"

"Yes, I remember," said Feng Yi.

That was when Bing and the others were shopping for the New Year goodies, and the seller even gave them some red threading cord. Later, Ding, finding himself idle, tied some small festive red knots and hung them on the branches in the courtyard.

The giant ’fortune’ knot in the living room looked good, but it seemed tightly and intricately woven.

Wu said: "A single red cord is simple, but it’s not easy to weave it into a large, complex, and sturdy ’fortune’ knot. How many cords do you need? How should each cord be woven and folded? How do the knots interact and arrange with one another? Not everyone can master that."

Feng Yi nodded; with that explanation, he could roughly understand.

Wu laughed and said, "Of course, synthesizing proteins is different from knotting cords, much more complex, and those active proteins in your venom are a puzzle within a puzzle! To make another comparison with knots, it’s like a complex knot that others could potentially master, having both the materials and the technique, but no matter how much they try, they just can’t weave the target pattern, or if they do, it’s not sturdy and soon falls apart.

"Artificial synthesis technology has made leapfrog advancements during the period of climate anomalies, and Progenitor Laboratory is no exception. They have the technology, but they still can’t synthesize the active proteins in your venom, because they require specific enzymes, as well as other substances that aid in the folding and assembly of proteins into the desired final structure. And these enzymes and substances only exist in your venom, unattainable by others."