Chapter 164: The Fat Boss’s Lessons

“Find a chance to visit inland.” Yang Bo looked at the mouse photo on his computer. The mouse was as big as a bamboo rat on Earth and lived in the Gobi region. Its official name was Redstone Mouse, and it was very timid, immediately burrowing into a hole whenever it sensed any danger.

There were many mice on this planet, but the others were quite aggressive. Yang Bo was worried that bringing them back might harm the Invisible Mouse.

Yang Bo still had many questions in his mind, particularly about the Gene Serum and energy suit.

He didn’t log into the game today either. Since it was a virtual game now, Yang Bo had lost interest.

Lying in the bathtub, he carefully recalled what the Fat Boss said today. He organized his thoughts, preparing to ask them tomorrow.

“The main material code for the Gene Serum should be sourced from different species.” The Gene Serum formulas the Fat Boss provided were all the same E-level gene evolution formulations.

The only difference was the main material codes. However, Yang Bo wasn’t clear on what species these materials came from. The black market website also had items with the same codes, suggesting that the materials likely came from the same species.

“The differences in preparation methods might be related to where those materials come from. After all, the growth periods and environments of the same species can vary, affecting the trace elements and energy content.” This was something Yang Bo understood well.

“But I should ask tomorrow about the grading of gene injections. How exactly are the five levels classified, and how do they evaluate them?” He had many questions in his mind.

“And with today’s advanced technology, is refining energy metal still reliant on human labor?” He also had doubts about the forging process.

After finishing his bath, he accepted the next day’s task and went to rest.

The task for the next day was simple: assist a government department in cleaning out a roadside drain.

This was one of the temporary positions offered by the government to residents. If they couldn’t find residents to fill the roles, the positions would then be offered to citizens.

Then, Yang Bo had a work meal at the company. If he hadn’t seen all the people on the Transport Ship belonging to the company, he might have thought the company was on the verge of collapse, with only the Fat Boss there every day.

“Boss, you mentioned yesterday about the grading of gene injections. How does that work?” After they finished eating and made some tea, Yang Bo asked.

Since he could get information from the Fat Boss, there was no need to visit the library yet. He could gather every bit of information from the Fat Boss first, then verify it in the library later.

“It’s about effectiveness!”

“We in the industry grade gene injections with five stars. One star indicates the minimum standard, while five stars represent the highest quality.”

“The dosage of the Gene Serum is derived from extensive data measurements. Too much can cause all kinds of side effects on the body, while too little might not be effective enough.”

“The five-star rating breaks down as follows: 90%, 94%, 98%, 100%, and exceeding 100% effectiveness.”

“Don’t underestimate a few percentage points. That small difference could be what causes your gene evolution to fail. Once it fails, the residual energy in your body from the Gene Serum turns into pollutants.”

“Since the injection’s total energy is 100%, if 90% is effective, the remaining 10% or more becomes toxic. If that 10% is toxic and neutralizes part of the effective energy, the actual absorbed energy might be less than 80%.”

“As for the 100% success rate I mentioned earlier, you’d need to pay for it yourself. The Gene Serum Company will only offer premium-grade gene injections if you foot the bill. Government-issued gene injections only need to meet the minimum standard.”

“On a deeper level, this touches upon societal issues, but that’s not something we should go into now. You’ll come to understand it yourself later. Sure, everyone talks about equality, but as you’ve probably seen, the living conditions for highly-ranked evolvers on the Transport Ship were quite different, weren’t they?” The Fat Boss explained all of this in one breath.

Yang Bo understood that the grading of gene injections depended on their effectiveness. But how did they calculate the minimum standard for effectiveness?

He speculated that it must be a decision made by the Gene Serum Company. Raising the effectiveness further might make costs skyrocket.

He wasn’t surprised by this product-based standard. Back on Earth, he’d heard of similar cases many times before.

As for the harm such a product might cause to consumers? Well, the ones setting the standards weren’t going to use those products themselves. Like the Fat Boss said, most celebrities and politicians had custom-made gene injections, or relied on secret techniques or ancient martial arts. They wouldn’t be using free gene injections.

“Boss, you mentioned yesterday that forging still requires manual labor? Why can’t modern technology handle it?” Yang Bo asked another question.

“This question involves too many things. First, I need to tell you that technology can indeed handle forging, but compared to manual labor, the cost of technological methods is more than ten times higher.” The Fat Boss wasn’t surprised by his question. In fact, he would’ve been surprised if Yang Bo hadn’t asked.

“A simple example: every energy weapon is a custom product. Like in industrial production, custom designs cost more than mass production. Which do you think is more expensive?”

Yang Bo curiously asked, “Then what about the Military?”

“The Military has its own unique system. Everything they use, from gene injections to equipment, is custom-made. But even within the Military, every officer with some money has privately made custom equipment.”

“Standard issue works, but it’s just functional… that’s all.”

“Energy suits and energy weapons are also divided into five grades, with five stars for quality. I’ll explain this in more detail once you start learning about it later. It’s a bit complex. In general, most major companies have their own forgers that serve their superpowered employees. This prevents any leaks of their employees’ information.” The Fat Boss didn’t intend to go into specifics just yet.

“Forging involves some rather difficult theories tied to ancient martial arts, although it’s not a method of cultivation.” The Fat Boss added.

Hearing this, Yang Bo wondered, “Could it involve theories of mutual reinforcement or the meridian system?”

It wasn’t that Yang Bo came up with this out of nowhere. Each time he used his abilities — like during lightning releases — the energy always surged from his palms. He could clearly feel the presence of his meridians when charging up, but no instruments could detect them.

“Got it, Boss.” Yang Bo was half convinced by what the Fat Boss said.

“The materials and tools I prepared for you to make your own formula have arrived. I’ll demonstrate the process once, and then you can take your time reviewing it. If you need more materials, you can purchase them online.” The Fat Boss glanced at his wristwatch and said.

“That was fast! Was it shipped from this city?” Yang Bo had expected that it would take a while for goods bought from the black market to arrive, but they were already here.

“I don’t know about that. Sellers and buyers on the black market can only see data from transfer stations.” The Fat Boss stepped outside the company to find a robot delivering the goods.