Darkstone Code-Chapter 963 - 961: Unique Advantages

Nagariel, a group of people are studying the local tobacco leaves in a simple laboratory.

There are tobacco leaves here, as well as wild tobacco leaves.

The tropical climate combined with ample rainfall allows plants to grow very densely, which saves the professor some time.

Studying local tobacco leaves helps in selecting suitable varieties for crossbreeding or seedling growth. Before they arrived, no one had studied Nagariel’s tobacco or showed any interest in anything here.

If it weren’t for Lynch wanting to develop tobacco fields here, the professor and his team probably wouldn’t be here.

In nature, the world of plants is not so peaceful and harmonious. In order to fight for more rainwater, more sunshine, and more animal dung, the competition among plants is very brutal.

The survival of each plant in the competition indicates that they have likely eliminated at least one species.

"We found that the leaves of this wild tobacco are larger..." A young girl is making specimens of dried leaves and leaf veins. These discoveries need to be carefully recorded and preserved. When they return to their country, they will publish a series of papers to showcase their findings.

After carefully measuring two leaves, the girl cautiously placed them in a box for safekeeping.

The professor nodded while sitting on the side, "The larger leaves are for absorbing more sunlight for photosynthesis, and also to prevent other plants from getting sunlight exposure."

"Only by letting the surrounding plants die can it get more nutrients and water, making it more advantageous in root system competition."

The air here carries the earthy smell, but no one complains, and everyone works diligently.

"The alkaloid content is higher than what we have in our current samples, but the equipment here is very rudimentary, so I can’t give an accurate number..." a student conducting sample measurements provided a somewhat unexpected but reasonable answer.

The professor showed some sign of surprise on his face, "I remember we previously worked on some dry leaves..."

A smart student had already brought the shredded tobacco leaves, and the professor took out his large pipe, stuffed the tobacco shreds inside, flattened it, and lit it with a blowtorch.

He gently took a small puff, and after a few seconds of silence, his face quickly flushed red, then he immediately coughed strongly.

The intense coughing indicated that the lungs were clearing the unwanted foreign substances that had just entered, which was unusual for the professor.

He had smoked various kinds of cigarettes and rarely had such a strong reaction. This could only mean that the substances produced by these tobacco leaves, when lit, caused an instinctive rejection by his body.

After coughing for a while, his breathing gradually calmed, and his eyes were filled with tears.

"I..." he began to speak but found his voice incredibly hoarse, to the point of being unable to speak.

He raised his hand to stop those prepared to contact the emergency team. He simply walked to the experimental table, mixed something, held it in his mouth, and spat it out after a while.

"I’m fine, don’t worry too much." Looking at the students around him, his voice remained very hoarse, like it had been filed with sandpaper.

However, there was some excitement on his face. He took another puff from the pipe but didn’t inhale it into his lungs this time, just kept it in his mouth to feel the change.

It was a... hard-to-describe feeling, because raw tobacco hadn’t undergone any treatment, so there was a slight sting in the mouth, which was normal.

Then came a very peculiar change; it felt like having a mouthful of water, even stirring the air with the tongue felt like being underwater.

After more than ten seconds, he slowly exhaled the smoke and took a deep breath through his nose.

A wonderful experience.

What made him unable to speak was actually the excessive alkaloid, or nicotine, which irritated his throat, causing redness and swelling, so earlier he couldn’t speak well, possibly even his vocal cords were swollen.

In the wild, anything can happen. Perhaps these tobacco leaves evolved to produce more alkaloids over time to reduce targeting by herbivorous animals.

This would make those animals feel a sense of poisoning after eating this wild tobacco, leading them to believe these things were toxic and shouldn’t be eaten casually, thus reducing the chance of being consumed.

Nature is so magical!

At this moment, nicotine quickly entered the bloodstream through the oral mucosa, and the intricate spirit nerves began transmitting information. Soon, the professor felt a sense of satisfaction.

This feeling is hard to describe. Every person’s sense of satisfaction is different.

Some people think of kissing when they feel satisfied, and the feeling of merging brings them great joy.

Some think of candy when satisfied, and the feeling nicotine brings is many times stronger than the satisfaction from eating candy.

And there are others who, at this moment, think of pulling out all the stool from their stomach in one go—the pleasure of a smooth completion after constipation is the ultimate satisfaction.

"Are the sources of these tobacco leaves marked?" The professor dug out the tobacco leaves in the pipe that hadn’t burned out yet. Compared to enjoying the nicotine, he cared more about the satisfaction money brings.

A student nodded, "We have already marked them."

The professor sighed with slight relief, "Go take a look and see if there’s an opportunity to collect some seeds, and also expedite the processing of other samples we’ve gathered. I want to know the condition of all samples as soon as possible!"

After saying that, the professor left the makeshift laboratory, as he had to tell Lynch this good news.

After taking so much money from Lynch, he had to be responsible for it.

When Lynch received the call, he was also at Every Moment’s company, contemplating the upcoming operations. The professor’s call came at the right time.

"I hope this is good news..." Lynch’s voice was unhurried and gentle, but the professor heard a tone that shouldn’t have been there.

It was a warning or something else.

"Mr. Lynch, I’m calling to give you some good news. We’ve found local wild tobacco leaves."

"Its alkaloid content is higher than Mariluo’s, with wider, thicker, and very beautiful leaves!"

The professor praised the wild tobacco leaves discovered in Nagariel as if he were praising his wife, although he didn’t know why he had such a thought, and quickly pushed it out of his mind.

After Lynch heard this, he pondered for a while, "Its quantity?"

"A lot, and... hsss..."

The professor suddenly made a noise like the reaction people have when injured or suddenly plunged into icy water, inhaling sharply.

Lynch didn’t know what happened, and with apparent concern, asked, "What’s wrong?"

"No, nothing, just a mouse. I hate mice!" The professor’s voice showed no anomaly, and Lynch didn’t think much of it.

"I’ll arrange for someone to investigate the distribution of these wild tobacco leaves there shortly, and then gather some for processing and send them back."

"Besides, do you have any other needs?"

"Like equipment for research?"

The professor’s breathing sounded a bit rapid, "Precision instruments will soon be destroyed by the environment here. Once I have enough materials, I’ll return to the Federation, so you don’t need to prepare anything else..."

"Very well, hopefully, more good news..."

After hanging up the phone, the professor looked down at the girl student in front of him. In fact, he was quite repulsed by this situation.

A professor is a professor; a student is a student. There’s no need to take it to this extent.

But... this girl student was too enthusiastic. As a teacher, one shouldn’t dampen a student’s enthusiasm, as that’s not the attitude of a teacher.

Seeing the girl student being somewhat hesitant, the professor frowned slightly, "Is it about staying at school?"

The girl’s family conditions were good, a Middle-Class family, or she wouldn’t be able to afford college.

She just chose a non-mainstream major, and this was her own decision, which also meant her future path wouldn’t be easy. She had to pay the price for her choice.

Upon graduation, she could either go to a private research institute or a laboratory, or stay at school. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

It’s not impossible to go to a private research institute or laboratory, but there the administrative power is obviously higher than the research personnel, which means those places can’t be completely considered technical, and there’s too much utilitarianism and office politics mixed in.

This is somewhat different from her initial idea, seeking a suitable private research institute or laboratory is too difficult, it is almost hopeless.

Also, everyone knows the purpose of recruiting young girls into well-benefited enterprises.

Staying at school then becomes a better choice. She can stay and be an Assistant Teacher, working with students daily, and has the chance to get some small projects from the professor. This way, she satisfies her love for plant research, simplifies the living environment, stabilizes life, and increases her income.

This is simply the best prototype for the future, but it all has a prerequisite; she must stay at school.

Every year, many people want to stay in school. The environment in school is simpler than in society; pure and attractive to these people.

This makes it not so easy.

Demand exceeds supply; this is a typical seller’s market.

The soon-to-graduate students try every method to stay in school, and she chose the simplest way.