The Industrialist

The next day.

Dome, HomesteadGreen Sector, Axe Central

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It was the time for their in-vitro project inspection. It was three weeks since they planted plant tissues and placed them inside vials for propagation.

As he went inside the laboratory, Lance saw Jaqi standing in front of the rackings with her white lab gown on, pulling the vials one by one and watching the bottom of the vials for root growth.

Lance placed his lab coat on and underwent the body filtration process. As he went in, Jaqi greeted him with a smile. With all that's happening and being involved in the attacks in Steelpoint and the attack on his home by two Abominated humans, Jaqi's smiled somehow relieved him.

He could not explain it, but her smile, with her smoky eyes crystallized, somehow gave him a refreshing feeling. A feeling of assurance that everything would be ok.

"Hi," Jaqi said with her soft voice.

"Hey. How are the plants?" Lance asked and took one vial in his hand and inspected the growth, too.

"It's working. The bacterial medium we used is effective for tissue culture growth. It's a success, Lance."

Looking at the racking, Lance had a jolt of something inspiring as the racks were filled with greens. The leaves of the plants crawled a little over the brim of each vial. It worked. They managed a breakthrough to propagate plants by the use of an adult plant's tissue and managed to multiply to five hundred seedlings.

It was a breakthrough indeed. On the other rack, he found his Aiveez seedlings had grown tripled their sizes. The racks was filled with bluish leaves, also crawling out the brims of the vials.

He squinted at Jaqi who had streaks of smiles as she circled back by the rackings and inspected random vials in each level of the racks. She probably had not heard the news about the attacks and him being hailed as a savior. Or probably, what was happening in Commoner's sectors did not capture the interest of the high echelons.

"Remember, we have our defense tomorrow," Jaqi reminded.

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"Committee defense?" Lance asked. His heart thumped against his chest. He was not prepared for all that was happening. He forgot the schedules and he should prepare for at least a week before a project defense. He hoped Jaqi would spearhead everything, but he knew it wouldn't be the case. He should participate in the defense to maintain his stark reputation with the panelists and also to Jaqi.

"Of course. The whole panel will be there. So, we will bring the two plants in one rack. As you said, we can defend it better knowing it's compatible with different plant species."

"That's right." He responded, but what would transpire tomorrow was still blurry.

"Have you studied the bacteria composition? I know the panelists will concentrate their questioning on the composition of our bacterial medium."

"Hmm. Yeah." His voice was shaking. "I can run over the formulas tonight and refresh my memory. Also, they would question maybe the choice of our plant species."

"You can handle that. Don't worry Lance, I know you are not that prepared with everything that happened days ago."

"So, you know about the attacks?"

"Of course. You are in the News One, Lance. You are again, famous! Some say you are a rising celebrity now."

"I don't know about that. People are just rectifying the hype."

"No. The people are enraged to know more about you. I don't know if you have received messages lately. My friends are even asking about you."

"Your friends?" Lance asked. He knew that Jaqi was also famous and encircled with high-echelon influential friends.

"Yes. They know that we partnered in this project, so they are eager to be acquainted with you, the savior of Steelpoint. My father is even asking questions about you. He said that he offered you something for his department."

"Yeah. He offered me something. To be a weapons inventor of CBD."

"What? Weapons inventor? That's great, Lance. That is confidential information. You should not be bragging about it."

"Why? Are you saying that it is a big deal?"

"Of course, Lance. Can't you see? The CBD holds the military and security of this city. And you became one of them, holding one of the most important jobs in their department. If someone gets hold of you, especially the rebels, they will know what the Government is working on through you. So, I know you are being protected by SHF agents now."

Jaqi was right. Lance did not see it for the first time because of his involvement with the rebels. However, for the people who feared the rebels, his position held a high level of risk for the Government. He would have highly confidential materials in his possession.

"Yeah. They are standing outside the Dome. Two of them actually. It kinda freaks me out, following me everywhere I go."

"I know. Father told me about it. Well, he sees a lot of potential from you and he wants you to grow in rankings. It's a special offer actually, he pulled some strings to pull it off. The Corporation was hesitant, it could be a precedent."

"Precedent? Precedent of what?"

"There will be rumors that the Government and the Corporation favored a scientist and has grown into ranks because of these special offers. Other Scientists would be complaining that they are more qualified than you and why the offers are only being made available for you, and not to the Scientists out there."

"Probably, because they are not hailed the savior of the city," Lance released a laugh, and Jaqi chuckled a bit.

"You're right. They did not risk their lives during the attack. How was it? My father said that you are being targeted."

"The attack? Hmm. It was devastating. Half of the sector was destroyed. Countless casualties. It was horrifying.

People were screaming and dying."

"The media said that the bodies they counted were around five thousand dead. They are still counting the bodies now. That's a lot of people. I can't imagine that kind of cruelty. The media is saying that it is being orchestrated by the rebels. Just like what happened with the wolf."

Lance hasn't heard the news lately and he only knew the amount of dead citizens by Jaqi. He could not even imagine the horror brought by the Wolf Abominant that killed only dozens. And for five thousand dead, that's incomparably horrifying. The attack was strategic. Even though Lance had not witnessed it all, he knew that the police could not stop the Abominants without his poison bombs.

They hardly stopped one level 3 Wolf Abominant, how much more of a horde that comprised some level 2s?

"That's terrible news, Jaqi." Lance sobbed.

"I am sorry, Lance. I know you've been in Steelpoint for years. You have friends who may be affected by the attack."

Lance did not answer. He was sad, for sure. But he had little friends in the Sector. He was not that sociable. His friends developed when he involved himself with the rebels. He was more concerned with the rebels now.

Then the thought of his Ultragenerator came to mind again, reminding him of the crisis that they were experiencing. He got to move fast, he convinced himself mentally.

"So, good luck to us tomorrow?" Jaqi said with a reassuring smile. Probably, she noticed that Lance had not responded her last statement, hence, she redirected the topic.

Lance nodded.

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