Chapter 72: The Secret of Compound 5
Governor's Island, underground laboratory.
Bob, who was wearing a white lab coat with thinner hair, welcomed Wei Chen in.
Walking with Wei Chen was Lian Luo, who was there last time.
She was wearing an open sweatshirt on the upper body, trendy jeans on the lower body, high-top shoes, and a long ponytail tied up, looking very fresh and neat.
After saying hello to the boss, Bob welcomed the two into the laboratory.
"Is there any progress in the research of compound No. 5?"
Wei Chen asked.
Bob shook his head, "Actually, at present, we only know that its body is a superantigen virus, and the RNA characteristics contained in it can promote the evolution of the human body. For more characteristics, we still need further research."
Wei Chen nodded, showing understanding, and at the same time introduced Li'an to Bob, "Miss Li'an has some information on Compound No. 5, I think it should give you some inspiration."
Li An held a large pile of documents in his hands, and when he heard Wei Chen's words, he gently placed the documents on the conference table.
After organizing the language, he said: "When my father was studying Orientalism at the University of Leipzig in Germany, he met a wealthy European businessman, Edward Travis. His grandfather, Oswell Edward Travis Weiss was once an adventurer. Adventure and exploration prevailed in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, and many young people who were interested in exploring the world and becoming famous in one fell swoop, and Mr. Oswell was one of them. "
Bob adjusted the frame of his glasses, "Yes, adventure exploration was really popular at that time."
Lean continued: "Influenced by David Livingstone's exploration achievements in Africa, Oswell went to the African continent five times for exploration, and conducted research on the geography, climate, animals, plants, minerals and folklore of these areas. careful inspection.”
"During his fifth African expedition, he went to the Republic of Mali in West Africa, where he discovered a special ore in a Tuva gathering place near the 'Death Delta' desert in Mali. The whole body was irregular blue blocks. body, which the locals call 'Julie's Stone'."
"Julie Stone?"
"Yes, 'Julie' means 'great miracle' in the local language. Mr Oswell hadn't really seen it because 'Julie Stone' had already been banned by the local government when he came to this gathering place. Take it away, he just recorded it according to the description of the locals."
Lean said as he pulled out a blueprint from the data pile, which drew a blue, irregular block-shaped crystal stone.
"This is the 'Julie Stone' depicted by Mr. Oswell in "A Survey of Natural History in Africa". After Mr. Oswell returned to China, he was met with a cold academic reception. Many experts and scholars believed that the book he wrote was a very interesting book. Good adventure novel, but not academic."
Wei Chen picked up this hand-drawn drawing, observed it carefully, and then asked Li'an, "What does this mineral stone have to do with Water Company's Compound No. 5?"
"Mr. Oswell was stunned by the cold reception of the academic world, and died shortly after. Not long after his death, someone came forward and retracted all the 'Natural History Surveys on Africa' that had been circulating. You guessed it, this person who is it?"
"Federick Walter?"
"Bingguo! My father believes that Mr. Oswell's exclusion and disregard by the academic world is probably the result of Federick's manipulation behind the scenes, and his purpose is most likely to allow the Water family to enjoy Oswell exclusively. All the results of your exploration."
Wei Chen nodded, "The initial accumulation of capital has always been bloody, which is very logical."
Li'an took a sip of water and moistened his throat, "Speaking of 'Julie Stone', this is not an ordinary stone. Anyone who comes into contact with a stone will undergo some kind of mutation in the body. Or some organs of the body appear amazing. Change, or have superhuman strength or speed. Unfortunately, there are also people who died tragically after contact."
"Is it the reason for carrying radiation?"
asked Bob.
"It may be," continued Lean, "that Mr. Oswell obtained some powdered fragments of 'Julie's Stone' from a villager, tested the composition, and found that it was mainly sodium lithium borosilicate and fluorine. Limited by The conditions at that time were not measured in detail. Unfortunately, the sample debris has been lost."
Wei Chen rubbed his chin and asked, "So it's possible that Federico Walter used this 'Julie Stone' as a blueprint to make Compound No. 5?"
"I don't know, but it's very possible."
Li'an was just stating her own inference, she was not sure.
"Actually..."
Bob pondered, "Our researchers have found some kind of viral genetic component in Compound No. 5, which is not possessed by earth creatures. This may prove that Compound No. 5 is indeed extracted from 'Julie Stone', or some Some ingredients are associated with 'Julie Stone'."
"If we can get this thing, it must be able to help us analyze Compound No. 5."
Bob's eyes glowed at the hand-painted "Julie Stone".
"What about the location of that tribe? Can we still find out, Li'an?"
"Uh, I'm looking for..."
Lean rummaged through a pile of documents After a minute, he took out a piece of paper that was somewhat gray and old, "This is a simple hand-drawn map, which my father made with Edward Travis. drawn from the description."
Put the map on the table, point to a point on the map and say: "This is Mali's 'Death Delta', about 200 kilometers from the capital Bamako. To the east of it is Mopti, an important town in Mali. Then south along the Niger River is the ancient city of Timbuktu in the north. This tribe is located near this area.”
Lean's hand draws a triangle between the "Dead Delta Desert" and Timbuktu.
"The scope is very large, and according to what you said, this tribe has already died out. If you want to find it, it is tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack." Bob sighed.
"So...I thought of a better way."
Li'an blinked playfully, "I asked Cullen to hack into the Vought Company's database to check, and I found something new."
"What did you find?"
"The Water Company has an African research center in the capital of Mali, which was established in 1943. I think this should be the clue we are looking for."
Wei Chen raised the corners of his mouth, "Very well, it looks like we're going to gradually catch Walter's pigtails."
At the same time as he was in a good mood, Wei Chen couldn't help admiring Li An, and he only managed to straighten out the context of the matter by grasping a little clue.
This wisdom and insight alone cannot be compared by ordinary people. Is it really worthy of being a Titan?
While thinking about how to reward Li'an, Wei Chen called Grayson.
"Ashley, I need to go to West Africa, help me arrange it."
"What time? - Of course, the sooner the better."