That's right, what looked like the highest point of the mountain wasn't just a cave entrance, it was actually the main gate to a Biotech R&D Company's lab. It looked primitive, with barely a hint of modern tech, but this was exactly the "laboratory" Jun Bao had mentioned. And in the future, this place would become one of the biggest players in developing post-apocalyptic food, reshaping how humanity ate in the end times.
Tch, who would've thought something this shabby could hold such weight.
From the top, the cave plunged deep into darkness, layer after layer of recessed platforms spiraling down along the walls.
"Miss Jing, take a look. There are fourteen levels in total. It's not that big, but each floor has its own space for different kinds of experiments. The facilities are complete, too. Its biggest feature is that it has a relatively full ecological cycle. Resources can be reused, and energy can sustain itself. That's what makes it different from those other money-burning, resource-hungry labs in the apocalypse."
Song Bin wiped his sweat. To be honest, it was just a fancy way of saying they were poor. Without strong backing, survival came first, research second. Actually, with the Jun family's power, they could've built a real, high-end lab. But this one? It belonged to Young Master Jun himself—or rather, it was co-owned with someone else.
Thinking about that "someone," Song Bin's face twisted. Today's visit might not go smoothly. He'd heard rumors the two had argued over shares before, and now Jun Shao was openly offering so many of them…
"The biogas from waste solves the power issue and doubles as fertilizer. The first floor's a vegetable garden. Let's go take a look." He sounded like a real estate agent showing off his property.
But this time, the lab would soon include Jing Shu's shares. That made it her property too, and she had every reason to inspect it carefully.
The old, creaking, hand-cranked lift swayed as it lowered them to the first floor. It wasn't powered by electricity, saving every drop of energy. The thing ran purely on leverage. Still, Song Bin's heart was pounding. If something snapped, the lift would drop straight to the bottom, and he'd be splattered beyond saving. Couldn't they spend a little extra to make this safer?
"Vegetable garden?" Jing Shu stepped off the rattling lift and stared at the walls, which were crawling with all kinds of terrifying mushrooms. The garden around them was filled with strange plants that didn't need sunlight. Some had black, spiky leaves, others bore long purple fruits, and some produced black, knotted clusters with tiny lumps all over them, each lump sprouting a single long hair.
Even worse, a patch of blinding white covered one entire wall. They looked like gigantic spores, pulsing and squirming like living worms. Every time muddy water dripped down, they'd twitch and rise upright all at once.
If someone bit into one, Jing Shu wouldn't even doubt it'd spurt white fluid.
She grabbed one of the white spores. It struggled like crazy, its dark roots clinging to the wall. Jing Shu tugged at it with interest, amused, but Song Bin panicked. "Holy crap, was Miss Jing not afraid at all?"
"These are vegetables?" Jing Shu had lived long enough to see a lot, but these creepy things were something else.
Song Bin forced a smile, then quickly shook his head. Covering his mouth, he pulled her toward the next level. Everyone down here was nuts anyway, actually enjoying this disgusting stuff. "The second floor's for livestock. All the manure gets sent to the biogas system."
There weren't many animals, and the ones there didn't look normal either.
On one platform stood five or six chickens. Or maybe. Some had six wings, some had four legs, and one had two bodies. The most outrageous one was a hermaphrodite chicken, snuggling with itself—or maybe another one? Jing Shu couldn't even tell how many there were.
"I should've brought Xiao Dou here to see what real mutation looks like. Someone always finds a crazier way."
There was also a boar and a sow. They looked relatively normal, though both were so skinny their ribs showed.
When Jing Shu and Song Bin reached the floor, a few people were gathered around the pigs, sighing.
"Failed again."
"Damn it, what went wrong? The genetic sequence and chromosomes are all correct, the embryos too!"
"I'm telling you, it's the sow's fault."
"Come on, stop wasting time with excuses. Just mess with the sequence already. If the chromosomes go haywire, we'll at least know what comes out of it. Worst case, we end up with three-headed, six-armed freaks like those chickens. Not too bad, right?"
"Once we use that stuff, there's no going back."
Their argument got heated fast.
Song Bin wanted to cry. Great, just great. He had to run into a bunch of lunatics first thing today.
"Yo, Song Bin's here. Got some news for us?"
Finally, someone noticed the newcomers. Jing Shu frowned. If this place became part of her assets, she'd have to invest in better security. In the apocalypse, unsafe meant dead.
Song Bin forced a polite smile. "Brother Zhuzi, I brought Miss Jing, who's signing the contract today. Young Master Jun should've told you already, right? It's about the share transfer. Miss Jing's providing the lab's energy supply."
He quickly added, "This is Jun Shao's partner, Xie Zhuzhu, the director here. He handles all lab operations. Don't be fooled by his age, he's one of the youngest scientists in China."
What kind of scientist? Song Bin didn't dare say. He really couldn't.
But Xie Zhuzhu didn't even look up. He was crouched beside the sow, gently patting her while checking her condition. Hearing the commotion, he waved impatiently. "No time, no time. We'll talk in a few days. Until I fix this problem, I'm not doing anything else. I don't care who shows up."
That was just how stubborn Xie Zhuzhu was.
Song Bin froze. "Oh, hell no. Miss Jing only had three days before heading back to Wu City."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. Seriously, what kind of mess did she walk into this time? She had way better things to do.
She marched straight toward him, and Song Bin trembled. "Was Miss Jing really going to use force? That couldn't end well!"
But then, Jing Shu pushed through the crowd and crouched beside him.
===
"Shao" (少) is short for 少爷 (shàoyé).
少爷 (shàoyé) literally means "young master." It's a term used to address the young son of a wealthy or influential family, similar to "Young Master" or "Heir" in English.
少 (shào) is the abbreviated form. When attached to a surname or, in this case, what seems to be part of a name/clan title "Jun," it becomes "Jun Shao"—a casual yet respectful way to say "Young Master Jun."