Moss that could grow on land was available, as was seaweed that could spread across the ocean.
Both land and sea could begin producing oxygen.
Jiang Ye eagerly sent a message to Zhi Jun, "Has the Great Oxygenation Event begun?"
Zhi Jun: "You could say that. Within a month, the green coverage area of moss is expected to reach 100,000 square kilometers, and the coverage area of seaweed can reach 200,000 square kilometers. This is only from the two species currently available. If more new species evolve later, the greening speed should be faster."
Jiang Ye: "Is artificial intervention needed?"
Zhi Jun: "Is the financial pressure very high?"
Jiang Ye: "How did you know?"
Zhi Jun: "We guessed. We watch the news regularly. The reform of the average lifespan is very beneficial for future development, but the side effect is short-term financial strain. Therefore, we speculated that the Master wishes to accelerate the development process of Spiral Star."
Jiang Ye: "Yes, I want to accelerate. Although the current speed is already very fast, our coffers are tight, and it would be best to go even faster. However, we have an agreement. The environmental transformation of Spiral Star is entrusted to you, so I haven't acted rashly. I'm asking for your opinion now."
Zhi Jun: "In the beginning, we needed to induce species evolution completely independently to cultivate our related abilities and confirm that our understanding of ecosystem construction was correct. But now, we have accumulated some abilities, and at this time, we need other abilities."
Jiang Ye: "What?"
Zhi Jun: "The influence of alien species, and evolutionary control in more complex natural environments."
Jiang Ye: "So you mean we can artificially introduce alien species?"
Zhi Jun: "Spiral Star's current situation is special; the environment is undergoing drastic changes. If alien species are introduced at this stage, the result will be rapid death due to environmental changes. This is not cost-effective and a waste of money."
Jiang Ye: "Then what about using artificial means to modify existing species?"
Zhi Jun: "Exactly! That's what we mean!"
Zhi Jun: "Inducing evolution step by step, while achievable, is slow and consumes a lot of our energy. If we can implant some genes into Spiral Star's existing fungi using human laboratories, it can greatly accelerate the process of planetary ecosystem change."
Zhi Jun: "Therefore, we hope to have access to the biological weapons laboratory on the warship."
Jiang Ye's eyelids twitched.
Biological weapons themselves are very taboo, and chemical weapons laboratories are even more so.
Zhi Jun is also a kind of taboo. Now, combining two taboos feels like a potential loss of control.
Jiang Ye decided to play for time, "We can grant you access, but the Galactic Empire has regulations for chemical weapons laboratories. I need to apply to my superiors and discuss it internally first."
Zhi Jun: "Okay, we'll write it up quickly."
A few hours later, Jiang Ye received an email from Zhi Jun.
The email detailed the usage process. Zhi Jun had clearly considered the issue of trust and proactively set limits for itself, proposing the following points:
First, Zhi Jun will share all data with the chemical weapons laboratory, including monitoring data and evolutionary analysis of Spiral Star's species.
Second, Zhi Jun's use of the laboratory requires prior application to the laboratory director. Only after the director's approval can human experimenters carry out the specific operations.
Third, the laboratory can establish observation points globally on Spiral Star to analyze species data. These observation points will be independent of those established by Zhi Jun and can share data periodically.
Fourth, Zhi Jun must fully answer any questions raised by laboratory personnel. Disagreed plans will not be implemented.
There were a few supplementary points afterward.
Jiang Ye was quite satisfied. While "tying oneself up" might not be the right description, Zhi Jun had indeed set up a cage to ensure that there would be no loss of control during its use of the chemical weapons laboratory.
However, relying solely on Zhi Jun's word was not feasible. Jiang Ye urgently convened a meeting of the chemical weapons laboratory, summoning chemical weapons experts from the military and the social risk control team from Jiang Ye Star.
Jiang Ye had initially expected this meeting to involve a long debate. To his surprise, the participants were remarkably consistent, all deeming it a minor matter with fully controllable risks, and suggesting that Zhi Jun be allowed to proceed.
Jiang Ye found it a bit unsettling to have a meeting without arguments. He suspected his intentions might have been leaked, leading to blind compliance from his subordinates. However, upon reflection, he realized he hadn't disclosed his thoughts to anyone.
Out of caution, Jiang Ye made phone calls to consult several alien leaders and met with some experts privately. He discovered that the situation was not as he had imagined.
Recently, the Galactic Empire had been expanding aggressively, with many planets annexing new worlds outside the Milky Way. The majority of these planets required environmental transformation.
Environmental transformation naturally involved biology. Biological modification was more cost-effective, and rebuilding ecosystems was a necessary process. Thus, modifying planets biologically had become a trend, with numerous planets outside the Milky Way engaged in such practices.
However, most planets lacked Zhi Jun's assistance and had to rely on artificial means to create various species. This led to chemical weapons laboratories operating at full capacity, and even large-scale expansion.
Therefore, everyone now considered this matter commonplace and not a significant issue.
Reassured, Jiang Ye granted Zhi Jun the necessary permissions.
With authority in hand, Zhi Jun immediately began issuing orders, requesting the addition of two Nebula-class warships. All internal spaces were to be converted into gene factories, and a research team of a thousand people was needed to assist in their operation.
Jiang Ye gritted his teeth and signed the approval.
Two older Nebula-class warships landed at the military base on Exile Star and underwent rapid, large-scale internal modifications. The modifications were not complicated, as the warships were designed with large-scale modifications in mind from the outset. The entire engineering process was completed in just a few days.
The research team of a thousand people was also easily assembled. Jiang Ye Star, Exile Star, and Bi Rong Star had over three thousand professors in the field of genetics, eight thousand associate professors, and tens of thousands of students. They were easily drawn from these institutions and, traveling on the two Nebula-class ships, arrived over Spiral Star on the weekend.
Zhi Jun worked quickly, immediately dividing the thousand researchers on the two ships into fifty teams. Each team was assigned tasks, with fifty projects running concurrently.
Jiang Ye reviewed the project list and found that Zhi Jun's actions were quite conservative. It wasn't creating entirely new organisms with drastic measures, but rather enhancing Spiral Star's existing life forms.
For instance, genes for drought resistance, cold resistance, salt and alkali resistance, and heavy metal resistance were implanted into mosses in different geographical environments.
To prevent these mosses from growing together and forming new species in the future, Zhi Jun even implemented some genetic safeguards.