The joint meeting between February City and June City.
He Kui saw many familiar faces there, aside from Durandal, there was also Lenore.
Everyone else, except for Lenore, was slightly surprised to see He Kui.
Although He Kui was the head of the Design Bureau, this wasn't within his area of expertise.
The meeting was chaired by February City's City Councilor, Elsmann, who was Dearka's father.
Perhaps having already learned something from Patrick, Elsmann didn't seem too surprised when he saw He Kui upon entering the meeting and didn't say much.
"Let's get straight to the point then."
"I assume everyone has already familiarized themselves with the details of this biological invasion incident from the materials provided."
"What I want to know is the time you need."
"Let's start with the PLANT National Genetic Research Institute."
The meeting began under Elsmann's composed voice.
Broadly speaking, the meeting focused on refining the details of the three main approaches.
For example, the time required for each solution, as well as the investments needed.
Then, from a higher perspective, balancing the progress of the three methods.
At the end of the meeting, the primary focus was chosen to be the specific biological agent.
This was the simplest and fastest approach.
Of course, even with sufficient funding, this "fast" approach would still take over two months.
The other two projects were also underway simultaneously, but relatively speaking, they didn't have as much funding or personnel.
As soon as the video conference ended, Lenore approached him privately.
"How much longer until the Hydroponic Pods are ready?"
Lenore asked directly.
"It's still the same timeline, two months is the fastest."
"Hmm."
"And even with the Hydroponic Pods, it would take at least half a year to fully deploy them."
That was the food supply for the entire PLANT. To fully deploy it in June City, half a year was already considered fast.
"Time might not be on our side. Regardless of cost, start rolling out the production lines, and the prototype Hydroponic Pods need to begin trial production as well."
Lenore said.
This technology didn't need to be fully completed to be used, but the costs couldn't be reduced. However, compared to the potential internal turmoil, this was the only option.
"How much reserve food do we have left?"
He Kui asked, looking at the urgent Lenore.
"Only four to six months' worth. Our food warehouse on Earth was contaminated not long ago. It seems they had planned this in advance."
This warehouse wasn't as well-hidden as Genesis, and it couldn't be moved. Synthetic meat couldn't feed so many people, and it had deficiencies in both nutrition and satiety, which was why it wasn't a viable alternative.
"In any case, focus on your research. Let me know what equipment or personnel you need."
"This project has the same priority as the biological agent. Move quickly."
Lenore's demeanor was no longer as gentle as before. Her decisive manner bore a striking resemblance to Patrick's style.
"Understood. But have other countries on Earth taken any action?"
"If possible, collaborating with them would be the fastest way, right?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but cooperation isn't that simple."
Lenore shook her head.
If it were other neutral countries, it might be easier, but with Eurasia and East Asia, it was hard to say.
For now, it's a situation where everyone is fending for themselves.
"I was going to invite you over for a meal, but it'll have to be next time."
Reynota smiled bitterly.
Originally, when Athrun returned, Reynota had indeed intended to invite He Kui along, but currently, no one had the time for that.
"There will always be opportunities."
"That's all we can do for now. I wish you success in your research."
After Reynota finished speaking, she ended the communication. At this moment, He Kui also couldn't afford to be idle.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing He Kui come out with a serious expression, Shihe asked with concern.
"Biological invasion."
He Kui glanced at the people present and, without hiding anything, shared the information.
"Those Federation dogs!"
Shihe, who had finished reading the information first, immediately cursed.
"Exactly! This is so harmful and not beneficial to anyone! It's just madness!"
Sulei followed up with a comment, and even Meyrin and Luna turned red with anger.
"What about our food..."
Actually, Meyrin wanted to ask if they should stockpile food, but from the perspective of the PLANT citizens, hoarding food was not a good practice.
"We won't do anything else."
If he were still an ordinary citizen, he could certainly stockpile.
He might even make a small profit.
But now it's different; he's a council member. If he were to stockpile food based on insider information, he would be attacked by political opponents.
Moreover, based on his understanding of Patrick, if Patrick found out someone had stockpiled food based on insider information, they would definitely have to give it up later.
"There's enough food, don't worry."
He Kui reassured them.
The prototype of the Hydroponic Pod was on the asteroid. Although the yield wasn't high, it was completely self-sufficient.
And once the production lines were fully operational, although the food prices might not drop, they would at least stabilize.
After a simple meal, He Kui returned to the radar room.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, during which he and Luna still hadn't made much progress.
Over these two weeks, he spent every day either in the radar room collecting data from Cagalli or guiding the agricultural satellite in June City to start the large-scale construction of Hydroponic Pods.
As the biological invasion gradually intensified, all countries except the Atlantic Federation were in a state of distress.
Because of this move, the Atlantic Federation was almost isolated.
Why almost? Because most of the Eurasian Federation was under the control of the Atlantic Federation.
Moreover, many countries that couldn't grow food themselves became increasingly close to the Atlantic Federation.
As for East Asia, they quickly installed various protective measures and reportedly deployed many MS, with a total number not less than the military scale of PLANT and the Atlantic Federation. This silently increased everyone's awareness of East Asia's strength, which had been quiet until now.
The remaining Orb also fell into a food crisis, but being an island nation, its defenses were relatively simpler compared to other inland countries, so it managed to barely maintain.
However, the situation was still not optimistic. Even Cagalli, who usually always wore a smile, was now frowning with worry.
Although ordinary people weren't starving yet, everyone vaguely felt that a storm was coming. The global suicide and unemployment rates had significantly increased.
It was as if, besides war, there was an invisible shadow looming over everyone's hearts.
He Kui, having just returned to his room after leaving the radar room, saw the familiar face of Le Lu reporting the news on television.
[Recently, the internal grain market of PLANT has been hit by an unprecedented impact, with grain prices skyrocketing, causing widespread concern and worry among the public. According to official statistics from PLANT...]
[The reasons for this surge in grain prices are complex and varied. The frequent occurrence of extreme biological invasions worldwide, coupled with the return of the El Niño phenomenon, has led to reduced crop yields in several major grain-producing countries, thereby affecting the stability of the global grain market supply.]
[Many families have had to cut back on expenses and reduce their grain consumption to cope with the high cost of living. Some low-income families have even fallen into food shortages, with their living conditions becoming precarious.]
[To alleviate the grain crisis, the government has recently launched a grain reserve plan, releasing reserve grain to stabilize market prices. In addition, targeted measures to address this biological invasion are currently being intensively researched.]
[And the blame is being pointed directly at the Atlantic Federation.]
(End of Chapter)