Chapter 367: Hammond's Innovation Lab
Cheng Tian finally stopped being human; this time, the reloaded template changed from targeting a single person to an entire building, or rather, an entire department.
Although the Azure Star Katana Wielder template wasn't bad, and even came with the ability to steal eggs, it was difficult to achieve the goals Cheng Tian originally envisioned, so he washed away the Katana Wielder template with Styx Water before entering the instance.
After reloading, Cheng Tian became a humanoid laboratory.
Just one glance revealed that "Hammond's Innovation Lab" was completely useless for personal combat power, but it was Cheng Tian's first purely logistical support template in his Chosen Player career.
Jurassic World: Evolution is a simulation management game primarily set in the movie 'Jurassic World.' Players can build dinosaur-themed parks on several isolated islands, send employees worldwide to excavate dinosaur fossils and collect genes, use special technology to hatch and revive dinosaurs, attract tourists to spend money in the park, sell food to tourists, and then feed the tourists to the dinosaurs... Essentially, it's like 'Tropico,' 'Planet Coaster,' or 'Planet Zoo,' and it presents completely different gameplay depending on the player.
Some players meticulously design building layouts and dinosaur distributions, striving to provide tourists with a better park experience.
Other players treat tourists as leeks or even consumables, for example, offering free drinks but charging $100 for a single restroom visit, or simply redirecting tourist paths to carnivorous dinosaur habitats, indirectly saving on feed costs.
Some players are engrossed in researching dinosaur gene adjustments, building their own arenas, and having dinosaurs with different genes engage in one-on-one or group battles to ultimately select the strongest genes.
Cheng Tian was actually a relatively conscientious player; he couldn't bring himself to perform the bizarre operation of connecting sewage pipes to residential areas to reduce the total population by increasing disease rates.
"Where's that balding Dr. Fessenden? Don't they want your stuff anymore?"
Cheng Tian, with his quick mind, immediately realized that his loaded template had been integrated into the current world view in the form of a factional load.
This meant that his "Hammond's Innovation Lab" directly continued the previous situation, being a third party that didn't belong to any side, and he himself didn't need to deliberately join any faction.
And the bald butcher was not the final boss in the original work; he was Dr. Fessenden's private enforcer. Strictly speaking, they were in a cooperative state, so the butcher's remains could be sold to Fessenden's research institute, and naturally, they could also be sold to his Hammond Lab.
"Hey! Don't even get me started!"
It was unclear if the bald man was genuinely too straightforward or had been holding back a belly full of complaints with nowhere to vent. Cheng Tian had only just started the conversation when the guy began pouring out his woes over the phone.
"You wouldn't believe it! Ever since that old bastard published the dinosaur gene mutation report under his own name, now researching and hunting dinosaurs have become legitimate professions, and he himself has become the industry leader.
That damned research institute still needs pure technical support, making it incredibly difficult to get into the industry; there are hardly any in the world that can compete with Fessenden's Research Institute... But hunting dragons is easy to get into! Damn it, all you need is a gun, people, and guts!
Good grief! The number of competitors just exploded! I can still suppress small teams, but I wouldn't dare suppress this nationwide dragon hunt. I'd probably stir up public resentment and get beaten to death... With so many people entering the industry, the price of dinosaurs has been driven down. What used to be 'taking everything' has turned into 'picking and choosing,' and they don't treat an old customer like me with any respect at all!"
Hoo~ Such resentment! It was almost materializing through the virtual receiver!
Cheng Tian just listened quietly to the rambling on the other end, but he didn't take all the content of the conversation at face value.
After all, Cheng Tian didn't know the butcher that well, and he wasn't sure if the outburst was feigned or deliberate, but the underlying message was clear: Fessenden's Research Institute's acquisition price was too low, and he wanted to try his luck with Cheng Tian's Hammond Lab.
Compared to the industry leader, Fessenden's Research Institute, most other laboratories were either blindly jumping into the hot industry or simply trying to fool people. Therefore, their acquisition prices for live dinosaurs and carcasses were very low, mainly focused on eating Fessenden's leftovers and trying to pick up scraps.
In the eyes of most people, the obscure Hammond Lab was no different, but as someone who had had quite a few interactions with Cheng Tian and personally witnessed some explosive events, the bald butcher decisively made a call when he learned that the lab's investor and 100% shareholder was Aoko.
"I don't care what kind of lab you are, as long as the price is reasonable, I'll sell to you."
The bald butcher, after venting, was clearly quite dissatisfied with the balding old man.
"Alright, it just so happens I'm also in a development phase and indeed need materials. The price will be 30% higher than the market price, but I need to confirm the type and quality of the dragon carcass materials you have first."
"No problem, I still have that much professional integrity. After all, I was among the first to enter this industry, and my reputation is guaranteed. I definitely won't try to fool you with dinosaur scraps. If it weren't for that old man being so disrespectful and aggressively driving down prices—"
The bald butcher, still muttering, hung up the phone.
At the same time, a delivery notification from the bald butcher popped up on Cheng Tian's end.
[You have received a list of dinosaur carcass materials from the plot NPC "Bald Butcher." You can select the materials you need based on your requirements and acquire them by spending Chosen Coins.
After selection, the corresponding materials will be delivered in 1 hour.
Dinosaur carcass materials will automatically be converted into genetic collections in the 'Genetic Collection Library,' available for you to use the 'Ancient Creature Incubation' skill at any time.]
Cheng Tian opened the bald butcher's material list and noticed a significant increase in the number of carnivorous dinosaurs. In addition to the still considerable number of herbivores like Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Pachycephalosaurus, there were also materials for Velociraptors, Deinonychus, and Allosaurus, including even some individuals with gene fragments like spades and diamonds.
It was unclear whether his strength had increased enough to hunt genetically mutated carnivorous dinosaurs, or if the industry's fierce competition forced him to hunt rarer, more valuable carnivorous dinosaurs that fetched a higher price.
The material recovery prices ranged from dozens to hundreds of coins, which indirectly proved that Chosen Coins had strong purchasing power in this instance.
And among them, a dinosaur carcass with a recovery value of several thousand was precisely one of the ancient creature genomes Cheng Tian needed most—
The Heart-mutated Apatosaurus carcass fragment!