「February 22nd.」
「East Japan.」
「Kyoto Institute of Technology.」
In a biology lab, Professor Yoshida Akira, a long-time researcher in the field of plastic-decomposing fungi, was conducting experiments with several of his researchers.
Professor Yoshida’s research in the field was extensive. He was a frequent contributor to major biology journals, and in 2017, his paper on a fungus that rapidly decomposes plastic was even published in *Science*.
Since Homo Sapiens Company had decided to release the plastic-decomposing fungus, they certainly weren’t going to do it haphazardly.
Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could take the fall for something this big. They had to find the perfect scapegoat.
After careful screening, the Foreign Affairs Division finally set its sights on East Japan. This was because the East Japanese had conducted considerable research in this field and had even achieved significant results.
Take Professor Yoshida, for instance. He had studied a fungus that could rapidly decompose plastic. It only needed about six weeks in a humid, 29-degree Celsius environment to break down a given plastic sample.
He had even published a paper on it in *Science*.
When Chen Jianxiong saw this, he was overjoyed.
’Good! Excellent! You’re the one!’
Moreover, choosing East Japan as the initial release zone had another benefit.
It was the tail end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The Siberian High still controlled north-central Asia, causing northwesterly winds to blow across East Japan. In addition, the East Japan warm current would carry it toward the Bering Sea and North America.
「Inside Professor Yoshida’s laboratory.」
Dozens of cockroaches crawled into the lab’s air circulation ducts.
The cockroaches began to spew a liquid onto the surrounding plastic pipes. Hidden within this fluid was a fungus similar to the one Professor Yoshida had discovered.
This was a plastic-eating fungus that Li Qingye had personally engineered using genetic recombination technology.
The previous strain decomposed plastic too quickly, so Li Qingye had inserted five specialized inhibitor genes to limit its capabilities.
The fungus could now only thrive in environments above 22 degrees Celsius with humidity greater than 50%. It was also easily killed by ultraviolet light, and its reproduction could be inhibited by potassium permanganate and copper hydroxide.
Under ideal conditions, it would take eight months to decompose common polyethylene, 34 months for natural rubber, and 10 to 28 months for other types of plastics.
In high-latitude, high-altitude, or desert regions with unsuitable temperatures and humidity, its decomposition rate would slow by a factor of several, or even several dozen, times.
After all, the restriction that it only reproduces above 22 degrees Celsius meant that winter in the mid-to-high latitudes would be enough to suppress its widespread proliferation.
In this regard, Li Qingye was being somewhat merciful. Otherwise, he could have just released the original strain, which was truly vicious.
With this temperature restriction, tropical regions would be the most affected.
But as for the tropical regions, Homo Sapiens Company’s headquarters was in Southeast Asia. South Asia was Tianzhu, Africa was full of primitive people, and Latin America was merely an economic colony of America.
The impact on plastic products in these regions wouldn’t be too severe. As for items like electrical cables, their lifespan could be extended simply by adding inhibitors.
In reality, the decomposition speed of the plastic-eating fungus wasn’t as fast as one might think.
Many plastic products weren’t thin films or bags, but thicker items like tires. The fungus could only rapidly decompose the surface layer. The plastic within would decompose much slower due to a lack of oxygen and moisture, with the rate decreasing as thickness increased.
It was like the difference between a single sheet of paper and a book. In the same environment, the book’s cover and the single sheet would age at a similar rate, but the pages inside the book would age several times slower.
From the beginning, Li Qingye had only wanted to eliminate the microplastics spreading through the natural world. He had left some leeway when it came to plastic products currently in use by human society.
...
「Inside Professor Yoshida’s laboratory.」
The cockroaches that had completed their mission had vanished without a trace.
But the plastic-eating fungus they left behind began to spread through the air circulation system, first throughout the lab, and then across the entire Kyoto Institute of Technology.
Meanwhile, the temperature in East Japan was rising rapidly. With March approaching and bolstered by the East Japan warm current, daytime temperatures in Tokyo were already exceeding 22 degrees Celsius.
Professor Yoshida, still engrossed in his research, was oblivious to the mountain of blame hurtling toward him.
「One week later.」
His assistant, Xiaochi Yezi, rushed in. "Professor, there’s a problem with the lab samples."
"What? What’s the problem?" Professor Yoshida quickly set down his thermos.
"The decomposition rate for samples 23 through 34 has changed, and they’ve grown some white mycelia."
Professor Yoshida asked, puzzled, "Isn’t that normal? Plastic-decomposing fungi grow mycelia. What’s all the fuss about?"
Xiaochi Yezi quickly explained, "But the morphology of the mycelia on those samples is different from the previous ones."
"A natural mutant strain?" A look of excitement crossed Professor Yoshida’s face.
He immediately led his assistant straight to the lab.
When they arrived at the lab, he saw that inside the fermentation jars, the plastic bottles and their caps were covered in white patches.
The patches were about one to three centimeters in diameter and extended fine mycelia that connected them to one another.
Professor Yoshida adjusted his glasses. "They are indeed different. Collect some samples. I want to run a genetic analysis."
"Yes, Professor!"
Soon, several researchers extracted five samples from the affected batches and began the genetic analysis.
Under an electron microscope, Professor Yoshida saw that the morphology of this "new mutant" plastic-decomposing fungus was indeed different from the strain he had previously studied.
Staring at the computer screen, he muttered to himself, ’Could it really be a mutant strain? I hope it’s a beneficial one.’
The entire lab buzzed with activity, spurred on by the discovery of this new mutant fungus.
After all, if this research led to a real breakthrough, they could achieve both fame and fortune.
East Japan’s economy was currently in a state of near-collapse. Many labs had their funding cut, and a good number of researchers had gone their separate ways.
They had either left for Homo Sapiens Company or been poached by the Far East and America.
The East Japanese who chose to stay were mostly those from well-off families. They were accustomed to their middle-class lives in East Japan and had no desire to leave.
This included people like Professor Yoshida. They possessed considerable family wealth, so neither Homo Sapiens Company nor America held much appeal for them.
Some of the more traditional-minded East Japanese even considered those who had left to be nothing but trash and traitors.
This kind of reaction was actually quite normal and, to some extent, unavoidable.
The few researchers who remained were secretly thinking to themselves, ’We have to work harder this time. Maybe we can get published in *Science* with Professor Yoshida and make those who left regret their decision.’
Little did they know, while getting into *Science* was uncertain, making international headlines was a sure thing.
At that very moment, the plastic-decomposing fungus had already spread from the Kyoto Institute of Technology to the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Carried by transport ships and ocean currents, it was rapidly disseminating in all directions.
The countdown to an unstoppable plastics crisis had begun.