Chapter 369 - 366: The Strictest in History

Li Qingye calmly instructed, "Jasmine, I need to use the conference machine."

"Yes, sir."

A moment later, Sangjibada Laiyal appeared with several Soldiers, wheeling in a computer with a large screen.

As she operated the device from a control panel on its side, she asked, "Sir, who needs to be notified to join?"

"The Medical Division and the other members of the management."

"Okay, it'll be ready in a moment."

About twenty-four minutes later, everyone who had been notified of the meeting had put down their work and logged into the video conference room one by one.

The holographic projection equipment quickly activated, displaying them in a virtual conference room.

Li Qingye put on his holographic-assisted glasses.

"Everyone, I've asked you to join this meeting despite your busy schedules because some issues have come up in the Medical Division's recent annual report."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sangjibada Laiyal immediately shared the section of the Medical Division's annual report that Li Qingye had excerpted with all the participants.

Everyone quickly began to read it.

Anything that Li Qingye treated with such importance was bound to be a serious matter.

The head of the Medical Division, Zhao Jingsi, looked thoughtful. After all, he had personally reviewed the report, so he knew which parts were likely to attract attention.

Gafei Fernando flipped through the excerpted document, a grave expression soon appearing on his face. "Has it already reached such a serious state?"

Zhao Jingsi nodded. "Yes, Minister Fernando. Currently, human genes all over the world are showing varying degrees of damage."

The expressions of the others also changed slightly.

Their first reaction to this trend was to wonder if it was fake. Then they remembered that this data was collected by Homo Sapiens itself, meaning its authenticity was absolutely reliable.

Qiu Yingle turned and asked Zhao Jingsi, "Minister Zhao, does the Medical Division have any countermeasures?"

At this, Zhao Jingsi gave a wry smile. "It's a large-scale environmental problem—an issue with the entire global ecosystem. Unless we build a completely independent, self-sustaining ecosphere, it will be very difficult to solve this problem at its root."

Hearing this, everyone looked disappointed.

Fang Xincheng, the head of the Supervisory Department, didn't seem disappointed, however. He still believed that humanity could solve the problem with technology in the future. The key now was to buy time—to delay until that new technology emerged. He spoke up and asked:

"Then are there any palliative solutions? Something to at least slow things down."

Li Qingye, who had been silent for over ten minutes, finally spoke:

"This is also why I've gathered you all here. Although we have the technology to repair genes, it isn't mature and carries certain risks. We first need to find a way to slow the spread of genetic damage. As long as we can delay it for ten or twenty years, the gene-repair technology will have matured by then, and the problem will be easily solved."

Fang Xincheng pinched the bridge of his nose. "In terms of pathogenic factors, I believe it's necessary to develop countermeasures for the top five."

The top five pathogenic factors capable of causing genetic damage were: radioactive materials, X-rays, nicotine, microplastics, and solar radiation (deep ultraviolet rays).

As the head of the Industrial Department, Liu Zhifan thought for a moment. "I propose we eliminate tobacco. It's one of the few factors our company can completely eradicate. Oh, and e-cigarettes should be eliminated as well."

"I disagree." Gafei Fernando shook his head. "We have to consider the issue of older employees who smoke. It's not a problem for the New Human employees, though."

After a heated discussion, the group finally came up with a comprehensive plan to deal with the nicotine factor.

A total of fifteen countermeasures were established.

These included: a comprehensive campaign to publicize the dangers of smoking; allowing only employees who had lost their reproductive ability to purchase tobacco and related products; and a strict ban on smoking in any public area within the company.

The sale of any tobacco or related products within the company was strictly prohibited. Possession of five grams would constitute a crime, punishable by caning and at least one month of imprisonment. Possessing a large quantity would result in a direct death sentence.

There were other measures as well.

This set of countermeasures meant that Homo Sapiens Company was about to internally implement the strictest smoking ban in global history.

In this context, "smoke" was no longer limited to just tobacco. It also included the nicotine in e-cigarettes, chemical aerosols from spray paint, and the often-overlooked cooking fumes from kitchens.

When it came to tobacco and e-cigarettes, the company took a zero-tolerance approach, with no intention of compromising whatsoever.

However, a zero-tolerance approach couldn't be applied to spray paint and kitchen fumes.

Regarding spray paint, in addition to a full upgrade to automated painting equipment, all painting work was required to be conducted in dedicated spray-painting rooms. Employees in spray-painting positions had to have comprehensive protective gear.

Furthermore, all manually operated spray paint cans sold on the market were to be pulled from the shelves, and individuals would no longer be allowed to purchase these cans and bottles.

After all, an individual who purchased a can of spray paint would most likely use it without even wearing a mask.

The health risks involved were simply too significant to ignore.

As for kitchen fumes, in addition to requiring restaurants to be retrofitted, the company would also fund modifications to all employees' home kitchens.

All open-plan kitchens were to be converted into enclosed kitchens. Range hoods had to be equipped with purifiers, kitchen appliances were to be as automated as possible, and several gas-mask-style helmets with built-in air filters would also be provided.

Of course, the company also advised employees to reduce the amount of cooking they did at home and to eat in the employee cafeterias as much as possible.

After all, strict adherence to these recommendations within the home would depend on the individual, especially some of the older, non-New Human employees, many of whom were very stubborn.

The restaurants, on the other hand, were company property and had to implement the company's regulations without compromise. The level of protection for workers there would certainly be higher than at home.

After discussing nicotine and other chemical pathogenic factors, the group turned their attention to the remaining four pathogenic factors.

Among them, the issue of solar radiation didn't actually require discussion.

This was because the research station in Antarctica had recently submitted reports indicating that Earth's ozone layer had almost fully recovered.

The previous problem with solar radiation had mainly been exposure to large amounts of ultraviolet light, which was an issue of dosage.

Qiu Yingle asked Zhao Jingsi, "The microplastics should be solvable, right?"

Zhao Jingsi nodded. "Yes. The Symbiotic Gu within our bodies can clear out any microplastics that enter."

"What about the natural employees?" Fang Xincheng asked, looking at the current population data.

According to the latest statistics from the personnel department, Homo Sapiens Company currently had a total of 913.72 million employees. Of these, 273.68 million were New Human employees, and the rest were natural employees.

Li Qingye thought for a moment. "We can handle the natural employees this way: the Medical Division can roll out a microplastic removal treatment plan and periodically perform microplastic purges for them."

"No problem," Zhao Jingsi nodded.

Fang Xincheng inquired, "Can we reduce the concentration of microplastics in the environment?"

"Actually, our company's internal use of plastic products is already very low," Liu Zhifan explained with a smile.

Homo Sapiens Company's use of plastic products was indeed very low. This was related to the plastic-free movement the company had been promoting ever since the establishment of the Hongsawaddy Branch.

Then, Liu Zhifan added, "However, it's hard to avoid microplastics in some of the food we have to purchase from outside sources. There are also microplastics in the oceans, so the seafood we harvest more or less all contains them."

Hearing this, everyone frowned.

In the end, it all came down to the fact that Homo Sapiens Company was currently just a regional megacorporation, not the ruler of Earth. It was powerless to solve global environmental problems.

After all, no matter how well you governed things within the company, others would continue to discharge massive amounts of pollutants. Through atmospheric and water cycles, these pollutants would inevitably find their way inside Homo Sapiens Company's territory.

It was simply too difficult.