74 CHAPTER 74
San Francisco, Silicon Valley.
This place can be said to be the most concentrated hub of high-tech industries in the world, with the headquarters of major companies and many others located here.
However, it is not just these companies that make Silicon Valley the gathering place for Earth's technological essence.
The real reason that sets Silicon Valley apart is that it houses the most important branch of Star Labs!
The Alien Technology and Metahuman Physiology Research Institute.
In terms of relevant technology, it outperforms even the headquarters in Metropolis.
After all, Star Labs in Metropolis is more like a metahuman prison than a laboratory.
The Star Labs San Francisco branch is located in a relatively remote part of Silicon Valley, with more than a dozen large research facilities occupying vast land, equivalent to two big companies combined.
So much so that Yuri felt it shouldn't be called Star Labs, but rather Star Tech Park.
Yuri, accompanied by Beast Boy, arrived at the location of Star Labs.
Gar seemed quite familiar with this place, and the two of them entered without any obstacles, not even needing to verify their identities.
Occasionally, they met a few researchers on the way, and Gar greeted them like old friends.
Clearly, he had been here frequently.
Yuri speculated that Beast Boy might have been one of the test subjects here before.
Wally had told Yuri that he could freely use Star Labs' equipment, so why not take advantage of it?
Gar led Yuri into the largest building in the middle, which looked like a hall at the entrance.
However, there were no "receptionists" in this hall, only two robots standing motionless in the corners.
Pushing open the small door on the left side of the hall, they entered a not-so-long corridor, and at the end was an elevator.
Gar placed his hand on the fingerprint lock on the wall.
Ding!
The elevator door opened.
"I still can't believe you turned off my TV."
Walking into the elevator, Gar, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke with resentment.
"If I didn't do that, I doubt you'd stop watching the Discovery Channel until the end of the world." Yuri shrugged innocently.
"I watch the Discovery Channel because I love animals. Do you know how many different species of animals exist on Earth? Known and unknown, what they can do? How they look? I'm utterly fascinated by it," Gar said with a glint of yearning in his eyes.
"Got it," Yuri nodded.
Not long after, the elevator stopped on the 27th floor.
"Come on, let me introduce you to a new friend. She'll tell you what's here."
Gar stepped out of the elevator, facing Yuri, and gestured with his thumb behind him.
"Her?"
Yuri raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, her name is Karen Duncan. Many years ago, she was also a member of the Teen Titans. However, after she got married, she stopped being a superhero and started working at Star Labs," Gar introduced. "She is the chief researcher here, and by the way, her former code name was Bumblebee."
"Bumblebee? Does that mean there's someone with the code name Optimus Prime?" Yuri searched her mind but couldn't recall any impression of this female hero. She must not be very well-known, probably a second-tier hero.
"I haven't used that name in a long time," a clear and melodious female voice came from behind Gar.
A tall and slender young woman in a white lab coat walked over, holding a thick stack of documents. She looked to be around 24 or 25 years old, a little older than Wally, with brown wavy curls and a bronze complexion.
"Karen!" Gar greeted Karen Duncan with joy and gave her a hug.
"Are you doing well recently? And what about Mal?" he asked.
"Not bad, just facing a little challenge in my research lately, but I'll figure it out," Karen replied confidently, then turned her attention to Yuri.
"You must be Yuri Sotos, right? The tech genius that Wally mentioned."
"If there's no one else named Yuri Sotos here, then yes, that's me," Yuri shrugged.
"Nice to meet you, Yuri. I guess you're here for some research work, right? I'm not wrong, am I?" Karen asked.
"I suppose I am. Who wouldn't want to come to Star Labs for research? It's recognized as the pinnacle of world technology," Yuri answered. "When Wally told me I could use Star Labs' equipment for my research, you can't imagine how excited I was. I'm grateful for the cooperation between Star Labs and the Teen Titans."
"So, this might sound a bit arrogant, but if you have any research difficulties, I can help. It's my way of repaying you for using your experimental equipment," Yuri said.
"It seems like you have great confidence in your knowledge, and I admire people like you who are self-assured. So, let me take you to see your personal laboratory," Karen evaluated Yuri with approval.
"Wait, did you say I have a personal laboratory?" Yuri was taken aback. He had just entered Star Labs not too long ago, and now he already had his own personal lab?
"Oh, that's the lab Vic used before. After the Watchtower base was built, he never came back. But we've kept his lab intact, and he has agreed to let you have it," Karen explained, understanding Yuri's thoughts and offering an explanation.
"Hey, buddy, just follow Karen and focus on your research here. I'm going back to watch TV," Beast Boy bid farewell to Yuri and turned back to the elevator.
As for Yuri, he followed Karen to the central data monitoring room, where his fingerprint, iris, and palm print information were recorded in the security system.
This allowed Yuri to freely access Star Labs; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to use the elevator.
Then Karen led him to his personal laboratory. Under normal circumstances, personal labs were not to be disturbed unless there was an emergency.
The lab was well-equipped and sophisticated, capable of supporting almost any form of research, except for scenarios requiring large particle colliders or supercomputers. Essentially, Yuri could hide in there and not come out.
What pleased Yuri even more was that there were no surveillance devices inside.
Thus, Yuri spent a significant amount of time in this lab.
He accessed extensive research materials, primarily related to extraterrestrial technology and metahuman genetics.
Gray Matter's knowledge reserves began to exponentially skyrocket.
After absorbing the necessary knowledge, Yuri began to turn what he had learned into tangible products.
Several days later, Yuri stared at the small chip a few millimeters in size in front of him, his eyes circled by dark circles. It was the marvelous solution he had researched through days and nights – a Similar Gene Analysis System.
As the name implied, this system could scan and analyze the similarity between different genes.
Once this chip was installed in his omnitrix, whenever Yuri scanned the DNA of a metahuman, the chip would automatically search for highly similar DNA within the omnitrix's database.
Normally, the omnitrix could only unlock the corresponding sample when encountering DNA that was identical to the samples in the database. However, with the Similar Gene Analysis System, it would unlock as long as the DNA had some resemblance.
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