Analysis of Chapter 362
Organization X ultimately did not directly answer Chen Xu's request, but they had already sent a special envoy to Las Vegas—after all, regardless of whether Number Seven was created by their adversary Taro, the perfect mechanized prosthetic limb alone was enough to excite the scientists of Organization X.
In truth, Chen Xu regretted making that promise, because this was, after all, Guan Yi's territory. This underground fortress was the Guan family's home, and theoretically, he shouldn't have been qualified to make decisions about it.
However, Guan Yi didn't care. In her words, "We have a fairly close relationship with the four major American families, so the X organization is not our enemy. On the contrary, the families need their technical support in certain areas... When they come, I will send someone to pick them up at the airport. As long as they don't know the exact location of this place, it will be fine. I have plenty of ways."
Chen Xu was relieved to hear Guan Yi say that.
Chen Xu discussed military industry matters with Guan Yi, and Guan Yi also expressed that he was powerless to help with the manufacturing of the engine.
Although the butler had a close working relationship with the Rockefeller family, the largest military-industrial conglomerate in the United States, the Rockefeller family tightly controlled the highly sensitive technology in this area. While the butler could obtain hardware of a certain technical standard through other means, the standard hardware simply could not satisfy Chen Xu!
Even Chen Xu thought the F119 engine was somewhat inferior!
There's no way around it; after all, mechs represent over forty years of technology ahead of their time, and even using the best engines available today, they're still somewhat inferior.
It seems we can only wait until the people from Organization X arrive before making any further decisions.
The scientists in the underground fortress have also published their research reports on Number Seven.
Fortunately, the scientists were very well prepared this time. The bomb inside Number Seven's body was connected to artificial muscles in Number Seven's chest and abdomen. This means that if there was extensive damage to the chest and abdomen—determined to be an autopsy—the bomb would automatically detonate.
However, with Chen Xu's guidance, the scientists at the butler's residence had already devised a solution... Instead of making an incision in the chest or abdomen, they made an incision in the back...
The bomb was successfully defused. The next number, number seven, was a pig already tied to the slaughterhouse.
This matter even alarmed Grandpa Guan. Upon seeing Number Seven dismantled into parts, even the well-traveled Grandpa Guan couldn't help but gasp in shock!
“Apart from the head and spine, we believe that the parts of his body that are currently in his body did not originally belong to him.” The beautiful and mature female scientist, Ms. Fiona, who was the butler, analyzed the autopsy data. “Although we don’t want to admit it, we have to admit that the technology of this world has developed to such a terrifying level. That is to say, no matter how much external damage a person suffers, as long as he does not die at the time, this mysterious force can reshape a body for him.”
"Of course, we are more convinced that this was the work of an organization with terrible ambitions and terrible technology. Their goal is likely to be used in future wars."
"This seventh test subject weighs a whopping 313.76 kilograms, three times heavier than an athlete of the same size. However, based on our examination through a series of methods, we don't yet know the alloy bones inside the seventh subject's body—well, let's just call this bone for now…—but we have calculated the weight of these bones through various means. Can you guess how much it is?"
Chen Xu, who understood best, quickly said, "These bones must weigh at least two hundred kilograms!"
"Wrong!" Fiona wore a smug smile. "These metal alloy bones aren't actually heavy. In terms of weight, they're only slightly heavier than ordinary bones. You know, human bones only make up less than 20% of a person's weight. But in this person's body, these bones don't even account for 5%! Because his weight isn't in his bones!"
"No way..."
“Mr. Chen,” Fiona asked Chen Xu, “I heard you fought this monster before, is that right? Could you feel that it was incredibly strong? And also, it was very fast and had explosive power!”
"That's right!"
“This is it.” Fiona pushed up her small, gold-rimmed glasses. “We all know that the main factor determining a person’s explosive power, how fast they can run, and how high they can jump, isn’t their bones, but rather…”
Chen Xu interjected, "Muscles?!"
“That’s right, it’s muscles,” Fiona gave Chen Xu an approving look. “Yes, this guy’s muscles make up nearly 90 percent of his body weight. Of course, apart from his chest and abdomen, the muscles on his prosthetics are all artificial. It is with the help of these artificial muscles that this guy has such explosive power.”
"Miss Fiona, you're saying his muscles are that heavy?"
"That's right. In our opinion, his metal skeleton is nothing special; the mystery of his muscles is what attracts us the most. With his current abilities, winning a decathlon gold medal at the Olympics would be a piece of cake. We have every reason to believe that this guy can jump more than three meters!"
Guan Yi thought for a moment and said, "But that's impossible, right? This guy's limbs were all cut off and replaced with these artificial prosthetics. But if these prosthetics are too heavy—you said, these prosthetics take up most of his body weight—how can he move freely? For example, what if we woke up one day and found that our right arm suddenly weighed ten times more? We probably wouldn't even be able to walk! And how would we control these prosthetics? We didn't realize he was a robot at first, maybe because we didn't pay much attention to him at first, but his movements are very agile!"
“That’s the most classic part of this invention!” Fiona snapped her fingers, and a chip-like object about the size of a fingernail appeared on the screen.
“This is the chip we found inside his body, controlling his limbs at the extremities, and there’s a miniature processor in his chest and abdomen that’s connected to it. We can be absolutely certain that all of this guy’s movement commands are executed through this miniature processor.” Fiona’s eyes grew increasingly fervent: “If we can decipher the contents of this miniature processor, then we can take our prosthetic limb modification technology up two or three levels!”
"Then how does he control his prosthetics? Aren't these prosthetics directly controlled by the brain through nerves?!"
"Of course not! Human research in neurology is nowhere near that powerful! However, this is a clever and entirely new approach. Although we haven't performed craniotomy on Number Seven yet, we can see some clues through X-ray examination. There should be a brainwave controller in his brain that can connect to the processor in his chest and abdomen."
"Controlling machines with brainwaves?!" Although he had already seen many futuristic things, Guan Yi couldn't help but exclaim, "Now they can read the contents of brainwaves, and even use them to issue commands?"
Fiona shook her head: "I don't think so. It's probably impossible to reach that level. If they could really master the way brainwaves work, they could do much better, but from our perspective, his approach is somewhat helpless."
"have no choice?"
"That's right, miss. If it were you, how would you control your limbs?"
Guan Yi raised his hand: "There's nothing to control. Just think of it, no, even if you don't have any ideas in your mind, your hand can move according to your will."
"That's right, that's true for us humans, and indeed for all living things on Earth. Never before have we had to consciously think about reaching for a teacup. Because neuronal transmission is incredibly fast, there's no need for conscious thought. But Number Seven is different. He has to first give commands to his processor through his brain, and then the processor transmits commands to his limbs… In other words, this external body doesn't truly belong to him. It's like driving a car—well, you could say he manipulates his body like he's playing a computer game, controlling a character in the game!"
After he finished speaking, everyone in the room fell silent.
Chen Xu and the others exchanged glances, each thinking to themselves that if they became like that, they would have to think before they fought: "Should I throw my left punch?" or "Should I throw my right punch?" How uncomfortable that would be!
Fiona adjusted her glasses: "In other words, the technology used in the modification of Number Seven isn't actually as complex and advanced as we imagined. Of course, their technological level is undeniable, especially the artificial muscles. According to our analysis, they must have incorporated some animal genes, such as fleas or kangaroos—animals known for their jumping ability and strength..."
Chen Xu and the others remained silent. However, there was some good news today. Fortunately, they had a complete Number Seven, which revealed the opponent's strength. They also gained another insight: these cyborgs had to give commands to their "bodies" via brainwaves, essentially controlling a doll wirelessly. The scientists at the butler's house were working hard to decipher the secret of this signal. Once they made progress, they might even be able to invent a controller to counter-control these cyborgs!
Of course, this goal is quite far away, but even if it cannot be controlled, a targeted jammer can be created to destroy the opponent's signal source, making the opponent unable to control their body, and then this guy will be completely useless.
They finally heard some good news, but before Chen Xu and his team could celebrate for long, bad news arrived...
The butler's men, who had been sent to the airport to meet the X organization's investigators, reported that the plane carrying two senior X organization investigators had suddenly exploded upon arrival at Las Vegas airport, disintegrating into several parts in mid-air...
None of the passengers survived!
Chapter 363 Military Industry
This was clearly not a simple accident. According to witnesses, the plane suddenly disintegrated in mid-air just before landing, accompanied by eerie flames... It looked very much like a plane explosion.
This was just an ordinary flight, the only unusual thing being that there were two senior scientists from Organization X on board.
Charles and Mihagel, the two core scientists of the X organization.
They are also the only two remaining top experts in the field of life sciences in the world, and at the same time, they are the core of the X organization, the top experts who can guide the current development of the X organization.
This is a huge blow to the X organization!
This also proves that there must be spies within the X organization!
And it's at the highest levels...
This enraged the entire X Organization! How dare they attack one of their own people, and a core member at that! This was a blatant insult to the X Organization! Therefore, the X Organization immediately began an internal purge and investigation, and simultaneously notified the Tarot Organization, demanding an explanation!
How could Tarot possibly admit that they did such a thing? Besides, Organization X itself didn't have any solid evidence, so the two sides got bogged down in a stalemate.
And at that very moment...
Test subject number seven and Yu Lang, who were imprisoned in the Butler's underground fortress and were two survivors who might know the mastermind behind it all, have died mysteriously?!
This put the butler on the defensive and on guard!
Chen Xu originally intended to interrogate these two guys thoroughly, but Number Seven was being studied on the operating table, and Yu Lang had taken an overdose of anesthesia. Although he had woken up, his mind was still quite muddled, so Chen Xu wasn't in a hurry and would wait until they were both better before interrogating them... Actually, the reason Chen Xu wasn't in a hurry was because he guessed that these things were probably done by Tarot, and the purpose, well, it was all those ridiculous things... Bribing useless people without inheritance rights in the major families, the purpose was probably to take down the major families. Chen Xu could roughly guess how exactly they would do it... These guys were, after all, still family members. They had their identities and bloodlines, which made it easier for them to get close to the patriarch and heir of their families than ordinary people.
Take Yu Lang for example. With this mechanical hand, he could easily kill the current heir of the Yu family. Of course, killing him doesn't mean he can take over. They definitely have other schemes to seize control of a large family. This is not something that can be done easily. So Chen Xu and Guan Yi are not in a hurry. They just send people to keep an eye on the traitors who have been bribed in their own family, and wait for Yu Lang to wake up and interrogate him.
This was also due to Guan Yi and Chen Xu's carelessness, especially Guan Yi. She didn't expect there to be a traitor in this underground fortress! But by the time she found out, it was already too late. Yu Lang and Number Seven had already been cut off from their lives.
"Have you found out who did it?" Grandpa Guan asked.
Guan Yi's expression was extremely unpleasant. After all, anyone would be upset if something like this happened in what she considered her safest place: "It's Dr. Liam. He's served our family for over twenty years. I never expected... Dr. Liam didn't come today. When I sent someone to his house, we found everything was gone. I never imagined that such a loyal servant would be a spy..."
Grandpa Guan nodded and sighed.
When Dr. Liam arrived at the butler's house, Guan Yi had just been born. For the past twenty years, he had worked diligently and made considerable contributions to the butler's household. Unexpectedly…
"What do you plan to do?" This was a test for the daughter.
“There’s not much to do,” Guan Yi said. “Although Dr. Liam’s betrayal may cause the family some losses and intelligence leaks, it’s probably too late to pursue it now. If we don’t investigate, Dr. Liam might still consider our twenty-year friendship and not leak some highly confidential information. But if we push him too far, we don’t know how many family secrets he actually possesses. As for the other researchers, I don’t plan to investigate them either, because doing so would make it seem like the family doesn’t trust them. The family has always adhered to the principle of trusting those we employ and not employing those we don’t trust, so let’s just let this matter pass. Besides, I believe they don’t possess any secrets that could threaten the family’s existence.”
Grandpa Guan nodded, very satisfied with his daughter's approach.
"You're saying that Guan Hong might have been bribed like Yu Lang, right?"
"Yes." Guan Hong was the son of the steward whom Chen Xu had asked Guan Yi to investigate last time. He had suddenly made great progress in his gambling skills within the past month and had earned a lot of money at the gambling table.
"You're not planning to do anything about him either?"
“That’s right. Leaving him behind is like leaving someone to keep an eye on us. After all, the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. This Guan Hong might become a breakthrough point.”
"Yes, you're right." A fierce glint flashed in Old Master Guan's eyes. "I really want to see which crazy guy dares to target our major families at the same time... Alright, you said SMMH wants Chen Xu to borrow money from the family and provide mature video phone technology, right?"
"Yes."
What do you think?
Guan Yi thought for a moment: "I think this is a very good opportunity. It allows us to tie the family's interests to those of SMMH, a company that has suddenly risen to prominence. Father should also know that with S Company's current reputation, getting a bank loan should be a piece of cake. The fact that we can secure a loan to SMMH is something that banks all over the world would envy. Moreover, video phones do have a very promising future, and our family already has a certain business in the communications field. With video phones, I think this is a great opportunity for the family to expand its market. So, I think we should finalize this cooperation as soon as possible. If SMMH needs money, we'll give them the money."
“You’re right,” Old Master Guan chuckled, “but have you ever thought about… why SMMH suddenly needs such a large sum of money? What will they use it for?”
“This…” Guan Yi thought for a moment, and finally said, “This could be a sign that SMMH is going to enter another field.”
"What field?"
"Military industry!"
Grandpa Guan immediately sat up: "Military industry?!"
Guan Yi took a deep breath and said, "That's right, it's the military industry. When Chen Xu was chatting with me before, he casually asked me a question, asking if our family could get the machine tool hardware used to produce aircraft engines. I gave him a vague answer. My daughter knows that the military industry is key to our family, and that it is of great importance, so she didn't dare to answer him easily. But judging from his tone, SMMH probably intends to make a name for itself in this field... but what's holding him back is probably the hardware equipment."
Guan Yi glanced at his father's expression and sighed inwardly, "Xu, it's not that I'm deliberately trying to make things difficult for you. It's just that there are too many issues involved in the military industry. Although the family has the strength in this area, it's not something that can be easily leaked. Otherwise, the family would have already provided the Chinese military with the corresponding technology. Instead, we can only export some second-rate aircraft engines to China by exporting finished products."
Grandpa Guan took a deep breath and stood up.
Moving into the military industry?
This is indeed very important news.
Judging from SMMH's consistent spending, its foundation is truly unfathomable, with almost every invention leading the world!
Furthermore, Old Master Guan knew that the X organization, backed by one of America's four major families, had once contacted the SMMH. Given the X organization's consistently overbearing nature, they hoped to absorb the SMMH into their organization. However, it seems that the SMMH ultimately demonstrated its power, causing the X organization to change its research direction… This was almost a fantasy, but it actually happened!
According to information obtained from the Rockefeller family, SMMH seems to have its own unique expertise in military research... The fact that SMMH invaded and took over the entire US military system is one of the reasons why the US military has never dared to touch it. There are also rumors that SMMH buried a terrifying weapon at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that could shake the continental plates. Although this weapon has not been confirmed, and the US military searched for it extensively but found nothing, the Rockefeller family believes that SMMH may indeed have mastered this technology.
Now, this guy wants to officially enter the military industry...
This is definitely not a small matter!
Looking at Guan Yi, the old man asked, "Didn't you tell him that half of the aircraft engines imported by the Chinese military are supplied by our family? And that our family has close cooperative relationships with the Rockefeller family and Boeing in the military industry?"
"No, this is the family's biggest secret. How could I possibly tell anyone?"
Grandpa Guan nodded. SMMH wanted to get involved in the military industry... wasn't this an opportunity for Guan Jia?