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Chapter 386: Conference

Ten minutes later, Jennifer had already sorted herself out. She silently snuck back and stood behind Qian Wenhuan as if nothing had happened.

"You're back."

Just as she silently heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that Qian Wenhuan did not notice her, Qian Wenhuan suddenly addressed her with his back facing her.

"President Qian?"

Jennifer put on an innocent expression and looked at Qian Wenhuan strangely.

"Got into some trouble with the boss?"

Qian Wenhuan turned around and remarked briefly.

Jennifer opened her mouth. The first thought that came to mind was to explain herself but she did not know what to say.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking."

Qian Wenhuan checked the time and saw the promotional clip was already playing on stage. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage without turning around for one last look.

"D*mn, this Qian Wenhuan had been playing dumb all this time. He knows what my real profession is, he knew everything all along!"

Jennifer broke into a flurry of curses in her mind as she spiraled into panic...

Meanwhile, Qian Wenhuan was heading to the center of the stage via the tunnel...

Just five months ago, Chen Chen also took the same tunnel to the center of the stage where he gave the speech that shocked the world — the Technology-driven Evolution Theory. The speech he gave was torn apart viciously by the religious parties of the Western community. There were even protests held in North America against Blacklight Biotechnology. However, since Blacklight Biotechnology did not have any significant ongoing businesses in North America, the protests did very little harm.

However, the speech had earned the support of people. It even earned the support of the church of the "Flying Spaghetti Monster"[1].

On YouTube, the video of Chen Chen's speech had reached more than 10 million views. It was where countless people were first exposed to the mysterious and elusive president of Blacklight Biotechnology.

"Five months ago, it was the boss who stood here and presented that fabled speech. Although I can never accomplish a similar feat, I'm not going to disappoint the boss anytime soon..."

Qian Wenhuan told himself as he stepped on the stage with a pious expression. He timed it just right so that just as the hexagonal screen overhead finished playing the promotional clip, the display switched to the cameras of the drones centering in on him stepping onto the stage.

The moment the audience saw Qian Wenhuan, a thunderous clap echoed across the venue before he could even get a word out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the Eco Science City and the product launch conference of Blackwatch Corporation."

Qian Wenhuan flashed a smile oozing confidence. After being a part of the higher society for so long, he had also come to develop an air of nobility around him. With a simple smile, the audience immediately felt a sense of prestige washing over them.

"I'm sure everyone present here is well-acquainted with me by now as I've represented Blackwatch on many events countless times in the past. For those who don't know me yet, allow me to introduce myself."

Qian Wenhuan bowed. "My name is Qian Wenhuan, the CEO of the Blackwatch African branch. I'll be your host for today's conference. Allow me to host the product launch conference of our esteemed Blackwatch over the next hour and a half!"

After Qian Wenhuan had wrapped up his introduction, the hexagonal screen overhead lit up and displayed the blackhole-like logo of Blackwatch at its center. It was accompanied by a grandiose musical that inspired the crowd to clap along.

"What you folks may not know is that Blackwatch will be announcing three products today. This is left out of the previous promotional clip so it can be revealed here and now as a surprise."

Qian Wenhuan said in a playful tone, "Of the three products, two of them will be VR devices while the last one shall remain a secret for now. What I can tell you is that it's also an electronic device. This shall be Blackwatch's first venture into the electronic luxuries market!"

This quickly inspired another fervent round of clapping and people voicing their awe. Many members of the audience had their amusement written across their faces. Nobody had expected Blacklight Biotechnology to reveal three products today.

What was more surprising were the representatives of various electronic technology companies in attendance today. In addition to the members of major media outlets, the representatives of technological giants like Apple and Google were sitting in the front row of the conference.

Their minds were a mixture of a thousand different emotions. One thing that was clear to all of them was that they were going to be witnesses to a historical event.

"Alright, let me tell you all about VR."

Qian Wenhuan made a gesture like he was drawing across the string of an accordion with both hands to quiet the crowd. "Frankly speaking, VR isn't exactly a novel piece of technology. If you've been paying attention to the development of industry, you should know that this technology has surfaced as early as the 1950s and 1960s. At the time, they were extremely bulky and clumsy equipment, only seen as prototypes in laboratories.

"Subsequently, as semiconductor and optical technology started to make major advancements, militarized versions of VR began to appear. They were used to simulate sequences of flight missions. As the use of VR started to become streamlined, the technology officially became inducted in hundreds of thousands of households by mid-2010. This had people proclaiming — the VR era is here!"

When Qian Wenhuan saw that he had captured the attention of the audience again, he resumed. "By now, the trajectory of VR is well defined. It's the display device of the next generation. If Moore's Law is any indication, VR shall become a mixed integration of user interaction, calculation, and perception capabilities over the next few years. By then, only calling it VR would be a disservice. It should instead be labeled as: the successor to computers, the second generation intelligent platform.

"With that said, it's not enough yet. We humans rely on physical behaviors in reality to communicate. There are also the five senses which are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch."

Qian Wenhuan suddenly pointed at an elderly man with a gray-white beard sitting in the front row and smiled. "Mr. Cameron, something you said at the Google Developers Conference some years ago left a strong impression on me — you said that humans are an advanced species with distinct perceptions such as sight, hearing, touch, behavior, and taste. True virtual reality can only be achieved if all these perceptions can be simulated in a virtual reality simulated environment!"

All of the audience quickly turned to look at the elder politely addressed as Mr. Cameron. The elder only nodded and returned a dignified smile.

Qian Wenhuan spread out his hands again. "We know that there are endless VR products on the market. But at the root of it, these technology implementations only fulfill the user's visual and auditory sensations. The remaining three perceptions are still completely unfulfilled as there's no way to do so due to the technical limitations.

"Despite this, we continue to seek a solution on this journey of discovery in the VR realm. We at Blackwatch are no exception to this rule. We continued to look for a breakthrough until today..."

As Qian Wenhuan arrived at this note, the background music playing on stage had reached its climax point. He made an inviting gesture and shifted the audience's focus to the stage behind him. "And now, Blackwatch has finally done it. Two brand-new technologies to invent a brand-new VR equipment. Allow me to present to you the first product of this conference — V.1 Haptic Shock Chair!"

At the drop of his sentence, five egg-shaped devices rose from underneath the platform behind him. Their reveal was accompanied by a cloud of mist, adding to the mysteriousness of the revelation.

Beside each of the equipment were two female assistants standing with their hands on their sides.

Among the audience, the group of electronics manufacturers squinted their eyes and looked at the stage, scrutinizing what they were seeing.

The egg-shaped devices came in two different colors. Three of them were pure black while the other two came in pure white texture. The five eggs were positioned in the center of the stage and immediately demanded the attention of everyone present.

"I'm sure every one of you here has seen our promotional clips. In that case, I'm sure you know that this haptic shock chair comes with fully-fitted holographic projection and brainwave control technology. Apart from that, it's also a full-fledged smart device that can be used to browse the web, watch regular movies as well as VR movies. It can also be used to play triple-A games on the market and accepts brainwave signals as input. All you need to do is configure its frequency to your preference."

Qian Wenhuan explained in crisp, elaborate terms, "I can go on for days to list its countless features, but I don't want to be the one telling you all this. This is why I'd like to invite several members of the audience to give us a presentation."

The audience below was already cheering excitedly as he said this. However, Qian Wenhuan seemed to intentionally shift his focus to one of the high-ranking executives from Apple. "Mr. Lawrence?"

The executive quickly held his hands up and waved them side to side, reluctant to step on stage.

"Come on, Mr. Lawrence! You're my senior and if it's one person who is most qualified to give an in-depth review of Blackwatch's product, it's you."

With that, the executive finally stepped onto the stage reluctantly. The two assistants helped him into the haptic shock chair.

"Mr. McHarry?"

Qian Wenhuan went to another executive from Google.

The man called McHarry stepped onto the stage as well.

After that, Qian Wenhuan specifically named high-ranking executives from the VR field to have them perform a demonstration on the haptic shock chair. First and foremost, they would not dare voice harsh criticisms since they were flanked by countless media outlets all over the world. Secondly, they were the elites of relevant industries and also the competitors of Blacklight Biotechnology. Any praise coming out of their lips would have a magnified effect.

With that said, the precedent had to be that the haptic shock chair debuted by Blacklight Biotechnology must be what it claimed to be — a revolutionary product. Otherwise, this demonstration could sabotage them instead.

After all five executives sat into the haptic shock chair, they activated it under the guidance of the assistants. A semi-transparent screen immediately appeared in front of each haptic shock chair.

It was like a transparent light film that directly wrapped around the exposed section of the egg-shaped chair. It immediately enveloped the entire field of vision of the executives on the chairs. This strange presentation quickly drew the "oohs" and "ahhs" of the crowd below.

The hexagonal screen on the stage displayed the cameras inside the chairs, providing an angle from the inside of the chair. From the screen, it could be seen that the five of them barely made any movements. All they did was shift their eyes around, which caused the display to move automatically and shift its focus to wherever they darted their eyes to. When they evoked a thought with their mind, they got to click wherever they intended.

It was evident that these controls were enabled by their brainwaves.

After a little over ten minutes when the five men stepped off the stage seemingly still wanting more of that experience, the stage erupted into cheers.

"Mr. McHarry?"

Qian Wenhuan approached McHarry who was the first to step off the stage. He tried to quiet down the crowd and asked, "What do you think about the haptic shock chair?"

McHarry gathered his thoughts for a moment before declaring, "All I can say is that this product is ahead of its time. This haptic shock chair designed by Blackwatch immediately surpassed all the VR equipment seen anywhere else in the world, including our VR products at Google..."

After he said this, he only sighed before stepping off the stage.

After that, the rest of them also voiced their input, none of them provided any negative feedback. At this point, there was already thunderous applause coming below the stage The atmosphere of the night had reached its absolute peak.

"I'm sure everyone here has a better understanding of our V.1 Haptic Shock Chair by this point, but I do believe that everyone is being too generous with your critique."

It was then when Qian Wenhuan continued. "Did everyone notice that despite being equipped with two revolutionary technology implementations, there's still something missing from our equipment? For example... Touch, smell, and taste?"

Qian Wenhuan paced around slowly. "I regret to inform you that in the current VR scope, smell and taste are still difficult to achieve. A further technological breakthrough would be required to accomplish it. This is something that we at Blackwatch are constantly working toward. However, our company has something that can emulate the sense of touch..."

As he said this, the five V.1 Haptic Shock Chairs descended below the stage. When the platforms rose again, five metallic gray jumpsuits that looked like they came straight out of a sci-fi film appeared.

"Now, we shall present the second product we have in-store today — V.1 Tactile Suit!"

[1] a social movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion found in 2005.

Chapter 387: Environmental Holographic Simulator

"Here's what I think, being too realistic might not exactly be a great thing."

Qian Wenhuan suddenly switched his tone when he made this point. His expression was unable to be deciphered. "After all, most films have some mature scenes sprinkled here and there. For example, there's the GTA series and the Witcher series, to a certain extent... Some specially designed games. Fitted with an over realistic tactile suit, there might be some certain unwanted consequences..."

"Hahaha!"

The audience roared with laughter.

"I'm just kidding."

Qian Wenhuan brushed off the subject with a playful shake of his wrist. "Over the next few years, our company will be experimenting with more realistic tactile suit setups. Still, you won't have to worry about not having a suitable game to complement the tactile suit after your purchase. We've already made sure to liaise with the relevant game departments before designing these VR suits.

"To complement our V.1 Haptic Shock Chair and V.1 Tactile Suit, we've designed more than a dozen of exclusive games, all of which are triple-A titles. We've invested a total of more than one billion US dollars. The genres include RNG, ACT, FPS, AVG, and RAC. These are games compatible with the haptic shock chair and I believe it will not disappoint any player bases."

Everyone became bewildered when they heard this statement. Such a large amount of investment... Blackwatch had certainly committed a lot to promote this VR equipment.

It was then when a reporter below the stage raised his hand excitedly.

"It seems like the reporter from BBC over there has something to say."

Qian Wenhuan pointed to the young man below the stage.

"Mr. Qian, will these VR games reach or surpass the quality of the era-defining game Half-life: Alyx?"

The young man was an avid gaming enthusiast. His question was direct and straight to the point. "Also, will these games be free on the new VR platform?"

"That is a great question."

Qian Wenhuan immediately answered formally, "I can tell you without any reserve, ladies, and gentlemen as well as the audience watching from home, that we've invested a far more substantial amount in our games than the average traditional game. The average investment we've pooled into each game is around 150 million U.S. dollars. This is a heavier investment than the production for most Hollywood films, so I can guarantee that there will be no problem in terms of quality. Their quality and plot will surpass that of Half-life: Alyx, but if you're wondering about the overarching theme and complexity of the games? Then I believe I have no say in this subject since that's up to all of you present here to decide!"

Many people found themselves nodding in agreement with what Qian Wenhuan said. If Qian Wenhuan were to claim that the games developed by Blackwatch would be comparable to the legendary Half-life title were true, it would generate a lot of controversies immediately. After all, the legendary title was one to be remembered for ages to come.

"As far as cost, there's no need to worry about it."

Qian Wenhuan smiled. "All of the games released on our V.1 Haptic Shock Chair platform will be free forever!"

This sent another round of applause below the stage.

What Qian Wenhuan was not aware of at this moment was the moment he made this declaration, a swarm of messages immediately filled the screens of live streams all over the world!

[Blacklight Biotechnology the Generous] [Buy buy buy] [Hype] [Worried] [This eggy chair is going to cost at least several thousand yuan] [Several thousand yuan? More like several thousand U.S. dollars] [Hype hype hype] [This is it this is it] [I feel so upper class watching some conference like this] [Stupid little gimmick, anyone who buys this is a clown] [Trash company] [Reported] [Yikesssss] [Stop spamming, I can't see the stream] [I'll give an arm for this]...

"In this case, may I know how much this haptic shock chair and the tactile suit are going to cost?"

Another reporter could not wait any longer and immediately got up and asked.

Qian Wenhuan inspected the building anticipation among the audience as he smiled. "I suppose everyone is ready for the reveal now that I've been building up to it for so long."

With that, he snapped his thumbs.

The price list immediately appeared on the hexagonal display above the stage — V.1 Haptic Shock Chair: 8,888 U.S. Dollars, V.1 Tactile Suit: 666 U.S. Dollars.

Although the audience had mentally prepared themselves for this reveal, they still held their breath collectively.

"I know, compared to necessities like cars and homes, it's rather pricey for just being a haptic shock chair electronic equipment."

Noting the crowd that had their energy drained away slightly, Qian Wenhuan gestured. "However, don't forget that this is the very first product in the world that comes with holographic projection and brainwave manipulation technology. I can guarantee that it's worth every dollar spent."

Upon noting this, Qian Wenhuan suddenly shifted the topic. "Besides, if you find the haptic shock chair too pricey, we have an alternative for you."

After he said this, he picked up the tactile suit to reveal to the audience an oddly shaped helmet hiding below the tactile suit all this time!

VR Helmet!

This successfully captured everybody's attention. Meanwhile, the executives of the major tech companies immediately turned sour. Blackwatch had seated themselves at the head of the table. Were they not going to at least spare some crumbs under the table?

"V.1 Haptic Shock Helmet!"

Qian Wenhuan picked up a helmet to give the audience a better view. The helmet was designed with a nearly identical color palette and style as the haptic shock chair. The only difference was that it was a helmet.

"The V.1 Haptic Shock Helmet is the same as the V.1 Haptic Shock Chair. It's molded using a traditional compression molding injection process. There's a layer nano-level optical engraving texture on its shell which allows it to reflect a metallic luster when light is shone upon it. An ergonomically designed butterfly mask is implemented on its inside to ensure that the projected light doesn't leak from its openings. The part that attaches to the skin is made of protein leather which allows air to breathe through."

Qian Wenhuan declared, "As an alternative product, the V.1 Haptic Shock Helmet doesn't utilize a holographic projection setup but instead uses two traditional independent 2.1-inch LCD screens. The full screen dimensions are 3200 x 1600 pixels and reach up to a maximum of 1058 PPI, built with interpupillary distance adjustment function.

"Also, there are sliders for both screens. After proper configuration, users with myopia prescription within a range of 700 degrees can still see everything on the VR screen without the need for glasses!"

As Qian Wenhuan said this, he suddenly paused to build suspense again. "I know, this isn't all that impressive since most VR glasses can achieve the same functionalities as well. In that case, why does it have to be a helmet instead of easy-to-carry glasses?"

Everyone seemed to have caught his meaning when he said this.

"That's right, the V.1 Haptic Shock Helmet is fitted with our company's brainwave manipulation device — BWMR external nerve electrode. This means that just like the Haptic Shock Chair, it accepts the user's thoughts as input. The only thing it needs now is to be connected to a computer!"

The audience erupted with cheers as Qian Wenhuan said this. Compared to the pricey Haptic Shock Chair, the helmet was more reasonable.

"The price for the V.1 Haptic Shock Helmet is set at 1,888 U.S. Dollars. The V.1 Haptic Shock Helmet can also be used in combination with the V.1 Tactile Suit. This means that users can put on the helmet along with the tactile suit and lay back on their couch to play VR games. You can immerse in your own where nobody will bother you!"

After that, Qian Wenhuan called for some representatives for some demonstration on stage just like previously. After a brief round of tests, they expressed that they were pleased with its performance.

"Alright, next up is the final highlight of the conference."

Qian Wenhuan checked the time before informing, "Looks like we'll need to speed this up."

The mood in the venue that had seemed to wind down a little suddenly tensed up again. It was only after the host said this when they realized the helmet was not the third product mentioned. Just as the host claimed, it was merely the substitute for the Haptic Shock Chair.

If even the Haptic Shock Chair was not the highlight, then just what was the highlight of this conference supposed to be?

The major tech companies were about to lose their mind when they heard this announcement. Some of them already had despair written across their faces.

Surely enough, the dramatic entrance of Blackwatch into the fighting ring that was the VR market had disrupted whatever balance there was. Blackwatch had utterly imposed its will on all of the combatants.

If the VR market was a fine cuisine set on a table in a restaurant, then the people fighting at the table were the many competitors in the VR market. The sudden entrance of Blackwatch was akin to someone suddenly barging in and telling the waiter to pack everything to go for him to take home. To add insult to injury, he even flipped the table before leaving!

Everyone was drowning in despair at this moment.

"Did nobody notice? If the central technology implemented in the V.1 Haptic Shock Chair was our company's patented 'BWMR external nerve electrode' technology, then what would be the product that fully utilizes our holographic projection technology?"

As Qian Wenhuan said this, the five platforms silently descended below the stage again. Meanwhile, he held his breath and motioned for the crowd to quiet down.

A ringing silence immediately took over the venue.

Qian Wenhuan's stage presence was certainly something to behold.

Everyone fixed their gaze on the part of the stage behind the host as a cylindrical object even larger than the Haptic Shock Chair slowly rose from a platform and presented itself before the audience!

This entire object took on a translucent form. Inside it, there were clouds of mist that constantly emitted a blue glow. The diameter of the object was approximately fifty-centimeters only but it stood more than two and a half meters tall.

"This cylindrical device you are seeing here is the true spotlight of today's conference — HP 3D Simulator!"

Qian Wenhuan announced at the top of his voice, "HP here stands for Holographic Projection. Its official name is the 'Environmental Holographic Simulator'. Its functionalities are simple and elaborate, let us take a look at an introductory clip."

As he said this, the display above flickered...

The clip started with a piece of brisk and melodic music as the display showed a standard Western-style home. A team of workers was then seen carrying four pearly white Environmental Holographic Simulator.

After that, the video was sped up. It became a montage of the workers erecting these pillars on all four corners of the room. This was also when the audience noted that these pillars could perfectly attach themselves to the floor as well as the ceiling of the room.

After that, when the device seemed to be connected to a power source, their originally milky white texture immediately transitioned into a cloud of sky blue. They immediately painted their magnificent blue luster over the canvas, which was the room.

After that, a young lady stepped inside, stretching lazily as she entered. She came to the center of the room and seemed to mouth something that was muffled by the music. While she did so, she also lifted her index finger and thumb and quickly swiped to the side!

The background music paused abruptly and at the same time, something wondrous happened!

Inside the video, something that was unmistakably a computer display manifested out of thin air in front of the young lady. The translucent display was floating mid-air. There was no doubt in the audience's mind that this was a holographic projection!

After that, the room began to shift constantly with the young lady monitoring it. The edges of the wall and the tiles below her feet morphed into the pouring sea, there were even little fish seen swimming under the tiles. Within moments, it turned into the clouds thousands of miles above the sky. Large clouds floated everywhere in the room. It was a shocking sight.

With moments, the wall turned into a wall portrait, then into a field that stretched on forever, then it turned into a mass of skyscrapers...

In thirty seconds, the young lady continued to swipe her fingers across the air while the environment continued to shift around her. What was most shocking was that only the scenery inside the room changes, but the furniture was barely affected at all and was still visible.

The young lady seemed to still be unimpressed with all these.

The young lady continued scrolling until in the end, a dream-like sequence appeared in the room. The sky was filled with radiant rainbow colors while the ground below was an open field with hundreds of thousands of flowers blooming. Off in the distance, a mid-century castle stood mightily.

Alice in Wonderland?

This was the first thing everyone watching thought of.

The background music was building up to its chorus at this point. The lady seemed to be finally content as she laid back on her bed with a satisfied smile. It felt as if she was lying on a bed of grass!

However, the young lady did not go to sleep just yet. When she blinked again, a tiny vertical screen appeared in front of her, it was a holographic phone.

After that, the screen began moving on its own. One second, she was chatting with her friends on messaging apps and the very next second she was watching a movie on another app.

The venue was bellowing with excitement and enthusiasm with what they were seeing. People launched themselves up from their seats and cheered and applauded. Everyone was dumbfounded by what this holographic device was capable of.

"Fantasy? No, this is reality..."

The promotional clip did not contain any narration, it was only after the clip ended when Qian Wenhuan spoke, "Environmental Holographic Simulator. It allows the user to manipulate and craft a desired living environment suited to one's preference while also receiving broadcasted holographic signals from all over the world. This is the holographic era!

"Congratulations everyone, you're now entering the holographic intelligence era!"

Chapter 388: The Calm Before the Storm

"As you all may know already, holographic technology is a technology that uses the principle of light interference and diffraction to project the true three-dimensional figure of an object."

After the audience had finally settled down, Qian Wenhuan started to explain.

"The term holographic technology isn't a new term. As early as 2010, artists such as Hatsune Miku used holographic technology to present themselves at concerts. This type of holography is known as 'Stage Performance Holographic Technology'.

"The technology holds wide appeal to singers, actors, magicians, politicians, and many companies. The best example of the application of this technology is during the victorious campaign of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"However, holography is not without its disadvantages. Not only is there a strict set of requirements for stage lighting equipment and setup, but it also loses its effects drastically when observed from a specific angle or from up close. Scientifically speaking, this technique wouldn't qualify it as a true holographic projection.

"If we're talking about the principle of the technique, 'Stage Performance Holographic Technology' is only one of its many aspects. There's also the 'Material Media Holographic Technology', the practical application of this technology is the usage of smoke projectors in conjunction with underwater holographic projection. With a proper projector inside a monitored environment, the fog that rises from the smoke projector with holographic projection cast upon it creates a realistic holographic image.

"There's also the more elaborate 'Fan Blade Holographic Technology' although strictly speaking, it wouldn't count as holographic. These devices are fans with assembled RGB light sources embedded on the blades to create a 2D holographic image when activated."

As Qian Wenhuan narrated, the hexagonal display above provided reference images to reflect the types of holographic technology he was describing.

"Again, strictly speaking, the techniques mentioned earlier wouldn't qualify as a natural holographic projection. Proper holographic imaging is composed of aerial imaging, laser refraction, and high-precision prism. What our 'Environmental Holographic Simulator' utilizes is aerial imaging!"

As Qian Wenhuan said this, he made a signal which summoned a panel of notes right beside him that consisted of a large amount of data written atop it.

"What we use here is a form of 'Laser Plasma Holographic Technology'. There are millions of pinpoint-sized laser generators embedded inside the simulator. By running low-frequency power into femtosecond lasers, it focuses the lasers into a singular point via 3D targeting. Through this process, molecules in the air become ionized to produce low-temperature plasma, which controls the three axes which are x, y, and z to produce a three-dimensional image."

Qian Wenhuan smiled as he read from the data above, "The reason we named it non-invasive laser is because the laser generators maneuver around the furniture in your home as well as your eyes and body. Moreover, the laser irradiation frequency is extremely brief, no more than one-millionth of a second. The lasers only activate 144 times within a second.

"Remember computer displays? What the environmental holographic simulator does is essentially transforms your room into a 144Hz computer display, except this display is three-dimensional. Something even better... Not only can you see these images, but you could also even touch them!"

"What?"

The audience below gasped.

Qian Wenhuan poked the sign next to him several times. "Since this laser is a femtosecond laser, it can ionize the air at specific points to produce sporadic tiny plasma vibrations. This way, we can feel its natural texture when touching it."

As Qian Wenhuan said this, he paused briefly, savoring the moment. "Hm... This texture is very similar to sandpaper."

The audience enthusiastically waved their hands in the air, each wanting to go on stage to experience for themselves what the so-called holographic projection feels like.

After the people stepped on stage to give it a curious touch, they each reacted with great astonishment and were taken by how foreign it was. After that, Qian Wenhuan asked each of them how it felt like and obtained a large assortment of answers. Some said it felt like metal, others said it felt like plastic, most of them described it as a rough-to-the-touch substance.

In the end, Qian Wenhuan announced that the highlight of the day, the HP 3D Simulators, cost a million dollars per set. Each set came with four of the devices.

This was because a set of four had to be installed in four corners of a room to achieve a full holographic effect and to cover all blind corners.

Additionally, there was a set of restrictions when it came to the environmental holographic simulators. First, the room could not be anywhere larger than thirty square meters and the length and width of the room could not exceed six meters. If it exceeded the specified area and length, a holographic environment simulator with a larger diameter range and higher frequency was required.

Although this price range easily put it above what ninety-nine percent of the world's population could afford, many people were well aware that it was not designed for common household use in the first place. Its true value lay in boosting the market value of a commercial area!

For example, it could be implemented in conference rooms or wherever companies wanted to use to conduct floor plan meetings. It was in places like this where the environmental holographic simulator truly shone.

One way or another, the debut of the environmental holographic simulator ushered holographic projection technology to a new era.

After they drew the curtains of the conference, the people who had been paying attention to the conference started to boil over in excitement. Everywhere online, there were discussions about the three era-defining technology.

[Oh my God, that thing they showed in the end is what a real non-medium projection looks like! It's like the one from Iron Man. Is manipulatable holographic projection technology finally here?]

[The technology used for this environmental holographic simulator is known as a non-medium holographic technology. I never expected to see something like this in my lifetime. Did Blacklight Biotechnology just drop a nuclear bomb on us???]

[Holographic projection technology with supported textures? I suddenly have a bold billion-dollar idea (Dog Emoji)]

[I'll pay you fifty cents to delete your comment and let me post it instead!]

[With this insane bomb dropped, I think Apple's new product launch event is going to look silly in comparison...]

[There's no way anyone can afford the environmental holographic simulator unless that someone is already filthy rich. This product is strictly for business use only and you'd better wait a decade before you can expect to see it commercialized. By then, the technology should be more mature and the price will naturally decline. Shouldn't we direct our focus to the V.1 series instead?]

[Forget about it, even the V.1 helmet costs nearly ten thousand, don't forget the tactile suit as well. Can anybody who doesn't already own a gold mine even afford it?]

...

Regardless of the reception, keywords like Blacklight Biotechnology, V.1 Tactile Suit, and Environmental Holographic Simulator would crowd the Internet for the following days to come.

Surely enough, Blacklight Biotechnology was taking off while companies like Apple were in big trouble now.

In terms of price, the price set by Chen Chen was rather pricey. Even the working class in Western countries had to think twice before committing to this purchase. This went double, even triple for people in the Mainland. However, in the grand scheme of things, this was a rather affordable price tag. If not for Chen Chen taking the initiative to publicize this technology, it would take humanity another two to three decades before VR technology could naturally progress to such a point.

Back to current events. Chen Chen was seated inside his office, going through the large arrays of comments and trends online. He shut down the computer with a smile on his face while instructing, "X, in addition to installing the environmental holographic simulator into each Spire laboratory, try to have several installed in the office buildings as well."

"Understood."

Little X's voice came from behind Chen Chen. If someone else was present at the moment inside Chen Chen's office, this person would notice an enchanting-looking Chinese girl standing behind Chen Chen.

Little X had changed into a fitted white dress with a pink hairband strapped atop her head. Her cheeks were puffed red as she gently thumped her little knuckles on Chen Chen's shoulders.

While Chen Chen was enjoying his afternoon filled with nothing but peace and quiet, Little X suddenly paused and interrupted. "The Central Continent Embassy contacted us just now."

"Which technology do they want to buy?" Chen Chen leaned into the chair and asked lazily.

"The BWMR external nerve electrode technology as well as the environmental holographic simulator technology in its entirety."

Little X informed, "Their offer was extremely generous. They said that if we authorize them the usage of the technology, the 1.3 billion U.S. dollars overseas investment loan we owed to the Central Continent Bank can be voided. There are also various policy incentives."

"They are only looking for authorization?" Chen Chen asked.

"Yes, they say that they'll only use our technology to further their research in similar sectors. They agreed that they'll not be using the developed technology for commerce and the only one allowed to monetize it in the Central Continent is our company."

Little X nodded.

"I like that attitude. In that case, tell Old Qian that these terms are agreeable and can be negotiated."

Chen Chen nodded. "What about the other continents?"

"Musk's electrode company sent a message as well and voiced their complaints. Says that their technology was essentially a pile of waste papers now. They also say they would like to cooperate with us further."

Little X continued relaying information.

Chen Chen smirked icily. Musks' lace electrode technology were implanted electrodes, of course, they were no match for his external electrodes. Provided the outcome was similar, nobody would willingly implant something into their skull. This was especially the case when the lace electrode produced by Musk was nowhere close to contending with the BWMR external nerve electrode.

"Apart from that, many major corporations like Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and many other media corporations have contacted us in hopes of cooperating with us."

Little X added.

"Did the embassies of North America and Europe contact us?"

Chen Chen nodded before expressing, "It looks like the Western governmental bodies are preparing to make a move against us."

That did make sense considering all things. Ranging from the V.1 series BWMR external nerve electrode technology to the holographic projection technology in the environmental holographic simulator, every single aspect had far surpassed all civilian technology.

Take the brainwave manipulation technology stemming from the BWMR external nerve electrode technology for example. Anyone who put on the helmet and sat in that chair would essentially gain a new body. Perhaps at first, they would still have trouble adjusting to it and have trouble stopping their body from moving along with the in-game movements. Once they had grown accustomed to it, the user could effortlessly rest on a chair or in bed as they delve into their little imaginary world.

This was a fully immersive VR experience, but its use was not restricted to games only. There were also educational applications. It could be used for learning to cook or practicing medical modules and other civil practices. Not forgetting the great value it could provide to military affairs.

For example, simulated military training using brainwave control technology was certainly more efficient than training on a computer, second only to actual combat training.

This was also part of the reason why the Central Continent contacted Chen Chen at first notice.

With that said, it was certainly odd for North America, Europe, and all the other continents to sit by idly and not do anything about technology with such major military implications.

There were only two explanations for this observation. Either they possessed a similar piece of technology and were simply not interested or they planned to resort to external methods to acquire the same technology.

What external methods? There was only either stealing or blatant robbing.

Chen Chen was not particularly worried about having them stolen. Of all the technology he was in possession of, the most valuable ones were none other than the brainwave manipulation and holographic projection technology. Other technologies such as the CPU chips were devices Chen Chen had TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) manufacture for him using 3nm transistor technology. Though the self-designed blueprint for these chips was valuable, they were nowhere near important enough on an international scale.

When it came to the two important pieces of technology, Chen Chen was more or less aware that the secret laboratories in North America had not made much progress over the recent years. Chen Chen had professional-level reinforced security both in terms of software and hardware to protect these technologies. The North American Continent would need five to eight years to decode and access them.

By the time they were finished, Chen Chen would have been miles away. He would have numerous technologies under his belt, enough that he would hardly pay any mind to some duplicated brainwave manipulation technology and a lesser version of holographic projection technology.

However, it would be considerably trickier if the opposing parties did not resort to theft but instead chose robbery or to intentionally undermine the development of the company.

This made Chen Chen recall the Huawei incident from some time ago. If past events were any tell, the officials would resort to imposing sanctions. Through technical interference, companies around the world using North American technology would stop supplying computer chips and other core technological implementations in an attempt to hinder Blacklight Biotechnology's development.

Chapter 389: Clean-up

Blacklight Biotechnology set the release date of the V.1 series and the environmental holographic simulator on 10 September.

It would be available for purchase simultaneously on all major e-commerce platforms around the world or by directly visiting the official website of Blacklight Technology.

At the end of the day, Chen Chen's industrial park operations could not handle everything by themselves. Although most ordinary parts could be manufactured by the assembly workforce numbering up to tens of thousands, some parts simply could not be manufactured in the industrial park.

For example, the laser emission lens of the holographic environment simulator had to be imported from Zeiss, Germany while the light source was imported from North America and the chips were imported from TSMC. Since even the Central Continent had trouble keeping up with the manufacturing progress, Chen Chen's company was facing the same problem as well.

Of course, Chen Chen could always "cheat" and extract more complex, similar manufacturing technology from the USB drive. However, even an expert chef could not exercise his craft without the right ingredients. Although such technology did exist in the world of Elysium and Chen Chen did already obtain them, it was going to take considerable effort to fully examine the workings behind this manufacturing technology. A great deal of workforce, equipment, and luck had to align together for it to work out.

Since before the nuclear reactor was built, Chen Chen had already begun recruiting experts in the lens and laser manufacturing sector. The appropriate laboratory had been set up as well. Chen Chen was now also specifically looking for experts in lithography machines.

"If North America is going to make a move, it's very likely to be a reenactment of what happened four years ago. They'll issue a ban to withhold specific technology in specific fields. The supply of light sources in North America, lenses from German companies, and chips from TSMC will be cut off."

Little X deducted. "If that happens, then we'll only have the technology available to us but not enough quantity to fulfill our supply chain. They are trying to force our hand here. Basically, if we want to continue manufacturing these devices, we have to sell the relevant technology or even the entire blueprint to their official channels at a discounted price.

"After selling to them, we might still need to yield most of our revenue to their council since they were the ones to facilitate the transaction."

Chen Chen ranted.

"That's true, that event four years ago had set a precedent."

Little X nodded agreeably. "So, what should we do now?"

"It won't be difficult to solve this problem. We can film several movies and place them into the USB drive. The most important thing is to emphasize a variation of 1-nanometer lithography machines. Perhaps even depict a semiconductor that substitutes silicon with other materials. The precision of this kind of semiconductor should reach up to one hundredth or even one-thousandth of a nanometer, making it possible to manufacture more microchips. Also, the build of these lithography machines should be incredibly compact."

Chen Chen rubbed his chin as he said this, "This way, we can easily instantiate hundreds of lithography machines and solve the problem with chip manufacturing. In addition to solving the previous problem, we can use these lithography machines to mass-produce God chip, Terminator chip, NS-5 chip, and so on.

"I'd advise against that for the moment."

Little X quickly informed, "You're the owner of the USB drive. Have you forgotten the strange interactions with the reality that result from your direct involvement in filming these movies?"

"Of course, I remember."

Chen Chen answered he was well aware of what Little X was trying to imply. Some years ago, he had invested in the filming of several movies to obtain a list of technologies. Most of these movies turned out to be cost failures and only two of them worked out. One of them was Deadly Crisis: A Shocking Scheme. Inside the movie, someone who seemed to be a future version of him turned out to be one of the bad guys. Ever since then, Chen Chen decided he was better off refraining from simply filming movies to suit his goals.

"Well, context matters. If nothing peculiar happens half a year later, on the 30 May, then that means it's worth a gamble."

30 May 2025. That was the date on which the movie was set in.

"I'm just worried that the events depicted in the movie are going to occur on the set date."

Little X wrinkled her nose as she said this, "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the plot of the movie was that a part of the company's shares was taken over by another company with ill intent. Even their board of executives were infiltrated this way. This was why the protagonist escaped the research institute with the drugs with the intention of bringing it back to the superior of his original company.

"And this is very similar to what we've done as well. We're slowly mirroring the events depicted inside the movie and turning into the bad guys!"

"Of course, I noticed this."

Chen Chen nodded and smiled. "Which is why I more or less believe that the USB drive can directly affect reality. The tiny amount of doubt I have is staking on the belief that this may all just be a coincidence. After all, there hasn't been someone with a similar name showing up in this company just yet."

"Hope so."

Little X stopped thumping Chen Chen's shoulders and rubbed her slightly sore hands. "Sir Godfather, the Eco Science City's operation to pin down the spies have begun. Should we keep them alive?"

"Keep as many of them alive as possible. Even though we've already signed felon exchange agreements with several countries in Africa, there's always a need for more for the memetic experiments."

Chen Chen answered.

"Understood."

Little X responded before exiting the room, leaving Chen Chen on his seat by himself.

"The USB drive has accumulated a significant amount of power over the last three months. It's about time I further add to my Field. I'll never forget the feeling of flying inside my dream..."

Chen Chen muttered to himself as if he suddenly recalled something. He proceeded to give Cheng Cao a call before leaving the office building.

By the time Chen Chen went outside the office building, Cheng Cao had parked outside and was waiting for him for some time.

...

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Inside one of the buildings in one of the smaller districts of Eco Science City, a middle-aged man drenched in sweat was running up flights of stairs.

What was puzzling about this was that despite there being elevators installed in the building, this middle-aged man decided against using them. Instead, he chose to ascend the building one floor at a time. In the blink of an eye, he had climbed more than thirty floors.

"D*mn it, how did Bob get exposed..."

The middle-aged man whispered curses as he ran to the rooftop of the building. When he arrived, he wiped the sweat pooling down his forehead and looked back at the empty stairs behind him, finally heaving out a sigh of relief.

After some brief consideration, he closed the steel door leading to the rooftop and sealed it with a giant lock, effectively cutting off the only path leading to the rooftop.

Without giving himself some time to catch his breath, he immediately climbed up the several meters tall water tank next to him and jumped inside without a second thought!

Within moments, he emerged from the water tank again, this time with a moderately-sized anti-oil paper bag in hand.

He hopped down the water tank with the anti-oil paper bag in his clutches and immediately ripped it open. The contents inside it were immediately revealed to be two palm-sized satellite phones and a Beretta M92F pistol.

Armed with a weapon, the middle-aged man finally appeared to have calmed down a little. He performed a quick inspection on the pistol and uncocked the barrel. After he made sure that there were rows of copper bullets lying inside them, he swiftly shut the barrel back in place and strapped the gun to his waist.

After that, he opened the satellite phone and quickly pressed a string of numbers into the satellite phone. The call was immediately answered on the first ring.

"Hi, who is this?"

On the opposite end of the phone came the deep, rumbling voice of another person.

"I'm the Ledes agent, code F6777998, verification password 5908A9879ER."

The middle-aged man took a deep breath to calm his nerves and answered promptly.

"Alright, for what purpose are you contacting the headquarters for?"

The person on the other end of the call seemed to be relieved as well, then asked with mild suspicion, "You should know that there must be no contacting us unless you have major news to report. After all, there's no telling if Blackwatch has some equipment to intercept communications satellite signals."

"Agent Thomson is compromised..."

A flash of horror appeared in his eyes as he said this, "I was delivering the goods just now. I was going to take them to Agent Thomson's home and discuss with him how we can obtain the targeted technology. Just as I arrived at the ground floor of the building, I saw two men dressed in white shirts underneath black suits stepping into Agent Thomson's house without the slightest hint of expression on their faces.

"I pretended to be just a common passerby. Just as I passed through Agent Thomson's house, I heard what was unmistakably the sound of him crying out for help. That's how I know that he's been compromised..."

The middle-aged man sighed as he said this, "I'm confident that the two emotionless agents who intercepted him are the biochemical soldiers that Blackwatch is keeping under covers."

"In that case, even more reason for you to not contact us now."

The person on the other end of the phone quickly responded to the middle-aged man's report, sounding completely unfazed, "If they detected unverified electromagnetic signals and connected it to you passing by Agent Thomson's house, they'll immediately suspect you."

"I can't be bothered with any of that, I have no idea if Thomson is going to expose me as well. This is why I'm calling, please get me out of here and take me back to my country."

The middle-aged man raised his voice. "You understand? I want to be extracted! Extract! Return! Return! Get me out! I want to get out of this d*mned city, right now!"

"..."

The voice on the phone became silent for some time before speaking, "Understood, the headquarters has granted approval for your extraction. We'll assign agents to receive you on the outside borders of Eco Science City, the time and location are..."

After everything was arranged, the middle-aged man finally heaved a sigh of relief. He turned off the satellite phone before tossing it into the water tank. After that, he produced a set of keys to unlock the rooftop entrance that he had locked previously.

The moment he opened the door, he caught a glimpse of a blinding flash of light. The sudden flash caught him in a state of daze, still trying to figure out where the flash of light came from and what it was.

The very next second, he felt his vision quickly fading into a blur. An anesthesia needle was viciously plunged into the back of his neck, causing him to slump and crash into the ground.

After that, the air behind the rooftop entrance vibrated as two men wearing black suits and white shirts underneath appeared by the door. Underneath their shirt, they both appeared to be wearing a black color bodysuit...

...

The same events transpired across each corner of Eco Science City. To prevent alerting the common civilians and damage the city's reputation, the Black Knights refrained from using thermal weapons. Instead, they resorted to using weapons like tranquilizers to capture their targets alive.

The three hundred and sixty-four spies discovered in Eco Science City were spread across various sectors and industries. Some of these were spies that received professional training from a young age. They became civilians of Eco Science City through various channels. Some even admitted themselves into the research center of administration bodies of Blacklight Biotechnology.

Some of the spies were the researchers and professors directly hired by Chen Chen. These were the ones who could not resist the temptation of significant monetary gains and agreed to feed Blacklight Biotechnology's research data to external parties.

Jennifer, the general manager Qian Wenhuan's secretary, belonged to the former subclass.

At this hour, Qian Wenhuan had just finished his task. He dragged his tired body out of the Blacklight Dome and into his designated vehicle.

"Thank you for your handwork, President Qian."

Jennifer had seated herself in the backseat ahead of time. She slid to the side to make space for Qian Wenhuan before promptly announcing to the driver in front, "Back to President Qian's place."

After that, she pressed a button. A sheet of black cotton quickly appeared in the small section between the rear and front compartment of the car, shielding the driver's view.

"What are you trying to do?"

Qian Wenhuan tilted his head and stole a curious peek at Jennifer. He tried to mask the disbelief in his voice.

"I remember you mentioned yesterday that you crave excitement. Since it's excitement that you want, we might as well go all the way, right?"

Jennifer spread her hands out and unbuttoned the strap on her shoulders. The low-cut office wear she wore swiftly slid down her shoulders, revealing the creamy-white texture of flesh underneath.

It was only then when Qian Wenhuan noticed that Jennifer was not wearing anything underneath.

"You're naughty..."

Qian Wenhuan smiled sheepishly and charged right at her. He was going to unleash all the nerves built up from being on stage earlier.

It was at that moment when the vehicle suddenly ground to a halt, producing piercing screeches as it stopped. Both Qian Wenhuan and Jennifer cried out in shock as they were launched out of the sofa due to the sudden shift in momentum.

"What's going on?"

Qian Wenhuan asked the driver in front angrily.

"Pres, President Qian, someone is obstructing the lane!"

When Qian Wenhuan heard the helpless cry of the driver, he flicked his eyebrows and immediately pulled himself up and kicked the door open.

Furious at having his entertainment cut short, Qian Wenhuan was about to rain hellfire on these people. When he saw five men in black standing in front of the car, the seeping anger inside him immediately extinguished. Both his boiling anger and previous lust had disappeared when he saw them.

Outsiders may not recognize these agents, but Qian Wenhuan of all people would know that these expressionless men in black were murder machines built without any thoughts or humanity whose only goal was to complete their assigned missions!

The company's lethal task force – the Black Knight Force!

"What is it, love?"

It was at this moment when Jennifer poked her head out of the vehicle with her hands covering her chest. When she saw the group of Black Knights standing outside, she was first caught by surprise. Her expression then shifted dramatically as she bent down to reach for a sharp dagger hidden inside her high heels!

Everything happened in an instant. She had the tip of the dagger pointed at Qian Wenhuan's neck.

It was as if Jennifer had transformed into another person in mere seconds. Her previous innocence and charm had all but vanished and been replaced by the aura of a seasoned assassin!

"Don't come near, unless you want your CEO to die..."

As she was saying this, her eyes suddenly popped out of their sockets grotesquely. All Qian Wenhuan heard was a violent pop and before he could register what was happening, he felt Jennifer's head exploding right next to him. Her skull and eyeballs splattered everywhere across Qian Wenhuan's cheeks!

Chapter 390: Annie

Dusk. The setting sun turned the sky into a blood-red pastel.

In the coastal area that connected Namibia with the Atlantic Ocean, there was a wondrous harbor known as Walvis Bay.

It was a unique place that could not be found anywhere else in the world. One of its most magical sights was where the desert connected with the sea to form an image only seen in fantasies.

This was also where Blacklight Biotechnology built hundreds of sanatoriums. At maximum capacity, they were able to provide top-of-the-line healthcare services to five thousand people at a time. Despite this volume, the sanatorium's schedule for the next half of the year was full.

Instead of saying that the sanatorium was an extension of Eco Science City, it would be more accurate to say that the sanatoriums were the true central part of Eco Science City.

Without all the wealthiest members of the world pouring into the sanatoriums continuously, Eco Science City would lose at least sixty percent of its income revenue.

This meant that the generated income from the gigantic Blacklight Biotechnology industrial park along with the vast resource chain generated by Tara Strategic Resources combined still paled in comparison to the sanatoriums.

This was a testament to just how much cash flow there was in the healthcare industry.

With that said, the landscape may shift once the V.1 series and the environmental holographic simulator began selling. It was still uncertain at this moment.

Additionally, there was also a large villa section located right next to the sanatoriums. These villas were also Blacklight Biotechnology's properties and were designated for the professors that Chen Chen had recruited from all over the world.

At the present, inside the room of one of the villas sat a fair-skinned and blond-haired European girl who was silently playing with her phone.

The sunset cast a gentle beam through the windows and shone onto the girl's cheeks. There were little spots of freckles seen on her face.

These little spots of freckles did not take away from her beauty. On the contrary, they made her appear even more beautiful and cute. She was like an angel who had descended to Earth.

However, the angel's eyes were filled with drops of tears like tiny pearls reflecting light away from them. She silently brushed her fingers across the picture of a man on the display of her phone while she whispered, "Brother Fisher, why haven't you contacted me up till now? Could it be that it's just as Father said, that you've been held hostage by this evil company...

"Don't worry, I'll use the communication channels mentioned in the past to contact the remaining surviving members of White Embers. I'll find some way to infiltrate the company and save every one of you!"

A flash of determination greeted her eyes. Just as she was about to turn off her phone, she heard a gentle tap on the windows of her room.

It sounded like someone was throwing little rocks against the windows to get her attention.

When she heard this sound, she quickly responded accordingly and turned on the flashlight on her phone. She pressed the flashlight against the window and turned them off and on repeatedly in sporadic pulses to mimic morse code messages. After she was done, she shut the curtains in her room and went outside.

The villa was five hundred square meters large but was mostly empty nonetheless. Needless to be said, her father was still in the research center and had not returned from work yet.

The girl changed into sportswear before leaving the villa. She chose a bicycle inside the garage and left the villa under the guise that she was going out to exercise on a bike.

Twenty minutes later, the girl arrived at the sports park of Eco Science City.

When she arrived, she immediately surveyed her surroundings. After that, she parked her bicycle beside a bench in the park and picked up a magazine to begin reading.

Without anyone noticing, she slid her slender fingers into a gap between the bench and extracted a piece of Bluetooth earphone that was attached under the bench with chewing gum.

The girl used the magazine as a cover while she placed the Bluetooth earphone into her ears. She then used her hair to hide the earphone.

After she did that, she immediately heard a faint voice coming from the other end that sounded like the buzzing of a fly. "Long time no see, Annie[1]."

"Danny, we only just met last month."

Annie answered icily, "Didn't I tell you to not contact me unless you've discovered major leads. Don't forget that we're in the main camp of this evil company. One misstep and we'll be at the point of no return!"

"Of course, I know that!"

The person on the other end of her phone sounded very nervous. He tried to suppress his agitation and continued patiently. "I received the news from other agents. Starting from earlier this afternoon, the company has begun purging the spies from the city. I just lost contact with another one of my friends."

"Then why are you still contacting me?"

The girl was starting to lose her patience, "It'll be more difficult to rescue Fisher and the rest of them if even you're captured."

"Currently, several spies have successfully made it out of Eco Science City. I contacted our superior and they think that this is a good window for us to make a move since we have your father's DNA and palm prints. If we can get your father's access card, we can infiltrate the research center and inject a virus into their internal network to cripple Eco Science City's defense!"

The voice said persuasively, "Blackwatch will never expect us to infiltrate their headquarters now, of all times..."

"Don't think that I'm an idiot. You guys are after the technology announced in today's conference, isn't it?"

The girl scoffed. "Do you have any idea how difficult it will be to infiltrate Eco Science City's internal network? No, do you have any idea how proficient Blackwatch's network control is? Inject a virus into their internal network, that's a cute idea you guys came up with."

"Don't worry..."

The voice coming from the earpiece paused for a moment before assuring. "They say that this is a brand new variant Trojan virus that belongs to a subclass of a quantum virus. It's designed by the only quantum computer existing in the world. Even the most sophisticated security system in the world doesn't stand a chance against it."

After the girl heard this, she seemed to be slightly convinced. She gritted her teeth. "In that case, I can try to steal my dad's access card. But there's one condition, you guys must use this opening to rescue Fisher as well!"

"..."

Silence on the other end of the earpiece.

"This is my condition. I will not do whatever you ask of me if you cannot promise me this."

The girl refused to budge.

"But, what if Fisher is already..."

The voice from the earpiece suddenly turned hoarse. "What if Fisher is already erased by Blackwatch, then what happens?"

"Shut up!"

The color on the girl's face was drained away when she heard this. Her hands holding the magazine trembled uncontrollably. She spoke coldly, "No, nothing is going to happen to Brother Fisher. He's currently the only heir of Oppenheimer. Are you telling me that this evil company would dare to incur the wrath of Brother Fisher's family? Danny, I won't forgive you either if you continue spouting your nonsense!"

"..."

The voice on the other end remained silent.

"Alright, this is how it's going to go down. I will get my dad's access card somewhere around nine tonight. You guys can get the other preparations underway in the meantime."

Annie had made up her mind. After that, she pulled the earphone out of her ear and tossed it into a nearby trash can before getting on her bicycle and left without looking back.

It was only after Annie had left when an average-looking European young man wearing jeans stepped out of the bushes. His face was written in disappointment as if he had just been broken up with.

Annie cycled back home all by herself and went straight for the kitchen when she returned. She opened the refrigerator and saw that it was full of vegetables and various foods.

She then opened the topmost rack in the kitchen where she found a bottle of sleeping pills.

"Sorry, Dad..."

There was a shadow of hesitation in Annie's eyes. When she saw a mirage of Fisher appearing in her mind, her hesitation quickly vanished and turned into stoic determination again. She proceeded to prepare dinner.

According to the usual schedule, the research center should be closing somewhere around eight. Her father usually went straight home after work and should be back around eight-thirty.

After checking the current time, Annie started to wash the vegetables and prepared dinner. It had always been either her father or the nanny preparing dinner. Things changed when they came to Africa. Since Annie had to regularly liaise with the White Embers members, she told her father to not hire a nanny.

It was only now when Annie realized how much work went into preparing meals.

Annie clumsily washed the vegetables and cut them as best as she could. She then poured in nearly half a bottle of salad dressing and proceeded to stir them violently.

Midway through her stirring, she suddenly stopped and went to get the bottle of sleeping pills. She crushed them up and mixed them into the vegetable salad.

After the preparation was complete, Annie nodded to herself contently and went to prepare the next dish — tomato soup.

Half an hour later, the soup was ready as well. Annie went to get two more sleeping pills and mixed them into the soup.

After this was ready, she looked out the window and saw the sky outside had turned dark. The clock hanging on the wall ready eight-thirty.

Just as she set the food on the table, she heard the unmistakable sound of a car's engine coming from outside.

Her father had returned.

Annie took a deep breath and put on her most genuine smile to greet her father at the entrance. The father and daughter duo quickly started conversing at the door.

"Hey honey, is today some kind of special day?"

When Samuel saw the dinner and candles set on the table, he was visibly surprised. "Annie, this is the first time I've seen you making dinner at all. Is this a special surprise for me?"

"That's right, Dad."

Annie enthusiastically brought Samuel to the table and served a bowl of soup for her father as she said, "Dad, this is the tomato soup I made, give it a taste."

"Of course, I'd love to try out the soup that my dearest daughter made for me."

Samuel felt his cheeks flushing red. He gave it a gentle sip and immediately went into praising. "My dear Annie, I have to say that this is a true delicacy you've made!"

"Help yourself to more."

Annie urged her father to eat more as she pushed the salad bowl on the table toward Samuel. "There's also the salad I've made, try it."

"It's delicious."

After Samuel took several bites, he noticed how Annie was just silently staring at him at the table. He found it strange and asked, "My dear, are you not eating?"

"I don't eat much dinner these days, I'm on a diet."

Annie brushed the topic aside. "I've made all this for you."

"I see."

After that, the father and daughter continued making small talk when in truth, Annie was trying to spy whatever information she could get regarding the research center.

Samuel never doubted his daughter in the slightest and answered whatever questions she had patiently and in detail.

After around twenty minutes had passed, Samuel suddenly started to look tired. He started to rub his forehead suspiciously and yawned several times.

"Dad, you look tired."

Annie smiled. "Go get some rest, I'll clean everything up."

"You're a wonderful daughter. I do feel quite tired."

Samuel nodded, full of emotions. "I'm probably overworked by today's research. In that case, I'll go catch some sleep now. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Dad."

Annie waved her father goodbye. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw her father returning to his bedroom.

Within ten minutes, Annie heard the sound of her father snoring coming from his room.

"Now!"

Annie saw her opportunity. She gently pushed open the door to her father's room. Before she could step inside, she heard a round of shuffling footsteps approaching from behind her. Before she could react, she felt a hand reaching for her from behind and covered her mouth!

"Mmmf!"

Annie was horrified. The very next second, she felt the foreign hand turning her around to face the stranger. It was only then when she noticed that it was Danny who she had only just made contact with earlier this evening.

"Shh, it's me..."

Danny kept his hands over Annie's mouth and urgently gestured for Annie to stay quiet before slowly removing her hands.

"Oh my god, why are you guys here?"

Annie instinctively stumbled backward when she noticed another unfamiliar man standing behind Danny. Both of them are wearing yellow-colored uniforms.

"Annie, please calm down. There's a good reason for us coming here."

Danny tried to calm Annie down and explained, "We need to collect biological samples from your father for the next part of our mission."

"Haven't I already given you my dad's DNA sample and palm print?"

Annie hissed.

"DNA and palm prints aren't enough."

Danny explained, "We also need samples of your father's facial structure and iris samples, otherwise, it won't be enough to bypass the identity verification test of the Blackwatch's biological research center."

As he said this, he took out an arm-length device that looked like a printer. He glanced at Samuel who was sleeping soundly in bed and placed the device over his head.

"What are you guys doing?"

Annie was shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Danny smiled before pressing a button on the device. Immediately, there was a low rumbling voice as a ray of light shot out from the bottom of the device and scanned Samuel's face.

Meanwhile, the other man produced a device shaped like a torchlight. After Danny was finished with the device, the man stepped to the side of Samuel's bed and gently pried the sleeping professor's eyes open.

He aimed the torchlight at Samuel's eyes and shone over them briefly.

After everything was complete, the three of them retreated from Samuel's bedroom.

"It's about to be showtime!"

Danny smiled at Annie before pressing another button on the device that looked like a printer. The device slowly printed a flesh-colored object when it was activated.

"3D printer, you guys are trying to..."

Annie held her mouth agape.

"That's right, we need to make a thorough copy of your father's facial structure to help us pass through the biometric identification system of the biological research center."

Danny nodded. Meanwhile, the other man produced two contact lenses from his device. "This contact lens is designed with the same iris as your father, I also have a sticker with your father's palm prints imprinted on my hand now."

[1] Author actually wrote her name as 'Alice', but Samuel's daughter was previously named Annie... We changed it to Annie to keep it consistent. A case of author forgetting their character's name? >_<