461 - 465

Chapter 461: Threat

This was the first time Brooke acted in such a manner against non-criminal parties.

Hodge did not know what to do when he saw Brooke and Austin who were turning on each other.

Hodge had always been mild-tempered and innocent by nature. Although his circumstance had left him in a dark place, Blacklight Biotechnology had prepared for this in advance and arranged designated therapists for him. He would undergo psychotherapy two to three times each week on average.

Hodge usually came out of the therapy sessions feeling much better mentally. Although he still succumbed to the occasional depressive episode when he thought about the condition of his body, he was gradually finding new hope in this new profession —

To be a world-famous superhero had been his dream all along.

The other officer, Blake, was the most mentally composed of the trio. He never despaired despite having all four limbs severed. These days, it seemed he had dedicated his mind and soul to build a larger fanbase. His psychological evaluation score had always been the highest of the tree.

Meanwhile, the captain, Brooke, was the definitive strongest of the trio.

Even before he was disabled, he had always been the trump card of the task force since his marksmanship and melee combat skills were far higher than average. He was also known for handling cases meticulously. However, the two years following the accident that left him disabled had been miserable for him. The episode brought him huge psychological trauma and twisted his personality completely.

Meanwhile, while they were all at a loss of how to react to what was happening, everything that happened was taped from the recording device installed in their armor and relayed to the BHB command center.

The BHB command center was a branch under the newly established BHB department of Blacklight Technology. As the name suggested, it was the logistics department of the three BHB members. They essentially functioned as a publicity department with an integrated logistics and operation chain. Their purpose was to craft a positive international reputation for the "BHB Combative Police".

At the moment, a deafening alarm was sounding off in the command center. One of the officers cried out, "This is terrible, Mr. Brooke's physiological state is highly volatile at the moment, he's furious!"

"What happened?"

"He attacked Miss Austin!"

"Hurry up and get the manager and the supervisor!"

Within two to three minutes, three department executives arrived at the command center. By then, Brooke had walked away from Austin.

"What happened?"

A middle-aged Chinese man asked with a stern frown.

"Brooke attacked Miss Austin just now. The situation was dire but now it seems everything is fine."

One of the inspectors replayed the recorded footage and noted. "We were going to toggle the emergency shutoff for Brooke's bionic armor, but then he let go of Miss Austin on his own so we didn't have to resort to that option."

The executives looked at the replayed footage. When they saw Brooke lifting Austin in the air with one arm, their expressions immediately turned dark.

If Brooke had the audacity to treat Austin who represented Blacklight Biotechnology, that meant he would do the same to any others.

"Brooke's mental state is extremely questionable."

The Chinese man frowned as he remarked, "I've gone through his data. Out of four psychological assessments, he failed there of them. It seems to me that he only managed to pass his latest assessment by examining the psychologist's routine and navigate around them. After all, he has always had sharp intuition and sense for these matters. Realistically, he shouldn't have been inducted into the BHB combative police force so soon."

"There's no way around it, President Qian didn't give us much time."

Another bald executive mentioned, "Besides, wasn't it you who mentioned that it was not a big issue? You're the department advisor. Without your signature, he wouldn't have been inducted into BHB so soon after only undergoing several assessments."

"Hmmph! So what now?"

The Chinese man scoffed discontentedly. "He's very mentally unstable and refuses to obey our management, this puts a lot of pressure on us. If word of this gets out, President Qian will feel that we're incompetent and if things go south, we might be relegated to our original department."

"This incident may be significant, but at the same time, it's not a major issue."

The third man among the group suddenly spoke, "First of all, it's Austin's fault for offending the BHB officer. Meanwhile, Brooke's action of assaulting her must not be tolerated as well, but that doesn't mean we should make a public display of punishing him. We can talk with him to make him understand that we hold control over his life and threaten him that way, make him understand who's in charge!"

"I suppose that will have to do."

The Chinese man contemplated for a moment before agreeing. "We climbed up the corporate ladder with great difficulty to finally become department managers and supervisors. Although this BHB department is newly established, there are great expectations from above that need to be met. We mustn't let our progress be stained by something like this."

"Yes, we'll make him understand the fault of his ways..."

...

Brooke glanced at Austin who was lying passed out on the ground. He felt relieved at having the opportunity to vent his anger. He proceeded to sneer and turn around, and walk down the other end of the hallway, completely ignoring Hodge who was calling after him.

After he took the elevator to the underground parking lot and was just about to drive home, the communication device built into his armor suddenly started to ring.

The caller was none other than the department executive of BHB — Liu Zhijian.

"D*mn it!"

Brooke was enraged when he realized his leisure time was about to be interrupted again. He smashed against the wall with all his might. The staggering impact created a large hole where his fist landed, pieces of debris scattered everywhere along with a cloud of dust!

With just one punch, the load-bearing wall was punched through by Brooke, revealing the layer of deformed steel bars underneath.

After unleashing his built-up anger and frustration this way, Brooke finally answered the call. He heard a grave voice coming from the other end. "Brooke, come to my office immediately."

"Alright, I'll be right there!"

Brooke did his best to suppress his anger and proceeded to return to the elevator.

Five minutes later, Brooke came before the door leading to the department executive's office. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a voice coming from inside. "Door isn't locked, come right in."

Brooke swiftly pushed open the door and saw a Chinese man sitting behind a large and classy desk. The man stared at him without any notable expression.

This Chinese man looked somewhere in his mid-thirties. He was slightly plump and had a mostly flat face, topped off with a mildly receding hairline. His complexion was ruddy and pink, which was probably a result of proper and routine skincare.

Brooke asked unenthusiastically when he saw this man who was shaped like a hound in front of him, "Manager Liu, you were looking for me?"

"Come, please sit."

The man addressed as Manager Liu pointed at a chair opposite his table while he held a button on his table and instructed, "Little Zhou, please bring us tea."

"That's enough."

Brooke motioned and claimed harshly, "Get straight to the point, I don't plan to waste too much time here because I need to head back to my family."

Manager Liu did not seem to be too bothered by this and proceeded to tell him, "In that case, I'll get straight to it."

With that, he took a heavy booklet of agreement from his drawer and set it on the table and got very serious as he said, "Mr. Brooke, I know that you belong to the Namibian police department. Still, please don't forget that you're also employed under Blacklight Biotechnology by definition. This contract that you signed states that you're obliged to complete the tasks that Blacklight Biotechnology assigns you."

"I know."

Brooke only glanced briefly at the contract on the table. The contract clauses began to appear automatically in the form of an overlay in his vision. After looking at the contract clauses, Brooke continued:

"I took a look at Namibian laws during this period and found that some of the treaties in this contract don't comply with the Namibian Labor Law. This includes the contract condition that states we have to be on standby for all twenty-four hours each day.

"The labor law clearly states that apart from a handful of vital departments of the country as an exception, private companies aren't allowed to cut into the leisure time of their public employees. Strictly speaking, it shouldn't be legal for my working hours to exceed twelve hours, but I've already been on standby in the company for more than seventy-two hours by now."

Brooke rapidly scanned through the contract clauses gliding past his vision and went on. "Also, there are certain clauses that severely violate Namibian laws and even Namibia's Constitution to a certain extent. For example, Article 26, Article 45, Article 13, Article 57, Article 8..."

Liu Zhijian's expression grew darker with each word uttered by the officer. He asked in near disbelief, "You're crazy, do you have any idea what crazy tales you're spouting? Are you planning to breach the contract?"

"Of course not."

Brooke shook his head. "Blacklight Biotechnology granted me a chance at a new life, I wouldn't repay the company's kindness by turning my back against them. Still, from what I'm gathering based on this contract, it seems that every inch of my body is rendered as a property of Blacklight Biotechnology. It ranges from my name, appearance, catchphrase... If these contract details were to be publicized, I believe the reputation of the company would take a hit as well. I'd appreciate it if I can rectify certain conditions stated in the contract.

"Apart from that..."

Brooke continued pushing his argument. "Our BHB Combative Police Force acts as the core of the police department, but our compensations and salary are measly when compared to the investment of more than a billion dollars in the entire department. I'd like to push for shared dividends of the department's funds. This way, we may have more reasons to be more committed to our work and strive to achieve a higher standard. I hope that Manager Liu will think about the points I've raised..."

Upon hearing this string of requests, Liu Zhijian looked at Brooke as if he was a lunatic. "The contract the three of you signed are standard contracts. If your contract has to be altered, doesn't that mean everyone else has reason to alter their contracts as well? It's ridiculous to even propose something like this. As for the shared dividends, don't even think about it. Even I don't have a say in the project dividends!"

"In this case, there's nothing more to say."

Brooke appeared standoffish as he said this, "The nature of the relationship between Blacklight Biotechnology and myself is a cooperative one, I'm not an employee of Blacklight Biotechnology. From now on, I'll work here the same way as I did in the police station, which means I'll have the standard time off and will not be responsible for any further tasks assigned to me after I'm off work. Even when it comes to fighting against crimes, I'll only follow through with the plans I draw up myself instead of following the orders of Blacklight Biotechnology."

"So, you're insisting on breaching the contract?"

Liu Zhijian looked at the officer like he was a brazen fool. There was even a hint of pity in his eyes because he realized that Brooke had been bedridden the last two years and due to the depressing financial state of his family, he must have been out of touch with the real world all this time. There was a chance that this man barely understood what the phrase Blacklight Biotechnology implied.

However, Liu Zhijian would not state this claim out loud, he only remarked stubbornly, "Mr, Brooke, if you intend to follow through with this, the company will hold you responsible for your actions and demand that you return the bionic armor!"

Brooke squinted the moment he heard this. He shot up from his chair and started to draw closer to the manager. "Are you threatening me?"

Liu Zhijian was initially shocked by how the officer reacted. He still remembered what happened to Austin previously. However, he became resolute when his eyes darted to a bright red emergency button covered under a transparent lid on the table. He immediately declared:

"Mr. Brooke, this isn't a threat but a piece of advice! I'm sure you wouldn't want to return to your previous bedridden state and live your life like that, no?"

"I'm sure you have the right to take back the bionic armor."

Brooke nodded, then he continued with raising another point. "But if it gets to that point, that means the BHB Combative Police Force is corrupted and the hundreds of millions of dollars invested by Blacklight Biotechnology to strengthen its public image becomes entirely wasted. I'm sure even Manager Liu would've trouble holding onto his role in the department when that happens, am I wrong?"

With that, Brooke turned around and headed toward the exit.

"Brooke!"

When he saw that the officer was about to leave, Liu Zhijian's heart dropped. It turned out that the reason the other party dared to negotiate terms with him was that he knew that the executive did not want to risk publicizing this matter. He knew that he could not afford to let this person gain the upper hand on him because it would be used as leverage later on.

Upon considering this, Liu Zhijian quickly flipped open the transparent lid on his desk and smashed the red button!

"Clap!"

There was an urgent blare of an alarm. Immediately after, Brooke felt like he had lost all sensations in his body. He felt his movements being frozen instantaneously as soon as the alarm sounded. After that, he lost his balance and slumped to the ground.

"What's going on!"

A trace of panic started to surface in Brooke's eyes when this happened. "Why is my body..."

"Mr. Brooke, this isn't your body."

Liu Zhijian took a deep breath. He got up from his seat and approached Brooke, proceeding to kneel in front of him to look at him. "Since you've read the contract, I'm sure that you're aware that this armor belongs to the company. You're just borrowing it for the moment, we have the right to take back the bionic armor at any given moment!"

Brooke finally descended into a full-blown panic when he heard this. He struggled inside his shell. "You can't do this! It's illegal! Screw this!"

"If you think that you can threaten Blacklight Biotechnology with measly hundreds of millions of dollars of investments, you're dead wrong."

Liu Zhijian viciously grabbed Brooke's face and held a hand over his mouth to stop him from babbling. "You'd best not cause any more trouble and continue being a good robocop, it's a win-win situation for you and me.

"Worst case scenario, I'll be fired from this position, but the stakes are different from you because you'll lose this body. You'll return to being a bunch of squabbling pigs rolling around in a pool of mud, just as Austin described it!"

Brooke immediately fell silent upon hearing this and stopped resisting.

"Do you understand!"

When Liu Zhijian did not receive a response from Brooke, he gritted his teeth and delivered a swift slap to the crippled Brooke's face.

"I understand!"

Brooke cried out.

"Excellent."

Liu Zhijian let out a sigh and proceeded to get up and return to his desk to toggle the red button again.

Brooke immediately regained control over his body. He quickly pulled himself back on his feet and glared at Liu Zhijian with a glacial expression.

"Do you have any more questions, Mr. Booke?"

Liu Zhijian returned the same glare at Brooke. His right palm hovered over the button as sweat trickled down his forehead slowly.

Brooke did not say anything else. He only gave Liu Zhijian one last ominous look before turning around to push open the door and leave.

After ensuring that Brooke had left by checking the surveillance camera, Liu Zhijian finally wiped the sweat off his forehead and loosened up.

"I never thought that someone like me who has never been in a fight since I was a kid would threaten someone else with violence... It does seem like the pragmatic solutions where I come from won't fly in a place like this..."

Liu Zhijian mustered a strained smile and shook his head as he thought of this before he fell into deep thought again.

Chapter 462: International Star

The trio of Brooke, Hodge, and Blake were clad in their intimidating armor in front of the camera. The backdrop that framed the picture was a partly collapsed building.

The building used to be a five-stories-tall building. Following a recent explosion, a good half of the rooms on the fourth and fifth floor were blown apart. Additionally, plenty of caved-in holes formed by bullets could be spotted along the exterior walls of the building.

The trio withstood the scorching heat of the blazing sun as they each struck their signature pose. Their respective unique logo stitched to their chest was perfectly highlighted with their pose.

Brooke's logo was a roaring lion that represented courage;

Hodge's logo represented honor, with a holy sword with vines entangled around it;

The only black man among the trio, Blake, had a bauhinia flower badge which represented the values of sacrifice.

Shortly after that, the camera panned closer until the image turned into a close-up of each member. First, it was Brooke's majestic appearance as he looked into the camera solemnly and declared, "Severely cracking down on all forms of crime, committed to upholding the rights and interest of every citizen!"

Next up, it was Hodge who struck a saluting pose before proclaiming righteously, "The honor of the code of law may never be trampled!"

Finally, there was Blake who slowly turned to face the camera and revealed a row of pearly white teeth. "None shall ever commit crimes before the BHB combative police force!"

"Courage!"

"Honor!"

"Sacrifice!"

The three men cried out their unique tagline in unison as they stacked their hands on top of each other's, "BHB Combative Police Force, undefeated!"

The complete BHB logo appeared on the display, signaling the end of the promotional clip.

After that, the image was cut to an energetic black man with piercing eyes who was dressed in a suit and standing in the center of a dark stage. He faced the camera and started his introduction. "Dear viewers joining us today, what you just saw was a terrorist attack that occurred in Windhoek, Namibia only today.

"At 8 a.m., the local police received reports saying that someone was setting up a bomb in the building. The police hurried to the scene and surrounded the six criminals in the building. But something nobody foresaw the terrorists possessing heavy weapons, therefore, the police had to evacuate the citizens in the building and enlist the help of the BHB Combative Police Force.

"The BHB Combative Police Force upheld their reputation as a terrific task force. In just three minutes, they took out all six terrorists and restored peace to the area!

"Nobody could ever foresee something like this to happen, to think that Africa who was once considered the most underdeveloped region would now step to the forefront..."

The black man giving his speech could not hold back a sigh upon saying this, "In 1860, the nation of England took the lead in heading the first industrial revolution of our civilization. During that industrial revolution, humans replaced manual labor with machines, which led to large-scale industrial production. Since then, the overall productivity of our society has skyrocketed!

"And that industrial revolution was also the dawn of the era of the machine. However, the segment that played a critical role in driving this trend was the period between the second industrial revolution in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. This period of the industrial revolution was when mankind officially saw the dawn of the electrical age.

"After that, there was the third industrial revolution. Humans entered the age of artificial intelligence and the development of microelectronics, until today..."

As the black man said this, bright images began to flicker on the display behind him. The display showed black and white old-school industrial machinery, with the silhouette of great scientists such as Edison and Einstein in the backdrop. Then there was a montage that displayed modern electronic technology, blending the technology from different eras together that gave the viewers a feeling like they were traversing through time.

The black man strode forward, taking large strides. He came in front of the camera and spread his arms wide open to declare, "However, never has there been a moment in all of history when our world is this close to stepping into a futuristic era...

"As you all know, since the launch of the 'Project Xingtian' charted by Blacklight Biotechnology, we humans are taking steady steps towards a brand-new era. This era will be remembered for its futuristic visions, for inspiring hope and peace, you may call it — Paradise!"

Grandiose music started to play in the background. The black man proclaimed in a powerful, energetic tone, "The advent of bionic prosthesis has allowed millions of disabled people to regain their quality of life. It effectively removes the need for wheelchairs and frees them from the discriminatory gaze of the public. It helps them regain their confidence and get back up on their feet.

"Now, bionic prostheses have not only entered our daily lives, but also into the realm of law enforcement agencies. As we all know, working as a police officer is widely considered as one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. It's one of the occupations that leads to the highest rate of incurring permanent disability and in severe cases, death. Despite all this, crime rates remain unchanged in certain regions. Have you ever thought that perhaps if we can strengthen the police force, they will be able to better protect us?"

As he said this, the image of Brooke, Hodge, and Blake appeared on the screen. The announcer promptly turned around and pointed at the three men on the display. "The BHB Combative Police Force is the first special security agency established in Namibia, Africa. It was funded by the world-renowned company Blacklight Biotechnology. These brave officers sacrificed their bodies to return to their posts so that they may continue to serve the public.

"They were reborn from the ashes like the tale of the phoenix and gained new bodies that can cut through all adversaries lying ahead of them! Like the god of war, Ares, they will pave through evil and lock up all criminals into jail cells where they belong!"

The announcer suddenly changed the subject when he made this point. Another appeared on the screen behind him again, this time it was a picture of a man with both legs amputated lying in a dark room. "Look here, this man here is Mr. Evans Morrison, a police officer in Northern America. He joined the police force in 2015 to become an honorable policeman. He served from 2015 to 2023, arresting 16 prisoners and killing four in his time of service.

"However, on an unfortunate night in 2023, he was shot in the spine during a chaotic gunfight with a group of robbers. After three days in the ICU, they managed to preserve his life, but he permanently lost the ability to walk in the process...

"And so, he was bedridden until today..."

The announcer paused for a moment to build suspense before continuing. "I'm sure many of you are wondering if he received the proper compensation and yes, I'm here to confirm that he was certainly recompensed properly with a sum of half a million dollars. However, this sum is only going to be enough for his medical fees and is nowhere close to enough to help him retire in his later years. He served the citizens heroically over the years to uphold justice in the nation, only to be rewarded with such a fate. There are countless others like Evans Morrison here who dedicated the best years of their lives for the public, only to end up broken and impoverished, fated to be tied to a bed for the rest of their lives..."

The announcer let the silence linger again before continuing, making sure to emphasize each word he spoke now, "I'm not merely standing up for them. The point I'm trying to make is that while we're stressing about problems concerning the efficiency of the police task force and upholding public laws, Africa, which was always regarded as an undeveloped nation, had made rapid advancements ahead of the world. They implemented bionic prosthetics in the public security sector and the results were immediately distinct. The impact of this decision has helped them surpass both the Central Region and Northern America in the public security sector!

"There are countless heroes out there whose names are completely unknown to the public. They are doomed to lie in lonesome cold rooms and inside low-income households. They can't even buy takeout for themselves. The root of this issue is government incompetence! They should have the right to rise again, to shine their light upon the world, but the incompetent government in various countries have killed them!"

Then, the music reached a climax before stopping abruptly.

The announcer exhaled suddenly before looking into the camera with a hopeful look. "It's my wish that in the near future, BHB combative police can extend their reach to every nation in the world and shine their light in every hidden crevice..."

The background music started once again the moment the announcer said this, immediately building up to the point of climax again!

"I'm Wilson Richard, this is the Earth Federation's international show — Richard's World. Thank you for tuning in and we'll see you again!"

With that, the lights were shut off. All that was left was the silhouette of the announcer on stage. The display behind showcased rows of acknowledgment.

The acknowledgment went out to all the sponsoring companies and corporations. One of them was a special logo that stood out among the bunch. It was a black orb with a yellow ring around it, it seemed like a blackhole...

"Click!"

As Richards' World program commenced, the virtual display in front of Chen Chen shut off on its own.

"Not bad, it seems that even the international program with the most viewership is starting to favor us as well."

After watching the passion-filled show, Chen Chen nodded with great satisfaction. "This is only the first month since the BHB Combative Police Force debuted. I didn't expect the global reception to be far more optimistic than I initially thought it would be."

"Of course, considering the core values of BHB is already in line with the values of Western society."

Little X agreed, "The Westerners have always been a fan of the superhero ideal. In this landscape, the appearance of several picture-perfect superheroes is extremely likely to be favored and generate positive feedback. You could even argue that Marvel and DC have paved the path for us over the last few decades... Well, then there's also the billions of dollars we invested over the last month for publicity."

"But..."

Little X's tone suddenly switched as she looked at Chen Chen cautiously. "On the Eastern parts of the world such as the North Sea, East Sea, and Indian Continent, the influence of the BHB Combative Police Force isn't as favorable. Although there's still a considerable amount of fanbase, they are nowhere near as fervent as their Western counterparts."

"Of course, the North Sea Continent has always been the rivals of the Western world. The Indian Continent has Bollywood while the Central and East Sea Continent also has media circles of their own. It's no surprise that they don't understand the appeal of BHB."

Chen Chen shrugged, not completely bothered by this. "The primary focus of our initial rounds of promotion should gravitate toward the Western market."

Little X nodded in response.

"We're only in the launching phase so it's understandable that expenses would be higher during this period. By the time BHB establishes its reputation, the expenses should trend downward naturally as well."

Chen Chen ruminated. "If we can establish an IP around BHB, three members alone wouldn't cut it. The Namibian market isn't too large on its own. By the time we start inducting the BHB into Northern America and Europe, we'll need to build new local combative police forces. The BHB is merely a template for its successors."

"So, we have to continue recruiting?"

Little X asked.

"That's right, we can make a variety show around it and recruit retired or disabled ex-police officers from all around the world."

Chen Chen pondered. "We can start with manufacturing common, standard armor for them to display their skills in front of audiences. This can range from melee combat and marksmanship. Several favorites will be selected from among the bunch. This way, we can filter out the most deserving members to join the BHB Combative Police Force."

"But if we establish a local BHB police force in other countries in the future, won't we have to compete with the local police force? It should be reasonable to assume that the locals will still rally behind their local police forces. Won't that make for some difficult investments?

Little X asked quizzingly.

"Of course not."

Chen Chen chuckled when he heard this'. "If our targeted countries are already willing to incorporate robotized units in place of human labor, that means that we already have half of our work done for us. By then, we can feel free to sell them combat police bionic prosthetics and make a fortune from it. What does the presence of the BHB Combative Police Force matter at that point?"

"Ah, that's true..."

Little X quickly saw the validity of the argument.

"Meanwhile, pay close attention to the BHB department and ensure that there won't be any slip-ups."

Chen Chen noted. "The reputation of BHB may crumble to dust with just the slightest misstep. If that happens, then our following plans may not be as easy to execute anymore..."

Little X nodded contemplatively before noting. "Oh yeah Sir Godfather, speaking of supervision, it seems there was a minor conflict in BHB just yesterday. Since nothing major came out of it, I figured it wasn't necessary to inform you immediately."

"Some conflict is to be expected since they are no true noble superheroes, it's just a manufactured image."

Chen Chen remarked, "So, what happened?"

"It's about Brooke."

A footage started playing as soon as Little X said this.

In the display, Brooke lifted a red-haired lady with one arm before promptly flagging her onto the ground. The sequence ended with Brooke verbally threatening the lady.

The video cut to another scene, a conversation between Brooke and a Chinese man. Chen Chen immediately recognized this Chinese man. It was someone handpicked by Qian Wenhuan to become a manager in the BHB department, Liu Zhijian. From the footage, it seemed that the two failed to come to an agreement and Brooke was walking away.

The next second, when Liu Zhijian pressed an emergency button on the table, Brooke suddenly collapsed onto the ground and became immobilized.

What followed after was a sequence of threats being issued before finally ending with the two men parting ways.

Chen Chen frowned faintly after watching the two footage.

"This can go both ways. You can say that this is just a minor accident but if this doesn't get resolved, it can eventually lead to the international reputation of BHB being squandered."

Chen Chen considered momentarily. "X, keep a close eye on him. If he remains to be this unreliable in the future, then we can follow the countermeasures we devised in the past and take him out in an 'unfortunate accident during combat'. I don't want any unprecedented issues to come up during this phase of the BHB!"

Chapter 463: Setting the World Stage

Over the following period, with each successful operation conducted by the BHB Combative Police Force, their popularity in the international community continued to grow.

All of the violent crime operations conducted by the BHB had their footage captured with drones that were subsequently edited to create a well-produced documentary piece.

Blacklight Biotechnology even designated expert video editors, audio technicians, and even world-class musicians to tailor majestic background music for BHB videos.

After a round of polishing from the world's best post-production team, these documentaries would then be uploaded to the official YouTube account for the audience all around the world to watch for free.

Each one of these uploads would generate hundreds of millions of views immediately and climbed to the top spot in trending as soon as it was uploaded, bringing significant profit.

Advertising sponsors, worldwide fan groups, and even merchandise were established during this period. It only took a month for the three BHB officers to become global sensation superheroes.

The trio racked up increasing amounts of successful violent crime operations over time. Facing the heavily armed BHB officers complemented with an assortment of armed drones, the group of criminals that only had access to weapons the likes of an AKM were as good as a bunch of sitting ducks waiting to be arrested.

With the emergence of the BHB, violent crime rates in Namibia had plummeted by more than thirty percent over the last month.

Only several days ago, Hodge was assigned to the position of a sniper and was tasked with taking out a robber who had taken a hostage. However, his shot was slightly off and failed to take out the robber, which resulted in the robber losing his cool and misfiring, which ended up killing one of the hostages instantly with a headshot.

The kind-natured Hodge was greatly distressed over this incident for several days.

Something like this was a monumental incident. However, a set of protocols had been devised to address an exact situation such as this. Only several minutes after the mistake was identified, public relations arrived at the scene to bribe all of the reporters, police, as well as the family members of the deceased hostage, effectively burying this incident under covers.

With Blacklight Biotechnology's strong push for publicity, the phrase BHB Combative Police Force constantly ranked on top of the global search query. Phrases related to BHB were everywhere in both Northern American and European networks. The reputation of the three heroes was on par with the likes of Superman, Captain America, and various other superheroes.

Over the last few months, while the entire world focused its attention on Namibia, military experts all over the world also began to direct their greedy gaze at Blacklight Biotechnology's military department.

After witnessing the prowess of the XTN robots, the orders for the related weapons also started pouring into Blacklight Biotechnology in an endless stream.

However, most continents did not lose their minds over the XTN robots but instead exercised restraint over them. Most continents only purchased the XTN-XXX model robots in double digits. It was only the heavy hitters like Northern America and the Central Continent who shelled out enough to purchase up to three digits of these models. Most of the customers maintained that they only wanted to purchase some to conduct experiments and if the product was worth its value, they would return for more in time.

Blacklight Biotechnology did not oppose this manner of purchase. After all, there were more than thirty different models of XTN. Even if they only bought twenty to thirty units of each model, it would still total to nearly a thousand units. The total order value easily reached above 500 million U.S. dollars.

With dozens of different customers coming in, the total revenue easily went up to seven to eight billion dollars.

Despite all that, the Mark drones series and the XTN robot series were just appetizers as far as both parties were concerned. The main dish was the dozens of military technology owned by Blacklight Biotechnology that greatly surpassed the military technology of any other country.

For example, there was "Directional Aiming", "Long-distance Environmental Detection", "Coriolis Effect Simulation", and so on.

Chen Chen never intended to auction them off in the form of a one-off purchase, but instead to incorporate them into various preferential policies and agreements. The purchasing parties started many rounds of intense negotiations with Blacklight Biotechnology to discuss the terms.

Meanwhile, the public relations team led by Xia Yin also went back and forth between several major continents to conduct negotiations as well.

After several months and many more lengthy negotiations, agreements were reached successively with the four top continents of the Earth Federation, Northern America, Central Continent, Europe, and North Sea Continent.

Following the terms of the agreements, Blacklight Biotechnology would soon establish branch companies in dozens of major cities spread across these continents. They would also build research centers and sanatoriums, essentially building a localized and miniaturized version of Eco Science City.

Upon their completion, these sanatoriums would soon be able to take advantage of their location to quickly seize the local healthcare market.

It was public knowledge at this point that certain local medical institutions had been secretly using technology patented by Blacklight Biotechnology all this time to treat their patients and bypassing the patent fees. Now that Blacklight Biotechnology had a local branch in these places, they could proceed to cement their ownership over these procedures.

Meanwhile, the branch companies and research centers could continue to focus their attention on subsequent biotechnology development. Now that they had local drug certification permits, the process became streamlined.

The reason Chen Chen strived to spread his reach across the globe was to gain a monopoly over the global market.

The rise of branch companies all over the world meant gaining access to all these local markets. After its completion, all personnel and resources would be easily transferable across different continents, reducing the need for splurging a vast amount of expenses.

To gain greater leverage on the market and put himself ahead in the future, Chen Chen did not mind losing out on insignificant, short-term profits.

Time glided past quickly as the international political landscape continued to develop day by day. Around the end of May, when talks of conditions of establishing local branches were being conducted between Blacklight Biotechnology and the continents, Little X suddenly reminded Chen Chen.

"Am I hearing this right? You're saying that Osmond Biotech acquired a small workshop and inside this small pharmaceutical workshop, there's an employee named Rowling Keith?"

Chen Chen lifted an eyebrow, faintly surprised by this piece of news as a faint shadow of a smile appeared on his lips.

Osmond Biotech was none other than the name of the company in which the protagonist of a certain movie worked in. That movie was the first movie that Chen Chen had produced just three years ago — Deadly Crisis: A Shocking Scheme.

Since the name of the company was a rather conventional name, it was no surprise that a company like that did exist in reality. Due to suspicions of the odd characteristics of the interaction between the movie and the USB drive, Chen Chen made sure to keep a close eye on this company in real life. While this company was structuring another round of financing, Chen Chen saw the opportunity and immediately stepped in to acquire fifty percent of the company's shares.

With that, Blacklight Biotechnology became the shareholder with the highest shares of Osmond Biotech. Even the founder of the company, John Parker, only held fifteen percent of its shares.

However, since Blacklight Biotechnology was a third-party in this transaction, they had specifically agreed to the terms that they would not interfere in the company's internal affairs when signing the contract. Therefore, Blacklight Biotechnology did not have a say in any of the company's internal operations.

As the date drew closer to the timeline depicted in the movie, the company seemed to have flicked on an invisible switch. They regularly made a number of breakthroughs concerning Alzheimer's disease when even international pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson could not achieve anything of the like.

Although they had some way to go before achieving something like coming up with a cure for Alzheimer's disease, they were already garnering a significant amount of interest and discussions around themselves.

Now, Osmond Biotech had stealthily acquired a small workshop and employed someone named Rowling Keith?

Chen Chen could not be any more familiar with this name since it was the name of the protagonist of Deadly Crisis: A Shocking Scheme. This man would soon go on to lead a team and invent AD-001.

"As it is, Rowling Keith has been recruited by the founder of Osmond to participate in a special assignment team to conduct research in a secret laboratory. This laboratory they are working in isn't connected to the external network and all researchers are instructed to put away their electronic devices outside the laboratory whenever they enter."

Little X explained, "Which is why so far, I still haven't been able to collect any information regarding what's going on inside the laboratory."

Chen Chen nodded contemplatively and noted. "Back then, when I first watched Deadly Crisis: A Shocking Scheme, I already had slight suspicions that the movie is more or less connected with reality. Now, I have a hundred percent certainty that the events depicted in the movie will also occur in reality..."

Little X reflected on this observation as well. "I had my doubts initially, but there's the chain of events starting with the GS Combat Suit, followed by the Alzheimer's disease targeted drugs and us purchasing shares in their company. Finally with the appearance of the protagonist, Rowling Keith...

"All these coincidences strung together implies that these are no longer mere coincidences, but inevitable. Sir Godfather..."

Little X suddenly asked suggestively, "Do you think that we might alter the events that may follow if we were to interject and capture this protagonist?"

Chen Chen shook his head cautiously. "Let's refrain from doing that for now and just wait. Leaving the topic of whether we can alter the events of the movie aside, there's no way of telling if our attempts at altering it may lead to some form of violent chain reaction.

"Perhaps our attempt will not result in anything substantial, but there's also the chance that the magnitude of the consequences of doing so will be immeasurable..."

"Alright."

Little X answered dejectedly and lowered her head.

"Still, I think we can take some action if it comes to things not described in the plot of the movie."

Chen Chen suddenly switched his tone. "For example, we can install spying devices inside that laboratory to allow us to monitor their movements. This way, there's a lesser chance of us being caught off guard by sudden developments."

"Understood, I'll dispatch several Black Knights to Osmond Biotech."

Little X answered.

"Send more Black Knights. When the AD-001 is successfully developed, we can start hunting them down following the plot in the movie. There's no need to hold back since if we kill him in the middle of the pursuit, then that would mean the plot in the movie can be effortlessly altered without causing much rippling effect. On the other end, if the Black Knights could not kill him no matter how hard they tried..."

Chen Chen paused momentarily and contemplated. "That means there has to be some sort of law in place that we're unable to breach."

"How about the ending of the movie?'

Little X asked, "According to the ending of the movie, the protagonist finally overcame multitudes of danger and delivered the drug to the president of his corporation. It was then when he realized that the president was dressed in the same black tights like the ones who were after him all this time. Should we make similar arrangements to fit the ending of the movie as well?"

"That's right."

Chen Chen said, "I'll be waiting for him in the end. I'd like to see what happens after he delivers the AD-001 to me."

After making these arrangements, Chen Chen returned to the Spire Experimental Base.

During this period, with the help of James Watson, the father of DNA along with the three most outstanding scientific research members under Chen Chen's wing — Hannibal, Li Lei, and Neumann, the secret of G-virus and the black goo was gradually unraveled and gave way to the discovery of sophisticated characteristics of these subjects.

Chen Chen sat on the second floor of a level-five biosafety lab and observed them conducting various sets of experiments below.

The subject of the experiment this time was not the common research subjects of the Spire laboratory, but a far more valuable subject — Black Knights.

Chen Chen watched as Watson instructed Hannibal to take out a syringe that was securely wrapped in a bag. The tip of the syringe was far sharper and longer than their usual variant. Its material was an all-black special metal instead of regular metal.

Inside the intricate syringe, a puddle of red liquid could be spotted. The redness of the liquid was far more vibrant than the usual color of blood while also appearing extremely translucent.

Chen Chen continued inspecting the sequence with great interest. He saw Hannibal aiming the needle at the naked Black Knight's heart and proceeding to slowly insert it into the veins of the heart.

After the needle had sunk into the Black Knight's body, the tube was held down and began injecting its liquid into the Black Knight with a swift zip.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

In just three seconds after the injection, the Black Knight's body started to tremble.

It started with a faint tremble. Within moments, the Black Knight was shaking all over. It had only been seven seconds since the injection — what followed after was something that Chen Chen would never forget!

With his very own eyes, Chen Chen saw the Black Knight suddenly puffing up like a balloon. It was as if the innermost vessel of the Black Knight burst open and grew hundreds of new stems of muscles. The muscles of the Black Knight continued to bulge until it ripped through the skin and revealed layers upon layers of muscles dyed in red blood.

This was merely the beginning. Within seconds, the ripped skin began to regenerate at breakneck speed. What stood out was that the recovered skin took on a dark brown color as opposed to regular skin color. Meanwhile, a vast amount of stratum corneum began to grow all over the regenerated skin. They covered the entire outermost layer of the Black Knight within seconds.

After that, there was a sound of something bulging inside the Black Knight. It seemed as if the bones were starting to mutate as well. Within fifteen seconds, under the observant eyes of every member present at the scene, the Black Knight had mutated into a monstrosity standing more than three meters tall and weighing more than five hundred kilograms!

Chapter 464: Trial

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the end, the Black Knight injected with the unknown drug had mutated into a three-meter-tall monster with its skin covered in stratum corneum. Additionally, dozens of thick spikes rose along its back in a vertical line.

Even Chen Chen was visibly intrigued when he saw the Black Knight that was near instantaneously transformed into a ferocious giant.

"After many optimizations, this is the G-virus that has reached a near-perfect form, the G-358."

Little X took Chen Chen's hand as she looked at the giant monster downstairs and said softly, "It inherits the power of the G-3 virus and with the guidance of Professor Watson, it has become perfectly compatible with the Black Knight's DNA. After injections, the Black Knight can instantaneously multiply in size and become an ultimate soldier which is more flexible and also boasts higher defensive and recovery ability than a tyrant. Its physiological structure becomes far beyond that of regular humans!"

"What about ordinary humans?"

Chen Chen asked, "What happens if an ordinary person is injected with this virus?"

"It won't have any effect."

Little X turned to look at Chen Chen and informed, "The G-358 perishes instantly when it comes into contact with the outside world, so it can't spread in an external environment. Even if it enters the human body in a facilitated manner, the protein antigen inside it makes it so that it's unable to infect humans at all. It's completely harmless to humans and any other creatures in the world."

Chen Chen nodded, fully understanding the workings of the virus.

Approaching from a biological point of view, cells are wrapped by cell membranes that are made of phospholipids. There are also many proteins embedded in them, such as insulin receptor protein. Its associated structures made it so that it was bound with insulin very easily and once bound, the components fuse easily. There were certain proteins inside the cell that were used to indicate the identity of the cell. This meant that if the fused protein was detected to be different from the original protein in the body, the antibodies would be triggered and provoked a negative reaction.

The same was true for viruses. Various proteins could also be found on the surface of viruses. These proteins could only bind themselves to a set of specific cell proteins and in the case of successful fusing, the virus would then inject its genetic material into the cell body, thereby infecting the cell.

Since not all creatures carried the same surface protein, there may be cases of certain viruses that were entirely harmless to humans.

There were approximately 1.74 million kinds of viruses currently discovered and only 219 of them were known to infect humans, which was nearly negligible.

The reason this new variant of G-virus was unable to infect humans but could infect Black Knight was that it stemmed from a branch of T-virus. The Black Knights were also a variant of mutant humans that was born from cross-infection with the T-virus.

Under categorization, human beings were biologically classified into the eukaryotic kingdom of the mammal kingdom, which was a metazoan subunit, followed by hundreds of further subcategorizations... Primates, anthropoid suborders, suborder anthropoid apes, humans, Homo, and Homo sapiens. Although people in the world were generally classified into white, yellow, and black-skinned, they were all Homo sapiens on a genetic level. Meanwhile, other classes such as Neanderthals and Denisovans had gone extinct tens of thousands of years ago.

The Black Knights infected by the T-virus were no longer considered as an intelligent human species due to the vast genetic difference, which was why Chen Chen claimed that they were a completely new species of man.

With all that said, this did not necessarily mean that the G-virus could not infect humans. For example, the earliest variant of G-001/002/003 could infect nearly all mammalian species.

Chen Chen looked at the Black Knight transformed into a monstrosity that was no longer human and proceeded to ask, "What are the combative abilities of this new life form like? Is it still susceptible to our control?"

"Of course."

Little X answered confidently, "We've discovered that these changes don't occur to the neural nerves of the subjects. The nerves inside their body and brain are completely unaltered. The only effect is the remyelination and thickening of the nerve surface, which results in the Black Knight's reaction speed being multiplied two to three folds."

Chen Chen was stunned by this relegation.

Chen Chen was aware that the reaction speed of a person was determined by the nerve myelin sheath. The thicker the nerve myelin sheath, the faster the reaction speed of an individual. The Black Knight's reaction speed was already three to four times that of ordinary people as was. What would it be like if it was yet again multiplied two to three folds?

One could only guess what it would look like.

Little X continued. "This is the fifty-fifth experiment we've conducted and we have full confirmation that the Black Knight is perfectly compatible with the G-358. Their combat powers are magnified by more than ten folds."

As Little X said this, she looked at the other end of the laboratory.

Chen Chen looked over and saw a gigantic steel barred door on the other end. At this time, the flashing warning light beside the door suddenly switched from red to green.

"Warning, experiment is commencing. All researchers are advised to evacuate from the experiment section on the first floor. Warning, experiment is commencing. All researchers are advised to evacuate from the experiment section on the first floor..."

The announcement echoed repeatedly across the laboratory. Upon hearing this announcement, Watson, Hannibal, and the others immediately retreated from the laboratory and shuffled into the exits positioned around the first floor.

After approximately ten minutes later, Watson and the rest of the crew who had taken off their protective suits appeared in the observation deck on the second floor.

"Mr. Chen."

"Boss."

Watson, Hannibal, and the others were not surprised to see Chen Chen making an appearance. Everyone in the laboratory was aware of the attention that Chen Chen paid to the G-virus experiments. This terrifying virus would soon be the catalyst to all sorts of biological weapons. It was one of the most crucial experiments conducted in the Spire laboratory.

They were gathered beside Chen Chen and together, they looked at the hall below them through the observation glass.

Shortly after their arrival, the giant gate still flashing green began to rumble like a beast awakening. The sound of metal screeching against metal rang across their ears as the sealed gate started to lift slowly, revealing the dark space hidden behind it all this time.

There seemed to be the presence of something threatening looming in the air as soon as it was opened. The Black Knight that was transformed into a titan-like beast was still panting at first but immediately shot up when the gate started to open. The Black Knight proceeded to fix an iron gaze at the direction of the gate.

It seemed that the God chip was still working as intended.

It was around this point when the thump of steady footsteps that pounded in the hearts of everyone watching started to come from behind the gate.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

Each heavy footstep slamming against the ground seemed to beat in their hearts like a mighty gong being struck. When they heard this vicious thump, the color was quickly drained out of their faces. It was like how the prey in the natural world reacted when they saw the apex predator — it was a completely genetic response to approaching danger.

The corner of Chen Chen's lip rose to form a smirk. He knew what the source of this footstep was.

Within seconds, a giant standing three and a half meters tall that was covered with swollen muscles stepped out from behind the gate.

The giant was completely unclothed, safe for a pair of black shorts. The tone of its skin was horribly pale and not a single strand of hair could be spotted along its silky smooth skin. The strange texture of its skin made its pale pupils strike out like a sore thumb. As it darted its gaze across its surroundings, everyone present in the observation room apart from Chen Chen felt as if their souls were frozen by this petrifying gaze.

The Tyrant!

Chen Chen took a deep breath. This giant they were looking at was none other than the very first T-virus Tyrant created during Chen Chen's initial research of the Black Knights.

Strictly speaking, it was impossible for a Black Knight to hold its ground against a Tyrant as the sheer mass difference due to its size made the argument a redundant one. A Tyrant's height was twice that of a regular Black Knight and weighed more than five times. In terms of strength, the Tyrant was worlds ahead, where even ten Black Knights could barely match up against a single Tyrant.

However, pure muscles alone were useful in this era due to the advent of advanced firearms. In a direct matchup between a Tyrant and ten Black Knights, all the Black Knights had to do was split up and stand on opposite sides in groups of five and focus fire. In this situation, the enormous size of the Tyrant was as good as useless.

This was why Chen Chen never saw the point of mass-producing Tyrants and only kept it at the initial five all this time.

The Tyrant in the laboratory currently was one of them.

When the Tyrant appeared, the Black Knight started to move as well. It promptly took steps toward the Tyrant's direction to confront it.

Even after the G-358 injection, the Black Knight was still slightly outclassed by the Tyrant in terms of size and strength. Despite that, the aura which the dark-skinned and powerful Black Knight gave off rivaled that of the Tyrant.

Little X proceeded to give the order for the two monsters to attack. The onlookers watched as the two beasts started to accelerate toward each other. When the Tyrant planted its feet into the ground and lurched forward. The metal floor whined and bent under the sheer force generated. The Tyrant propelled itself into the air and fired itself into the Black Knight!

The Black Knight put on a far more agile and nimble display as it accelerated and used its arms and legs to alter its center of gravity. Just as the two beasts were about to collide with each other, it suddenly lurched forward and curled itself into a ball, leaping over the Tyrant!

"Swoosh!"

Everything occurred in a split instant. The two enormous beasts barely avoided a direct collision!

Hannibal, Li Lei, and the rest of the crew held their breaths collectively as they witnessed the enormous monster putting on a fantastical display of agility. The sheer visual impact could not be described with mere words.

This was merely the beginning. The next second, before the Tyrant had time to reset its stance, the Black Knight infected with G-virus flexed its sharp claws and stopped itself from sliding forward by sliding its claws against the wall. A long and narrow scratch immediately formed on the alloy-plated wall.

After that, the Black Knight leaped in the air and landed on the Tyrant's back in a split instant, and started dicing away at its back!

Chunks of flesh and skin scattered across the hall!

"Roar!"

The Tyrant howled furiously and twisted its body endlessly in an attempt to grab the monkey on its back. However, the Black Knight evaded the Tyrant's futile attempts at lightning speed. Left without a choice, the Tyrant decided to land flat on its back to crush its opponents using its weight!

Again, the Black Knight got out of the way by leaping away from the Tyrant's back, freeing itself from danger!

From the second floor, they had a clear and ceiling view on the Tyrant's back that revealed a series of shocking wounds. Rows upon rows of slices along its back highlighted by hints of its spine prodding out from the flesh. Within seconds, they spotted tiny red bugs squirming inside the open wound as they fused themselves into the exposed flesh at a rate that was visible to the naked eye.

The bloodworms were none other than the muscle fibers of the Tyrant. It only took a few minutes for these gruesome wounds to regenerate on their own as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.

This was the terrific regenerative ability which the Tyrant was equipped with.

The Tyrant had not given up on the fight just yet. It seemed to have learned a lesson from the previous confrontation and understood that it could not rely on speed and athleticism against this opponent. It took slow and calculated steps against its opponent, attempting to force the Black Knight into a disadvantageous corner.

Naturally, the Black Knight would not allow itself to be caged foolishly. As the Tyrant drew closer, it suddenly planted its feet into the ground and took a tremendous jump that shot itself into the air, over the head of the Tyrant!

Just as the Black Knight hovered over the airspace above the Tyrant, the Tyrant jumped as well. Despite the Tyrant not possessing the tremendous leaping ability of the Black Knight, the height of the ceiling made it so that there was a limit to the Black Knight's wiggle space. The Tyrant managed to grab its opponent's ankles!

The Tyrant immediately flung the Black Knight the other way around like he was handling a sandbag before borrowing the momentum and slamming the Black Knight into the ground ferociously!

"Bang!"

A deafening impact that filled the hall followed immediately. The surface of the floor that was made with metal could not handle the sheer force of the impact and caved inward!

It was nowhere near over just yet. After smashing the Black Knight into the ground, the Tyrant had not had enough yet. It strengthened its grip and continued smashing the Black Knight against the ground again and again!

"Bang bang bang bang bang!"

The terrain of the ground that was once flat had been transformed into a pit by then. Even the walls were not safe from the Tyrant's vicious assault had holes smashed into them. It looked as if a bomb had been set off in the hall. Even from the second floor, the crew of researchers could feel the floor quaking underneath them.

Under this constant barrage, the Black Knight had been crushed into something that resembled meat cotton. By the time the Tyrant had enough and flung it away, it had turned into an unrecognizable chunk of flesh!

"Bang!"

The body of the Black Knight landed lifelessly against the floor like a sack of flesh. There were no further movements after that.

"Is it over?"

They all turned to look at the sack of flesh with a hint of doubt. Soon, they noticed that the sack of flesh was squirming in place and they heard the sounds of structural snapping.

It was the sound of bones growing...

"It could still regenerate after getting to this point?"

Watson muttered.

"Of course, the regenerative of the Black Knight injected with G-358 triumphs even that of the Tyrant."

Little X turned and rolled her eyes at Watson.

By the time Little X had finished her sentence, the chunk of flesh had regenerated itself into a humanoid form again. Despite this observation, the Tyrant stood in place and chose not to attack while it still could. After all, this was not an all-out duel to the death, merely a trial run.

After half a minute had elapsed, the Black Knight got up on its feet again. This time, the stratum corneum layer seemed more fortified and its overall structure seemed more skeletal than its previous rendition.

"Exoskeleton?"

Watson and Hannibal remarked together in astonishment. The G-358 infected Black Knight was displaying signs of evolution!

When the Tyrant saw its opponent standing up again, it unleashed yet another ferocious roar. It did not wait any longer for its opponent to gather itself and immediately charged forward!

This time, the Black Knight did not try to avoid a confrontation. It got into a bent position and charged at the Tyrant as well at full speed. The two beasts had chosen the same approach to settle this fight once and for all!

"Bang!"

An enormous amount of blood splattered everywhere the instant both sides made contact. The Black Knight was sent flying a great distance away by the Tyrant that was larger than itself. Meanwhile, the Tyrant stumbled several paces forward before collapsing onto the ground.

Somewhere along the line, its head was sliced off cleanly...

"Thump!"

There came a dull thump of something clapping against a hard surface. The giant head of the Tyrant collided against the observation window in front of the research crew and splattered fresh blood all over the surface of the window.

Many of them could not hold back an aghast shriek when they saw the head of the Tyrant flying toward them. Their complexion immediately turned pale at the sight of it.

When they turned to the Black Knight who was sent flying away, they saw two bone spurs shaped like a pair of sickles sticking out the end of its elbow. The bone was extremely polished and dangerously sharp. The Black Knight must have latched them around the Tyrant's head and borrowed the force of impact when it was knocked away to decapitate the Tyrant!

Chen Chen could not resist the urge to clap and celebrate. "Truly impressive, to think that it can take on the Tyrant in melee combat. I must admit that I never expected such a terrific outcome."

"Does this count as cheating though?"

Li Lei who was standing beside seemed to downplay its victory. "Boss, this Black Knight resorted to using weapons. Although it did grow the weapon itself, it's still hard to say who would come out on top if the Tyrant was allowed a chance at a rematch, isn't it?"

Chen Chen shook his head and chuckled in a manner that was uncharacteristic for him. "That's where you're wrong, Li Lei. It seems like your reaction speed needs some keeping up as well. You have this misconception that the Tyrant is stronger but if you have been paying attention to the fight, you'll notice that the Black Knight with the G-358 injection is on another level whether in terms of agility, defensive abilities, and regenerative abilities. What's even more absurd is that it manages to evolve in the middle of the fight. Even if you run it back a hundred times, the victor will still be the same."

Upon mentioning this, Chen Chen suddenly shook his head regretfully. "It's a shame that the effects of this drug aren't permanent."

Little X nodded in agreement. She looked at the hall below and noted. "It has been fifteen minutes since its transformation. Based on what we've observed from previous experiments, it should be about time..."

Just as Little X said this, the Black Knight suddenly bent down and collapsed on its knee as if all its strength was suddenly being drained away. In a split instant, giant surges of water vapor gushed out of its mouth and nose. It looked like all the water inside its body was evaporating. Meanwhile, the bone spurs growing along its back and elbows as well as the layer of stratum corneum began to oxidize and diffused into dense powder that scattered into the air...

"The experiment subject is shelling!"

Hannibal exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at the Black Knight and saw the water vapor dissipating into the air around it. The Black Knight that transformed into a monster seemed to have undergone a process of molting seen in regular insects. Soon, it shed off the giant layer of skin and emerged from its freshly molted shell.

Chen Chen observed as the Black Knight that was riddled with spikes and layers of stratum corneum had returned to its usual form. Apart from the mucus that was pasted all over its body, another distinct difference was — the Black Knight had lost an unbelievable amount of weight, nearly seventy to eighty kilograms. Not only that, there was not a hint of body hair on any surface of its skin anymore.

"Unbelievable..."

Chen Chen commented on the bizarre sight.

Chen Chen remembered that just several months ago, he had witnessed the same experiment conducted by Little X on a common lab rabbit. At the time, the drug used was not the optimized G-358 virus but the G-322 instead.

At the time, Chen Chen was already greatly astounded by the sight of the rabbit returning to its original form after the effects of the drug had expired. Comparatively, what he was witnessing now gave him an even larger shock.

"Mr. Chen, we..."

It was around this point when Watson suddenly spoke to Chen Chen.

"Go."

Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Chen waved him away. Chen Chen knew that Watson wanted to bring his crew back to the research hall on the first floor to conduct a full-body inspection and data collection on the Black Knight to sample data before and after being injected with G-358.

After receiving permission from Chen Chen, they proceeded to leave the second floor. After around ten minutes, they had their protective suits back on and appeared in the hall on the first floor again to conduct a sequence of tests on the Black Knight.

If the previous form of the Black Knight could be described as having the stature of a fearsome and stout warrior, it would be generous to even describe the current Black Knight as a shell of its former self. It was all skin and bones as if its body had been hollowed out. It only sat lifelessly like a dying patient.

Half an hour later, after a series of tests were complete, the report was handed to Chen Chen.

"Yes, although the Black Knight lost eighty percent of body fat and fifty percent of his muscles because of this 'molting' process and became severely malnourished with low blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar, these are all reversible. His body hasn't sustained any irreversible damage."

Chen Chen read through the report ruminatively. "Which means that with the body of Black Knights, the usage of G-358 is perfectly viable under emergency situations."

"Yes, especially when there's no access to suitable firearms."

Little X added. "There's also the possibility that the G-358 can be a lifesaver in specific situations."

Chen Chen agreed with the notion and nodded.

This was already the fifty-fifth experiment conducted on the G-358, which meant that the experiment was nearing its conclusive stages. Though there was still the slight possibility of mishap, it could be generally concluded by now that the benefits of G-358 outweighed its drawbacks.

This was an excellent value product.

"But I have yet another bolder idea."

Chen Chen suddenly mentioned, "If such drastic transformation is displayed by the Black Knight after being injected with G-358, then what happens if we inject this into the Tyrant? What would be the result?"

Little X was intrigued by this idea as well. It was true, the Black Knights share similar characteristics with the Tyrant. The only difference being that the Black Knights were miniaturized versions of the Tyrants. The Black Knight also had some genetics tweaked to make their characteristics closer to that of humans.

If the G-358 was effective on the Black Knights, it should work on the Tyrants as well.

"I'm afraid the effects wouldn't be significant."

After a brief consideration, Little X used her computer to run a simulation of the genetic alteration process that the G-358 injection may pose on the Tyrant. She then informed, "I found that there's a regular pattern that follows the injection of this variant of the G-3 series virus. Previously, when rabbits were used as experiment subjects, the largest recorded size is approximately ten times larger, transforming a 20 centimeters-tall rabbit into a gigantic rabbit standing one meter tall. When used on the Black Knights, however, they only grew four to five times on average. If used on the Tyrants, the effect may be far lessened, perhaps barely enlarging it at all."

"It's better than none."

Chen Chen rubbed his chin and noted casually. "It would be great if someone injected with this virus can transform at will."

"That's impossible!"

Little X shook her head side to side while pouting. "The reason the Black Knight exhibits these changes that increase its size and weight after being injected with G-358 is due to a unique organ produced along the skin of the host injected with the virus. This allows them to directly absorb water and microorganisms from the air around them. This results in a large number of high-energy covalent bonds generated in the blood of the host, which directly reacts with the nitrogen in the air to form an exoskeleton...

"Still, there's a price to pay for this exoskeleton generation, which is drastic consumption of the host's fat and energy. The reason that even the Black Knight could only sustain this form for slightly more than ten minutes is that its energy is rapidly consumed during this period!"

"I know."

Chen Chen chuckled. "But that doesn't mean it won't be achievable in the future."

"That's true..."

Little X nodded.

When Chen Chen exited the laboratory, a Black Knight suddenly stepped forward and handed an oddly designed metal rod that was around twenty centimeters long to Chen Chen.

Chen Chen accepted the item before realizing that this metal rod was just an oddly shaped syringe. In addition to two buttons of blue and green on it, he could also faintly see the stark red liquid inside it.

It was the G-358 virus contained within.

Chen Chen already knew how to operate this device back when he saw the research members injecting the Black Knight with it. When he gently tapped the blue button, a dark and slender needle popped out from one end with a swift "swoosh"!

"It's best to inject it into a heart. That's where its effects are most effective."

Little X noted.

Chen Chen nodded absentmindedly as he continued observing this needle. It was roughly fifteen centimeters, which was the optimal length to prod into the human heart. After that, he tapped the blue button again which caused the needle to swiftly retract back into the syringe.

Although Chen Chen already had Field in his arsenal to protect himself and probably did not need something like this, it still would not hurt to keep it with him as a fallback.

After tossing the syringe into his pocket, the two of them exited the Spire Experimental Base and returned to the surface.

Chen Chen did not enquire further into the subject of injecting the G-358 into the Tyrant as the team of experts would help him investigate further into its possibilities.

...

While the robust Eco Science City was proceeding with its speedy development, the story now moved to a city on another end of the world — the city of Los Angeles in Northern America, with its sky above signaling the approaching dusk.

It was the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles. In addition to being home to some of the wealthiest members of the region, there was also a gigantic warehouse in the region.

The name of the warehouse district was Herrank Warehouse District. The story behind it was that it was constructed during the 1950s by a wealthy capitalist that went by the name Herrank. The warehouse came to be named after their family as well.

The Herrank Warehouse District covered most of the daily basic logistics of the city of Los Angeles. As a central storage point, countless businesses and industries stored their goods in the warehouse. Observed from a higher altitude, one would spot countless giant warehouses erected in the area, spanning across thousands of miles until it stretched into the end of the horizon. The landscape was filled with the dome structure of the warehouses.

At the current moment inside one of the warehouses, a batch of special steel imported from abroad was being transported in separate batches by an array of trucks. They were promptly loaded into the warehouse using cranes. In the blink of an eye, the warehouse had reached maximum capacity.

The daily operation inside the warehouse area was completely inseparable from the workers employed in the vast amount of warehouses. Brewer Chester was one among the tens of thousands of workers working inside the warehouses.

Brewer Chester's build was impressively large, with what seemed like layers upon layers of fat. Just like other workers, he always kept a yellow safety helmet strapped to his head all the time. He wore a dirty uniform and a pair of jeans stained with sweat and whatever filth accumulated throughout the day. His favorite thing in the entire world was chomping down on hamburgers.

It was the height of the evening. Due to the season, the sky turned dark far later than usual. Although it was already near seven o'clock in the evening, the sky was still a vast ocean of blue. The sun was slanted toward the West as it made its slow crawl toward the horizon.

Chester was in charge of operating one of the heavy cranes. After he watched the final truck being unloaded and departed, he looked at the time and saw that he should have gotten off work half an hour ago. He shook his head faintly as he climbed down from the crane while whistling a tune.

"Chester!"

One of Chester's coworkers in the warehouse called out after him, "Are you getting ready to leave?"

"Yeah, my work here is done, I'll leave the rest to you."

Chester dropped a quick reply before he quickly paddled to the parking lot.

"Hold on, Chester, there's something I want to show you."

The way Chester's colleague lowered his voice into a low growl captured Chester's attention.

"Uh huh?"

Chester stopped suspiciously and motioned curiously. "Leon, what are you trying to show me?"

"Something pretty cool... Come with me and you'll find out."

The coworker Chester called Leon answered mysteriously. He proceeded to motion at Chester to follow him before turning around and entering the warehouse.

Chester stood by the warehouse entrance and hesitated for a few seconds. He thought about it and figured that there was no harm taking a look, so he shrugged and followed his coworker into the pitch-black warehouse.

Upon stepping into the warehouse, the overpowering scent of engine oil and steel beam came rushing toward him.

This warehouse was one of the warehouses Chester had unloaded the cargo into earlier. He knew what the contents of the cargo were. It was none other than a gigantic pillar of steel beam.

These steel beams were as thick as an average person's waist. They were commonly used for the foundation of skyscrapers. The correct architectural term for these things was steel columns.

Leon was still pacing in front excitedly. Chester proceeded to sprint several paces to catch up with him and asked, "Leon, what exactly are you planning to show me?"

"We're almost there."

Leon's face was painted with eagerness. Still, he refused to answer whatever questions Chester had since he wanted to keep it mysterious.

When the two arrived at the end of the hundred-meters-long warehouse, Leon stopped abruptly.

"We're here?"

Chester was starting to become irritated. He glanced at the window and saw that the contrast of the pale blue sky outside had grown darker than when they were just entering the warehouse. He glanced at where Leon was looking at while mouthing, "So what is it that you want me to look at, it's getting dark..."

Chester stopped speaking before he could finish his sentence.

He saw piles of steel beams stacked on top of one another positioned next to Leon. One of the steel beams had an intricate, life-like mural painted on top of it...

The contents of the mural were four angels with wings, each one of them made the same motion, their hands covering their eyes. The only trait that separated them was that they were in different positions. One was kneeling, one was standing, one was standing sideways, another was standing upright.

However, it would be inaccurate to refer to it as simple murals since they were closer to relief sculptures[1]. This was rather baffling to Chester. Who in their right minds would put sculptures into steam beams used for construction?

"So, Leon..."

Chester broke the silence suddenly. "So the cool thing you were talking about is this? Where did they come from?"

Leon did not answer. He only looked at the four angels absently.

"Hey?"

Chester tried to get his attention, speaking louder this time.

"Ah!"

Leon came back to his senses. He continued admiring the four elegant, life-like angels while answering the previous question, "I think these are imported. It could be from the Central Continent or Indian Continent, who knows?"

Chester was at a loss for words. He shook his head and tapped Leon's shoulders gently. "I'll see you tomorrow, Leon."

With that, Chester turned around and left.

[1] A sculpting technique, a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane