by <unknown>
Over the next few months, Chen Chen wholly rented the Symphony of the Seas anchored by the Walvis Bay. After a round of modification, Chen Chen had transformed the main power distribution room on the main deck into a tightly guarded secret room and promptly moved in there himself.
To keep up his disguise, he did not fire any of the crewmates. Instead, he had the Symphony of the Seas leave the harbor and camp in certain sections of the open seas. The cruise would stay there and only return upon nearly exhausting the diesel supply.
Again, the Symphony of the Seas would restock itself with sufficient diesel and various other resources at the port before setting sail again to the high seas.
Just like that, four months had passed and given way to the new year.
On this day, the cruise received a message from Hollywood using satellite signals. The three movies Chen Chen had invested in previously were all completed.
Subsequently, Chen Chen received the original unedited versions of the three movies.
The three movies were Immortal, Cancer Man, and Chronicle 2: Darkness Rises.
Sitting in the cabin, Chen Chen began watching the three movies that had not officially premiered just yet. For the first time, he began looking forward to what was coming next.
Chapter 155: Pick One Out of Three |
Immortal.
Cancer Man.
Chronicle 2: Darkness Rises.
Chen Chen did not try to insert the three originals sent from Hollywood right away. He issued an order to the captain to take the Symphony of the Seas back to port.
It took four hours for the Symphony of the Seas to return to Walvis Bay from the open seas, enough time for Chen Chen to quickly finish the three movies.
Chen Chen took an NZT-48 before watching the first movie, Cancer Man. He quickly finished viewing the movie at a fast forward speed.
The movie was filmed from the perspective of a mad scientist. The genius scientist had developed a targeted drug known as "CAN-05" that could cure all forms of cancer. This led to the scientist eventually losing a basic sense of respect for life and beginning to lose his sense of self.
After that, with his astounding brilliance and talent, he managed to develop "CAN-09", a drug that was able to transform all human body cells into controllable cancer cells. Once again, he began conducting subsequent clinical trials.
However, the clinical trials proved unsuccessful. He was also arrested by the police for breaking international regulations.
Before being captured, he injected CAN-09 in himself as a final act of desperation…
After an hour had passed, Chen Chen nodded contently at the ending credits displayed on the screen.
Excellent, a captivating opening, sensible plot development, all capped off with the ending of the protagonist taking a self-destructive approach. The movie perfectly encapsulated the nature and moral choices of mankind.
It could be said that this was a standard, streamlined commercial blockbuster.
Especially in the ending of the movie where the mad scientist underwent an endless loop of division and proliferation, ultimately turning into an indescribable huge lump of sarcoma. To the average audience, it would be an extremely shocking scene.
The director seemed to be using the movie as a cautionary tale to warn some scientists to not challenge the nature of mankind, lest they end up suffering from the consequences of their choices as seen in the movie.
This movie was going to sell like hotcakes!
Before even premiering, Chen Chen projected the movie's global box office to reach at least 500 million U.S. dollars.
What was more important was that all aspects of the movie, whether it was the plot logic or scientific principles, matched the conventions of reality. Similar to the previous movie Deadly Crisis: A Shocking Scheme which Chen Chen had invested in, it was extremely likely to be able to be contained in the USB drive.
Chen Chen started the second movie on the computer – Immortal.
Compared to the previous movie, this one was a lot tamer since it was a literary movie. Still, Chen Chen patiently finished it at double speed.
Alright, still not much issue to be seen…
After that, Chen Chen turned to the final movie.
Since there was an appropriate amount of funding, Chronicle 2 did not adopt a mockumentary style but instead used a lot of long-distance filmography methods to convey a more realistic effect.
The plot was as Chen Chen described, set in ten years after the first movie. Cousin Matt traveled the world before ultimately returning to the small town he grew up in. He ended up discovering that the government had transformed the cave into an underground base.
Inside the underground base, the alien plantations inside the crystalline had long since perished and no longer produced new radiation. The giant sea urchin crystal was dissected into thousands of pieces by the government.
Each one of the several thousand pieces of crystals contained a portion of the power of the alien plantation. This was used to produce several hundreds of superpower users.
The powers of these users were nearly identical to that of the protagonist where they were able to move objects using telekinesis.
However, since they had only absorbed measly few pieces of crystals, the strength and potential of the power were nowhere close to that of the three protagonists in the first movie. The most they could do was manipulate small objects like coins or insects.
Cousin Matt also found out that Andrew had apparently survived. Only he was left in a vegetative state for the government to conduct secret research.
With Matt's arrival, the telepathy connection between the two was triggered. Andrew finally awoke from his decade long slumber…
The movie ended with a battle between the two characters again. Compared to the previous battle, their powers had seen tremendous growth to a point where they were almost a mini Superman on their own.
A decade ago, Andrew could only stop a regular bullet. After a decade had passed, the two of them could effortlessly stop a tomahawk missile.
In the end, Matt finally got through to Andrew with a message of affection. The two of them decided to leave the country for good to start a brand new life.
The conclusion could be described as a very heartwarming ending.
The two protagonists of the movie were the two original cast of the first movie. Having the movie based in a decade after the first also explained the maturity of the two protagonists, since a decade had passed in canonical time as well.
After finishing the three movies, Chen Chen shut his eyes and made a mental review of the movies.
Upon ensuring there were no issues, Chen Chen went to the bathroom to wash his hands. He then returned to the computer and inserted the USB drive.
Over the last four months, the USB drive practically never left the charging port of the cruise ship. Taking the power generation rate of the five Leroy-somer LSA62 generators multiplied with an 85% power factor, the final tabulation was 100,000(KW.h) x 24(h) x 120 days x 0.85(cosΦ).
This meant that over the last four months, the USB drive had been charged with approximately 250 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Based on Chen Chen's previous calculations, extracting an object of one gram from the USB drive required 1,224 kW.h of electricity. Which meant that at this moment, the USB drive had enough electricity to extract objects weighing up to 200 kilograms.
This amount of power still proved to be quite lacking.
Chen Chen shook his head. Previously at Dlamini's side, he was able to obtain 120 million kilowatts of electricity in five days. Yet, he only managed to yield double that amount of power with more than twenty times expended for the previous period.
Chen Chen exhausted nearly a combined 200 million U.S. dollars for the rental cost, crew salary, and fuel over the last four months for the sake of powering the USB drive. After conversion, the cost per kilowatt-hour is equivalent to more than 0.8 US dollars.
Uhmmm…<
br />
Constructing the nuclear power plant remained a more reliable approach. Powering the USB drive using the cruise ship alone was going to burn up all his money.
Chen Chen silently pondered on the matter.
The good news was that this was the largest amount of power Chen Chen had in the USB drive so far. Chen Chen felt like one of those housewives ready to go on a spending spree on Taobao during the 11.11 promotion season as he was filled with excitement.
Chen Chen took a deep breath before silently turning on the laptop and tapping on the USB drive logo.
There were a total of eight movies within the USB drive.
Apart from the four horror films that came with the USB drive, the other three films were inserted as an experiment back when he had just acquired the USB drive.
Apart from that, the last one was the first Chronicle movie he inserted before extracting the GS Combat Suit.
The eight movies sat idly in the USB drive, remaining the same as they had ever been.
Chen Chen paid no mind to the eight movies. He selected the [Cancer Man.mp4] folder and familiarly tapped [ctrl + c] before switching tabs to the USB drive window and clicking [ctrl + v].
"Ding!"
The long-awaited notification alert. Chen Chen raised an eyebrow.
Cancer Man. Failure.
Chen Chen, who was under the effect of the drug, did not feel too dejected. He promptly held the [ctrl] button, highlighted the two remaining films, and pasted them in the USB drive together.
"Ding!"
Once again, there was a system error alert, but there was a shine in Chen Chen's eyes.
He noticed that there was only one error window from the system error!
Chen Chen fixed his eyes and saw that it was Immortal that prompted the system error output. Chronicle 2, on the other hand, went through…
Chapter 156: Come Out, Crystalline! |
Chronicle 2: Darkness Rises, approved by the USB drive!
A shadow of a smirk appeared in the corner of Chen Chen's lips.
Even though two out of the three movies were rejected, just having one of them go through was enough for Chen Chen to consider the investment a worthwhile one.
Conversely, it was an extremely lucrative business venture!
Chen Chen quickly checked the USB drive window but could not find the newly inserted movie.
Slightly taken aback, Chen Chen thought for a moment before placing the cursor on the Chronicle folder.
The computer quickly displayed the size of the folder.
15.4G.
As far as Chen Chen could remember, the movie he had downloaded previously was 2.3G. Chronicle 2 was 13.1G, which meant that the two movies combined on their own inside the USB drive.
There was a function like this?
Chen Chen felt slightly at a loss for words.
Chen Chen remembered that back then when he downloaded the Limitless TV series, there was no such occurrence. Otherwise, he would have long been aware of it instead of just finding out now.
Leaving this topic aside, what was more worth addressing was why were Cancer Man and Immortal rejected?
Even though Cancer Man was set in a parallel universe, other movies he had successfully extracted items from such as Men In Black and Limitless were set in a parallel universe as well. Thus, concluding that this was not the deciding factor that caused the USB drive to reject it.
The other movie Immortal was set three hundred years into the future of the present time. Since it worked with Deadly Crisis: A Shocking Scheme, the first movie he had filmed, there was no reason that it should not work for Immortal.
What was the exact cause of their failure?
Countless speculations and suspicions flowed through Chen Chen's mind. The only way to obtain the answer was to perform more experiments.
Chen Chen took a deep breath. The Symphony of the Seas had docked and arrived at Walvis Bay.
Chen Chen paused his experiment temporarily. He took the computer and quickly got down from the cruise ship and approached his designated vehicle.
"Boss?"
Qian Wenhuan emerged from the passenger seat and quickly held the door open for Chen Chen.
"Is the quarantine room of the underground laboratory ready?" Chen Chen asked the moment he entered the car.
"Yes. It's ready for use at any time."
Qian Wenhuan nodded. "Boss, are we heading back to the research center first or…"
"To the underground research lab."
Chen Chen tapped on the headrest.
Cheng Cao stepped on the pedal upon receiving the instruction and the vehicle drove into the distance quickly.
Half an hour later.
The Wrangler entered the construction site of the Eco Science City. After four months of construction, the project was nearing its final stages. Safety nets were being removed from the high-rise buildings and the low-rise buildings had been completed some time ago and were now in the renovation stages.
The Eco Science City would be open to the public within two to three months.
The scenery outside the window reminded Chen Chen of being back in the Mainland. He began feeling a little nostalgic.
Even he of all people would never have expected to build a modern civilization city in the poor and barren land of Africa.
Barring any accidents, this place would eventually become his main camp. Perhaps even becoming the technological center of the Federation in the distant future…
The Wrangler coasted across the streets of the Eco Science City, quickly arriving at the entrance of the Sun District in Eco Science City.
The district was still being isolated by the staff of the B.S.S. After passing through, Cheng Chao, who was no stranger to the area, drove into the underground garage and entered the huge cavern leading to the underground base.
The foreman, Hai Sanchuan, from the last meeting came to greet them. After exchanging some small talk with Chen Chen, he led them into the underground section.
Unlike the last time they were here, the underground base was well illuminated by bright lights. Apart from that, the surrounding boulder riddled walls were covered with concrete and steel beams and the underground hole was transformed into a large square formation.
The pyramid-shaped laboratory made of tungsten-gold stood majestically in the center of the cavern like a magnificent fortress.
"Boss, the laboratory foundation of the Spire is completed. We are now working on the living quarters and military areas which are built in accordance with the specifications of military refuge bases."
Qian Wenhuan explained in a low voice, "Even if a global nuclear war were to break out in the future, all we need to do is relocate our families here. Should be able to live a self-sufficient life for several decades."
Spire was the name of the laboratory.
The top section of the laboratory was a platform built to support the structure of the building and the roof of the cave. It was somewhat similar to the Mayan pyramid architecture.
Chen Chen shook his head upon hearing Qian Wenhuan's remark.
There was no telling what was going on in that head of his, was it so difficult to just think of something optimistic for once? Why must it be either nuclear warfare or a Resident Evil scenario?
The group entered from the main entrance into the laboratory of the Spire.
Upon entering the laboratory, the first thing that came into view was a gigantic front hall. Since operations had yet to officially commence, it was still in an empty and barren state.
After that, Hai Sanchuan took them to a metal gate in the laboratory section and began explaining:
"Following President Qian's instructions, I've set up a quarantine zone built entirely of lead plates in the Spire laboratory. On top of that, I also installed a layer of ZF6 grade heavy lead glass protective window in the front section of the quarantine zone."
Sensing the arrival of the crowd, the door of the laboratory automatically opened. This was
done to ease the entry and exit of the staff. When the Spire laboratory commenced operation, the setting would be reverted.
Chen Chen took the lead and stepped into the laboratory. He immediately noticed the giant quarantine zone in front of the laboratory.
According to Hai Sanchuan, the quarantine zone was constructed of lead plates. The viewing glass should be the ZF6 grade heavy lead glass protective window.
This kind of glass was commonly used for the observation windows in a nuclear power plant reactor.
The entire laboratory gave an impression of the X-ray operating room seen in hospitals.
Chen Chen also noticed two sets of fully enclosed radiation protection suits sitting in the corner. This was also ordered by Qian Wenhuan as per Chen Chen's instructions.
All facilities were readily available in the laboratory including safety measures, surveillance systems, fire safety facilities, and various other implementations.
The laboratory of the most heralded standards had cost Chen Chen an extraordinary amount of funds. Still, it would appear that the investment was well worth it.
"Cao, Wenhuan, you guys head back to the research center and bring me several healthy mice."
After surveying the scene, Chen Chen turned to the two of them. "Make it fast."
"Understand." The silent Cheng Cao nodded and headed out without a word.
Qian Wenhuan first did a double-take before bringing Hai Sanchuan to leave the laboratory with him.
"Eh, what is it? I can stay here and chat with Boss Chen."
Hai Sanchuan quickly mentioned.
"It's alright Boss Hai, why don't you head out with Wenhuan in case he gets lost."
Chen Chen smiled.
Hai Sanchuan was then dragged away by Qian Wenhuan in confusion.
After waiting for everyone to leave the laboratory, Chen Chen turned to the camera. "Little X, can you hear me?"
"Yes!"
Little X's tender voice came out from the speakers. "Ever since being connected yesterday, I already managed to gain full control over the Spire laboratory. All of the operations of the laboratory are handled by me now!"
"Good job. Lock the door of the laboratory for now until Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao get back."
