I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

  "Got it!"

  Following Chen Chen's orders, the electric lock indicator beside the gate turned from green to red. "The radiation laboratory is locked down."

  "Excellent."

  Chen Chen remarked before he started to put on the fully enclosed radiation protection suit.

  After putting on the fully enclosed radiation protection suit, Chen Chen turned on the laptop he had brought along and entered the innermost quarantine zone of the laboratory. He put on the Chronicle movie in the quarantine zone.

  The movie immediately started playing from the first part. According to the runtime label, the movie length was 218 minutes.

  There was no mistaking it. The two movies had merged automatically.

  Based on this observation, Chen Chen received confirmation of his speculation. Without any hesitation, he moved the progress bar to the segment of the second movie until a piece of cut crystal the size of a fist appeared on the screen. He then tapped the spacebar button to stop the movie.

  Chen Chen then extended his hands wrapped in the radiation protection suit and reached into the screen.

  Then, he gently pulled it out.

  "Dong!'

  With an instantly recognizable voice, a crystal shimmering with blue light with a surface like that of a diamond...

  Appeared in Chen Chen's hand!

  Chapter 157: Experiment |

  Chen Chen gently lifted the blue glowing crystal in his hand. The volume of this crystal was about 0.001 cubic meters, which was 1000 cubic centimeters, but the weight was in the vicinity of 4.5 kilograms.

  Something was off…

  Chen Chen frowned. There was no way this was the relative density of a crystal. The main component of a crystal was silicon dioxide which chemical formula is SiO2, its mass was about 2.66g/cm3.

  Following that logic, if the main component of this piece of crystalline in his hand was silicon dioxide, it should not weigh above 2.7 kilograms.

  According to the movie setting, the crystalline was a protective layer of shell formed by a reaction caused by the alien plantation secretion reacting with underground soil. It should not be composed of foreign matter.

  It should only contain the residual biological energy field of the alien plantation at most. Energy fields had no weight behind them.

  In other words, the matter composition of this crystal was closer to that of a spinel.

  Just like a crystal, the spinel was a variation of a gemstone. It was superior to the crystal whether in terms of Mohs hardness, quality, or even price. The chemical formula of spinel was MgAl2O4. It weighed 4.5g/cm3, with Mohs hardness reaching up to grade 8.

  Things were getting interesting…

  Chen Chen continued dissecting the subject.

  After all, he had personally read the setting written by the scriptwriter. The crystalline was simply referred to as a crystal in the movie setting. There was no mention of its base component, which made sense since the screenwriter was not a chemist. As far as Chen Chen and the rest of the audience was concerned, it was a crystal, which was silicon dioxide.

  As it turned out, upon extracting the crystalline, he had discovered that the crystalline was not silicon dioxide but aluminum-magnesium tetroxide instead.

  In that case, did that make the universe to which the USB drive connected to reality or an abstract universe?

  If it was an abstract universe, how was it able to overturn the crystalline component logic as portrayed in the script and yield an unexpected result instead?

  What was the explanation behind its appearance if it was reality?

  Chen Chen looked down at the crystal in his palm. Was it the screenwriter Max Landis who had devised an instance of a real universe in the USB drive or did the universe come before Max Landis and in turn inspired Max Landis' work?

  Also, how was it that the sequel which he had instigated managed to synchronize itself accordingly with the built universe?

  "It would be great if there was a way to explore the opposite universe…"

  An idea suddenly struck Chen Chen's mind like a zip of lightning. It was an unprecedented revolutionary idea. Chen Chen's pupils shrunk faintly as he seemed to have thought of a possibility.

  Could that be the truth?

  No, it was impossible!

  In that case, what was the explanation behind him being able to constantly instantiate the same item from a movie?

  Hundreds of billions of neurons in Chen Chen's mind began operating at maximum efficiency. Countless thoughts and ideas bounced off of each other in Chen Chen's mind. In that very instant, numerous possibilities raced through Chen Chen's mind.

  Phew!

  Chen Chen shook his head and buried these ideas in the depths of his mind. It was not yet the moment to verify his hypothesis as it would have to wait until the completion of the nuclear power plant.

  Chen Chen picked up a radiation detector and tested the crystalline with it. He discovered that the radiation field of the crystalline was very small.

  It would appear that just like in the movie, the force field of the crystal would not be triggered unless it sensed the surrounding biological force field.

  This was the exact reason Chen Chen wore the nuclear radiation quarantine suit.

  At this point, Chen Chen had already long confirmed that the attributes of items extracted from a movie were the same as its variation inside the movie. Any item that was harmless inside a movie was harmless in real life as well. The same logic applied to drugs like NZT-48 and AD-001.

  Still, it was better to be safe than to be sorry, especially since Chen Chen was going to directly use it on himself. He decided to conduct an animal experiment.

  There was no need for a complex experiment. Chen Chen only had to make sure that the irradiation process did not harm the body in any way before conducting the irradiation on himself without cause for worry.

  Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao quickly returned to the Spire laboratory.

  Upon being notified by Little X, Chen Chen placed the crystalline in the quarantine zone before exiting and unlocking the exterior door for the two men.

  "Uh, Boss, you…"

  Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao were slightly startled when the sliding metal door revealed Chen Chen who was tightly wrapped in a heavy suit of protective gear, standing at the opposite side.

  "Where are the mice?"

  Chen Chen asked.

  "Oh, yes. It's here!"

  Qian Wenhuan quickly took out two mouse cages from behind him.

  Each of the cages contained four white mice with a bed of pure white fur and stark red eyes.

  Chen Chen nodded as he took them with one hand while he further instructed, "If there's nothing else going on, Cao can take a look around the area. It's going to be some time before I come back out so Wenhuan can head back first."

  "Okay." After receiving Chen Chen's instructions, Qian Wenhuan took his leave hesitantly.

  After all this time, he was starting to figure out Chen Chen's style. Chen Chen was a standard efficiency-oriented leader, there was no need for any flattery or curry favoring with Chen Chen. All he needed to do was do his part and complete whatever further instructions given to him.

  After sealing up the laboratory again, Chen Chen first placed one of the cages on a bench outside the quarantine zone. He then took the other cage into the quarantine zone with him.

  Upon stepping into the quarantine zone, Chen Chen suddenly heard a low but piercing hum. This noise originated from the crystalline with its faint blue glow.

  Did it sense the surrounding biological force field?

  Chen Chen glanced at the cage he held in his hand. He decided to just open the lid of the cage and place the fist-sized crystalline inside the cage right away!

  One of the mice seemed to be taken by curiosity. It stared at the clear, transparent crystal before crawling up to it without any reservation and gave it a sniff.

  Upon the mice making the first contact with the crystal, the humming o
f the crystal suddenly began to grow louder. Its blue body was slowly morphing into a red tint as well!

  Chen Chen was fascinated. He quickly picked up the radiation detector to his side to check its reading. The radiation at this moment had spiked to up to 30 millisieverts.

  It was rather clear that the radiation inside the crystal was completely released following the mice's touch!

  "Is there something decaying in the crystalline?"

  Chen Chen considered silently. He was going to have to run a proper test after this experiment concluded. He needed to see if this crystalline was truly a spinel and if some substance within it triggered a decaying process upon contact.

  The substance in the crystal decayed rapidly. Within a little over ten seconds, the glowing red light it had emitted slowly faded out and soon vanished without a trace.

  The crystal regained its original blue luster as well.

  The mice seemed to be affected by the crystalline activity. When the crystalline was releasing its radiation, the four mice became visibly irritated and were running around inside the cage. Two of the mice had fresh blood spilling out of their eyes and the tip of their noses.

  All of the mice regained their composure after the crystalline had completely released its radiation.

  Chapter 158: Accepting Irradiation |

  Chen Chen waited for a moment after the crystalline regained its blue luster.

  After ten minutes, Chen Chen tested with the radiation detector again and noticed that the radiation level had reverted to normal levels.

  Upon noting this, Chen Chen took the cage out of the quarantine zone. He collected blood samples from the four mice and also chipped off a small piece of the crystalline and had it sealed.

  Chen Chen then took out a marker to label the irradiated mice. They were labeled A1, A2, A3, and A4 respectively. The cage was labeled as Cage A.

  The other cage was labeled as Cage B afterward. Three mice were taken out of Cage B and settled into Cage A. The final mouse in Cage B was taken into the quarantine zone.

  Chen Chen repeated the same set of procedures as before, extracting the same piece of crystalline from the computer and placing it into the cage.

  The crystalline released its radiation again and the lone mouse was thus irradiated.

  Fortunately, the lone mouse which was exposed to the radiation all by itself did not display any signs of vital instability.

  Following this, Chen Chen left the room again and moved the healthy mice previously moved to the other cage back to its original cage. He also labeled the lone mouse which had been irradiated as B1 and collected blood samples.

  Chen Chen left the laboratory with the collected blood samples and the remnant of the crystalline.

  The devices from Switzerland were not imported into the underground base yet so the blood tests would still have to be conducted in the research center for now.

  Chen Chen took off the protective suit and returned to the research center with the blood samples and both the A and B cages in tow.

  Chen Chen was worried about the off chance that these irradiated mice would somehow manage to escape while he was gone. Despite the small chance of it happening, it was better to be cautious since they were mice exposed to the crystalline radiation.

  When Chen Chen returned to the research center, he passed the blood samples to the relevant department to have them produce a report on the complete blood count and microRNA of the mice soonest possible.

  Next, Chen Chen found a vacant small laboratory where he locked the door and began to observe the state of the mice in the cages.

  The first thing he did was place the mice in the two cages into two larger steel cages. Next, he placed several melon seeds in both cages A and B to get them to fight for it.

  Throughout the entire sequence, there were no signs that may resemble the usage of superpowers.

  Chen Chen thought about it and decided to get two scoops of melon seeds and place them outside both cages A and B respectively. This way, the mice could see them but could not access them.

  As expected, the group of mice was starting to get anxious. Two of them constantly tried to poke their heads through the gap of the steel cage. However, due to the compact netting of the steel cage, they only managed to stick out the tips of their noses.

  Chen Chen observed silently with an experiment recorder set up to film the experiment.

  After two to three hours, the pile of melon seeds remained outside the cage completely untouched.

  At the same time, the results for the complete blood count were out. Chen Chen looked at the blood count reading and noticed that the irradiated mice seemed to display signs of leukopenia, albeit not very severe.

  Of course, these were just the initial symptoms.

  Even for regular people exposed to radiation, the potentially harmful effects may only surface after several weeks or months.

  It was the same for mice. Experiments had been performed by testing two groups of mice, one exposed to a lethal amount of radiation and the other a non-lethal amount. It took three to four weeks before any vivid observation could be noted.

  This meant that the microRNA tests should be essential.

  A microRNA was a small non-coding RNA molecule involved in post-transcriptional gene expression regulation found in plants and animals. There were speculations that RNA regulated one-third of human gene expression.

  After yet another hour, the microRNA results were released. From group A, 13% to 15% of microRNA in all four mice were exposed to radiation changes. This reading increased to 19% for group B.

  Chen Chen allowed himself a sigh of relief upon noting these results, all his worries were gone.

  Due to time concerns, there was no way to investigate the later effects for now. Still, he was at least able to confirm that this radiation did not cause any life-threatening issue.

  There was no longer any need for concern at this point.

  Upon returning to the cages, Chen Chen raised his eyebrows in wonder when he saw what was on the table.

  While he was looking at the laboratory report, the irradiated mouse in Cage B was gnawing away at a large melon seed.

  The pile of melon seeds outside the cage seemed to have been moved as well. It was as if an invisible hand had nudged them toward the direction of the cage.

  The mouse labeled B1 had undoubtedly begun practicing the use of its superpowers.

  Upon noting this fact, Chen Chen waited for it to finish the seed before capturing it from the cage. With his right hand holding its head, he pulled its tail with his left hand!

  "Crack!"

  The little mouse which had just learned to use its superpower and had a bright future ahead of it left the world without so much as a whimper.

  After that, Chen Chen executed all of the mice in the two cages one by one. He found a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid and poured it into a large beaker, and then threw the carcasses of all the mice in it.

  It did occur to Chen Chen to keep these mice alive for long term observation, but he ultimately gave up on the idea.

  After all, the items instantiated from the USB drive were still more reliable. The same logic applied from the earliest NZT-48 to the immunity shot, even to the more recent AD-001. Keeping this group of mice alive may cause him problems in the future.

  Next, Chen Chen returned to the underground laboratory. This time, he did not put on a protective suit. Instead, he entered the quarantine zone and turned on the computer to make a copy of Chronicle 2: Darkness Rises and inserted it into the USB drive.

  Chen Chen, who was well familiar with the routine, straight away dragged the movie to the part with the cut crystal.

  Chen Chen took a deep breath before reaching into the computer screen…

  When he pulled his hand back out, the crystalline with its faint blue glow appeared in his palm.

  The moment it came out, the crystalline sensed the biological force field and immediately emitted a piercing screech. The bl
ue glow was slowly replaced with a red tint!

  It was releasing radiation.

  Chen Chen remained holding the crystalline this way. He felt the crystal slowly heating up before subsequently cooling down.

  Five minutes later, the crystalline had reverted to its original form.

  That was it?

  Chen Chen put down the crystalline and tried to feel some changes in his body to no avail.

  Next, he turned to the marker pen beside him and began to imagine the pen being lifted by an invisible hand. No matter how hard he tried to visualize it, nothing came out of it.

  Was it because the dosage was too small?

  Chen Chen shook his head. There was a scene in the movie that mentioned that a lot of users who had been exposed to the crystalline radiation hoped to get more crystalline. This meant that the radiation effect was additive.

  Arriving at this thought, Chen Chen instantiated yet another crystalline and absorbed it as he did previously.

  This time, Chen Chen felt something in his head that he could not put into words…

  Chen Chen frowned. There was a hot sensation in his nose which made him rub his nose instinctively.

  A small puddle of blood appeared before him.

  Was this an indication of the beginning stages of acquiring the superpower?

  Chen Chen wondered silently.

  Chapter 159: Nine Pieces |

  Half an hour later, there were nine crystalline fragments by Chen Chen's feet.

  A mouse weighed around 100 grams. Chen Chen weighed 70,000 grams, which was seven hundred times the weight of a mouse.

  Judging from the previous radiation experiment, a mouse was able to withstand the full radiation exposure of a single crystalline fragment. This implied that Chen Chen should be able to handle the combined radiation exposure of 700 crystalline fragments without much issue.

  In that case, it should not be a rash decision to absorb nine crystalline pieces at once.

  Just like the observation as seen in the movie when exposed to crystalline radiation, Chen Chen's nose began to bleed. A large spot on his shirt was dyed red by the blood.