by <unknown>
In an instant, the entire launch site was surrounded by B.S.S. force soldiers, driving the crew into a mass of panic.
"Mr. Chen Chen, what are you guys trying to do?"
Kevin froze for a moment when he saw what was happening before he exclaimed, "This isn't the Namibian government troops but your private military force instead. Military force doesn't have the authority to arrest us. You're breaking the law…"
Before he could finish, several B.S.S. members charged in his direction and proceeded to slam the butt of their guns square on Kevin's head!
"Ah! Stop!
"Ah! Oh my God, you people are demons… What about the law?"
The launch site descended into chaos. Everyone watched in bewilderment as the group of soldiers gave Kevin a horrible beating. It did not take long before Kevin's screams came to a stop.
"Alright, does anybody still have any objections?"
Chen Chen asked as he looked at Kevin who was lying in a pool of his blood.
Chapter 434: Interstate Teleportation |
A group of vicious soldiers took over all the channels leading to the launch site and guarded over them. Meanwhile, the crew was forced to return to their stations. Some were frightened and some only visibly agitated. There were a few women who were weeping silently.
There was the scent of blood lingering in the air. It came from Blake Kevin who was still lying motionlessly on the ground. There was no telling if he was dead or not.
When Chen Chen saw that everything was back on track, Chen Chen checked the time before turning around to leave the launch site.
Qian Wenhuan immediately trailed after him.
After they had left the main section, Qian Wenhuan quickly explained somewhat embarrassingly, "I'm sorry Boss, I'll immediately have Zhao Guangjie replaced with someone competent."
Chen Chen responded with a short nod, "Don't worry about it. I get that with the rapid expansion of Eco Science City, there's more for you to manage so there are certain facets that you cannot oversee. It should be time for you to change your management approach and leave some trivial matters to someone else. You don't have to do everything by yourself."
"Understood…"
Qian Wenhuan answered quickly, feeling relieved by this.
"Alright, Zhao Guangjie isn't reliable so you're still going to have to take care of that. Why don't you spend the next few days here for now."
Chen Chen did not chatter too much with Qian Wenhuan before dismissing him. He stood in front of the launch tower by himself, silently taking in the sight of the gigantic Falcon rocket.
It was the height of the evening as there was only a slight trace of the fading sun glimpsing across the horizon.
Falcon 12 positioned in the middle of the sunset pastel looked like the massive robots from Pacific Rim. It also looked like a majestic ivory tower. Even now, countless vehicles could still be seen going back and forth from the tower to conduct the final inspection duties.
Chen Chen leaned against the railing and took a moment to bask at the moment. He watched as the red in the sky slowly faded and gave way to the dark, gloomy texture of the night.
"Preparation for the launch countdown. Ten minutes remaining. All remaining personnel on the rocket are to leave their designated posts. Falcon 12 initializing automated inspection protocol…"
The announcement pulled Chen Chen away from his state of trance. There were only ten minutes left. Without his noticing, all the lights in the aerospace base had been turned on.
Countless high-power lights illuminated the entire base. Under the glow of the dazzling light, Chen Chen saw the crew retreating from the rocket launch tower. In time, not a single soul remained on the rocket.
The final glimpse of sunset faded away, plunging the sky into complete darkness.
"One minute to launch…"
The announcement echoed across the aerospace base, signaling the launch that would be commencing within moments. Chen Chen felt the earth below his feet starting to tremble faintly. It was the rumble of the rocket engines warming up.
"Ten seconds to launch…"
"Nine…
"Eight…
"Seven…"
…
"Three…
"Two…
"One…
"Launch!"
With the last of the announcements, a low and dull roar resounded across the aerospace base suddenly.
It was like a biblical beast awakening from its slumber. From a distance, Chen Chen saw a large column of black smoke gushing out of the tail section of Falcon 12, immediately followed by a sharp flash of flames!
The column of flame immediately grew stronger as it sent thunderous tremors into a large vicinity around it. Chen Chen felt strong gushes of wind mixed with scorching air rushing toward him!
From where Chen Chen stood, he could see the colossal Falcon rocket starting to take off. A tremendous pillar of flames that could engulf the world in flames slowly propelled it into the air as if the entire motion was caught in slow motion on a camera.
As the rocket gained velocity, the rumbling in the air slowly dissipated. The brightness of the flame, however, only became magnified as it illuminated the night sky and the clouds!
The rocket mounted with Gantz satellites had finally taken flight!
"Next up, putting the five satellites into orbit…"
A sense of longing appeared in Chen Chen's eyes as he looked at the departing rocket. Launching the rocket was the easy part. The difficult part was getting it into orbit. Since it was a geosynchronous orbit of 36,000 kilometers, it would take nearly ten days to get into orbit.
There was no good reason to stay here any longer. Chen Chen breathed out, feeling relieved, before returning to his vehicle.
It was no longer Cheng Cao driving him but a Black Knight instead.
"Let's head back."
Chen Chen ordered with a gentle wave.
The engine started and the driver drove back where they came from…
…
Ten days later, Chen Chen finally received the good news that all five Gantz satellites had entered orbit. They were now implanted into the orbit as five permanent fixtures that would circle Earth for billions of years to come.
With the satellites in place, the full potential of the Gantz technology could now be unleashed. Chen Chen's plans of globalization had finally been achieved.
At this moment, Chen Chen was inside the teleportation room located on the top floor of the Spire laboratory. Inside the room with him was a squad consisting of five fully-fitted Black Knights.
"Sir Godfather, we've installed a Gantz sphere and a mini Gantz server machine in Northern America, Europe, and the Central Continent. They are connected with an appropriate powering system as well. We can begin the teleportation trial any time now!"
Little X reported as she stood next to Chen Chen.
Chen Chen sized up three muscular Black Knights in the squad and nodded briefly.
Despite the sophisticated technology behind Gantz that was intricately connected to scientific sectors such as memetic science that humans had yet to understand, its underlying principle was simple to understand. As long as two Gantz spheres were under the signal coverage of a Gantz server, a point-to-point transfer could be conducted.
It was similar to how calls could be connected between two mobile phones as long as there was a central station signal.
With a Gantz satellite acting as a relay station, these forms of transmissions could be conducted even with only a single Gantz sphere.
This was shown in the plot of Gantz as well. Although there was no Gantz sphere in nearby proximity, the Gantz satellite could still collect the deceased participants and pull them into the Gantz sphere room to be resurrected. They could then subsequently be transported back to the streets of the city after accepting their respective missions.
This meant that the Gantz satellite was essentially an enhanced version of the Gantz sphere.
Even ti
ll now, Chen Chen had little understanding of how Gantz technology operated. He merely replicated what he saw from the movie to create the satellites.
Just like the Gantz server machines, the Gantz satellites were simple and elaborate structures that could be easily replicated as well. The only flaw was the vast amount of germanium metal required for manufacturing them.
Chen Chen already purchased four germanium mines all over the world and had Tara Strategic Resources operating intensively to extract germanium metal from them. The extracted resources barely sufficed to help create Little X's body along with five supplementary Gantz satellites. Meanwhile, the other Gantz server machines installed in the other continents were the most miniaturized model possible.
Gantz spheres were in extremely short supply. So far, Chen Chen had only instantiated five Gantz spheres in total. Two of them were located in Eco Science City while the remaining three were distributed in three different continents. There was still some way to go before accessible global teleportation could be achieved.
With that said, this was a remarkable starting point.
Apart from a limitation imposed by the need for germanium metal, another problem to consider for the Gantz sphere and server machines was the power required.
A hefty sum of power was required to conduct teleportation. While Eco Science City had the facilities required to accommodate this demand, it was not the same for the Black spheres located in other continents. Chen Chen decided to go with his previous approach which was to purchase a local factory as a disguise and employ his Black Knights as factory workers. This was done to serve as a facade to outsiders.
It was a lot of hassle, but it was well worth it considering the advantages that came with having Gantz facilities.
With all this in mind, Chen Chen looked at the codename printed across the chest of the three Black Knights and suddenly ordered, "T00922 Black Knight, head to Northern America Continent. T00383 Black Knight, head to Europe Continent. T00568 Black Knight, head to Central Continent. Dispatch immediately."
The three Black Knights went without a word. A flash of dazzling blue ray emitted by the black sphere cast on their bodies.
The next second, their bodies started to melt away into the surrounding from top to bottom.
The teleportation speed of the Gantz sphere was drastically faster in real life compared to inside the movies. In the movies, the process took approximately ten seconds, up to thirty seconds in certain cases. In actual practice in real life, the process only took upwards of several seconds.
When the blue ray faded away, the three Black Knights had also disappeared from the teleportation room along with their equipment, nowhere to be seen after that.
"Arrived at point of destination."
Little X suddenly announced as the three Black Knights disappeared. At the same time, three semi-transparent holographic displays appeared in front of Chen Chen. They were the live footage from different surveillance cameras.
Each surveillance camera footage showed a room with a black sphere installed. Each room was empty apart from the black sphere that was positioned at the center of the room.
In an instant, a beam of blue light was projected from each one of these black spheres and the figure of the Black Knights immediately appeared after that.
Little X paused for a few seconds before announcing, "After initial scanning, there are no physiological abnormalities detected in the three Black Knights transmitted via the satellite. They have arrived in business districts in Los Angeles, Zurich, and Shangdu respectively."
"Excellent work."
Chen Chen was very satisfied with the result and nodded. "With this, the B.S.S. and Black Knights force can finally become globalized task forces."
"That's right, the quick reaction forces will be able to protect our company's assets more effectively."
Little X quickly added. "Although we don't have many global assets at the moment."
"We will very soon."
Chen Chen noted immediately. "I'm already planning to establish branches and research facilities in the first-tier city of each continent. They will specialize in procuring cancer-targeted drugs and clinical trials. This will be the first phase.
"After the branch offices are officially established, we'll start setting up local outlets to promote our company's electronic products. This will serve as the foundation for our upcoming Four-phase Era project. This way, we don't have to deal with hefty tariffs imposed with each transaction conducted in the future.
"Finally, I plan to integrate Blacklight Biotechnology into the everyday lives of people. This will span from pharmaceuticals to electronics, which will then further extend into finance and regular commerce until it reaches into all aspects of life. Blacklight Biotechnology will only establish its position as an influential corporation after all this is achieved."
Chen Chen suddenly became silent upon mentioning this. Then, he proceeded to ask, "Right, did Cheng Cao find anything on his side?"
"None. So far, we haven't discovered any clues concerning Wang Xi. Also, Cheng Cao is still trying to figure out how he can relocate the server machine."
Little X answered.
Chen Chen frowned upon hearing this and began examining the issue.
It would not be fair to blame Cheng Cao for all this since anything that had to do with the USB drive tended to make for an extremely pesky issue. It was also interconnected with Wang Xi, Zhao Shanhe, even himself, as well as the entirety of the Earth Federation. Naturally, the antimeme was tied to all this one way or another as well.
All things considered, it was not surprising to know that Cheng Cao had not made much progress after all this time. Chen Chen would have reason to be alerted if he were to manage to find clues in such a short time.
With this in mind, Chen Chen suddenly informed, "X, send me to the Central Continent."
"If you return without a visa, it may cause some problems…"
Little X was somewhat troubled by this.
"Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing."
Chen Chen insisted. "Besides, isn't this what I set up the Gantz servers for?"
"Yes!"
Since Chen Chen insisted, Little X responded agreeably. Immediately after that, the Gantz sphere projected a beam of blue ray on Chen Chen's body and his figure immediately vanished.
Chen Chen only felt a glimpse of blue light flashing across his eyes. Within a second, he found himself relocated to another speckless, empty room.
There were no windows in the room and the only source of light was a lamp overhead. Apart from that, the only thing that caught his attention was the Gantz sphere located in the middle.
The entire process only lasted a brief instant, but Chen Chen knew that he was already transported from Eco Science City and returned to Shangdu, located tens of thousands of kilometers away.
He turned around and pushed open the door behind him and found himself in the middle of a factory.
The walls and the door in the Gantz sphere room were made of the same material. As soon as Chen Chen stepped out of the room, the door shut automatically and immediately fused itself into the walls again. If not for Chen Chen stepping out of the room seconds ago, he would have never realized that there was a hidden door.
Another thing to note was that upon stepping out of the room, Chen Chen felt a vague sense of familiarity. He looked at the wall of the factory and as expected, he saw a sign with a familiar label printed on top —
"Greenland Oxygen Plant."
"How thoughtful, X."
Chen Chen felt nostalgic when he read the sign. Greenland Oxygen Plant was the first factory he had where he charged the USB drive. He had never expected Little X to buy this factory specifically and refitted it into a secret Gantz sphere teleportation lot.
The factory was already purchased under an anonymous name. Several workers who were disguised as Black Knights were walking around the factory working on their tasks. Only someone who came in here to inspec
t would notice that this factory was little more than a shell purposed for something else.
With Chen Chen's arrival, a designated vehicle had been arranged and parked outside the factory already.
Chen Chen exited the factory and entered the vehicle. The driver then drove them in the direction of Chen Chen's school…
After all these years, Chen Chen was finally returning to his school again…
Chapter 435: Corroding Corridor |
Two hours later, a black Benz stopped and parked by the side of a road next to the school entrance.
Chen Chen exited the Benz by himself. He stood in the middle of the crowd coming back and forth and looked at the all-too-familiar while also foreign school.
It was January in Shangdu, which meant that the region was entering the winter season. It was evening when he arrived. Thick dark clouds loomed overhead, casting a unique faint yellow winter glow on the cityscape.
The yellowish glow was not the radiance of the sun but merely a reflection of the city's light on the clouds instead. This was very common in the city during the winter season.
Under this warm glow, Chen Chen saw countless people coming back and forth from the main gate of the school. Young and vibrant teenagers gathered in groups of various sizes, each socializing merrily and unwinding under the relaxing atmosphere. The semester was finally over and they would be welcoming the joyous occasion that was the winter break.
Standing in the middle of the streaming crowd, Chen Chen could not help but recall the events from that one year. Although it had only been four years, he had a feeling like it was from another life he once lived.
If not for the USB drive, he would probably have graduated by now and worked a common nine-to-five job, living every day monotonously until he died.
Perhaps he would have taken the postgraduate entrance examination after graduation and become a first-level graduate student, where he would continue to pursue a hypothetical, grand future.
One way or another, he would only become just another common individual among millions and billions like him, instead of separating himself from that crowd entirely as he had done now.
