I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

  Chen Chen was not interested in waiting for their reply to these hard-hitting questions and logged off immediately after leaving the final note.

  The other four members were left to their own devices, basking in the silence of the room.

  "Phew!"

  After Little X turned off the holographic projection, Chen Chen heaved a sigh of relief.

  All this time, he had always made a point of taking a passive stance in the Lilith Assembly. This was the first time Chen Chen took a strong-arm approach.

  The reason Chen Chen could afford to do so was all owing to Blacklight Biotechnology's rapid development.

  Over the last decade, Blacklight Biotechnology had displayed what could only be described as terrifying, exponential growth. The rapid expansion of the company had squeezed the medical system of many other countries out of the market. Only several state-owned pharmaceutical companies managed to hang on at this point.

  The handful of these state-owned pharmaceutical companies simply could not afford to give up on the pharmaceutical sector. They were stuck in a hard place because on one hand, they were operating at a tremendous loss of nearly hundreds of billions of dollars each but on the other hand, they refused to surrender the market monopoly to Blacklight Biotechnology. Even if they were operating at a loss, they had to continue their persistent, losing efforts.

  In terms of the military, the gradual improvement of Blacklight Biotechnology's military industry system allowed them to regularly reiterate and refine the XTN series army robots. Furthermore, Blacklight Biotechnology's deployment of the only qualified spacecraft in the world capable of transporting to Mars had cemented their influence in the military and aerospace sector. The company's impact easily trumped all the other major continents combined.

  All four major continents had to submit to the imposing might of Blacklight Biotechnology!

  "This is merely the beginning. After we establish a permanent colony on Mars, we can officially say that we've overpowered the Earth Federation..."

  Chen Chen got up and pondered. "With that, I'll gain further authority in the Blacklight Foundation due to the number of assets I have. Whenever any crisis occurs in the future, I'll be able to thoroughly coordinate all the available resources of mankind."

  All this time, Chen Chen's persistent efforts of suppressing the Earth Federation was not merely to gain power, but to assume control of the Blacklight Foundation again. At this point, mere influence could not satisfy his palette anymore, especially considering that Blacklight Biotechnology was the most powerful faction on Earth by a mile.

  In terms of influence over the world, Chen Chen's Blacklight Biotechnology had reached a limit. The only way to further his agenda was to monopolize the global economy and suppress the Earth Federation!

  Blacklight Biotechnology was fated to become the titan with a firm grasp on the global economy...

  Chen Chen's eyes glowed with bright determination as he proceeded to get up and head outside.

  Little X got up and followed him as well.

  "X."

  Chen Chen looked at the young girl approaching him and asked, "Any progress on the L compound dilution process?"

  "We've established the dilution patterns."

  Little X answered in a sweet and gentle tone, "The color of the diluted L compound takes on a lighter texture from dark blue to light blue. The effectiveness of the altered solution is just as projected, its success rate drops from fifty percent to ten percent. With this formula, a single vial of concentrated L compound can be diluted into ten deconcentrated vials.

  "This method allows for greater distribution since a single concentrated vial may be less cost-effective but diluting it into multiple vials allows for greater variance in generating psionicists."

  "Certainly."

  Chen Chen agreed with a firm nod. "Alright, we can sell these diluted L compound solutions to the members of the God's Forbidden Zone members and the buyer in the other continents. Save the concentrated L compound formula for the B.S.S. department, don't disclose its existence under any circumstances."

  "Should we continue performing selective injection into the general population?"

  "Of course."

  Chen Chen remarked with a sly smile. "Continue using the concentrated formula to inflate the number of psionicists in the general population. When the Earth Federation discovers the growing population of psionicists, they'll eventually justify the purchase of our diluted L compound."

  Chen Chen suddenly thought of something upon stating this as he noted with mild disappointment, "There's nothing we can do about the thirty-percent fatality rate of the diluted L compound formula. For what it's worth, it may further dissuade the higher-ups from injecting themselves with it.

  "A thirty percent fatality rate is a risky enough gamble that they would never justify using it on themselves."

  Little X remarked with a fox smile, "They would never suspect the existence of a concentrated L compound formula with a fifty percent chance of success and only ten percent fatality rate."

  The two conspired together as they left the Spire Experimental Base.

  ...

  In just five hours, Chen Chen received the first order for the L compound solution. It was the Northern American Continent submitting a bulk order for ten thousand vials of L compound solution.

  Chen Chen did not provide an order confirmation immediately and instead stated that it would take some time to produce an order of mass quantity.

  After another hour, both the European and North Sea Continent submitted similar order requests.

  Meanwhile, Chen Chen's uncles also tried to get in touch with him as well. Since they were unable to contact him directly, they went to his father instead in hopes of securing a backdoor connection from his father and obtaining the L compound solution at a cheaper price to supply the Central Continent...

  It did not take long before word got out to other buyers. News of Blacklight Biotechnology extracting the L factor from the existing psionicists to create artificial psionic power injections quickly spread across connected circles in the Earth Federation. Within days, Chen Chen had countless countries jumping on the bandwagon and coming to him with offers.

  To accommodate for the sheer volume of these orders, Chen Chen decided to send someone to the Earth Federation and stated point-blank that they could only produce four hundred vials per month. Any interested buyers had to buy the entire months' stock in bulk and those buyers would be limited to only a single bulk purchase each year.

  Naturally, this came off as a great disappointment to the interested buyers. In response to this, they immediately dispatched their best negotiation experts to Eco Science City, all of them wanted to acquire the highly sought-after psionic power injections ahead of any other competing nations.

  On the very day that Blacklight Biotechnology disclosed the existence of the wondrous L compound, the Earth Federation had a collective notion that something almost magical but irrefutable was occurring...

  The times were changing.

  Chapter 569: Recruiting Psionicists |

  "Phew!"

  It was early in the morning. John Oppenheimer slowly opened his eyes on the hotel bed.

  He looked at the unfamiliar naked girl lying beside him who was still in a deep sleep and got up without a care to put on his clothes and headed to the bathroom.

  This was the thirty-fifth day since he had acquired his superpowers.

  Ever since the day when he flung the overly aggressive redneck into a truck, John had trouble falling asleep at night, occupied with thoughts of how he suddenly attained such powers.

  During the first week, John was deeply disturbed by this unexplainable phenomenon. He even went to the hospital for a full body checkup for fear of it being a symptom of a disease, but the reports showed that he was perfectly healthy.

  In the following days, after verifying that there was nothing abnormal with his body, he began to calm down.

  Still, John
continued monitoring his situation closely and dedicated a lot of time to researching similar superpower reports on the Internet. He quickly discovered that in between June to July, many similar cases were discovered all over the world. There were a handful of such reports surfacing every day. He even saw reports of his confrontation on the highway.

  Due to the poor resolution of the pictures taken, John believed that his identity was not exposed just yet.

  John went through a rollercoaster of emotions ever since he acquired his superpowers. He went through from periods of excitement to agitation, and finally to being cautious and keeping a low profile. He was worried that if the government had discovered him having superpowers, he would be forcefully taken to a laboratory to have unethical, inhumane experiments conducted on him.

  Just like Einstein's brain...

  Not only did John maintain a low profile, but he even lived an even hermit life than he did in the past. The first thing he did after finishing work was to head straight back home where he would experiment with his powers.

  Throughout John's experimenting and training, he started to notice changes to his physique. The more he honed his powers, the tougher the texture of his skin became.

  Last night, John went to the bar for a special occasion and a drunkard was trying to pick a fight with him for no reason. At the time, when he was provoked by the drunkard, he felt a scorching sensation around the corner of his eyes and had a feeling of some kind of power inches away from bursting out. Fortunately, the rational part of his mind knew better and immediately suppressed it.

  "This power is as much a blessing as it's a curse..."

  John muttered to himself as he stepped into the bathroom. He came in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection, then he combed his beautiful golden locks, fashioning them tidy the way he liked them.

  John had always been a handsome man and his hairstyle only added more to his charismatic appearance. John could be easily slotted into any Northern American fashion magazine and fit in like he had been a model all his life. Coupled with the fact that he was an eligible bachelor, he was always showered with attention from young ladies whether he was at the company or mingling at bars.

  This was to say that his private life was very eventful, to say the least.

  The girl sharing the bed with John was one of his many conquests throughout his adulthood...

  John could not care less about the girl. His head was still replaying the scene of the drunkard challenging him last night. Due to his increased physical strength, things certainly did not end well for the crazy drunkard, but this was not what he was fixated about. He was thinking about the burning sensation around the corner of his eyes last night.

  "What's with that burning sensation I felt?"

  John thought about it, still confused. He took a long, deep breath and held it in then stared at the mirror for a long time.

  Staring at the mirror, nothing abnormal seemed to be happening.

  After trying a few more times, John was ready to give up. It was around this point when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

  Somebody was at the door of his hotel room.

  John quickly exited the bathroom and went to the front door and asked, "Who is it?"

  "Room service, sir."

  John heard the brisk remark of the hotel employee.

  John gently opened the door without suspecting anything. He was surprised to see that instead of a hotel employee, three men in suits wearing sunglasses although they were inside a hotel corridor were in front of his door.

  "We're from the FBI. We have some questions for you. Would you mind taking a walk with us?"

  The man who spoke presented a card that was his FBI identification.

  John felt his heart sink as soon as he recognized the FBI label. He knew what they were here for but he feigned innocence. "Can I know what this is about? I don't think I did anything illegal."

  "You'll know soon enough."

  The leading agent flashed an indiscernible smile and left it at that.

  'Oh no, did I slip up last night?'

  The disguised remark only served to raise John's alertness. He looked at what he was wearing and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry gentlemen, do you mind if I get changed?"

  "Sure. We'll be waiting for you right here."

  The FBI agent nodded.

  John closed the door calmly and his complexion immediately transformed dramatically. He looked around the room to weigh his options and his attention quickly landed on the half-opened window leading to the balcony. He changed into proper attire immediately and crawled out the window without sparing a glance at the girl in the bed still sleeping.

  John was staying on the fifth floor of the hotel. After looking out the window for a brief survey, he quickly planted his foot on the thin platform protruding along the exterior of the hotel.

  After that, he gripped another window next to him firmly and slowly, carefully shuffling over to the next room.

  In the past, John would never be mad enough to perform such a lunatic stunt. However, ever since acquiring his superpowers, he found himself experiencing significant growth both in his physical prowess and courage as well.

  "Ding dong..."

  Shortly after climbing out the window, John heard the crisp sound of the doorbell ringing from his previous room. His heart tightened and he quickly sped up his pace. He tightened his firm grasp on a brick and in one swift motion, swung himself toward the window in another room.

  "Bang!"

  The tranquility of the morning was suddenly invaded by a ferocious crash that came from his previous room. It sounded like a door getting barged down. It was quickly accompanied by the horrified shriek of a girl. John was frightened by the sudden invasion. He briefly glanced below him and immediately jumped down from the window!

  The wind whistled in his ears as he fell. When John fell near a window on the third floor, he immediately grabbed the exterior window sill with both hands and stopped his falling!

  "He's getting away, get him!"

  There was a noisy commotion just a small distance above him. He saw an FBI agent poking his head out the window and they both made eye contact. Then, the agent disappeared from the window and informed his fellow agents of what he saw.

  "You want to catch me?"

  John became as mad as he was desperate. He let go of his grip again and descended to the second-floor window this time, suspending himself over the window like a stuntman shooting an action movie scene.

  After adjusting his balance, he repeated the same sequence and this time, landed with both feet planted firmly onto the ground in front of the hotel entrance.

  "Phew..."

  John's shirt drenched in sweat clung to his back stubbornly. He knew that the slightest slip up earlier could have easily resulted in a gruesome injury. He would never have attempted something like that if not for having gained superpowers.

  Before he could decide his next move, John heard a thunderous voice coming from behind him. "Don't move, put your hands in the air!"

  John was startled by the sudden command. He slowly turned around and saw yet another FBI agent stepping out of a car who was holding a gun, aiming at him.

  John held his breath in utter shock the moment he looked into the barrel of the gun!

  "Put your arms around your head and get on the ground, now!"

  The agent barked the same orders at John again.

  John realized the precariousness of his situation. He fixed his gaze at the barrel of the gun and he felt the same sensation that he felt last night at the bar rushing at him...

  John winced irresistibly. It felt like his eyes were going to burn and melt into their sockets. Even his vision had turned stark red like someone had pasted a red overlay on the world...

  "Put your hands in the air now!"

  The agent ordered again. To John, this voice sounded like it came from afar, distant shore and slowed down to a crawl like an audio clip in a slow-motion video
. It seemed like the entire world had slowed down to a snail pace!

  While the world was glowing red, John saw the unthinkable. The muscles along the agent's fingers trembled slightly!

  John could sense the looming danger sweeping over him, ready to consume him at this point. He slowly opened his mouth and emitted a sharp roar, something burst outward in between his eyes!

  "Boom!"

  John saw the world trembling within his eyelids. The bright red overlay immediately vanished as well. He saw a gigantic ring bursting outward, then he saw the gun disintegrate into nothingness, and a hollow, red-shaped hole appearing at the center of the FBI agent's chest!

  The gun was melted without a trace and a gigantic hole formed out of nowhere in the middle of the agent's chest. John, horrified by what he saw, could smell the horrid scent of charred flesh lingering in the air.

  Wide-eyed, he watched as the agent collapsed lifelessly onto the ground. That was when John realized that he had accidentally killed an official FBI agent!

  "Crap!"

  John cursed out loud, realizing that the situation had made a sharp turn for the worse as if it was not bad enough already. This was not the time for empty regrets. He planted his pivot feet to the ground and immediately took off into an alley, not paying any mind to his car that was parked by the roadside waiting for him!

  John ran and ran for more than ten minutes before he arrived at an isolated alley that he deemed safe enough to rest. He leaned against a wall and gasped for air.

  "What, what did I just do?"

  John closed his eyes, the haunting image replayed in his mind against his will. It was not his intention to kill since all he wanted was to get away. If he had not done what he just did, it would be him lying on the ground now with a bullet lodged in his head.

  "I have to get out of Northern America..."

  John resolved. Just as he prepared to take off again, he heard the abrupt sound of tires screeching to a halt. A black off-road vehicle stopped at the mouth of the alleyway.

  The driver was a woman so beautiful that she looked like a dream. She flung the passenger door open and yelled at John, "Get in!"