They only talked about maintenance and expenses, but Xiao Xun’s research and development alone cost an exorbitant amount daily. He hadn’t seen the bills; if he had, he would have fainted just counting the zeros.
However, in the face of the apocalypse, some wealthy individuals were quite willing to spend money, hoping for preferential treatment for themselves when a way out presented itself.
For example: a ticket on a lifeboat.
When these magnates learned that no "great ship" was being built and the money was being spent elsewhere, they were almost driven to despair.
Xiao Xun confided in Su Xiang privately, "If we survive this apocalypse, the world will enter a new era. If we don't, I still have a backup plan."
"What backup plan could there be if the world is destroyed? Space colonization? Or time travel?"
"Colonization is impossible, but moving tens of thousands of people is still possible."
As he spoke, Xiao Xun produced the blueprints for a spaceship. "See what this is."
Su Xiang examined the blueprints closely. "This? You can't even build this in ten years."
"Don't be so absolute!"
"It's not absolute. For every component on your blueprints, you'd need to build new factories, create new molds. And these materials are incredibly difficult to synthesize. Ten years is a conservative estimate. Building your project is less practical than building the 'great ship'."
"The 'great ship' can't fly. If the Blue Star is destroyed, humanity will truly be extinct."
Su Xiang shrugged. "Then everyone will be equal. I've come to terms with it. Rather than living in constant fear, it's better to die painlessly."
"Don't get stuck on that. Let's go out for a drink!"
"Sure! It’s been a while since I’ve been out."
Xiao Xun sat in the passenger seat. "Area Eight is so vast, and I've only been to a few places. Once this busy period is over, I'm going to travel all over the beautiful mountains and rivers."
Su Xiang smiled helplessly. "That's why everyone wants to be the general manager, to be a hands-off boss. I don't know about the previous ones, but both you and Sister Mei are like that."
Xiao Xun looked out the window as the large SUV slowly ascended in the elevator. "By the way, who did you assign to keep a close eye on 'Chu Ningxiang'?"
Su Xiang took out his phone and tossed it onto Xiao Xun's lap. "I didn't assign anyone specifically. I installed software directly on the phone for real-time monitoring."
Xiao Xun opened Su Xiang's phone, clicked on the software, and selected an option.
"Why is there no sound?"
Su Xiang explained, "Maybe there's no signal. This section has a signal shielding layer. You can listen again when we get outside."
Indeed, once they were outside, a voice immediately came through.
"Miss, what's been wrong with you lately? Why do you insist on eating alone in your room?"
"I've been so annoyed lately. Can you stop bothering me?"
"Then shall I invite Doctor Li to come and examine you?"
"You don't need to worry about me. Get out."
"Yes!"
Xiao Xun chuckled. "She sounds a lot like her. Where did you find someone who looks exactly like her?"
"Everyone has an ID card now. As long as you scan the big data, you can find people with similar facial structures, and then find those with similar builds and other physical characteristics, and it's no problem."
Xiao Xun was very satisfied with Su Xiang's efficiency. "Very good. If I weren't here, you would definitely be Sister Mei's successor."
Su Xiang waved his hand. "I'm good at assisting people, but I can't lead independently. There needs to be someone above me to keep me in check, otherwise, problems will definitely arise."
Xiao Xun thought Su Xiang was being modest, but Su Xiang was speaking the truth.
The delivery date for the original humans was fast approaching, and various experiments and modifications were entering their final stages.
Xiao Xun looked at the profiles of the six adapters and over a dozen candidates on the monitor. "After searching worldwide, we don't even have ten adapters. Let's preserve their genes. If anything goes wrong, we can clone one."
"Cloning is illegal worldwide. Are we going to do this?"
Xiao Xun looked at the genetic engineer before him. "We're doing this to protect our planet. If anyone could just get in and control it, why would I go through all this trouble?"
"Yes, I understand."
For the first trial run, everyone in the entire research base gathered to watch. Xiao Xun, as the highest-ranking leader, naturally had the best viewing spot.
The pilot, wearing a body-fitting suit identical to Xiao Xun's, entered the cockpit. The cabin door was sealed, and then specialized machinery inserted the original human's spine, connecting the neural power supply.
Xiao Xun pointed at the long cable behind the original human and asked, "Isn't this a person? Why is it connected to power? It looks like an umbilical cord."
The chief designer next to him said, "Mr. Xiao, the cockpit consumes too much power. The original human's own bio-electricity cannot sustain it."
Xiao Xun nodded. "This greatly shortens the combat range. If the enemy is outside the cable's range, we can only watch and can't engage! Find a way to solve this."
"Yes!"
The original human began to move slowly, performing several actions according to the predetermined requirements, earning rounds of applause.
Su Xiang stood behind Xiao Xun and said to him, "Mr. Xiao, I think there's another advantage to powering it through the cable."
Xiao Xun turned to look at him. "What advantage?"
"If the pilot disobeys orders, we can simply cut off the power supply."
In fact, Xiao Xun had already thought of this, which was why he had asked Da Lanhua to create a puppet system. The dual-system switching was to prevent the pilot from having an extreme reaction.
However, he didn't reveal this. It was his trump card, a contingency plan. If it were known to malicious individuals, they could exploit it. Therefore, he had created a separate laboratory for Da Lanhua and, based on his work, perfected the puppet system.
After all, they were hackers, and anything they created had to be reviewed by Xiao Xun to ensure there were no backdoors before it was approved.
After his inspection, Xiao Xun stood up and applauded, met with thunderous applause from those around him.
He picked up the microphone. "I declare that the Cradle Project is successful. All original humans will enter mass production."
"Yes!"
At this moment, Su Xiang's satellite phone rang. "It's a call from the base."
Xiao Xun looked at Su Xiang, whose brow furrowed. "Alright, I'll report immediately."
After hanging up, Su Xiang said to Xiao Xun, "Mr. Xiao, we need to go back quickly."
"What happened?"
"The thing they sent from Area Six has grown."
Xiao Xun was extremely shocked. After arranging relevant matters, the two quickly drove towards the base.
Arriving at the cold storage, they saw several researchers desperately holding the door shut.
"What's wrong?"
One of the experts said, "Mr. Xiao, you're back! That thing has grown."
"Four people are holding the door. How big has that thing grown?"
"Only slightly larger than a face."
"Superhuman strength?"
"Not exactly, but it's too aggressive."
Xiao Xun lifted his left leg, drew out a high-frequency vibrating particle blade, and said, "Open the door. I want to see."
The four people moved aside, and Xiao Xun walked in. Su Xiang and several guards followed.
He looked around, and finding nothing, turned to ask, "Where is it?"
The four people didn't dare to enter. "We don't know, but it's definitely in this room, nowhere else."
Just as Xiao Xun was about to get on his hands and knees to see if it had crawled somewhere, a greenish creature, shaped like a horseshoe crab but with eight legs and two pincers, lunged towards the head of one of the guards.