Equipment and Principles

Krauser stood behind the podium. Once he saw every trainee climb the steps and take their seats in order, he said solemnly:

"Everyone, when you joined Atlas and learned that the Boss was an Immortal, as well as about the Space Gates that could lead to other universes and Earths, everything you had learned and understood was shaken, perhaps even shattered. I was no exception.

"Yet you are sitting here now, which means you are prepared to step into the unknown for the company, for the Boss, and even for all humanity.

"As Investigators, you must always understand your duties and maintain absolute loyalty and rationality.

"But do not forget that your lives do not belong to you alone. They belong to your families, and even more so, to the company.

"That is why I train you so harshly: to give you exceptional physical conditioning and combat skills. Only by staying alive can you bring out your greatest value.

"In other words, all of you are important assets of the company."

At that, Krauser deliberately paused. Then, two other instructors—also former U.S. military special forces personnel and now Investigator trainers—entered the stepped seating area.

One instructor opened an equipment case and arranged its contents, while the other assembled a dummy used to test injury severity. It had realistic bones, blood, and organs, but its skin and muscles were made of transparent silicone.

Before long, a dummy dressed in a suit stood before everyone.

Krauser spoke at the appropriate moment. "Among all the factors that can increase your chances of survival, skill, experience, and luck carry considerable weight. Those are controlled by you and your environment; others cannot influence them.

"However..."

As he spoke, Krauser left the podium, accepted a P90 submachine gun handed over by an instructor, and moved to a position five meters away from the suited dummy. With the muzzle pointed away from the tiered seats and toward the wall, he took aim.

He switched off the safety.

He aimed at the torso.

Krauser immediately pulled the trigger.

Rat-tat!!

Thud!

Amid the sharp, ear-piercing rapid gunfire, even with the support stand holding it up, the dummy could not withstand the impact and fell backward.

But Krauser had no intention of stopping.

The chief instructor adjusted his firing angle and stance, switched the selector to full-auto, and then...

Rat-tat-tat!!

In less than the blink of an eye, Krauser emptied the fifty-round magazine, filling the conference room with gunsmoke and the choking smell of gunpowder.

After firing, Krauser engaged the safety and placed the P90 on the podium. The two instructors quickly stepped forward, propped the fallen dummy back up, and even began to "undress" it.

Leon and the other trainees had initially been somewhat confused, but when they saw the dummy standing again after its wrinkled suit and inner vest had been removed, they instantly understood that their instructor was demonstrating equipment.

The dummy was far from unscathed. Bleeding beneath its silicone skin represented blunt-force injuries such as bruising and swelling, while its torso and limbs had either fractured or cracked bones. Yet its vital organs remained largely intact.

In other words, if a real person had been wearing that suit, they would have had a very high chance of surviving the P90's barrage.

!!

Having reached that conclusion, every trainee, Leon included, was incredibly excited.

Though it was a submachine gun, the P90 used 5.7×28mm rounds, with a muzzle velocity of roughly 650 m/s. Its pointed, jacketed bullets and other characteristics all indicated exceptionally strong penetration.

At 150 meters, it could penetrate a steel helmet. At 50 meters, it could penetrate at least forty-eight layers of Kevlar. At 30 meters, it could even punch through 3.5-millimeter standard-issue steel plate.

Of course, those figures were nothing compared with 5.56×45mm rifle rounds, and the P90 had issues such as its lighter bullet losing velocity badly at long range.

But none of that mattered to Leon and the others.

That was just a suit!

Suits were suitable for most situations. They did not draw excessive attention, while greatly improving the wearer's odds of survival if their identity was exposed and they were forced into a firefight.

Moreover, the suit's cut and appearance suited their tastes. It looked good and offered outstanding protection. It was truly a piece of "treasure armor."

Seemingly aware of what the trainees were thinking, Krauser returned behind the podium and said, "However, the company still has ways to influence external factors.

"For example, the ballistic disguise suit worn by the test dummy. You have all seen its specific effects. It can easily withstand 5.7×28mm rounds. Its protection rating, evaluated according to National Institute of Justice standards, is above Level III and barely reaches Level IV.

"But I would not recommend wearing it while taunting some guy holding an AK with, 'Come on, shoot me if you dare!' Otherwise, bear the consequences yourselves."

"Ha ha!"

Krauser usually came across as stiff and stern. His rare attempt at a dry joke left the trainees momentarily stunned before they caught on and burst into laughter.

The atmosphere became somewhat lively, while the slight upward curve of Krauser's lips showed that he was in a good mood.

Perhaps because this batch of trainees was about to graduate, he did not order them to be quiet.

Only after the laughter faded did he continue. "The disguise suit is protective equipment specifically designed and developed by the company's R&D Department for Investigators. It seems to be woven from some kind of carbon nanofiber or carbon nanopaper... Anyway, it is a synthetic material unavailable on the market.

"The suit is the basic model. In theory, there will be various styles, but only if your rating reaches the elite tier. And as far as I know, even the manufacturing cost of the basic model exceeds one hundred thousand dollars."

!

At that, all the trainees were somewhat shocked. They had not expected that ballistic suit to cost as much as a house or a supercar.

"Rest assured." To Krauser, this was already commonplace. The company had always been generous with weapons and equipment. "Not only the disguise suit—once you officially become Investigators, the company will also provide equipment such as sunglasses with HUD displays and ultrathin personal computers.

"As I mentioned before, you are all extremely important assets of the company. Staying alive and successfully completing missions are your highest priorities. The company will support you with everything it has, without sparing any effort.

"As for money?

"Atlas never lacks cash, so there is no need to worry about such things. The company will always have your back. But do not forget that all of this is built upon your absolute loyalty to the company and the Boss. Should you betray us..."

Krauser changed his tone, swept his gaze across the trainees, and said in a calm yet icy voice, "The company will hunt you without end until you become a corpse.

"And one more reminder: there are rumors within the company that the Boss can read minds. So do not think about deceiving us or taking chances. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

--

Meanwhile.

Sui Yang, who was suspected of possessing mind-reading abilities, was crossing the North Atlantic aboard a private business jet. He had recently entered United States airspace and was currently more than ten thousand meters above the ground.

(End of Chapter)