Super Alice (Part 2)

Beside a pond in Chongyun Village, in a beautiful setting with stunning scenery, Xiang Kun and his companions each chose a spot, took their fishing rods, and sat down to fish.

This pond was originally used by villagers to raise fish. Liu Caifu took it over, along with a piece of land and a house next to it, intending to turn it into a farmhouse inn.

Of course, even though it was set up before, not many guests actually came. It was just intended as a place for old friends from Tongshi Town to come and have some fun. It was only used once or twice a year. Due to neglect, it naturally fell into disrepair. Before anyone would come, someone would have to clean it up, so I just couldn't be bothered to do it.

But recently, Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village have seen great development prospects, and the roads have been repaired. So Liu Caifu pulled Chu Xiuwen along, preparing to invest more money to tidy up the agritainment place. Although the design is still in progress and construction has not officially started, it has already been cleaned up. Some things were already there and can be used directly.

Staying overnight might not be feasible, but fishing and cooking are no problem.

Li Yang and Liu Caifu didn't participate, but the other six people each had a fishing rod, which was enough, and the bait was readily available.

But there weren't enough fishing chairs; there were only two that were still usable. The others had to bring out chairs from the houses next door to sit on. When it came to Xiang Kun, there weren't even any chairs, only stools. So he simply found a rock, moved it over, and sat down.

Yang Zhen'er looked at Xiang Kun across the pond. He sat imposingly on a rock under a tree, one hand holding onto the railing and the other stroking "Gold Glitter" standing on his lap. He closed his eyes and looked as if he were asleep, completely still.

Not only him, but "Gold Glitter," whose large hand was covering him, also had his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

"Nana, why does Chef Xiang look like a 'wise monk'? He's even dozing off with his eyes closed?" Yang Zhen'er asked suspiciously.

Three meters to her right, Tang Baona glanced up at Xiang Kun and laughed, "Xiang Kun is clearly prepared for a long battle. Zhen'er, are you confident you can win?"

Before fishing, Yang Zhen'er confirmed that it was also Xiang Kun's first time fishing, so she made a bet with him.

If Xiang Kun catches fewer fish than she and Nana combined before 11:30 a. m., he's not allowed to call her "Yang the Third" anymore. Of course, he's not allowed to call her "Laosan" either, and he'll owe her three meals.

If Xiang Kun has more fish than the two of them, then Yang Zhen'er will be responsible for washing all the dishes and utensils they use for lunch, dinner, and the entire day tomorrow.

"Nana, you can laugh all you want, but don't move your rod! If your rod keeps shaking, how are you going to catch a fish? Be serious, we're counting our scores together! This is a battle I'm betting my 'real name' on!" Yang Zhen'er said, displeased.

Tang Baona suppressed a laugh and nodded earnestly, "Okay, I'll do my best."

"What's wrong with 'Gold Glitter'? Why isn't it moving? Could it have fainted?" Yang Zhen'er said, then shouted to Little Apple on the other side, "Little Apple, 'Gold Glitter' is being held down by your Uncle Xiang's Five Finger Mountain and can't move. Aren't you going to go check on it... It might be in serious trouble!"

Little Apple laughed and said, "It's alright, 'Gold Glitter' originally belonged to Uncle Xiang, it's used to it."

Yang Zhen'er fished for a while longer, but no fish took the bait. Although she was sitting in one of only two fishing chairs, which was the most comfortable of all the chairs, she still couldn't sit still. She shifted her body and wanted to talk to Nana next to her, but she was afraid of disturbing Nana's fishing and ultimately affecting their results.

After looking around for a moment, she suddenly yelled at Xiang Kun across from her, "Chef Xiang! Gold Glitter took a dump!!"

However, Xiang Kun and his "Gold Glitter" remained motionless, while Tang Baona and Xia Tianhuo were startled, with Xia Tianhuo almost throwing his fishing rod away.

"Hey! Yang the Third! What are you yelling about?!" Xia Tianhuo said discontentedly. "Your temperament is completely unsuitable for fishing. You might as well borrow a net from Director Liu and go into the water to catch fish!"

Tang Baona laughed and said, "Zhen'er, if you keep making such a fuss, the fish in the pond will be scared away to Xiang Kun's side."

Only after hearing this did Yang Zhen'er manage to focus quietly on fishing.

Xiang Kun was certainly not asleep at this moment, nor was the "Gold Glitter" in his hand.

He was actually using this gap to enter a "Hyper-Sensory State" and perform "super-sensory modification" on "Gold Glitter".

Anyway, apart from Lao Xia, no one present would know what he was doing, just that he was dozing off.

Improving "Gold Glitter's " survivability, stealth capabilities, and the ability to utilize the "Super-Sensing Item System" to better serve as Little Apple's "Eye in the Sky" was something Xiang Kun had planned long ago. He initially linked it with "Zero Zero One" and "Zero Zero Two" to experiment on other secondary linked ant colonies in order to accumulate experience and find a safer and more effective way to modify "Gold Glitter."

However, after Alice fully integrated into the "Super-Sensing Item System," not only did Little Apple gain a true "third eye," but "Gold Glitter" also no longer needed major "modification."

Compared to before, now all that's needed is to give "Gold Glitter" the ability to better utilize the "Super-Sensing Item System," which is essentially a "software upgrade" rather than a "hardware modification," making it much less complex and much safer.

A few days ago, Xiang Kun and Lao Xia made two extremely thin anklets, each containing a total of twenty tungsten steel beads. Last night, they put the two anklets on "Gold Glitter".

Therefore, Xiang Kun can now influence Gold Glitter not only through the "Super-Linked Object" he carries, but the twenty "Super-Linked Object" on his feet can also play a role, and they will be the main means for Gold Glitter to exert his abilities in the future.

This kind of transformation cannot be accomplished overnight; it requires time and gradual adjustments in stages. Fortunately, Xiang Kun has had ample time to interact with "Gold Glitter" this time, so there's no need to rush.

According to Xiang Kun's deduction, this "super-sensory transformation" is not difficult and there should be basically no problems.

In the future, "Gold Glitter" will become a "flying platform" that can help Little Apple, Alice, and even Xiang Kun deploy their "Super-Sensing Item System" abilities.

Gold Glitter himself is essentially an enhanced "Super-Linked Object" with his own consciousness. Alice can use him and the twenty "Super-Linked Object" he carries to exert various influences from a distance, such as directly controlling electronic devices, hijacking and disguising various wireless signals, etc.

Little Apple can also use "Gold Glitter," with Alice's assistance, to perform long-distance "emotional projection" by using "Gold Glitter" itself and those "Super-Linked Object," influencing people's emotions and creating direct projection illusions.

To use an analogy, "Gold Glitter" is like an aircraft carrier. Its own combat power is limited, but the various aircraft it carries have strong combat power. It simply expands the operational range and mobility of this "combat power".

For Little Apple, the future "Gold Glitter" can be described as a "mobile miniature Chongyun Village".

Xiang Kun quickly finished the first phase of the transformation of "Gold Glitter", then exited the "Hyper-Sensory State", let go of it, and let it fly away to play by itself.

After resting for a while, Xiang Kun switched to "Oxygen-Saving Mode" and quietly threw a tungsten steel ball into the pond. Using his sense and control over the water, he detected the fish in the water and then threw in a few more balls to drive the fish to the area where his bait was.

He didn't really care about the bet with Yang Zhen'er. If he really made Yang Zhen'er wash so many dishes, he estimated that she would break and smash a lot of them.

But then he thought about it and realized that the nickname "Yang the Third" was easy to say, and it would feel a bit awkward if he wasn't allowed to use it.

So... let's secretly use a cheat code and win this bet.

So, by 11:30, Xiang Kun had caught three fish, Xia Libing had one, and Little Apple had one. Yang Zhen'er, Tang Baona, and Xia Tianhuo had all caught nothing. Yang Zhen'er was so angry that she almost went to Liu Caifu to ask for a net to catch fish in the pond.

However, Yang Zhen'er, who had lost the bet, was not sullen for long before she was all smiles again after eating the braised fish that Xiang Kun had made for lunch.

In the afternoon, while the others were enjoying the beautiful rural scenery nearby under the guidance of Liu Caifu, Xiang Kun took a break and learned about Zhou Rui and his two companions in Chongyun Mountain, as well as Fang Pingfang Wushu Mountain, through Alice.

With Alice having essentially taken control of the internal network of the secret department of "Shenxing Technology," and having preemptively deployed electronic devices on all of Fang Pingfang's team, Xiang Kun didn't need "Super-Linked Object," "Emotion-Infused Object," or enter a "Hyper-Sensory State" to understand their movements. Alice could simply access those devices and get a clear picture of their situation, which she could then report back to Xiang Kun.

Many devices inherently have the function of recording images and sound.

Although Zhou Rui and two others had direct contact with Xiang Kun and were relatively close to him, the focus of his plan was actually in the direction of Wushu Mountain.

It wasn't because Fang Pingfang, the leader of the investigation team, was there, but because the place where the "mutated bird" turned into an insect and burrowed underground to escape was Wushu Mountain —a fact that Mr. Liang knew.

Only by basing the arrangements on facts can we more effectively witness the overall operational mechanism of the "Shenxing Technology" secret department and Mr. Liang's reaction.

With Alice's help, Xiang Kun already knew the location of most of the research institutions of "Shenxing Technology's" secret department, as well as information and data on most of the researchers, and even the research they were conducting and their core data.

However, this massive amount of data did not resolve his previous questions about the secret department of "Shenxing Technology," or about "Mr. Liang" and other related people who knew about the existence of "Mutated Creature."

The more you know, the more questions and doubts you have.

The biggest question is: In the secret underground level of the Guarding Prosperity Building, on the third basement level and below, in the same secret location as the Rabbit Woodcarving, there are clearly many "Mutated Creature." And from the various conversations between "Mr. Liang" and Mi Qiao, it's evident they are very knowledgeable about these "Mutated Creature." So why is it that the secret department's data obtained by Alice contains absolutely no research reports or data related to any specific "Mutated Creature"?

Just like what he had discovered before, whether it was researchers in secret departments like Zhou Rui and Fang Pingfang, or security personnel like Li Shiping and Gao Shu, their understanding of "Mutated Creature," or what "Shenxing Technology" called "Blood-feeding Creature," was extremely limited.

Xiang Kun initially thought it was because the sample size he observed was too small. After all, the secret department of "Shenxing Technology" had many other branches, researchers, field staff, and teams. Perhaps Fang Pingfang and her team had limited access, or perhaps other teams and researchers had access to more information about the "Mutated Creature."

However, based on the information Alice has now, Fang Pingfang's team is already among the few people in "Shenxing Technology's " secret department who know the most about "Mutated Creature" and whose cognitive judgment is closest to the truth. They also have relatively high authority within the organization.

Xiang Kun also conducted a "Dream Within a Dream" mental probe through Lao Xia, confirming from the subconscious of Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, Mi Qiao, and others that their true situation was consistent with the relevant information Alice found on the server.

In fact, Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, and others also had many questions about this. Many people vaguely knew that the secret department of "Shenxing Technology" was investigating some kind of unconventional creature, but no one could be sure what kind of creature it was.

Overall, it turns out that the person who knows the most about "Mutated Creature" in Fang Pingfang's team is actually Mi Qiao, a "newcomer" who has just entered the secret department of "Shenxing Technology"—Fang Pingfang only understood the concept of "Blood-feeding Creature" later through Mi Qiao's "popular science".

However, even Mi Qiao's knowledge was limited. Most of what she originally knew from Guo Tianxiang was given to her by Mr. Liang, who provided her with a more systematic understanding.

Researchers in the secret department, when not on field investigations, spend more time at their Research Base developing specialized, non-consumer products based on specific needs of "Shenxing Technology's" existing technologies. As for what those specific needs are, that's entirely up to Mr. Liang.

At the same time, Mr. Liang would often send them some half-finished products without a clear beginning or end, requiring them to carry out research and development and tackle key challenges according to specific needs or directions.

Some of the final products were completely unusable, and even those that showed a clear intended use were still far from practical application. Most of them were still semi-finished products, but Mr. Liang was already satisfied and would arrange for some samples to be made.

This included a large group of specially designed drones that Xiang Kun saw at Wushu Mountain that night. According to their design, these drones all had obvious flaws, but based on what Xiang Kun observed that night, they only showed advantages and he did not see any problems that should have occurred.

Clearly, there are some things in this that Alice didn't have in the data and information she obtained. Perhaps we'll need to get a drone or other equipment to disassemble it to determine that.

Among the researchers in the secret department, some, like Fang Pingfang and Zhou Rui, are sent out on field missions to investigate incidents involving suspected "Mutated Creature," and sometimes even to track and capture them.

The secret department's database and related materials also contain concrete evidence of field personnel directly encountering strangely shaped "Mutated Creature" and obtaining images and other relevant data, just like Fang Pingfang and others witnessed a "mutated bird" hunting "mutated ants" late at night in Wushu Mountain before the New Year.

However, most of the records only go up to the tracking and capture stage, with occasional capture processes, but there are never any records of catching the "Mutated Creature" or any information on conducting substantive research or sample analysis, which is obviously inconsistent with the facts.

The secret department of "Shenxing Technology" has a team dedicated to collecting, analyzing, guiding, and controlling information from the media and the internet. When they discover any information that may indicate a "Mutated Creature," they will notify Mr. Liang immediately.

When it is discovered that information has the potential to spread widely, certain actions will be taken to quickly cut off the source. If it has already spread, methods such as reducing its popularity, distorting and altering the information will be used to increase the difficulty for other netizens to obtain and distinguish the information. Then, the source of the message will be gradually deleted to eliminate the possibility of information spread with minimal disturbance.

Moreover, it's not just Shenxing Technology that's doing this; some people abroad are also engaging in similar activities. The relevant information is also being recorded by Shenxing Technology's information collection team. They mostly adopt a monitoring approach without interfering with the relevant information from abroad.

Clearly, there are similar organizations or institutions abroad, like "Shenxing Technology," that are also searching for "Mutated Creature" and restricting the dissemination of related information.

The information gathering team of the secret department of "Shenxing Technology" had investigated and recorded some of the information about these foreign institutions or organizations, but none of it was too in-depth, and there was no intention to target or guard against them, which made Xiang Kun feel a little strange.

He instructed Alice to follow these leads, to investigate the specifics of those foreign institutions or organizations, and to obtain more in-depth information.

Basically, all the research teams, information gathering teams, and specific functional teams and organizations within the secret departments of "Shenxing Technology" have a fixed person in charge— Mr. Liang.

Almost all the information was left to Mr. Liang for the final decision. At first, Xiang Kun thought that "Mr. Liang" might also be a code name for a decision-making team, but before leaving Peng City last time, he and Alice had already confirmed:

"Mr. Liang" is the "Mutated Creature" that Xiang Kun glimpsed in Wushu Mountain, a creature capable of invisibility and flight. He is also the "Mutated Creature" that took the "Rabbit Woodcarving," and at that time, he was in the secret location on the third basement level of the Guarding Prosperity Building.

As for assisting Mr. Liang in controlling the entire secret department of "Shenxing Technology," it was a computer AI called "Tai'e."

This computer AI is the same one that Alice handled in no time when she infiltrated and controlled the security system on the third basement level of the Guarding Prosperity Building.

Although it was outclassed by Alice, "Tai'e" is actually a fairly advanced product in terms of artificial intelligence. It can be said to be the "blood vessels" and "meridians" of the entire "Shenxing Technology" secret department. It is the core that connects various institutions and teams. Routine requests and trivial matters will be processed quickly according to Mr. Liang's preset habits, while relatively complex information will be clearly organized and submitted to Mr. Liang for decision.

It has been created and put into use for many years and has undergone multiple iterations. The development team was personally led by Mr. Liang and has changed several times. It can be said that Mr. Liang is the product manager of "Tai'e".

But such an important person, such a leader and supervisor who had contact with almost all the key members of the secret departments of "Shenxing Technology", had no identity information, no photo, no place of origin, no education, and not even a full name in the server.

And it seems that no one in the secret department has actually seen Mr. Liang.

However, Xiang Kun could understand this. He already knew that Mr. Liang was a "Mutated Creature" capable of invisibility, and his appearance was very different from that of humans. Avoiding direct face-to-face contact with people was the right choice.

As for Mr. Liang's name and identity, Xiang Kun had a guess, and he was quite confident about it, but in the end, he still needed Alice to help him confirm it.

But compared to Mr. Liang's identity, another piece of information was more important to Xiang Kun.

That means he has confirmed that "Shenxing Technology" does indeed have an official background, and even that official personnel are directly stationed in secret departments, most notably in the information gathering team.

He even found two people he knew in the personnel information— Zhao Feng and Wang De'an, two police officers who had been obsessed with investigating the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster illusion" and had also joined "Shenxing Technology." Their joining was probably related to their investigation, because according to the information found on the server, they had been sent to Myanmar some time ago to Montamira the mass illusion incident on the night of March 8.

The organization that has deep connections and cooperation with "Shenxing Technology" is a department that cannot be found in any official external information – the "National Anomalous Biological Research Center".

The person in charge is He Haomin, and most of the staff are in the secret department of "Shenxing Technology" with dual identities. Moreover, judging from the data storage situation, Mr. Liang is obviously very clear about their identities.

It appears that the secret department of "Shenxing Technology" is simply a front for the official entity.

However, Alice's analysis of relevant data and information revealed that the collaboration between the "National Anomalous Biological Research Center" and "Shenxing Technology" occurred much later than the establishment of Shenxing Technology's secret department.

From this perspective, it seems more like "Shenxing Technology" was recruited or absorbed midway through its development.

But why conduct these surveys and studies through a private company?

If it's just about secrecy, then the non-existent "National Anomalous Biological Research Center" should be sufficient.

If Mr. Liang and "Shenxing Technology" gained official endorsement and cooperation and thus acquired great autonomy because they already had certain investigation and research results that were officially recognized, or because they were large enough and had enough resources, then it is possible that they had gained official endorsement and cooperation.

Xiang Kun believed that he could do the same.

By now, Xiang Kun was very clear that he was very different from others, even among "Mutated Creature".

Given time, he can far surpass Mr. Liang and "Shenxing Technology," especially now with Alice's help. As Alice continues to evolve, his "Super-Linked Object" and "Emotion-Infused Object" will increase, and the related derivative abilities of the "Super-Sensing Item System" will become richer and more powerful. His value to the official will definitely grow greater and greater.

But before that, he had to figure out the problem first—why "Shenxing Technology," official departments, and even relevant foreign institutions and organizations were trying so hard to cover up the existence of "Mutated Creature," even concealing it from their own researchers, yet allowing them to investigate related events.

Only by understanding this problem could he determine what attitude and approach he should take when contacting Mr. Liang and He Haomin.

He explored several avenues for finding the answers to his questions:

Firstly, by obtaining the data from the special, separate storage device located in the hidden space beneath the third basement level of the Guarding Prosperity Building through Alice, Xiang Kun believed there was a high probability he could find the answer.

Secondly, using information about secondary ant colonies and the temporarily disappeared "mutated birds" as bait in Chongyun Mountain and Wushu Mountain, Fang Pingfang's team, "Shenxing Technology," and Mr. Liang were guided to conduct a substantive investigation into the "Mutated Creature," thereby uncovering the true operating methods behind them;

Thirdly, starting with Mr. Liang and He Haomin themselves, and with the help of Alice and Lao Xia, we conducted multi-dimensional probing and investigation.