Meeting

Wang Fantian stopped wasting time. The security level of this research institute was not high, and its facilities were inadequate, lacking the most cutting-edge equipment. Li Heng would inevitably have to be transferred elsewhere.

Before that, however, he needed to hold an internal meeting within Googol Tech. At the very least, the heads of Great Xia's five regions needed to understand the specifics. The emergence of an immortal involved far too many issues for him to decide alone.

"No. 1003, connect to AI No. 1001 in the Central Region. Send over Li Heng's body model and data."

"Yes."

Central Region, capital of Great Xia. This was the center of the entire Hong Alliance, where large numbers of people from every member state gathered. Countless orders were issued from here. It was the brain of the Hong Alliance, this colossal entity, influencing the lives of billions.

There were residential districts in the outer city here as well, but the larger population placed greater strain on transportation. As a result, the area was filled with circular overpasses. Countless twisting roads extended from the ground to dozens of meters in the air. From above, they overlapped like interwoven halos.

The unceasing traffic, the small drones moving through the air, and the neon lights flickering atop skyscrapers everywhere—its denser radiance outshone even the stars overhead at night.

At the heart of the city stood a pure black building, its sleek and exquisite exterior shaped like a perfect cylinder. At its peak was a silver-white 10^100 emblem. This was Googol Tech's headquarters.

Inside an office on the top floor, an old man who appeared to be around sixty sat in a chair. He wore a red baseball cap and simple clothes, squinting at the visual report before him.

To his left sat an exquisite celadon tea set, while to his right was a small bucket of popcorn. From time to time, he grabbed a handful, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.

After a long while, he let out a breath and leaned back. The chair beneath him tilted backward with his movement.

A slightly hoarse voice rang out as the old man murmured with a sigh, "Immortality... to think it appeared so simply. This is even more troublesome than discovering aliens on Earth."

Reclining in his chair, he raised his left hand before his eyes. It was already covered in wrinkles, with thick blue veins bulging beneath dry skin in a hideous display.

He remembered the feeling of running across a basketball court decades ago, when his body had been full of strength and many girls had stood by the court cheering for him.

Now, however, his body was irreversibly heading toward old age. His temples had turned gray, his muscles had weakened, and his memory had worsened by the day.

Back then, he could easily understand complex formulas and theorems. Now, he needed artificial intelligence to remind him of things constantly.

The most horrifying thing was watching the second hand on the clock move, tick by tick. Every movement meant another portion of his lifespan had been shaved away.

With every sunrise and sunset, every cycle meant another day of life was gone.

He could feel himself aging step by unavoidable step, even breathing gradually becoming laborious. Watching young, vigorous new lives, that helpless feeling eroded his heart every moment of every day.

"Perhaps... I can uncover the secret of immortality."

The old man muttered, and astonishing light burst forth from his previously clouded eyes.

The average lifespan in the Hong Alliance was around eighty. Originally, the old man might have had only ten-odd years left to live. But now, he saw hope.

"I want to live." The light in his eyes receded as he suppressed his surging emotions deep within his heart.

Excessive emotional fluctuations would interfere with judgment. By then, the old man had returned to his usual calm demeanor. He said evenly, "No. 1001, contact the presidents of the five regions. Tell them there is a sudden Level One incident. The meeting begins in ten minutes."

"Your will shall be obeyed." It was the voice of a young man—the old man's voice from when he was young.

Listening to his younger voice, the old man closed his eyes and waited quietly.

Ten minutes later, the old man leaning in his chair opened his eyes and said, "No. 1001, begin the meeting."

The next moment, the entire office transformed into a dazzling starry sky. The chair behind the old man also became a black stone stele, bearing the red number 01. Four seated figures appeared before him, each backed by black stone steles numbered 02 through 05.

No. 04 and No. 05 were both elderly men around the same age as No. 01. They wore formal dark gray suits, and their hair was meticulously styled.

Before No. 03's stone stele sat Wang Fantian. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt and cargo pants, his back ramrod straight.

No. 02 was a woman around forty. She wore a white shirt, her long black hair draped over her shoulders. Wearing black-rimmed glasses and bright red lipstick, she sat lazily with her arms crossed, twirling her hair with her left hand.

The old man seated before the No. 01 stele straightened up as well. He removed his red baseball cap and placed it on the table, revealing sparse gray-white hair. Then he said, "I've gathered everyone today because of an unexpected situation. I believe it is highly likely to develop into a Special-Grade Incident, so we need to vote on it together."

Apart from Wang Fantian, who already knew about it, the other three looked somewhat shocked. Even the woman who had been so nonchalant earlier lost her lazy expression.

Within the Hong Alliance, most affairs were divided into different grades according to their importance.

Level Three incidents referred to events with limited impact and low importance, which would hardly affect large numbers of ordinary people. Many routine criminal offenses fell under this grade.

Level Two incidents referred to matters affecting the lives of tens of thousands, such as demolishing buildings in certain residential districts or constructing highways and hydroelectric power stations.

Level One incidents referred to major events affecting several large cities and involving more than a million people. They were generally natural disasters, such as typhoons, earthquakes, massive floods, and new contagious deadly viruses.

Special-Grade Incidents, meanwhile, were the highest-level events. Their impact extended throughout the Hong Alliance and concerned the safety of hundreds of millions.

"Wang Fantian, since this situation emerged in the Southern Region, you can explain it."

Wang Fantian nodded. Li Heng's body model data appeared before them, and he began recounting the entire incident from beginning to end while explaining Li Heng's various data.

Once they understood the full situation, the woman in black-rimmed glasses spoke first. Somewhat excitedly, she said, "This is quite unexpected. I had originally believed that the human flesh-and-blood body could never attain immortality. After all, whether an individual life continues is unimportant to genes. Their purpose is to permanently pass down the information they carry. Mating and inheritance allow living organisms to adapt better to their environments."

She raised her right hand. The skin camouflage on its surface vanished, exposing the metallic mechanical structure beneath. "Yet now it seems that my past self truly was arrogant. A flesh-and-blood body can also achieve eternity, just like intelligent machinery."

Her body had been defective from birth, with polydactyly in her right hand. After her parents divorced, they abandoned her to be raised by her grandparents. Her family was poor, and she could not afford surgery, so she faced considerable discrimination while growing up.

Later, as technology advanced, she chose to have her entire right hand amputated and replaced with a mechanical hand, cutting off her connection to her past self.

The two elderly men in suits, No. 04 and No. 05, also wore shocked expressions, but neither spoke.

Within Googol Tech, the true highest decision-making body consisted of the old man No. 01 representing the Central Region, the woman No. 02 representing the Eastern District, and Wang Fantian No. 03 representing the Southern Region.

The Western Region and Northern Region, represented by the other two men, were sparsely populated but possessed the strongest military forces in the Hong Alliance. Their responsibilities were more focused on conducting research in cooperation with the military, so they rarely voiced opinions on the company's internal affairs.

To a certain extent, they were representatives of the military.

Only when a Special-Grade Incident arose would they exercise their voting rights—or rather, their power of veto. Such incidents were of immense importance and required unanimous approval from all five people to pass.

"All right, let's vote." The old man No. 01 spoke calmly to the others. "I, Zhuge Hao, president of Googol Tech, hereby propose upgrading Li Heng and all information related to him to a Special-Grade Incident."

The woman No. 02 said:

"Mi Yue, president of Googol Tech's Eastern Region, approves."

Wang Fantian said:

"Wang Fantian, president of Googol Tech's Southern Region, approves."

The two elderly men, No. 04 and No. 05, exchanged glances before speaking at the same time. "Approved."

"The proposal has passed. Li Heng and all information related to him have been assigned Special-Level Clearance." No. 1001's male voice rang out.

At that moment, every record of Li Heng's life, from childhood to adulthood, underwent slight alterations. Even the name he had used while leaving traces in the online world was changed from "Li Heng" to "Li Heng." The real him had disappeared from most people's sight.

With the resolution passed, the two elderly men, No. 04 and No. 05, left the meeting. What remained was the matter of arranging Li Heng's handling.

Seeing the two elderly men in suits depart, Zhuge Hao said to Wang Fantian, "Tell us what you know about Li Heng."

Wang Fantian recalled Li Heng's information before answering, "Few friends. Dislikes socializing. Lacks enthusiasm for life. Has no great desire for money or power. Handles matters simply and directly."

These were the conclusions Wang Fantian had reached by combining what he learned from questioning his son with Li Heng's life history.

Of the tens of millions of yuan he had received through the agreement, he had spent very little. He worked in games for no more than five hours a day, and the friends he regularly kept in touch with were pitifully few.

Zhuge Hao asked again, "What is his relationship with his mother like?"

Wang Fantian frowned slightly and stared into Zhuge Hao's eyes. The old man met his gaze without flinching.

After a moment, Wang Fantian replied, "Judging by the tens of millions he gave his mother, their relationship seems fairly good. But he himself does not care much about money, and he has hardly ever applied to return to the Eastern District to visit her."

"Furthermore, after breaking up with his university girlfriend, he has barely had any contact with her. Since coming to the Southern Region, he has not had intimate relations with any women either."

Zhuge Hao nodded and concluded, "So he is relatively emotionally detached. Trying to influence him through relatives and friends is not a good option."

Mi Yue, who had been listening in, suddenly said, "Why should we care what he thinks? Just take him to a fully sealed military base, forbid all contact with the outside world, and station a complete force of a thousand soldiers to guard him."

If he were an ordinary citizen, such a thing would naturally be impossible. But Li Heng had already been classified as a Special-Grade Incident and could be said to concern the lives of hundreds of millions. Even if compulsory measures were taken directly, no one within the Hong Alliance would say much.

Wang Fantian frowned at Mi Yue's words. Though he was not familiar with Li Heng, his son was Li Heng's friend. Now that he knew, he naturally could not turn a blind eye. Besides, he had never agreed with Mi Yue's radical thinking.

He said to Mi Yue, "Although Li Heng has been classified as a Special-Grade Incident, he has no prior criminal record. He also voluntarily cooperated with this research. I do not believe such an approach is reasonable. His personal rights should be respected."

The two stared at each other for several seconds before turning to Zhuge Hao. Wang Fantian and Mi Yue had respectively displayed moderate and hardline attitudes. The final plan still had to be decided by Zhuge Hao.