Chapter 184
Xiao Huasheng shrank back timidly, worried that one day Angela would pin her down.
At that point, she will be completely unable to resist.
Seemingly sensing Xiao Huasheng's thoughts, Angela blushed slightly and moved on from the topic. "In fact, this resurrection mechanism isn't a panacea."
Don't change the subject.
But no matter how much Xiao Huasheng protested, Angela still managed to steer the conversation away from the topic.
"Regarding the energy consumption of the resurrection mechanism," Angela quickly switched back to her professional tone, drawing a diagram of energy flow in the air with her fingertip, "According to my precise calculations, fully resurrecting an ordinary person, including reshaping their standard physical form and, most importantly, re-stabilizing their soul back into their body, requires approximately 400 units of energy."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huasheng's attention was indeed drawn back.
This number made her frown slightly.
Angela continued, "You might wonder, Director, why creating a body isn't the biggest energy consumer. That's because shaping a physical body that meets certain standards is actually quite efficient using Reality-Warping Ability. The real energy bottleneck lies in the transfer and anchoring of the soul."
"The more powerful the soul is, the more exponentially the energy required to fit it into a powerful body. Of course, the body's compatibility will also be better. A weak soul can hardly control a powerful body."
"400 units of energy, that's equivalent to 10% of our current total energy reserves at Lobotomy Corporation." Angela's expression turned serious. She looked directly into Xiao Huasheng's eyes and emphasized, "Therefore, Supervisor, I must solemnly remind you to proceed with extreme caution. Do not let our employees lose their lives so easily. Every resurrection is a significant drain on our precious energy reserves."
Xiao Huasheng nodded seriously, his expression becoming much more solemn.
She understood Angela's meaning: unlimited resurrection did not come without a price.
"Now that you mention it, the energy is actually increasing with use, but the functions have indeed increased as well," the red-haired Angel muttered, rubbing her chin.
The company's internal energy consumption is increasing, and the number of employees is also growing.
There are only so many Abnormality, and to increase them further, more people have to die; the more people die, the easier it is to produce higher-level Abnormality.
In games like Warhammer, it's relatively easy; hundreds of millions of people die all the time, so you can always collect enough.
However, the number of deaths in the Foundation World that Xiao Huasheng can currently access, and in the current Terra, is not that many.
If hundreds of millions of people die every now and then, that would definitely be a world-ending event. Abnormality are truly rare things.
"Actually, I have an idea about energy. In a sense, it's an inexhaustible energy source," Angela said to Xiao Huasheng.
"Endless energy?" Xiao Huasheng almost thought that the?? signal had been sent, but Angela must have her reasons for saying that.
Angela quickly shared her thoughts.
"Artificial the Infected."
Chapter 32: Paradox Interactive Players [2 Updates]
Xiao Huasheng stared blankly at her; Angela was clearly a Paradox Interactive player.
"We can intentionally infect our employees with Originium Disease."
The projection in the air outlined a human figure, with several crystals symbolizing Originium growing within the outline.
"Precisely control the degree of infection, allowing them to cultivate Originium in a relatively safe environment, and then treat them all at once once the crystals have grown to a sufficient size."
She made a harvesting motion with both hands.
"The treatment process of Quack Doctor is essentially a highly efficient energy conversion, transforming a special energy produced by the deep integration of Originium with life into the general energy we need. Judging from the cases of Talulah and FrostNova, this process yields extremely considerable output."
Angela looked at Xiao Huasheng with clear eyes.
"In this way, we can establish a sustainable and efficient energy production cycle within the company, where employees are like... well, like well-cared-for cows on a farm, regularly producing valuable energy for us. This is much more stable and efficient than relying on uncertain external energy inputs."
Xiao Huasheng's face turned pale instantly; she could almost picture that hellish scene.
The company's employees have Originium growing on their bodies, planted like crops, and then healed through extreme pain to harvest energy, in a never-ending cycle.
"Angela ..." Xiao Huasheng opened his mouth, his voice a little dry, and decided to try to persuade her, "Could Quack Doctor really approve of what we're doing? Given his moral standards..."
Xiao Huasheng said that the only people in the company who could convert Originium were Quack Doctor.
The two of them can remove Originium at most, and that process consumes too much energy.
Quack Doctor would never agree with that.
Angela nodded knowingly, then looked at Xiao Huasheng's pale face and suddenly changed the subject.
"That's right, supervisor. Please rest assured, I've already rejected this plan. I was just offering a conjecture."
"Huh?" Xiao Huasheng was taken aback.
"After detailed calculations, I found that this plan was actually inefficient and counterproductive."
Angela resumed her serious tone.
"First of all, a mature the Infected is a high-concentration energy aggregate, and its energy dissipation level is far beyond that of an ordinary person. Concentrating them in large numbers within a company and maintaining their existence would cause huge daily energy consumption, just like running thousands of high-energy-consuming devices at the same time."
"Secondly, the natural growth cycle of Originium Disease is extremely slow. From infection to reaching a sufficient scale for harvesting, it often takes several years or even decades, a time cost that we cannot accept."
She concluded, "Overall, the input-output ratio is too low. Instead of wasting resources on breeding the Infected, it's better to use the energy directly for more efficient production activities. Therefore, I have abandoned this immature idea."
Hearing that Angela had finally given up the idea, Xiao Huasheng breathed a long sigh of relief, and her tense shoulders relaxed.
Actually, hearing Angela say that made the red-haired Angel a little sad; she simply couldn't do that.
In any case, the little animals of Terra have unintentionally escaped a disaster.
But clearly, Angela wasn't going to let the proposal go so easily.
"So I put some of my Terra clones into another dimension specifically to nurture Originium."
"Puff!"
Xiao Huasheng couldn't help but spit it out, but Angela still finished it.
As long as they stay in the Distortion, created alternate dimension, it has nothing to do with the Lobotomy Corporation's internal energy consumption. Just like the Green Ring that has been kept hidden away and the energy bar given by the Emperor, these things are also stored as high-energy items in Angela's alternate dimension.
"Well, it seems that maintaining the extradimensional space already consumes a lot of energy, and it's even more so after expanding the space. It contains a lot of energy bars, a ring, and fifty bodies infected by Originium. It consumes about 20 units of energy every day."
"Ah..."
Xiao Huasheng was dumbfounded.
Angela smiled gently, "Anyway, let's see if we can succeed in the end. If we succeed, it will be endless energy."
"Never mind... it's better than using living people."
Xiao Huasheng could only console himself with this thought: Angela was indeed ruthless; her actions were all at the level of war criminals.
She still wore that gentle and professional smile, but what she said next made Xiao Huasheng feel the real "financial pressure".
"Manager, let's get back to the company's current operational status."
"As you can see, with the expansion of the company and the increase in the number of employees—including full-time employees we recruit from all over the world, as well as new talents like FrostNova and Talulah —the company's daily energy consumption has climbed to a new high."
She pointed to a stable and significant area of consumption on the chart.
"This part covers the energy consumption for infrastructure and daily maintenance, while this part covers the energy wages of the employees and the additional costs of providing them with living, training, and entertainment services. After all, necessary investment is indispensable to maintain a combat-ready and loyal team."
"To put it simply, Supervisor," Angela said, putting away the data panel and placing her hands in front of her, summarizing in a caring yet slightly encouraging tone, like a supportive wife.
"Our company is now large and has high expenses. In order to maintain the smooth operation of the company and support our future development plans, we urgently need to explore more and more stable sources of energy."
"I'd better go check on the employees first. I'll take care of the energy problem." Xiao Huasheng rubbed his head. Although he felt the pressure suddenly increase, it wasn't to the point where it was unsolvable.
She moved swiftly, heading towards the area where the employees worked.
At this moment, in the staff break room, apart from some of the staff who were working on the Abnormality...
Most people here are doing what they want to do.
The Ultramarines, Reunion Movement, Foundation agents, Foundation management, and some entities are all here.
The scene was undeniably lively.
Xiao Huasheng smiled slightly as she looked at the scene before her. Perhaps her mission was to save these people in despair.
At this moment, Abby was sitting on the Quack Doctor's shoulder, waving Abby rattle drum with great joy.
"Director!"
"Wow! The supervisor is here."
"Oh, oh, oh."
The place immediately became lively upon seeing Xiao Huasheng's arrival.
She doesn't come here very often; she's practically a rare guest.
On the contrary, Angela comes here often, and with so many people around, she doesn't feel lonely.
"Wow! Boss, you've taken in so many white-haired girls again! Your Ku Tang has been seriously diluted!"
Talulah, FrostNova: Rabbits and dragons know nothing!
Ku Tang hugged Xiao Huasheng tightly, making no attempt to hide her affection, which left Xiao Huasheng feeling rather helpless.
"Alright, alright..." She could only pat the former Foundation secretary on the head to comfort her.
"It's getting more and more lively," Ai Er Lan chuckled, staying beside his wife and children.
"By the Emperor." Roxy nodded.
The Yeti Squad and the Shieldguards started chatting amongst themselves, creating a lively scene.
At this moment, an employee who hadn't been seen for a long time appeared behind Xiao Huasheng and gently tapped Xiao Huasheng's shoulder.
"Supervisor, you need to know about this research."
Xiao Huasheng Iris around and saw Iris standing beside her with a camera, clearly indicating that she had something very important to discuss.
Chapter 33: Under the Shadows [1st Update]
"What's wrong, Iris?"
Xiao Huasheng turned around and looked at the large blonde beauty behind him.
Iris, holding her camera, looked at Xiao Huasheng with some concern.
"Supervisor, I've discovered something truly astonishing; you should come and see."
Xiao Huasheng then asked, "Did you tell Angela?"
"No... because I just discovered it." Iris said. In her opinion, it wouldn't be a problem to tell either Xiao Huasheng or Angela. They were both her bosses, and she could just ask one of them to report.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huasheng nodded and said, "Yes, take me there."
Clearly, Iris meant to take Xiao Huasheng away from here. When there were fewer employees, Iris would probably have revealed the discovery here.
But now there are more than a dozen new people in the company, and they are all obviously 'abnormal' people.
What normal human being would have animal ears?
Iris didn't trust this group, especially since they didn't actually show Xiao Huasheng much respect.
Hopefully, Angela can discipline these people properly.
Although the temporary workers' contracts all stipulated that they would be eternally loyal to the company after death and that all memories related to Angela and Xiao Huasheng would be erased, this effect only had binding force after death. Furthermore, those with the ability to Time Reversal could not have their memories erased and could only be eternally loyal to the company.
For example, Makuku still retains all his memories of Angela and Xiao Huasheng.
Therefore, in the minds of the company's official employees, Minister Makuku was also a complete eccentric.
Iris had died once and held Xiao Huasheng in the highest esteem, completely forgetting her interactions with her before coming to the company.
Therefore, she gently took Xiao Huasheng's hand and led her outside.
Perhaps the company's expansion will require these long-term employees to adapt for a while longer.
"Manager, this way," Iris said softly, carefully leading Xiao Huasheng through the company's newly expanded area.
Her gaze inadvertently swept over the new faces—the cadres of the Reunion Movement were gathered in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones, their eyes filled with scrutiny and alienation.
This caused Iris to unconsciously tighten her grip on the camera.
They soon arrived at a relatively secluded technical maintenance corridor, surrounded only by the low hum of the instruments.
Iris stopped and, after confirming that no one was around, turned to Xiao Huasheng and spoke in a serious tone.
"Supervisor, we need to inspect the No. 3 High-Risk Rift." She explained as she led the way, waving a specially made camera in her hand. "As you know, I have the ability to take photos and manipulate inanimate objects within them. That's why Ms. Angela transferred me to the Space Rift Control Department."
Xiao Huasheng muttered to himself, "It's a department I've never heard of." Clearly, Angela hadn't been doing nothing while staying at the company.
Then Iris pushed open a heavy protective door, and a bright and open space appeared before her.
A spatial rift, spanning half the corridor and resembling a shattered mirror, floats in the center of the isolation area, surrounded by various sophisticated remote control devices and sensors.
The gap, which was once as wide as a corridor, has now been reduced by half, clearly a result of Angela's effective management.