[Broken down into raw materials] [Synthesis successful] [X14 Remote Transmission Transport Platform] [Retains all S225 functions with further optimization. ER Force Field efficiency increased by 240%; intelligence increased by 93%. Four additional Directional Transmission Modules greatly improve loading efficiency.]
This time, the transport platform became a triangular structure about four meters tall. Its entire body had a matte-black finish, and the antigravity engines underneath emitted a blue glow, keeping it suspended in midair.
Cheng Qi's eyes widened slightly.
Four palm-sized external devices were mounted prominently on the X14's body, each designed for easy removal.
With a little force, Cheng Qi detached one of them.
It resembled a slightly thicker playing card, made of black metal and surprisingly heavy.
An X-shaped seam ran across its surface, reaching all four corners.
"Is this the so-called Directional Transmission Module?"
Cheng Qi tightened his grip slightly. The X-shaped seam immediately lit up blue, giving it a distinctly futuristic look.
Click, hummm!
Mechanical noises came from inside the little playing card, accompanied by the hum of some kind of energy vibration.
The metal "playing card" in his hand suddenly split apart.
It expanded into a gate of blue light, roughly four meters tall and three meters wide.
Cheng Qi stared in astonishment.
At the same time, he noticed that the X14 Remote Transmission Transport Platform had also begun making noises. Its two cargo doors slowly opened, revealing the space inside, where another gate of azure light gradually appeared.
"Could it be...?"
Testing his guess, Cheng Qi picked up the small stool he had just been sitting on and tossed it into the gate of light.
A dazzling beam flashed.
The stool was transported through space, appearing inside the X14's storage compartment.
It had also shrunk to one-tenth of its original size.
"This!"
Cheng Qi was truly stunned. "Isn't this just a miniature Directional Star Gate?"
A hundred years ago, the invention of the Directional Star Gate had changed humanity's entire future.
Humanity entered the great cosmic era, which also indirectly led to Earth's current fate.
Cheng Qi had once seen one of those Directional Star Gates in an illustrated magazine salvaged from the trash.
The thing was enormous, hundreds of meters tall. When it first appeared before humanity, transporting it had required a full 122 heavy-lift helicopters.
Even now, after several rounds of optimization and upgrades, it remained a colossal machine.
Yet the thing in Cheng Qi's hand.
Was merely an add-on module for the X14 Remote Transmission Transport Platform.
Like a data cable thrown in with a phone purchase back in the old days.
It actually had the same functionality as a Directional Star Gate?!
And when inactive, it was only the size of a playing card?
If those people at the Human Science Alliance saw this device.
Wouldn't they go mad on the spot?
[This device originates from a Level 3 civilization.]
Cheng Qi's pupils trembled. That sense of awe mingled with fear grew stronger and stronger within him.
It was merely a transport device... yet it employed such reality-defying technology.
Advanced technological civilizations truly surpassed human imagination!
Next, Cheng Qi performed a series of tests on the modules.
And found himself shocked all over again.
He discovered that two modules could actually transmit things between each other!
He even performed a transmission test himself, fully armed and equipped, and it still succeeded!
"In that case, there are so many ways to use this equipment!"
"It's even more useful than the platform itself!"
Cheng Qi only needed to place one transport module in his underground shelter and carry another with him.
Whenever he wanted, he could return to his shelter through this miniature Directional Star Gate.
Even after he switched the module off, the miniature star gate could remain open for about thirty seconds, so retrieving it would be no problem at all.
Wasn't this practically a door to anywhere?
Cheng Qi was filled with amazement.
It seemed he ought to spend some time properly developing his underground shelter.
After all, it could become his safest, most comfortable home base, one he could return to anytime, from anywhere!
After all that testing and tinkering.
Cheng Qi felt his mouth go dry.
Exploring the ocean of technology was truly full of novelty and wonder, and it was easy to get carried away.
Delving into each machine's principles and studying its uses could easily leave a person thirsty.
"Maybe this is what they call.
"A thirst for machinery."
His gaze fell on a bottle of azure-blue drink.
It had been inside one of the biological supply crates, an extra gift from Mo.
He had to admit that Mo was not only reliable but also knew how to do business. Every delivery came with something extra.
Previously, it had been Professor Huo Linzhong's business card. This time, it was a drink.
[High-Energy Protein Extract] [An everyday beverage containing various purified macromolecular nutrients. Effectively replenishes the human body's energy within a short period, has a limited purifying effect on inferior genes, and can slightly improve physical attributes.]
Cheng Qi smiled.
Mo had said over the radio that this nutrient drink was a luxury even among extraterrestrial human civilizations. It tasted excellent and worked remarkably well.
Moreover, the bottle in his hand was a custom product for Mo's entire family, twenty percent more effective than those sold on the market.
Normally, a bottle cost twelve thousand credit points.
"Talk about extravagant. Twelve thousand for one drink."
Cheng Qi clicked his tongue. "Is Mo the young master of some major family? His family really throws money around. Still, it makes sense. Mo is a successful businessman himself, so the family that raised him naturally wouldn't be ordinary either."
"Then thank you, Boss Mo, for all these gifts."
Cheng Qi picked up the drink and opened the cap. Just as he was about to taste it, the Standard Template Construct on his wrist emitted another fan-shaped scanning beam.
[Special toxin detected.] [This extremely rare toxin is a type of cellular fluid toxin with a specific genetic lock. Short-term consumption will cause no obvious consequences, but prolonged consumption will allow the toxin to subtly destroy the human body's overall structure, ultimately resulting in irreversible death.] [This toxin does not originate from human civilization. Even humanity's most advanced existing medical science cannot effectively neutralize it.] [The toxin takes approximately 2-3 years to take effect.] [During this process, barely perceptible golden specks will appear in the victim's pupils, and the victim will develop sensitivity to light.] [Clearly, this toxin is not part of the energy drink itself. It was added afterward.]
Cheng Qi's arm froze.
The drink was poisoned?
A genetic lock?
And it was a hidden, slow-acting poison?
But Mo had said this drink was custom-made for his family!
He sucked in a breath...!
Cheng Qi drew a shallow breath of cold air. "In other words, whoever poisoned it had a very specific target. They want to secretly wipe out the Mo Family?"
It seemed Mo's family had been drinking this beverage for quite some time.
Didn't that mean they were all already severely poisoned?
Mo had given him the drink, so he clearly had no idea!
If there was one person in this world who cared whether Cheng Qi lived or died, it was probably Mo!
There was nothing romantic about it.
Mo was afraid of losing his source of income!
"This could be troublesome."
Cheng Qi's gaze flickered, and his brows drew together slightly.
He had a good impression of Mo.
If Mo's entire family, including Mo himself, were to succumb to the poison someday, that was not something Cheng Qi wanted to see.
[Technology sometimes comes full circle.] [Coincidentally, as early as 120 years ago, an Earth medical scientist named Song Dayi developed a Gene-Completion Agent and began testing it on laboratory mice.] [However, the results were unsatisfactory. Five years later, Song Dayi publicly announced that the experiment had failed. The agent could not complete any genes.] [In fact, however, the failed agent Song Dayi developed happens to have a certain chance of neutralizing various cellular fluid toxins.]
As he read the lines appearing on the Standard Template Construct's blue screen.
Cheng Qi was a little dazed. You're being quite thoughtful this time, giving me so much information.
Song Dayi...?!
Cheng Qi frowned. The name sounded familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
Suddenly.
Cheng Qi's eyes widened.
He had heard that name in Professor Huo Linzhong's final words!
Perhaps his genetic enhancement had unlocked some of his brain's potential. Something flashed through Cheng Qi's mind like lightning.
The recording Professor Huo Linzhong had left behind resurfaced clearly in his mind.
"When I woke up, I told people about the wonders of muons."
"Not a fucking soul believed me."
"Not even my good friend Song Dayi at the Area 53 Gene Research Institute!"
Cheng Qi's expression shifted.
Normally, research institutes like these should be clustered relatively close together to make the most efficient use of security and other resources.
Huo Linzhong's Muon Research Center was in Area 52.
And Song Dayi's gene research institute was in Area 53.
Their area numbers were so close.
Barring anything unexpected, they should not be far apart.
Then could there be some Gene-Completion Agent left behind by Song Dayi in Area 53?
Cheng Qi slowly exhaled and looked toward the North.
Boss Mo...
I, Cheng Qi, know how to return a favor, too.
I'll set off right away and make another trip to Kyoto.
I won't hesitate to do what needs to be done.
But the rest will depend on your family's fate.
Before you continue