novelKidnap and a Tour
| ← Ch.353 | Ch.355 → |
Two hours later, Musk looked at the giant factories standing next to each other beneath the horizon and the truck clusters hurrying up and down the broad road. He was wearing an expression of admiration.
This was a fairly complete industrial system from the extraction of raw materials, the processing of heavy industry, the refining, the factories of various finished goods, and finally the assembly factory of 10, 000 people. The entire industrial chain was carried out in this vast industrial park.
What was even more outrageous was that the entire industrial park here and even the resource mining company that provided raw materials, belonged to the young man next to him...
"I think the world has greatly underestimated your assets."
Standing in front of the gate of the industrial park, Musk could not help sighing."I think your actual assets are far beyond the outside world's estimates and may even exceed the total assets of some established financial groups."
The reason he said this was that in the Forbes World's Billionaires List in 2023, Chen Chen was assessed by Forbes to have total assets worth 50 billion USD, based on his Eco Science City and various patents. He was ranked 20th in the world and was also the youngest member on the list.
"That's what you say, but in Africa, everything is worthless, including human lives."
Chen Chen smiled indifferently."What's more, I'm not a businessman. For people like you and me who have big dreams, money is just a tool to serve our dreams. If the dream cannot be realized, no matter how much money there is, what's the use?"
"Hahahaha, Chen, well said indeed!"
Hearing this, Musk's eyes suddenly lit up. He just remembered that the young man in front of him, like himself, was constantly working hard for a certain dream — his dream was to establish a permanent colony on Mars and turn humans into a trans-planetary species. Was this not the same for the anti-aging plan of this amazing young man in front of him?
Blackwatch had stated on countless public occasions that the company's corporate vision was to enter the age of longevity and even move toward the dream of immortality...
He had to admit that the young man before him who had created a legend was indeed in line with his own ideas. After all, if he achieved his desire to emigrate to Mars in the future, he would probably be near death's door. Must it be that just when he had fulfilled his dream, he must die of old age on Mars?
Although he had said repeatedly, "My dream is to scatter my ashes on Mars", Musk knew that he did not want to die.
He had an endless pool of money and a talent that stood out in the world. This world was full of excitement for him.
Even so, today, the development of science and technology was changing with each passing day. In this biological company, Musk also saw his hope of obtaining a higher quality of life. Due to this, he especially gave the company many preferential treatments, including the lace electrode technology, and this friendly visit.
These were all manifestations of Musk's goodwill.
Next, Chen Chen led Musk around the entire industrial park, and then came to a satellite manufacturing factory department.
"This is the communication satellite we designed."
In the dust-free laboratory, Chen Chen led Musk to a gigantic object.
This was a spiral-shaped metallic object. Its entire body was pitch black, with a diameter of only one meter, but its height was more than four or five meters. The patterns on its surface were glimmering and it was also inlaid with a large number of scale-like lines.
It was not so much a satellite than an artistic creation of intense style, exuding an indescribable peculiar aesthetic.
"This is..."
Musk gaped at the strange thing in front of him, dumbfounded. As an expert in rockets and satellites, naturally, he would know that because there was no air in the vast outer space, satellites did not have to be fashioned into graceful streamlined structures like airplanes. Therefore, the shapes of satellites were varied.
There were spindles, spheres, barrels, and even panes...
Furthermore, many satellites had their own solar panels, so when they were deployed, the satellites looked like a sailing ship. Some even carried a receiving antenna shaped like an iron pan and their appearance was far less aesthetic than that of an airplane.
In any case, satellites had strong functional characteristics. Real experts could tell what functions a satellite had just by looking at it.
Nonetheless, the shape of this satellite in front of him had subverted Musk's perception of satellites.
"I suspect that this knickknack you want to launch will hardly be approved by international aerospace regulatory agencies..."
Musk looked mystified as he joked, "And this thing that you want to launch, is it for contacting aliens?"
"I know it doesn't look like a human creation, but don't worry, I'm not launching it to contact aliens."
Chen Chen shook his head and solemnly said, "This is a communications satellite developed by our Blacklight Biotechnology. My purpose for launching it is to provide my company with a unique encrypted communications technology."
"Encrypted?"
"Yes."
Chen Chen nodded."After all, Mr. Musk, you have to understand that in our kind of high-tech companies, any technology leak represents billions or even tens of billions in losses. Therefore, technology leaks are very difficult for us to bear. However, if we have a unique communication channel, things are much simpler."
As he said, Chen Chen patted Musk on the shoulder."Moreover, as for the Earth Federation Space Regulatory Agency, naturally I have my ways to make it happen. Mr. Musk, you only need to launch it into a geosynchronous orbit."
Hearing that, Musk could not refrain from shooting a deep look at Chen Chen, then slowly walked to the so-called satellite and touched it lightly.
Musk had an ominous feeling about this satellite, especially the totem-like patterns upon its surface. When he reached out and touched it, he even had the illusion that he was touching a wriggling maggot...
It was a revolting, spine-tingling sensation, like touching a living thing.
"The technology of this satellite is very advanced."
Chen Chen walked to Musk's side and appraised the satellite as if it was an artwork."It weighs only about ten tons and your Falcon 9 can carry it easily."
"What I read in the Letter of Intent for Cooperation just now is that you're going to launch five such satellites in total?"
Musk asked, "With a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit, only three are needed to cover all areas on Earth except the north and south poles. So, you're launching five satellites to cover even the north and south poles at the same time?"
"Yes, that's what I had in mind."
Chen Chen nodded and then said invitingly, "Now that we've finished observing the satellite, what else do you want to see next?"
"Since I've come to the world-renowned Eco Science City, naturally the next step is to look at the life science technology of your company."
Musk did not want to probe too deeply into this satellite. He thought about it and took the initiative to switch the conversation to the longevity technology that was mentioned."Didn't you say that there's a brand-new age-reversal project? If possible, I wish to take a look at that. I just hope this request doesn't bother you."
"Not at all, it's a great honor."
Chen Chen nodded."Since you want to see it, I'll naturally do my best as your host."
While speaking, Chen Chen shot a meaningful glance at Cheng Cao, then turned around and walked out of the laboratory first.
...
The so-called satellite was nothing other than a part of the Gantz teleportation technology.
Chen Chen's goal was to use five Gantz satellites to fully cover every corner of Earth. Then he would only need to build a few larger-sized Gantz servers to be able to use Gantz technology for teleportation anywhere globally without delay.
At that time, Chen Chen would have an initial edge in contending against the Earth Federation...
The reason Chen Chen borrowed Musk's power to launch the satellites was very simple.
With the energy in Chen Chen's current USB drive, he could extract something around the level of a small Bugatti Spaceship at most. However, although this type of aircraft was agile and could even navigate space at will, it simply could not take on the weight of the Gantz satellite.
Although Chen Chen had applied for aerospace qualification in Namibia and had the interstellar spacecraft technology acquired from the dimension of Elysium, after all, he had no foundation in the aerospace industry. It was impossible to develop everything from scratch in just a few months and launch a ten-ton satellite from the ground into the sky.
Therefore, Chen Chen would not be able to put the Gantz satellites into a geosynchronous orbit on his own for at least one or two years. If Chen Chen wanted to launch the satellites, he must entrust this to other space agencies.
As the world's best private aerospace company, SpaceX, which was owned by Musk, was naturally a good choice.
In addition, it was not as if Chen Chen had not considered getting Musk to join him.
After everyone got into the vehicles again, the group of three cars turned around and drove toward the Eco Science City, but gradually, the bodyguard beside Musk suddenly felt that something was fishy.
This was because the bodyguards in the other two cars disappeared, along with their vehicles, when they passed a fork in the road.
"Boss, something's wrong..."
The bodyguard whispered a warning in Musk's ear and then he slowly put his hand into his pocket.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
However, before the bodyguard could grab the gun in his pocket, Chen Chen, who was in the passenger's seat, suddenly turned his head and glanced at the bodyguard with a smile.
The next second, the bodyguard suddenly felt a pain in the back of his neck. It seemed that something had pierced him lightly. He was shocked, but before he could respond, darkness washed over him and he immediately lost consciousness...
All this happened in the blink of an eye. Musk stared blankly as an anesthetic needle slowly slipped out of the bodyguard's neck, flew on its own into Chen Chen's palm, and was put away by Chen Chen.
"Mr, Mr. Chen, what's the meaning of this?"
Musk's expression darkened."I haven't seemed to offend you, right? Is it just because I don't want to join God's Forbidden Zone that you have to attack me?"
"You've misunderstood."
Chen Chen shrugged and said innocently, "I have no intention of hurting you. The reason I'm doing this is just to ensure secrecy. After all, you'll soon see the real secrets of our God's Forbidden Zone..."
"The real secrets?"
Musk turned solemn. He looked at the busy traffic in the Eco Science City going by outside the window and was slightly relieved."I hope that's the case."
Chen Chen smiled without explaining much.
Soon, Cheng Cao, as the driver, drove the Rolls Royce into the underground garage of a 5A office building.
At once, Musk's pupils contracted involuntarily when he saw that they had arrived at such a secluded area.
Still, this time, after the car officially stopped in the parking space, Chen Chen and Cheng Cao got out of the car first while Cheng Cao also considerately helped to open the door for Musk in the back.
Musk got out of the car reluctantly and a damp, cold, musty smell invaded his nose, making him sneeze.
"Please follow me."
Chen Chen nodded to the other party and walked to the elevator on the side first.
Musk hesitated slightly. He looked at Cheng Cao, who was staring at him, only to sigh secretly and slowly follow Chen Chen.
In this way, the three of them entered the elevator. However, when the elevator closed, no one pressed any floor button in the elevator, and the elevator moved automatically.
In addition, the elevator did not go up, it was going down...
As he sensed the declining elevator, Musk's pupils shrank even more. After all, in just half a minute, the elevator had probably descended over dozens of meters.
When the elevator reached the bottom and opened its doors again with a "ding", a 500-square-meter underground space was immediately revealed to Musk's eyes.
This was an empty subway platform.
The subway platform was empty, with only two tunnel trams that looked like small trains that were stopped by the platform.
The length of these two tunnel trams was about 5 meters and their entire body was fully made of alloy. The front of the carriage adopted a triangular design and the head was also marked with the Blackwatch Corporation logo.
Seeing this special underground cave, Musk was even more surprised. He subconsciously looked into the distance along the track but saw that except for the platform, the tunnel stretching into the distance was completely dark.
"The Hive in Resident Evil?"
Musk could not refrain from cracking a joke in such a tense moment."Now I finally understand why I've been getting a sense of déjà vu..."
"Stop kidding around, Mr. Musk."
Chen Chen boarded the tunnel tram first."The Hive isn't as hidden and complex as this underground base I built."
"I'll like to see for myself too."
Musk replied and immediately got on the tram.
After he found his footing, there was a sizzle of electric current. The tram started slowly by itself and began to move toward the end of the tunnel.
Unlike the tunnel tram in Resident Evil, Chen Chen's tunnel tram was more user-friendly. It not only had three rows of seats but also had a large LCD monitor, which was constantly playing the Chinese version of Crayon Shin-chan.
Watching Crayon Shin-chan in the gloomy and depressing tunnel tram was a rather interesting experience.
The tunnel tram was extremely fast, only taking a few minutes to reach the end of the trip.
When Musk got off the train again, he was greeted by a subway platform that was almost the same as the previous one.
Unlike the previous platform, there was a circular corridor at the end of the platform. At the center of the corridor was the alloy gate of two elevators. Next to the corridor, three other passages were leading to three subway platforms in other directions.
In other words, across the surface of the Eco Science City, there were three other entrances in addition to the parking lot they were in.
Musk understood this at first glance.
Paying no mind to Musk's observation, Chen Chen walked to the elevator gates in the corridor. The elevator gates opened in response, revealing a larger elevator space.
This time, without Cheng Cao's coercion, Musk entered the elevator again. Now, Musk felt that the elevator was starting to descend at an even more alarming speed.
After several twists and turns, as Musk was increasingly gripped by intense shock, the three finally stepped into the interior of the Spire Experimental Base.
| ← Ch. 353 | Ch. 355 → |