Long-term salvation

"Get in the car and get the convoy ready to go home... You'll be in charge of communicating with the other commanders. I need to have a meeting with the directors first."

"Yes, Commander."

The moment the truck's rear door was closed, the storm was locked outside the car, while the sorrow and the buzzing sound of the screen lighting up were locked inside the car.

Rhodes looked at the directors of the Cogito Foundation on the screen, who looked somewhat tired. They had been waiting for the outcome of this coordinated campaign spanning several continents for a long time. Even the oldest director, Argos Panoptos, had slept twice.

After seeing the serious look on Rhode's face, Director Timothy Flyte frowned. He looked down at the mission briefing that had been compiled and asked:

"Did something happen there? The reports we sent over here are all good, at least the statistics look good."

"Maybe they've discovered something strange again," Randolph Carter said idly. He yawned and saw all the directors glaring at him. "Did I say anything wrong?! At this moment, is there any other possibility?"

"Forehead……"

Seeing the directors' gazes shifting to him again, Rhode spread his hands, his face full of helplessness.

"That's it—Anshining—this thing stimulates the human brain's pineal gland, allowing the user to briefly experience the other world. Long-term use will definitely have a disastrous effect... Currently, the [Organization] is screening the brains of humans who have taken an overdose for experiments to open a channel to the other world."

Upon hearing this, most of the directors were shocked, followed by anger - how many innocent people would die in the past, present, and future under this kind of screening?!

If this trend spreads to the entire world, then future otherworldly events will only continue to emerge, forcing the Army Without Borders and even countries with the will and ability to control disasters to run around in a hurry:

Perhaps this world really needs a powerful force to lead humanity.

Looking at Ains, whose eyes immediately became eager, Rhode wearily covered his face with his hands, wiped them vigorously, and said aloud:

"I personally believe that the humans who briefly used it only took a short stroll through [Twilight Zone: Limbo], but they were inevitably contaminated to some degree. Anyway, I'll compile a report and send it to you."

"...Is this thing also used as a tranquilizing and soothing medication? There are patches, dissolving tablets, and a sublingual spray that's absorbed by the oral mucosa."

"The only thing limiting its spread is the availability of raw materials," Director Hannibal said calmly. "This has already been applied to psychotherapy. I don't know anything else."

This made the directors look at each other in bewilderment, and even the truck fell silent. Only the low hum of the various communication devices could be heard, like flies flitting around aimlessly, causing a tingling sensation.

Rod sat in a chair, placed his hands on the box full of chess pieces, and fell into deep thought.

"Currently, within the United States, the largest Anshining plantation is in New Mexico. I know a little about this because a subordinate reported to me about whether or not to invest." Irons rubbed his temples, pondered for a few seconds, and continued:

"I'll send a few people to spray Agent Orange over there when the time comes."

"Hey, aren't you taking this too far?" Director Alan Grant's eyes twitched slightly. "Couldn't you use napalm or something more common like herbicide?"

"Aren't you afraid that if it burns, everyone in New Mexico will fall into a nightmare?"

Director Armitage said helplessly. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his glasses. Then he looked at Director Grant, who realized that he had said something stupid. The latter coughed awkwardly and quickly retreated.

"...That's true. Just forget I didn't say anything."

Looking at the expressions of the other directors, Ains smiled, leaned back in his chair, and said slowly:

"Don't worry, the area of ​​Anshinin grown in New Mexico isn't huge. It's mainly imported from abroad... A few drunk rednecks with farm machinery can take care of it in one night. I won't use Agent Orange."

As soon as he finished speaking, Irons received several middle fingers. However, for the rogue Old Deng, whose shamelessness was beginning to approach that of Rhodes, he did not care about the complaints of his colleagues.

After listening to the directors' chaotic discussion for a while, Rhodes said:

"Protect ourselves first. First, we must eliminate Anshinin from the Army Without Borders and other areas, retaining it only for experimental purposes. At the same time, we must carry out 'anti-Anshinin' actions in the fields of propaganda, medicine, and religion. In addition, we must eradicate and eliminate it on a physical level. This will be a long-term war. We are fighting against humanity's own desires, and it won't be easy to win."

"Then in areas where the government is weak, the Army Without Borders will increase its own strength, both overtly and covertly," Irons said, cracking his knuckles. "Infiltrate, subvert, control... Okay, okay, I know what you mean. Don't look at me like that."

"...That's it for now. I'll go to Aperture Technology's headquarters in Detroit first."

Rhode rubbed his brows with his hand, and suddenly felt a headache when he thought of those lunatics in Aperture Technology:

"I remember that old man Calvin Johnson also often used Anshenzhen. I have to go and see how he is doing. As for the religious boycott, I will go to the Vatican to talk to them in person."

The heavy rain has not stopped, but the glimmer of dawn has already appeared from the distant sky, illuminating the dim earth.

The convoy carrying human warriors separated at the fork in the road, preparing to return to their respective "homes".

Chapter 392: The psychopaths at Aperture Technology are still the same (3K)

Without stopping, Rod ordered Marian and the mass-produced Nikkis to take Dylan Faden back to Arkham Asylum for supervision, and then he immediately went to the Aperture Technologies headquarters in the underground salt mine in Michigan.

When the helicopter landed on the tarmac, Rhodes had just opened the hatch when he was dazzled by the bright midday sun - the sun was bright, the breeze was warm, and the storm had obviously not raged in Michigan, and even the blood and fire of that rainy night had not touched this place at all - when he adjusted to the light, he saw Nikki Mana standing not far away, reaching out to hold her black hair in the strong wind stirred up by the rotor blades.

"When the first person I see when I open the hatch is you—there's nothing better in the world, Mana."

Rhode smiled and reached out to hug Nikki, who was walking towards him. Nikki's body suddenly tensed up, and after gently hugging her back, she let go and said with a hint of resentment:

"How many times have you said sweet words to others with ill intentions to become so proficient in it?"

"I really mean it. Meeting you is definitely better than meeting that old man Calvin Johnson." Rod patted Nikki's head and motioned for the helicopter pilot to rest. "I remember I sent a message to inform him of the itinerary a long time ago. Given his personality, he would definitely come in person to show me all those new things."

"That's true, but Mr. Johnson was forced by Ms. Caroline to rest and wait at headquarters. Ms. Caroline takes the information you sent regarding Anshining very seriously and is currently conducting an investigation," Nikki said. She reached out to push up her glasses and continued, "Anshining has been removed from the Aperture Science Medical Department's purchase list. The purchased amount will be used for subsequent experiments, not for the injured."

"That's what I was saying... This is good. It saves me from being tortured by this old man's nonsense when I'm exhausted."

Hearing Rhode's words, Nikki smiled. She took Rhode's arm and walked towards the outer elevator door that was slowly opening.

The main body of Aperture Science's headquarters remains the same as before, but the number of laboratories conducting different research has been reduced - this is due to the efforts of Hayase Yuka. She and later Mana worked together to cut many wasteful projects and focus on improving the underground headquarters' confidentiality, disaster resistance, and anti-intrusion capabilities - important matters such as the review and protection of researchers are directly handled by the intelligence department of the Army Without Borders.

Mechanical exoskeletons, heavy protective suits, various drones, and engineering laboratories distributed to researchers have also been widely used in the past two years. As a result, more people have survived, and coupled with the lucrative salaries that have attracted new researchers, the number of researchers working at Aperture Science has far exceeded its peak.

In other words, right now, genius lunatics with some problems in their brains are jumping all over the floor, and occasionally they will lie on your feet:

As soon as he entered the headquarters, Rhodes stared blankly at the series of explosions in the laboratory in the opposite corridor. Two unlucky guys were blown away, leaving long smoke trails and hanging on the railing on this side in a mess.

Researchers in nearby laboratories took a peek, then put on their fire suits and rushed inside with hoses - they were not so kind as to rescue their colleagues' experimental data, they simply did not want the fire to affect their own laboratories.

Less than half a minute later, two firefighting Laborers rushed in from either side of the corridor, suppressing the flames and the potential subsequent explosion. These cleanup crews, who also served as firefighters, were battle-hardened and experienced, particularly skilled at handling fires involving highly dangerous chemicals and explosives, as well as cleaning up the minced meat left over from failed transport experiments.

Rhodes: “…”

Reaching out to wipe off the black ash covering his face, Rhode was about to go over to check on the two guys who were still breathing but not breathing, when he saw them being carried away by a flood of small drones. If they hadn't remembered to wear protective clothing, they would have turned into two pools of meat paste by now, becoming the portraits hanging in the Aperture Science Memorial Hall - "XXX who died of stupidity" or something like that.

"Let's put aside why I always encounter explosions every time I come here... What is that lab researching?"

"I think it's an N2 bomb," Nikki tapped her chin, digging out detailed information about these laboratories from her mind. "A conventional bomb with a power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, yet clean enough to easily change terrain. 'For a blue and clean world,' that's the slogan Aperture Technology uses for this product."

Not only did the guys from Tokyo-3 sneak into Aperture Technology, but they also recruited people from Blue Cosmos, right?

So when did Atlas start working on the Adjuster?

"So, why are such dangerous things being researched in a lab at the underground headquarters?" Rhodes rubbed his temple. He hadn't even seen Carvin Johnson before he already had a terrible headache. It felt like these psychos were dancing on his head in tap shoes. "I remember Aperture Technology bought a lot of land in Michigan. Can't they do this stuff above ground?"

"Because the N2 bomb is still in the early stages of research, the explosion must have been a sudden impulse on their part to add something else... Explosions are common here, Commander. You'll get used to it after spending some time here."

Black-haired Nikki shrugged, a look of indifference on her face. Unlike the star Himari who often stayed in the research department of Atlas Corporation, Mana at Aperture Technology was more like Rhode's supervisor, preventing these psychopaths with basically no moral principles from causing trouble.

Because of this, Nikki, who is already knowledgeable and has both the knowledge and social skills of a scientist, quickly gets along with the psychopaths and successfully integrates into the various small circles of these guys.

"No, no, no, forget it. I don't want to get used to it," Rhodes sighed. He could already see Calvin Johnson and his secretary, Ms. Caroline, waving at them not far away. "Let's go. I guess they've been waiting for a long time. It would be too rude to linger any longer."

Taking a step forward, Rhodes walked through the corridor with bright floor-to-ceiling glass curtain walls. From here, he could see the numerous ornamental plants below, illuminated by soft artificial light, and the researchers standing next to the plants, muttering to themselves... He really hoped that they would not create something like a long-legged, running carnivorous plant.

Around the central ornamental garden, nearly a hundred Aperture Science laboratories of varying sizes and types are arranged in a roughly circular pattern. These labs are now roughly rectangular in shape and separated by movable walls, designed to prevent secondary disasters and allow for "quick replacement."

Listen, quick change! How many times have you done this? How are you so skilled at it?!

Outside the CEO's office, Rhodes spotted Calvin Johnson and his inseparable secretary, Caroline. Both were dressed in formal attire, as always, a stark contrast to the casually dressed men and women in white research coats in the underground headquarters.

However, Rhodes was certain that the two seemingly serious people in front of him were definitely the craziest in Aperture Technology.

"Yo, Rod! My best friend, worst enemy!"

Kevin's complexion looked fine, but his face, which was so thin that it gave people a harsh impression, was still a little pale. The damage caused by mercury poisoning was far from easy to eliminate.

However, after Aperture Technology returned to its peak, the elderly scientist who created this underground kingdom of madness and science was able to use more money to prolong his life and treat hidden diseases.

"After reading the report you sent me, I've already thrown away all of Anshining. Caroline will supervise me. I won't die until I see Aperture Technology completely overwhelm Atlas Corporation... By the way, my GLaDOS project is still progressing steadily!"

"Why, you don't have the confidence to live to see that day?"

Facing Rhodes's ridicule, Carvin Johnson's slightly pale face flushed red. He muttered a few complaints that no one could understand, and said unhappily:

"I'm old, and you're so partial to Atlas!"

"Don't give me that! I gave Aperture Technology a lot of technology blueprints. You have all the data on bionic humans and the 'blue blood' in your hands."

Rhode showed a dead fish eye and followed the angry old man into the office. He found a sofa to sit down and put on the all-seeing eye mask. After staring at Calvin carefully for nearly a minute, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least your brain won't explode anytime soon, and you won't bring in monsters from the other world. Aperture Technology won't lose its 'father' for the time being. And those genius psychos can continue to work peacefully for another ten years."

"...You came here just for this?"

Kevin raised his eyebrows, and the old man's face showed some embarrassment. He coughed a few times awkwardly and said slowly:

"I thought you were here to inquire about the research and development of Aperture Technology, and to coordinate the management of my afterlife... Because it's related to the other world, and I've been using this drug for almost two years, I feel like I'll be finished soon, buried in the ground, and unable to think—the last one is the thing I can't tolerate the most!"

Hearing this, Rhodes turned his head to look at his secretary Caroline and asked:

"How long has this cowardly old man's paranoia lasted?"

“Probably since birth.”

"Then this is indeed serious."

"Hey, the client is still here!" The old man's face turned even redder. He coughed a few times, reached out to take the water handed to him by his secretary Caroline, and swallowed the pills while drinking the water. "Ahem, you came here just for such a small matter?"

"Almost... But since I'm here, I'll stay a few more days and take Mana to Detroit for some fun."

Rod said, winking at Nikki, whose face was full of joy.

Chapter 393 Billions of Warhawks Must Be Patient (1/3)

The midday sun penetrated the double-layer bulletproof glass window, cutting a sharp golden line on the precious wooden desk, passing through the smoke of the freshly lit cigar, and making the strong man who lit the cigarette frown.

"What a disgusting sun."

Pulling the gauze curtains back, Congressman Steven Armstrong took a puff of his cigar and said with a sneer:

"It seems our 'allies' suffered quite a few losses last night."

"Based on the information we've collected from our spies, intercepted data, and internal communications from the organization, we've determined that at least fifty nodes and facilities have suffered devastating damage. The direct death toll, including researchers, is estimated to be close to 20,000... and this is the data we can count. Other, more secretive details are unknown, but they're clearly not much better."

A subordinate pushed up his glasses, calmly flipping through the documents, and continued to report to his boss:

"Although the core wasn't severely damaged, it can be said that the progress the Organization had accumulated in the otherworld experiments was essentially wiped out. Even though a considerable amount of data was preserved, the researchers trained at great expense and time, the experimental equipment manufactured, and even the loyal armed personnel all suffered heavy losses in this attack..."

"They're too weak. What's even more tragic is that despite being weak, they're too arrogant, thinking they've grasped the direction of the future. Do they really think Atlas Corporation will suffer the consequences? Especially with their constant assassination attempts and obstruction attempts. I don't even dare to provoke Jonathan Irons when his military technology is still underdeveloped!"

Armstrong stood up, smoking a cigar. His muscular body immediately blocked out the little sunlight that entered the room, leaving shadows on his subordinates who subconsciously tensed their muscles in awe.

"This is the fate of underestimating a powerful enemy. Everything that happened today is their own fault! If you ask why, it's because 'the strong prevail'. The strong can bully the weak!"

The sturdy congressman twisted his neck, making a crisp sound, and then he said with a smile:

"But this is also our opportunity. Military Technology needs to invest in and acquire those companies that have suffered losses and are dependent on the Organization before others do. We can gather the abandoned personnel and make them our own force for conducting research on the other world."

At this point, Armstrong shook his head in amusement. He took off his glasses and gently wiped the small object with a handkerchief, which he could crush with just a little force. After putting his glasses back on, the strong man laughed at his confidants in the office:

"Now, 'we' are on the same page as Atlas and everyone else. From this point of view, we have the attackers to thank."

"Then... Mr. Armstrong, how should we deal with the reactions of our 'allies'?"

Another subordinate asked. Like the others, he was dressed in a sharp suit and in his prime, around 30 years old. He was considered the best team in military technology and even Senator Armstrong's political, business, and military circles.

"Mobius, ATC, and Umbrella are all shrinking their forces and hoping for a joint counterattack from the Organization."

"Hoping the Organization to launch a joint counterattack? Are you planning to let us take the lead? After all, the military technology we just started researching into the otherworld suffered negligible damage in this attack, and they still have a considerable number of armed personnel."

Armstrong sneered disdainfully, opened the small wine cabinet in his office, and took out a bottle of sweet white wine from Chateau d'Yquem. When he turned around, his diligent subordinates had placed wine glasses on the table in his office. Just like the original napkins, one wine glass was enough!

Armstrong moved the wine glass to his favorite position, holding the bottle and fiddling with the glass as he pleased, until he completely lost interest and then pulled out the cork of the wine bottle.

"We can't fight back and start a war now. Have you noticed? In these attacks, even in failed offensive operations, the enemy didn't leave behind any corpses, which shows that they have an absolute advantage!"

Armstrong poured the wine into the glass. He looked at the beautiful amber wine swirling around, pondered for a few seconds, and said:

"In other words, we have been completely overwhelmed by Atlas Corporation... or the entities behind Atlas Corporation, in terms of intelligence, material mobilization, and even conventional military strength."

The existence behind it? The subordinates looked at each other in bewilderment. They truly couldn't imagine that the renowned Ains could be controlled by someone else—that was a truly powerful force! A vast industrial chain scattered across the globe, politicians from various countries controlled and allied, capital power spanning almost every industry, and the conventional military force that served as the mainstay of the situation:

The only difference between Atlas and the permanent members of the Security Council is nuclear weapons.

Because of this, some people are now saying that Britain, which had difficulty fighting the Falklands War, should be kicked out of the permanent membership of the Security Council and Atlas Corporation should become one of the members... At least mercenaries with a fixed price are much better than troublemakers who like to stir up trouble at the expense of themselves and others.

"It's just a guess, but gentlemen, you should think about it carefully."