by <unknown>
However, it was easier said than done. It was not something he was certain he could accomplish even with NZT-48. The technical aspect involved was incredibly intricate and it was not something that could be done in mere days.
With his current abilities, Chen Chen would not be able to create something like that. However, if he had a similar completed product, he would be able to effectively use it as a case study.
Exactly, a finished product.
Chen Chen turned toward the USB drive on the transformer.
In sci-fi movies, there are many variations of artificial intelligence similar to Jarvis. "Sonny" from I, Robot, "Skynet" from Terminator, "Red Queen" from Resident Evil, and countless other examples.
It would certainly be very interesting to bring this artificial intelligence into life.
When he thought of this, a smirk appeared on the corner of his lips. He checked the time.
It had been three months since he had rented the factory. The rental period would end within the next few days.
Over the course of the past three months, Chen Chen took pictures of the USB drive at a specific time every day.
In the collection of pictures, the USB drive went through the exact sort of transformation he had expected it to. From originally looking rusted and run down, it slowly began to gain luster. To this date, it had become nearly identical to when he first discovered it.
"Can it be fully charged in three months?"
Chen Chen thought for a moment. Then, he immediately crossed out that possibility.
Despite the USB drive having gained a deep dark luster a month ago, it continued to receive power. There were no signs of it being fully charged.
Over the last three months, the factory rental fee alongside the electricity bill had cost Chen Chen close to eight hundred thousand. There were only around two hundred thousand left in the company account.
You had to admit that sometimes, money can be spent so quickly.
Arriving at this point, Chen Chen no longer hesitated. He turned around and entered the power distribution room where he proceeded to cut off the factory power source. He then put on insulation gloves and unplugged the USB drive that had been plugged into the copper ingot for three months.
The USB drive was cool to the touch.
Chen Chen was surprised. He tried touching the copper ingot and found out the copper ingot was boiling hot.
The strange thing was that the USB drive was completely unaffected by the heat stemming from the copper ingot.
How bizarre. Could it absorb heat?
A thought came to Chen Chen. Based on this, it should be safe to say that solar energy was also within the scope of energy that the USB drive could receive. Could this imply that if he tossed the USB drive into molten lava, it could absorb energy from the lava?
The idea only spiraled in his mind for a split second before he cast it aside. Now was not the time to think about this.
Chen Chen took the USB drive and quickly plugged it into the laptop. Then, he selected the folder containing the episodes of the TV series Endless and played the final episode.
At the same time, he used the cursor and dragged it to the frame of the "Permanent Immunity Shot".
On the computer screen, a thirteen to fourteen centimeters long needleless syringe the thickness of three to four fingers appeared before Chen Chen's eyes.
Chen Chen stared at it intently. He began to imagine the permanent immunity shot in the frame coming to life.
Suddenly, the screen appeared to morph into a pool of clear water. The permanent immunity shot began to float atop the water surface, creating rings of ripples around itself.
Chen Chen raised his hand. Then, he gently reached for the metal syringe!
The moment he gripped it, he could feel that it was cool to the touch. He gently held it, then he pulled.
"Ding!"
On the computer screen, the movie closed on its own.
At the same time, the permanent immunity shot that was inside the computer screen was brought into the real world by Chen Chen.
Finally, it was a success…
Chapter 30: Superpower or Black Technology? |
Finally succeeded…
Chen Chen gazed at the item he had sought after for so long.
Even though there were many challenges along the way, he had finally achieved his goal in the end.
Chen Chen looked at the permanent immunity shot he held in his palms. This was the first time he found himself in a dumbfounded state while under the effects of NZT-48.
Even though it had only been half a year since acquiring the USB drive, it was like ages ago to Chen Chen. It felt so long that it was almost unreal.
"From today onward, I shall wield the sword of Damocles, hanging overhead the entire time…"
Chen Chen mumbled in a low voice. He carefully unscrewed the safety valve and aimed the needleless syringe at the veins on his neck.
'Toxicology tests and animal experiments - all of that can go to hell for all I care.'
"Fsst!"
Without a hint of hesitation, the high-pressure needleless syringe instantly punched through Chen Chen's skin. The drug was injected into his veins.
Chen Chen felt a wave of chilliness. It began to spread from his neck and subsequently flowed through his blood veins into his heart. Then, it was pumped into his brain from his heart.
The moment the chilling sensation reached his brain, Chen Chen felt as if he had been jolted awake. The slight headache he was feeling instantly vanished.
"Phew!"
Chen Chen craned his neck upward and breathed out. He could vividly feel a sharp sensation as if the drug was erecting layers of barriers in his brain, protecting it from being corroded by the drug.
This meant that from today onward, Chen Chen no longer had to wake up to a terrible rumbling headache. There would also no longer be any toxicological reaction caused by the residue that could cause him to drop dead one day.
Chen Chen was finally free of the shackles of the drug. NZT-48 was no longer a double-edged sword but an invincible mythical weapon!
Chen Chen contained his excitement. He looked at the USB drive and noticed that it became noticeably worn down, but not as beaten down as it was before.
"Can it still perform one more instantiation?"
Chen Chen's eyes shone at the notion.
This time, he had to make a well thought out decision.
Chen Chen considered for a moment.
He remembered reading a report titled Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs back in junior high. The report categorized the basic needs of humans into five tiers. In the order from the lowest to the highest tiers, they were: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
Chen Chen applied the theory to himself. Prior to acquiring the immunity shot, he would be categorized in the second tier: safety.
Now that the safety concerns were dealt with, his current hierarchy of needs naturally escalated to esteem and self-actualization.
This meant that it was time to start pursuing things like wealth, title, and personal aspirations.
Of course, superpowers would be a decent choice as well. Even though he could not show them off, it could be good for self-protection.
There was an old Chinese saying that Chen Chen was fond of:
"He who wields a blade fears nothing."
However, based on the USB drive's current state, it could only perform instantiation one more time.
A wise man would take advantage of this opportunity to guarantee the possibility of ten, perhaps even a hundred instantiations in the future.
Chen Chen took out a notepad and wrote down two options.
"Chronicle, Ready Player One."
These two movies were the two options Chen Chen had for the next part of his plans.
Chronicle was a movie based on real life. Apart from the three main characters, there were not any other forms of superpowers in the world.
Chen Chen had the same concerns that he had in the past. He was not sure if his body would be decimated by the radiation of the crystalline after acquiring the superpower. He also was not sure whether his mental state would be affected by the superpower.
After all, the name itself was ominous enough already.
This was the riskier option.
The advantage of this option was that Chen Chen could utilize it by heading to Macau or Las Vegas and make tens of millions with the superpower. Though he could not do so too often, it was still a surefire way to make quick money.
Many people believed that if you won too much in a casino, the mafia would order a hit on you. It was not a false belief, but it was not entirely true either.
In truth, casino operations were not so much different from ordinary shops.They also had to maintain their image. Plenty of gamblers managed to rake home large amounts of winning every night so it was not unusual for people to become wealthy overnight either. These were a part of a casino's advertising technique.
If everyone who won millions in the casino was robbed or even killed on their way home, the casino would not be able to operate much longer either.
As stated above, it would not be a big deal if you only won occasionally. The subject became entirely different if you managed to win millions every night.
The sewers underneath glorious Las Vegas had no shortage of rotten dead bodies every day.
The other option was one that Chen Chen had considered for a long time.
Ready Player One was released in theaters in 2018.
It was the year 2040. Following the end of the third World War, the world was left in devastation and civilization was crumbling. One day, a genius by the name of James Halliday appeared.
He created a virtual reality game known as the Oasis. People could put on a VR set to enter a virtual world that was the stark opposite of the real world.
The virtual world was filled with robust cities and players of all sorts of appearances. Even if you were a loser who was struggling in the real world, you could become a hero in the Oasis. All the most unattainable dreams were within your reach.
This was the basis of Ready Player One.
Simply put, this was a story depicting the future of video games. It was the movie equivalent of a web novel in China.
A pair of VR glasses alone could grant you the ability to soar freely in the virtual world.
If Chen Chen could instantiate the equipment for the game, what would happen?
First of all, the holographic imaging technology in the movie utilized a form of retinal projection technology. Three-dimensional images were formed by projecting light rays into the retina.
All of the dynamic rendering, particle rendering, lighting, real-time calculation, and various rendering techniques were so realistic it was practically the same as the real world.
The universe depicted in the movie was only set about twenty years past the current day in the real world. There was not much technological advancement in that period, possibly a consequence of the world war.
This meant that the technology level within the Oasis was not far off from the real world.
For instance, there was no technique used to manipulate the mind in the movie. Players had to rely on tactile devices and motion sensor devices to play the game.
Chen Chen estimated that the technology within the Oasis was only roughly one generation ahead of the current time.
Since the gap in between was not too significant, this meant that it probably was not too difficult for Chen Chen to grasp the technology behind it.
The real world was ten to fifteen years away from the production of a game of this sort. What if Chen Chen was one step ahead and released a VR game like this?
Chances were it would revolutionize the current global technology sector along with the gaming landscape.
At the same time, it also meant raking in hundreds of billions!
Of course, it was not ideal to unveil the completed game and the technology within right away as it would attract a lot of unwanted attention.
Chen Chen could just use some minor framework and algorithm within the game to serve as the foundation. After three to five years, he could then release the finished product.
It just so happened that Chen Chen already had a similar base component on his hands – the instant translation app that he was halfway through development.
If he could implement the artificial intelligence within Oasis into the app he had designed, would it show some sort of monumental improvement?
Chen Chen made up his mind at this point.
He would begin experimenting the same way that he did with NZT-48 initially.
Even though the superpower was more appealing to Chen Chen, it would be wiser to amass enough capital to build a real lab first. After that, he could start figuring out the safety aspect of the superpower.
Surely that would be more ideal?
[ol][li data-annotation-id="3bc832de-83f8-15e4-a5d3-ff4d7665f8ca"]The direct translation of the Chinese version of the movie title is Superpower Out of Control.[/ol]
Chapter 31: VR Headset |
With all this in mind, Chen Chen had already thought out a rational course of action.
He began downloading the movie Ready Player One.
As the signal in the industrial park was not very strong, Chen Chen had to wait for half an hour to complete downloading the movie.
However, Chen Chen did not copy the movie into the USB drive at once. First, he played the movie and reviewed the plot twice.
In the movie, there were five types of game peripherals.
The first type was in the opening scene, when the protagonist, Wade, used a three-piece set that included a cheap "VR headset", "haptic gloves", and a "pressure-sensitive omnidirectional treadmill".
The second type was an "X1 Bootsuit" that the protagonist purchased after receiving the reward of the first challenge. This suit allowed the player to feel tactile sensations in the game.
The third type was the "OAR9400 Visual Motion Chair" used by the main villain of the movie, which allowed the player to play the game while lying in the chair. In addition, this visual chair had an advanced holographic projection function that formed images in thin air.
Obviously, the motion chair was more advanced than the other two types.
As for the fourth and fifth types of peripherals, they were simplified versions of the first and second types.
Besides that, there was other game equipment that appeared in the end such as slings.
Nonetheless, other than the high-end "OAR9400 Visual Motion Chair", the other devices required corresponding real-life movements to control one's avatar.
Therefore, it was ideal for Chen Chen to instantiate that chair.
Even so, Chen Chen felt that this was not likely.
Ever since he had obtained the USB drive, he had instantiated four items. The first two times were Pikachu's duckbill cap, the third time was the NZT-48 pills and the final time was the immunity shot that he had recently instantiated.
These four items had one thing in common – they were all light, small, and could be grasped in one hand.
Chen Chen was not certain that he would succeed if he tried to extract the movie's hemispherical chair that weighed over a hundred kilograms.
If the instantiation failed, would it drain the USB drive's energy?
All this was unknown for now.
However, Chen Chen would not shy away from trying just because of a fear of failure. It was just like how humans would never have discovered the New World if they did not sail across the sea.
Chen Chen still had to carry out many experiments to test the USB drive's abilities. This was the first thing he had learned as a researcher.
One could say that exploring the unknown would always be humanity's only path forward.
Having considered this, Chen Chen no longer hesitated. He dragged the movie into the USB drive immediately and clicked play.
Following that, Chen Chen pressed the pause button.
"Come on out!"
Chen Chen whispered. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand and pictured himself pulling that chair into reality.
"Ding!"
However, just when Chen Chen felt that he could touch that massive chair, the screen turned black.
At the same time, his pointer and middle fingers throbbed with a piercing pain!
Chen Chen drew back his hand as if he felt an electric shock. He saw that there was a missing chunk of flesh, nearly half a centimeter deep, on both his fingers!
He could almost see his bones.
Chen Chen's expression turned stormy and he looked toward the screen, only to see that the movie had shut down. Also, a dialog box had popped up – insufficient energy.
"As I thought, it's an issue of energy."
Chen Chen's mouth twitched. Although his fingers were stinging dreadfully, this pain was swiftly blocked thanks to the effects of NZT. Thus, Chen Chen's thinking would not be affected by this pain.
He used tissue paper to stop the bleeding, then looked toward the USB drive. It appeared that nothing was instantiated this time hence the USB drive did not change.
"No, that's not right."
Suddenly, Chen Chen recalled something and looked up abruptly. "If each item needs to be instantiated by the USB drive, why could I touch them even before they were instantiated?"
Chen Chen could remember that it was not just this time. When he first tried to instantiate the "immunity shot" six months ago, it failed because the USB drive had insufficient energy. Even so, Chen Chen had felt himself touching the "immunity shot"!
If the USB drive could instantiate an item from a movie, why could he still touch the said item even when the USB drive had insufficient energy?
Since he could touch it, did that not mean that the instantiation was successful?