Volume 11: Memetic Crisis Chapter 541 Research Institute Headquarters
Perhaps out of concern that emergency braking would cause the train to fly off the track, the entire deceleration process lasted nearly five minutes. With the cushioning of several small reverse thrusters installed on the front of the train, the entire train was successfully stopped.
This is West District 1, the top-level district in the entire Ark, second only to the core district. However, there are no commercial or residential areas in this district, not even the aristocratic manors and luxury homes commonly seen in the other three "Districts 1".
The entire West District 1 is the property of the "Noah Core Research Institute". The headquarters of the institute alone occupies one-third of the entire area, and the rest of the area is filled with various branches, staff dormitories, and colleges and universities affiliated with the institute... It is no exaggeration to say that if you randomly pick a person on the street in West District 1, ten out of ten are related to the institute. "Outsiders" who want to enter West District 1 even need to apply for a special "limited-time pass".
After all, this area, which covers less than one percent of the entire Ark , concentrates more than 90% of the Ark's cutting-edge talents and technologies... This is one of the reasons why the undead crew members cannot "destroy" West District 1 like they did with East District 9.
At this time, this area, which was usually full of scientific research and academic atmosphere, has completely turned into a military restricted area. A large number of armored vehicles and mechas directly formed a steel wall, surrounding the West District 1 with three layers inside and three layers outside. As for the researcher headquarters near the core area, a large energy shield was directly activated. The gorgeous rainbow light curtain turned a large white building upside down inside like a giant bowl - although this light curtain was extremely beautiful, anyone or anything that touched it would be turned to ashes in an instant. Even if a tank was smashed into it, the heavy alloy armor would be melted into boiling steel.
Judging from the solidity of the light curtain, the power of this energy shield has obviously been fully utilized. It has to be said that the wealthy research institute is truly well-off. The crystal consumption per minute of this shield alone is enough to match the daily consumption of a cruise fleet in a non-combat state.
Originally, Ke Lan wanted to convert it into credit points to calculate how much money this "big bowl" burned per hour, but when the number of zeros in the calculation result exceeded two digits, he decisively gave up - it was meaningless to calculate this. In order to prevent the "things" inside from running out, the research institute should be willing to put all its assets on the line.
But... no matter how strong the energy shield is... it can't contain "memes"...
The train stopped at the "College Station" in the West District 1, which was the outermost of the three lines of defense. A little further in was the "Core Research Institute Affiliated Polytechnic Institute", the dream school of countless students... However, this "Ark No. 1" Polytechnic Institute now looked more like a military school...
Everywhere the field of vision was filled with uniformed garrison soldiers and hastily set up firing points; looking up, large-caliber heavy machine guns were mounted on almost all the high points of the buildings, and snipers could be vaguely seen behind some half-open windows.
"Is it useful..." Ke Lan couldn't help but complain in a low voice. The defense here seemed impeccable, but in fact, when these soldiers saw the information carrier carrying the "meme" through the scope, this line of defense could be considered to have collapsed...
As the popular saying among Relic Hunters goes - violence and weapons can solve many problems, but the vast majority of problems cannot be solved by them.
Seeing that Ke Lan and the others got off this "train", the soldiers even skipped the step of checking their identities and directly made way for them. Several people wearing powered exoskeletons quickly ran back and removed the roadblocks across the street.
A team of people wearing the same dark grey uniforms as Lin Qiming and his team came out to greet them. Ke Lan already knew that those with copper decorative buttons on their cuffs were the real Security Bureau agents. Although the uniforms of the Crisis Management Section were exactly the same as those of the Security Bureau, the decorative buttons on their cuffs were chrome-plated.
In the absence of any identifying markers, this is the only way to identify the two groups.
The group of people in front of him were all members of the "Crisis Management Department". On the contrary, the agents of the Security Bureau stood at their posts with serious faces, not daring to move a step.
In terms of authority and level, the Crisis Management Department should be above the Security Bureau. After all, they report directly to the Undead Crew Council, and there is a Joint Parliamentary Group between the Security Bureau and the Crew Council.
"This is the chief of the Crisis Management Department, Schroeder." Seeing Ke Lan focus his eyes on the man in front, Lin Qiming took the initiative to introduce him.
Although Schroeder is obviously a Western name, this man looks like a genuine Asian, and an Asian with very pure blood. On his square face, Ke Lan could not even find the common features of mixed-race people.
The head of the crisis management department is not much older than Lin Qiming, the second in command. Although he looks more stable, Ke Lan can guarantee that this guy is definitely not over 40.
Unless he had some cosmetic surgery that could make him look younger.
The two groups came together. The somewhat overly young head of the crisis management department seemed to have read the doubt in Ke Lan's eyes and took the initiative to say, "I know you must be doubting my age... To be honest, today is my first day as the head of the department... Well, to be precise, it's the fourth hour."
He glanced at Lin Qiming who was following behind Ke Lan, and continued, "Qiming and I are the same. We were originally the captain and deputy captain of the First Mobile Squadron... To be honest, we never thought we would be promoted in this way."
"This method? To be given a task in a time of crisis? So, the original section chief and deputy section chief..." A look of realization flashed across Ke Lan's face.
"Yes, they all looked directly at the unprocessed images... Not only them, but also the entire leadership of the crisis management department was not spared." Schroeder said with a little regret on his face, "If I could, I would rather give up such a promotion opportunity. I think I am more suitable for charging into battle."
"Oh, sorry." Ke Lan's heart sank. Sure enough, her previous guess was correct... The reason why the two of them could sit in this position was entirely because people with greater abilities and more experience than them in the entire crisis management department had sacrificed their lives... No wonder Lin Qiming, this young man, pulled the trigger at her forehead without any hesitation.
Logically speaking, such leaders, even if they have to sacrifice themselves, will definitely weigh the pros and cons before dying and try their best to maximize the value of their lives.
Instead of being like him, Ke Lan put the muzzle of the gun to his temple with just a casual word.
From the moment they first met, Lin Qiming gave Ke Lan the feeling of a brave general charging into battle, rather than a marshal or staff officer commanding the center of the army.
It turns out that this guy was just the deputy captain of a mobile team four hours ago...
Ke Lan suddenly felt a little depressed... The leadership of the Crisis Management Department was wiped out at the beginning of the incident, leaving only two young men to lead the team. For him, this was terrible news.
He needed an ally who was experienced and had a keen sense of smell... And Schroeder and Lin Qiming in front of him might be good "chess pieces" to charge on the chessboard, but if he asked them to be the "chess players" who controlled the overall situation, Ke Lan always felt that they were not reliable.
But because of the "meme", the "chess piece" who rushes into the battle can only be himself.
This group of people are of no help at all.
Ke Lan glanced at the messages on the tablet and found that the previous chief of the Crisis Management Department, who had died of "memetic infection" not long ago, was also named Schroeder - Schroeder was not a name, but a code name: every chief of the Crisis Management Department was "Schroeder".
"Is there any progress from ?" Ke Lan asked.
"Several experts have different opinions and the debate is heated, but the specific progress..." Schroeder sighed and shook his head slightly.
"Forget it. I didn't count on them in the beginning." Ke Lan said, "This group of people are only good at causing trouble and courting death."
The only thing he can rely on now is the help from the Undead Crew, but he also knows that if the Undead Crew can provide any useful information, they will definitely contact him actively.
If they don't come to find me, then even if I go and ask them, I won't get anything out of them.
"However, the equipment department has hurriedly made two sets of armor for you and your assistant. One is a general-purpose type, and the other is a melee-specific type customized according to the expertise of a hunter named Asano Akira. It is also equipped with a small sonar and a special strengthening device that can amplify mental power." Schroeder said.
"A special strengthening device that can amplify the power of thoughts..." Ke Lan chewed on the term, "It seems that you have collected a lot of information about us. You even know this..."
"All of this has been approved by the Undead Crew," Schroeder said. "But you can rest assured that Mr. Asano Akira has been removed from the experimental project. No one will bother him anymore."
"I want to know if this mind power amplification device will have any side effects when used?" Ke Lan looked directly at Schroeder and asked, "I know the price of that ability, and I witnessed Marshall's final outcome with my own eyes. Don't try to deceive me with lies."
Hearing what Ke Lan said, Schroeder was slightly startled, then nodded: "There will definitely be side effects... Using that ability will cause irreversible damage to the experimental subject itself, but as long as the power is set properly, the side effects can be completely controlled within an acceptable range."
"That is to say, if this thing is turned to maximum power, it can kill Asano Akira, right?"
Schroeder didn't say anything. He was silent for a few seconds and then nodded.
“Tear it down.”
"But... as long as it's not overused, there won't be any problem... With this device, at least it means you have an extra trump card in times of crisis. Mr. Ke Lan, please think about it carefully. If you really encounter a desperate situation, at least you can save another person by sacrificing one person..."
"Tear it down." Ke Lan looked at him coldly, "I don't want to say it for the third time. Do you think I need Asano Akira to sacrifice his life in exchange for mine? Besides, if things really get that serious... Excuse me, if the undead crew can't come up with a better solution, then we'll all just wait to die together."
"this……"
"It's just a matter of order." Ke Lan shrugged indifferently.
"Tell the people in the equipment department to remove the mind enhancement module." Schroeder looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. He stared at Ke Lan and took a few breaths. Then he turned around and said to a subordinate.
"Where are they now? Where are they?" Ke Lan put the tablet into his pocket and walked forward.
"They're on standby at the second line of defense," Schroeder replied.
The members of the God Hunting Group had previously been discussing business with the Ye Group in East District 2, so even though Ke Lan took this special train that was converted from a space shuttle, he still arrived at the scene a step later than them.
When Ke Lan and the others arrived at the second line of defense, Hound and the others had already been waiting behind the roadblock. As soon as he saw Ke Lan, Hound jumped over the roadblock and ran over, grabbed Ke Lan and said, "Come with me, I have something to tell you."
As for those people from the Crisis Management Department, they were directly blocked behind them by the two big guys, Leighton and Zhuoligetu. It was already a great honor for them to obey the arrangements of the Crisis Management Department and wait here. As for asking them to move aside at this time, it was simply impossible to think about it.
Schroeder and Lin Qiming looked at each other and saw a bitter smile on each other's face - although the strength of this group of relic hunters except for the guy named Asano Akira was not very strong, but because of Ke Lan, they could not conflict with these relic hunters, and they had no way to deal with this group of people.
On the other side, the Hound kept pulling Ke Lan and dragged him into a toilet. He asked Asano Akira to guard outside and locked the door himself.
"What's going on?" The Hound asked nervously, "Why did they ask you to carry out this kind of mission? Are your secrets...exposed?"
"I don't know... but they didn't make things difficult for me. They didn't even mention anything about my abilities." Although the "they" in Ke Lan's words referred to the Undead Crew, to the Hound's ears, it became the group of people in the Crisis Management Department.
"Then why did they come to you? I heard... this matter is very strange. Those things inside will be infected as long as you take a look... Damn, this kind of thing is not something humans can deal with. In my opinion, we should just launch the entire West Second District into the sky like we did with the East Ninth District, and then use the main gun to completely destroy it."
"In fact, the cause of this incident is closely related to me... Although the one who caused the trouble was a professor at the research institute, the thing in the contaminated area was made by him using my cloned cells." After thinking about it, Ke Lan told the Hound the truth.
"What did you say?" The Hound opened his mouth wide. "That thing inside... is it your... cloned cells?"
"It's the product of the fusion of my cloned cells and the active cells of the Seed of Erosion." Ke Lan corrected.
