My Exclusive Dream World Adventures
Chapter 279 - Chapter 279 279 Decisions (First Release Seeking Monthly

Chapter 279: 279 Decisions (First Release, Seeking Monthly Votes) Chapter 279: 279 Decisions (First Release, Seeking Monthly Votes) Several drones had already flown out and circled nearby for a while but lost track of the shadowy figure.

The area was densely forested, and the environment was too complex. The shadowy figure wasn’t large, and it could easily hide anywhere, making it difficult to find.

The drones didn’t return and continued to circle, responsible for keeping watch.

“Take two robots and check if the surveillance hard drive is still there,” Chen Xu instructed Wang Zhu beside him. “If it is, bring it back.”

Wang Zhu picked up his weapon and left the vehicle.

“What’s that?”

Luo Xiyun looked at the screen, which was paused on the image of the shadowy figure they had just captured. Although it was not very clear through the thick smoke, it generally resembled a distorted black human figure, looking somewhat eerie.

“It should be a minor monster from this game,” Chen Xu said with a relatively relaxed tone.

Before long, Wang Zhu returned, “The cameras have been destroyed, and both the mainframe and hard drive have been demolished. However, we found these things.”

This news somewhat took Chen Xu by surprise. While it was not strange for the cameras to be destroyed, the destruction of the mainframe and hard drive was unusual. It indicated that the intruder might be familiar with these devices, meaning the enemy they were facing possessed a certain level of technological expertise.

This was certainly not good news.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but his face remained expressionless. He looked at the items Wang Zhu had brought; a clump resembling seaweed with burnt marks, pulsating gently as if alive, occasionally oozing green fluid. It looked rather disgusting.

Was this left by the intruder?

He didn’t recall having such things in the aquaculture farm.

“Put it into a sealed container and bring it back for research,” he ordered, then asked, “What’s the situation inside?”

“All the farmed animals have been killed, and all the equipment has been destroyed,” Wang Zhu replied.

Chen Xu felt even more certain about his hypothesis.

Luo Xiyun said, “We should head back.”

“Sure,” Chen Xu naturally wouldn’t refuse her suggestion.

…

Upon returning to the base, Chen Xu first sent Luo Xiyun back to rest, then went to the control center to reinforce the base’s defenses.

Originally, when he had built the aquaculture farm, he had considered the possibility of wild animals breaking in, so he had installed weapons on the surrounding walls. If the cameras detected any wild animals approaching, the weapon systems would activate and neutralize them.

Yet, this design failed to stop the shadowy figure, prompting him to increase his vigilance.

If the shadowy figure managed to infiltrate the base and damage their equipment, that was a minor issue. However, if Luo Xiyun and others were injured, the regret would be immeasurable.

“It looks like we need to start developing that iron mine earlier,” Chen Xu made a decision.

Ultimately, the aquaculture farm being raided almost ambushed him, mainly because of poor communication. If the farm had been networked with the base, he would have known immediately upon the shadowy figure’s appearance. No way would he be in the dark about the enemy’s appearance like he was now.

This incident finally determined him to at least build a network within his sphere of influence.

Though he didn’t yet know how to solve the issue of wireless signal attenuation, he had another simple solution: build a wired network.

However, this would require laying many cables and wires, demanding a significant amount of manpower, and more importantly, a complete set of production lines for cables, wires, and related facilities–not just one or two, possibly dozens.

Take the insulation for cables, for instance; first, you need the raw materials, such as commonly used polyethylene, processed from ethylene, which is derived from gases produced during oil refining.

This means that first, you need to find oil, from its extraction and refining to separating ethylene from the gases, processing it into polyethylene, and then turning it into insulation…

Each step involves many stages, and each stage could potentially lead to new stages, continuously extending, possibly even involving the entire industrial chain.

This represents the large-scale industrial era where one link involves countless others, and production halts if any area faces issues.

Moreover, once production lines are set up, they need people to operate them. Currently, the base had a severe shortage of manpower, not nearly enough to meet demands.

So, Chen Xu had never been able to make up his mind to do this.

Now, he no longer had the luxury of hesitation, no matter how difficult, he had to proceed. The enemy had already appeared, and he had a feeling that the dark shadow would be quite difficult to deal with.

After adjusting the base’s security system, he proceeded to a medical laboratory.

“Mr. Chen.”

After Chen Xu entered, three bioengineered humans dressed in white lab coats stood up and saluted him.

He waved his hand, indicating they need not be overly formal, and got straight to the point, “Feng Song, the sample that was just delivered, have you discovered anything?”

The youngest-looking among them spoke, “This appears to be tissue from some kind of creature, but its cell structure is very peculiar. There’s nothing matching or even similar to it in the biological database. It’s a completely new type of organism.”

Chen Xu frowned upon hearing this. There was no similar creature in the biological database. What could it be? It was something not even rocket shells loaded onto transport vehicles could kill, considering the speed the shadow demonstrated while escaping.

The enemy he was about to face really did surpass all expectations.

He said, “Put all other work aside for the moment and start researching it. Notify me immediately if you find anything.”

“Okay.”

When Chen Xu left the medical laboratory, he pondered how to resolve the issue of population shortage.

In this huge medical laboratory, only Feng Song was truly of use. Feng belonged to the ninth batch of bioengineered humans. At that time, lacking capable subordinates, he had opted to cultivate a batch of Level 4 cyborgs. It took a year and a half to cultivate cyborgs of this level.

This batch consisted of ten people, each responsible for a different domain–biology laboratory, physics laboratory, chemistry laboratory, and so forth.

The other two were second-level cyborgs, serving as aides, doing simple, repetitive tasks in the laboratory.

The bio-manufacturing chamber’s output was limited, having only ten cultivation tanks. The problem he faced was whether to cultivate Level 1 Bionic People, which had shorter growth cycles, or to rear Advanced Biochemical People, who possessed more specialized knowledge but required much longer growth periods.

By the time Chen Xu returned to the residential area, he had made his decision.

Cultivate natural humans.

Using the bio-manufacturing chamber to cultivate natural humans would have the shortest cycle, requiring only a day for birth, as he only needed to let them grow to infancy, not hasten maturity to adulthood, nor instill knowledge, which was the most time-consuming part.

If all ten cultivation tanks were used to cultivate natural humans, after a year, he would have over three thousand people. Moreover, natural humans had the ability to reproduce, and in two or three decades, with the birth of the second generation, the population could easily double. If he legislated to encourage higher birth rates, doubling it again wouldn’t be a problem.

Previously, Chen Xu had never been able to decide, not entirely because of the long cultivation period, but more importantly, because the constitution stipulated that the free will of natural humans must not be violated; even with the highest colonization authority, he could not use machines to brainwash natural humans.

Once natural persons grew up and developed the ability to think independently, he would have to spend a lot of energy to consolidate his position.

Moreover, doing so was akin to creating a human society. Just the thought of it weighed heavily on him.

…

As Chen Xu thought about these troublesome matters, before stepping into the residential area, he sighed deeply and cast those worries aside.

After all, this was all just a game. To him, nothing was as important as the woman inside. He relaxed the muscles of his face, allowing a more natural smile, before he walked in.

At this time, it had just turned to night.

He entered the hall and immediately noticed a pleasant aroma. Looking into the kitchen, Luo Xiyun was standing at the stove, tasting something with a spoon.

Luo Xiyun’s hair was tied up, allowing Chen Xu to see her profile. Her focused expression was less arrogant than before and more serene.

At that moment, the tenderness she inadvertently revealed struck Chen Xu’s heart.

“It seems a bit bland,” Luo Xiyun murmured to herself, and sensing something, she turned her head, saw him, and her expression changed, becoming colder, without greeting him, she put the spoon back.

She took out a food container, filled it with soup and dishes, then turned and went back to her room. Throughout this process, she didn’t say a single word to him.

Chen Xu went into the kitchen, saw half of the rice left in the pot, with some dishes and soup–it was clearly left for him.

A warm current shot through his heart. He took out a bowl and chopsticks, started to eat next to the stove. After trying a bite, he felt as though he had returned to that first dream…

PS: Shouting out, need monthly ticket.

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