Inside the forward base.
Arthur, having shaved off his stubble, and a group of hunters followed their boss through the second floor of the base.
At this moment, Arthur felt that their boss seemed to have... grown taller again?
A few years ago, he was probably less than 1.9 meters tall, but now he was approaching 2 meters. After learning about the existence of the megacity, they even felt an invisible pressure emanating from their boss, though it vanished quickly.
Based on these observations, Arthur and the hunters had reason to believe that their boss had become even stronger.
However, they wouldn't delve into the reasons behind it. If the boss didn't speak, they wouldn't ask.
The base, converted from a large shopping mall, had spacious interiors, with each corridor on the floors being open, providing a clear view.
This also allowed Arthur and the others to see numerous Hextech robots, as well as engineers equipped with AMP mechs and "stilt" exoskeletons, all working in an orderly manner.
The second floor, where they were located, had been largely converted into temporary dormitories, with a medical room and storage for supplies. The command center was set up in the central hall on the first floor.
The fourth floor hadn't seen significant changes yet, but the engineering department had already built a large experimental center for the biology department, allowing researchers and technicians to conduct on-site analyses and tests at any time.
Arriving at the sensor door.
Samuel Young, who had the highest clearance, entered directly, while Arthur and the hunters dispersed, maintaining a distance as they stood guard.
Once the sensor door closed, the corridor fell into silence... though the sounds of cutting and welding remained prominent.
Arthur and the other hunters wouldn't relax just because they were in a relatively safe environment. Besides, after learning about what had happened on Earth-03, each of them was suppressing a sense of anger, with no mood for idle chat.
——
...
Inside the laboratory center, in the isolation chamber;
The sound of a bone saw cutting through flesh seemed to match the noise of the engineering team's construction work.
Several technicians in white hazmat suits were gathered around two operating tables.
Some were waiting for the mechanical arms to finish cutting the bodies of the corrupted soldiers, while others were beginning the dissection work, carefully observing the internal structure of the bodies.
In the upper corner of the isolation chamber, four .30 caliber automatic machine guns were mounted to assist the technicians in dealing with any unexpected situations.
The laboratory center consisted of four main sections.
There was the isolation chamber with filtration and disinfection systems, an analysis room filled with various instruments and control panels, a cold storage area for storing tissue samples and blood, and a work area that was directly connected to the corridor outside, equipped with individual desks and related tools.
In the work area at this moment.
Researchers were focused on the data on their respective holographic screens.
However, when the sensor door suddenly opened, they all looked up and saw Samuel Young walking into the work area. They immediately thought to stand up and greet him.
But before they could take any action, Samuel raised his hand, signaling them to remain seated.
The researchers who were familiar with him resumed their work comfortably, while the new faces who had been urgently transferred to the forward base by Alexia seemed a bit hesitant.
After all, they had just entered the company's core circle a few days ago, and this was their first time interacting with Samuel Young up close.
Seeing Samuel sit down on the sofa near the door in silence, Angela Ziegler Cage, who wore half-frame glasses and had her hair tied in a short ponytail, hesitated for a moment before finally standing up to report:
"Mr. Young, Supervisor Ashford is currently involved in the dissection and should be finished soon."
"I know." Samuel raised his hand again, motioning for Ziegler to sit down, and then said, "The company does emphasize rules and etiquette, but in non-public situations and urgent times, like now, you don't need to be nervous or worry about whether not greeting me or failing to say hello might upset me.
There's a rumor within the company that I have mind-reading abilities. To clarify, that's not a rumor; it's a fact. So, there's no need for you to overthink.
Passing the company's tests and assessments means that you've gained the company's and my approval. Your primary goal now is to assist Dr. Ashford in analyzing the bodies of the corrupted ones and finding valuable intelligence for the frontline personnel, aiming to minimize casualties during operations."
"Yes, Boss."
Having received direct orders, the new faces, including Ziegler, finally calmed down. Their nervousness and tension dissipated, allowing them to focus on analyzing the data.
After about two or three minutes.
The fireproof isolation door to the left of the sofa slid open, revealing Alexia, who had already removed her hazmat suit and undergone anti-epidemic procedures. She had re-tied her long hair into a neat bun and came into Samuel Young's view.
Without much conversation.
Samuel and Alexia moved to a corner workstation, where he directly asked, "Can your team develop a product based on the existing bodies that can shield against detection by the corrupted ones?"
Seating herself and powering up the terminal, Alexia brought up a holographic screen on the desk and responded, "It shouldn't be a problem.
Based on the dissection results, I suspect they possess some sort of hierarchical suppression. For instance, the ones that still maintain a humanoid form have internal organs that haven't changed significantly. The blood and other analyses indicate that aside from the 24th chromosome, they are... human?
In contrast, the larger ones have undergone drastic changes from the inside out.
If it were just an individual mutation, that'd be one thing, but there are so many of them, suggesting that this is a form of evolution—a hierarchical, genetically controlled evolution.
Coupled with some insights you provided, I have reason to believe that they identify targets and recognize their kind based on gamma waves (γ) generated by brain neuron activity. After all, the gamma wave band at 30Hz is related to our cognition, perception, learning, and memory.
My team and I can use the brains of those large ones to try and develop a program that emits a specific gamma wavelength before the forward base is fully completed.
This way, we can confuse them 'sensorily,' preventing those ugly creatures from detecting the location of our operatives within a five to seven-meter range through brainwaves.
The specific effectiveness will still need to be tested, but one thing to note is that those large ones have heat-sensing organs in their nostrils, giving them vision similar to thermal imaging. However, the issue of shielding against thermal imaging won't be within the biology department's responsibility."
"Combat equipment can be handled by us. Thank you for your hard work." Satisfied with the response, Samuel Young nodded.
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