Chapter Forty-Four: The Flaws of the Fantasy System

Zhu Lan did not force Wei Juanwen to answer but gave him a choice, then left the city and returned to the capital. Zhu Lan did not wish to intervene in Wei Juanwen’s affairs, but the current biological research required a genius, and Wei Juanwen was an excellent candidate.

Zhu Lan no longer had time to search, because the gene optimization serum was about to resume full-scale distribution.

“How’s the progress?” Zhu Lan stood beside Luo Wuyan, watching as hundreds of people busily installed equipment.

“Boss, we’re at eighty percent. In three days, the production line can be launched. Now all that’s left is…”

Zhu Lan nodded with satisfaction. “I’ll take care of that myself. You keep a close eye on the production line’s progress. I don’t want any problems—our product must be released on schedule!”

“Of course, I can guarantee that!”

“It had better be!” Zhu Lan did not quite trust Luo Wuyan’s words—he had been disappointed too many times. If he hadn’t been so indifferent, Luo Wuyan would have been replaced long ago.

This was also why Zhu Lan wanted Wei Juanwen—because his wife was capable, someone perfectly suited for the executive ranks of Visionary Technology.

Ren Linting’s incident had made Zhu Lan unable to trust outsiders, especially now that Visionary Technology had drawn attention from many quarters. Selecting management through headhunting firms was no longer feasible.

Not to mention that Zhu Lan’s own secrets could not be discovered, even the matter of the gene optimization serum could tolerate no mistakes. The state might offer some protection regarding the gene enhancement serum, but if the source of the optimization serum fell into foreign hands, the consequences would be unbearable.

Since Ren Linting’s incident, the elemental bodies had been completely destroyed, with only a few left for research. No new elemental bodies would be produced until the production line was operational. Even if Zhu Lan handed the manufacturing method to Luo Wuyan, without his help, Luo Wuyan could not make the elemental bodies required for the gene optimization serum.

Only Zhu Lan knew the entire manufacturing process. Luo Wuyan, at best, could produce an empty shell, but not the essential elemental body. Without that, the serum could not be made.

When building the factory months ago, Zhu Lan had already considered the confidentiality of elemental body production.

But with no trustworthy candidate, Zhu Lan had to turn his attention once again to the intelligent systems.

Fortunately, the peculiar arrival of “Qite” filled this gap. Though Qite was only a logistics robot, its intelligence was already sufficient for Zhu Lan’s purposes. After rewriting its instructions, Qite could do anything a smart computer could.

Zhu Lan was constructing a supercomputer to augment Qite’s computational capacity.

But there was no suitable location, so the supercomputer project had to be put on hold; the base’s construction had to enter its development phase.

Leaning back in his chair, Zhu Lan gazed through the glass at the ever-expanding Visionary Industrial Park, visibly proud.

“Boss, six hundred and seventy-three companies have agreed to next month’s agency rights auction, but…”

“Is there trouble from above again?”

Lan Tianxin nodded. “Yes, Major Xiao He has lodged a great many protests. But boss, since you went to Yangcheng, he couldn’t reach you, so…”

“Hmph, ignore him. Just make the preparations for next month.”

Lan Tianxin nodded helplessly. “Understood.”

“All right, get to work. Make sure the agency rights are handled properly.”

“Yes.”

After Lan Tianxin left, Zhu Lan sat silently by the window, then slowly stood, pressing his hand to the glass. “My future is in my own hands, not yours.”

Zhu Lan gave a self-mocking laugh. “How are things progressing?”

There was only Zhu Lan in the room, yet he spoke to the air.

His computer flickered, and a miniature figure appeared on the screen. “Boss, network privileges are still being cracked. Estimated to need another sixteen days.”

“Insufficient computation?”

“Yes. We must either upgrade the CPU or install a supercomputer host to enhance computing speed.”

Zhu Lan shook his head helplessly. “Neither is possible right now. How’s the company?”

“All security devices are now online. From their data, seven individuals have revealed suspicious behavior. I need more information, but I’ve already started investigating their identities.”

“Show me.”

The computer flashed, and seven files appeared on the screen. Zhu Lan sat down, turned, and studied the files in silence.

“Qite, do you think I’m making a mistake?”

“Boss, I cannot comprehend. My programming contains no data on this.”

“Heh.”

Hummmm—

Almost instantly, the computer buzzed, then belched black smoke. Zhu Lan frowned. “What happened?”

No one replied.

He raised his wrist and pressed his watch, but no matter how he tried, nothing responded.

“Trouble?”

At this, Zhu Lan realized something must have happened with Qite; otherwise, it would never have gone offline.

He left the office immediately, hurried through the building, and returned to his private quarters.

As soon as he entered, he stopped.

The house was eerily quiet. Though it was daytime, the silence was like a still lake. What’s more, Zhu Lan noticed the place seemed disturbed—the security system hadn’t activated.

The house’s systems were independent, not connected to the internet. Even if the world ended, as long as there was sunlight, the security would run for a century—the walls were built entirely from special solar panels.

Qite’s sudden offline status had already set Zhu Lan on alert. Entering the house only heightened his sense of unease.

He carefully approached a wall, placing his hand on a fingerprint scanner.

When the red light turned green, a panel opened in the wall.

Zhu Lan, wary, quickly checked the house’s status.

After reviewing dozens of cameras inside and out and finding nothing unusual, Zhu Lan wondered if he was being paranoid.

He shook his head and walked slowly toward the basement.

Upon entering, he was startled by the chaos—the basement looked as if a storm had swept through, with everything strewn about.

Clang—

Suddenly, a chill pressed against his throat.

A razor-sharp sword was at his neck.

Zhu Lan froze.

“Who are you?” A clear, lively voice spoke.

Turning his head, Zhu Lan was stunned by the person beside him.

“Speak! Who are you, and what is this place?”

“I…”

What could Zhu Lan say?

“Miss, this is my home, you…”

“Your home? Where is this?”

“The capital.”

“The capital?” The woman’s hair was golden, her eyes full of shifting light.

“Zhu Lan? Visionary Technology?”

Abruptly, she uttered these two phrases.

Zhu Lan’s expression collapsed. It had been a remote possibility, but it had happened.

“Miss, could you let me go?”

She looked him up and down, sensing no threat, nodded, and the sword at his throat melted into a silvery liquid, reforming into a normal hand.

Witnessing this sci-fi scene, Zhu Lan could only give a bitter laugh.

“How did I end up here?”

As the woman began to question her situation, Zhu Lan was dumbfounded. Wasn’t she a robot? How could this be?

His eyes brightened. He reached behind him, space distorting.

“You—” Sensing something, she looked at Zhu Lan, but before she could react, he had already jabbed something into her body.

She instantly went limp.

As if short-circuiting, sparks of electricity arced across her form, then faded.

With a thud, she hit the ground, leaving a dent in the floor.

Zhu Lan let out a breath, shaking his head at the woman on the floor. “What are the odds I’d encounter this? I don’t know whether to call myself lucky or not.”

He recognized the woman—not as an acquaintance, but as something he’d always wanted to acquire.

Yes, something. The woman on the floor was a robot—an intelligent android, and in the entire film series, a top-tier existence.

Her designation: T-1000.

The villain from “Terminator 3,” sent back by Skynet as a killing machine.

Zhu Lan wasn’t surprised by the T-1000’s appearance. It was an accident—an accident more unlikely than winning the lottery.

The Visionary System was powerful but imperfect, with flaws. Zhu Lan only had a mass-produced, civilian-grade version, but after drifting through the universe for millions of years, it had undergone changes, leading to unexpected anomalies.

In the system’s records, this was called a spatial distortion.

In other words, when manifesting objects, there was a minuscule chance that overlapping spatial layers could create a distortion, inadvertently connecting to the system’s core and manifesting things that shouldn’t exist.

The T-1000 was such a product.

Unexpected things are always unexpected—so with the T-1000.

Zhu Lan wasn’t afraid because a manifestation without programming would be incomplete, unlikely to pose a real threat.

But the T-1000’s abilities could not be underestimated. Zhu Lan decisively manifested nanobots to negate her existence. The Terminator’s command structure was centered on Skynet, which could lead to unforeseen issues. To be safe, Zhu Lan chose to reset her, initializing her systems, for only then could he be truly at ease.