The transport plane reached headquarters. After completing the handover procedures and arranging accommodations for the group, Xiao Xun brought Su Xiang to his office.
"You've rested enough. Your upcoming tasks will be demanding."
"When the soldiers come, we'll block them. I believe victory will be ours."
"Don't be too optimistic. Something happened when I was at Base No. 1. Because Base No. 1 had an incident, only I know about this."
Su Xiang looked around cautiously. Xiao Xun said to him, "Stop looking. There are no surveillance or listening devices here. If it gets out, it'll be you who leaked it."
Su Xiang looked resigned. "Alright! What happened?"
"The original human refused to open the cabin door and consumed the pilot from the inside."
Su Xiang's eyes widened. "There's such a thing? It doesn't make sense!"
"What's your take on it?"
"Think about it. Our cockpit is in the spinal canal, one of the most solid parts of the body. Even if it ate it from the outside, the original human doesn't have a stomach, and without a stomach, there's no stomach acid. Without stomach acid, how could it digest?"
Xiao Xun nodded. "This is precisely what I'm worried about. If this happens again, the Cradle Project might be declared a failure, and all original humans will be destroyed."
"Then I'll find some human anatomy experts to research it?"
Xiao Xun immediately refused, "No, if you involve people, won't this matter be exposed? It must be dealt with before a replacement is available."
"Where can we find a replacement for such a large original human?"
"We already have one. Have you heard of Lei, one of the world's top ten hackers?"
"Him? Didn't you send him to headquarters?"
Xiao Xun nodded. "He's also a member of the Gatekeeper Society. A few days ago, he demonstrated his product to the high-ranking members of the Gatekeeper Society. It's the same height as the original human, cheaper, doesn't need a power plug, and doesn't require a pilot."
Su Xiang thought for a moment. "I don't think the boss will agree."
"How do you know if you weren't there?"
"If the boss agreed, would you have taken so many hackers to crash the party?"
Xiao Xun smiled and slapped the table. "That's why I can't leave you. You're like a worm in my belly; you know what I'm thinking."
Su Xiang scratched his head sheepishly. "But the future of artificial intelligence is a major trend. If we do this..."
"Things need to be done step by step. You're too ahead of your time; people can't accept it all at once. How will other countries view this? It can easily cause panic, and it's not a good thing. Perhaps before the aliens arrive, we'll destroy ourselves. Therefore, we must extinguish this fire."
Although Su Xiang didn't quite agree, he nodded. "Alright, I'll arrange it."
The press conference was held as scheduled. All eight hackers appeared at the venue without surprise.
This was the first time Stephen had appeared in public since the news of his death broke.
Wearing an earpiece, he began a brief introduction.
Most of the attendees were military personnel from various regions and executives from weapons research and manufacturing companies.
Stephen began to introduce the product's performance, selling points, and cost-effectiveness one by one.
"With such a large venue, where are the robots hidden?"
"Perhaps they'll pop out from underground with a 'whoosh' like us."
"It's a shame they don't allow photos. It would be so cool to post it online."
"Post it online? Stephen has been dead for almost six months. If he suddenly comes back to life, it'll be a news story of the century."
As everyone was chattering, Stephen had his assistant bring him a cup of coffee. The assistant walked over and said in a slightly hesitant accent, "Please enjoy."
Stephen picked up the coffee, took a sip in front of everyone, and then said, "This assistant is the star of today, the A4 combat robot."
With that, he removed the assistant's clothes and hat, revealing a silver-gray metallic body underneath.
While everyone was surprised, Stephen took out a handgun and handed it to the robot. "Surik, shoot at the designated target."
The robot took the handgun and rapidly pulled the trigger at the backdrop behind Stephen. There was absolutely no recoil.
After firing, Stephen asked another assistant to bring out the humanoid target from behind the backdrop. Without a doubt, every shot hit the same spot.
No one applauded. A middle-aged man resembling a general asked Stephen, "Will the robots you build attack humans?"
Stephen nodded. "Of course, they will, because this is a combat robot, and its enemies are humans and humanoids."
Everyone started whispering. Stephen raised his hands. "Everyone, please don't panic. It has multiple settings. You can input your information into a whitelist, and then, no matter what issues arise, it will not harm anyone on the whitelist. If they are on the blacklist, they will be the priority targets."
Another person asked, "What about those not on the whitelist or blacklist?"
"It will only attack targets for which the commander has issued a kill order. It will not attack anyone without reason, including aliens."
Someone asked the question Xiao Xun wanted to ask, "What will it do if the commander orders it to attack someone on the whitelist?"
"It will refuse to execute the order."
"If there is no commander giving an order, will it attack someone on the blacklist?"
Stephen opened his mouth, and after a few seconds of delay, he said, "Robots never act on their own initiative; they only do what their commanders instruct them to do."
Xiao Xun thought to himself: What a vague answer. Setting up a blacklist means they are targets to be attacked, which is also an order.
Stephen looked at the whispering crowd and then turned his gaze to Xiao Xun. "The product launch event today concludes here..."
"Wait."
Someone stood up. "Mr. Stephen, is your demonstration just it firing a few shots?"
"I wonder what else you want to see our robot do?"
"Can it hit fast-moving targets? After all, the aliens' speed is very high, as everyone has seen. It's impossible for them to stand still and be shot by your robot."
Stephen patted the robot and said, "Our A4 robot has an excellent infrared targeting and tracking system. No matter how fast the opponent moves, our robot can track it."
"Then please have Mr. Stephen's robot demonstrate it."
Stephen said to his assistant, "Get me a magazine."
"Mr. Stephen, can your robot change the magazine itself? We can't possibly buy it and then have to specifically assign someone to change its magazines, can we!"
Stephen said, "Thank you, sir, for your valuable suggestion. I will specifically develop an extended magazine with enough capacity."
"This robot is too small; it can't even reach the side of the alien spaceship."
Stephen explained, "This is just a prototype. The tallest one can reach eighty meters, and the smallest is even smaller. It can handle various combat environments."
The crowd looked disbelieving and said it was impossible.
Stephen looked at Xiao Xun. Although he was the youngest person present, if he agreed, this product could achieve global mass production.
"Since everyone is skeptical, our company also has a fifty-meter-tall prototype. Because there are no suitable thermal weapons for it yet, it is currently unarmed. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Saying that, he picked up his phone, not to dial a number, but to operate it a few times. Six helicopters arrived at the venue, carrying a giant robot.
Black Shark snorted, "No wonder he rented such a large venue. With just us few people, it seems they were prepared in advance!"
Xiao Xun glared at him. There were too many people and too much gossip here; saying the wrong thing could cause trouble.
When the robot landed steadily, Stephen shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is our first-generation robot, the A4 ultimate weapon."
After releasing the ropes, the helicopters hovered in the air.
Stephen said into his earpiece, "Surik, show your strength."
The giant robot directly raised its hand and shot down all the helicopters. Everyone was shocked and dodged.
"Surik, stop."
But the giant robot didn't listen to Stephen's commands and lunged at the crowd.
"Stephen, quickly make your robot stop."
Stephen stomped his feet anxiously. "Surik, stop. Surik, shut down..."
But no matter how Stephen shouted, the giant robot ignored him.
Another person shouted while running, "Quickly cut off its power!"
Stephen replied helplessly, "It has a reactor and an energy accumulation device inside. Its power cannot be cut off from the outside."
In just five minutes, the giant robot had destroyed six helicopters and five guests present.
The giant robot, having achieved an impressive record, suddenly stopped. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was a system delay and it had returned to normal.
Unexpectedly, the giant robot turned and rushed towards the city, terrifying Stephen. He said to the assistant beside him, "Quickly arrange for helicopters and report to the military. You must stop it."
"Yes!"
Xiao Xun put his arms around himself and said to Su Xiang beside him, "It looks like it's our turn to act."
Although the giant robot's speed was not fast, conventional weapons could not stop it.
Although this was not a bustling downtown area, there were many people around. As it moved along, not to mention the ground damage, some cars that couldn't dodge in time were crushed into flat iron cakes.
And ahead were the high-rise buildings of the city. Evacuation was already too late. Fortunately, the opponent had no weapons, otherwise, the death toll would have multiplied tenfold.
Stephen rushed to Xiao Xun's side. "Dark Commander, no, Mr. Xiao, please think of a solution."
"Prepare to pay the damages. I will try to minimize the losses."
"Alright, as long as you can stop it."
At this moment, a large transport plane flew overhead from the venue. The original human descended from the sky and landed in front of the giant robot.
The original human was more than a head taller than the giant robot, which only reached the original human's chest.
As it was a prototype, to showcase its excellent performance and quality, the giant robot was made of solid materials, with great strength and a sturdy body.
The original human couldn't gain an advantage for a while, and the two sides were locked in a bitter struggle.
Xiao Xun said to Su Xiang, "Help me set up a communication channel. I need to talk to the pilot."
Su Xiang operated his phone for a moment and handed it to Xiao Xun.
Before Xiao Xun could speak, the original human threw the giant robot with a suplex. Everyone scattered to dodge.
Then the original human rushed forward, stepped on the robot's chest, and with a swift motion, severed the robot's head. Thinking the battle was over, but as soon as he stood up, the robot stood up again, sparks flying from its neck, and began to attack randomly.
Xiao Xun grabbed Stephen's arm. "Where is its reactor?"
Stephen quickly said, "In the abdomen."
Xiao Xun picked up his phone. "Attack the robot's abdomen. Pierce it."
"Understood."
The original human leaped into the air and pressed down heavily on the robot, gripping a high-frequency vibrating particle knife with both hands and plunging it in forcefully.
BOOM!!!
It blew the original human away, and all the surrounding glass shattered. Everyone ducked to the ground for cover.
"The power of this reactor is too great!"
After this incident, Stephen's plan was shelved indefinitely, and Stephen never appeared in public again.
Xiao Xun guessed that Stephen might have truly died this time.
About ten days later, bases and weapon equipment exclusively for the original humans began to be constructed in District No. 12.
At this time, many news media began to report on the wondrous phenomenon of two moons appearing in the sky.
Xiao Xun knew that the enemy's ultimate 'great killer,' the Death Star, had arrived.
Three days later, at noon, a somber voice echoed through the sky, "Inhabitants of Blue Star, you must obey orders. As long as you cooperate well and maintain stability, your lives can be guaranteed."
This message was continuously broadcast in the sky. Although the volume was not loud, it was clearly heard by everyone on the planet.
Under the announcements of national leaders, the entire world entered a state of defense.
Meanwhile, in the conference room inside the Death Star, a tall Tuoluoian with a face like a monkey said, "Our plan to conquer Blue Star is about to begin. The first stop, following my daughter's advice, we have chosen a place called City G."
Another Tuoluoian said, "This time, we must ensure victory and not make the slightest mistake. Resorting to force is not the best method for dealing with humans. Our goal is not to eliminate them but to destroy them mentally, making them lose their dignity, abandon their beliefs, and ultimately become our loyal slaves."
A creature with an alligator's head and a human's body said, "There can only be one ruler in heaven and earth, and that ruler is our most, most glorious King of the Death Star, His Highness Orcas."
Orcas sat in the head seat and looked at everyone present. "Do you have any further questions?"
A creature with a jackal's head and a human's body asked, "Your Highness, I think only our own people will obey us. We need to find a spokesperson on Blue Star."
Everyone burst into laughter. Orcas nodded. "I believe Lord Tydius is correct."
Tydius stood up and slapped the table. "Good, send all the soldiers down. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy."
"Yes!"