Chapter 339 - 314: Atlas Group

Lille always liked energetic young people...

No, he was only eighteen now, and Frank was thirty-eight.

Seeing this, everyone’s concerns were gradually dissipated, soon replaced by a complex array of emotions about the uncertain future.

Lille had painted them a super-sized pie in the sky.

But how were they to develop on a piece of land they had never set foot on, and complete such an impressive feat?

There was still some uneasiness, to be sure.

Lille smiled and gave Frank a thumbs-up, "Not bad, the first issue that needs to be addressed is security."

Africa was a delicious cake in Lille’s eyes, but that didn’t mean all the locals were pushovers.

"I plan to register a private military contractor there."

A sensitive topic, very sensitive indeed.

After all, Lille had always been clear on his anti-war stance, but now he was prepared to engage in it, which surprised everyone.

Indeed, Lille himself was somewhat troubled by this.

Wakanda might have promised him a backdoor policy-wise, but they couldn’t solve the security problem for him.

The African Union was already exerting all its effort to resist the local warlords, and domestic security was a complete mess, with Somalia as a prominent example—

The country was still in a state of armed factionalism, with an annual decline in GDP; it was quite common for the people to rob passing ships...

It could even be considered their livelihood, a job.

The internal security of Wakanda was fair, but Wakanda was a super-isolated nation; one couldn’t possibly dive in and lock the country away from the world, could they?

The dire societal situation was displayed on the screens, and everyone fell silent.

New York was indeed free, and even machine guns could appear in Hell’s Kitchen before Bloom Company’s ctOS was promoted.

But those were still street brawls, whereas Africa had real, continuous warfare unfolding.

The good news was, Africa was in chaos, but not intensely violent. The most powerful weapons they had were chariots and missiles phased out by the Middle East, and the quality of their personnel was relatively low.

Lille wasn’t there for war. The diligent Heart Demon Gang under Martin only needed some equipment upgrades to be fit for security tasks.

And for elites like Frank... as long as Lille wished, demolishing some warlords was entirely within reach.

"The main business of this private military contractor will be to protect our own production facilities... but frankly, I’ve already anticipated that once our enterprise gets on its feet, we’ll face international accusations of economically colonizing Africa.

In this regard, I’ve discussed it with the King of Wakanda; even though we would actually be alleviating poverty, things are as they are.

The company will be divided into two parts: the original role of Xin’an Security, safeguarding core production materials and maintaining daily stability.

The second part needs a robust emergency response capacity, Frank, you’ll be in charge of this.

You can select from your former comrades, disabled veterans... you decide."

"Our initial headquarters will be set up in Tanzania; according to the contract, we can purchase a plot of land near Salam at a very low price...

But apart from the land, there’s nothing else there and there may also be hidden terrorist organizations, so—Frank, that will be up to you."

Lille projected intelligence information from the African Union onto the screen.

This "terrorist" group had an imaginative name: The Prairie Liberation Front.

Everyone looked at each other with peculiar expressions on their faces: Such a respectable-sounding name.

Lille shrugged, "That’s how it is over there; liberating this, equalizing that. The objective of this organization is to sever all of Tanzania’s ties with the outside world and restore theocratic rule.

As for the name, they probably learned it from some arms dealer. According to reliable information, they might also engage in human trafficking.

We deal with them, and then we transport electrical equipment through Salam...

This will require some effort on our part. Once there, we can only depend on wind and solar power for a short term; the electricity supply standard will need to be re-established.

I have a plan here..."

Lille pulled out a hard disk case from his pocket, and suddenly everyone in the conference room stared in awe—

"Eh... it’s just ordinary wind and solar power."

The materials inside the case were a compilation of various power supply schemes used by hundreds of thousands of people in Evil Land.

In general, wind and solar power were not overly extravagant high-tech, but the data from Evil Land had the advantage of being real and diverse.

Moreover, if a systematic power grid could be established there, it could also be applied in Evil Land.

"Are you sure?" Dr. Otto, Dr. Tums, and others asked in unison.

"I’m sure—really, it’s just some data that might be helpful for the design."

Lille distributed the hard disk to his researchers, and these two experts in mechanics and energy would refine the studies.

Some data? Otto and Tums exchanged skeptical glances: Was such a large hard disk case really necessary for "some" data?

Ignoring the two, Lille continued, "In the short term, our operations here must continue, Michael, how are things with the Prosthetic System? And your body..."

Michael’s body was now "robust," with the components of the Death Warrior disassembled; only a skeletal prosthetic framework remained, barely powering his brain.

Yes, only his brain and half of his face were completely his own; the rest of his body had been fully prosthetisized.

This framework had been filled with more motors and batteries, and the shell was redesigned. When he wore clothes, it was almost unnoticeable that his body was mechanical.

He produced a chip from his neck.

"It’s done. Our current prosthetic production line can cover limbs, alternative spines, and some compensatory small muscles...

Uh, actually quite a variety, but all integrated into the operating system."

[Prosthetics Research Lab Achievement: Basic Operating System NexusOS Foundation1.0]

[Description: A completely self-developed prosthetic integration system, compatible with all first-generation in-house prosthetics, with outstandingly precise micro-motor control, improving efficiency by an average of 30% over various test versions.]

[Developers: Michael Collins, Professor Conners]

[Reward Technology Points: 500 points]

[Current Technology Points: 9500]

The first generation of Prosthetics was based on brain-machine interfaces, with a vast array of micro-motors paired with sophisticated mechanical structures, achieving a biomimetic effect.

They may look technologically advanced on the outside, but in reality, they were just a rough combination of mechanical Prosthetics and Exoskeletons.

Relatively speaking, the sensors were not fine enough, resulting in a user experience that fell short of top-tier customized Prosthetics.

As for the test version, it was actually an operating system patched together by Lille in the Cyberpunk World. There, the Prosthetics from various companies were only superficially compatible, with consideration for a variety of illegal homemade Prosthetics too.

That is to say, Lille was proficient in multiple technologies, and the common black clinics were fine as long as they could function when plugged in. Finding the wrong doctor often led to a regular occurrence of neurological disorders.

With minor modifications, this system could be ported to the Cyberpunk World, upgrading the software for the first generation Prosthetics.

"Not bad," Lille nodded. "How about the development of the second generation Prosthetics?"

The second generation Prosthetics would incorporate implantable structures, adding more intelligent microprocessors within and beginning to enhance internal organ capabilities.

Conners looked towards Peter, who straightened his documents, "The experiment with lizard serum to cultivate animal organs has been successful, and we will start cloning human organs soon. I don’t think there should be any issues."

"Then the subsequent research progress will speed up significantly," Michael said excitedly, as being trapped in a mechanical body meant that many sensations had faded with the loss of biological tissue.

This full-body Prosthetic was more like a coffin supporting his brain’s activities, with vague sensory feedback. If it were anyone else, they’d have gone mad by now.

According to the plan, the third generation of Prosthetics would attempt to simulate more peripheral nerves and provide a lifelike sensory system, which would make him feel more human.

However, before that, the second generation Prosthetics had to be completed first.

In the end, all of this required money.

Lille turned to Hammond, "Any difficulties with the funding?"

Hammond smiled and put down his tablet, having roughly completed the budget estimate, "This? Boss, you seem to have some misconceptions about our profitability...

Instead of worrying about money being insufficient, it’s better to worry about the pace of development. Infrastructure construction takes a long time."

Cement needs time to cool, steel needs time to smelt, workers need time to work...

To build a city of the future from an empty land, you need money, technology, and time.

"So we must spare no expense... and we have many new technologies that haven’t yet been launched into the civilian market."

Lille took out a small vial of prepared Spider Silk catalyst, and the Octopus Arm at his waist pulled out some cement.

Little Octopus picked up a casting gun from beside the wall, drawing in the cement and pouring it into the mold next to the bucket—

Normally, cement setting and curing take time.

"We must find ways to shorten every moment, some technologies are not only effective in the field of special operations. Take this, for example.

I guess you all know about this kind of spider silk with off-the-charts tensile strength."

Everyone nodded: Lille had used it during the rescue of Dr. Tums, and Spider Woman performed acts of valour in the city using this material.

Peter immediately realized what Lille was planning, as if a door in his mind was slowly opening...

Little Octopus inserted the vibration rod into the cement, and Lille added solvent to the rod—

Something miraculous happened as, when Little Octopus extracted the rod from the cement, it, which was supposed to set over several days, dried and solidified rapidly. The Octopus Arm quickly switched to a hammer...

Thump.

The crisp sound seemed to strike in everyone’s hearts.

"The strength will exceed the standard in 16 hours. The Spider Silk Solution can significantly accelerate the construction process. What we need to do is equip the workers with civilian construction Exoskeletons, along with safety devices and production tools."

Africa doesn’t have much large machinery, but it has many people.

Lille’s approach was very... insightful; those present had rarely thought of these small matters.

Prior to this, Peter had fantasized almost every so often about swinging through the air on spider silk, helping the citizens of New York City.

Yet New York’s streets were full of homeless people, and there were too many to help.

Perhaps each of the homeless had their reasons, but having no house was the most apparent problem they faced.

Now, he suddenly imagined himself furiously building houses with Spider Silk Solution, sheltering the destitute...

So Peter quickly raised his hand, "Actually, when I was experimenting with spider silk before, I found a mixing method that could increase the conductivity of the silk, reaching the level of silver wires but at a price even lower than copper wires."

Lille smiled and returned to the table, "If you have similar ideas, you can apply for funding for experiments.

However, I guess such small ideas don’t require a genius to think of; we can leave the nitty-gritty to other employees.

Well then—let’s get to work, everyone."

We have a grand vision, short-term targets, and a demonstration; the uncertainty about the future immediately turned into a clear vision.

Indeed, it was time to get started.

Hammond raised his hand, "So, are we heading to Africa now?"

Lille’s smile faded, "No... Frank, your special forces will be the first to act, carrying supplies and personnel from the sea to Tanzania.

The first batch of supplies will be provided by Wakanda, and the personnel... will consist of volunteers and locals."

Long-distance transportation is dangerous.

Once you leave the public eye, things tend to get complicated.

While many of the African Union’s airlines are controlled by foreign capital, at least they have their own ships for seaborne transportation.

"You’ll cross the ocean under the name of ’Theseus Transport Company’."

"Speaking of that..." Hammond suddenly said, "We’re about to become a multinational corporation, and it’s best to register an entity internationally to integrate these resources."

Lille had already considered this and turned to write the company’s name on the screen:

Atlas.

"We’ll use this name."

Atlas Group.