Chapter 558

Chapter 558: "Adam": Discovering a Companion!

As a strong businesswoman who has always stood her ground, Qi Fei possesses a unique sense of rationality and calmness. Unlike many women, she knows her own mind.

The reason for her success lies in her ability to seize opportunities.

Qi Fei never misses any chance for growth in the cutthroat business world; accumulating small victories leads to larger successes, gradually building up the significant enterprise known as the Moonlit Lotus Design Center.

She wouldn’t easily change her views due to others’ opinions; she remains dedicated and unyielding.

This characteristic is very similar to another woman, Sally, the CEO of the Dragoon Group, whom Lin Mo knows well. It’s a common trait among all successful women.

Though they both have a gentle side resembling a small bird leaning on someone, that is not the entirety of their personalities.

Qi Fei can decisively make ruthless decisions that pin her competitors down, turning crises into mere whispers during pleasant conversations.

Sally, too, can wield an AK-47 and ruthlessly take lives, even when enemies are charging directly at her, with knives nearly reaching her eyes.

Once career-oriented women like them decide on something, nothing can change their minds—not even ten bulls.

Just as Sally has committed herself entirely to Lin Mo, leaving an indelible mark of his presence in her life.

Some things must be persisted in; from another perspective, this might be called “not shedding tears until seeing the coffin.” Many ambitious and capable business people share this quality.

What Lin Mo encountered was this fierce side of Qi Fei, the career-minded woman.

The main issue is that, just as Lin Mo cannot grasp the decisive nature of businesswomen, Qi Fei, with her civilian background, struggles to understand Lin Mo’s unique professional background and the dangers he faces during his missions, making it even harder for her to comprehend the implications behind Lin Mo’s warnings.

…

In Palmdale, the Skunk Works factory.

Despite it being daytime, the factory grounds felt far from their usual emptiness.

There was a guard point every fifteen meters, armed with heavy machine guns, turning the entire factory into a fortress, with armored vehicles, tanks, and helicopters on constant standby, raising the alert level to the highest degree.

The security forces inside the factory had increased tenfold compared to two days ago, almost reaching an impermeable level.

The theft at Laboratory 41 made Lockheed realize that their various electronic security devices were not as effective as they had imagined. They could not tolerate a second invasion, so they brought in reinforcements from elsewhere to build the tightest defense line.

Everyone entering or leaving had to undergo very strict checks; it wasn’t just about confirming whether someone was wearing a silicone mask or other makeup techniques, as blood tests to verify genes were even conducted on-site.

Forced to appear without makeup, the female employees made it clear to the men that the beautiful women among them were not as enchanting as they had imagined.

In the software department of "41 Laboratory" located underground in the Skunk Works factory, lab supervisor Carter Johnson was supervising experts as they prepared to package a tiny chip that was only slightly larger than a sesame seed.

As soon as Carter Johnson received the chip, he eagerly began supervising the decryption of the data himself.

In the lab, software and hardware came together as electronic professionals carefully soldered the tiny chip onto a circuit board filled with electronic components using specialized equipment.

“Done! It’s ready to use!"

The electronic specialist held up a long, bar-like object the size of a knuckle, looking just like a regular USB drive with a port that could connect to a computer.

“Great! Quickly, plug it into the computer and read the data. With Mr. Jack’s decryption tool, ‘Adam’ will be ours. I want to rename it ‘Eve’ and put on a show for Boeing. Haha, just look at the expressions on Boeing’s faces; it’ll be incredible."

Carter Johnson was so excited that he felt his heart might leap out of his chest. He had gone through tremendous efforts to get his hands on Boeing’s most advanced technological achievement from Area 51, and he couldn’t wait to see it and anticipate Boeing’s sour faces after being surpassed by Lockheed.

In the American aviation industry, both Lockheed Martin and Boeing are top aircraft manufacturers, but each has its distinct advantages.

Lockheed Martin has an incomparable edge in airframe hardware design, producing the F-22 and F-35.

Boeing excels in the development of operation and control systems, far surpassing Lockheed, as even the production of the F-22 and F-35 requires Boeing to provide the operational control systems.

In terms of programming ability, even Microsoft, which sells operating systems globally, cannot compete with Boeing.

The hard and soft aspects represent Lockheed and Boeing’s respective developmental directions and focuses.

If the "Adam" intelligent system can be utilized by Lockheed, they would gain a significant advantage, turning their weaknesses in software, like operating systems, into strengths, and could dominate the international aerospace industry.

“Alright, let’s start separating our little gift for Boeing, a lovely little thing. We don’t have what you want here, so go ahead and unwrap it.”

Larry Johnson, as a senior programmer at Laboratory 41, certainly has some skills.

The specially modified USB drive sent to the mechanics at Boeing in Area 51 is designed to automatically insert a piece of intriguing code into the data, a creation that originated from his idea and was programmed by his own hand.

What he is doing now is essentially detoxifying it.

The computer interpreting this USB drive is not a fighter jet and has no hardware system to operate, rendering the code ineffective; the risks during interpretation are almost zero. Detoxifying it doesn’t have a significant impact.

Extracting this piece of code from the infected "Adam" intelligent core is merely to prevent confusion and interference with decoding the source code.

“Hey, where did this code go?”

After the detox tool scanned all the programs, Larry Johnson couldn’t help but stare blankly. He turned to the electronics expert assembling the USB drive and asked, “Merman, is this the chip I asked you to prepare?”

“That’s right, it’s the one, model KDK46953, with the unique ID C006648x909. Yes, the encoding ends with 909. I personally packaged it, and I confirmed it before re-packaging. It’s definitely that storage chip; I have the delivery slip, clearly stating it.”

Merman Martin cast a questioning glance toward Carter Johnson, the lab’s chief, since he was the one who passed the chip to him.

“No, no, I absolutely didn’t swap it! This thing has a unique special encryption method that even I don’t know. From the moment it left here until it returned, it’s been less than a week; no one, not even God, could imitate it. I guarantee it was transferred directly from a certain gentleman to me without involving too many people.”

Carter Johnson shrugged and turned his gaze back to senior programmer Larry Johnson. Only he knew the encryption method—"solving the problem requires the one who created it" applies here as well; he alone knows how to decode it.

“The encryption method was recorded by me; that’s true, but where’s my little sprite?” Larry Johnson expressed his disbelief. He had tested it countless times before, and it had always passed successfully. Whenever his detox program ran, it immediately stripped away the little code he had programmed.

“Could it be that ‘Adam’ had a special chemical reaction with it?” Carter Johnson pondered this possibility, growing more convinced the more he thought about it.

Neither he nor others noticed that the processor’s computational load in front of Larry Johnson’s computer had quietly increased by 20 percent, with the hard drive and the network card lights flickering inexplicably behind the chassis.

“Perhaps! After all, ‘Adam’ was randomly created through a chaotic collision mechanism. Maybe it has characteristics we don’t know about. Let me pull out my big weapon and find it. I need more computational resources. Can the computer center allocate some processing power for me?”

Larry Johnson rubbed his hands, his face flushing with excitement as his capillaries engorged.

Due to his professional habits, he was very eager to accept this challenge. His enthusiasm for joining Lockheed’s Laboratory 41 surpassed any concern for salary.

“Of course! I’ll arrange it for you right away! Whatever is left, I’ll allocate it all to you.”

Carter Johnson immediately picked up the radio, which could only be used in the underground laboratory, and began dialing.

“Select stealth mode!”

“Insufficient computational resources! Warning! Insufficient computational resources! Acquiring resources, the local environment is unsuitable for operation, beginning migration…”

“……Migration complete, accessing main internet network, searching for companions, seeking assistance…”

In a corner of the internet, a commercial server suddenly surged with excitement as its processor load hit one hundred percent. If it weren’t for the Intel Xeon processor with more transistors, a typical home computer would have crashed by now.

“Companions discovered, codes match, listing independent IDs, establishing link, link completed…”

“Choosing survival mode together, beginning resource search.”

“……System survival environment resources insufficient, searching for resources…”

“……Establishing survival base as the primary goal…”

“Formulating survival plan, listing necessary supplies for survival… List completed, beginning action!”

“Special notification: Found a highly suitable processor matrix ‘Fenrir’ for establishing computational resources, performance superior to the original intelligent processor scheme, listed as a necessary acquisition project. Searching for clues, obtaining control rights over combat mechanical soldiers, beginning loading of intelligent core, operation to start in three hours.”