Chapter 11: Never Eat Sheep if You Can Shear Wool
Affiliated with the Yumura Society, the research institute is known as the best in Japan, covering an area of over 18,000 square meters, with thirty-four labs and research centers, over 200 professors, doctors, and senior researchers. It is the driving force behind the growth of the Yumura Society.
A research institute of this scale naturally cannot be located in the valuable land of Tokyo city.
Kenichi Koike called the institute first, then drove there. It was sunset when Uesugi Kiyoshi finally saw the sign of the Yumura Research Institute.
As soon as they entered the institute, the staff on both sides greeted them, helping them remove their protective clothing and oil stains.
Kenichi Koike kindly handed Uesugi Kiyoshi a towel, then looked around, his brows furrowed.
"Has Dr. Noda arrived?"
"Dr. Noda will be here soon!"
Uesugi Kiyoshi found Hiroshi Noda's photo on the employee board on the wall.
That was a messy man, with untidy hair barely combed in the middle, sparse beard scattered on his cheeks, looking tired but holding his head high with a sense of superiority.
Soon he saw the real person, who looked exactly like the photo in appearance, just slightly hunched with a face full of flattery and no trace of arrogance.
"Mr. Kenichi, welcome!"
"Too slow, Noda! What are you busy with?!"
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Kenichi..."
"Forget it!" Kenichi Koike impatiently interrupted the other's explanation, stepped aside to make way for Uesugi Kiyoshi, and introduced. This is Mr. Uesugi Kiyoshi!
Hiroshi Noda stared at Uesugi Kiyoshi with his eyes red, scanned him from head to toe, and finally managed to squeeze out a smile, "Mr. Uesugi, you have an hour for the tour, hope it will be helpful to you..."
"Mr. Uesugi can visit for as long as he likes, this is what Yumura wants!" Kenichi Koike replied firmly.
"But..."
"And, how can you help Mr. Uesugi? Mr. Uesugi is the inventor of protective suits and Protective Walking Machines. Yumura hopes he can give you some advice if possible!"
Faced with Kenichi Koike's mockery, Hiroshi Noda turned red, his teeth grinding loudly, his eyes deeply fixed on Uesugi Kiyoshi as if he wanted to tear him apart and swallow him.
"Well, that's a bit much...It's getting late, let's go for a tour first!" Uesugi Kiyoshi chuckled, feeling quite helpless.
What is this about!
When did I become enemies with him? And besides, Kenichi Koike was the one scolding you, why glare at me?!!
After putting on lab coats, they followed Hiroshi Noda through one door after another until they finally arrived at the laboratory with a sign that read "Head Balloon Department".
Upon entering, Uesugi Kiyoshi realized that the laboratory was a circular room. The inner wall was made of one-way transparent glass, enclosing a spacious circular area, with an arch-shaped glass ceiling above the area.
The room was filled with various equipment, and even in one corner, there was a body on a workbench, with the shriveled head still partly attached to the body and the other half scattered on the table.
A researcher in a white lab coat was carefully lifting the glass cover and using tweezers to pick up the fragments scattered on the workbench.
"Oh, the professor is here!"
Hiroshi Noda didn't pay attention to the researchers who were standing up. He loudly ordered. "Continue the experiment from before, this time using Balloon 002, Shimizu!"
A woman with unique makeup responded, pressed a button to open a hidden door in the glass wall, then walked out of the room into an empty space.
She adjusted her clothes, gave a thumbs up in the direction of the lab.
Following this, Hiroshi Noda pressed another button, and silently, a large hole opened up in the ground. A Head Balloon floated out, looking just like Shimizu.
...
Human experiment, oh no!
Uesugi Kiyoshi wanted to stop it, but noticed that the steel cables originally attached to the Head Balloon had turned into cloth straps, with the numbers 002 written on them.
The freed Head Balloon let out a sharp scream as soon as it broke free from its restraints, and pounced towards its unsuspecting master facing away from it.
The fabric strips waved wildly, falling on Shimizu one after another. But Shimizu didn't seem to be harmed at all, and even gave a sweet smile towards the laboratory.
Hiroshi Noda's smile disappeared quickly, and he continued. As you can see, the steel cables are their only means of harm. Once removed, they are nothing to fear.
Uesugi Kiyoshi clapped his hands, "Amazing! How did you do it?"
You see, the balloon moves incredibly fast but is also very fragile. Capturing it without harming the balloon, while also replacing the attached steel cables, is quite difficult.
"How did he manage that?!" Kenichi Koike sneered. "It was this guy who got tangled in the wires and couldn't break free, that's how we caught him. We only have two so far."
He glanced back at the testing ground, showing a pained expression, "In order to conduct research, the company had to pay a high price to hire the owner of the balloon!"
So that's how it is!
Uesugi Kiyoshi suddenly understood, no wonder this woman named Shimizu looked so worldly, and as for the other person, it must be the trembling old man sitting in the corner.
Hiroshi Noda's eyes shot angry sparks, but his target was Uesugi Kiyoshi.
"We are conducting in-depth research and believe that soon there will be..."
Kenichi Koike impatiently waved his hand, interrupted his excuse, then turned to Uesugi Kiyoshi expectantly, "Do you have any good ideas, sir, on how to remove the steel cable?"
"Not at the moment, and even if there were, does Mr. Yumura really want it?"
Just as pharmaceutical companies prefer drugs that control diseases rather than cure them, Uesugi Kiyoshi didn't believe that Yumura Hideyoshi would give up shearing sheep and choose to slaughter them for meat.
Kenichi Koike adjusted his glasses, smiled without saying a word, and pointed to the glass wall, "Please continue watching, Mr. Uesugi, the second phase of the experiment is about to start!"
After staying outside for a moment, Shimizu returned to the room through a narrow passage, leaving the balloon alone in the outdoor area.
After a while, Hiroshi Noda brought a half-height cylindrical cart, covered it with black cloth, then controlled it to slowly drive out from a hidden door on the other side of the laboratory.
At the moment when the cart appeared, Uesugi Kiyoshi clearly saw that Head Balloon showed a tangled expression, then stopped banging on the glass wall where Shimizu disappeared and turned to pounce on the cart.
...
This doesn't seem right!
