Chapter 121: Trigger Mechanism

Chapter 121: Trigger Mechanism

Tang Tianxin was still confused.

But this was within Chen Feng’s expectations.

He summoned his Intelligent Assistant, Weiwei, and started playing a video file.

Two holographic projections appeared simultaneously on the long white table in front of them.

On the left was a scene from the past where Chen Feng and Tang Tianxin played Go. The right side showed a scene from their game yesterday.

Tang Tianxin first spoke with slight displeasure, “You recorded this? Do you know recording high-ranking military officers is illegal? It involves stealing military secrets.”

Chen Feng curled his lips, “Sorry, I’m also a Colonel now and your Security Officer. This is within my authority. Forget the chatter. Look closely at your micro-expressions and your tone of voice. Pay attention, here comes the key part!”

In both images, Tang Tianxin almost simultaneously placed the final piece, and Chen Feng conceded defeat.

On the left, Tang Tianxin was expressionless, thinking it was completely normal.

On the right, Tang Tianxin was animatedly bragging about achieving the feat of controlling both games precisely to half an hour.

Although her boasting was subtle due to her calm nature, her slightly raised eyebrows and curved corners of her mouth perfectly revealed her mood at that time.

Chen Feng pressed a button. The image on the right changed, showing Tang Tianxin after she lost to the AI by half a piece.

The contrast between left and right became even sharper and stronger.

“So, my personality changed? Became more lively?”

Chen Feng shook his head, “No, you never changed. This is your true nature. It’s your normal reaction after truly regaining your own emotions. Before, your nature was suppressed by logical thinking. That was the abnormality. Starting yesterday, after successful implantation, your true nature gradually awakened and regained freedom.”

Tang Tianxin subconsciously shook her head, “Impossible.”

“See? Before, you would have considered things carefully before deciding. Now you deny the possibility subconsciously. Subconscious judgment is an emotional judgment. Ask yourself, would you make this kind of judgment before?”

Tang Tianxin shook her head, “No.”

“Emotional judgment isn’t unreasonable. It’s a very complex, sophisticated, and fast way your brain operates. Emotional judgments aren’t always right, but for top-tier talents with extremely high IQs, the chance of being correct is slightly higher.”

“You regained this ability, that’s why your battlefield command skills improved, and like my proficiency with the Starblade Armor, it now outshines everyone in the military. Here’s the analysis of your combat report yesterday, compare it with your past reports. And here are the analyses of my solo and combat mission reports. Take a look at these too.”

Chen Feng said with a smile.

In truth, he had already figured some things out.

The reason he was so strong wasn’t just because of the greater physical strength and faster nerve reflexes from a higher Gene Awakening Level—his emotional judgment provided the potential for extraordinary performance. Sufficient “years” of high-intensity training had turned that extraordinary performance into an everyday instinct.

Tang Tianxin also had ample accumulated experience in command training. But before, she lacked the ability for emotional judgment, so she could only perform at 100% of her capability every time, unable to stand out.

Now she could consistently perform beyond 200%, creating a stark gap between her and others.

“So Dr. Sergey was actually right? Human thinking genuinely has problems?”

Chen Feng nodded decisively, “Yes. And my research delves deeper than Sergey’s. I also know the manifestation of this infiltration and influence. It lies precisely in your unusual love for Go. Besides you, look at all those other Commanders…”

“This one loves yoyos? My god! That was a toy for kids under ten a thousand years ago! This one is even worse, rolling an iron hoop? What is that? And this one…”

“Earlier I asked you if this phenomenon was normal. You said yes. Now? Ask yourself again. Normal?”

Tang Tianxin thought for a long time before saying, “But I still love Go.”

Chen Feng spoke with firm conviction, “The two aren’t absolutely conflicting. My suggestion: after we return to the base, you stop the habit of playing Go. Don’t bring it aboard the ships. Also, report our discovery in your name. Get all Commanders suspected of having this symptom in the entire military to voluntarily hand over any objects carrying their hobbies. Have them all destroyed in space! These things can’t be taken aboard!”

Tang Tianxin asked, “Why use my name? You could report it yourself. It’s your achievement.”

Chen Feng shook his head, “Because you’re a Lieutenant General. Your word carries more weight.”

Not long after, Ou Qinglan arrived.

She still looked the same—slightly plump with a baby face, but her hair was completely silver, creating a discordant impression.

Ou Qinglan had come specifically because of Tang Tianxin’s changes. She listened to Chen Feng’s analysis again. Though skeptical, she agreed with their conclusion.

Ou Qinglan also made a suggestion. She would return to the Great Snow Mountain Base with the two of them, take Tang Tianxin’s Go set to the Xuanwu Institute for analysis.

Two days passed. The initiative and research report jointly created by Tang and Ou were submitted.

Compared to the half-baked “researcher” Chen Feng’s rambling pseudo-scientific theories, Ou Qinglan, a professional researcher, was far more reliable.

Although her main field was Materials Science, her scientific competence and report-writing skill were universally strong.

With sufficient premises, she could write papers on any discipline, and do it well.

Ou Qinglan discussed everything in detail with Chen Feng for two full days, restructuring his amateur scientific ideas into a more rigorous form. Her method of verification no longer relied on intuition like Chen Feng’s; instead, she used extensive data comparisons to finally reach the conclusion.

In the office, the three of them stared intently at the projection screen.

File uploading…

File transfer progress: 1…100%.

Higher-ups reviewing…

Standing Committee Member Boyer Grant has reviewed the file. Review progress: 1/27.

Standing Committee Member Lu Xianfeng has reviewed the file. Review progress: 2/27.

…

“Done. It’s been submitted.”

Tang Tianxin let out a long sigh of relief.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The three of them high-fived to celebrate.

Half an hour passed. The projection screen showed no reply indicating whether the initiative had been approved. But it hadn’t been rejected either. Something strange was happening.

Tang Tianxin asked in confusion, “What’s going on? Decisions are usually quick, whether approval or rejection. Why the delay this time?”

Chen Feng didn’t understand it either and just shook his head.

Ou Qinglan said, “Perhaps because it involves so many people, they need to convene a larger full committee representative meeting for an open vote.”

“Maybe. Forget it for now. Let’s focus on our tasks. The Tianxin Fleet launches next week. I need to prepare and select new fleet members at the base.”

They set the matter aside temporarily and busied themselves with their own duties.

Ou Qinglan took the Go pieces and board back to the Xuanwu Institute located in the southwestern region of the Chinese District.

That evening, Tang Tianxin found Chen Feng and told him she had to go to the administrative Capital in the Americas. Regarding her initiative, a grand plenary voting session was being convened, and she, the sole signatory, needed to go on stage to provide a more detailed explanation.

Chen Feng didn’t think much of it, telling her to go and come back soon, and to discuss her speech content with Ou Qinglan during the trip.

Soon after Tang Tianxin left, at exactly 8 PM that evening, three large Cruisers appeared over the Great Snow Mountain Base.

Many soldiers fully armed in Starblade Armor jumped down.

Emergency assembly orders rang out in the base, and everyone was summoned to the square.

As Tang Tianxin’s personal Chief Security Officer, Chen Feng, acting as the temporary person in charge of the base, met the commanding officer of these soldiers at the Command Headquarters.

This officer’s rank was even higher than Tang Tianxin’s!

Chen Feng was utterly confused and didn’t understand what was happening.

“What’s this about?” he asked.

The officer looked at Chen Feng and said with a smile, “You are Chen Feng, the Super Soldier Colonel ranked first in the Holographic Simulation System, right?”

Chen Feng shook his head modestly. “I don’t deserve that.”

“Colonel, modesty doesn’t enhance your virtue. War is imminent. The military has decided to conduct a comprehensive, surprise psychological assessment on all soldiers at every major training base in the military. We expect your cooperation.”

Chen Feng asked doubtfully, “For something this significant, it’s better to wait until our Commander, Lieutenant General Tang Tianxin, returns to implement it, isn’t it?”

“General Tang is currently occupied with important duties and won’t have time to return. This isn’t a major issue. Coordinate and arrange it properly.”

As they talked, the Cruisers began releasing two hundred psychological testing devices onto the square.

The devices were large, white cubic boxes, three meters long on each side.

“Time is tight. We start now. Twenty minutes per person. The Great Snow Mountain Base has 63,400 people to be tested. We’ll be busy all night.”

Filled with suspicion, but bound to follow the higher command, Chen Feng complied.

While arranging the base members into lines, Chen Feng quietly pulled Scott aside and asked, “Scott, you studied this field. Anything strange about these white boxes?”

Scott shook his head, “No issue. These are indeed widely used psychometric pods. Their detection accuracy is far higher than regular political screening.”

“That’s good.”

Time passed. Base Instructors, trainees, new recruits, and even technical personnel took turns entering and exiting the testing pods.

People who came out showed nothing unusual. The soldiers from the Cruiser didn’t bother those already tested, just told them to return to their dorms to rest.

Chen Feng scheduled his own test for last. Instead of waiting idly, he went back to his dorm, turned on his Intelligent Assistant, and tried contacting Tang Tianxin to figure out what was happening.

But he couldn’t reach her. He was told Tang Tianxin was in an important meeting and unavailable for outside contact.

Chen Feng decided to log into the Holographic Simulation System, intending to squeeze in a few practice sessions.

Before starting, he went to the Zhonghua Corner Cafe in the simulation plaza for a cup of Da Hong Pao tea to wind down.

“Chen Feng.”

He had just taken his first sip when a faint voice sounded in his ear.

He looked around. In the simulated system, there was no one near him.

“Don’t look. It’s me, Ou Qinglan. I’m using a low-level access within the holographic system’s core, sending you a message. I make your chair vibrate slightly to create sound, then transmit it via simulated signal bone conduction.”

“Oh, oh. What is it?”

“Something terrible has happened! Tianxin has been removed from her position and arrested!”

Chen Feng was shocked to the core. “What! What do those higher-ups mean?”

“I don’t know the specifics. I only know she’s been convicted on charges of ‘undermining military morale’ and is under detainment. Tomorrow at sunrise, she will be executed!”

Chen Feng was completely stunned. “Why!”

In a tone completely baffled, Ou Qinglan said, “I can’t make sense of it either. Even if they disagreed with our proposal, this is too extreme. It’s completely illogical.”

Chen Feng quickly pulled himself together. “I have to save her. Tell me what to do. You contacted me, so you must have a plan.”

Even though humanity was doomed to go extinct eventually.

Even though Chen Feng had witnessed this demise many times before, this scenario—where Tang Tianxin faced execution by her own people under absurd charges even before the great war began—was completely unacceptable to him.

The decision-makers were utterly unreasonable!

There was only one explanation.

Tang Tianxin’s initiative submission had triggered some latent mechanism deep within the minds of the leaders planted by the psychological infiltration, provoking this severe backlash.