Outside the courtyard of the mansion.
It was crowded with messy footsteps and women crying.
A stretcher was quickly rushed into the yard, then dragged out of the mansion by two robot ambulance personnel headed towards the direction of the ambulance.
Two police cars parked at the entrance of the courtyard. They pulled up the cordon to block the scene while calming the emotions of the families.
About 5 minutes ago.
Song Yangwei, the boss of Yangwei Capital, was found dead in his home.
There was no trace of any blows on his body and no deadly toxins were found in his blood. If it weren’t for the look on his face, almost no one would doubt that this was just an accident.
It happened so suddenly that everyone did not have time to react, and they were left without a trace of defense.
It wasn’t until the detectives deployed nearby discovered that something was wrong and contacted Song Yangwei to confirm the situation, only to find that the person was dead.
Standing next to the cordon, Xing Bian took out the electronic cigarette from his pocket. After inhaling, he stuffed the cigarette back.
Seeing Shi Jin walk towards him, he spoke in a deep voice.
“How did he die?”
Shi Jin didn’t speak. He silently handed the sample bag containing the integrated circuit in his hand to the captain.
The moment when Xing Bian saw the chip stored in the sample bag, his eyes gradually became serious.
After a while, he said in a heavy tone, “Implant?”
“Yes, Song Yangwei had an artificial heart implanted in his body, but it was turned off half an hour ago…”
Shi Jin nodded; his expression also full of solemnity. After a pause, he continued with a complicated tone, “We might be in trouble.”
Northwest China.
Far away from the city, a four-wheel off-road vehicle was galloping on an empty road in a nature reserve.
Wang Peng looked at the positioning system on the car. He then cast his gaze to the rows of woods outside the window with a shocked expression on his face.
“After a century, the desert in the northwest has become a forest.”
“It was like this a long time ago, and this can be regarded as one of the legacies left by Academician Lu, although most of this was done by his descendants… We are here.”
After passing the checkpoint at the road, the car continued along the path for a while. It then stopped in front of a military base that was not marked on the map.
To be honest, the construction of these buildings did not feel like a military facility at all.
And the reason it was obvious that this was a military base was purely because of the instincts of a soldier.
Opening the car door and stepping out of the driver’s seat, the man who drove squinted his eyes, looked at the military base in front of him, and said with some nostalgia.
“This was the largest special forces training base in Pan-Asia, it was also the most advanced training base in the world… As for why I say that, you will know when you enter.”
Wang Peng: “The Security Bureau is a special force?”
“No, but most people graduated from here.” The man with a weathered face was standing beside the car door with a grin. He continued, “No matter what kind of training you have received before, this place is a new beginning. I hope you can forget those outdated technologies and earnestly pass the assessment.”
Wang Peng smiled lightly and said, “Although this is a new beginning, some things don’t change.”
The man shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.
Wang Peng looked at him curiously and continued, “Speaking of which, you didn’t tell me your name.”
“Hunter, my friends call me that, and you can call me that too.” Shaking hands with Wang Peng, the man grinned and continued, “Anyway, good luck to you. If you can do well and pass the assessment, we should meet again soon.”
“Thanks.”
After shaking hands and letting go, Wang Peng cast his gaze to the military base not far away and asked casually, “May I ask, how long is the training time? Or when did the assessment you mentioned start?”
Hunter laughed and said, “It’s already started. As for when you pass, it depends on when you can reach the average standard of a Security Agency agent.”
Wang Peng: “I mean, what is this standard?”
“Then you have to find it yourself.”
The man made a farewell gesture. He then turned and walked towards the off-road vehicle.
With the sound of the engine starting, the car quickly turned onto the highway and disappeared from Wang Peng’s vision.
Do I need to do the handover work myself?
Wang Peng watched the car go away. Just as Wang Peng was thinking about it, a voice calling his name suddenly came from behind him.
“Wang Peng?”
He turned around and looked back. A strange man was standing there, and there was a holographic screen floating on his left wrist.
Although he couldn’t see what kind of text was displayed on the front of the screen, he guessed that it should be his own resume or identity information.
“Yeah.”
Wang Peng originally thought that the person would ask for his information thoroughly. He didn’t expect that after checking his name, he just glanced over and put away the holographic screen.
“A little bit earlier than expected. Come with me.”
After this, he turned around and walked towards the military base.
Wang Peng did not hesitate for long. He followed with the suitcase in his hand.
Passing through the checkpoint in front of the door, the moment he followed the strange man’s footsteps into the base, everything in front of him suddenly became clear.
It was at this moment that he finally understood why the agent who claimed to be Hunter called this the most advanced training base in the world.
The man seemed to have noticed the expression on his face. He glanced back at him and said with a smile, “You look a little surprised?”
“I am quite surprised.” Wang Peng continued, looking around the empty hall, “If I didn’t already know where I am, I would never imagine this is a military base.”
Although he had not visited the military facilities of other countries in this era, everything in front of him had subverted his understanding of military bases.
The most common people here were not soldiers in military uniforms. Instead, they were researchers in white coats. From what he saw, the ratio between the two was almost one to one.
The weird technologies along the way, as well as some confusing gadgets, made it hard to imagine that this was a military camp; it was more like a laboratory.
Reading the surprise on Wang Peng’s face, the man smiled slightly and continued, “In this era, the vast majority of military conflicts occur in space far away from the ground and in remote Mars colonies. And even if there is a military conflict, most of the fights are done by AI.”
“However, there are still some tasks that are not suitable for AI to complete. My name is Lin Feng, and I am your instructor. If you don’t understand anything, you can consult me.”
Wang Peng couldn’t help but ask when looking at a man who walked by with an exaggerated arm, with painted skin and visible metal bones.
“Is that a robot soldier?”
“Strictly speaking, we do not have purely robot soldiers. Firstly, it is against human relations, and secondly, it is unnecessary. On the frontal battlefield, different types of drones and all-terrain remote-controlled vehicles are better than two legs. The humanoid soldier is more reliable on a non-frontal battlefield, and the memories of the robots cannot be perfectly adaptable, which is a problem in most AI programs today.”
After a pause, Lin Feng continued, “As for the things you saw, they’re called implants”
Wang Peng: “Implants?”
Lin Feng nodded.
“Yes, something that is very common in this era, and it can even be said that it has become a fashion trend.”
“Natural organs will always have various problems, including virus infection, functional failure, or pure damage caused by some force. Therefore, the implantation of prosthetic bodies has become a new fashion… Of course, military use will actually be earlier, dating back to the 2020s of the last century, when the first application case of bionic prosthesis appeared.”
Wang Peng: “… I may know the person you mentioned.”
It was because Biosphere A was attacked by an organization of unknown forces that Li Gaoliang lost his legs.
At that time, neural access technology was in the ascendant. After Academician Lu heard his situation, he personally designed a bionic prosthesis for him. Li Gaoliang, who was fitted with a bionic prosthesis, went back to normal, and his legs and feet even functioned better than before.
If he remembered correctly, this caused a lot of heated discussion at the time.
After hearing Wang Peng’s words, Lin Feng showed a surprised expression on his face and said with a smile, “I almost forgot that you were from that era.”
Wang Peng: “I have a question.”
Lin Feng: “What?”
Wang Peng: “Are you a robot?”
“My cover has been blown…” Lin Feng was slightly stunned. He then smiled and nodded. “This was originally part of the assessment, but I didn’t expect you to pass it on the first day. It seems you are of the higher insight type. I will recommend a few suitable types of equipment for you.”
Although it was expected, he didn’t expect that even places like “recruitment camp” would use robots.
It seemed that the reliance on smart tools in this era was really to an extent he couldn’t imagine.
Shaking his head in his mind, Wang Peng glanced at the side glass window behind the soldier who had undergone regular inspection and maintenance of the prosthesis and said casually, “By equipment, if you mean the implanted prosthetics, then forget about it. In contrast, I still believe in myself more.”
Lin Feng shrugged.
“It seems that stubbornness is also one of your characteristics.
“But it doesn’t matter. This is a personal choice. Although I recommend you to accept the convenience of technology in this era. After all, it will make it easier for you to pass the assessment.”
“There are no shortcuts to some things. This sentence was told by a friend of mine.” Wang Peng smiled lightly and continued in a calm tone, “Take me to the dormitory. After that, I want to visit the training ground.”
Lin Feng smiled slightly, nodded, and said, “No problem.”