65: Chapter 65 Misunderstanding, This Was Really to Make It Easier for Everyone to Play Hide and Seek

In the living room of Villa No. 1 at Yunding Villa.

At this very moment, the place was packed solid with media reporters and their long lenses and short microphones.

The frequency of the camera flashes was as fast as a disco, and the sound of the shutters merged into a cacophony of electrical noise.

Jiang Chen sat in the main seat of that leather sofa.

He had specially changed into a shirt that looked slightly more formal today, though the collar was still left open by two buttons, revealing an irrepressible air of roguishness.

Sitting to his left was the precinct police officer, Old Zhang, who looked serious and sat with rigid posture.

On his right was Academician Chen Shuyin, who sat expressionless while clutching a folder.

This was a spur-of-the-moment press conference.

There was only one theme: "Several Explanations Regarding the Correct Use of the 'Quantum Raincoat'."

"Ahem."

Jiang Chen cleared his throat and, facing the row of microphones that were almost shoved into his face, revealed a look of extreme innocence and a sincere smile.

"To all my media friends, and all the folks in the livestream."

"Regarding the rumors circulating online recently that our company's product is suspected of being used for 'peeping' and 'disturbing public order,' I find it necessary to clarify things here."

"This is a huge misunderstanding."

The reporters offstage instantly erupted, raising their hands one after another to ask questions, spittle flying everywhere:

"Mr. Jiang! Although you don't admit it, the fact is that the number of police reports in Tianhai City surged by 300% last night!"

"How do you explain the supernatural events in the bathhouse?"

"Does this invisibility cloak have a military background? Are you selling contraband to the public?"

Facing these sharp questions, Jiang Chen was not panicked in the slightest.

He picked up his teacup, took a slow, methodical sip, then sighed, looking at everyone with the expression of "everyone else is drunk while I alone am sober."

"Superficial."

Jiang Chen shook his head, his tone filled with heartache:

"You only saw the bathhouse, but you failed to see the soul of this product."

"Was my original intention in designing it to peep? Was it to do bad things? Of course not!"

He stood up abruptly and spread his arms, as if he were a philosopher preaching:

"I am paying tribute!"

"Paying tribute to the childhood that we have all lost, and can never return to."

The reporters were stunned.

Old Zhang almost lost his grip on the thermos in his hand.

What the hell kind of childhood?

What does this have to do with childhood?

"Everyone played hide-and-seek when they were kids, right?"

Jiang Chen's eyes grew deep, and his voice became magnetic. "Back then, as long as we dove under the blanket or hid behind a door, we felt like we had vanished. Do you remember that pure joy, that heart-pounding excitement?"

"But as we grew up, we had nowhere to hide."

"Life is like a net, trapping us tightly. The boss is watching you, your wife is watching you, and cameras are watching you."

"We have lost the right to 'hide'."

Having said this, Jiang Chen picked up the grayish, nondescript piece of invisibility cloth on the table, his eyes as gentle as if he were looking at his first love:

"Therefore, I invented this."

"It is not some invisibility cloak, and certainly not a tool for committing crimes."

"It is a toy for adults, something that allows you to temporarily find yourself and rediscover childlike fun in this chaotic world—"

"[All-Age Immersive Hide-and-Seek Aid]!"

The whole room fell into dead silence.

Even the well-informed reporters were silenced by this closed loop of logic.

Calling an "invisibility cloak" a "hide-and-seek aid"?

What kind of genius marketing is this?!

But I have to say, this reason... seems quite moving, right?

"But Mr. Jiang!"

A bespectacled female reporter came to her senses and sharply followed up, "No matter how you beautify it, the fact that it can make people invisible is real! If someone wears it into a women's restroom, a bathhouse, or even a bank, how do you resolve this security risk?"

"Great question!"

Jiang Chen snapped his fingers and turned to look at Academician Chen Shuyin beside him. "This is also the focus of our press conference today. Regarding technical safety issues, please let my non-existent... ahem, please let my Chief Technical Consultant, Ms. Chen, explain."

Academician Chen Shuyin pushed up her glasses and stood up.

She was dressed very professionally today, exuding an aura of authority, with absolutely no sign of that drunk, crazy woman from last night.

"Regarding the safety concerns everyone has, we have already set underlying physical limitations before the product leaves the factory."

Academician Chen Shuyin opened her folder, took out a chart filled with technical jargon, and said coldly:

"First, this civilian version of the camouflage uses a quantum coating with extremely poor hydrophilicity."

"Simply put, it is afraid of water."

She picked up a bottle of mineral water from the table and splashed it onto the invisibility cloth.

"Splash."

The fabric, which was almost invisible under the lights, immediately underwent a violent refraction reaction the moment it touched the water.

It was like a calm water surface being broken; light and shadow distorted, and the wet patch instantly became visible, looking as conspicuous as a tattered, patched-up rag.

"As long as the air humidity exceeds 80%, or if it comes into direct contact with liquid water, the invisibility effect will immediately fail."

Academician Chen Shuyin pointed to the wet fabric, her tone calm:

"Therefore, whether it is a bathhouse or a restroom, it cannot be used at all in such high-humidity environments."

"Want to wear this to peep? Unless you want to perform a 'disappearing act' in front of everyone."

The reporters suddenly realized, and the camera shutters in their hands clicked even more frequently.

This was big news!

So this artifact actually had such a fatal weakness!

"Secondly."

Academician Chen Shuyin continued, "To cooperate with the police's security work, we have added a special thermosensitive material to the coating."

"It cannot block infrared thermal imaging."

"In other words, in front of the police's thermal imaging cameras, the person wearing this clothing will be as bright as a torch in the dark night."

Having said this, Old Zhang, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.

He cleared his throat, picked up the microphone, and with a righteous face, set the tone for this press conference:

"Everyone, after our police's technical appraisal and field tests."

"What Mr. Jiang said is true."

"This product does indeed possess entertainment value in specific environments, but in the realm of public safety, its risks are controllable."

"As long as everyone doesn't go to places that are... ahem, have a lot of water, it's just an ordinary toy."

After finishing, Old Zhang let out a long sigh, feeling as if he had told all the lies of his life today.

What controllable?

If it weren't for Jiang Chen adding a "reveal upon contact with water" patch to that batch of goods overnight, he would have had to handcuff Jiang Chen and take him back today!

"Did you hear that?"

Jiang Chen smiled and took the microphone to make the final concluding remarks:

"We are a legitimate company doing legitimate business."

"After buying it, you can play with your wife at home, play with your boss at the office, or play with your kids in the park."

"But!"

His tone shifted, and his expression became serious:

"Absolutely do not go to the bathhouse to play!"

"Otherwise, the moment you reveal yourself, that will no longer be called hide-and-seek."

"That is called—indecent assault."

"Alright, the press conference is over! Thank you everyone!"

The farcical press conference concluded successfully under Jiang Chen's "hide-and-seek" theory and Academician Chen Shuyin's "reveal upon contact with water" demonstration.

The direction of public opinion shifted instantly.

The netizens who were originally condemning the "peeping artifact" were now all spamming "God Jiang understands life" and "hide-and-seek artifact."

Crisis averted.

The police withdrew, and the reporters dispersed.

The living room finally returned to peace and quiet.

Jiang Chen sprawled on the sofa, loosened his tie, and felt more exhausted than if he had fought a battle.

"These people are really hard to please."

He picked up the cold tea and gulped it down. "Selling a raincoat can stir up so much trouble; if I sell mechs in the future, won't they go crazy?"

Academician Chen Shuyin tidied up the documents, looking at this man who looked exhausted yet sharp, her eyes complex.

"Jiang Chen, how exactly is your brain wired?"

She couldn't help but ask, "A terrible idea like 'reveal upon contact with water'—how could you come up with that? Now it's good, our product has really become a 'beggar version'."

"What do you know."

Jiang Chen curled his lips. "This is called differentiated competition. Besides, I have a better version; why would I bring it out now?"

"Holding back an ace is the way to survive."

He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked at the deepening night outside.

Although the domestic trouble was resolved.

But he knew very well in his heart that this was only the beginning.

This level of technology, even if it is a "beggar version," even if it is a "hide-and-seek toy," is still an invaluable treasure in the eyes of some people.

For example...

Those foreign forces that haven't given up.

At this very moment.

In a nondescript budget hotel room in Tianhai City.

A tall, foreign man with blonde hair and blue eyes was sitting in front of a computer, staring intently at the replay of the press conference that had just ended on the screen.

His code name was "007".

Of course, not that handsome guy from the movie, but Jack, the leader of the CIA intelligence team stationed in Tianhai City.

"Hide-and-seek?"

Jack looked at the brazen young man on the screen and let out a cold laugh.

"Stupid Long Country people, actually treating this artifact for individual infiltration as a toy?"

"Reveal upon contact with water? Breakable by infrared?"

"So what!"

Jack pulled a pitch-black tactical dagger from his bosom, spinning it nimbly in his hand, his eyes flashing with greedy light.

"As long as I can get a sample, even if it's the 'beggar version,' and take it back for those scientists at the agency to reverse-engineer..."

"I will be able to master the formula for this quantum coating!"

"By then, our US special forces will truly be able to come and go as they please in Long Country!"

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the brightly lit Yunding Villa in the distance, a cruel arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Jiang Chen, is it?"

"Tonight, I'll come and play with you properly..."

"A real game of hide-and-seek."