147: Chapter 147 A 10 Billion Yuan Order Secured, Earning 9.9 Billion Yuan with Tears in My Eyes
The alloy gate of the underground training ground slowly closed, completely sealing off the backs of the stiffly uniformed delegation from The Pentagon.
The space, which had just been filled with the thick scent of gunpowder and oppressive political maneuvering, instantly fell silent.
The only sounds left in the air were the low hum of the exhaust fans in the ventilation ducts and the heavy, bellows-like breathing of Victor.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million..."
Victor cradled the military-grade encrypted computer, his entire body slumped on an ammunition crate like a pile of mud.
The eerie green reflection emanating from the screen illuminated his fat-quivering face in a particularly strange way.
He counted the zeros in the account balance, one finger at a time.
Each time he tapped, his body trembled violently.
After confirming it a full three times, this former intelligence peddler, who hadn't even blinked in the face of gunfire in South America, finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Hahahaha! We're rich! Boss, we've struck it rich!"
Victor sprang up from the ammunition crate, spinning around in circles like a two-hundred-pound child.
"Ten billion! A full ten billion dollars in cash flow!"
He was so excited that spit flew everywhere, and he cradled the computer in both hands as if it were a holy relic.
"Boss, even the biggest drug lord in Colombia back in the day didn't have this much cash in his basement! We've practically legally looted the treasury of America!"
Facing his subordinate who had descended into madness, Chen Yuan's reaction was chillingly calm.
He walked unhurriedly to the sink, turned on the faucet, and let the cold water wash over his slender fingers.
The sound of water splashed, carrying a sense of composure that had washed away all worldly vanity.
"It's only ten billion; look at how you're acting."
Chen Yuan grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands and tossed it into the trash can.
He turned and walked to the "bio-exoskeleton" that had been used for the demonstration, reaching out to tap the layer of seemingly heavy chest armor.
A dull "clang, clang" echoed in the room.
"After deducting the PR fees to grease the palms of those politicians on Capitol Hill, and subtracting the shipping, security, and packaging costs."
Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into the cold-blooded arc exclusive to a capitalist. "The actual cost of this deal is less than one hundred million. Tearfully earning nine point nine billion—it's just so-so."
Victor's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
He widened his eyes, staring at his boss as if he were looking at a monster, his breathing even stalling for a beat.
"Less than... one hundred million?"
Victor stammered, pointing at the imposing exoskeleton, "Boss, stop joking. That's special armor capable of stopping Magnum pistol rounds, not to mention that neural-assisted hydraulic system..."
"The actuaries at The Pentagon aren't fools! They secretly estimated that the R&D cost for this kind of epoch-making technology is at least five billion!"
"R&D costs?"
Chen Yuan scoffed, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"Victor, do you really think this hunk of iron is packed with aerospace-grade titanium alloy or expensive, high-precision servo motors?"
He walked to the side of the exoskeleton and pressed the maintenance button on the hidden control panel.
"Hiss—"
Accompanied by the hissing sound of high-pressure gas leaking, the back armor of the exoskeleton slowly unfolded like the elytra of a beetle.
Victor curiously leaned in to take a look.
The next second, his entire body instantly stiffened.
There were no intricate or complex circuit boards.
There was no core engine emitting a high-tech glow.
Beneath that layer of heavy iron plating, it was actually packed with dark red, slightly writhing biological muscle fibers! He could even smell the familiar scent of formalin that belonged to the fifth underground level laboratory.
"What... what the hell is this?!" Victor backed away in fright, nearly landing back on the ammunition crate.
"This is the hydraulic transmission system you claim is worth five billion."
Chen Yuan patted the somewhat disgusting muscle tissue, his tone filled with the playfulness of a successful prank.
"Dr. Zola used discarded Tyrant limbs, added a bit of cheap biological nutrient solution, and forcibly stitched them into this pile of scrap armored vehicle chassis."
"As for the outer bulletproof shell?"
Chen Yuan tapped the iron plating, "It's just scrap steel plates with a bit of biological chitin added, carelessly sprayed with a layer of military matte paint."
Victor felt a wave of dizziness.
"So... that astonishing jumping ability from earlier, and the strength to lift a one-ton object with one hand..."
"It wasn't provided by the exoskeleton's power system at all?"
Chen Yuan kindly completed the cruel answer for him.
"That's right, it was just the basic biological instinctual contraction of the Tyrant's muscles."
"We just put a metal vest labeled 'high-tech' on a pile of rotten biochemical meat."
It was crazy.
This was a complete, century-spanning scam!
Victor felt his worldview being rubbed frantically against the floor by his boss.
Packaging laboratory biochemical trash as epoch-making future individual equipment, and then selling it to the U.S. military at the exorbitant price of ten million dollars a set?
The key is, those old men with stars on their shoulders were still grateful when they left, thinking they had gotten a huge bargain!
"Boss, your heart..."
Victor swallowed, searching his mind but unable to find a suitable adjective to express his inner shock.
"This is ten thousand times darker than the darkest capitalist."
If The Pentagon found out that the "decisive weapon" they spent ten billion in hard currency to buy was actually a pile of biochemical waste with a very short shelf life...
General Ross would probably have a cerebral hemorrhage on the spot, or even draw his gun and storm into the White House.
"This is called information asymmetry, my friend."
Chen Yuan straightened his cuffs, his eyes devoid of any guilt, carrying only the cold indifference of someone who has everything under control.
"They wanted an invincible army, and I gave it to them. They wanted an extremely low battlefield casualty rate, and I gave that to them too."
"Since this equipment can help them win wars, does it matter if it's powered by graphene batteries or rotten biochemical meat?"
As long as it can kill, this thing is a divine weapon for the military.
As for the subsequent maintenance?
Once the biological muscle leaves the nutrient solution, it will quickly rot. When that time comes, The Pentagon will naturally have to come back and pay a high price to purchase the "special armor maintenance fluid" provided by Umbrella Corporation.
This is another steady, long-term stream of windfall profit.
Chen Yuan turned around, his gaze passing over Victor.
He looked toward the depths of the training ground, at that huge steel gate sealed off with yellow and black stripes.
That led to the deepest part of the underground base, which was also the only mysterious area of the entire Elysium Manor that had not yet been fully developed.
"Money is just a tool."
Chen Yuan's voice lowered, carrying an irrepressible ambition capable of swallowing the world.
"With ten billion in cash flow, plus the special material procurement privileges the military has green-lit for us..."
"We can finally stop playing small."
He walked to the main control console and pulled up the 3D structural blueprint of the entire underground manor.
His slender fingers slid gently across the screen, extending the blueprints that were originally planned only down to the fifth underground level, pulling them further down.
Underground levels six, seven, eight...
The holographic projection extended all the way down to the bottomless mantle rock layer.
Victor leaned in to take a look and couldn't help but gasp.
"Boss, are you planning to dig through the Earth?"
The dense honeycomb-like structure on the screen didn't look like a human basement at all. It was tangled, deep, and eerie, looking more like the terrifying nest of some giant alien insect.
"The current base is still too small."
Chen Yuan bent his knuckles and tapped hard on the red heart on the screen.
"Too small to hold my future toys."
"Go tell Zola that from today on, funding is unlimited. Have him transfer all the engineering Tyrants over there, and have them dig for me day and night without stopping!"
"I want to build a true underground kingdom here. A honeycomb fortress that not even a nuclear bomb can destroy."
His eyes, reflected in the eerie blue light of the screen, appeared extremely dangerous.
It was like a demon king who had been lurking in the abyss for a long time, finally baring its sharpest fangs to this world.
"Victor."
"Yes!" Victor immediately straightened his back.
"Go and prepare."
Chen Yuan braced his hands on the control console, staring intensely at the deepest part of the underground base, his voice sounding like muffled thunder.
"With this money."
"That long-brewing plan..."
"Can finally officially begin."