38: chat

Senator McConnell certainly could not have imagined it.

Just as he thought he was in control, plotting that conspiracy in a secret room with a group of capital titans who controlled the economic lifeline of the United States, all of his conversations, which he believed to be secret, were being presented in real-time to Lei Wen, thousands of miles away, without a single word missed.

He would never have imagined it.

That specially made mobile phone of his, which had gone through layers of encryption and was claimed to be impossible to monitor by any means, had long since become the most loyal informant.

Ever since the "Great Cleanup Operation," white flower had placed McConnell and all the core members of the "Earth Purity Faction" on a high-priority surveillance list.

To white flower, a digital life form born from a higher-dimensional technical system, the so-called "encryption algorithms" and "network firewalls" on Earth were like fences built by primitive people using vines and wooden stakes—seemingly sturdy, but actually easily pierced.

That was the case before, let alone now that Lei Wen had established an entire server cluster in the underground factory in Tianqiong City.

white flower did not even need to carry out hacking attacks in the traditional sense.

She had found a method that could bypass all hardware firewalls and "converse" directly with the underlying instruction set of the mobile phone chip.

From that moment on, as long as McConnell's phone was not physically powered off, its microphone would be silently recording the entire time.

And in any place with signal coverage, it would split the recorded data into countless tiny data packets, disguise them as meaningless system junk files, and continuously upload them to the massive database of white flower located in the underground factory through Internet of Things device nodes spread across the globe.

When McConnell said the plan to "assassinate the president" with his sinister voice in front of the fireplace, Lei Wen was sitting in his command room located in the underground factory in Tianqiong City.

Sipping tea while listening to the entire conspiracy as if it were a radio drama.

"Father," the voice of white flower rang out calmly, "A high-risk threat event has been detected, threat level S, target is the current US President Donald. Do you need me to immediately send this recorded evidence anonymously to the FBI and the Secret Service?"

Lei Wen put down his teacup, looking at the perfect crime report that white flower had compiled for him, which contained the identities of all participants, the details of the plan, and the flow of funds, and the corner of his mouth hooked into a cold arc.

"Send it to the FBI?" He shook his head, "No, white flower, that would be letting them off too easily."

Lei Wen knew that if he handed over this evidence, he could at most send McConnell and a few executors to prison.

But those capital titans hiding behind the scenes who truly controlled this massive conservative force would cut ties with the matter as cleanly as a gecko severing its tail, and then push out new agents to continue to hinder things from the shadows.

Wildfires cannot burn it all away; the spring breeze will bring it back to life.

What he needed was not to prune a few weeds.

What he wanted was to uproot the entire decaying old forest and then plant trees of his own.

"The division of a country is often the best time for a new order to be born." Lei Wen looked at the intricate network diagram of US political and business relations on the screen and muttered to himself, "If I want to control the United States and guide its national policy, I must make good use of this existing political force within their country."

And in the world of capital, political power and capital power can sometimes be completely equated.

He needed an ally.

An ally who could represent the interests of the "New Aristocrats Alliance," who possessed sufficient prestige and influence, and who was equally filled with a fanatical obsession for the sea of stars.

His gaze finally landed on an incredibly dazzling name in that relationship network diagram.

Elon.

Chairman Elon of the Nikola Group.

...

California, Palo Alto, Nikola Group headquarters.

It was late at night, but the lights in the chairman's office were still on.

Elon was standing in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the night view of Silicon Valley below, which was as bright as a galaxy.

His face carried a hint of fatigue, but his eyes were shining with excitement.

He had just finished a video conference with NDSM-RD, discussing the technical details of installing the miniaturized third-generation "Prometheus" fusion reactor onto the latest generation of his starships.

The changes in this era were too fast.

So fast that even he, a tech fanatic who always prided himself on "walking at the forefront of the era," felt a bit overwhelmed.

Paradox Technology, the HIAL-137 Galaxy incident, Guanghan Palace Base, Thunder transport ship...

All of this was like a grand science fiction epic, and he was fortunate enough to be an important character in it.

This feeling made him incomparably intoxicated.

Just then, the screen of the custom smartphone he had placed on his desk suddenly lit up on its own.

There was no caller ID, nor were there any notifications.

Lines of pure white code began to appear automatically on the screen, line by line.

The structure of those codes was extremely beautiful, full of mathematical rhythm, but their logic was completely beyond Elon's cognition.

"Damn it! Hacked?"

Elon's first reaction was shock.

This phone of his was built by the top security team of the Nikola Group in cooperation with the Department of Defense, and theoretically, it was impossible to be intruded upon by any known means.

He immediately rushed over, wanting to force a shutdown.

But it was already too late.

When the last line of code was finished displaying, the entire screen turned pure white.

Then, a simple geometric body, composed of countless light spots and constantly changing its shape, appeared in the center of the screen.

That was the logo of Paradox Technology!

Immediately after, a line of text appeared below the logo with an elegant typewriter effect.

【Mr. Elon, good evening.】

【I apologize for making my first official greeting to you in this way.】

【I am StarRiver.】

Elon felt as if his heart had been fiercely gripped by an invisible hand.

Star... River?

The mysterious founder of Paradox Technology?!

Countless thoughts flashed through his brain in an instant.

What does he want with me?

Who is he?

A mysterious person who possesses alien technology?

Or... is he not a human at all? But an awakened super artificial intelligence?

He even had a more absurd association—according to the tropes of some web novels, a powerful AI would first contact the human most likely to help it achieve its goals after awakening, and had he become that chosen one?

Just as Elon was letting his imagination run wild, the text on the screen changed again.

【I know you have many questions, and I happen to have some matters that I need to discuss with you in person.】

【If you are willing, I sincerely invite you to visit the factory of Leidian Special Steel Co., Ltd. in Tianqiong City, China.】

【There, you will find the answers to all your questions.】

【Please rest assured, your phone is very safe; I just borrowed your microphone and speaker for a moment.】

【Our conversation is absolutely safe; there is no one on this planet who can steal our information.】

After saying this, the logo and text on the screen receded like the tide.

The phone returned to its normal standby interface, as if everything just now was just an illusion.

Elon stood there blankly, not moving for a full minute.

Then, he went about his business as if nothing had happened.

By the next day, Elon's private secretary received a call from him early in the morning.

"Prepare the flight route," his voice on the phone was slightly hoarse with excitement, "We are going to China."

...

Three days later, Tianqiong City, Leidian Special Steel Co., Ltd.

After Elon's private jet landed at Dikui City International Airport, he rushed in a luxury car from the China branch to the entrance of Leidian Company's main factory.

It was not some massive honor guard that came to greet him.

There was only one young man wearing simple casual clothes, who looked younger and more composed than in his photos.

And behind him were two humanoid bionic robots that looked no different from real people at a glance, but upon closer inspection, slight differences could still be detected.

"Welcome to my factory, Mr. Elon." Lei Wen took the initiative to reach out his hand, with a faint smile on his face.

"Should I call you Mr. Lei Wen, or StarRiver?" Elon shook his hand, his eyes, which always flashed with unbridled light, now filled with curiosity and exploration.

"A name is just a code name." Lei Wen smiled noncommittally, "Please, this way."

"Everyone else, please wait in the reception room."

Lei Wen did not take Elon to the reception room.

Instead, he took him directly to visit the production line on the surface that was used for "performance."

Even if it was just for "performance," the highly automated production process inside and the massive equipment full of industrial aesthetics were enough to make Elon, an expert in manufacturing, marvel.

"Incredible," Elon stroked a piece of just-cooled 【el-3 composite target material】, feeling its perfect, flawless surface, "How on earth do you manage to maintain such amazing atomic-level precision at such high temperatures?"

"Just some little tricks." Lei Wen said with a smile, "However, these are just exhibits in a display window; the real good stuff is down below."

He took Elon to an entrance disguised as a freight elevator.

When the elevator door opened and it sank into the depths of the underground at a super-high speed, Elon felt as if he were in free fall.

The elevator door opened again.

The scene that appeared before him caused this tech fanatic, who always prided himself on his rich imagination, to completely lose the ability to speak.

It was an underground kingdom ten times larger than the surface factory, brightly lit.

Thousands of various models of intelligent robots were working methodically at their respective posts, like a precise beehive system.

Huge robotic arms fed tons of raw materials into those 【Atomic-level material synthesis machines】 that were glowing with soft white light.

On the other side, on an even larger production line, the new generation of 【Velociraptor】 combat robots and various engineering robots were being continuously "printed" out.

The entire space was filled only with the rhythmic humming sound emitted by the machinery in operation.

There was not a single human.

Only absolute efficiency and order.

"My God..." Elon muttered to himself, his eyes filled with a fanatical light, "This is the future factory I have dreamed of! Complete automation, self-iteration, self-evolution..."

The look in his eyes when he looked at Lei Wen changed completely.

It was no longer the look of regarding a business partner.

It was the look of a believer looking up at a deity.

Those so-called "super factories" that he was so proud of were as ridiculous as children's building block toys in front of this underground kingdom.

What Lei Wen brought was not a technical innovation.

It was a civilization revolution sufficient to reshape the entire human society.

"Now, do you still think I am just an ordinary business partner, Mr. Elon?" Lei Wen looked at him and asked with a smile.

Elon took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart.

He asked in an unprecedentedly solemn tone: "Are you an alien?"

"No, I am a pure Earth human; my DNA sequence can perfectly prove that."

"I really cannot imagine how on earth you built this kind of... factory that is simply like an alien structure, and those technologies of Paradox Technology are at least a hundred years ahead of humanity." Elon said, weighing his words, "Can you tell me what your purpose is?"

The smile on Lei Wen's face slowly disappeared, and his expression also became serious.

"Do you know about the HIAL-137 Galaxy incident and the alien fleet suspected to be coming to the Solar System?"

"I know a little bit, is the matter of the alien fleet true?"

Lei Wen nodded.

"It is true, and that is a powerful civilization that possesses speed of light technology."

Lei Wen's words made a thin layer of cold sweat seep out on Elon's back.

If what he said was all true, was Human Civilization already standing on the edge of a cliff?

"Then..."

"Everything I have done is for the future of all humanity. We must resolve the current pattern of conflict and division on Earth before the aliens arrive. We need to give our civilization stronger cohesion, twisting the power of all humanity into a rope to cope with any crisis."

Lei Wen's words were resonant, making Elon stunned for a while.

However, he quickly came back to his senses.

"Alright, for the future of humanity, I don't care how many secrets you have behind you. Just say what you want to do; I will cooperate as much as I can."

"Very good." Lei Wen nodded, "Since we have reached a consensus, then we can talk about how to clear away those stumbling blocks on the road to the future."

He took Elon to his command room.

Then, in front of him, he played that conspiracy recording recorded by white flower that was enough to turn the entire US political scene upside down.

When McConnell's sinister voice rang out in the quiet command room, Elon's face became increasingly ugly.

"This bunch of hopeless idiots!" After listening to the recording, he slammed his fist hard on the table, "In order to protect their dirty old industries stained with oil and blood, they actually want to assassinate the president? They are trying to start a civil war!"

"This is not a civil war, Mr. Elon." Lei Wen corrected, "This is a purification."

"A necessary purification to completely clear out those decaying old forces that hinder human progress."

Elon was stunned.

He looked at Lei Wen's bottomless eyes and suddenly understood the true purpose of the other party inviting him here.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked.

Lei Wen walked to the huge holographic globe projection.

"Their conspiracy has given us an opportunity." Lei Wen's voice was filled with unquestionable power.

"An opportunity that can allow you, and this emerging force you represent, to completely control the future of this country."

He turned around and reached out his hand to Elon.

"I need a US President who can understand and agree with my philosophy."

"A leader who can commit all the power of this country to the cause of the sea of stars."

"A person who can press the nuclear button when necessary, without asking me why."

"And you, Mr. Elon," Lei Wen's eyes were firm and pure, "in my view, are the only candidate."

"I will provide you with all the necessary support—funds, technology, intelligence, and even military force."

"I hope that after this great transformation, the person who can sit in the Oval Office of The White House and talk to me..."

"Is you."