"What other black technology have you researched?"
After hearing about the Demon God Project, Luo Shu couldn't help but ask the three of them.
Upon hearing this question, Lacus, Meer and Kirika Tachibana exchanged glances.
"Your reaction... does this mean you can't talk about it?" Luo Shu asked curiously.
Seeing this, Meer stuck out her tongue playfully and said with deliberate cuteness:
"Not really, we just don't know exactly what you don't know yet."
At this point, Lacus tentatively asked Kirika Tachibana:
"Space Colony Copernicus?"
"I haven't mentioned that one. What about you, Meer?" Kirika shook her head before turning to Meer.
"I haven't mentioned it either, since Luo Shu has been busy with the new department recently."
Meer shook her head, then said to Lacus:
"Shall we start the explanation from Copernicus then?"
"That works." Lacus nodded slightly in agreement.
"Space Colony Copernicus..." Just hearing the name made Luo Shu imagine something extraordinary.
A Colony built in space? Is SDS playing on such a grand scale?
At this moment, Meer placed her index finger on her chin and said, reminiscently:
"From what I recall, the Space Colony Project was completed before the Demon God Project."
"The core of the project is the Abyss Artefact Star Gate, whose ability allows the creation of a traversable portal."
"Under the guise of launching communication satellites, we used rockets to send the Star Gate's nodes into outer space. Then, using this Abyss Artefact combined with Verde's stealth armour technology, we constructed Space Colony Copernicus in Earth-Moon orbit."
"Currently, one of the lead researchers of the Demon God Project, Dr Anya's laboratory, is located within the mobile Space Colony Copernicus."
"In addition, there are three Hades-class experimental vessels, six Thanatos-class frigates, and a supporting fleet of 24 aerospace fighter squadrons."
"This information is only accessible to SDS Director-level clearance and select council members."
"All relevant personnel must be under the control of the level 3 Abyss Artefact Heart Lock."
As Meer explained, Luo Shu's expression twitched slightly:
"SDS only has one operational branch in Tokyo... could it be..."
Hearing this, Lacus sighed softly:
"Most of our funding was consumed by the Space Colony Project. It took us five years and massive resources to build this secure stronghold~."
At this point, Kirika Tachibana explained: "Since all Abyss Descent phenomena have only occurred on Earth so far, some researchers believe space environments could serve as humanity's future safe havens."
"Hence, the SDS initiated the Space Colony Project."
"I see." Luo Shu felt somewhat enlightened by the explanation.
With the existence of the Abyss Artefact Star Gate, the cost of material transportation between Earth and space was significantly reduced.
Given such convenience, the SDS developing a Space Colony Project, while outrageous, became somewhat more reasonable.
Meer added cheerfully at this point:
"Although the construction costs were astronomical, the development of the Space Colony has also made acquiring certain special resources much more convenient."
"For example, the development of Solar Furnaces requires Jupiter's unique environment and certain rare metal resources, which are now supported by our lunar mining base."
"Copernicus is currently operating well and can already supplement the ground headquarters."
"Most prototypes for the Demon God Project utilise space-based resources."
As Meer explained, Luo Shu couldn't help but mutter to himself.
'So the Solar Furnaces produced on Jupiter were really the same as those from the Gundam 00 universe he remembered?'
Are all these secret organisations this advanced with their black technology?
"AI-controlled Gundams give us absolute superiority in large-scale warfare, but they're not practical against small-scale threats like Abyss Lifeforms and sorcerers," Lacus said with a headache.
"The production and maintenance costs for Gundams are too high, and deployment is extremely cumbersome. That's why the Demon God Project was initiated."
"Using special memory metal as material, powered by Solar Furnaces, and engraved with special abilities through Dr. Anya's technology, we've created single-combat capable Demon Gods."
Kirika Tachibana added, "The final hurdle for the Demon God Project was the control system. Our AI development is limited—pure mechanical control works fine, but semi-mechanical, semi-mystical Demon Gods keep malfunctioning."
"So we had to rely on human operators. While the control interface is complete, ensuring signal integrity remains problematic."
"After all, the Abyss has unique environmental conditions, and many sorcerers can interfere with psychic control systems—or even hijack the Demon Gods."
Kirika rubbed her temples. After investing so much funding, it'd be a colossal joke if someone else reaped the benefits:
"To mitigate the risk of Demon Gods being stolen, Dr. Verde recently proposed a Dying Will Flames control system."
At this point, Luo Shu caught on:
"Using the Dying Will Flames' nature—which reflects personal vitality and will—to lock the operator's identity and prevent Demon God hijacking?"
"Exactly." Lacus nodded, smiling. "Actually, we owe this to you, Luo Shu. Verde himself is terrible with Dying Will Flames, especially helping others awaken this power."
"But thanks to your assistance, both Chisato and Takina awakened their own Dying Will Flames. This finally pushed the Demon God Project into practical deployment."
Luo Shu understood now: "So Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue are the first Demon God pilots?"
"Yes." Kirika sighed, then grinned. "After all that investment, we're finally seeing returns."
Meer chimed in: "Most importantly, the initial funds are already spent. To avoid wasting them, trading Demon Gods with Familia members for points isn't a bad idea."
"Each Demon God is equivalent to a bloodline sorcerer. Based on capability estimates, their combat power might even surpass Grade 3 Abyss Artefacts."
"According to the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System's evaluation, that's Hero Rank sorcerer-level."
"A Hero Rank bodyguard—though operational duration depends on the individual—should be enough to ensure a Familia's safety."
Of course, the most important thing was reclaiming the points from the Familia members. After all, judging by Lacus's stance, she had no intention of obtaining points from Luo Shu, so the burden of acquiring points fell entirely on them.
"Are you sure this is just for self-defence?" Luo Shu's expression instantly turned peculiar.
This was far beyond mere self-defence. Hero Rank combatants were currently scarce even for nations, with only the five major powers maintaining any substantial reserves.
Under such circumstances, if the SDS's Demon God technology—capable of mass-producing Hero Rank combatants at the mere cost of money—were exposed, it would immediately draw the attention of those five powers.
Oh, wait. He'd almost forgotten that the SDS was currently one of the shadow organisations manipulating one of those five major powers. So never mind.
Realising this, Luo Shu rubbed his chin with a slightly odd expression:
"But the issue is the Demon God's cost. To use it, the prerequisite alone requires an injection of the Adjuster Drug, which costs two to three million dollars. On top of that, you'd need my help to awaken the Dying Will Flames."
"Fine, I can waive the fee for the latter. But the critical point is—since the Demon God is Hero Rank combat power, converting it to points would require at least 50,000 points. Are you sure anyone can afford that?"
Hearing this, Meer fell silent, while Kirika Tachibana averted her eyes.
Only Lacus remained unperturbed, sipping her black tea as she said:
"Discount promotions, instalment payments, interest-free since Familia members are all family. Market it as a special Familia benefit—the proposal should pass, right?"
"..."
Luo Shu suddenly felt that this version of Lacus was downright capitalist.
So, as a proletarian, should he educate her a little?