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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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Although the two can now save a lot of time by relying on the previously recorded experimental process, it is by no means easy to fully restore it.
This is because many crucial steps previously stemmed from sudden bursts of inspiration, making it impossible to record them at times.
Therefore, Emma Russell and her husband can only rack their brains to recall every detail, repeatedly hitting walls during the research and development process, tormented to death and back.
Besides this, the biggest obstacle delaying the overall progress actually lies with Emma Russell herself.
After witnessing the battles of King Kong, MUTO, Kamazotz, and Godzilla, she had a sudden idea to further optimize the ORCA device based on the original design.
This would not only significantly reduce the time needed to "adapt" to Titans but also allow it to store more sounds, such as those from the Kaiju, the "alien Invaders" that appeared previously.
Emma Russell was extremely persistent in believing that the ORCA device would be the last safeguard for human survival and security, far more reliable than those so-called superheroes.
For this, her husband, Mark Russell, had argued with her many times, urging her not to be too obsessed with this matter.
However, regarding the issue of King Kong, almost all the other high-ranking officials attending this meeting shared Emma Russell's view.
Since Houston Brooks stepped down, almost no one within the Monarch Organization has continued to pay attention to King Kong.
Even though King Kong performed exceptionally well in the previous battle against MUTO, what good is your "kung fu" no matter how high it is?
Didn't the "invincible" Hulk, who shone brightly in the New York Battle, get crushed by Godzilla?
So, compared to King Kong's ultimate fate, the high-ranking officials of the Monarch Organization were clearly more concerned about Godzilla's movements.
After all, only the Monster King was their true love.
Serizawa Ichiro naturally understood what everyone was thinking.
Because... he thought the same way!
After clearing his throat slightly, Serizawa Ichiro said with a solemn expression, "The reason I've gathered everyone here today is because a brand new Titan has just appeared."
Upon hearing this, everyone, including Emma Russell, was instantly invigorated.
His assistant, Vivienne Graham, quickly projected a newly received video from the U.S. military onto the large screen.
It turned out that just a few hours ago, the U.S. military's Apra Naval Base on Guam was suddenly attacked by an unknown Titan.
The appearance of this Titan was somewhat similar to the Female MUTO that King Kong had killed previously, but its body was much larger, and its four forelimbs were more robust.
Preliminary estimates put its height at over one hundred meters and its weight at over one hundred thousand tons.
After appearing, this Titan directly devoured the nuclear reactors of three Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines and two Ohio-class cruise missile nuclear submarines docked at the Base.
Then, before Godzilla could appear, it burrowed back underground and disappeared, leaving Godzilla to roar in anger at the bottomless, dark hole, venting his dissatisfaction.
"According to the information we currently have, this newly appeared Titan probably originated from Japan..."
Serizawa Ichiro pushed up the glasses on his nose and said with a heavy tone, "In fact, as early as a day ago, the Jan Jira Outpost detected an earthquake that occurred in the waters near Fukuoka Prefecture."
"But what is perplexing is that the aftershocks caused by this earthquake propagated south-westward all the way to Guam, over two thousand kilometers away."
"Now it seems that it must be the geological activity caused by the newly appeared Titan moving along the underground Pacific Ring of Fire."
"Do you have any thoughts on this?" He then scanned his gaze across everyone in the conference room.
"Judging from its body structure, this new behemoth is very likely the final evolutionary form of an adult MUTO," Emma Russell said, pointing at the Titan in the video.
"Presumably, it went specifically for the nuclear reactors in those nuclear submarines, so it could replenish enough energy in the shortest possible time..."
However, before she could finish speaking, Vivienne Graham, sitting at the lower end of the table, interrupted her with a puzzled expression.
"But if it simply wanted to replenish energy, why didn't it directly target the nuclear power plants in Japan, which are much closer?"
This question was precisely what puzzled the others as well.
What was the reason that made that Titan bypass the closer targets and travel thousands of miles to Guam to attack those nuclear submarines?
"Although I cannot determine the exact reason that awakened this Titan at the moment, I think it should be trying to avoid Godzilla's pursuit..." Emma Russell said after a moment of contemplation.
"Perhaps what I am about to say may sound a bit absurd, but from Godzilla's behavior in these past few instances, it is not difficult to deduce that it likely possesses some instinct to protect the ecological balance of Earth."
"That is why it travels thousands of miles to fight against these Titans that do not follow order whenever the Female MUTO, Male MUTO, Kamazotz, and this new Titan appear."
"Exactly." Serizawa Ichiro's eyes instantly lit up with excitement upon hearing this, as Emma Russell's recent statement undoubtedly reaffirmed his previous conjecture—that Godzilla is the Guardian of Earth's order!
So, before anyone else could speak, Serizawa Ichiro immediately ordered, "Very well, Dr. Russell, then this sudden incident will be entirely your responsibility."
"However, I must remind you that the time left for you seems to be running out..."
"I presume it won't be long before the Security Council orders you to explain the specific origin of this Titan and the potential harm it may cause to various countries."
"Hmph, why should I explain to those laymen?" Emma Russell snorted dismissively.
"Those fools only think about how to control Titans and how to kill them... I think they should all just shut up."
Do you think I don't want to?
But I can't do it!
Serizawa Ichiro awkwardly rubbed his forehead, reminding her helplessly, "Ahem... well, the Monarch Organization's current situation is very delicate."
"Since the Monster Attack Event in San Francisco, we have been pushed to the forefront."
"In the public's eyes, the San Francisco disaster could have been avoided, and it was precisely because we provided incorrect information that such a tragic outcome occurred..."
"Therefore, to avoid being excluded like S.H.I.E.L.D., we urgently need to prove the value of the Monarch Organization to the Security Council and the public!"
"The reason for keeping it secret from the public is to avoid causing widespread panic, isn't it?" Emma Russell clearly disagreed with his statement, retorting with her nose in the air.
"Dr. Serizawa, you seem to have forgotten... we are scientists, and we don't need to prove ourselves to anyone.
Nor do we need to prove to the World that Godzilla and other Titans are the key to restoring order and peace to Earth!"
"And those incompetent authorities will probably never understand that compared to the harm caused by Titans, humans are the true plague that can lead to Earth's destruction..."
"If we want the whole World to obediently follow the opinions of our Monarch Organization... then perhaps it can only be achieved when humanity is on the verge of extinction, right?"
Perhaps stimulated by the loss of the ORCA device prototype, or perhaps due to the inability to recover that "lost" memory, Emma Russell's statements have become increasingly extreme recently.
She often says harsh things like, "Humans need to pay a painful price."
This made the newly appointed Serizawa Ichiro feel a great deal of headache and internal conflict.
On one hand, he was genuinely afraid that one day, the Monarch Organization would be implicated by Emma Russell's extreme remarks.
But on the other hand, he was incredibly excited about the ORCA device developed by Emma Russell.
Because even he believed that this device might be the only way for humans to communicate with Titans.
After weighing both sides, Serizawa Ichiro had no choice but to temporarily turn a blind eye to Emma Russell's radical statements.
He would find a way to slowly resolve it after he had dealt with the Monarch Organization's current crisis!
Time flies like water!
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
The news of King Kong's arrival in Sokovia was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring ripples among various organizations, including S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.
A silent arms race quietly began among organizations that did not want to be eliminated.
They secretly accelerated their efforts to enhance military strength, hoping to cope with the increasingly harsh future situation and the endless emergence of Titans.
Meanwhile, in Samuel Sterns's laboratory on the 18th underground floor of the Hyperspace Group.
"Boss, according to your previous request, we used the Secondary Super Soldier Serum—which I prefer to call the New Super Soldier Serum—on ten soldiers who successfully passed the screening..."
"And we conducted 24-hour, round-the-clock monitoring of their physical conditions for a week..."
Samuel Sterns pointed to several soldiers not far away, who were running at nearly forty kilometers per hour on treadmills, yet remained expressionless and composed, and excitedly said, "The experimental results are very ideal.
As of now, no adverse reactions have been found, and the enhancements in strength, endurance, and speed are very stable."
"Users can completely absorb the full efficacy within 5 to 30 minutes without external energy catalysis, and gradually increase several attributes to the peak human state within the next day."
Although Samuel Sterns did not deliberately try to show his irreplaceable crucial role in this experiment, it was clear from the expectant look on his face that he seemed eager for Karl's praise.
Karl took the relevant experimental data from a shocked Frank and began to read it with interest.
Under the powerful enhancement of the New Super Soldier Serum, the physical data of the first batch of 10 Thunder Warriors were almost all elevated to peak human levels.
Especially the three attributes of Strength, Speed, and Endurance, their data were simply magnificent.
Things like running at 48 kilometers per hour for an hour and a half...
Easily bench-pressing 500 kilograms without equipment assistance...
And deadlifting 360 kilograms, and so on...
No wonder even Frank, a super soldier king, was shocked after seeing it.
Take "Speed" as an example.
The fastest human (ordinary person) speed holder, Usain Bolt, has a top speed of 11.96 meters per second, which converts to approximately 43.06 kilometers per hour.
And each of the 10 Thunder Warriors who participated in the experiment could run faster than Bolt and maintain it for at least an hour!
In addition, the Thunder Warriors' resistance to fatigue and their tolerance to pain were also significantly enhanced.
This would undoubtedly greatly increase their chances of survival in extremely harsh battlefield environments.
Karl was very satisfied with this, but he still keenly noticed the few lines of specially marked small print at the bottom of the report.
"[Unverified Trait 1: Some test subjects exhibit far greater self-healing abilities than ordinary people when subjected to severe external impact, which then disappear after the injuries are repaired... The cause of this abnormal state has not yet been identified!]"
"[Unverified Trait 2: Some test subjects, when their physical strength is nearing exhaustion, suddenly enter an abnormally excited state without any external drug intervention, and their various physical qualities are significantly improved.
This state generally lasts from 30 seconds to 3 minutes, and after this abnormal state ends, the test subjects fall into an extreme state of exhaustion... The cause of this abnormal state has not yet been identified!]"
Hmm?
What's going on?
Are these the side effects of the new serum?
But how do they look more like some kind of beneficial effect?
If in an extreme burst state, these 10 Thunder Warriors from the first phase would probably be more powerful than Captain America, right?
Karl thought for a moment and still asked with some unease, "Dr. Stern, what about the side effects?"
"Side effects?" Samuel Sterns was first startled, then reacted and patted his big head, saying, "Presumably you are referring to the extreme amplification of the user's personality?"
"You can rest assured on that point; the new secondary serum, which I personally improved and refined, will not have such side effects."
"However, in my opinion, the extreme amplification of the serum on the user's personality is precisely the most crucial factor in distinguishing 'perfection' and whether the peak human potential can be fully activated..."
"Very good." Karl nodded noncommittally.
To pursue safety and stability, one must inevitably sacrifice later growth and potential.
In this matter, it is destined that "you cannot have your cake and eat it too"!
And for ordinary soldiers, the New Super Soldier Serum, which has no side effects, clearly carries lower risks and offers higher cost-effectiveness.
"What about the production and cost of the secondary serum?"
Samuel Sterns answered without hesitation, "Without expanding the laboratory scale, with the current staff, we can only produce 12 to 15 doses of the new secondary serum each month."
"As for the cost... Boss, if it can be officially put into mass production, I am confident that the cost of each secondary serum can be reduced to around 100 million U.S. dollars!"
"So, the current cost of a single dose of secondary serum already exceeds 100 million U.S. dollars?"
Karl frowned slightly, evidently somewhat dissatisfied with such an exorbitant cost.
Although he had previously anticipated that the cost of the secondary serum might be high, he still didn't expect it to be so ridiculously high.
One must know that Compound V, which can activate superpowers, only costs tens of millions of dollars per dose.
This explains why, in the original work, neither Hydra nor other organizations mass-produced the secondary serum after obtaining its formula.
If one ignores the difficulty of deciphering the Super Soldier Serum formula, and solely evaluates it based on such high costs, the many potential side effects, and the maximum effectiveness a super soldier can exert in combat, the cost-effectiveness of the secondary serum suddenly seems much lower.
After all, in this era where Titans run rampant and superpowered individuals are abundant, even Captain America, the sole user of the perfect serum, has limited impact without the "fifty-fifty buff" bonus.