Players Invade Cyberpunk

Chapter 1158 - 377: After Two Hundred Years, We’ve Come Full Circle

It can also create a kind of chemical reaction with the other technologies we’ve got in hand. Horizon Corporation just beat us to it and made those Super Soldiers first, that’s all. We’ll have our own soon enough.So I’ve already sent people to talk cooperation with Zeta Technology, but the trouble is we’re not the only ones eyeing this tech. Those damn flies, they smell blood and come swarming in."

It’s true corporations need to control the number of products on the market to control prices, but that’s only viable when nobody has made any real breakthrough with the technology.

Otherwise, once a company manages to massively cut the production cost of a product, they will definitely choose to flood the market with cheap goods, squeeze out all other competitors, and after they’ve achieved a monopoly, raise the prices again—much higher than before.

So the Lancaster family plans to sign a contract with Zeta Technology ahead of everyone else at any cost, and secure the rights to use the technology.

If it weren’t for the fact that Zeta Technology is a North America–based company, has been developing for decades, and is pretty strong in network tech—making it hard to just use force under heavy industry competition—they wouldn’t bother talking about any contract with Zeta Technology at all.

They would’ve long since stormed into the Zeta Technology Mansion, held a gun to the head of Zeta’s board members, and hauled the servers away by force.

After all, that’s how they’ve always done things since ancient times.

"Then... on my side..."

"This technology will require a massive amount of biological material. The family will send people to Cuba under the pretext of medical aid. You make sure you’re ready to receive and coordinate. As for those Brits..."

At the mention of the United Kingdom, the middle-aged man’s face collapsed instantly.

His eyes were full of disdain, contempt, and disgust. It was hard to imagine that much negativity crammed into one face.

"They’re probably thinking the same way we are. It won’t be long before the Germans and Soviets show up too. On the battlefield, they might not even obey your orders. Avoid conflict with them as much as possible. But remember this: France will fight until the last Cuban falls. Don’t let the family lose face in front of that pack of savages."

Lancaster hurriedly straightened his back.

"I won’t let the family be shamed. Glory to Pete."

Only after the middle-aged man took the initiative to cut the connection did Lancaster finally let out a breath of relief.

Human Brain Array...

"Material"... that has to mean human brains.

Are they expecting me to slaughter Cubans and harvest their brains in bulk after the family arrives?

There’s no way that’s all Father meant.

Killing is one thing, but publicly slicing open Cuban skulls and carving out their brains for some tech is something else entirely.

If word of this leaks, others will absolutely seize on it. Father made a point of mentioning the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Soviet Union—he clearly doesn’t want to be caught by any of them, or by other families back home.

Which means he has to do this quietly.

————

France

Pete Family Estate – Underground Biological Research Facility

Unlike the underground city Horizon Corporation built in Cuba, this place was smaller but much cleaner. The lights glaring off the white tiles and plaster walls were so bright they hurt the eyes.

Transparent glass partitions sliced the basement into various zones. Hundreds of researchers in white sterile surgical suits were working inside.

Having just hung up on his son, Kape Pete stood in the largest of the labs, watching the technicians conduct a technical demonstration for him, his secretary standing at his side.

In front of him floated a brain in a cultivation tank, not even as big as a rice cooker. Several thick cables were attached to the tank casing, suspending it above a makeshift vehicle body assembled from an engine, a gearbox, and a steering controller.

The elderly researcher standing beside Kape said,

"First human-brain vehicle-body integration test, begin."

At his order, several nearby researchers quickly input commands. The orders were converted from electrical signals into biochemical signals via the motor devices attached to the surface of the brain.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

The lab countdown ended.

But the machine didn’t respond at all.

Pete frowned and glanced at the elderly researcher, just about to say something when—

Vrrr—

The engine came to life.

The biochemical signal successfully converted back into an electrical signal and, through the control system, ignited the car’s engine.

The elderly researcher couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes; his grip on the terminal tightened. The other researchers were so thrilled they started cheering under their breath.

"Increase speed to fifty miles an hour, then turn left thirty degrees after ten meters."

The elderly researcher issued the second command.

Almost simultaneously, the vehicle’s steering system executed the maneuver, not off by so much as a hair.

Seeing this, the secretary said excitedly,

"It worked! The Analysis Department says that once this technology is deployed on the front line, we’ll finally be free from human limitations. The company can slash annual labor costs by 1.5 billion Orokin, lay off more than a hundred and twenty thousand bottom-tier workers, and drastically cut HR and admin costs. And with roaming AIs popping up whenever the network crashes, we won’t have to worry about them anymore."

It’s not just driving or assembly lines. Almost every position except R&D and creative roles could be replaced by AI or the Human Brain Array.

The company’s long-term goal has always been to reduce the irreplaceability of employees—splitting work up, dividing it, slicing it again, until even a dog could keep the company running.

Now they had finally gotten their hands on exactly what they’d always dreamed of.

They had shed their dependence on both humans and AI. All they needed was a single human brain to do the work of a dozen people.

Yes, it’s not as good as AI.

But do you have any idea how much an AI costs?

Annual maintenance runs at least into the hundreds of millions of Orokin.

But human brains—

Aren’t they everywhere?

With the right methods, they wouldn’t even have to spend a single cent.

Kape chuckled.

"For the past two hundred years, humanity has been looking for ways to speed up production, replace manual labor, and save on manpower—from steam engines to diesel engines, then to automated assembly lines, and finally artificial intelligence..."

"Two hundred years spinning in circles, and in the end we still come back to the human body itself. Quite a long detour we took, didn’t we."