Chapter 501: Reactions of the Various Factions
Ryo (Avatar) stood in the main control room, his gaze sweeping across the panoramic surveillance screen showing a desolate, barren landscape with nothing but tumbleweeds and exposed rock formations.
He issued a command.
A low hum began to echo through the valley, the sound of energy converging.
The diffusion devices stationed everywhere activated simultaneously. A stream of Genesis Particles, invisible to the naked eye, was stimulated. Like a gentle tide, with preset intensity and frequency, it evenly showered every inch of soil, every rock, and every wisp of air in the valley.
The initial changes were slow and subtle.
High-precision sensors first detected changes in the soil composition: the originally hardened, organic-poor wasteland had its microscopic structure reorganized under the influence of the particles. It became looser, its porosity increased, and it began to possess water retention and breathability.
At the same time, the concentration of certain harmful chemical aerosols in the air began to drop significantly, while the moisture content slightly increased.
As time passed, more macroscopic changes began to manifest.
The originally grayish-yellow, lifeless land gradually turned dark brown. In certain low-lying areas, minute amounts of water droplets even began to seep from the terraformed soil, converging into tiny wet streaks.
Some of the broadcasted, genetically optimized drought-resistant pioneer plant seeds, under the continuous catalysis of the Genesis Particle field, took root and sprouted at an unprecedented speed. They stubbornly broke through the soil, dotting this dead land with its first sparse yet vibrant touches of green.
Ryo (Avatar) carefully recorded every single piece of data.
The steady rise in air temperature and humidity, the slow accumulation of organic matter in the soil, and the progressively improved, neutralizing soil pH value.
The entire process was not a miracle achieved overnight, but a systematic, accelerated natural evolution that adhered to the laws of conservation of mass and energy.
The role played by the Genesis Particles here was more like a precise key, opening a fast track for matter to transform towards a more orderly state richer in life potential.
He was in no rush for immediate success.
The experiment steadily advanced according to the preset long-term plan. The energy field maintained a constant output, and environmental data was continuously collected and cross-referenced with the models.
This locked-down valley was quietly undergoing a reversal from death to life.
The barren wasteland, under the gentle power of the Genesis Particles, was step by step evolving into a fertile land capable of nurturing more life.
This was a microscopic miracle, yet it heralded the infinite possibilities of conducting large-scale environmental terraforming in the future.
The environmental terraforming experiment within Genesis Valley continued.
The expansion of surface vegetation, the transformation of soil composition, and the anomalous energy field signatures gradually formed a unique ecological zone.
The myriad changes in this region were clearly captured by over a thousand space stations and countless reconnaissance satellites in orbit.
To the corporate titans controlling these monitoring resources, the anomalies occurring in the Badlands were like blueprints spread open on a table.
However, understanding the situation and taking action were two completely different matters.
All organizations monitoring this matter clearly remembered the Tokyo Incident from a few years ago.
The footage of that colossal Knight mech, belonging to Ryo's faction, destroying Arasaka Headquarters with overwhelming force was still played repeatedly in the tactical analysis rooms of various corporations.
This scenario had become a crucial case study for assessing unknown threats and a lingering warning in the minds of corporate executives.
Night City was therefore marked as a special zone.
In the internal risk assessments of various enterprises, it was explicitly labeled as the highest risk area with the intervention of unknown high-tier extraterrestrial technological factions.
When satellite imagery confirmed that Ryo's faction had launched a massive environmental terraforming project on the outskirts of Night City, all corporations immediately entered a state of high alert.
The NUSA Military held consecutive emergency meetings, and Militech's strategic division prepared assessment reports overnight.
The board of directors of Kansai Corporation far away on the Eurasian continent held a special video conference, while the Eurobank Consortium demanded its intelligence division submit daily special briefings.
Despite being filled with curiosity and vigilance, not a single corporation dared to take direct action.
The NUSA Pentagon had proposed dispatching a reconnaissance team, but this proposal was directly vetoed during high-level meetings.
Militech's Special Operations Command prepared an infiltration plan, which was ultimately halted personally by their head of security.
All enterprises understood that the potential consequences of rash actions far exceeded their capacity to endure.
These corporations instead adopted more cautious methods of contact.
The NUSA issued diplomatic notes to the Administrator of Night City through official channels.
Militech utilized its network of connections within the municipal system to attempt to obtain relevant information.
Kansai Corporation sent out probes in the name of commercial cooperation, which they excelled at, while the Eurobank Consortium made indirect inquiries through partners in the financial sector.
All inquiries were meticulously designed, employing the safest diplomatic rhetoric.
While expressing concern, these messages consistently maintained a respectful tone.
Their core objective was strictly limited to understanding the nature of the activities and potential impacts, completely avoiding any form of interventionist intent.
The Administrator provided a unified response to these inquiries.
The content of the reply was concise and explicit: Scientific research was being conducted in the area, it was an internal matter, and it would not pose a threat to surrounding security.
All cooperation requests from external organizations were politely yet firmly declined, while simultaneously emphasizing the inviolability of the area.
This extreme restraint was rooted in the most direct, unmistakable deterrent measure Ryo (Avatar) had taken right at the onset of launching the large-scale experiment.
He had ordered Margaret Nearl of the Nearl family to redeploy her iconic Knight mech—the one that had participated in the destruction of Arasaka Headquarters—from its permanent station within Night City to a forward garrison position at the entrance of Genesis Valley.
The Knight mech stood majestically at the entrance of Genesis Valley, like a silent metallic guardian deity.
The armored body, over ten meters tall, stood unmoving amidst the wind and sand of the Badlands. From its joints, the faint hiss of the hydraulic systems maintaining balance could occasionally be heard.
This war machine was itself a living warning sign.
The battle scars left upon its armor and the energy fluctuations emanating from its weapon systems silently proclaimed the ownership of this land.
The footage captured by any observation equipment conveyed the same message: this area was under absolute control.
The message conveyed by the mech was simple and direct.
Any unauthorized approach would be deemed a hostile act.
The potential consequences had been fully demonstrated in Tokyo—the ruins of Arasaka Headquarters were the most visceral warning.
This deterrent power stemmed from a tangible disparity in strength, forcing everyone to treat it with utmost caution.
Under such a clear display of force, all external factions maintained necessary restraint.
The corporations' intelligence gathering was strictly limited to remote observation and probes through diplomatic channels. No one wanted to become the second Arasaka, testing the true might of this war machine.
Until an effective countermeasure could be found, maintaining a safe distance became the consensus.
Guaranteed by absolute force, the experiment was able to continue advancing, with the outside world's prying eyes effectively isolated beyond this wall of steel.