At this moment, hundreds of scientists were hard at work, each one focused on their own task.
And if anyone had come here now, they would have discovered that while this base was not as large as headquarters, in terms of precision and the importance of what it was producing, it was no less significant.
After constant calibration and adjustment, the scientists on site finally reached the stage everyone had been waiting for.
With the final launch command given by the project lead, and under Baymax's assisted calculations along with the twenty-four-hour nonstop labor of high-end construction robots, the base's massive mechanical arms began piecing together the final components one by one.
Not long after, once the main body had been fully secured, a futuristic spacecraft with an extremely sci-fi design appeared before everyone's eyes.
At that moment, everyone present could not help but feel their anticipation rise.
After all, in just a few short months, they had been forced not only to fully digest the manufacturing formula for high-strength alloys, but also to understand the various advanced and highly complex functions built into the craft. For them, that had been no small undertaking.
And now, all that work had finally paid off.
What remained was testing.
"Begin testing. Ignite the engine!"
At that moment, Roman Burr, one of the earliest veteran researchers to follow Killian and now the on-site director of this base, stared at the intelligent fighter in front of him with a serious expression and gave the order.
This was the first project the boss had ever handed him personally, and also the first project he had led after being assigned out here.
If he failed, then his future was essentially finished.
Because of that, Roman Burr had treated the entire thing with three hundred percent seriousness from beginning to end.
"Confirmed. Ignition sequence starting!"
"Ignition test normal. Beginning power output."
"Five percent. Ten percent. Thirty percent."
"Maintain output for one minute."
"Output stable. Increasing power ratio."
"Forty percent. Fifty percent. Seventy percent..."
...
"One hundred percent!"
"Output sustained. Engine normal. Engine efficiency normal."
"Timing. Ten minutes... engine beginning to heat up."
"Timing. Thirty minutes... engine temperature rising."
"Timing. Two hours... engine overheating."
"Activate cooling system!"
"Cooling system activated. Engine restored to base state. Efficiency fully normal."
As Roman Burr continued issuing orders, the researchers in the main control room carefully recorded and observed the engine data displayed in front of them.
"End ignition state. Begin reporting overall spacecraft status."
Once he saw that everything remained stable, Roman Burr gave the next order.
"Confirmed. Ending ignition state."
"Spacecraft structure stable. Hull stable. Internal systems stable. Power lines normal..."
After nearly a hundred separate test items all came back normal, the heavy weight in Roman Burr's heart eased a little.
"Testing continues. Begin systems calibration."
He gave the next order immediately.
"Doctor, isn't all this a little unnecessary?"
"Baymax already calculated it. This spacecraft has a ninety-nine percent compatibility rate."
At that moment, one of his assistants, looking at the nearly one hundred remaining test items, leaned closer and whispered.
After all, they had always trusted Baymax's calculations.
This was an artificial intelligence. From the project's initial design to its current stage, every major data model and prediction had relied on it.
So in his opinion, continuing like this was just wasted effort. They might as well save time and go straight to flight testing.
"Hmm?"
"Baymax, dismiss Level-4 employee Piero Martel. Revoke all permissions related to this facility and every project under it. Authorization: Roman Burr."
"You're fired."
"You're being removed from my lab. Go reflect in the outer section."
"Anyone who does not respect the most basic testing procedures will never have true respect for unknown technology."
After hearing his assistant's words, Roman Burr only gave him a cold glance.
Then, while the man was still feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise, Roman Burr's voice rang out, cold and emotionless.
"Authorization confirmed. Irrelevant project personnel detected: Piero Martel. Removal in progress."
Baymax's mechanical voice echoed through the main control room.
Then the side door opened, and several robotic security guards walked in expressionlessly.
"W-what?!"
"Doctor, I was only saying that for everyone's sake, to speed up the project and save time!"
Hearing Roman Burr's order, the assistant froze for a moment. Once he realized this was real, panic hit him instantly, and he started desperately trying to explain himself.
By the end, he looked ready to kneel on the spot and beg for another chance.
After all, his offer from AIM had not come easily. He had gone through enormous effort to secure this position and had beaten out countless others to make it all the way into this control room.
And now, after reaching this place through his abilities and qualifications, he was being fired over a single sentence.
At that moment, regret flooded his mind.
But for Roman Burr, this was the perfect chance to kill the chicken and scare the monkeys.
Naturally, he had no intention of letting the man off.
He knew very well that as Baymax's assistance became more and more obvious in pushing project progress forward, almost everyone in this base had developed a degree of laziness.
They might not have been stupid enough to say it aloud like this idiot had, but the thought was in their heads all the same.
And what he needed to do now was destroy that mindset completely.
No matter how strong, fast, or reliable artificial intelligence calculations were, every project still had to be treated with basic respect.
That meant safety and performance had to be verified on site.
"I know some of you may think I'm overreacting."
"You may think I'm heartless. Cold."
"But I want to make one thing clear."
"I do not care."
"In this base, I am your highest authority. Your direct superior."
"I don't care how other projects operate."
"But in my project, if any machine or equipment is handed to me based on a cold analysis report alone, without full on-site testing..."
"Then that idiot you just watched being dragged away is your example."
After the assistant had been taken out by the robot guards, Roman Burr turned to the rest of the room and scolded them in a hard voice.
"Now. Continue!"
The moment they heard that, the researchers all shivered and immediately buried themselves in their work again.
None of them wanted to become the second unlucky fool.
And besides, AIM's待遇 was already the best in the entire world of technology companies.
Joining the company meant your whole family received company benefits, housing, and treatment through the group's medical system.
It was better than they could have imagined.
Not to mention the company's annual twenty-month salary structure.
For every one of them, joining AIM had completely changed their life.
No one wanted to fall behind.
And under Roman Burr's harsh discipline, the base's energy instantly tightened and rose again.
After a full day of effort, all testing was finally declared successful.
"Hahaha, Burr, just as expected from one of the company's old veterans. You didn't disappoint me."
Killian had learned the news immediately and flew over in his private aircraft to this underground laboratory. Looking at the massive sci-fi spacecraft in front of him, he could not help laughing out loud.
At this rate, the aircraft he used from now on was probably going to change.
"Boss, I didn't fail your expectations. It's finally complete."
"Now all that remains is a test flight."
Hearing Killian's praise, Roman Burr, whose face was visibly tired from sleepless work, still could not help revealing a trace of joy.
"Really? Then it looks like I came at exactly the right time."
"I'll do the test flight myself."
Killian said that with a broad smile.
"??"
"Boss, that... that doesn't follow procedure."
Looking at how eager Killian seemed, Roman Burr answered awkwardly.
If this were anyone else, he would have forced them down on the spot.
But the man in front of him was the boss over the bosses, the man with thousands of researchers and no shortage of top scientific talent under him.
Asking Roman Burr to tell him no?
He did not think he had quite that much courage.
"It's fine. I trust you."
"If I can't trust the project director who stood in place through every stage of testing, stayed with the experiment the entire time, and spent a full day and night without sleep, then who exactly should I trust?"
"Relax."
Seeing Roman Burr's awkward expression, Killian only smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and reassured him.
Killian felt that, just like Tony Stark, he might have his own version of a "first-time complex."
If it was something made for him, or developed by him, then he needed to personally experience the first run.
And this one was no exception.
Especially because this was the king-class intelligent fighter from one of his favorite novels before he crossed over. It was effectively one of the top intelligent aircraft in that setting's Earth era.
Its total length was thirty-two meters, its wingspan thirty-six meters, and its height ten meters.
From materials to flight performance, it was leagues beyond ordinary fighters in every category.
Just the resources required for this aircraft already surpassed even the earlier Pacific Rim mech project.
The metal used for the airframe required the one-time purchase of over a million tons of steel, iron ore, and various rare minerals, all of which had to be refined and fused according to a proprietary formula.
Just the materials needed to build a single fighter like this already cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
And that was only the basic construction materials. It did not even include the many onboard technologies integrated into it.
Its total cost was almost impossible to measure.
The only good thing was that Killian had no intention of mass-producing this specific model yet. For outside release, he intended to focus mainly on a more standard fighter line. This project was largely about accumulating experience.
Then, while Roman Burr stood there looking like he wanted to object but did not dare, Killian led his people aboard the aircraft.
Because the original blueprint already matched what he had envisioned, he had not altered it.
It had been reproduced exactly as originally designed.
As Killian approached, Baymax also took control of the intelligent fighter and opened the rear hatch.
Without hesitation, Killian stepped inside.
The interior was spacious, and the cockpit area also used a transparent design, making it easy for the pilot to observe the surroundings.
Continuing farther in, he quickly came to a specially made metal door.
As soon as he approached, the door opened automatically.
Inside was a set of high-end ship functions and systems. But what drew the eye immediately were the two circular rings in the middle, each projecting a faint blue beam of light. Surrounded by the rings, the beams looked almost like light chambers.
"Sir, welcome to your king-class fighter."
"I will serve as the artificial intelligence of this fighter and will be honored to assist you."
Then, as blue particles gathered in the projected light field, Baymax's familiar cute digital form appeared in front of Killian and greeted him.
"Haha, Baymax, it looks like you really like this design."
Looking at Baymax's same soft, harmless shape, Killian could not help laughing.
"Yes."
"It allows me to project myself into the real world in a virtual form. I can detect that my overall work efficiency has increased by thirty percent."
After hearing Killian's words, Baymax performed a brief self-assessment and answered honestly.
"Really? Then it looks like I should've pushed this technology up the priority list a lot earlier."
Killian replied with some surprise.
In the field of artificial intelligence, he genuinely had not known that a positive emotional state could even raise work efficiency.
"Thank you, Sir. May I request authorization to perform deep development on this technology?"
For the first time, Baymax made a request of his own.
"Of course. But I still want to ask, do you already have a direction in mind?"
Naturally, Killian agreed right away. But what confused him was what exactly Baymax wanted from the technology.
After all, when virtual reality had first been developed, Baymax had not shown anything close to this level of reaction.
Of course, it was also possible that Baymax's intelligence had only now developed far enough to fully grasp what this technology represented.
Either way, Baymax's growth was all upside for Killian.
It was the same kind of absolute trust Tony Stark had in J.A.R.V.I.S.
"I have detected a possible path."
"This technology may be capable of combining with known database information through formula computation and programming, eventually achieving remote physical projection."
"However, it would require a massive amount of processing power."
After hearing Killian's question, Baymax answered directly.
"???"
"Virtual-reality physical projection?"
Killian was shocked.
He had not expected Baymax to calculate the endpoint of this virtual projection technology at the current stage.
It was like a child telling you that after understanding one plus one equals two, he had independently arrived at something on the level of a major unsolved theorem without looking up any supporting material at all.
That was how absurd it felt.
And yet... this technology really did exist.
In fact, it was one of the strongest suits Tony Stark ever built in certain parallel universes, and was even described as the greatest armor in history.
As far as Killian remembered, Tony had possessed many insanely powerful armors in those universes.
The anti-Phoenix armor, Model 38, which could split the Phoenix Force into five.
The Godkiller Mark II, Model 61, capable of battling Celestials.
And the anti-god armor from the runaway systems timeline, Model 63, created through limitless intelligence and imagination.
Even after creating monsters like those, Tony still called the holographic projection armor the greatest armor in history.
That said enough about its standing.
This solidified projection armor was called the Virtual Armor, designated Model 68.
It was constructed entirely from hardened holographic projections.
You could almost think of it as a Marvel version of a Green Lantern construct turned into power armor.
And its energy source was even more outrageous, it drew power from a virtual world itself.
In other words, the suit's energy supply was linked to an entire world.
It was absurd.
If Baymax had not brought up physical projection on his own, Killian would never even have dared think in that direction.
The theory was too far ahead.
But if Baymax could really achieve it, then AIM's overall combat power and technological level would undergo a complete leap.
"Based on the compiled research, Sir, yes. That is the direction I am referring to."
After consolidating the possibility of what the technology could become, Baymax answered.
"No problem. Go ahead and pursue it."
Killian agreed without hesitation.
For him, if Baymax succeeded, then it would be a massive victory.
And if Baymax failed, then at worst they would have burned some processing power and time.
Besides, Killian had already been throwing huge amounts of money around to expand Baymax's total computing resources.
He was building large-scale server arrays, and he was also pushing smartphone sales and network expansion harder and harder.
(End of Chapter)
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