Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rundi
The search result came out soon after and Wang Zhaowu was summarizing and reporting the result to Jiang Chen.
The search team comprised of 30 soldiers along with an armored vehicle and two modified trucks mobilized to the destroyed apartment building at the outskirt of the city center. After two hours of thorough investigation, the search team managed to obtain some valuable information.
From the shambles of the explosion, they found the remains of 20 sentry guns and two radars. The actual number would be much higher, but only those could be confirmed.
Other than that, there was some special production equipment that seemed to be for the production of a particular type of parts. But due to the severity of the damage, the search team could not identify the purpose of the parts. From the mutated fruits used to produce nutrient supply, there were human activities there.
There was another surprise that came out of the investigation. In a collapsed corner, they managed to found a half-damaged quantum computer. From the specification, the quantum computer appeared to be the experiment model. Although they didn’t know if they would be able to fix it or not, they still hauled it onto the truck.
The helicopter for Liuding didn’t interfere with Fishbone’s search, it only hovered from afar and didn’t even send anyone down.
The only thing that interfered with the research was the group of zombies that gathered because of the noise as well as a Roshan that happened to wander by.
But just as they were about to retreat, the fleet was attacked by a group of militants with an unknown identity.
The militants mostly used laser weapons and launched a sudden attack on the fleet when they were retreating. But the captain of the search team reacted quickly as he ordered the troops to take cover and fire back.
The crossfire lasted for five minutes. Under the high caliber machine gun’s unleashed fire, the search team’s firepower was clearly at an advantage. After the militants lost ten something bodies, they quickly dispersed and fleed away.
When Jiang Chen heard that the search team managed to find a quantum computer among the ruins, Jiang Chen immediately meet with the team’s captain Zhu Zheng. He personally granted him the knight emblem to honor his contribution to the base.
After sending the clearly astonished new knight away, Jiang Chen then looked for Xu Lu and used her to find the experts in quantum computers at the base to conduct an assessment of the destroyed quantum computer.
Luckily, based on what the expert said, while the hard drive of the quantum computer received severe damage, the most critical processor damage was still within the limit of being fixable. Even with the current technology in the fallout shelter, they could fix the quantum computer.
When he heard the good news, Jiang Chen immediately ordered Xu Lu to gather all resources and prioritize the repair of the quantum computer. For the research teams of the fallout shelter, it had more significant value to them.
Especially the experiment level quantum computer, it was a God-sent gift on the wasteland.
He didn’t know Lin Chaoen’s base would have this, but regardless, the treasure now belonged to him.
After he delegated the work, Xu Lu took the elder quantum computer expert and left.
Jiang Chen sunk into his chair again and faced the empty office. He took a deep breath and took out the restructure order he had half completed.
“Ahhh… This is more troublesome than I thought.”
He threw the document on the table as he rubbed his head out of frustration.
With law experts at the Fishbone base recommending suggestions combined with the political sense he developed during university while being part of controversial forums, he had already organized the rules and laws. It took him three months of work to develop a set of rules that was not too difficult and fitted the society in the apocalypse.
The only tricky thing was a reorganization of the command structure.
Jiang Chen swept the pile of documents to the side and picked up the tablet at the corner.
His finger slid on the tablet before a list of data showed up in front of him.
“1517 soldiers, 1000 recruits, 323 knights… Eh? I already knighted this many person?” Jiang Chen muttered to himself as his finger continued to scroll.
The logistic department leader Wang Qin recorded all the arms’ information on this list.
He had no clue at all.
He sighed, got up, and left the office.
…
Jiang Chen pushed open the basement door as he met the defeated female Colonel.
Han Junhua’s face was free of expression. Just like a marble sculpture, he could read the defined edge, but he couldn’t read any emotional colors.
With the emotionless face in front of him, Jiang Chen lost the ability to speak. What made him feel powerless was not the lack of conversational starters, but the lack of hatred on her face.
That’s right, hatred.
Without the ability to hate, there would be no fear. If fear didn’t exist, then there would be no compromise.
Jiang Chen began to regret the pointless actions he committed.
In the bright and silent basement, time quietly ticked by.
“Are you just here to see me?” Han Junhua was the first to break the silence.”
“I… I just don’t know what to say.” Jiang Chen used an uncertain voice.
Han Junhua didn’t respond, she looked away and seemingly lost interest.
If she had any interest.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen seemed to have understood something.
“I can somewhat feel what you feel.”
“Normal people can’t.” Han Junhua’s response was fast.
“The normal state can’t.” Jiang Chen paused. “Have you heard of genetic vaccines? You must have, people who are injected with it have a chance of developing a special kind of mutation.”
“The strand of DNA usually unexpressed?”
“That’s right! Hidden genetic code.” Jiang Chen finally remembered the name.
“So?’ Han Junhua quietly looked at Jiang Chen.
“… Without emotion, it feels hard right?” Jiang Chen asked with a gentle voice.
After he activated his abilities, it was the emptiness of completely removing his emotion from the body. He only experienced it twice, but the feeling would make him feel chilled every time he recalled it.
Han Junhua looked at Jiang Chen in the eyes. “Rather than hard, empty is probably the better word.”
“Because PAC doesn’t exist anymore, right?”
Not because of her loyalty to PAC, not because of her responsibility, those things vanished the moment she was no longer the leader of the fallout shelter, those things faded away with her duty.
But because that was the entirety of her life.
Not until now did Jiang Chen finally realize this point.
Han Junhua didn’t respond directly, but she asked back, “Have you heard of the Mental Commissar
project?”
Jiang Chen shook his head.
“Engrave ideology with electricity, and write the doctrine into the soul,” Han Junhua continued.
“No. The Mental Commissar project is targeted at humans, it is known as commander mass production project in the army. To put it in simple terms, it is writing the ideology into the brain like a program. The commander that passed through this project had the absolute right ideology and would not make an error in judgment because of personal emotions in any situation; it would also not bear the burden of responsibility because of the outcome. Normally, we would be used to execute some of the mission that can’t be revealed to the world. For example, suppressing separatist, taking out protestors,” Han Junhua said in a quiet voice.
Jiang Chen was stunned. He held his breath.
He saw people who wanted to convert computers into human brains, now he has witnessed making the human brain into a computer.
“This is…” He didn’t know what word he could use to describe this.
Evil?
No, there is nothing eviler than the nuclear weapon. The instant war erupted, all morale and boundary became complete jokes. In the digitalized weapon, history may not be written by the victor, but only the victor had the right to judge history.
He was born in a peaceful era, he couldn’t experience the need for decisiveness people faced.
“There is no need to have sympathy for me, all the people participating in the Mental Commissar project were self-voluntary.”
There was no regret on her face, only her eyes began to be covered in loneliness.
“Just, after I completed the last mission, I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Jiang Chen was silent, looking at the emotionless Colonel.
He had made a mistake about her persistence.
“Let’s make a deal.”
Han Junhua looked at Jiang Chen with questions in her eyes.
“Emotions, although I am not a scientist, I trust that science will solve this problem. Help me achieve my ambition, and I will help you find what you have lost. How about that?” Jiang Chen looked at her eyes earnestly.
“A new Mental Commissar in the brain? I don’t think I want that.”
“No, it’s regaining the emotion of a normal person.” Jiang Chen shook his head.
Han Junhua fell into a brief silence.
“How can I trust you?”
“Even if you don’t trust, there are no better choices right?”
“I want to ask, how can I trust that you can do it.”
“Is it hard to do?”
“When I accepted the surgery, my commander told me clearly that I will become a being more closer to a machine than a digitalized human. Even if we win the war after everyone welcomed a happy ending, I still couldn’t accept comfort other than honor.”
“Even with the most advanced technology before the war, it cannot deactivate the Mental Commissar?”
Han Junhua shook her head.
“Then you have more reasons to choose me.” Jiang Chen snapped his fingers with a grin.
Han Junhua looked at him.
“I will return order to this piece of land. The technological research structure will be restored. Even if the 22nd century cannot solve your problem, I believe that in the distant 23rd, 24th, or even 25th century, your problem will be solved. Once everything is completed, I will arrange for you to enter the hibernation chamber in the future,” Jiang Chen stared into her eyes and said with seriousness.
She closed her eyes and gave it a long thought.
After a long silence, she opened her eyes.
“You convinced me.”