Break out of the courtyard

"Peace, when are you free to sign the confidentiality agreement regarding Sanxingdui?"

Seeing that Zhang Heping's reaction to the two faxes was too indifferent, Hua Lao couldn't help but ask a question, lest Zhang Heping not realize that the fax represented the authority of the Sanxingdui underground base.

“I haven’t had time in the last six months!” Zhang Heping replied casually, got up, took off his gold-plated black iron helmet, and then locked it in the bookcase behind him.

Hua Lao's heart sank, thinking that Zhang Heping had lost interest in Sanxingdui.

However, just as Hua was about to introduce other research projects at the Sanxingdui underground base, Zhang Heping turned around and said, "Have them send over the confidentiality agreement, and also bring a few copies of their research materials. I want to understand their research projects and related progress first."

Zhang Heping was also busy optimizing his brain-computer interface and biological brain server, leaving him no extra energy to waste on other things.

Even if close contact with the Ruomu Divine Tree and the Ruomu Brain-Computer could help him accelerate the development of his virtual dream game, he would only consider going there to AFK once his brain-computer interface was more complete.

“Those documents are highly classified, so it’s probably difficult to get approval to send them to Hong Kong Island. How about we send them to the Shenzhen Peace Academy, and you can go and take a look when you have some free time?”

Hua Lao came up with a compromise, but Zhang Heping just grunted in response and then fell silent.

A moment later, Zhang Heping went to the underground laboratory. Hua Lao was unable to follow and left the Zhang family home with some lingering doubts.

When Mr. Hua arrived at the Media Building on the east side of the Hong Kong Island Peace Institute, he was greeted by Director Wang and taken to the technical sharing session. There, he heard a group of mainland experts having a lively conversation.

Looking diagonally downwards towards the podium, Zhang Bei and two men wearing black helmets were standing there silently.

Just as Mr. Hua was about to walk to the front row to sit down and observe the mainland experts testing the virtual reality game helmet up close, Director Wang stopped him and made him sit in the fourth row. Then, he quietly explained the safety matters that Zhang Bei had mentioned earlier.

Upon hearing about the dangers of mental energy, Elder Hua couldn't help but look at Zhang Long and Zhang Hu, who were sitting in the first row.

“They all wear third-generation brain-computer interfaces, so they should have a way to defend against external mental forces!” Director Wang explained quietly to Elder Hua from the side.

Mr. Hua nodded and calmed down to listen to what the experts were saying.

"It feels like a dream! I can actually fly freely inside!"

"Unfortunately, each person can only experience it for 5 minutes. I had just started to get into the swing of things when they stopped me. Sigh..."

"Five minutes is enough. If everyone has to experience it for half an hour or an hour, how long will the others have to wait?"

"You guys think that the helmet is completely blackout inside, is it to make it easier for people to enter virtual dream games?"

"I think so! When I was experiencing the virtual dream of the frog eating mosquitoes, I could still feel the touch of my hands and feet, which means that my consciousness was not completely entered into the dream of the frog's brain."

"In that case, could the helmet's design also reduce external sounds and smells, allowing users to better experience the virtual dream world?"

Factors such as touch, sight, hearing, and taste were things that Mr. Hua and Director Wang had never considered before.

Therefore, professional matters should be left to professionals for testing in order to analyze the target object from more perspectives.

Time passed second by second, and even with a team of 25 experts from the mainland, the test was coming to an end.

As the last person stepped onto the stage, a middle-aged woman among those who had already been tested stood up and asked loudly:

"Young man, could we send another person up on stage for the test?"

"Okay!" Zhang Bei replied simply, then glanced at his wristwatch on his left wrist, revealing a hint of impatience.

After receiving a positive response from Zhang Bei, the mainland expert group had a brief discussion, and then Professor Zheng, the most senior member, went on stage to experience the so-called virtual dream game a second time.

Five minutes later, Zhang Bei called a halt to the test.

Before the two experts could remove their helmets, Zhang Long and Zhang Hu flipped onto the stage from the middle.

"Big brother, I feel that the spiritual power transformed from the frog's brain is slightly different. I wonder if it's just my and Xiaohu's imagination!" Zhang Long came to Zhang Bei's side, frowning as he looked at the two people in front of him who had taken off their helmets and were now curiously examining them.

Zhang Bei frowned and replied, "I have the same feeling. I wonder if it's because the frog brain came into contact with the spiritual power of different people. I'll take the frog brain back later and ask Dad to take a look at it."

Zhang Hu interjected, "If too many people affect the frog's dream state, what will happen when it connects to the internet later? What kind of biological brain server can handle the influx of millions or even hundreds of millions of players' mental energy?"

"You're overthinking it! One biological brain server isn't enough, can't we add a few more?" Zhang Bei didn't urge the two mainland experts who were inspecting the helmets, but when others were preparing to rush onto the stage to get a closer look at the helmets and frog brains, Zhang Bei prepared to pack up and leave.

Someone shamelessly asked, "Young man, could we have another round of testing? We haven't even gotten the hang of it yet, and it's already over!"

It's unbelievable that this person could say such a thing. Zhang Bei stood on the stage for more than two hours without even a chair or a sip of water.

Any normal person who comes over should first say thank you for your hard work, and then ask if you want to sit down and rest for a while, so as to buy them time to examine the helmet and the frog brain.

"No!" Zhang Bei beckoned to the bodyguards carrying several boxes and quickly packed the two Virtual Dream Game helmets into the boxes.

Just as Zhang Hu and Zhang Long were carefully collecting the life support device from the frog brain, Old Hua quickly stepped forward and asked, "Xiao Bei, didn't your dad say he wanted to leave the helmet and frog brain at the venue?"

"Do you think we can leave them here and let these experts study them on their own?"

Zhang Hu frowned and looked at Elder Hua. "When did my dad ever say that he wanted to leave the helmet and the frog brain here?"

"Grandpa Hua, are you sure you heard me right?" Zhang Bei had two bodyguards carry the black cube-shaped case containing the helmet, then turned to look at Old Hua and continued:

“My dad just told me to send the helmet and frog brain to the main venue so that these people could experience the virtual dream game in advance. He never said to leave the helmet and frog brain here.”

"Leaving aside the fact that these people don't know how to protect themselves with mental energy, and whether something might happen during the process; just considering the nutritional supplementation of frog brains, who among them knows how?"

Zhang Long added, "If we leave it to them, I'm afraid the frog's brain will die in less than an hour."

Hua Lao wanted to take out his phone to call Zhang Heping, but when he heard that it concerned the life or death of Frog Brain, he lost his confidence.

With December 12th fast approaching, if this "frog brain" dies before the meeting, it will not only affect Zhang Heping's technical sharing session, but also his international reputation.

Mr. Hua did not want this matter to create a rift between him and Zhang Heping.

Moreover, bodyguards surrounded them, keeping a close eye on the people around Zhang Bei, Zhang Long, and Zhang Hu, not giving outsiders any chance to get close.

Watching Zhang Bei and his team leave with the boxes containing the helmets and frog brains, Elder Hua then said to the experts around him, "You should discuss and summarize first. There will be a video conference at 7 p.m., and you need to send a representative to speak about your experience with this virtual dream game test and the problems you found."

~
Magnesium, China.

"No!" An old man, leaning on a cane, with thinning hair and bony frame, looked at the current head steward with great agitation and roared, "You're not even 50 years old yet, why are you rushing to use the Lifespan 120 potion!" "Because those four Lifespan 120 potions were something I worked hard to get!" Little K leaned back on the sofa, took a leisurely puff of his cigar, and then said slowly, "You can wait a little longer!"

"If you can't wait, you can use the NMN100 potion first, and then spend money to buy the Lifespan 120 potion later!"

This statement is somewhat deceptive, because Zhang Heping once said at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony that the Lifespan 100 potion has side effects and that the Lifespan 120 potion cannot be used after its use.

Although NMN100 is a generic drug from the United States, they are copying Lifespan 100. Even if the formula is not exactly the same, the side effects are definitely the same.

The blond man standing next to the old man frowned and said, "Mr. K, as far as I know, you don't have that much money or gold to pay for that potion, which costs as much as 120 billion RMB!"

Xiao Ke exhaled a smoke ring and laughed, "You don't need to worry about that!"

"You forgot?" The bald old man on the other sofa, who still had an IV bag hanging from his arm, said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. has a special fund that's set aside to buy the Lifespan 120 serum!"

"If Mr. K agrees to use the Lifespan 120 serum and provides some of his blood to S.H.I.E.L.D. for experiments, he can enjoy the Lifespan 120 serum as an experimental participant!"

The gaunt old man asked resentfully, "Why are you taking my 120-year lifespan potion quota?"

If Xiao Ke doesn't answer, someone else will answer for him.

"Because you weren't involved in Old Bu's affair!" An old man with gray hair said the truth calmly.

Upon hearing this, the gaunt old man and the blond man beside him fell silent for a moment.

Previously, when discussing how to exchange the old Bu family for the Lifespan 120 potion, the emaciated old man did not refuse, but he did not send anyone to participate in the follow-up actions.

Just when everyone thought the father and son were about to compromise, the emaciated old man suddenly said, "I know where Xiao Bu's children are!"

……

The next day, early in the morning.

When Zhang Heping went out for a run, Zhu Chengguang, who had been waiting by the gate of the residential area before dawn, hurriedly followed Zhang Heping out.

Zhang Heping initially ignored Zhu Chengguang, but after running half a lap and preparing to return to the community, he slowed down, glanced at the panting and exhausted Zhu Chengguang, and said, "Pay attention to your breathing rate!"

After jogging for a while, Zhu Chengguang recovered and said slowly but clearly, "The Americans contacted our people last night, asking if we could exchange the right to purchase two more lifespan-enhancing drugs using Bush's children?"

"Who asked?" Zhang Heping frowned, because even with the help of the Magnesium Bureau, Xiao Ke was unable to find out the whereabouts of Xiao Bu's children.

“The Ster family!” Zhu Chengguang quickened his pace and replied, “The head of their family wants to buy a lifespan-extending potion for his father.”

"I don't understand what they're talking about!" Zhang Heping said calmly, "What does Xiao Bu's children have to do with us?"

After Zhang Heping finished speaking, he quickened his pace and ran away.

Zhu Chengguang stood there for a while, thinking, before figuring out how to reply to those Americans.

What the big boss just told him is clearly contradictory to the bodyguard team that was sent to the United States to find Bush's children.

However, Zhu Chengguang suppressed his many questions when he thought of the bodyguards who had accompanied him earlier. He planned to have someone check the bodyguards' files and interpersonal relationships when he got back.

Zhu Chengguang believes that the boss said those things just now to prevent the bodyguards from spreading rumors.

Therefore, Zhu Chengguang deduced that the boss might have discovered that those bodyguards were problematic!

As the security manager, he has an inescapable management responsibility!
When Zhang Heping returned home, he found that Zhang Bei, Zhang Long, and Zhang Hu were all up, and as soon as they met, they clamored to go and check on the frog brain.

The three of them brought the frog brain back yesterday afternoon. After describing the frog brain's unusual behavior at the meeting, Zhang Heping told them to put the frog brain back in the basement and temporarily disconnect it from the frog brain's dreams, and to talk about it again after one night.

Eleven hours had passed, and the three brothers were getting impatient.

"Dad, isn't it about time?" Zhang Hu said anxiously, "The frog brain has rested for so long, I think it should be rested enough!"

"Have breakfast first!" Zhang Heping simply replied before heading straight to his bedroom on the top floor to shower and change.

After finally finishing his meal, Zhang Hu, Zhang Long, and Zhang Bei waited anxiously beside him, which made Zhang Heping lose the desire to continue eating.

Zhang Nan and Zhang Nian also heard that Frog Brain had some problems, but unfortunately they both had to go out today, so they could only ask Zhang Feng to keep an eye on Frog Brain's condition for them.

As Zhang Heping and Zhang Bei were the first to put on the virtual dream game helmet, Zhang Long, Zhang Hu, and Zhang Feng began to use the third-generation gold-rimmed glasses brain-computer interface to release their mental energy, trying to perceive any possible abnormalities in the frog's brain at close range.

In the virtual dream game space of "Mosquitoes vs. Frog King", Zhang Heping is conducting various tests.

For example, what it feels like to be eaten by that frog demon king who is as big as a mountain!
"Dad!" Zhang Hu said hurriedly when he saw his father, Zhang Heping, take off his helmet. "I still feel that strange feeling from yesterday. Could it be that there's something wrong with Frog's brain?"

Zhang Heping didn't rush to answer, but let Zhang Bei speak first.

Zhang Bei had been following behind his father, mimicking his father's actions, which is why he made the discovery.

"The Frog Demon King's tongue is secreting mucus!" Zhang Bei frowned, as if thinking of something disgusting. "Do you want to go in and be eaten by it first, to experience it?"

"No! Just thinking about it makes me sick!" Zhang Feng hurriedly shook her head.

On the contrary, Zhang Long and Zhang Hu were eager to try. Zhang Hu excitedly said, "I didn't notice before, but the Frog Demon King's tongue is dry."

"How much mucus does its tongue have now? Is it the same as a real frog's tongue?"

"If they are the same, then to improve the realism of virtual dream games, would we need more people to use biological brain servers?"

Zhang Bei looked at his father, and seeing that the other man did not speak, he did not rush to answer Zhang Hu's guess, but continued, "There are a few more discoveries!"

"There are 83 more mosquitoes in the sky, 8 more lotus leaves in the water, and two more carp underwater. I don't know if it's the frog's brain changing the dream itself, or if it's due to those mainland experts yesterday. This is very important for us to optimize the virtual dream game."

"Dad, that's all I've found. What else have you discovered?"

Zhang Heping laughed and said, "Why don't you say that the Frog Demon King's saliva is salty?"

...(End of chapter)