They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 193 Behemoth's Purpose

"Haha, have you been discovered?"

Ron Keller was taken aback at first, but then his deliberately maintained composure melted away like ice and snow, turning into unrestrained, loud laughter.

The somewhat stagnant air inside the carriage was instantly enlivened by the laughter.

"Truly worthy of being called Master Zhuge..."

He raised his wine glass and gestured to Zhuge Qing across the distance, his azure eyes filled with admiration and excitement at having met his match.

"Now that you've discovered it, you've probably guessed pretty much what our purpose is."

This is a kind of honesty, and also a kind of self-confidence.

When a hunter stops concealing his whereabouts, it often means that the prey has entered a trap from which there is no escape.

"If I'm not mistaken, there should be a rather important research topic within your organization: the collection and application of the power of faith."

For example... those superheroes who save the world on the big screen and in comic books.

Zhuge Qing ignored the other party's flattery, instead picking up the almost untouched glass of champagne and taking a small sip.

The cool liquid slid down his throat, making his chaotic thoughts even clearer.

His tone was calm, yet it was like a precise scalpel, dissecting Behemoth's most fundamental secret.

In this way, everything makes sense.

Based on the intelligence he gathered through various channels, Behemoth invests huge sums of money every year to produce and distribute a large number of comics, movies and TV series, sparing no effort to promote their superheroes and supervillains.

If the purpose is merely to study superhumans, then this approach is undoubtedly a roundabout and unnecessary endeavor.

After all, real-life cases of extraordinary individuals are far more valuable for research than fictional stories.

But now it seems that the other party's true purpose is probably far more ambitious than he imagined.

They are not making a movie, but using the power of modern media to carry out an unprecedented "deification movement".

By using these fictional characters as anchors, they harvest the awe, worship, and fantasy of billions of ordinary people around the world, thereby studying the immense power called "faith".

"Haha, that's natural."

Ron Keller's laughter carried a hint of pride, as if an artist were showcasing his most perfect work.
"After all, that kind of power is only related to the 'cognition' of intelligent life forms."

Such a fascinating and powerful force—how could we possibly overlook this direction for experimentation?

He leaned back in the soft leather seat, his posture relaxed, but his words revealed an unquestionable authority.

"Human cognition itself contains power, which should have been reflected in your Eastern cultivation theories long ago."

However, this power is diffuse and disordered, and requires specific means to guide and utilize it.

Our research over many years has shown that if a group's belief can be given a clear and unambiguous 'direction,' then this force will flow like rivers into the sea, gradually converging on that specific thing.

Ron's gaze swept across the huge electronic screen in Times Square outside the window, where a hero in a red and blue suit was flashing, and countless tourists were taking pictures with their phones, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

"This is why we choose superheroes and supervillains as 'vessels of faith'... You should understand this, right?"

"Hmm." Zhuge Qing nodded slightly; the power of faith does indeed need a vessel.

Simply put, just like ordinary people going to temples to worship gods, the spiritual power they generate during their prayers is mostly placed on the statues of gods in front of them.

However, the statue is an inanimate object, an inorganic body, and does not have the ability to absorb and transform "primordial energy". Therefore, this power will quickly dissipate into the world after a short stay.

In order to make efficient use of this power, each school has developed its own unique techniques.

For example, some schools of thought that are skilled in invoking deities will create special "deity masks" as a medium to carry their beliefs;
For example, the Taoist concept of "lineage transmission" ensures the stable transmission of faith through the maintenance of generations of patriarchs.

However, there is another very special case.

That is when this belief has a unique, living, and specific target.

For example... himself.

For example, the "superheroes" and "supervillains" that Behemoth meticulously created.

"Based on our research data,"

Ron lowered his voice, his tone carrying a scientist's fervor.
"This power is enough to subtly change a person's physical and mental state, and may even enable them to possess powers they did not originally have."

He seemed to have thought of an interesting case, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly:
"Just like one of our previously popular heroes, we created a fictional story in the comics and movies about him falling into darkness because of the death of his girlfriend."

Guess what happened? During that time, the Inhuman who played the hero became extremely unstable mentally, often irritable and easily angered, while his ability strength, according to our precise testing, increased by at least five percentage points!

Five percentage points!
This seemingly insignificant number is nothing short of an insurmountable chasm for those top-tier individuals who have already reached their own limits.

Ron’s gaze refocused on Zhuge Qing, and his admiration and excitement were now mixed with an indescribable longing.

"And the faith that is focused on you is also quite vast, even purer and more condensed than any of our projects."

Of course, we know very well that a large part of the credit goes to your ancestor, who had a sacred influence throughout the East Asian cultural sphere.

Wisdom, loyalty, flawless planning, and... that mysterious technique called 'Qimen'.

This is the collective impression that the public has of that Lord Wuhou.

"As things stand, your extraordinary wisdom may well be a product of this very thing..."

Ron's tone became solemn. He took a deep breath, leaned forward slightly, and stared intently at Zhuge Qing with a burning flame in his blue eyes.

Given Zhuge Qing's age and the achievements he made, his wisdom can be said to have reached the pinnacle of human intellect.

Even according to the information on their phones, the Zhuge family is a long-standing family of sorcerers, and they even use Qimen, a method that requires a high level of intelligence and computing power.

Such wisdom is simply outrageous...

Therefore, their research team came to the conclusion that this extraordinary wisdom was a miracle.

This is a miracle that they could not replicate even if they poured all the resources of their organization into it.

And that's why they invited Zhuge Qing...

(End of this chapter)