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

Chapter 203 Project Investigation
A few days later, at a top-secret underground base of Nadutong located on the outskirts of Beijing, the atmosphere was so solemn it was almost stagnant.

The cold metal walls reflected the cold, lifeless light of the incandescent bulbs, illuminating the sharp outlines of every face in the conference room.

Zhuge Qing followed Zhao Fangxu calmly into the conference room, his gaze quickly sweeping over everyone present.

At the head of the long conference table sat three middle-aged men in crisp military uniforms, their general's stars gleaming under the lights.

Behind them was a team of technical experts, numbering over ten.

Most of them were elderly, with serious expressions and sharp, piercing eyes behind their glasses.

Zhuge Qing had seen several of these faces on the covers of top domestic scientific journals; they were experts in the field of engineering and technology.

As Zhuge Qing sized them up, this group of people, representing the highest power and wisdom of the country, also cast their scrutinizing gazes upon this overly young figure.

Finally, it was the general sitting in the center, with the most brilliant stars on his shoulders, who broke the silence first.

"Comrade Zhuge Qing, I have long admired your name. Let's not waste time with pleasantries, as time is precious."

"Let's begin. First, explain to us the principle behind your 'treasure'."

His voice was as steady as a mountain, with the penetrating power unique to soldiers.

"Okay, Chief."

Zhuge Qing nodded slightly, signaling the staff beside him to distribute the tablets that had been prepared beforehand.

"For technical details regarding the 'Xingtian' armor, please refer to the relevant materials first."

He paused, waiting for everyone's attention to the equipment in his hands, before continuing.
"Since none of you here are from the world of supernatural beings, I will try my best to explain the more esoteric parts such as 'Qimen Dunjia' and the operation of 'Qi' using modern engineering concepts that you can understand."

He cleared his throat, and the entire conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Simply put, the operating principle of the 'Xingtian' armor is not fundamentally different from the exoskeleton armor systems we are familiar with."

A complete exoskeleton consists of four core parts: first, the energy unit that provides power, which is the battery;

Second, the drive unit that performs the action, including joints, hydraulic or motor systems;

Third, the control unit that issues commands, namely the chip and the core algorithm;

Finally, there's the overall framework that connects all of this.

"The 'Xingtian' armor simply replaces these parts with a completely different technological system."

"Its energy unit is no longer a chemical battery or a nuclear battery, but 'primordial Qi'."

The control unit abandons all current electronic chips and computers, and is instead directly taken over by the wearer's brain.

The drive unit is operated by the coordinated action of the wearer's body and the external armor.

"Wait a minute, Comrade Zhuge."

You mean it's directly controlled by the brain?
This concept is familiar to us; it's called brain-computer interface.

However, the most advanced brain-computer interface technologies, whether invasive or non-invasive, suffer from significant signal delays and error rates.

How do you manage to control a set of high-intensity combat armor with such precision, following the complex instructions from your brain?

No sooner had he finished speaking than an expert in the technical panel pushed up his glasses and interrupted him with a furrowed brow.

His research focuses on artificial intelligence and brain science, which are his areas of expertise.

Traditional brain-computer interfaces operate on a 'translation' model, where the brain issues commands, the machine receives electrical signals, translates them, and then executes them.

Delay and loss occur during this process.

But Xingtian is different; it is not a translation, but an assimilation.

The energy of 'Primordial Qi' is the best medium, which can transform will into reality with almost no damage, making the armor a 'new limb' directly controlled by the brain.

Therefore, there is no issue of conversion efficiency, because human thought processes are simultaneous.

Zhuge Qing did not panic; instead, he smiled.

Upon hearing this explanation, the experts began to discuss it, as the energy of primordial qi was indeed beyond their comprehension.

"No matter how much theory you talk about, it's still just empty talk."

Another materials science expert asked in a deep voice,

"How strong is the material of this armor? How does it withstand pressure and how stable is it in extreme environments?"
For example, extremely high and low temperatures, and strong electromagnetic interference—these would all affect the flow of 'Qi,' wouldn't they?

"No, the primordial Qi is only influenced by the consciousness of intelligent life and basically does not interact with the outside world."

"However, I agree with your first point: the ultimate goal of theory is practice. Why don't you all experience it for yourselves?"

Zhuge Qing replied that this was a characteristic of the primordial Qi itself; before it transformed into other forms, it did not interact with the outside world at all.

Therefore, no instrument can capture or observe the primordial Qi. The only way to sense this energy is when intelligent life remains in a state of stillness.

"it is good!"

The previously silent leading general suddenly slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and stared intently at Zhuge Qing.
"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth! I'll go first!"

The group immediately moved to a more spacious testing area nearby.

Technicians quickly pushed in the "Xingtian" prototype, which was fixed on the support frame.

Due to time constraints, the convenient dressing method seen in Armor Hero has not yet been developed, and several technicians are still needed to manually assist with the donning process.

Amidst a series of sharp mechanical clicks, crimson armor components were installed one by one onto the general's imposing body.

As the last piece of breastplate snapped in, the entire suit of armor emitted a soft hum, and all parts began to automatically fine-tune, perfectly fitting the general's body shape, as if it were a second skin.

"This feeling... is truly amazing!"

From within the armor came the general's voice, a suppressed excitement. He raised his hands, completely encased in metal, clenched his fists, and then lightly bounced twice.
"I can't feel the weight of this armor at all... no, I should say, I feel like it's part of my body!"

"This is precisely the core technical feature of the 'Xingtian' series."

Zhuge Qing stood aside and explained,

"Because the drive and information transmission both originate from the 'Primordial Qi' and act directly on the armor itself, all the complex energy transmission and mechanical conversion processes are eliminated. So in a sense, this armor is an extension of the body. General, you can try the strength test."

At the other end of the test site, a robotic arm pushed a tank composite armor target, one meter square and half a meter thick, to the center of the site.

The general took a deep breath and strode forward.

The heavy metal armor seemed to be light as a feather on him. After a few steps of running up, he pulled his right arm back and threw out a standard straight punch!

"Bam—!"

A deafening roar, far more muffled and penetrating than the impact of metal striking metal!

To everyone's horror, a terrifying dent appeared in the center of the composite armor target that was strong enough to withstand the frontal bombardment of armor-piercing rounds, and countless cracks spread like a spider web across the entire target surface in an instant!

"This……"

Upon seeing this result, the general himself gasped in shock, completely disbelieving that he had done it.

"This...this is impossible!"

"The instantaneous impact force... exceeded the theoretical peak! What kind of material is this?"

Upon seeing this, the scientist who had just asked the question gasped in shock. The technicians beside him quickly operated the instruments, and the data that popped up on the screen made them gasp in astonishment.

Forces are reciprocal; while they can crack the armor, they must also withstand the impact themselves.

The outer armor of that suit of armor was not damaged at all, and the people inside did not even feel the impact. That's too outrageous!

Next up is the speed and reaction test.

A dozen or so targets lit up randomly and irregularly in the arena. The general's figure turned into a red afterimage, darting around the arena at high speed. Each flash was accompanied by the loud bang of a fist shattering a target.

The whole process was smooth and fluid, without any unnecessary movements, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times.

In less than three seconds, all the targets were shattered!
After the test, the remaining generals and several daring experts also took turns trying it out. When each of them came out of the armor, they all had the same expression on their faces, a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Zhao Fangxu stood aside, watching all this, and secretly clenched his fist in excitement.

Judging from the incredulous feedback from everyone, it's a success!
After the test, the technical experts immediately surrounded the armor, using various instruments to conduct a detailed scan and inspection inside and out, while constantly asking Liu Cheng and other weapon refiners about the technical details.

The three high-ranking military officials, along with Zhao Fangxu and Zhuge Qing, returned to the conference room.

"We have personally experienced the power of the armor."

The leading general spoke first, his gaze completely changed; it was no longer scrutinizing, but rather like a hunter spotting his most prized prey.
"But we are more concerned with other issues than the technical details."

Production cycle time, maintenance costs, and equipment reliability in complex battlefield environments.

"First of all, this armor is more like a 'magical artifact' used by supernatural beings, and it has almost no sophisticated circuitry in the traditional sense."

Therefore, unless it suffers irreversible and devastating physical damage, it requires almost no maintenance.

Secondly, its core energy unit can directly absorb 'primordial energy' from the external environment for replenishment, and can even achieve unlimited power in low-power standby or regular combat mode.

If the wearer is an extraordinary individual, they can also greatly enhance the armor's burst damage and sustained combat capability through their own 'Qi'.

Zhuge Qing explained, then changed the subject, throwing out an even more enticing piece of information:
"Moreover, because the armor has a complete energy circulation circuit inside, it has extremely high plasticity."

We can specialize it according to different combat environments and mission requirements, and configure it with corresponding capabilities.

For example, invisibility, burrowing underground, etc...

Upon hearing this, the three generals' eyes lit up, and their breathing became heavier.

Their presence here suggests they have some understanding of the world of supernatural beings.

If this armor can truly change its abilities according to needs, as Zhuge Qing said, then its strategic value will become immeasurable!

This completely solved their two biggest worries!

The first is the difficulty in cultivating special talents.

They had also tried to cooperate with major sects such as the Tang Clan in an attempt to cultivate a group of special forces of superhumans belonging to the army, but all of these attempts ended in failure.

The reason is simple: the cultivation of extraordinary people emphasizes "childhood training." During childhood, one's innate vital energy is abundant, and one's muscles and bones are not yet fully formed, making them most malleable.

Most sects of extraordinary individuals require the inheritance of skills from a young age, as adults have already missed the optimal period.

Training a child into a soldier ready for battle often takes ten or twenty years, which is too time-consuming and ultimately leads to the project being abandoned.

The second issue is the problem of restraining the extraordinary individuals themselves.

After the first plan failed, they also tried to recruit extraordinary individuals from society into the army.

However, cultivation itself is a process of observing one's inner self and adjusting one's mind and body, which leads to most extraordinary people having a rather detached, carefree, and self-centered mentality.

Getting them to adhere to iron discipline like ordinary soldiers and conducting ideological and political work is extremely difficult.

The final conclusion was that it was unrealistic to expect these unruly strongmen to become qualified soldiers.

Now, Zhuge Qing's "Xingtian" armor has perfectly bypassed these two dead ends!
It gave an ordinary soldier, who had been tempered and possessed an iron will and discipline, superhuman powers!

And you don't even need to spend time training them, you can just equip them directly...

Thinking of this, the leading general's breathing quickened.

"Comrade Zhuge..."

He took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"Talk is cheap; real-world experience is the only true measure of success."

Why don't we... see how it performs in actual combat?

"Recently, an opportunity has arisen..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fangxu's heart skipped a beat. He instantly realized what was happening and tentatively asked:

"Commander, are you referring to... the matter of wiping out the Medicine Immortal Society?"

(End of this chapter)