r18novel Page 7
Page 7
[“Glug glug glug.” The feeling of suffocation instantly made Zhuge Cong feel extremely uncomfortable. The foul-smelling sewage rushed into his nostrils, and Zhuge Cong struggled desperately, but to no avail.]
Whenever Zhuge Cong was on the verge of death, those men would lift him up, then push him down again, repeating this several times before they would stop.
Those around Zhuge Cong, seeing his miserable state on the screen, were at a loss for how to comfort him.
Especially Zhuge Cong's parents, who were far away, were watching with bated breath.
Zhuge Cong himself, however, did not seem to notice anything amiss.
[Then, the bandits put a sack over Zhuge Cong's head and dragged him outside.]
[As Zhuge Cong lifted the sack, he was also blinded by the glaring sunlight. The cave was quite dark, and the sudden exposure to the bright sunlight was very uncomfortable for him.]
Once Zhuge Cong's eyes adjusted, he was shocked by what he saw. The terrorists' firepower and reserves were comparable to a small armory, and there were at least a hundred of them.
"Let's go," a man behind Zhuge Cong said, pushing him forward. Zhuge Cong, who was unsteady on his feet, was fortunately supported by a man beside him. Although the man's name was unknown, he was the only one willing to help Zhuge Cong at this moment.
[Zhuge Cong, holding a large car battery in one arm, surveyed the surrounding arsenal. The more he looked, the more grave his expression became, for the weapons all bore the Zhuge Group's logo, clearly indicating that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.]
"He asked you what you thought," the man translated to Zhuge Cong.
"I feel like you have a lot of my weapons."
[“He said he had all the materials you needed to build Jericho. He wanted you to make a list of the materials, and he wanted you to start immediately. Once you finished, he would release you.”]
"Ha, he even has the materials needed for Zhuge Cong's latest missile. The seller behind him is no ordinary person."
Yu Ishigami looked at the fat, dark-skinned man and said, "You should know that the Jericho missile is a new missile developed by Zhuge Cong. The fact that he can easily say that he has all the materials means that the guy behind him must hold a high position in the Zhuge Group."
Yu Ishigami also had a vague feeling that the guy was the Zhuge Group's second-in-command, Zhuge Stan, whom Kaguya Shikimiya had mentioned. After all, only the second-in-command could easily sell so many weapons without Zhuge Cong's knowledge.
"No, he won't." Zhuge Cong grasped the hand offered by the burly man, outwardly agreeing but verbally denying the man's offer to release him.
"Yes," the man said, naturally not translating the words to the chubby man, but simply echoing Zhuge Cong.
Back in the cave, Zhuge Cong sat on a rock. The dim firelight illuminated his face, making his already worried expression appear even more haggard. Zhuge Cong looked as if he had aged more than ten years.
Moreover, there was no hope for life on Zhuge Cong's face; he looked as if he might commit suicide at any moment.
"The army must be searching everywhere for you, Zhuge Cong, but they won't find you in these valleys," the man said to Zhuge Cong.
"Everything you just saw is your legacy, Zhuge Cong."
"You've poured your heart and soul into this, only to have it all wasted on those murderers. Is this how you want to die?"
"Was this the final act of defiance by the great Zhuge Cong?"
"Or are you trying to find a solution?"
The man, looking at Zhuge Cong, couldn't help but say something.
"They'll kill you and me no matter what. Even if they don't, I probably won't live more than a week; those shrapnel will take my life," Zhuge Cong said helplessly.
"Yes, how could there be any chance of survival in such a situation? That person just said that the army can't find this place."
"That's what I think too. It's better to end it all quickly, so that those terrorists won't get the missile they want."
Many outsiders believed that Zhuge Cong was doomed at this point and never imagined how he would escape and transform from an ordinary genius into someone who could rival a god with a mortal body.
"Since you only have one week to live, this week must be crucial for you."
Hearing these words, Zhuge Cong, who had previously lost his luster, became lively again, his eyes gleaming with wisdom.
"The show is about to begin."
Looking at Zhuge Cong's expression and eyes, Kaito Kuroba thought to himself that he had seen such eyes many times before, and it was undoubtedly the prelude to a good show.
"If this is my workstation, I need it brightly lit, with things set up there, and I also need a complete set of welding tools, both acetylene and propane will do," Zhuge Cong said rapidly, while the man beside him translated for him.
"Helmet, goggles, melting pot, and two sets of high-precision tools."
[Soon the previously abandoned cave began to take shape.]
"Who are they?" Zhuge Cong disassembled a missile, removed its components, and then the man beside him asked him this question.
"They are your most loyal customers; they call themselves the Ten Commandments Organization."
"If you tell me your plan, we can act faster," the man said, watching Zhuge Cong bustling around. After all, the two of them were now in the same boat; if Zhuge Cong died, he would lose his usefulness.
[Zhuge Cong cracked open the loosened missile nose, then pulled out a component, discarding the larger part and keeping a small metal piece.]
"What is that?"
"Palladium, 0.15 grams. We need at most 1.6 grams. If you can, go and dismantle the other 11," Zhuge Cong said, picking them up with tongs.
8: The Eve of Iron Man's Birth
[Zhuge Cong and the man also began to carry out their secret plan in earnest.]
"How should I address you?" Zhuge Cong asked. After all, the other party had not only saved his life but also helped him so much; it would be extremely impolite not to know his name.
"My name is Okazaki Tomoya, you can just call me Tomoya."
"Tomoya, it's nice to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Okazaki Tomoya replied politely, somewhat surprised by Zhuge Cong's words.
"This thing doesn't look like something you'd use to make missiles at all."
Hachiman Hikigaya looked at the circular object on the light screen that emitted a faint blue light as Zhuge Cong twisted his hand and said, "Especially since one part of this thing is connected to the electromagnetic coil on Zhuge Cong's chest."
"This thing should be the key to Zhuge Cong's escape, but we don't know what it's used for."
Light Yagami looked at the item and thought.
"This doesn't look like a Jericho missile," Tomoya Okazaki said.
"Because this is a miniature arc reactor; I have a much larger one at home that powers my factory."
"The Ark Reactor, that's the controlled cold fusion you developed, right? I never imagined that you not only created a controlled cold fusion reactor in such an environment, but also a miniature version."
Okazaki Tomoya's words also caused a huge stir in the outside world. That was controlled nuclear fusion, which is not something simple.
It's important to know that research into controlled nuclear fusion has stalled for decades, and it has yet to be successfully mastered.
Judging from the age of Zhuge Cong in the light screen, he was probably around twenty-three years old when he successfully developed controlled nuclear fusion, and even managed to create a miniature version in such a rudimentary environment.
This is beyond what can be described as genius.
"This is truly, 100% is incredibly exciting."
In the laboratory, Senku Ishigami stared wide-eyed at the small, controlled nuclear fusion reactor emitting blue light on the screen.
"Are you even human?"
Kiritani Kazuto looked at Zhuge Cong and said.
"What do you think."
Zhuge Cong said irritably, "You'll be surprised when you see what's coming next."
What can it produce?
"If my calculations are correct, it can produce three gigajoules per second."
"That's enough to keep your heart beating for 50 lifetimes."
"Or it could make some big guy's heart beat for 15 minutes."
"So, what exactly is your trump card? Such strong energy can only last for fifteen minutes."
L looked at the light screen with great curiosity.
"This is how we escaped." Zhuge Cong showed Okazaki Tomoya a stack of blueprints, who stared in disbelief at the drawings.
Unlike Tomoya Okazaki's initial vision of a superweapon, the drawings depicted individual components of an exoskeleton armor.
"Amazing." Okazaki Tomo didn't know what else to say; in the end, all his emotions could only be summed up in the word "amazing."
"You're playing well! You still haven't told me where you're from?" Exhausted, Zhuge Cong and Okazaki Tomoya were also passing the time by playing Go.
"I'm from District L, just like you. Of course, we're different. My hometown is a small town in District L, not a big city, but it's still a pretty good place."
"Do you have family?"
"Yes, I can see them after I leave here. What about you, Cong?"
"No." Zhuge Cong glanced at Okazaki Tomoya with a hint of envy.
"No, you are someone who has everything, yet you also have nothing."
[The scene flashes, and by this time, many parts of Zhuge Cong's Mark 1 armor are complete.]
Even the most incompetent terrorists on the monitoring side could tell that this was different from the Jericho missile in the photo, so they grabbed their weapons and rushed into Zhuge Cong's cave.
Zhuge Cong immediately stopped what he was doing, glaring at the newcomer with hostility—though his eyes were hidden by his goggles.
A bald man stepped out from the crowd; he appeared to be the leader of this so-called Ten Commandments organization.
"Relax," the bald man said, then walked up to Zhuge Cong, pulled down his clothes to reveal a small, blue-glowing reactor.
"The bow and arrow used to be the most advanced weapons, allowing those who possessed them to rule vast territories. Now, the most advanced weapons are those of the Zhuge Group. Possessing Zhuge Group weapons means ruling a large area, and soon it will be my turn." The bald man finished speaking and glared menacingly at Zhuge Cong.
"Why did you disappoint me?"