Chapter 70

Fifty tons of gold, and unlimited funding support to follow.

Given such conditions, Aldrich Killian, who had temporarily suppressed his malicious intentions, naturally had no reason to refuse.

Of course, the fifty tons of gold were not given for free.

As the other party in the cooperation, Aldrich Killian, or AIM, needed to achieve certain results before each investment was used up.

Otherwise, the next investment would be reduced or even canceled based on the actual situation.

Aldrich Killian had no objections to this point.

After all, the original purpose of this trip was to have confidence in 'Extremis,' but to a large extent, it was also a matter of luck.

But he didn't expect to have such an unexpected and significant gain. Apart from the malicious thoughts in his mind, how could he possibly have any objections?

In addition to the gold, Liu Rui'an had also offered a property under the name of Umbrella Technologies as another investment for this cooperation.

This was to allow AIM, which had previously only conducted secret research in the basement, to have a legitimate and monitored research site.

However, upon further reflection, 'Extremis' was indeed excellent, but it was still very unstable at the moment.

Moreover, from both the initial contact and the character of Aldrich Killian as portrayed in the original story, he was a "time bomb."

When he heard that Aldrich Killian had come to him, Liu Rui'an's first thought was to eliminate him and take 'Extremis' for his own research.

But upon further reflection, he realized there was no need to do so.

After all, there were far too many villains in this world. Even if he had the ability to eliminate them all, it would be extremely troublesome.

Moreover, Umbrella Technologies was already a major focus of S.H.I.E.L.D., much like Stark Industries, and was under even greater scrutiny.

As the old saying goes, "When the birds are gone, the bow is put away; when the rabbits are dead, the dogs are cooked."

Although this saying might not be entirely appropriate here, the principle is similar.

To avoid Umbrella Technologies being seen as a threat by S.H.I.E.L.D. and other forces, it was necessary to cultivate some "birds" and "rabbits" to divert attention.

Liu Rui'an had considered using mind control to obtain 'Extremis,' and even put it into practice.

However, to his great surprise, his usually infallible mind control ability failed on Aldrich Killian.

To be more precise, it wasn't completely ineffective, but the results were far from what he achieved with others.

Liu Rui'an was not surprised by this unexpected outcome.

After all, one of the uses of 'Extremis' was to "upgrade" human brains and DNA, and in a sense, Aldrich Killian was no longer human.

In such a situation, it was not surprising that mind control was less effective.

This was the reason for this cooperation.

With the specific terms already agreed upon, Liu Rui'an, who clearly understood the potential value of 'Extremis,' personally signed the cooperation agreement with Aldrich Killian.

He then called in the CEO, Maria Hill, to have the fifty tons of gold delivered as soon as possible.

In addition, he arranged a celebratory party on the floor of the Umbrella Technologies building dedicated to hosting guests and holding banquets.

Faced with this enthusiastic invitation, Aldrich Killian, who had the idea of "usurping the nest" upon seeing the gold, naturally had no reason to refuse.

As expected, during the banquet, Liu Rui'an saw his true target, Maya Hansen.

Maya Hansen, an outstanding scientist, had already invented 'Extremis' as early as 1999.

At that time, 'Extremis' was still very unstable, but it was partially improved by Tony Stark, with whom she had a one-night stand.

To some extent, 'Extremis' could not have been developed to its current level without the significant contribution of a certain forgetful individual.

During the banquet, Liu Rui'an did not show excessive enthusiasm, but by the time it ended, he had successfully obtained the molecular formula of 'Extremis.'

There was no way around it; Aldrich Killian and his team, after being energized by 'Extremis,' had unexpectedly developed immunity to mind control.

However, Maya Hansen, who had not used 'Extremis,' did not have this ability. In just a short trip to the restroom, another owner of 'Extremis' was born.

With the advanced research equipment and raw materials in the underground base, and with the intervention of the Xianling, it did not take long for a sample of 'Extremis' to be delivered to Liu Rui'an.

"An excellent thing, but it's still not stable enough," Liu Rui'an remarked, looking at the sample before him.

"Master, the bio-armor project has been established as per your instructions," the Xianling, projecting a sweet lolita image, reported.

Bio-armor, in essence, is a type of powered armor.

However, unlike the "nano-armor" and "angelic armor," this powered armor is entirely made of biological materials.

Of course, if it were just that, there would be no need to establish it alongside the 'Extremis' project.

In Liu Rui'an's vision, this bio-armor not only needed to possess the characteristics of regular powered armor but also have some irreplaceable advantages, such as self-repairing capabilities.

Furthermore, considering the issue of wearing powered armor, Liu Rui'an also hoped that this bio-armor would be portable.

In fact, there were existing technologies for bio-armor. At least in Liu Rui'an's memory, there were two quite good bio-armor designs.

Unfortunately, these bio-armor designs did not come from movies but from two Japanese Marvel adaptations, both of which were quite old.

Otherwise, there would be no need to develop bio-armor; he could just travel to those worlds and use them directly.

Shaking his head and temporarily putting aside his regret, Liu Rui'an looked at the time and realized it was too late to go shopping.

"Xianling, how is the beta test of 'Star Lost' going?" Liu Rui'an asked, a sudden idea coming to mind.

"The first beta test has been completed, and the results are excellent," the Xianling reported.

"Do you mind if I bring someone to join the second beta test?" Liu Rui'an asked, in a good mood after his recent success.

"Of course not, my master," the Xianling replied with a smile.

About ten minutes later, under Liu Rui'an's lead, Skye entered a prepared room.

"Huotian, what is this...?" Skye asked, looking at the room, which contained only two devices that resembled stasis pods.

"Today I had something urgent and couldn't go out with you, so I'm compensating with this surprise," Liu Rui'an said, patting the sci-fi-looking pod.

"Surprise?" Although Skye knew what this person was capable of, she couldn't see how this 'stasis pod' had anything to do with a surprise.

"Try lying down, and you'll see," Liu Rui'an said, gently pressing the pod's surface as the door slowly opened.

If it were anyone else, Skye would not have easily lain down in an unknown machine.

But with this person, she had no reservations.

"Okay," Skye said, lying down in the pod.

"See you in a bit," Liu Rui'an said, leaving a mental message as he also lay down in the other pod.

Skye, lying down in the pod with curiosity, soon felt a bright flash. When she could see clearly again, she found herself in another place.

"Where is this...?" Skye sat up from the bed, looking around at the sci-fi environment, her face full of surprise.

With Skye's knowledge, she quickly realized that she was in a cabin designed for rest.

"Welcome to the world of 'Star Lost.'"

Liu Rui'an, dressed in a black, form-fitting combat suit, walked in from the open cabin door.

"Star Lost?"

Looking at his black combat suit, Skye realized she was also dressed similarly.

Noticing her more pronounced curves and a certain prominent object between his legs, her face turned red with embarrassment.

"Yes, this is a virtual world, or more precisely, a virtual game," Liu Rui'an explained, seemingly unaware of her embarrassment.

"What?! You mean the place we're in is just a game?"

Skye, completely surprised by this answer, no longer cared about her embarrassment, her face full of shock.

"Is it? Let's go see for ourselves," Liu Rui'an said, smiling and extending his hand.

"Okay," Skye said, her attention fully captured by the seemingly real game, and she readily extended her hand.

The two quickly left the cabin and arrived at the bridge of the Imperial frigate. At Liu Rui'an's command, the closed hull armor slowly opened.

"This is...?" Skye said, her eyes wide as she looked out the large viewport.

Liu Rui'an walked a few steps to the viewport and pointed to the large blue planet outside, saying with authority:

"This is a life-bearing planet with oceans and land, 80% similar to Earth."

"I've named it Origin, and we will establish our own empire here."