CHAPTER 131: CHAPTER 131: PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

Richard sighed, pushing away the lingering frustration from his System Shop window-shopping. He needed more SP, that was clear. And his stats, impressive as they were, still felt... finite. He accessed the System Shop again, specifically navigating to the ’Stat Point’ exchange. He’d crossed the 100-point threshold in his attributes, and the System had informed him that each subsequent +1 now cost 10 available Stat Points. He grimly suspected it would scale again at 1000.

The exchange rate materialized, a block of glowing text that nearly made him vomit his breakfast.

[ 1 Stat Point = 1000 SP ]

"What the fuck?!" he choked, leaning back, eyes wide. "How is that so expensive?!"

The System’s voice echoed in his mind, laced with its characteristic digital condescension. [ If you want to stat your way up to godhood level, earn more SP. ]

Richard began to calculate. Every Stat Point cost 1,000 SP. To add a mere +100 to one attribute would require 1,000 Stat Points, which meant 1,000,000 SP. And to upgrade all his current 500 points in all of his five core attributes to 1000, that would be 2,500 Stat Points in total, costing a staggering 2.5 million Stat Points. Which, in turn, translated to a mind-numbing 2.5 billion SP.

He slumped back, staring at the ceiling. "With that, I could buy so much blueprints," he muttered, a profound weariness settling over him. "Why?"

[ Why not just start with one core attribute? Why do you have to dedicate yourself in upgrading all your attributes? ] the System suggested, its tone oddly pragmatic for once.

Richard rubbed his temples. "Yeah, I could go with that. But still, I don’t want to be caught lackin’."

[ Upgrading all your stat is quite an investment. I would be surprised if you upgrade it all. A specialist exists for a reason. ]

Richard sighed. "Anyway, I’ll just release more tech."

[ Hold on, let me check, ] the System replied, a pause in its usual rapid-fire responses. Richard waited. Ever since it had leveled up to 3, it had become more... alive. More conversational. More annoying.

Then, a new block of text filled his vision

[ I’ve added a special task for humanity to progress while you sit on your lazy ass to earn a passive SP. ]

Richard listened intently.

[ You can earn a lot more SP with it.] the System’s text continued,

[ but it’s a risk. Check it out yourself. ]

The interface shimmered, and a new category appeared:

Experimental Blueprints: Civilization Wide Task

Tier 0: Near-Term Innovations (Low-Medium Risk / Low Reward)

(These projects focus on practical, cutting-edge applications of known science. Risks are typically localized to the lab or immediate personnel.)

[TASK: Develop Experimental Prototype: Advanced Automated Surgical Unit (AASU)]

Target Tier: Tier 0

Description: A robotic surgical system capable of autonomously performing highly complex, minimally invasive surgeries with greater precision and speed than a human surgeon, using real-time anatomical mapping and AI-guided micro-manipulators.

Goal: Develop a stable prototype AASU that can successfully perform a mock complex organ transplant on a biological dummy with 99% precision, within a 30-minute window, without human intervention.

Acquired Knowledges (Starting Point for Development): Miniaturized Robotics & Haptic Interfaces; Real-time Organ Mapping; Predictive AI Surgical Logic.

Initial Formulas Gained (Starting Point for Development): High-fidelity inverse kinematics; Signal processing algorithms for imaging; Preliminary decision trees for autonomous pathways.

Identified/Access to Critical Materials (Starting Point for Development): Biocompatible alloys for tools; Novel sensor materials; High-purity conductors for motors.

Successful Prototype Reward:4,000,000 SP

Risks of Failure (Catastrophic Consequences):

Surgical Catastrophe: Malfunctions leading to accidental dismemberment, cauterization of vital organs, or irreversible damage to test subjects (even non-biological ones).

Rogue Surgical AI:

The AI developing an unpredictable or aggressive surgical "personality," attempting to "operate" on unauthorized subjects or critical equipment.

Contagion Vector: Inadvertently spreading engineered pathogens or contaminants due to sterilization failures during autonomous operation.

[TASK: Develop Experimental Prototype: Atmospheric Carbon Capture & Conversion Plant (ACCC)]

Target Tier: Tier 0

Description: A large-scale industrial facility capable of efficiently extracting significant volumes of atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it into inert materials or usable hydrocarbons with high energy efficiency.

Goal: Develop a stable prototype ACCC plant segment that can continuously process 1,000 tons of CO2 per day with 80% energy efficiency for a week, producing stable, non-toxic byproducts.

Acquired Knowledges (Starting Point for Development): Molecular Sieve Design; Low-Energy Catalysis Pathways; Industrial Scale Airflow Dynamics.

Initial Formulas Gained (Starting Point for Development): Adsorption-desorption isotherm equations; Thermodynamic equations for CO2 reduction; Fluid dynamics equations for atmospheric processing.

Identified/Access to Critical Materials (Starting Point for Development): Catalysts from meta-materials or engineered microbes; Self-cleaning carbon capture membrane polymers; Corrosion-resistant composites.

Successful Prototype Reward:8,000,000 SP

Risks of Failure (Catastrophic Consequences):

Toxic Byproduct Release: Unstable conversion leading to the emission of highly poisonous gases (e.g., phosgene, hydrogen cyanide) into the local atmosphere, causing widespread environmental damage.

Runaway Reaction: Carbon conversion process becoming unstable and generating uncontrolled explosions, or consuming all local atmospheric carbon, causing a localized atmospheric collapse with devastating effects.

Ecological Imbalance: Unexpectedly altering local atmospheric composition by over-processing, leading to unforeseen and harmful climate shifts or impacting breathable air quality in a critical region.

Richard then considered the experimental prototypes again. His mind, enhanced by the System, whirred, rapidly calculating the implications of the ’Tasks.’

"Isn’t that just the same as the earlier task?" Richard said, a slow smile forming on his face, "but for civilization-wide application?"

[ Yes, it is, That’s just for you. This one, you must include the entire human race. ] the System confirmed, [ based on how you set up the tasks is up to you. ]

[ The real cream of the crop of it, is passive income when these technologies are manufactured. It is 5x more than your directly distributed technologies.]

[ The difference is that the entire civilization benefits not only from its use but also from the knowledge itself. ]

[ After Tier 0 is completed, you would then unlock more tiers with higher rewards, and higher risks. ]

Richard leaned back, a grand vision solidifying in his mind.

This is it.

He could introduce an anonymous website, a global platform where scientists, engineers, and innovators from across the world could engage with these "Tasks." It would be a meritocracy of genius, with visual progress development displayed publicly for a healthy competitive environment.

The rewards would be immense: the successfully developed and stable prototype would be theirs to claim, the patent in their name, and significant monetary compensation, of course.

That is, if they first passed stringent preliminary tests to prove their foundational knowledge on the topic. He could also introduce a forum, a global hub for collaboration, and a system of ranks for their personas based on real progression and understanding of the prototype.

So each rank, from ’Novice Integrator’ to ’Cosmic Architect,’ would be truly hard-earned, recognized globally. The higher the rank they would achieve, the more prestige, and crucially, additional monthly income and allowances.

A global, decentralized research and development collective, driven by merit and the pursuit of knowledge. It was audacious. It was brilliant. It would generate unimaginable SP. But a grim reality settled over him.

This plan, this grand design for humanity’s accelerated progress, would truly be possible only if he first eliminated all of the Krill’s insidious control over Earth. Executing the plan now, with the Krill’s elite proxies embedded in every government and corporation, would put all of these brilliant scientists at unimaginable risk.

Their breakthroughs would be exploited, their lives jeopardized. He couldn’t allow that. Not yet. Not until a complete revision of government laws, policies, and constitutions all over the world had happened. Without an enforcer, without a global oversight that protected true innovation and prevented exploitation, everyone would just resort to greed, and the Krill would continue to harvest humanity’s brightest minds. The path was clear, albeit daunting. He had to secure Earth first.

--------------------

The heavy security doors of the Krill containment lab hissed open, revealing a sight that stole the breath from Jack and Estello’s lungs. Suspended within the shimmering, gravitic field of the cylindrical chamber, Subject Alpha-0 floated, motionless and unconscious. Its massive, reptilian form, now known to be 9 feet 8 inches of pure, alien muscle, was a stark, horrifying reality.

Its dull, faded scales, the residual sweat, the guttural sounds it occasionally emitted even in stasis – it was all too real. Jack’s jaw dropped, a silent gasp escaping him. Estello, a man who had seen the raw edges of power and influence, stood frozen, his eyes wide with a disbelief that warred with the undeniable evidence before him. They looked from the monstrous form to Richard, who stood calmly at the observation console, and then to Lina, who remained impassive behind her analytical station.

Minutes earlier, Jack, having decided to visit the underground base on a whim, had stumbled upon a scene of meticulous, alien surgery. Lina, her cyan eyes radiating focused intensity, had just completed the extraction of the psionic-blocking implant from Subject Alpha-0’s brain. The Krill had been in stasis, its massive form utterly still, a testament to the potency of Lina’s neurochemical cocktail.

Now, a small, dark, and utterly alien object rested on a specialized analysis table. Lina’s preliminary studies of its material composition had concluded it was an unknown mineral, defying all known elements. It wasn’t a combination of natural elements; it was simply exotic, unlike anything on Earth. Attempts to recreate the material through atomic fabrication had been unsuccessful – the synthetics were brittle, easily fracturing under stress, utterly lacking the implant’s inherent properties.

Yet, unlike the inert reproductions, the original implant itself emanated a faint, almost imperceptible energy signature. This energy subtly disrupted ambient electromagnetic fields.

Simultaneously, it displayed an astonishingly high electrical conductivity, on par with pure copper. But the anomaly deepened: the material acted as a battery, not just passively storing energy, but actively amplifying its electromagnetic disruption properties as it absorbed more electricity. It was a true exotic element, a marvel of alien physics and engineering, baffling even Lina’s advanced processing power.

Jack, having witnessed the unconscious Krill and the extracted implant, his mind reeling, had immediately called his grandfather, Estello. Now, in the present, Estello stood beside Jack, his gaze fixed on the suspended alien. He had seen the grainy footage, heard Richard’s clipped reports, but seeing a creature of such monstrous scale, a living, breathing being from beyond their world, was unimaginable.

"Richard," Estello finally managed, his voice a strained whisper, his disbelief palpable. He turned slowly, his eyes boring into Richard’s silver ones.

"How... how did you catch this?" His question wasn’t just about the physical capture, but the sheer audacity, the impossible feat.

"You told me about them, showed me the recordings, to be honest, I was still skeptical about it... but this..." He gestured vaguely at Alpha-0. "My god... It’s... real. All of it." The implication hung heavy in the air: the shadow war, the hidden enemy, the impossible truths that Richard had been hinting at were now undeniable, physical presence. Jack, still speechless, just stared at Richard, his expression mirroring his grandfather’s profound shock.

Richard met their gazes, his expression unreadable, a flicker of something ancient in his silver eyes. He knew this moment had to come. The truth, in its rawest form, was finally unveiled.