Chapter 250: Research (Part 2)
The researchers exchanged glances before someone cautiously reminded her, "Doctor... Dr. Gero was transferred to the Northern branch a while ago."
Right. Gero had shifted his focus to bio-genetic engineering and requested a transfer to Fabeli's team. Hathaway fell silent, then steered the discussion back to the project's technical hurdles before delegating tasks.
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"Tesla"—named after the tireless war god of ancient Earth myths—was the codename for their "Perpetual Energy Core" project. Its foundation lay in Hathaway's early breakthrough of converting ki into electricity, originally devised to power supercomputers. Over the years, the technology had evolved to harness trace environmental ki as a renewable energy source. Yet, the glaring inefficiency in energy conversion remained its fatal flaw. Without solving this, the project was doomed to stagnation.
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Northern Mountains – Virtual Earth Network Zero Research Institute
A desolate, frostbitten outpost—the perfect location for hazardous research. Here, experiments often birthed monstrous abominations. No one knew where Fabeli sourced his specimens, but their cells exhibited terrifying aggression. Fusion with test subjects' DNA frequently triggered violent mutations.
Fortunately, on live-testing days, the "World's Second Strongest", Son Gohan, personally oversaw security. Though the institute's defenses could neutralize rampaging creatures, having the legendary Muten Roshi's eldest disciple on-site brought peace of mind. Gohan, a ten-time World Martial Arts Champion, was widely regarded as invincible—second only to his elusive master.
(Some argued the title "Second Strongest" was outdated—after fifty years of dominance, many believed Muten Roshi had passed. But Gohan insisted his teacher, the "ageless immortal", still walked the Earth. The public remained skeptical.)
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Inside the mountain facility, reinforced glass columns housed ghastly specimens—hairless, pallid creatures floating in amber-hued solutions. Some appeared empty until observers drew near, prompting grotesque eyes to snap open.
Dr. Gero trailed behind Fabeli, listening to the mechanical whirrs beneath the scientist's coat. 'He must've undergone cybernetic augmentation. How else could he live this long?' The thought intrigued him. 'Perhaps I should consider it too. A human lifespan is too short for true breakthroughs.'
"Why not use human test subjects?" Gero ventured. "Animals are poor substitutes. Direct human trials could accelerate progress."
"Ethical boundaries," Fabeli replied flatly, hands clasped behind his back. His gaze remained fixed on the specimens, though he acknowledged Gero's brilliance. The man was a prodigy—just a step below Hathaway herself. His transfer here had been a boon.
Gero frowned. "The world has no shortage of condemned criminals. Why waste their deaths?"
Fabeli sighed as if reminiscing. "Exactly! You'd think after centuries, he'd shed such naivety."
"He?" Gero echoed, baffled.
"Then again," Fabeli mused, "it might be Hathaway's influence. Earthlings call it 'henpecked', don't they?" He waved dismissively, offering no further explanation.
Gero left the exchange more confused than ever.
In his view, solving research problems was the most important thing—everything else was trivial. As long as the goal was achieved, did the means or methods even matter? If one had to constantly worry about morality, values, and bottom lines in every step, who knew how many years human technology would have regressed by now?
Utter nonsense! Pedantic! Utter fool!
Gero sneered inwardly. He was no longer young—well into middle age—and his worldview was long set in stone. A few words weren't enough to change his mind. And so… his eventual defection from the research institute to join the Red Ribbon Army, a militant terrorist organization dedicated to anti-humanity ideology and world destruction, as well as his ruthless experiments that transformed living humans into androids, all stemmed from this very mindset.
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Shifting our view to the other end of the universe—Planet Vegeta.
Despite the planet's vast size, the Saiyan population wasn't large enough to cover the entire surface. As a result, there were plenty of uninhabited regions. This was especially true for the primitive mountainous areas where Saiyans had once lived before they completely wiped out the Tuffles. Those places had long been devoid of any signs of life.
And Taro, for the past several days, had been staying in one such mountain range. Floating cross-legged in midair, he spent his days constantly absorbing the natural energy around him, refining it into his own power.
His Divine Tree Body already drastically reduced his need for food—going more than ten days without a drop of water was merely uncomfortable at worst. But after cultivating natural energy, he now seemed truly like an immortal who could survive on nothing but pure energy, akin to a legendary ascetic.