Chapter 4: A Genuine Decision |
An issue of energy…
As he stared at the USB drive which was different from before, Chen Chen dared not continue testing it.
He was worried that the USB drive's energy was not renewable. If he tested it too many times, the USB drive's energy would be exhausted, turning it into a useless lump of metal.
Since that was the case, he might as well stake all on one throw.
Having considered this, Chen Chen breathed in deeply. He pulled up Local Disk D once more and sought out a movie of utmost familiarity –
Avengers: Endgame!
After locating this movie, Chen Chen, who had been calm, started to shake again. His heart kept on pounding violently.
"If I can instantiate the Infinity Gauntlet, that'd be all I need…"
Chen Chen mumbled softly.
A feverish flush spread across Chen Chen's face. He clenched his jaw and dragged the movie into the USB drive!
"Ding!"
The computer instantly sent out a "Program Error" window.
"It's not working?"
Chen Chen was crestfallen. "Why could Detective Pikachu be copied into the USB drive, but not Avengers: Endgame?"
Chen Chen tried two more times. After failing again, he looked for a few similar movies in Disk D, then copied them into the USB drive.
Alita: Battle Angel – success.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters – success.
Terminator: Dark Fate – success!
All three movies were successfully copied.
Chen Chen pondered wordlessly for a moment, then picked out Ne Zha and dragged it into the USB drive.
"Ding."
Failure!
Chen Chen's eyes gleamed.
He seemed to have understood something.
Movies that were too fantastical could not be copied into the USB drive…
After all, Alita, Godzilla, and even Terminator were all movies with stories that were constructed based on reality.
As for Avengers, although it could be called science fiction, everyone knew that it contained a lot of fantastical elements.
"However, if movies that are too fantastical can't be placed into the USB drive, what about those horror movies then?"
Chen Chen frowned.
As he thought of this, he opened up a webpage and downloaded an animated film at random. Then he dragged it into the USB drive.
"Ding!"
Failure.
Following that, Chen Chen tried it with a comic.
Failed again.
Finally, Chen Chen tried it with a picture and a novel but failed once more.
The conclusion he got from this was: Other than live-action videos using reality as their framework, other files could not be copied into the USB drive.
After noting down this rule, Chen Chen started reflecting.
Since an instant jackpot like the Infinity Gauntlet was not possible, he would not attempt other similar plans. Instead, he would go for something more realistic.
With this in mind, Chen Chen flipped to the second page and wrote down three words –
"Money", "Power", "Strength".
These were the only three things he could acquire from the USB drive.
Money?
This was the easiest one.
He just needed to watch a few treasure-hunting movies to instantiate the priceless gems and valuables featured in those movies.
However, even if he put aside the question of how to convert those gems into money, would he be satisfied with just being rich?
Professor Wang Xi's words were still echoing in his ears. Even with endless wealth, so what? Would he live long enough?
Chen Chen grinned and struck off that first option.
Power?
Chen Chen looked at the second choice and fell into deep thought.
If he presented this USB drive to the Federation government, perhaps he would be brought into the hub of power thanks to his contribution. From there, he could rise through the political ranks…
Even so, just as before, what would that accomplish?
Maybe the entire Federation would benefit immensely. Of course, this might also result in war between the continents. The Earth Federation might split into factions, triggering the Third World War.
Moreover, who was to say that Chen Chen would not be killed as a witness by the first authority figure who obtained this USB drive?
Chen Chen cast his gaze down and heavily crossed out the second option.
In that case, the answer was clear.
Chen Chen was never happy with mediocrity. If he had not gained this USB drive, he would spend his entire life chasing after something, be it wealth or power.
However, compared to supernatural strength, everything else was not worth mentioning!
"So, deep down, I've chosen strength?"
Chen Chen murmured. The strength here did not just refer to physical strength. It was more of an abstract overview.
Technology that surpassed reality itself, superpowers that exceeded worldly limits or an eternal life span – all these were a type of strength.
He closed his eyes, his mind scanning through countless items that he could put to use now.
In sci-fi movies, there was more extraordinary technology than he could imagine, from the basic exoskeleton armor to massive mecha hunters. If he could instantiate this black technology…
"Hmm, I'll probably be arrested right away by the agents of the Earth Federation?"
When he thought of this, Chen Chen realized that what he most needed now was a tool that would help him reach the pinnacle of life, yet it must not be too conspicuous.
After ruling out fantastical, magical items like the Infinity Stones, Chen Chen, at last, came up with alternatives that complied with reality while still being able to enhance his abilities.
Following that, Chen Chen listed these down in the notebook.
"Compound V, Augmentation Drug, Crystalline, T-virus, G-virus, CPH4, NZT-48."
These had all appeared in movies or television.
Compound V: Originating from the American series, The Boys. It could transform human infants, thereby granting them extraordinary abilities.
Of course, this chemical substance was greatly flawed. For instance, it was addictive and unstable, requiring a long period of injections for it to work.
Pass!
As expected, Chen Chen crossed out the first option.
Augmentation Drug: Originating from Push. After it was injected, it could alter one's bodily composition and produce various superpowers.
Even so, the movie's theory was still rooted in genetic mutation. Once genes were involved, its success rate would be abysmal.
Pass!
Crystalline: This came from the movie Chronicle. After exposure to the Crystalline's radiation, one would acquire telekinetic powers. Moreover, this power would strengthen as time passed.
One negative side effect was that one would get nosebleeds when using this power. Chen Chen did not know if the continual increase in power would cause one's body to fall apart under the pressure?
After all, the human body was not a perpetual motion machine.
Not only that, but Crystalline seemed to amplify one's darker emotions. The protagonist in the movie, having lost his sense of judgment, was ultimately killed by his friend.
Therefore, Chen Chen prudently passed over this choice.
T-virus and G-virus came from Resident Evil, but viruses could be considered to be living forms and thus could not be instantiated.
Pass immediately.
CPH4: Originating from the movie Lucy. The protagonist ultimately transcended time and space, becoming an all-knowing, all-powerful god.
Of course, the price to pay was terrifying too. Even after successfully fusing with CPH4, one only had a few days to live. Moreover, the protagonist was a one-in-a-million exception. Most people would die immediately after consuming CPH4.
More crucially, the movie's concept that "humans only use 10% of their brains" was pseudoscientific. Human brains had always been operating at 100% capacity.
This meant that even the basic premise of the movie was false. Even if Chen Chen instantiated CPH4 from Lucy, would he dare to consume it?
Pass!
Chen Chen felt rather rueful. There were tons of super-powered substances under the banner of Marvel Studios such as the Super Soldier Serum, GH-325, the Heart-shaped Herb, and so on. It was a shame that these movies could not be transferred to the USB drive.
In that case, there was only one possible option left.
NZT-48!
[ol][li data-annotation-id="9228fa6e-09ce-da38-ea76-da1b87c3e3c3"]"Black technology" refers to "technology far more advanced than in the real world", a term taken from Full Metal Panic!, a series of light novels.[/ol]
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