Chapter 135 - 133 Schrödinger's Cat Limit_1

The room was brightly lit. The person in charge of disassembling 007 carefully used tweezers to extract the chip with complex circuits on its surface so the camera and those observing from the observation room could see clearly. "Didn't you say the chip's defenses were very comprehensive? Why did it break?" Iwasaki Yizo frowned immediately and issued a stern query, his sharp gaze seeming to want to shred the person responsible through the screen. He broke into a cold sweat on the spot, unable to explain the reason for the chip's fracture. Unlike its predecessor 006, the research team had further enhanced the defenses specifically for the protection of the chips in 007. Theoretically, it should be impossible for someone to break the internal chip into two halves without damaging the exterior. "This... I am very sorry, Mr. Iwasaki. This matter has gone beyond my ability to explain. I need some time. Please transport 007 back—no, I will personally go to Japan. Please preserve all parts of 007 and leave them for me to handle." In the development of 007, the person in charge wasn't just motivated by money, but more so by the desire to realize the knowledge in his own mind. Only developers knew how wonderful it was to turn knowledge from the mind into reality. He had thought himself close to success, but the failure of 007 seemed to tell him again that he was still far from success. A 007 that could be easily destroyed was the exact opposite of the Terminator 007 he had envisioned. He needed to figure out the reasons behind this. "No problem, we will preserve everything for you," Sumitomo Taisei spoke. The person in charge didn't continue to exchange pleasantries with them but instead hung up the video call and prepared to fly to Japan. A brief silence fell in the observation room. It was not that Iwasaki Yizo and the others doubted the person in charge's words; they believed the data he mentioned. The Silver Hexagram gathered the world's top scientists. In AI, and in the field of intelligent robotics, it could be said they were far ahead of other countries. The materials used for 007 couldn't possibly be fake; everything must have complied with the conditions described by the person in charge. Even so, 007 was still destroyed. This indicated that the adversary possessed a higher level of technological power, or rather, Mayers' wild idea might actually be accurate: the perpetrator had Superpowers beyond the understanding of ordinary people. "Is the perpetrator really Dio? I remember the CIA did suspect Dio of being a Superpower User and even formed an investigation team for that reason." "Speaking of which, regarding the Okubo incident last time, wasn't there talk of some sonic weapon that can cause internal damage to the human body? Could the fracture of the chip be related to the weapon used in that incident?" Doubts and confusion swirled in the minds of the six individuals. They were not afraid of the enemy, but they did fear this state of not knowing who or what the enemy was. They were also unsure whether the inescapable net they had cast would indeed catch the perpetrator. "If even deploying such power is insufficient to capture the adversary, it means the enemy is indeed a Superpower User beyond our imagination," Iwasaki Yizo stated, startling all five people present. His next words changed their expressions and thoughts: "We should intensify experiments related to the human body." "...Indeed." Sumitomo Taisei nodded, his words short, his tone faintly revealing a hint of excitement. If Superpower Users truly existed, could humans achieve immortality? For these aged individuals, the lure of eternal life was enough to make them stake everything. "Let's accept some refugees." "Right, we should also demonstrate the humanitarianism expected of a developed nation." Iwasaki Yizo nodded. At that moment, the sorrow from their children's deaths vanished from the hearts of the six elders, replaced by a fiercely burning flame known as greed. This flame revived the fighting spirit in their aging bodies. Only when a person grows old do they understand how enviable youth truly is. They wanted to be immortal, and they wanted to return to their youth. 「At 9:20 p.m.」 Morimoto Chiyoda finally finished her workday, dragging her corporate-slave-like tired body back to Ayase Apartment. Since being promoted to police inspector, she had never worked to such an extent of exhaustion. However, Morimoto Chiyoda didn't find the work troublesome. She was even a little excited. How should she put it? The fact that Superpower Users existed in this world was enough for her to ignore all the tiredness work had caused. After the task force's intense interrogation, they confirmed that the three suspects were unrelated to the KGB and also unrelated to Dio. They had simply revealed Yasuda Masao's interests to others, letting those who wanted to befriend the affluent send more thoughtful gifts. With all members of the Yasuda Family excluded from suspicion, only one truth remained: Dio was a Superpower User. Of course, in Emily's eyes, this likelihood was 95 percent, with the remaining five percent being the detective's last bit of stubbornness. She still had some doubts that her own deductions were flawed. But in Morimoto Chiyoda's eyes, Dio was one hundred percent a Superpower User. She had great faith in her own abilities. Normally, no one could bypass her guard and reach her back directly. Superpower Users were different. With abilities similar to instantaneous movement, they could appear behind her with a WHOOSH and press a knife against her back. She wouldn't be able to stop them. However, with current high technology, could the task force catch a Superpower User? Morimoto Chiyoda pondered such questions as she arrived at her home's doorstep and reached out to twist the doorknob. The door wasn't locked, which meant someone was still awake. She pushed open the front door, and the living room was lit. The bathroom light was on as well, and Morimoto Chiyoda called out, "Aozawa, are you in there?" "Chitose, do you want to come in for a soak?" "Dream on," Morimoto Chiyoda retorted, closing the door behind her and locking it. She strode to the fridge, wanting to drink a beer to relax. In the bathroom, Aozawa no longer lingered in the bath. He stood up, dried off the water droplets, and changed into his pajamas. He walked outside. "Chitose, were you very busy today?" "Busy is an understatement. A major case erupted in Saitama Prefecture, related to someone our task force is investigating. I didn't even have time to take a sip of water." Morimoto Chiyoda answered casually, sitting at the kitchen counter. With a POP, she pulled open the tab of the beer can. "Aozawa, do you think there really are Superpower Users in this world?" Aozawa thought about it. It must be the unbelievable nature of his recent activities that made those people suspect Dio was a Superpower User. "Chitose, you're not going to raise your hand and shout 'Shinra Tensei', are you?" "I'm not you." Morimoto Chiyoda rolled her eyes, took a big gulp of beer, then let out a heavy sigh. "Tell me, if you could have any Superpower, what would you want?" "I don't know; there are so many Superpowers I want." Aozawa shrugged, curious. "What about you, Chitose? What Superpower would you want?" "I…" Morimoto Chiyoda hesitated for a moment, the usual confident smile absent from her brow, and she softly said, "Probably the ability to turn back time." At that instant, the rare glimpse of melancholy vanished from her face as quickly as an epiphyllum in bloom. Her eyes and expression regained their confidence and composure, and she said with a smile, "You could go back to the past and do all sorts of things. Don't you think time travel is interesting?" "Yeah." Aozawa nodded in agreement. He knew Chitose's desire for the power to turn back time probably had something to do with her parents. But this topic was a taboo in Chitose's heart, and he didn't want to touch on it. Morimoto Chiyoda, however, seemed eager to share. She felt her tolerance for alcohol was particularly poor today; just one sip of beer had made her feel tipsy. "Tell me, if Superpower Users exist, do you think so-called Hell and Paradise exist as well? What about a person's soul?" The last question was what truly concerned Morimoto Chiyoda. Previously, she had believed Superpower Users didn't exist, and thus, deities and the like naturally didn't exist either. But if the existence of Superpower Users was confirmed, then did Paradise and Hell, and a person's soul, also exist? It was just that, with current human technology, there was no way to observe the afterlife. Could Superpower Users perceive the afterlife? Morimoto Chiyoda was very curious. She wanted to ask Dio what the world looked like in his eyes, and whether humans possessed souls. If they did, was it as people said—either ascend to Paradise or descend into Hell? She was genuinely intrigued and eager to know the answer in advance. Even more, she wanted to know: did her parents' souls go to Paradise after they died? Or did they, for some reason, go to Hell? Or, as Buddhism taught, did ordinary people reincarnate directly? Were her parents now attending elementary school somewhere? After concluding that Dio was a Superpower User, Morimoto Chiyoda began to contemplate such things. Materialists are not dismissive of gods; they simply haven't found evidence of their existence. "I'm not sure." Aozawa shook his head. He didn't dare affirm or deny the existence of souls. If bizarre phenomena like crossing over could occur, then the existence of the mythical netherworld also seemed plausible, although he had never seen it. "Haha, why the serious face? I was just saying whatever came to mind." Morimoto Chiyoda stretched lazily, displaying her attractive figure before Aozawa. She put her beer down on the kitchen counter and said, "It's getting late. Kids should go to bed. Staying up late is bad for your health." "Good night, Chitose." "Good night." Morimoto Chiyoda smiled, her voice sultry like a warm Hawaiian breeze, filled with the fiery passion of summer. Aozawa trudged to the bedroom, slightly hunched over. He really was a bit tired today. He had already experimented and figured out the range he could travel using Schrödinger's Cat's state of non-existence: it was roughly the extent of Honshu Island. With a single thought, he could travel from the northeast to the southwest of Honshu Island, an estimated range of 1,300 kilometers. Within Japan, he could go wherever he wanted. He could visit parks, museums, and movie theaters all over Tokyo. He could also go to Kyoto or Osaka. This sensation of appearing somewhere with just a thought was truly wonderful. Aozawa turned off the light and lay down in bed. He decided to continue exploring outside tomorrow. He'd go see the sights in Okinawa. June was approaching, so there should be plenty of beautiful women on the beaches. He might as well take a look at the undersea volcanoes too. With these thoughts in mind, he fell into a deep sleep.