"Of course, Senator Kennedy. To be honest, hearing your tone just now reminded me of my grandfather. He used to care about me the same way."
Killian said it all with a warm smile, even though every word was pure insincerity.
Maybe it was because his status kept rising, but he had started to notice that even when he said things that should have made his skin crawl, he no longer felt the slightest discomfort.
"Hahahaha, Killian, has anyone ever told you that your mouth is even more impressive than your company's products?"
"By the way, after seeing your technology launch, the President has decided to come in person tonight. At eight o'clock this evening, he'll be visiting your company himself. Make your preparations."
Just as expected, Kennedy sounded even more pleased after hearing Killian's response. Then, after a bit of praise, he finally got to the real matter at hand.
"Understood. Don't worry, Senator Kennedy. We'll make sure everything is fully prepared."
Killian smiled faintly as he replied.
"Good. Then I won't keep interrupting your arrangements. I still need to meet with a few senators and governors to prepare the reception for tonight."
"I look forward to seeing you this evening, Mr. Killian. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
As soon as the farewell was exchanged, the call ended.
Killian remained sitting on the bed with a smile on his face, idly turning his smartphone in his hand as though he were thinking about something.
"Baymax, how are things going with the materials?"
He suddenly asked.
"We have already contacted Ulysses Klaue, sir. However, he has stated that he wants an in-person meeting on his side before discussing anything further."
Baymax answered immediately.
"Interesting. Baymax, get tomorrow's flight ready. Let's go pay this lucky man a visit."
After hearing Baymax's reply, Killian's lips curled upward.
Of course, Killian knew exactly why Klaue was being so cautious.
The man had stolen a massive amount of Vibranium from Wakanda and had been hunted across the globe ever since.
That naturally included surveillance online twenty-four hours a day.
Klaue knew this well, so he was extremely careful. He was afraid they might be part of a Wakandan retrieval team, which was why he insisted on meeting offline.
As for why he wasn't overly afraid, that was mainly because the armed forces under his command were probably at least the size of a battalion, if not more. And on top of that, he was already an arms dealer operating in Africa.
Unless Wakanda was willing to expose its true military strength to the world, relying on a mere retrieval team to capture him was basically impossible.
And Klaue clearly understood that, which was why every transaction always took place on his own turf.
Still, none of that really mattered to Killian.
Before welcoming the President, he still had a few preparations to make.
So after stepping outside, Killian got into the convoy under the protection of a full security detail, and the vehicles began heading toward the research island.
"The target is extremely cautious. Other than commuting between the company and his home, he almost never goes out. His bodyguards are professionally trained and appear to be elite mercenary level. Security is extremely tight."
But several thousand meters away, a man observing through binoculars sent that message out the moment he saw the convoy moving.
As for what the client intended to do with that information, that had nothing to do with him.
...
Meanwhile, as the major forces around the world continued their discussions, AIM's launch event had finally reached the last segment of its third round of products.
But this time, under the puzzled eyes of the audience, Lisa didn't bring out any actual device.
"All right. After introducing our third product, the controlled nuclear fusion reactor, let's turn our attention back to where it all began, to the very first surprise AIM showed everyone, our company's first product."
And as soon as she finished speaking, the various goddess-like women who had appeared earlier reappeared in midair through the 3D holographic projection system.
"What... what does this mean?"
"Weren't we supposed to be getting a product? Why are those goddesses from before back?"
"Wait. AIM can't possibly mean... those goddesses are..."
"Oh my God, they didn't switch over to the sex trade, did they? Because if they did... that would be incredible! If they're all really on that level, I'd take out a loan just to support them. Nothing else. Just to support AIM's technological development and do my part so they can make even more products in the future."
"I'm in too. Let's take out loans together. I know a classmate whose parents run a bank. If enough of us go, maybe we can borrow even more."
"Come on, use your brains. AIM is way too big a company to be doing something like that. Besides, forty-nine states have already declared it illegal. The only place where it's legal is Nevada, and even around the world there are only a handful of countries where it's allowed. There's no way AIM would get into that business."
"You don't get it. This is what it means to truly give back to society and benefit the public. Normally, women like the ones in that video are so far out of my league I wouldn't even dare dream about them."
...
For a while, discussion about AIM's latest product exploded online, to the point that it even drowned out the conversation about controlled nuclear fusion.
All it really showed was that in the absence of outside pressure, humanity would always care deeply about entertainment and pleasure.
Still, even the most ordinary, sensible people couldn't help thinking AIM had gotten a little carried away this time and was starting to drift into questionable territory.
"All right, I believe everyone has probably discussed their views enough by now, so please allow me to explain."
"First, I'd like to solemnly state that our company will never engage in any kind of gray-area adult industry, or what many of you are calling 'illegal transactions.' That is absolutely not the case."
Lisa had naturally heard the crowd's earlier chatter, so she immediately responded with a firm and serious expression.
But the moment she said that, waves of sighs from the men in the audience could be heard one after another.
"Dad, what's wrong? Why do you look so disappointed?"
Even young Peter noticed the obvious look of disappointment on his father's face and asked with innocent curiosity.
To everyone else, Peter sounded cute and naive.
But to Peter's father, those words hit like a knife straight through the chest. He slowly turned his head and saw that the gentle smile on his wife's face had vanished completely, replaced by a dark expression and eyes full of fury.
At that moment, Peter's father was convinced that if they weren't in public, he might not live to see the next sunrise.
"It's nothing, Peter. Dad was just feeling guilty about not showing you enough love all this time, my good son."
With a stiff smile, Peter's father picked the boy up and rubbed his face repeatedly with his large rough hands, enough for Peter to truly feel his father's "deep" affection.
Meanwhile, after seeing the disappointed mood in the crowd, Lisa's next words instantly pulled everyone's attention back to her.
"However... the product we're releasing today is precisely the ladies all of you are seeing right now."
"And also the gentlemen shown in the images."
"And they are our first official product today: true intelligent companion-care partner robots."
"When you sit home alone, watching others enjoy happy lives and warm families... when you fall sick at home with no partner there to care for you... when you're bedridden and no one is there to help... when you come home from work exhausted, with no hot meal and no comfort waiting for you... our newest product, the intelligent companion-care partner robot, will solve all of those problems for you."
"The robot comes loaded with an adaptive learning chip. Users can freely upload the materials it needs, and whether it's French cuisine, American pizza, Indian curry, or Chinese food, as long as the recipe data is provided, it can prepare it perfectly. From now on, your meals are fully taken care of."
"It also has an intelligent emotional simulation and learning system. Based on your needs and settings, it can be customized into any relationship role, parents, siblings, classmates, and more, perfectly compensating for the emotional void caused by missing relationships in a person's life."
"And because its body is designed to fully replicate the human structure, it only needs a cup of hot water each day to perform internal self-cleaning. That also means it can meet all of your needs. It is your true 'partner.' Then, once you find the real person meant for you, you can choose to return it, or you can choose to change its identity setting."
"Our company will repurchase returned units at an absolutely fair price, and if you choose to change its identity setting, you may also decide whether or not its memories are erased."
"With it, you can truly embrace your life anew. It gives you the perfect partner and lets you experience married life in advance."
After finishing the product explanation, Lisa looked out at the audience with her signature professional smile.
To be honest, when she had first seen this product herself, she had briefly wanted to buy one too.
For a woman, the idea of perfectly recreating the ideal man in her heart, giving him a personality and memories, and bringing him directly into her life was almost unbelievably tempting.
But for Lisa, after a brief moment of interest, she quickly realized that what she wanted was not some cold machine.
So she threw herself back into work.
Still, not every woman was Lisa, and not every human being had her level of restraint.
So the instant her words fell, the comments online completely exploded.
"What the hell? I thought I'd just seen my goddess, and now you're telling me they're all robots??"
"Oh my God, thank you, Lord, thank you AIM, and thank you to that guy from the last product launch too. I seriously think AIM saw his comment and built these robots because of it. This is incredible. The moment I get home, I'm ordering an Artoria companion robot."
"One? I'm buying ten at once. The dream of ancient emperors is finally about to become a perfectly legal reality for me! Hahahahaha!"
"I'm losing it! Is this finally the dawn of a new age for men? No more burning money and brain cells chasing women, only to throw away tens of thousands and not even get a text back."
"Girls, our time has come too! I'm ordering a Tyson model! Extra large!"
...
At that moment, the internet went completely insane as people started fantasizing nonstop about the future lives they could now have with their ideal partner.
"Hello, I'd like to ask, what exactly is the pricing for this product?"
"And does a product like this raise ethical concerns? Based on your explanation just now, can it really be treated as a full romantic partner? Would that amount to objectifying women?"
One of the reporters at the venue stood up and, almost as if he could read everyone's mind, asked the question most people wanted answered.
"First, to answer your pricing question, the base model will be uniformly priced at ten thousand dollars, with full repair and replacement coverage for three years. If you want a specific custom appearance or additional modules unlocked, the price will increase to thirty thousand dollars."
"Of course, there is one point worth noting. Because we wanted to keep it affordable, the internal settings of the companion robot are not as flawless as Baymax's. It is fragile in much the same way a real human body is, so users will need to handle it carefully."
"Every maintenance session will also carry a service fee."
"As for your second question, the gender of robots is itself constructed through human social conventions, and people are equally capable of constructing nontraditional robot gender identities. I also need to emphasize that companion robots are not a male-exclusive product. Many women can use companion robots as well, so the phrase 'objectifying women' does not apply here."
Lisa had clearly prepared for the question in advance. She responded with a calm smile and effortlessly dissolved the issue.
And after hearing her nearly flawless answer to the second question, the people at the venue couldn't help applauding.
After all, companion robots were not simply machines built for one narrow purpose.
That was just one small extra feature.
What people truly cared about was their ability to cook, clean, and take care of them when they were sick.
Trying to define the robots purely by one function was itself a form of bias and objectification.
And just like that, after several more questions from reporters were smoothly answered by Lisa, AIM's third major technology launch came to a perfect close.
(End of Chapter)
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