Even after the launch event ended, the discussion online showed no sign of dying down.
Not just the internet, but news outlets across the world had begun flooding every platform with headlines containing phrases like AIM companion robots, AIM fusion, AIM cancer cure, and more.
Every single AIM product left people stunned the moment they saw it.
At this point, AIM could be found practically everywhere online in every country. No matter where someone went, they could run into random users discussing AIM, whether it was the Viral Antibody Serum or the companion robots.
Once again, AIM had surged to the very top of trending rankings across the world without the slightest suspense.
And with that kind of explosive momentum, AIM also entered yet another phase of疯狂 expansion.
As for the post-launch sales and distribution work, Lisa was handling all of it, so Killian naturally didn't have to worry about a thing.
By now, dozens of manufacturers had already approached Lisa, all seeking agency rights for AIM's new products.
And online, even though the T-Series Viral Antibody Serum and the companion robots had only just opened for preorders, the order count had already shot past several million units almost instantly.
Everyone was reserving them like mad. Some people had even placed multiple orders at once.
But to Killian, all of that was just another tool for farming prestige.
And beyond that, even though he had deliberately kept the profit margin low, low still meant profit. A companion robot earned him five thousand dollars per unit. On the first day alone, more than three million units had been sold, which meant he had made nearly fifteen billion dollars in a single day.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
This thing was just like a smartphone. Sooner or later, users would need replacement parts. And on top of that, AIM would keep updating character templates.
It was basically the same as selling game skins.
He refused to believe that once future outfit customizations were released, these people would really hold back from buying cute new looks for their "wife" or "husband."
And once every companion robot in the world was buying clothes from him, that would mean he alone controlled the entire world's robot fashion market.
One move, multiple streams of profit.
If those people ever found out that the supposedly conscientious AIM boss, Killian, had been planning that angle from the beginning, they'd probably all want to spit on him.
...
Meanwhile, on AIM's research island...
Inside a lab located on the thirtieth underground level, Killian arrived at the site of a new project under Samuel's guidance.
"Boss, according to your instructions, the enhanced-human project is progressing smoothly. We've currently cloned more than a hundred bodies. After removing their original memories and implanting the memories of Blackwatch team members, they've now become our perfect enhanced soldier corps."
After leading Killian to the observation room, Samuel pointed through the glass at the clones inside, all of whom had appearances identical to people like Kilgrave and Jessica, and spoke with obvious excitement.
Once the terrifying combat awareness of the Blackwatch squad was combined with the extraordinary abilities of actual superpowered individuals, those clone bodies could no longer be defined as ordinary humans.
Almost every single one of them had the kind of threat level that could overpower a hundred normal men on their own.
If a clone based on someone like Kilgrave were dropped into a city, it could easily cause total chaos.
"Not enough. How's the compatibility between Extremis and the T-Virus?"
"Find a way to add both to them. What I want is a true army of gods."
"A team like this can only be called cannon fodder."
"And not just that. I want you to find a way to fuse their powers together. That's the critical part. We're going to keep collecting more and more superpowered people in the future. I'm not going to build a separate army for every single type of ability. That doesn't benefit me."
"What I want is a superhuman corps where every individual can carry all abilities in a single body."
Looking at Samuel's excited eyes, Killian calmly dumped cold water all over his enthusiasm.
After all, the Skrulls had already proven the concept could be done. They had used technology to gather the powers of multiple superheroes into one body and create Super-Skrulls.
And in the original scenario, a Super-Skrull that combined the abilities of Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain Marvel, and others was terrifying enough to qualify as a truly monstrous existence.
That kind of force, all stacked together in a single being, was horrifying.
And if a group of alien refugees could do it through that method, then Killian had no reason to believe that with a system backing him, he would somehow do worse.
Sure, he understood that purely advancing technology could still create enough destructive force to wipe out beings like that.
But what man could resist the temptation of turning his own body into something divine?
He was still human.
And as long as someone was human, they wanted power. Power to control everything.
No one was exempt.
"The compatibility between Extremis and the T-Virus is excellent in the female clones. Their matching rates are ninety-three percent and ninety-five percent."
"The male clones are lower, at seventy-five percent and eighty-one percent, but that's still enough to keep the experiments stable."
"As for the DNA behind their powers, we're still in the early analysis stage. But when it comes to Kilgrave's ability, we already have a rough direction."
"Boss, take a look. His power comes from a special hereditary structure in his DNA. That structure allows his brain to release a unique form of electronic wave activity, which can influence intelligent life within ten meters."
"Anyone under his control ends up receiving the brainwave commands he transmits."
"I believe it won't be long before we fully crack the problem."
After answering Killian's first question, Samuel waved one hand, and a new image appeared on the large screen.
The sight was brutal.
Kilgrave was strapped tightly to a medical bed, his expression twisted in agony. The area above his eyes had been covered with white cloth, and above that, displayed on the screen, was his fully exposed brain tissue.
Researchers manipulated mechanical arms to stimulate different parts of it, while in the lab nearby the clones reacted differently in response to the stimulation.
It was exactly this kind of ruthless research method that had allowed Samuel, in such a short period of time, to break through Kilgrave's DNA structure and begin uncovering the secret behind his power.
Killian, however, felt no discomfort whatsoever watching the scene.
Anyone who truly knew what kind of person Kilgrave was wouldn't pity him in the slightest.
He was a complete monster. A disgusting piece of human trash, even more revolting than people like Hannibal. The kind of man who could destroy entire families just to satisfy a passing impulse.
Compared to the crimes he had committed, this pain didn't even amount to one-thousandth of what he owed.
Of course, the main reason Samuel had chosen such a brutal method was because he had already sensed how deeply his boss despised this particular piece of scum.
If it had been any other test subject, Samuel wouldn't even have considered doing this.
He wasn't stupid. He knew enough about his boss's usual standards to understand where the lines were.
Otherwise, there was no way he'd have let Killian watch something this bloody.
"Good. Keep working on this side. I'll be waiting for good news."
After taking in the scene, Killian smiled faintly and gave Samuel a word of approval.
"Believe me, boss, that day isn't far off."
Seeing the satisfied look on his boss's face, Samuel answered with a knowing smile of his own.
"Prepare a few clone units for me. I'm taking them with me."
The moment he finished speaking, Killian showed his "fangs" and gave Samuel the order directly.
"????"
"Boss, you promised me before..."
Samuel, who had just been feeling good about his boss's praise, immediately froze in confusion after hearing that sentence, and instinctively tried to bring up the previous promise Killian had made him.
"All right, I promise, just this once. And don't you trust your own product?"
"Samuel..."
Killian was clearly about to smooth things over properly, but Samuel cut him off before he could finish.
"I know, boss, you trust me. But this... according to the company's product safety control policy, and yes, that's a rule you personally set, you're supposed to follow it too."
Samuel looked at Killian with a headache written all over his face and quoted the rule right back at him.
There really was no dealing with a boss who didn't even follow his own regulations.
"Relax. Baymax will be there. Nothing can go wrong."
"And these clone units happen to be perfect for testing their real combat performance."
Killian answered with a smile.
"Real combat?"
The moment Samuel heard those words, his headache doubled.
Taking them out was one thing.
Taking them out for live action was another.
To him, it was like watching someone sleep with a live grenade in their arms. Sure, everyone knew grenades didn't go off that easily, but who in their right mind hugged one while sleeping?
At this point, in Samuel's eyes, his boss was no different from that kind of idiot.
"Of course. The situation's special this time. I need to lead the team personally and take a look."
"I can't bring too many Blackwatch members. That would affect later plans."
"And Experimental Subjects One through Three are all too large. They're not suitable for a normal negotiation environment."
"So after thinking it through, your clone units are the only option. I trust your work. You're my chief researcher."
As he spoke, Killian gave Samuel's shoulder a firm pat.
"What choice do I have, then? Fine. But boss, I still have to say it again. This kind of operation carries serious safety risks."
"You really can't keep doing this."
At that point, with Killian putting it that way, what else could Samuel do as an employee? He could only give in with a bitter smile.
Still, even while compromising, he couldn't help trying to talk some sense into his boss.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine."
And so, after Killian gave his full verbal assurance, Samuel began selecting the escort clones personally.
Killian simply followed him in silence. After all, at a glance, almost every clone looked the same. If there were meaningful differences in combat ability, only the project lead, Samuel, could tell them apart.
After six clones had been assigned, Killian's gaze suddenly drifted to a small girl standing in the farthest corner, one whose frame was noticeably smaller than the others.
"What's your name?"
On impulse, he walked over and asked.
"Report... my name is Number One."
"The older sisters said I was the first one born, so I'm called Number One."
Even though she didn't know who the man in front of her was, the clone girl still answered in a clear, young voice. After all, even the usually harsh researcher uncle treated him with a smile.
"Boss, she was the first successful birth, yes. But because she was artificially accelerated, her overall physical performance is below that of the later batch-produced clones."
Although he didn't know why his boss had stopped in front of Clone Number One, Samuel still stepped over and explained.
"I'll take her too."
"From now on, your name is Alice."
After hearing Samuel's explanation, Killian looked at the girl, who seemed innocent and timid as she stared up at him, and said it without hesitation.
For some reason, the girl's eyes lit up the instant she heard him.
All this time, she had listened to the women in white coats call each other by name.
Deep down, she had always envied that.
But she also knew that in their eyes, she and her "younger sisters" were probably just items.
So she had buried that longing deep inside.
Sometimes she even imagined that maybe one day, if she completed the tasks the researcher uncle gave her well enough, she might finally get a name of her own, just like the others.
"Alice? Me?"
"I have a name now?"
What she never expected was that she would suddenly receive one just like that.
The surprise was so overwhelming that she couldn't even process it at first. Then, a moment later, she spoke with happiness and disbelief overflowing from her voice.
By the end, she didn't even understand why tears had started to gather in her eyes.
A feeling called happiness was rising nonstop inside her mind.
"That's right, Alice. From now on, you'll be their big sister. Do you think you can do that?"
Killian asked with a warm smile as he gently rested his hand on the girl's head. She only came up to his chest.
(End of Chapter)
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