Fox's Nest, a research institute under the Hope Council.

Mason hadn't been here, and even the information about this place in the Star Society system was pitiful, but most of the smartest people Mason had met so far on his parallel world adventures came from here.

The research team composed of Tony Seven, the Supreme Beast, and the legendary Divine Sticks, these true geniuses who have been brought together from various worlds do not need to fight, do not need to worry about the existence of themselves and their families, and their livelihood is the most advanced level in the entire council system.

Basically, what they want only needs to be reported, and someone will come to meet any of their needs immediately.

Tony Seven, who has the most intersections with Mason, has joked more than once that after the shock happened, the quality of life of these people has not only not decreased because of the apocalypse, but has improved a lot.

This proves that talent is not only valuable in the 21st century, they are the most high-end resource at all times, but to enjoy such a high standard of benefits naturally comes to take on heavier responsibilities than others.

The only reason for the existence of the fox nest is research.

In the 17 years since its inception, this organization has produced many amazing results in the necessary research on the shock event and all the fields related to it.

For example, the parallel world star map used by the current exploration system of the Star Society, and the gateway to the world, the most important carrier for these pioneers to travel between various worlds, the ontology of this thing was designed and produced by the original researchers of the fox nest.

In addition, just like Team K's logistical role in the current Resistance Alliance, the Fox's Nest is tasked with designing weapons for warriors and providing military advice when necessary, as well as the overall maintenance of the numerically superior Cleaner Legion and the upgrading of the cannon fodder soldier production line.

If the Council of Hope is the "brain" of the entire system, then the mysterious organization of the Fox Nest is the center of thinking in this brain.

Precision, professionalism, sanity, efficiency, and so on can be used to describe the organization, but on the other hand, cold-blooded, cruel, and ruthless are also synonymous with it.

For example, in the preparation stage for a shock, it only takes one change in the analysis report they submit to the Council to cause the plural world to be strategically abandoned.

Hopefully, the resources at the council's disposal are enormous, but the organization can't choose to save everyone when it needs to be decided.

Of course, as the shock situation enters the "deep water zone", as the brutal world battle royale will enter the endgame, as the worlds that survive the shock after impact become fewer and fewer and the strength of the stock individuals becomes stronger and stronger, the "good days" of the fox's nest scientists are over.

Tony Seven didn't fully reveal to Mason the dire situation they are facing right now.

The fact is that a great censorship has begun in the fox's nest.

Since five days ago, research groups have been laid off, and many researchers have been taken hostage on the grounds of "waste of resources" and "low value".

Those who are lucky will be sent to a garden world or assigned to the Cleaner Legion as a staff officer, and those who are unlucky will be dragged out on the spot.

The researchers of the fox nest dare not speak out about this treatment, although they have made remarkable achievements in other fields, but they have made little achievements in the most important mission that the fox nest needs to undertake when it is established.

For 17 years, they have come up with little timely and effective response to shocks.

If you don't do your job well, you will naturally not be so bold when facing layoffs.

"I have made more than 30 highly effective weapons of war for the conquerors! I've been involved in the design of the Trailblazer Big Star Chart! I have made meritorious contributions to the Council!

You can't do that to me!

My project was perfect! This is a shameful academic suppression! The results of my experiments proved that I only needed a little more resources to develop a shock-resistant one. Yes! ”

As Tony Seven finishes meeting Mason and changes back into his research uniform and enters his work area, he hears a pig-killing wail as soon as he enters.

It was the voice of Mordoke 4, and its piercing voice signature was recognizable.

Tony Seven blinked, made himself a cup of coffee, and walked over to see the excitement, where many of the researchers who worked together in the experimental area had gathered.

They looked at Mordoke 4 with different expressions on their faces, who were being forcibly taken away by the Fox's Nest guards.

The big-headed intelligent robot was put on an energy-limiting device on his hands, and the whole person was placed on a hovering trolley in a very embarrassed way, and he was brought to a blue device to silence the sound.

Many guards in white armor were cleaning out this guy's lab, all kinds of data being downloaded and backed up and then destroyed, and they were busy, and judging by their skillful movements, it was not the first time they had done such a thing.

Tony Seven took a sip of coffee.

Tony's relationship with Mordor has never been good, but seeing his old rival in the field of research being treated like this makes this prodigal genius feel like a rabbit and a fox.

"Isn't Mordok-4 presiding over the 'Impact Shield' project? I remember that project was a high priority, how could it suddenly be ""

He whispered to Amadeus Zhao No. 8, who was clenched into fists beside him, and the latter pursed his lips and replied softly:

"The project was scrapped, and the Pharaoh's team, who was in charge of the deliberations, submitted a report after several experiments, believing that it would be a waste of resources to continue researching the 'impact shield' that could not be produced in the ideal state with our current level of technology.

I've heard that they've given the Mordoker team a new job to serve as a staff officer in the Conqueror Sequence, but they've been turned down by these arrogant guys.

I heard that they also clashed with the pharaohs, and as a result, they are now being taken captive and imprisoned pending the end of the onslaught. ”

"Another waste of resources? That's a terrible reason. ”

Tony Seven narrowed his eyes as he looked at Mordork 4 who had been taken away, and he whispered:

"Everyone agrees that the feasibility of their project is very high, and I don't think the reason behind this is so simple."

"Shhhh

A familiar voice rang out behind Tony Seven.

He looked back and saw that it was Hank, the beast in a white coat, with the emblem of Utopia on his chest, representing his true identity.

Supreme Beast.

He has a higher status than a researcher like Tony Seven, and he's one of the council members responsible for evaluating the work of his peers, and he is like a patrol with a very delicate tablet in his hand.

"The fourth shock is coming, and everyone is under a lot of pressure, and I don't think you have time here to mourn what has happened to others."

Hank looked around and said in a tone that was neither light nor serious:

"Are you done with your research? Are the reports all written? Has the paper been approved? ”

It's like a classic speech by a tutor to a graduate student, which made the researchers around who watched the excitement suddenly disperse, and some people whispered behind their backs about these "puppies of the council", but after all, no one dared to say it out loud.

"You come with me."

The Supreme Beast said something to Tony Seven, and his businesslike tone made Seven chuckle.

He follows Hank to his work area, where a mechanical lab filled with futuristic technology is filled with models of warframes and weapons of all styles.

This is Tony Seven's specific job in the Fox's Lair, in addition to being in charge of frontline observation during the onslaught, he needs to provide personalized upgrade suggestions to Warframe users of the Conqueror Sequence on weekdays.

He belongs to the "War Engineer" and has a lot of bindings to the Conqueror sequence, so he is not worried that he will be "unemployed" in a short time.

"In ten minutes, a fox nest guard will come to you."

The moment the door of the laboratory closed, Hank wasted no time and said directly to Tony Seven:

"You have been charged with 'obstructing unity', and I believe you know why you were arrested at this time and the real reason why you were arrested.

You've been in contact with that guy too often, and you've been to Osborne Tower a little too much, but don't worry about it involving your companions.

The other Tonys were clean, and they were able to stay here to finish your project. ”

"Hush."

Tony Seven's heart sank, but he didn't care on the surface and just pouted and said:

"So, I'm getting caught up with Mason?"

"Pretty much, because of his recent activism, the Board of Directors labels all information and personnel associated with him as destabilizing.

The connection between you and him is very secretive, and they don't have any real evidence, but in this situation, it is somewhat unnecessary to talk to the council about the rules.

I guess after this shock, the fox nest will also be officially closed.

The resources that have been provided to us have allowed them to get enough results, and they need to allocate their resources wisely to cope with the more brutal game that follows. ”

The Supreme Beast glanced at the tablet in his hand and said slowly:

"I'm just here to remind you that if you have any 'contraband' in your hand, dispose of it quickly, lest you be caught and executed on the spot."

"Thank you."

Tony Seven's face was grim, he put down his coffee cup and turned on the quantum computer next to him, plugged into the hard drive that Mason gave him, uploaded all the simulation data about the cosmic tuning fork to the backup database of Tony's legion, and then began to delete the world fusion theoretical model that Tony had previously made for Mason.

This scene made the Supreme Beast behind it squint its eyes.

Especially after seeing that the theory of world integration, which had been abandoned by Utopia on the bright side, was pushed to the next stage by Tony's legion, he was also quietly relieved.

That's the way mutants have come up with to deal with the apocalypse in this era, and they have poured their hearts and souls into utopia.

"I say, has it gotten to this point?"

Tony Seven asked in a low voice while busy:

"If there is no fox's nest, how are those stupid and crazy councillors prepared to deal with the next trouble? This is not the end of the shock, are they ready to give up?

Or are they going to continue their stupid 'Endstar project'? ”

"Neither."

Hank coughed and said:

"They just decided to act."

"Action?"

Tony Seven was stunned for a moment, and then asked rhetorically:

"You're a scary thing to think about, Hank.

You see I'm about to be arrested, and it's unknown whether I'll be able to get out of the prison area alive, so I'm going to ask you a very important question, and I hope you can give me an answer.

Everyone in the Fox's Nest shares my questions about the projects that have been cut recently.

For example, the impact shield of the Mordork team was researched for twelve years, and was repeatedly verified in two impacts.

Their ideas are absolutely viable! Moreover, twenty-eight colliding garden worlds were successfully protected in the third impact, and the design was largely completed, requiring only final fine-tuning to be adopted as a regular defense system.

But just as they were about to make the final changes, the project was terminated. You say that the Mordorks are wasting resources, but in reality, I think you're really wasting resources. ”

"First, correct one of your mistakes."

Hank waved his hand and said:

"The Mordork team has completed the design revisions, the Impact Shield project has been completed, and the full set of data and drawings has been uploaded to the Council's Doomsday database.

Secondly, the reason why the Mordor were in trouble was not because of their design, but because they had participated in the small group formed by Ronan, the commander of the sixth sequence of the conquerors, half a month ago.

They are making trouble for themselves.

Just like your personal contact with Mason, they probably had a premonition of the end of the fox's nest and wanted to find a home, but unfortunately, they chose the wrong collaborator.

It was just a 'fishing enforcement', and some of the Mordorks and some of the lower councilors were caught fish. ”

"I'm not interested in the fate of those mechanical bosses! That's not what I want to ask. ”

Tony Seven finished deleting the data, and after entering the instructions to format the database, he got up and picked up his coffee cup, turned back to the Supreme Hank, and said:

"I'm talking about the project itself!

Since I joined the Fox's Nest three years ago, I've seen too many promising projects suddenly come to an end at some point, and it seems like normal academic deliberation, but now that I think about it, it's not normal.

Tell me honestly, do you hope that the Council has the same 'salvation plan' as Mason? I mean the least theoretically feasible kind! ”

The question silenced Hank, and after a few seconds, he nodded and said:

"Yes, and more than one.

The 'Pocket Universe' project proposed by the Fantastic Four sixteen years ago, the 'World Ascension Quantum State' project completed by Hank Pym fourteen years ago, the 'Era Survivor' life enhancement experiment promoted by Bruce Banner eleven years ago, and the ancient project that has existed since the birth of the Fox's Nest.

The 'New Protoss Reproduction' experiment that dodged the impact by simulating the fourth dimension where the Apocalypse Star was located, and even the Divine Speed Force Matrix that Mason had submitted not long ago.

These projects have passed the theoretical test, and they can all be called 'salvation plans', and each of them has an expected success rate of no less than 10%. ”

"But"

Tony Seven's eyes widened, and he said:

"But I've never heard of that! If they have a plan, why should they sit idly by. Wait a minute! What about those people? What about the researchers who have come up with feasible solutions?

They were all "

"Waste of resources, impediment to unity, worthlessness, uncontrollable tendencies, militaristic, authoritarian tendencies, etc."

Hank looked at Tony Seven and said faintly:

"Why do you think these ridiculous charges that can't even deceive your own people are placed in the scientific research institution of the Fox's Nest? The Mordork who has just been taken away and you, who are about to be taken away, will witness the final outcome of those outstanding talents.

Tony, hear me out, the dark ages brought about by the shock are never a simple matter of technology.

I witnessed firsthand the moment when the Council of Hope was born, and from the moment it was born, the organization was not simply trying to survive the apocalypse and be reborn.

People like Mason want nothing more than to put an end to disaster.

Others who see the 'opportunity' want more.

This era of the universe is coming to an end, but it will still give birth to a monster Leviathan that will devour the resources of the end and grow and reign supreme in the next era.

You should have heard the saying that chaos is the ladder to power.

How could they have already climbed up and cut off the ladder that would lead them to a higher level, just to save a group of people they didn't even know?

Why?

Is it just because the innocents are pitiful?

Kindness, conscience, these things are luxuries in this day and age. ”

"They have a lot of plans but they don't want to implement them, just for this ridiculous reason?"

Tony smashed the coffee cup in his hand to the ground, and as the crumbs flew everywhere, he shouted angrily:

"And what is the value of our people here?"

"Making our wisdom not used by others is the greatest value of the existence of the fox nest, we often ridicule the garden world as a pig farm, but the fox nest is not the 'wisdom fish tank' in the hands of the council?"

Hank glanced outside the lab, where the fox nest guards in white armor were already walking this way.

He shook his head and said to Tony Seven:

"Didn't I say that?

We are the ladder in their hands, and those who want to play the role of saviors have already stepped onto the altar, so naturally they have to remove the ladder to avoid the competition of those who come after.

But don't worry, Tony.

They may be good at monopolizing and creating darkness, but they are new to the road of salvation, and someone has already set out before them.

Be patient in your cell and don't choose to commit suicide.

I guess you and I have had the opportunity to see for ourselves the wonderful scene of the collapse of the Dark Shrine, forged by our wisdom, just as the collapse of the Stellar Society has just occurred.

It must have been a wonderful scene. ”

The moment the guards opened the door to the lab, Hank coughed, reached out and tore off the researcher badge from Tony's chest, and said to an angry Tony in an indifferent voice:

"Tony Stark Seven! You will be sentenced to imprisonment and awaiting trial for obstructing unity! Do you want to plead? It's your power. ”

(End of chapter)