For Every Action - The Quantum Mechanic Series Book I

Bao Zhi waited impatiently.

To any observer he would have seemed untroubled. He did not look about, shift in his seat, or display any of the subtle little movements typical of a normal human being. But beneath the placid exterior his mind was filled with seething emotions, only kept in check through a monumental act of willpower. He found the fact that he had to do that manually an irritant in and of itself. But the nature of his current circumstances had deprived him of his normal methods for control. He could not release his autonomic nervous system to a sub process, nor could he access any of the digital compensators he normally had available. He was reduced to sitting here, controlling his own physical body like a pathetic human being.

It was disgusting, and the effort it was taking him to remain still was almost all-consuming.

He hated being forced to use substitute bodies. At just under seven feet tall, the model he was currently housed in was barely more than half his normal height and it made him feel like an insect. But the counsel only met in Beijing and his normal body would be far too difficult to transport, conceal, or enter buildings with. The Embodied were built to be unstoppable, not space efficient.

The situation was made all the more irritating to him because none of this inconvenience was really necessary. He had given dozens of reports to the counsel via video link over the last several years and there was no reason this discussion couldn’t be handled the same way. Considering his sacrifice and service to the state, he felt that bringing him here in this pathetic body, on the back of a shipping truck, just to deliver a standard communication was insulting. This body’s inability to properly hibernate during transport had forced him to endure the pot-holed roads of his fourteen-hour journey awake. Then he had been unceremoniously marched up seventeen flights of stairs and into the wide briefing room where he now sat. According to his internal clock over eighty-seven minutes had passed since his escorts departed and left one guard behind at the door.

The thought made him glance over at the guard, just a microsecond flick of a peripheral vision cluster. But it was enough to see that the man hadn’t moved and his eyes continued to remain locked on Bao.

Subtle.

Two guards would have been too much and implied that he wasn’t completely trusted. But no guards would have seemed incredibly suspicious. So only one had been left and now the two of them were here in this overly plush and polished room, enjoying each other’s company.

Within minutes of being left alone with him, the guard had begun sweating profusely. Bao could only imagine what it must have been like to be ordered to watch over a seven-foot-tall mechanical nightmare inhabited by a disembodied brain. What had it sounded like when the man had received his orders?

“Guard the giant Cyborg killing machine. If it moves... well, you can shoot at it if you want, but just be sure to scream before you die. At least then we’ll know it’s coming.”

Then the guard moved, and the action startled Bao so greatly that he almost flinched. But he managed to hold his composure as the man opened the door to his left and seven individuals in dark suits filed in. Normally, these sorts of high ranking officials would have at least three assistants hovering around them. But the existence of The Embodied was such a tightly kept secret that no one outside the project except the guards and these seven people had ever seen them.

Bao stood as they entered, and bowed deeply as they proceeded to the opposite side of the wide mahogany table. He suppressed a wince over the whir and click of primitive mechanisms inside of his temporary body. But if the officials took notice of his vulgar form they showed no sign, and proceeded to formally return his bow before sitting. In deference, Bao remained standing at attention (or the closest thing he could manage considering how inflexible the torso of this construct was) and kept his visual sensors pointed a meter over their heads as he saluted. Premier Dejiang returned the salute and Bao did his best to remain standing at attention. After seating himself directly across from Bao, the Premier quietly removed a collapsible work slate from his inside jacket pocket and unfolded it on the table. Then he brought up several files on its holographic matrix before speaking.

“Lieutenant Colonel Zhi”, he began, “We apologize for the manner in which you were brought here, and for the physical state that you are currently in. We regret the necessity as we understand that a temporary body such as this might be distressing to one who has been Embodied as long as you. So with all due sincerity - we ask if are comfortable, or if you might require service in some way before we begin?”

Bao bowed slightly as he replied with what he considered to be a humiliatingly electronic voice. “No Sir, it is my pleasure and duty to serve the great people of China regardless of my form. Whatever discomfort I may feel is nothing so long as I am of service. Please proceed.”

The Premier gave him an appraising look, during which Bao heard a pneumatic valve in the respirator of his substitute become unseated. To his horror, it put a slight wheeze into his breathing that ended with an audible click whenever he exhaled. He swore to himself that when this was over he was going to find whoever built this contemptible body and put a wheeze into their breathing as well. But for now, he forced himself to ignore it, and gave the counsel his full attention.

“Very well”, the Premier replied and turned the work slate so that Bao could see the holographic form it displayed. Long and slender, it strongly resembled a rapier with a complex set of interlocking panels near the top serving as a guard for the grip.

Then the short, stout, and severe looking woman to the Premier’s right (That Bao knew to be Vice Chairman Qiliang of the Central Military Commission) began speaking. “Several days ago we received a ‘Happy Moon’ signal sent on a secured channel from an American Communications satellite called ‘Apex-1’. As you know, only our viral AIs designed to infect and commandeer foreign assets with strategic military value use the ‘Happy Moon’ code. Initially we considered it to be an error as the satellite had no apparent strategic worth. But the AI was insistent about there being a secured military communications subsystem onboard. We were able to verify this by having it request a positioning ping from the nearest American military satellite. What replied surprised and troubled us greatly. It is the weapons platform you see before you now - the US StarLance Orbital Rail Gun.”

She had paused for a moment to let the ramifications of that sink in, but hardly needed to. Bao was intimately familiar with the technology despite their country’s failure to master it. The fact that this satellite existed meant three important things; the Americans had perfected the technology, they were willfully violating the ban on space weapons, and they could vaporize any city within China in a matter of minutes. Rail guns were unique weapons. They used a magnetic field between two superconducting rails to accelerate a projectile to hypersonic speeds. The entire firing sequence took place in a fraction of a second. No explosives were used, there was no recoil, and the only waste product was heat - making it the perfect weapon for the subzero temperatures of space. Since the projectile only used kinetic energy for destructive measures there was no chemical or radioactive fallout. When you combined it with the ArcLight soldier program, this weapon put the United States in an unquestionably untouchable military position. China could be forced to surrender everything, including the mainland if the Americans engaged this weapon. The thousands of newer, more advanced creatures being cultured by Vucovich under the mountain would never come online. All of their plans to return China to glory would be toppled with a single stroke. Worst of all, even though they were certainly a formidable force, he and the other Embodied would be powerless to intervene.

Qiliang went on. “When we realized the severity of the situation we ordered the AI to attempt to replicate itself to the rail gun. Approximately sixteen hours later we received a second ‘Happy Moon’ signal from the Apex-1 satellite, only this time the Apex was relaying it. A copy of the AI was now aboard the StarLance and in control of its systems.”

If Bao had been capable of grinning, he would have. As it was, he involuntarily closed both of his hands into tight fists. This was a coup. They had complete control of America’s greatest weapon, they were powerless to do anything about it, and they couldn’t even admit that it existed! What were they going to do? March into the U.N. and demand China return control of their illegal weapons satellite? The world would be simultaneously outraged and horrified by the unilateral power the Americans had. So for all intents and purposes, unless the Americans could find a way to reclaim it quietly, the StarLance was now the property of The People’s Republic of China!

But none of this explained why he had been brought here. There had to be more, and so he made a calculated risk by speaking without being asked to. “Today is a great day indeed, for we have trapped the Americans with their own hypocrisy. As Chairman Mao said, ‘War is the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions’. I am not worthy of the great inconvenience the council has undertaken to bring me here merely to share this news.”

To the Premier’s right, Vice Premier Keqiang pursed his lips slightly at Bao’s breach of etiquette, but the Premier nodded in agreement, precluding any dissent. “It is a tragedy that your great service to the people cannot be shared with them, for surely you and your team are amongst China’s finest heroes. But today we must ask that you undertake yet another great task of which the world may never know.”

Bao bowed again, “That our work brings greatness to the people is all the recognition The Embodied require. Whatever the need is my team and I shall serve.”

Again the Premier gave Bao a slight nod. “We can see that the reports from your superiors do not overstate your selflessness and patriotism Lieutenant Colonel, and it is for this reason we have called you here. Although we have control of the vast majority of the StarLance’s systems, there is one we cannot access. The automated targeting and firing controls are encrypted with a rotating quantum key system. Our technicians inform us that breaking the keys would require an almost infinite level of computing power, and even our synthetic tissue based quantum systems are insufficient.”

Boa froze. That was even more startling news than the existence of the satellite itself. For almost a decade China had been secure in the knowledge that the synth-organic based supercomputers developed for the Embodiment program put them on a plane of technical superiority that the Americans could not match. If their enemies now possessed the ability to create a rotating key system that China could not break, then that situation had changed dramatically.

The Premier continued, “There was also a similarly encrypted manual fallback system in place. We assume this was to allow the weapon to be fired if the automated systems failed. But the AI discovered a hidden back door into that system left in place by one of the engineers. Through that back door the AI has gained access. But neither the AI, nor our technicians possess the skills necessary to decipher how the targeting system operates. This is why we have brought you here.”

Bao nodded as best he could.

“Dr Vucovich informs us that to be successfully Embodied one must master adapting one’s biological systems to interface with electronic ones. Would you agree?”

Bao nodded, “Yes Premier. All of our senses and even our ability to move rely on it. The greater one’s skill becomes, the more capable you are as an Embodied soldier. Once mastery is achieved, other senses not normal to human biology can be added.”

The Premier smiled slightly, “Excellent. Dr Vucovich also felt that you possess an exceptional level of skill in this regard due to the unique circumstances of your transition.”

Bao paused before replying, “I was both cursed and fortunate in that regard Premier.”

“Good. Then we wish you to remain here in Beijing for a few days while we position the satellite over the United States. It has very advanced stealth capabilities and so it should go undetected if we move it slowly enough. During that time, we need you to remotely master the targeting and firing systems of the StarLance. Once we have acquired our target you may serve the people by delivering the blow that breaks the American military hegemony.”

“I am honored by the counsel with this opportunity. I shall not fail you. However, I ask if the council would permit me one question?”

There was a brief silence in the room, punctuated by the occasional whirl and click of Bao’s internal clockworks.

“Granted.” The Premier replied, but Bao could see by his expression that he had pushed their indulgence as far as it would go.

“Thank you Premier. My question is, why are we striking so quickly if we have the StarLance firmly in our possession? Would we not be better served by waiting for the most opportune moment to reveal our advantage?”

Another silence ensued, and Bao felt his grip on his primitive body begin to slip. A tiny tremor ran up his right leg, threatening to buckle his knee before he brought it under control with an almost herculean level of willpower. Meanwhile, the Premier sat back slightly in his chair and appeared thoughtful for a moment before leaning over to first whisper with Vice Chairman Qiliang, then again with Vice Premier Keqiang.

Suddenly, Bao saw the true reason why he had been placed into this pathetic body and reduced to mere human capabilities. It simply would not do to have an operative who could hear whispers from kilometers away, or pluck electronic messages from the air, walking around in a state controlled facility. He knew it was a reasonable security precaution. But somehow, this inability to eavesdrop on their conversation made him feel more vulnerable than the pathetic weakness of his form.

So he watched with great interest as the whisper was passed down to each end of the table and then rebounded back until the responses of both sides had been whispered into the Premier’s ear. He in turn appeared thoughtful for a moment before speaking.

“Lieutenant Colonel. If you are as perceptive in combat as you are in conversation, then I feel pity for the enemies of China. Your question is an astute one, and the answer requires that we reveal information now that we had planned to withhold until it was necessary for you to know... We believe we have located the facility where the ArcLight project is housed, and it will be your target. But such a facility cannot be unprepared for an assault such as this, and space is surely not the only place the Americans have a rail gun.”

Bao was stunned. Without knowing it he twitched, unclasped his hands from behind his back and took a small step backwards. He knew full well the implications of what the Premier had just revealed, and they struck to the heart of why The Embodied even existed. It was the only reason such an unbelievable risk had been taken. If it was ever discovered that China had even done research of the kind required to create him and the others, it would take a miracle to avoid all-out war. The grotesque abuses and threats to humanity that some of their partner nations had created with these same technologies had produced outrage on a scale the world had never seen. The list of examples wasn’t long. But Bao’s superiors had made it clear that when combined with the ArcLight threat, they added up to why The Embodied now walked the earth. Thailand’s cloning debacle had started it all, and Italy’s nanotech nightmare had certainly created some alarm in Beijing.

But it had been America’s response to the Volgograd fiasco that forced China to act.

Everyone knew the Russians had really screwed something up when they announced it to the world in typical ex-Soviet style by carpet bombing their own city of Volgograd. Then they compounded the problem by imposing a total media blackout.

Unfortunately for them, the international community had recently become a lot less tolerant of rogue technological experiments. So just eight hours after the bombing, China, the US, and the European Union joined forces to demand immediate access and it surprised very few when the response was the sort of vodka - fueled belligerence that only Russians seem capable of.

Then Moscow learned the hard way that the world was no longer in the mood to put up with dangerous scientific experimentations. In less than twenty-four hours the proud people of Russia were in a position they had never faced - an absolute guarantee of complete nuclear annihilation if they did not obey the will of the international community. They were also embarrassed to discover that their typical blustering threats of retaliation were not an option. Their leftover Soviet era nukes had rusted into junk and no one alive even knew how to fire them anymore. So, after an initial display of outraged indignance the Russians had grudgingly complied... and the real problem had come to light.

Apparently a group of regressive communist hard liners had secretly diverted trillions from the military budgets. Over the years they had expended it on research and human experimentation towards bionic augmentation. Later investigations revealed that hundreds of Siberian prisoners had been maimed or killed as the geriatric communists blindly stumbled towards something that worked. But as clumsy as it was, the trial and error method had eventually paid off, and they began developing a bionically enhanced military force.

But they became ensnared by the prophecies of Mary Shelley when a unit composed of former Spetsnaz operatives became so augmented that they lost touch with their humanity. From there it was only a short distance to deciding that they were the next step in evolution and the meat bags running things had no business bossing them around. So they unceremoniously turned on their commanders, gave the finger to Moscow, decimated every force sent to destroy them, and commandeered the entire city of Volgograd before declaring themselves a collective. Anyone they captured had been turned into biomechanical nightmares - mindless and twisted slaves only able to move because they were linked to the Kiborg control systems.

Then something happened that changed the world - the Americans resolved the Volgograd problem with a display of power so absolute that it struck fear into the hearts of China’s political leaders.

The newly formed ‘Kollektiv-Kiborg’ issued a challenge to the Americans and allowed no one else in except hundreds of news crews from every continent. Unsurprisingly, outcries about unilateral actions, national sovereignty, and American arrogance had abounded, and their allies demanded cooperation and access. But the White House had rebuffed every overture, and then went completely dark, leaving the world in an uproar. But through all of it one thing became certain... the Americans had something big planned - and they wanted to make sure everyone saw it.

The Kiborg had issued their challenge as an opportunity to demonstrate their might and to warn the rest of the world not to test them. So they granted safe passage for two American A380 transport planes to land at Gumrak airport and then waited a kilometer to the southwest. The place they had chosen for their showdown was at the halfway point of the airport’s longest runway. It offered them the advantage of a flat, unobstructed surface for thousands of meters in every direction. So there could be no outflanking them, or surprise attacks due to the topography and the heightened senses of the Kiborg. The unit of former Spetsnaz and their slaves simply stood silently, waiting for the Americans.

After the planes had landed, the first opened to disgorge an army of journalists who raced down the runway as far as they dared. They tried to pick spots that were out of the line of fire and began furiously setting up equipment. Twelve minutes later the nosecone of the second A380 opened for a small group of soldiers who walked quickly down the tarmac. Although thousands of questions were shouted at them and an equal number of cameras were following their every move, they passed through the cacophony of media as if it wasn’t even there. Only a few noticed that their plane hadn’t shut off its engines and simply waited, idling.

The focus these soldiers displayed was unwavering, and every reporter noted that the two men and women were completely unarmed. Clad from head to toe in non-reflective black, their uniforms had no markings other than an American flag on their right shoulder and a blue circle around an inverted triangle on their left. Unlike most soldiers they wore what looked like some sort of high tech running shoes instead of boots, and they had on dark wraparound sunglasses.

Their faces had been stone like masks of expressionless discipline.

When they drew within a dozen meters of the Kiborg they stopped, and one of the men stepped forward. Slightly taller than the others, he looked almost unnaturally healthy. He was rugged looking, bore signs of Native American ancestry, and had the kind of slim hipped build that was made for wearing a uniform. He was perfectly shaved, his skin gleamed in the sun, and his coarse black hair was cut so precisely that it almost looked artificial. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-five years old, but Bao remembered that the baritone voice that boomed from him had carried an unsettling level of authority. The way the man spoke made it clear that this battle had already been decided. He and his team were simply there to deliver the news.

“If any of you wish to live, put down your weapons now and surrender. I am authorized to guarantee you safe passage after you are stripped of all augmentation and properly restrained. You will then be transported to Moscow and stand trial for crimes against humanity. There will be no negotiating. This offer will not be repeated. You have ten seconds to comply.”

Everyone watching knew that this was ludicrous. The Kiborg were all significantly more machine than man, and could never survive having their augmentations removed. So no one was surprised when they responded by raising their weapons.

Then the dark haired commander moved... and death rode forth on Volgograd.

At first no one understood what had happened. But slow motion playbacks from the hundreds of ultra-high definition cameras told the tale. Arcane patterns etched in an intense and painfully bright blue light had streaked across the soldier’s skins. Then they sprinted directly through the furious barrage of firepower the cyborgs had unleashed as if it wasn’t even there. The soldiers hadn’t bothered to dodge anything other than the heaviest artillery. Everything else just shredded through their uniforms to ricochet harmlessly off their patterned skin. With a terrifying speed they had crossed the gap to the Kiborg and were upon them. Instantly, they decapitated the leaders with precision ridge hand strikes and raced on, hands passing through necks so swiftly that the heads remained in place until the bodies toppled over.

They had then started streaking merciless paths of death through the remaining ranks. Even the slaves and those who raised their hands in surrender were shown no mercy. They joined the others in being savagely ripped limb from limb. Nothing on the tarmac that day composed of both machine and man escaped vengeance and all died without even slowing down the blazing Americans.

In a matter of seconds it was over. A sprawling tangle of cybernetic corpses lay on the asphalt. Pools of blood and mechanical fluids barely had time to form.

Bao had been human at the time, and remembered watching one of the females seize a massive member of the Kiborg by the neck. Despite being less than half his size and at least an eighth of his weight he had been shocked when she effortlessly lifted him, and then punched completely through his chest with such power that his spine exploded from his back. With a raking pull she then disemboweled from him a giant mass of organs and machinery. The Spetsnaz soldier was so hollowed out by her fury that the sun fell upon her through the empty space. When Bao went back and watched the scene again later he realized that the almost impossibly fit looking brunette had slaughtered no less than three more opponents before the face of the eviscerated one had plowed into the dirt.

The other woman in the unit had been a petite blonde with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and despite her smaller build, she had easily matched her darker teammates’ body count. Bao had watched in amazement as the woman smashed through her opponents like a screaming Valkyrie.

Once the soldiers finished, they had simply stood, silent and still with their final kills still twitching at their feet. Their bodies continued to crackle with azure fury, until some unspoken signal broke their reverie and they powered down.

Completely dumbfounded by what they just witnessed, the crowd of media fell into an awed and respectful silence as the soldiers jogged over to confer as a group. They spoke while they faced inwards, exchanging information through a combination of code words and hand motions they carefully concealed with their bodies. In the space of just a few heartbeats they finished and spread out again, pulling black zippered bags from concealed compartments in their uniforms. Reaching inside, they began sowing pea-sized metallic pellets over the corpses. Since the Kiborg had evenly spaced themselves across the sixty-meter-wide runway, it didn’t take long to finish. Not a single one of the cyborgs had managed to move more than few feet before being cut down. Then after regrouping, the soldiers walked towards the reporters and the spokesman made another declaration.

“Please move back one hundred and fifty meters. We cannot guarantee your safety if you do not. When you see me raise my hand, cover your eyes and do not look directly at the light. Failing to do so may cause permanent damage to your vision.”

Not a single reporter, cameraman, or technician failed to withdraw as fast as they possibly could. They had seen what happened to those who failed to heed this soldier’s words. In a matter of minutes, the entire crowd had withdrawn, adding another fifty meters or so to the distance - just to be sure.

The soldiers had followed them and stood slightly closer to the Kiborg bodies. Later, many of the media would report that they had obeyed the soldier’s orders, but the blinding flash that occurred still penetrated through the hands, cloth, and eyelids to cause painful stabbing sensations in their eyes. It only took a few seconds for the searing light to finally subside and those who managed to pry their squinting eyes open received their second shock of the day. The entire area the Kiborg bodies had been laying in was incinerated. The bodies, runway tarmac, and field grass that fell within the radius of the blast had been completely vaporized. Nothing remained except a smoking oblong scorch.

Without a world the soldiers then turned to double time it back to the plane. Seconds later, it casually taxied down the runway and took off.

It was discovered later that those responsible for the Kiborg, their facility, their records, and every person or object associated with their work had been vaporized within hours... just like the cyborg bodies.

The Americans never spoke of the incident after that, and no one ever saw the super powered soldiers again. There was never a press release, no interviews were ever granted, and no questions were ever taken or answered. The policy continued through the rest of that president’s term and then carried on through every administration that followed. Reporters who tried asking questions about Volgograd at other media events found themselves escorted out and their press passes revoked. No one ever got their pass back, and they often found themselves “persona non grata” in every political and journalistic circle that mattered. So it only took watching a few of their highest flying journalists crash into career oblivion before the media decided to leave the subject alone.

But this bizarre demonstration wasn’t the only change the international community had to deal with. In the years that followed, the US rapidly decreased its foreign aid, military presence, and level of foreign interventions to practically zero. Only the countries holding resources that the Americans valued managed to retain their partnerships. In a matter of months their message had become clear. Their days of being the world’s police were over. No more stepping in to resolve conflicts, economic disasters, or genocides. Don’t bother calling if that’s what you want. But don’t mistake it for weakness.

Remember Volgograd.

It was the ultimate threat. America would never have to exert more than a minimal effort to topple nations, nullify terrorists, or defend their interests. A single team of these soldiers could decimate an army, annihilate a military base, capture a city, and assassinate even the most heavily guarded leader.

But no one ever saw the blazing blue soldiers again. Whatever they were doing, it was even more clandestine than The Embodied.

China had not been fooled though. They knew that the Americans hadn’t changed; they just had a new weapon and a new strategy. This dramatically reduced the effort it took to get what they wanted, and exponentially increased the deadliness of their threats. China knew that it had to do something, or a new American hegemony could lock it out of future trade, resources, or technological advancement. They could not permit the US to have a military advantage of this magnitude... and the very technologies being banned were their only hope to balance the scales. So a secret initiative was launched by the Premier - the Council on Advanced Military Research. They had been tasked with the clandestine exploration of radical biotechnology, and construction on the mountain facility had begun only two weeks later.

But unlike the brash and arrogant Americans, the people of China relied on wisdom, subtlety, and patience to accomplish their goals. So although The Embodied represented an accomplishment that could change the world, their existence had become the most tightly controlled secret of the nation. For more than a decade now their unseen missions had checked the Americans at every turn. When peace negotiations led by the US came dangerously close to succeeding, they derailed them by rekindling centuries old resentments. When the Japanese or others groveled like dogs before the will of the Americans, The Embodied quietly ‘retired’ key players in their cabinet. When the South Americans formed an oil supply alliance with the US, The Embodied incinerated their refineries. Rebellions bloomed in formerly peaceful nations. Voting blocs cracked into splinters of dissent and armies fell into disarray.

Last year China had needed certain Middle Eastern nations to be more compliant about the construction of oil and natural gas pipelines. So The Embodied had forced the Americans to almost completely withdraw from the area. They destroyed many of the bridges critical to their land shipping routes and using the debris to block all of their major waterways. As a result, the vast majority of their forces were recalled to protect the homeland. The fact that the media had later blamed the entire event on Middle East terrorists had been an unanticipated bonus.

The only complication had been the strange hero who appeared at one of the bridge collapses and Bao had immediately suspected that one of the Volgograd soldiers was responsible for rescuing the girl. For any of them to return to the public eye in such a fantastic manner might have signaled trouble for him and his team. But the man had disappeared as mysteriously as he arrived and the American media had never even mentioned the Arclight soldiers. Their government’s blackout on the subject had apparently still been in place.

But now... now things would change. Bao could strike at the heart of the capitalist poison infecting the world. He could reach in from space and pluck its stinger without fear of the Four Horsemen. Oh... it would be a glorious and telling blow. Without the threat of their blazing blue soldiers, or their illegal orbital weaponry to prop them up - the Americans would be indefinitely crippled. They would need decades to restore their military to a level even remotely close to what they needed and China would become the only remaining military or economic superpower.

The shift that would result would be nearly irreversible and it would put The People’s Republic permanently at the top of the food chain. It was even possible that the biotechnology bans would be reversed, the shroud of secrecy surrounding The Embodied would be lifted and Bao would go down in history as the one who dealt the death blow to America. With a single strike he would finally expunge the shame his father had brought upon their family.

He would become the greatest hero in the history of China, and once they rewrote the history books - the world.