62: Bionic organs

"We need a temporary recess," Dmitri said in a deep voice, with an unyielding firmness that brooked no refusal.

Jade elegantly raised her hand in a gesture: "Of course, there's a lounge next door."

A slight smile played on her lips: "But I must remind everyone, you only have twenty minutes."

Inside the lounge, the North Steel delegation gathered around a dedicated military-grade encrypted computer.

The image of Grand Duke Winter appeared on the screen, with the Birch Palace office at night as his background.

"Bionic organs can enhance human function?" Grand Duke Winter's voice came through the encrypted channel, carrying a hint of surprise.

"Yes, Mr. President," Rogozov said, pulling up the technical parameters from the document.

"Preliminary data shows that the installer's basic physical capabilities can increase by 200% to 300%, and trauma tolerance increases by 500%."

"Theoretically, a soldier equipped with a complete mechanical lung can operate in a toxic gas environment."

"There are also mechanical livers that enhance detoxification capabilities, stomachs with digestive functions, mechanical prosthetic eyes, mechanical prosthetic limbs..."

Grand Duke Winter's gaze sharpened abruptly: "What is the cost?"

The Foreign Minister turned to the last page of the agreement: "It requires regular replacement of neuro-stabilizing fluid, otherwise the organs will gradually fail."

"Like recharging?"

Dmitri nodded: "I'm afraid so."

Both ends of the call fell into a brief silence.

"Sign it," Grand Duke Winter suddenly said, "but add an additional clause: full technical support, including production lines and maintenance systems."

"Mr. President!" Dmitri couldn't help but say, "This means we will be completely dependent on Titan's technological supply!"

Grand Duke Winter's image leaned slightly forward: "Colonel Sergei, tell me.

How many soldiers in our 'Alpha' special forces are currently retired due to old injuries?"

Dmitri fell silent.

"Sign it," Grand Duke Winter's voice was low, "and then have the Academy of Sciences immediately begin reverse engineering."

When the North Steel delegation returned to the meeting room, Jade was sipping a cup of black tea.

She looked up at everyone: "Have you thought it over?"

The Foreign Minister pushed the revised agreement across: "Add a clause: the Bear needs full technical support, including production lines and maintenance systems."

Jade glanced at it and chuckled: "Agreed."

She turned to Ains: "Prepare the B-grade technical package."

Ains nodded, tapping his wristband a few times.

The holographic projection in the meeting room switched, displaying a 3D model of a bionic organ production line.

"These are standardized production modules," Jade explained, "capable of producing 100 basic units per month.

The maintenance center will be built in Five Ports City and operated by Titan Engineers for the first year."

Dmitri frowned: "What about after a year?"

"At that time, your Engineers will take over," Jade smiled, "Of course, if your side wishes to extend the technical support period, you can renew the contract."

The Foreign Minister quickly flipped through the supplementary clauses: "What about the supply of neuro-stabilizing fluid?"

"Once a month by air freight," Ains interjected, "settled at standard prices.

Of course, bulk orders get discounts."

The North Steel delegation exchanged a look.

Dmitri slowly nodded: "Acceptable."

The sound of the pen scratching across the document was clearly audible.

As the last stroke was made, Ains suddenly spoke: "A reminder to everyone, before technology delivery, please manage your media."

Dmitri snorted coldly: "What do you mean?"

Jade waved her hand, and the holographic projection changed, bringing up a real-time image.

The giant advertisement screen in New Village Times Square suddenly switched, and the original 'Titan Immortality Technology' text changed to 'North Steel Army Secretly Developing Bio-Soldiers'.

"Please handle the information in your hands properly, otherwise," she said softly, "tomorrow's headlines might be about your country's 'Super Soldier Program'."

Two hours later, the North Steel special plane roared into the sky.

Inside the cabin, Dmitri stared at the data chip in his hand, his expression fluctuating.

The Foreign Minister whispered beside him: "Do you think there's a trick here?"

"Definitely," Dmitri sneered, "but the Academy of Sciences will break it down into particles and examine it one by one."

Birch Palace, late at night.

Grand Duke Winter stood by the window, gazing at the night view of Five Ports City.

Behind him, the Minister of Defense, the Director of the Federal Security Bureau, the Chief of the General Staff, and Olga Ivanova, the chief bio-engineering expert of the Academy of Sciences, sat around a long table, the atmosphere heavy.

On the electronic screen, the bionic organ technical parameters provided by Titan were still scrolling.

"Confirmed correct?" Grand Duke Winter asked without turning, his voice low.

Olga pushed up her glasses and nodded: "The technology is real, even more advanced than we expected.

The mechanical lung's efficiency is 20% higher than natural organs, the liver's detoxification ability is twice that of an ordinary person, and the dynamic vision capture capability of the mechanical prosthetic eye is enough for a sniper to operate in night combat as if on level ground."

"What's the cost?" Grand Duke Winter turned around, his gaze sharp.

"Neuro-stabilizing fluid," Olga said, bringing up a molecular structure diagram.

"This fluid is the buffer for bionic organs; without it, organ activity will gradually decrease within 72 hours.

And its formula, we currently cannot decipher."

A brief silence fell in the room.

"So, you mean," Boltnikov sneered, "for every batch of bionic organs we use, we have to buy a batch of 'power banks' from Titan?"

"For now, yes," Olga said frankly, "unless we can reverse Engineer the synthesis method of the stabilizing fluid."

Grand Duke Winter slowly walked to the table, tapping his finger lightly on the surface: "How long does the Academy of Sciences need?"

"Conservatively, two to three years," Olga smiled wryly, "and that's an optimistic estimate.

Titan's technical encryption level is too high; we can't even figure out the basic reaction pathways."

Grand Duke Winter's gaze swept over everyone: "So, the question now is, do we use it or not?"

Dmitri said in a deep voice: "Use it, but with caution."

He brought up a battlefield map: "We can negotiate with the Silver Shield Alliance by offering to concede the results of a state's referendum.

Then, we use the negotiations to buy time, turning the northern border into a low-intensity defensive battle.

This will both alleviate our current international pressure and allow us to test the effectiveness of the bionic organs."

"Test?" Boltnikov frowned, "You plan to use soldiers as guinea pigs?"

"They are warriors to begin with," Dmitri said coldly, "Moreover, after being equipped with bionic organs, their survival rate will significantly increase."

Grand Duke Winter pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "What if Titan cuts off the supply of neuro-stabilizing fluid?"

Olga was silent for a moment, then replied: "The performance and lifespan of the bionic organs will decrease, but it won't be directly fatal."

Grand Duke Winter nodded, seemingly having made up his mind.

"Notify the front-line command, adjust the combat plan," his voice was calm, yet carried undeniable authority, "The front line will shift to a defensive posture, focusing on testing the practical effectiveness of bionic organs."

"Also," he looked at Boltnikov, "have intelligence keep a close eye on Titan, especially their logistics network.

If there's any anomaly in the supply of neuro-stabilizing fluid..."

He didn't finish, but everyone present understood his meaning.

A month later, at the front line, outside Gneiss State.

The pre-dawn darkness enveloped the trenches, and Sergeant Ivan Maxim adjusted the focus of his mechanical prosthetic eye, a faint blue light flickering on the lens.

A mission in Damaslia three years ago cost him his right eye and left hand, ending his special forces career.

"Maxim! B-sector post 3 reports an anomaly," the company Commander's voice came through his earpiece.

"Received," Maxim touched the mechanical arm on his right shoulder, which had just been installed three days ago.

He turned to look at the five-person squad behind him; the members of this "Steel Company" were all veterans like him, retired due to injury and then re-enlisted.

Second Lieutenant Aleksey approached, leaning on his mechanical prosthetic leg; his left leg had been permanently left in the mountains during the Car City battle.

"Thermal imaging shows an abnormal heat source 300 meters ahead."

Maxim nodded, his mechanical prosthetic eye automatically marking the footprints in the snow.

"Not our patrol route.

Markov, check it out."

Explosives expert Markov squatted down, his mechanical fingers gently parting the snow.

His spine had been severely damaged in an explosion five years ago, and now he relied entirely on mechanical support to stand.

"The landmines have been disarmed, very professionally done."

"Three-person team, all weighing around 80 kilograms," Maxim's mechanical prosthetic eye analyzed the data, "Wearing our uniforms, but not our people."

Bang!

A sudden gunshot broke the silence.

Karl felt his chest hit by a heavy hammer, and he staggered back two steps.

"Shot!" Karl yelled, setting up his machine gun.

This former machine gunner had been forced to retire after losing his left lung; now, a silver-gray mechanical lung pulsed in his chest.

Karl looked down at his chest; his uniform was torn by the bullet, revealing the flashing casing of the mechanical lung beneath.

"Performance reduced... still able to fight," he said calmly.

In the distant bushes, the ambushers were clearly unprepared for this outcome.

Kozlov's mechanical prosthetic eye caught the moment of their surprise; it was a sniper wearing a North Steel Army uniform, but with the insignia of the Black Wheat Army on his arm.

"Aleksey, 11 o'clock direction."

No sooner had Karl spoken than the roar of a sniper rifle responded.

The squad continued forward, discovering a hidden observation post at the edge of the woods.

Three bodies in North Steel Army uniforms were neatly arranged, each with a bullet hole in the forehead.

"They've been monitoring here for at least two days," Markov said, checking the captured radio, his mechanical fingers deftly operating the buttons.

Suddenly, Maxim's mechanical prosthetic eye caught a fleeting red light in the distance.

"RPG! Take cover!"

Boom!

The blast wave from the explosion threw Maxim back.

He struggled to his feet, a piercing alarm blaring in his earpiece: "Efficiency reduced to 61%... recommend evacuation."

"To hell with evacuation!" he spat out a mouthful of blood, his mechanical arm steadily raising his rifle.

Bullets repeatedly struck his body, but apart from the alarm and the pain, he could still fight.

When reinforcements arrived, the sight that greeted them shocked even the most seasoned veterans.

Five disabled veterans formed a defensive circle, back-to-back, surrounded by twelve enemy corpses.

Maxim stood at the forefront, his exposed right arm sparking, yet still holding his rifle high.

Five Ports City, Ministry of Defense meeting room.

Dmitri stared at the combat report from the front line, his finger lightly tapping the table.

"The mechanical lung maintained basic function even after being directly hit by a 7.62mm bullet," the military doctor said, pointing at the data on the holographic projection.

"An ordinary soldier would undoubtedly be dead in such a situation."

The generals in the meeting room exchanged glances.

Chief of the General Staff Surovikin was the first to break the silence: "These veterans performed beyond expectations."

"Not only did they survive," the Special Forces Commander added, "their combat effectiveness was 40% higher than able-bodied soldiers."

Dmitri brought up another video, showing Maxim's squad during a training ground test.

"The advantages of the mechanical prosthetic eye in night combat are obvious, the stability of the mechanical arm increased shooting accuracy by 35%, and the mechanical lung..."

The video switched to a laboratory scene, where a mechanical lung was still operating stably in a simulated toxic gas environment.

"The problem is," the Quartermaster General frowned, "we are completely dependent on Titan's supply of neuro-stabilizing fluid."

"What is the Academy of Sciences' progress?"

Olga Ivanova pushed up her glasses: "Reverse engineering will take at least another eight months.

However," she brought up a new set of data, "we discovered a special mode in the bionic organs: when using half the concentration of neuro-stabilizing fluid, the organs enter an energy-saving state, with performance reduced to 80%, but they don't completely fail."

Dmitri suddenly stood up: "Notify the front-line command to expand the Steel Company.

Bring back all those veterans who retired due to injuries."

"This will attract Western attention," someone warned.

"Then let them pay attention," Dmitri sneered, "Let the world see how our warriors are reborn."

"I will handle the secrecy," the Director of the Security Bureau stepped forward, indicating that everyone need not worry.

Pierpoint Space Station, Chen Hao looked at Earth's terminator line, with Jade's holographic image standing beside him.

"The North Steel People are very satisfied with the performance of the bionic organs," Jade reported, "They are forming more Steel Companies composed of disabled veterans."

"As expected.

After all, they had explored soldier modification in the past," Chen Hao nodded slightly, "How is the supply of neuro-stabilizing fluid?"

"The first order has already doubled.

It's interesting," Jade showed a meaningful smile, "they are trying hard to conceal this technology, yet their security measures are full of loopholes.

If it weren't for the market development department's intervention, it would have spread throughout the world by now."

Chen Hao turned to look at the vast starry sky: "Have Topaz prepare."

"Grandpa Instructor once said, 'Strike one punch, lest a hundred punches come.' Now, Titan is merely using the black-box game between several major powers to establish itself, but we ultimately need to show this world our true strength."

"I understand," Jade bowed slightly, a rare hint of anticipation appearing on her beautiful face, "I will work with the Strategic Investment Department to prepare the grandest stage for the Interstellar Peace Corporation's debut."

On the holographic screen, a document titled "Interstellar Peace Corporation 'Xianzhou' Fleet Formation Plan" slowly unfolded—the six large characters 'First Fleet - Luofu' appeared one by one.