Su Xiang, arms crossed, said with some pride, "How about that? Impressive, isn't it? A full seventy-six meters tall."
"You can't tell if it's male or female from this!"
"That's why those foreigners call it the 'Primal Man'."
Xiao Xun's hair stood on end as he saw the enormous green eyes. "Can't it close its eyes?"
Su Xiang shook his head. "It seems to have no eyelids. It's better that they don't close! It looks more imposing."
Xiao Xun held his forehead. "Alright! Can we design some clothes for it? It's a bit indecent as it is."
"We've considered that. We've designed a full-body combat armor for it. The current issue is how to control it."
"Turn it around. I want to see its back."
Su Xiang pressed the intercom. "Turn it. The head supervisor wants to see the back."
The back was no different from a normal adult's, except for a particularly prominent spine.
"Alright."
Su Xiang had the gantry crane turn the person around again.
Xiao Xun tried his best to avoid looking directly at it. Being stared at by such large eyes was incredibly unnerving. "That's enough. Lower it!"
Su Xiang pressed the intercom. "Lower."
After the giant lay back into the pool, Su Xiang asked Xiao Xun, "What are your thoughts?"
"What thoughts? Such a large being. To control it, we either need to create a cockpit somewhere on its body, or we can only control it remotely."
Su Xiang smiled. "That's your concern. I don't handle that. When the higher-ups ask for results, you're responsible for reporting them."
Xiao Xun looked at Su Xiang curiously. "Higher-ups? Which higher-ups?"
"I'm just the regional supervisor. I have a lot of leaders above me. Who can't manage me?"
The two exited the research lab and entered Su Xiang's office.
"Brother Xiang, can you help me find someone?"
"Sure!"
"You're not even going to ask who?"
"As long as they're on this planet."
"A vampire named Jateliodor."
Su Xiang was taken aback. "Say that again, who are you looking for?"
Xiao Xun said, enunciating each syllable, "Jia, te, li, ao, duo."
Su Xiang frowned. "The second part, this person is a vampire?"
"Yes."
"I take back what I just said. A vampire? Where am I supposed to find one? I said I could find people, living people. You're looking for a vampire. Why don't you look for the Monkey King then?"
Xiao Xun became anxious. "Brother Xiang, I'm not joking."
Su Xiang looked troubled. "Brother, I'm not joking either. Your Door Gods seem quite formidable, but they only handle human affairs. This is too unreliable. If we knew people like that, we would have unified the world and conquered the universe already."
Xiao Xun thought for a moment. "Then find me someone. This time, a living person, from our city."
"What's their name?"
"Liu Yue'e."
"A woman?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"How old?"
"Around forty to fifty years old."
"Alright. As long as she's still in the city, you'll see her by tomorrow night at the latest."
"Thank you, Brother Xiang."
Su Xiang patted Xiao Xun's shoulder. "As long as you properly study that giant thing, it'll be better than anything else. Do you know how low the success rate is for cloning one of those things? Only one succeeds out of a thousand, and it takes up a lot of space. We don't even know how to dispose of the rejects."
Xiao Xun nodded. "Okay, I understand."
In the research lab, Xiao Xun stared blankly at a neural specimen that was taller than a person.
"How to successfully connect two neural systems into one?"
He searched extensively online but found no suitable reference.
After pulling an all-nighter, he still had no leads. The entire research lab was filled with either neural specimens or human skeletons, resembling a horror movie set.
He drank a can of cola and lay down on Su Xiang's bed for a short rest.
The various experts also arrived one after another. Su Xiang, wearing a mask, appeared before them and introduced everyone to each other.
After the introductions, Su Xiang said, "If there are no further questions, everyone can begin their respective tasks."
Xiao Xun raised his hand. "Wait, Brother Xiang."
"Cough~ cough..."
Su Xiang feigned a cough. "What is it?"
"Yesterday, I heard you say that only one out of a thousand clones succeeds. Can I see those failed clones? I want to know where they failed."
Su Xiang nodded. "Yes, but you'll need to go to a different location to see them."
Su Xiang had the bear-like man lead Xiao Xun and the other experts.
At this moment, Su Xiang's phone rang. After taking the call, he asked Xiao Xun to stay behind. "You let them go first. You have some other matters to attend to."
Xiao Xun walked to Su Xiang's side. "What's wrong?"
"In the future, in front of outsiders, don't call me Brother Xiang. Call me K."
"Okay, is that all?"
"The parts you need have all been processed and transported to Sector Six. The boss said, can this thing be made disposable? After one use, it will automatically break."
Xiao Xun smiled. "Tell the boss not to worry, I know what I'm doing."
Su Xiang nodded. "Also, the people in Sector Six most likely won't be able to assemble it. The boss had the arsenal make an identical set. He wants you to train two or three mechanics who can assemble it to accompany them into space."
"That's not a problem. It's core technology after all!"
Su Xiang nodded in satisfaction and led Xiao Xun to the test base. He had them assemble it once, then disassembled it all. He then had them assemble it themselves, pointing out any issues and offering guidance. After they demonstrated complete proficiency, they reported back to Su Xiang.
The cloning base for the Primal Man was also located here. They went down to about three hundred meters below, seeing devices resembling nuclear reactors and large cement pits. The failed clones were in these pits.
Xiao Xun put on a mask, endured the intense stench, and jumped into the pit.
The experts also put on masks and jumped down, beginning to observe those that had not decomposed, those that were decomposing, and those that had completely decomposed.
Even with masks, and no smell, many people couldn't help but vomit.
Xiao Xun was observing these to find a suitable cockpit for an adapter. If it were external, there was a risk of it being destroyed. If it were remote control, aside from the delay, there was a high chance of losing control, leading to unintended consequences.
Therefore, a suitable location had to be found.
After observing for a while, everyone sat in the conference room and discussed using scale models.
One expert said, "Why not open a space at the back of the head and put the cockpit in there?"
This was agreed upon by most, as it was closest to the central and cranial nerves.
Soon, another expert offered a dissenting opinion. "The brain is a very important area. This is a living person, not a robot. The risk of trepanation is too great. Moreover, our people will have to go in and come out. Going in and out frequently could directly cause the Primal Man to have a stroke, or be paralyzed. Even a severe headache would significantly impact combat effectiveness!"
Someone agreed. "Exactly! Think about it from their perspective. Having a small door opened and closed at the back of your head every day. It's unbearable."
Xiao Xun looked at the model, frowning. "Can someone tell me, where is the most critical part of the central nervous system?"
Several experts said in unison, "The spinal cord within the vertebral canal!"
"Yes. Without it, a person can't even move."