Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 227 - 227 7 The Power of Radioactivity Intelligence

227: Chapter 7 The Power of Radioactivity Intelligence 227: Chapter 7 The Power of Radioactivity Intelligence “Heroes must have isotope batteries to become stronger,” and “To obtain isotope batteries, one can only rob them from henchmen who possess them,” these two facts sound as much a contradiction as “I locked the keys in the box, to open it I need the keys, but to have the keys, I need to open the box.”

But in reality, it isn’t so.

Isotope batteries are still batteries, and although their output power may be higher than ordinary batteries, they don’t make an essential difference.

The greatest advantage of radioactive isotope batteries lies in their stability and longevity.

A single isotope battery can ensure a continuous power supply for ten years.

In contrast, chemical storage batteries can only support two or three days of normal operation or a few hours of intensified combat.

In that case, a hero could maintain long-term activities without a base of operations.

Not to mention lurking for an assassination.

Legend has it, a hundred years ago, there was a hero who holed up in a dark corner for an entire year, then assassinated the approaching Protector officer.

Without the enduring power of an isotope battery, this would be very difficult to achieve.

However, in terms of output power over time, the advantage of radioactive isotope batteries does exist, but it is not significant.

At this level, the greater impact on “Instant Output” comes not from the power source, but from the quality of the capacitors and the mechanical structure itself.

Therefore, martial artists without isotope batteries can also defeat those equipped with isotope batteries.

But a reactor is another level of problem.

If Xiang Shan had a radioactive isotope battery at this moment, he would be able to roam freely in the sandstorms, hunting down the power of the Protectors in the wilderness.

But it seems that’s where the problem lies.

So far, Xiang Shan has not successfully robbed a radioactive isotope battery.

Among the few high-ranking individuals he has killed so far, Bengel likely used ordinary batteries—as no obvious radiation higher than the environment was detected on his person—and Balbo’s equipment did not include isotope batteries either.

“That indeed is…” Solo Kill King nodded, “Bengel is a Scientific Knight, and Balbo is an expert of the Military Martial Path; they had no need to use isotope batteries.”

As a Scientific Knight, Bengel would hardly leave the Meiyimei Building.

Balbo too, would mostly stay within his troop or inside the war chariot.

They both had an ample energy reserve at their disposal and did not need to worry about the exhaustion of energy.

So, there was no need for them to be equipped with such energy.

“But those of higher status than them are only senior officers of the caliber of Amilcare Zhao, right?” Xiang Shan felt a bit melancholic, “How can this be fought…”

The prosthetic body used by Amilcare Zhao stood over three meters tall.

At this height, the prosthetic body could accommodate a small reactor and more external interfaces.

If he didn’t have even an isotope battery, it would be nearly impossible to contend with him.

Hiroshi Matsushima leaned against the wall, “You might have misunderstood the crucial point yourself, didn’t you?”

“Oh?

I’d like to hear more,” Xiang Shan nodded.

“What determines whether a Protector martial master can be equipped with isotope batteries is not his rank, but his level of external strength,” Hiroshi Matsushima said.

“No matter how well one practices the Military Martial Path, if their external strength doesn’t meet the mark, they might still be approached and killed by a martial artist with a single blade.

According to legend, King Aqini fought with the Martial Ancestor several times, and the Martial Ancestor was very close to breaking through the last defense line at least three times.”

Yuki immediately looked over at Xiang Shan.

Xiang Shan nodded, “One must be qualified in external strength to be permitted to equip isotope batteries?

That does seem quite reasonable when you think about it.”

The government’s prosthetic bodies and equipment are of the type with exceptionally great power but very low endurance.

The Sonicon Blade is like this, as are the artificial muscle fibers.

The former needs its blades changed frequently during use, and the latter requires the broken fibers to be continuously replaced to maintain full strength.

In this technological development path, isn’t there also an underlying intention to “restrict heroes”?

Most of the government’s equipment, even if it falls into the hands of heroes, can hardly be utilized by them.

But isotope batteries are something entirely against this thought process.

An isotope battery can support ten, or even dozens of years.

Therefore, the martial masters allowed to install such a thing often have jobs like “assassinating specific Jianghu individuals” where they cannot maintain supplies at all times.

They must prove that they can secure the battery within their bodies.

Jader nodded, “Hmm, indeed that’s true…

But big brother, you don’t get involved in Jianghu matters, do you?

How do you still know about this?”

Hiroshi Matsushima pointed to himself, “Because I am in charge of testing.”

“What?”

“In their perception, even when I’m not at full strength, I’m still one of the rare experts in the field of external strength.

So, whenever this city has some sort of assessment that needs to test external strength, the Protectors will think of me—it shouldn’t be too hard to understand, right?”

Xiang Shan nodded, “Please, continue.”

“So I would be brought in to assess whether the applicants in the Protector’s faction are qualified to do something.

This includes ‘whether they can be equipped with an isotopic battery.’ These instances are not common, but I’ve encountered them before.”

Xiang Shan’s eyes lit up, “If that’s the case, could you perhaps provide some information…”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that.” Hiroshi Matsushima shook his head: “That’s all I remember.

If you ask me about the specifics of who participated in the assessments, I really can’t recall.”

“Ah?”

“If I take part in such assessments, I must open the Underlying Protocol and suppress the activity level of the neurons in my hippocampus.”

Upon hearing this, Jader stood up, outraged, and said, “They…

they actually did that to you?

And you could bear it?”

“There’s nothing I can’t bear,” Hiroshi Matsushima shook his head.

“But this is about opening your Underlying Protocol!

That’s like handing over your life, your soul, to those people!”

In medical terms, the “hippocampus” is an inner fold of the cerebral cortex, playing a crucial role in the process of memory transformation.

It is responsible for converting “short-term memory” into “long-term memory” and inscribing it within the cortex.

A person with hippocampus damage would not be affected in their thought processes, but their short-term memory would no longer be able to convert into long-term memory.

They can remember what has just happened, but a moment later, they would forget everything—they can no longer form new long-term memories.

It can be said that a person with a damaged hippocampus lives as if forever in the last day before their brain was injured.

They would look at themselves aging in the mirror with confusion, see the familiar people around them suddenly becoming strangers, without realizing that time is moving forward.

And electronic devices and the Brain-Machine Barrier are connected with the Biological Brain.

Some electronic devices are responsible for directly inputting information into the brain—this process means that they can apply electrical stimulation to the Biological Brain.

When a person opens the Underlying Protocol of their Prosthetic Body, allowing external operations to interfere with the Electronic Components directly connected to the brain, the operator can arbitrarily interfere with the neural activity within the brain and sculpt a living thought.

During the operation, Hiroshi Matsushima’s hippocampus activity was suppressed.

Thus, during this period, everything he experienced could not convert into long-term memories, ensuring no information would be leaked.

Hiroshi Matsushima regretfully said to Xiang Shan, “As you can see, I remember that there was a test, but I don’t remember the people involved.

Therefore, I can’t provide you with a list to tell you who has isotopic batteries.”

“Hey!

Listen, we’re talking about something else!” said Jader: “Did you really let them do that to your brain?

How could you stand it?

You…”

He tore off the charging cable he was wearing and paced around the living room for a couple of rounds, saying, “Are these thoughts of ‘being able to bear it’ really your own?

No…

Your stubborn personality isn’t like it was when you were younger.

They…”

Xiang Shan said, “Maybe there’s no need to worry too much.

If the old Boxer really had other intentions, we would have been caught long ago.”

What Xiang Shan was thinking about was that mysterious “Little Brother.”

“Little Brother” was undoubtedly a top expert in Inner Strength of the time.

And Hiroshi Matsushima was Little Brother’s collaborator.

Little Brother would certainly not be indifferent to the mental state of his collaborator.

However, this matter did make him respect Hiroshi Matsushima even more.

To bear what ordinary people could not was indeed quite remarkable.

He changed the subject, “Let’s get back to the matter of the Burrow Dragons.

Those guys who mine uranium.

Do you know how to contact them?”

It took a while for Jader to calm down.

He sighed, “Sorry, the Burrow Dragons have very special identities, and they are related to the lifeblood of Jianghu.

They are all very cautious.

Only our Sect Leader knows how to contact them.”

The Burrow Dragons were different from other Heroes who traveled high and low, who soared through the land.

Their activities were very limited, confined to the underground near radioactive ore veins.

Unless they prepared a spare Prosthetic Body, it was difficult for those who specialized in underground operations—those with Burrow Dragon Prosthetic Bodies—to run away.

And radioactive materials were of extraordinary significance to Jianghu.

For the “disadvantaged” Heroes, a little bit of radioactive elements to build a fission Reactor meant a reliable logistics system or the hope of igniting a fusion reactor—they could become more elusive, dealing greater blows to the government.

Because of this, Burrow Dragons seldom made appearances.

Heroes aware of the existence of Burrow Dragons would not reveal their contacts lightly.

“Then your Sect Leader…

ah, sorry.”

Xiang Shan just remembered that half a year ago, the Sect Leader of Redstone Gate had already been lured into an ambush by Deborah and was personally executed by Old Master Zhao.

“Looking at it this way, it really isn’t easy to handle isotopic batteries in this Pine Eagle City,” pondered Xiang Shan.

“We’ll have to check near the ore veins and see if we can find any Burrow Dragons.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, I remember there are a few large mine ruins to the north…”

“The south,” interjected Xiang Shan.

“I think the south might be faster.

Looks like we need to start getting ready.”