Homo Sapiens

November 20, 2020.

Hongsawaddy.

In disguise, Qiu Yingle took a Luzon Airlines Company flight and arrived discreetly in Yangon.

Yang Mengjiao, head of the Hongsawaddy Branch’s Internal Affairs Department, picked her up at the airport.

The ordinary natural gas bus looked completely unremarkable within Hongsawaddy, and its license plate was just as commonplace.

’How is the situation in Hongsawaddy? Can the branch guarantee our safety?’

Yang Mengjiao’s expression was calm. ’Don’t worry! A fully authorized branch has already been established here.’

’The development here is so fast!’ Qiu Yingle exclaimed via pheromone signal.

’Within the company’s fully authorized operational zones, development is just a matter of time.’

’Is this the world he envisioned? It seems so out of place.’

Yang Mengjiao glanced at her. ’The boss will lead us to success. No one can stop us. You only need to offer your loyalty and cheers.’

’He told me there was something here that would strengthen my conviction. I’m a bit curious now. Branch Chief Yang, you must know what that is, right?’

’I’ll arrange for you to go tomorrow.’

’Thanks.’

The bus headed toward a small port city east of Yangon.

「The next day.」

Via a transport ship, Yang Mengjiao brought Qiu Yingle to Black Tiger Canyon.

Wearing a biomass-protection suit, Qiu Yingle looked at the warhead displayed in a special storage chamber and asked curiously, ”Is this a bomb?”

”This is a 300-kiloton-yield atomic bomb,” Yang Mengjiao said nonchalantly.

”What?” Qiu Yingle was startled. ”You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”

”Who’s kidding?”

”Where did this thing come from?” Qiu Yingle swallowed, her throat suddenly dry from the shock.

Yang Mengjiao pointed at the floor beneath them. ”It’s produced right here. We can make one every three months. Next year, we’ll be able to ramp that up to one per month.”

”You produce it yourselves?” Qiu Yingle’s mind felt like it was about to explode. She stared at Yang Mengjiao in disbelief.

”As far as I know, producing something like this requires special minerals and centrifuges, right? How does the Hongsawaddy Branch manage it without being discovered by the outside world?”

Yang Mengjiao said proudly, ”With brand-new technology, of course. You don’t yet fully comprehend the company’s technical capabilities. This is just one of the foundations of our confidence.”

”I see. So he had this as an ace up his sleeve.” Qiu Yingle managed to calm herself down a bit.

But Yang Mengjiao wasn’t getting carried away. She gave a serious reminder, ”No, this isn’t enough. So, in the early stages, you still need to be careful and exercise restraint, lest the world powers lash out in desperation.”

”This isn’t enough?”

”Correct. We need to at least successfully develop hydrogen bombs before we can speak freely.”

Qiu Yingle nodded. She knew that quite a few powers in the world possessed atomic bombs, like the two in South Asia.

But hydrogen bombs were standard issue for the major world powers.

She joked, ”Having this thing around, I feel like I’m brimming with power.”

Yang Mengjiao was equally full of confidence. ”Don’t worry! It’s not just nuclear bombs. Our technological development in nuclear triad delivery systems is also advancing by leaps and bounds. The company is your greatest backing.”

Afterward, Yang Mengjiao took her on a secret inspection of the Hongsawaddy Branch’s security forces.

Currently, the Hongsawaddy Branch had 30 full-strength security divisions, with a total of 430,000 security personnel across its army, navy, and air force.

The Luzon Branch’s security forces, in comparison, had 17 full-strength security divisions, with a total of 350,000 security personnel across its army, navy, and air force.

Although their tanks, artillery, aircraft, and surface warships were still the same old models, the proportion of New Human personnel within the various armed forces was steadily increasing.

In addition, the Luzon Branch was equipped with 12 Albacore-class submarines and 8 Tuna-class submarines, and had a stockpile of over 8,000 Typhoon-series loitering munitions.

The Typhoon-series loitering munition production line at the Hongsawaddy Branch had already been upgraded and was expected to begin production before the end of the year.

If the production lines of both branches were to enter full-capacity operation, they could produce 60,000 loitering munitions per month. Currently, the lines were only running at low efficiency to maintain the equipment’s daily operation, and the produced Typhoon-series munitions were for stockpiling and training purposes.

Inside a restricted military zone near the Dongzhi Basin.

Yang Mengjiao, Qiu Yingle, and the others were in a bunker, watching an internal military exercise through binoculars.

Of the two regiments before them engaged in the mock battle, the one that was not fully composed of New Humans was being completely suppressed by the one that was.

With roughly equal numbers, the gap between natural humans and New Humans was obvious.

Qiu Yingle quickly noticed this through her observation.

Although these New Human security personnel were not equipped with the biological exoskeletons used by the Blood Blade Special Team, the bio-chips in their brains still provided a massive boost.

The New Human security personnel almost completely dominated the natural human security personnel in marksmanship, combat skills, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance abilities, and willpower.

Even when led by New Human officers, the natural human security personnel still performed very poorly in terms of battlefield discipline, combat quality, and willpower.

They were fine when they had the upper hand, but as soon as they faced a major setback, they would collapse at first contact, scatter at the first charge, and descend into chaos once scattered.

Yang Mengjiao lowered her binoculars. ”This is the iron will and high quality of our New Human personnel. Disorganized natural human personnel will eventually be eliminated by the times.”

”How many of these New Human security corps are there?”

”The Hongsawaddy Branch has eight, and the Luzon Branch has five. In addition, the proportion is even higher among our naval and air security personnel.”

Qiu Yingle’s eyes darted. ”What about Siam?”

”Domino is in charge over there. She’ll tell you the specifics when you get to Chiang Mai.”

”When do I go to Chiang Mai Province?”

Yang Mengjiao calculated the progress of their various arrangements. ”You can reach the border crossing tomorrow. We have a transport ship carrying glass bottles that will head to Chiang Mai tomorrow. You’ll enter the country with the ship under the identity of a financial auditor from Qingye Group.”

She paused for a moment before continuing, ”After you cross the border, Domino’s people will meet you. Many of the key positions in Chiang Mai are now held by our people. Your family is also a major clan in Chiang Mai. As long as you step forward to consolidate the power of the Shinawatra Clan, taking control of Chiang Mai is practically a sure thing.”

Qiu Yingle nodded. Her family’s roots were in Chiang Mai. Although they had been suppressed quite a bit in recent years, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.

The Shinawatra Clan originally rose to power in Chiang Mai Province and still wields immense influence there to this day.

This was one of the reasons why the Homo Sapiens Company had chosen her.

In the upcoming plans, the Homo Sapiens Company needed someone who could command respect publicly. If someone else were to suddenly appear, it would be difficult for them to win public support at the start.

Not wanting to lose control of the situation in the initial phase, the Homo Sapiens Company had naturally made the optimal arrangement.

「Two days later.」

In the West Suburb of Chiang Mai Province, inside Domino’s secret manor.

Qiu Yingle finally met the queen who dominated Siam’s underworld, but she wasn’t quite the imposing figure she had imagined.

Wearing a cheongsam, Domino looked like a refined and elegant lady from a noble house, a faint smile gracing her thin lips.

”Are you surprised, Ms. Ying Le?”

”You must be amused. I am a little surprised, yes.”

Domino poured her a cup of Biluochun tea. ”Not looking the part is for the best. Both a machete and a small dagger can kill, but a small dagger has clearly killed far more people than a machete.”

Blowing on the tea to cool it, Qiu Yingle took a light sip and set the cup down.

”When does the plan begin?”

”No rush. Let’s wait for news from Germany first.”

”Are you confident?” Qiu Yingle’s eyes flickered.

Domino smiled and refilled her tea. ”We’re professionals at this sort of thing. I guarantee it will be flawless.”