Chapter Fifty-Two: The Commander System

After lunch, Peng Dongli led the two of them to the seventeenth floor.

"Old Peng, what is this place?"

"Look," Peng Dongli pointed at the sign above.

"Nanomedicine Laboratory."

Why bring us to a place like this? Zhang Mingyang was puzzled.

"Just follow me," Peng Dongli said.

He led them into a room. A staff member dressed in a white protective suit walked over, greeted him as Mr. Peng, and handed him three identical white protective suits.

"Put these on."

Looking at the protective suits handed to them, Zhang Mingyang and Tian Wenyuan were a bit bewildered, but they obediently put them on.

Once they had dressed and donned their masks, the staff guided them through a thorough disinfection process. Afterwards, the three entered a small room.

Inside, the room was filled with medical equipment that was impossible to decipher. Several staff members, equally clad in protective suits, were conducting some kind of experiment.

Witnessing the scene, Zhang Mingyang tugged at Peng Dongli’s sleeve, pulling him back.

"Senior, what exactly are you showing us here?"

"Wait and see."

The three stood by the door, waiting, until a staff member approached holding a syringe.

"Mr. Peng, everything is ready."

Peng Dongli took the syringe and turned to the two behind him. "This is the good thing I wanted to show you."

"Huh?"

Neither of them expected that the so-called "good thing" Peng Dongli promised would be just a syringe.

Tian Wenyuan asked, "Old Peng, are you kidding us? What could be so special about a syringe?"

Peng Dongli smiled. "Don’t underestimate this syringe. It’s actually the latest product of our Advanced Materials Division and Medical Division—the ‘Commander System.’"

Hearing the name, Tian Wenyuan grew even more puzzled. A syringe called ‘Commander’?

Seeing their disbelief, Peng Dongli nodded to the staff member beside him, indicating that he should explain.

"Let’s have Researcher Wang introduce it to you."

Researcher Wang took the syringe from Peng Dongli and addressed the two. "Though I’m holding an ordinary syringe, what’s inside is far from ordinary."

"Inside is a human immune regulation system designed specifically for astronauts by our company. The syringe contains tens of thousands of microrobots, each roughly the size of a macrophage. Once injected into the human body, they quickly occupy various organs, acting as commanders of the immune system. They direct the body’s macrophages, lymphocytes, white blood cells, and other immune cells and organs to effectively detect and destroy viruses entering the body, and can also provide early warnings against unknown viruses."

Researcher Wang’s barrage of technical terms left Zhang Mingyang and Tian Wenyuan at a loss, so they simply nodded in agreement.

Seeing their wide-eyed confusion, Peng Dongli asked, "So, do you understand?"

Through the mask, Tian Wenyuan stroked his few remaining whiskers and nodded. "I think I get it."

Zhang Mingyang also said, "I don’t really understand, but it sounds impressive."

Noticing their lingering confusion, Peng Dongli explained further. "Let’s put it this way: the human body is like a battlefield, and its immune system is your army."

"In this army, ‘white blood cells’ are your primary scouts, patrolling blood vessels and eliminating viruses breaching the first line of defense."

"‘Macrophages’ guard the second line, destroying viruses that penetrate further."

"The third line of defense is your headquarters, where the ‘Commander System’ sits, directly controlling the final unit, the ‘lymphocytes,’ to eradicate viruses that reach deep inside."

"Moreover, each line of defense is led by microrobots. If any line encounters a problem, it’s immediately reported to the commander, who processes the information and relays orders to the microrobots at the respective defense line. They then lead their immune cells to deal with the issue."

With Peng Dongli’s explanation, the two began to understand a little better.

Still, Zhang Mingyang asked, "Senior, what gave you the idea to create something like this? Is it really useful?"

Researcher Wang explained, "Actually, some people who die from viral infections aren’t killed by the virus, but by their own immune system."

"Why is that?" Zhang Mingyang asked.

Researcher Wang replied, "Because while the human immune system is highly efficient, it lacks a command structure. For example, decades ago with SARS-type infections, simply strengthening immune defenses could have eliminated the virus and led to full recovery. But if early infection isn’t controlled, it can develop into secondary autoimmune diseases, which often become more severe than the original viral infection."

"So, our company developed the ‘Commander System’ for astronauts entering space, to help them regulate their physical state and effectively prevent unknown viruses from invading their bodies."

"I basically understand," Tian Wenyuan nodded, but he still had a question. "Will the immune system actually obey the commander’s orders?"

"That’s a good question," Researcher Wang replied, turning on the nearby monitor. A circular object appeared on the screen. Researcher Wang pointed to it and said, "This is our ‘Commander System’ microrobot. It’s round, its shell is a control-processing chip, and inside is the key—it contains a complete DC cell. Once injected into the body, the microrobot releases the DC cell, then enters the DC cell itself, masquerading as a DC cell to integrate into the command system."

"Furthermore, the microrobot adjusts its size according to the immune cells at each line of defense, thereby acting as commander at each level."

"I see, that makes sense," Tian Wenyuan said.

Peng Dongli looked at the two. "Any more questions?"

Zhang Mingyang thought for a moment, then asked, "Senior, what are the processing system and materials of these microrobots?"

Hearing this, Researcher Wang grew tense, as the question touched upon company secrets.

Noticing Researcher Wang’s wary look, Peng Dongli considered for a moment before answering—after all, knowing the materials wouldn’t enable someone to replicate the technology.

He said, "The ‘Commander System’ is made of memory metal, which is refined from ‘Lunar Gold’ mined on the moon. Its micro-processing chip was developed independently by our company. The ‘Commander’ is also connected to the ‘Global Web,’ transmitted via the ‘Zhongtian’ satellite, and finally controlled through a specialized software on your communicator."