Chapter Fifty-Three: Injection Commander

As he spoke, Peng Dongli took out his phone, opened an app, and showed the two men how to operate it. After they had watched, Peng Dongli asked, “Would you like to give it a try?”

“Try it?” The two glanced at each other, neither daring to speak.

“How about this,” Peng Dongli said, pulling Zhang Mingyang over to a device, “let’s have my junior brother try it first.”

At these words, Zhang Mingyang shrank back in fear. “Senior brother, is this safe? Can it really be used?”

Peng Dongli replied with full confidence, “No problem at all. This is astronaut-level equipment, not something just anyone can experience.”

Researcher Wang, standing nearby, added, “Mr. Peng is right. This system isn’t available for civilian use yet—only astronauts heading into space can access it in advance.”

…

After much persuasion from Peng Dongli and the researcher, Zhang Mingyang finally steeled himself to serve as the guinea pig.

Seeing his agreement, Researcher Wang instructed him to remove his clothes and enter a room. Stripped down to his underwear, Zhang Mingyang entered the room and looked around at the all-white, empty space.

The three—Peng Dongli, Researcher Wang, and Tian Wenyuan—stood outside, observing through the glass.

Researcher Wang approached the control console and, using the intercom, told Zhang Mingyang to stay still for the pre-injection body scan.

Zhang Mingyang nodded at Researcher Wang through the glass.

At the command to begin, the lights in the room dimmed instantly, making Zhang Mingyang tense up. Suddenly, glowing needles emerged from the walls, all aimed at him.

The sight of so many needles made Zhang Mingyang, who had always feared injections, even more nervous. His legs trembled, his fists clenched, and his eyes fixed on the three outside.

Tian Wenyuan, witnessing the scene inside, covered his eyes, unable to watch.

“Begin.”

With that, all the needles shot beams of red light at Zhang Mingyang.

The sudden burst of red light made Zhang Mingyang shut his eyes and scream, unleashing all his pent-up fear.

After a moment, realizing he felt no discomfort, he cautiously opened his eyes. He saw the red lights darting rapidly across his body, unsure how to explain what was happening.

The red lights moved over his body for less than thirty seconds before vanishing.

“All right, you can come out now.”

The lights in the room came back on.

After dressing, Zhang Mingyang followed a staff member into another room, with the others in tow.

Looking at the examination results, Researcher Wang said, “Your health is fine. Shortly, our staff will inject you with the ‘Commander System.’”

“Oh, right, hand over your communicator,” Peng Dongli gestured to Zhang Mingyang’s wristwatch.

Removing his watch, Zhang Mingyang handed it to a staff member, who connected it to a device.

Watching the operation, Tian Wenyuan asked, “Old Peng, your company can access the communicator too?”

Peng Dongli chuckled, “Of course. This communicator was developed by our company.”

“Your company’s scope is really that broad?”

Peng Dongli replied, “That’s just a part of it. Tomorrow, we’ll visit the raw materials plant, which is also a joint project between our company and the state.”

Soon, the system was installed on Zhang Mingyang’s communicator, and he was taught how to use it.

“All done. Let’s prepare for the injection.”

Led by Researcher Wang, the three entered another room, where a nurse appeared, holding a long, thick syringe.

Seeing the size of the needle, Zhang Mingyang squeezed his eyes shut.

“Junior brother, are you still afraid of injections?”

“I’ve been afraid since I was little. Honestly, I’ve barely had any,” Zhang Mingyang replied.

The nurse laughed, “A grown man afraid of needles—your girlfriend would have a field day with that.”

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Mingyang said, “Go ahead, I’m ready.”

The nurse disinfected his left arm and, just like a childhood vaccination, injected it.

“Damn…” Zhang Mingyang nearly cried out as the needle went in, while the others laughed, covering their faces.

“All done.”

The nurse withdrew the needle and handed him a cotton ball to press on the spot.

After the injection, Researcher Wang took Zhang Mingyang’s watch, launched the Commander software, and activated it. Unbeknownst to him, the microrobots injected into his body began to operate, dispersing to various regions as directed by the system.

“All right, the system is now online.”

Staring at the body diagram on his watch’s display, Zhang Mingyang suddenly felt as if he were being invaded by insects.

“Researcher Wang, is that it?”

Wang nodded, “Yes, the system is running. The microrobots, guided by your health scan, are heading to the appropriate regions of your body. If anything abnormal happens, the Commander app on your watch will alert you automatically.”

Taking back his watch, Zhang Mingyang saw that on the body structure diagram, the microrobots were already checking different regions, turning each healthy area green.

Before leaving, Researcher Wang added, “This system can connect to our company as well. If something happens to your health, we’ll be notified, and the microrobots in your body can update their virus database at any time to deal with the latest threats.”

With that, Researcher Wang and Peng Dongli exchanged farewells and left.

Watching the still-dazed Zhang Mingyang, Peng Dongli teased, “There you go, junior brother. You’re practically immune to all poisons now—better than Zhang Wuji back in the day.”

He then turned to Tian Wenyuan, “So, old Tian, do you want to try it too?”

Tian Wenyuan quickly shook his head and waved his hands, “No thanks, I’m afraid of pain too.”

With everything complete, the staff reminded Zhang Mingyang to come in once a year for maintenance and replacement of the microrobots.

The three left the lab, Zhang Mingyang still feeling odd with a swarm of robots inside him.

Peng Dongli noticed and said, “Don’t worry, junior brother. You just had the injection—give it some time and you’ll get used to it. Someday you’ll be grateful for those robots.”

Checking the time and seeing it was past three in the afternoon, Tian Wenyuan suggested the three of them go out for a stroll.