At two in the morning, New York was enveloped in deep silence, like a sleeping infant in its cradle...
Located in the suburbs of Long Island, Umbrella's towering main laboratory building remained brightly lit even at this late hour. Perhaps due to the generous salaries far exceeding industry standards, the hardworking researchers had no complaints about overtime.
The young boss, who had achieved remarkable success at an early age, was known for his generosity... as long as you demonstrated your value, he would never hesitate to reward you.
Currently, Umbrella's core project was cross-species genetics, led by Dr. Connors. Only a select few, such as the recently recruited Dr. Helen Cho and lab assistant Gwen, had access to the heart of the research. The laboratory's internal confidentiality measures were exceptionally stringent.
Researchers who hadn't reached the core level were only assigned fragmented tasks by their superiors, remaining completely unaware of the true purpose behind their work. They were like assembly line workers, handling specific parts of production without ever understanding the full scope of the experiment...
Though still in its early stages, Umbrella offered competitive salaries, but also immense pressure.
Sean had implemented a strict resource allocation system, with research evaluations conducted every three months. Apart from Dr. Connors' team, all other groups underwent rigorous assessments to determine their funding and resource distribution based on task completion and project progress.
As Sean put it, this ensured Umbrella remained competitive. Drawing from the "catfish effect", he believed that complacency would quickly lead to stagnation and elimination... especially in the rapidly evolving field of science...
To keep sardines lively, one had to introduce an active catfish. Sean improved researchers' benefits while enforcing a competitive mechanism, pushing talented individuals to unlock their potential while weeding out those who couldn't handle the pressure or weren't suited for the work.
Dr. Connors walked through the brightly lit main hall, took the elevator, and entered the laboratory's core area with his assistant Gwen. After passing fingerprint and iris verification, they arrived at the underground control center.
This was the central hub housing the supercomputer, accessible only to Sean and Dr. Connors. Anyone else had to apply for permission.
As a cornerstone of high-tech development, supercomputers were called "accelerators of scientific research"...
Composed of hundreds, thousands, or even more processors, these massive machines could tackle complex problems beyond the capabilities of ordinary PCs and servers, possessing immense computational and data-processing power.
If the speed of a regular computer was likened to a walking pace, a supercomputer operated at rocket speed. With such computational power, scientists could simulate and predict natural phenomena that were previously impossible to test experimentally.
"Sean, why did you call me here so late? Did you manage to get the latest supercomputer?"
Dr. Connors strode into the brightly lit server room, followed closely by Gwen. The cross-species genetics project had reached a critical phase, and the one-armed scientist had been working tirelessly, barely leaving the lab.
"But I checked with manufacturers, their orders are packed up for six months. There's no way we could get one this soon. Until then, we'd have to rent from other institutions." Dr. Connors quickly dismissed his own speculation...
He had contacted supercomputer manufacturers long ago, but their orders were fully booked by energy departments and private labs, making immediate acquisition impossible.
"Remember what I told you before, Doctor?" Sean stood tall, a confident smile on his face.
Dr. Connors frowned. He vaguely recalled discussing supercomputers with Sean... As any emerging lab venturing into high-tech fields would inevitably require powerful computational and simulation capabilities. Owning a private supercomputer was a necessity.
Relying on rented resources from other institutions was not only inconvenient, but also posed confidentiality risks... especially for an independent lab like Umbrella.
"Don't worry, I'll get you the best supercomputer on the planet."
That was what Sean had told him.
Now, watching Sean's unwavering confidence, Dr. Connors wondered... had Sean leveraged Oscorp's connections to secure the latest supercomputer?
With a smile, Sean inserted a black disk into the control center. A faint hum filled the air, as if some machine had been activated. The massive screen on the wall suddenly lit up, endless streams of data cascading like a waterfall, leaving Dr. Connors and Gwen stunned.
Dr. Connors stared at the now-operational server room, skepticism creeping in. Currently, the best supercomputer in the U.S. was "Titan", housed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with a processing speed of 17.59 petaflops...
Of course, if one included Tony Stark's groundbreaking achievements in Artificial Intelligence, Titan might have to relinquish its top spot. After all, his AI butler, JARVIS, boasted computational power that defied imagination.
Had Sean really developed an AI comparable to JARVIS in such a short time?
Even with his immense faith in the young genius, Dr. Connors found it hard to believe.
"Don't be shy, Red Queen. Come out and say hello to Dr. Connors and Miss Stacy."
As Sean spoke, the sterile server room transformed. Hazy light flickered, and in an instant, the underground space became a luxurious beachfront villa. Elegant decor, masterful oil paintings on the walls, plush carpets underfoot, even fresh flowers in vases... everything was so lifelike, it was practically indistinguishable from reality...
Dr. Connors' eyes widened. He scrutinized his surroundings, but found no trace of artifice. Even the tiniest details were flawless... air currents, environmental simulations... all perfectly crafted to deceive human senses.
"Is... is this real?" Gwen bent down and inhaled deeply, catching the scent of fresh flowers.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, waves crashed against the shore. Seagulls skimmed the water where the sky met the sea, the beauty of nature unfolding before her eyes. It was impossible to believe that just moments ago, they had been standing in an underground server room.
"This is just a data simulation. Other supercomputers can do it too... I just made it more precise." A soft, childlike voice suddenly spoke.
Gwen jumped, turning to see a little girl in a red princess dress watching her.
"Hello, Gwen Stacy. I am the Red Queen."
The girl's eyes were cold, but her voice was sweet and innocent...
...
The Red Queen...