And their main objective was naturally to uncover the mystery of the artificial intelligence inside Baymax.
Although AIM kept insisting that Baymax had not yet reached the level of true artificial intelligence, to people like them, what difference did that make? It was already a robot capable of free conversation. If that still did not count, then what did?
It had only been a few years, and this robot had only just been born. If they gave it a few more years, then would it not truly live up to that name?
And more importantly, they saw a threat to their own industry in Baymax.
That was right.
All of their companies shared one common trait.
They specialized in exporting large-scale medical equipment.
Things like CT scanners, MRI machines, angiography equipment, echocardiographs, and similar high-end hospital devices. It could be said that around ninety percent of the most advanced medical equipment commonly seen in hospitals came from their companies.
Every year, from equipment sales and licensing fees alone, each of these companies brought in tens of billions of dollars, if not more.
And now, the scanning and diagnostic business they depended on for survival was being stolen by a medical robot. How could they not be furious?
And so, after discussion, several companies, led by Modis from earlier, began secretly trying to unravel the mystery of this so-called medical robot.
And if they could successfully reproduce it themselves, that would be even better.
For this reason, they spared no expense, hiring multiple top experts in the field, along with the high-tech talent from their own companies, all gathered here.
Everything, all of it, was for Baymax's medical scanning technology.
Because there was no one who understood its value better than those in the medical industry.
Only people who actually worked in medicine could truly understand how powerful Baymax's technology was, being able to scan once and immediately identify illnesses in the body.
As for artificial intelligence, that was only a bonus to them.
Though if they could crack that too, all the better.
Unfortunately, what disappointed them was that every time Baymax's outer layer was broken open, once it detected violent tampering, it immediately activated its self-destruct program.
So even if they managed to peel open the outer shell, all that remained inside was a scorched chip and a pile of scrap metal.
"What are we supposed to do now? At this rate, I don't think we'll be able to crack it in less than ten years."
On the other side, a woman with long blonde hair looked at the researchers in front of her, who had made absolutely no progress and had already ruined several units, and could not help asking.
"Let them keep trying for a while first."
"If it really doesn't work, then we'll have no choice but to go talk to AIM."
In response to the woman's words, the middle-aged man, Alex, spoke up.
There was no other way.
If they did not find a way to cooperate, then sooner or later Baymax would replace all of the medical equipment they currently sold.
And that would mean every one of them would lose hundreds of billions, perhaps even trillions, every year.
Those were losses they absolutely could not accept.
Not to mention that they had already opened up the market in the East, and the potential there was even more terrifying.
"And what if that man refuses?"
At that moment, Modis also walked over, picked up a glass of red wine, and asked with an amused expression.
"Refuses? Then we'll throw hundreds of billions, thousands of billions at him. I refuse to believe that facing that much money, he would still say no. And with the size of our companies, as long as he's even a little smart, he'll know what choice he should make."
"In fact, if I were him, I'd accept our investment, let us take a controlling stake, and then honestly take a few hundred billion for myself and continue developing technology, or just go live the life of a rich man in advance. Wouldn't that be nice?"
The blonde woman also spoke up.
"You can never finish earning money. But if someone wants to earn it all alone, then my suggestion is that they go develop their business under Satan instead."
After the woman finished speaking, another fat man beside them stepped forward and said with a wicked grin.
And as soon as his words fell, everyone present seemed to share the same thought. After exchanging glances for a moment, they all burst into laughter.
At this very moment, in different parts of the world, similar scenes were playing out among pharmaceutical company representatives.
The only difference was their attitude toward AIM.
...
On the other side, as time passed, several hours later,
Killian stepped out of the New York airport and headed straight for Grayburn College.
It did not take long before Killian arrived at the entrance to the school.
By that time, after already learning that the hot new boss of AIM, whose name had been all over the city for the past two days, was coming, Samuel had already arrived at the school gate with Lisa's classmate and was waiting there.
"Hello, Dr. Samuel Sterns. Sorry for the sudden visit and the disturbance."
After seeing him, Killian walked forward, extended his right hand, shook his, and spoke.
"Not at all, not at all. I should be the one thanking you, Mr. Killian, for coming in person. By the way, this isn't really a good place to talk. Please come with me to the café nearby instead."
Seeing how easygoing Killian seemed to be, Samuel also immediately replied in a humble tone.
To be honest, Samuel's situation at the school was somewhat awkward right now.
Other than the bit of knowledge he was proud enough to use in teaching students, many of his research topics were either too niche for investors to understand, or they simply had no commercial value at all, so no one was willing to fund them.
And because of that, whenever he wanted to continue his own research, aside from the tiny subsidies the school provided, he had to use his own money.
But he was just a researcher.
To put it bluntly, from birth to graduation, and even now as an employee, he had basically spent his whole life inside schools.
Which also meant he had no other source of income at all.
So he basically did not even have a home of his own.
He simply lived at the school, and many times even slept directly in the laboratory.
And today, after learning from his student that the creator of Baymax, the medical robot from AIM that had caused such a huge stir across New York yesterday, wanted to meet him, Samuel had actually taken the rare step of tidying up his appearance, which he had not changed in half a month.
All to welcome the opportunity that might finally be arriving for him.
That was right.
Although he had little contact with society, that did not mean he was stupid.
Before this, he was absolutely certain that the two of them had no connection whatsoever, not even in terms of money.
And now that the other party had come to find him, the only possible reason was his professional ability.
So... even before this meeting, he had already prepared all of his research topics, just so that when Killian asked, he could give him sufficient explanations and materials.
Of course, Killian knew nothing of that.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]