"Now, the fusion energy grid across the United States has completed construction. This power grid covers every city and village in the U.S., almost reaching..."
"This achievement means that our annual carbon emissions will be reduced by more than 80%. Pollution has been reduced, and we have gained a more stable and cleaner energy supply."
"I must say, thank you to the President for his efforts in this matter and to the Oscorp for their technical support. Without either of them, we would not have been able to accomplish this feat."
The U.S. Secretary of Energy spoke eloquently before the media.
This Secretary of Energy was a new replacement. The previous Secretary of Energy didn't know what was wrong with him; when attending a meeting, he shaved his head—not completely bald, but left a small strip of red hair on top—wore women's clothing, and even wore heavy makeup.
He was a man.
Norman really couldn't stand it anymore and directly dismissed him from his position. The current Secretary of Energy is not bad; he has a good grasp of his position and knows how to butter people up.
As the news segment ended, UIS reminded him that the two men had arrived.
James Halliday, Ogden Morrow.
Right now, they were not yet the entertainment giants seen in the movie, but just two young men struggling to start a business—to be honest, many companies had approached them, but what company was more worth joining than Osborn?
Standing at the entrance of the Osborn Stronghold, both of them had their mouths agape.
Looking at photos, one could not fully appreciate the sense of oppression brought by this building; one would only think that, adorned by the surrounding gardens, it was another miracle of human architecture.
People often stand in front of the pyramids and sigh: How on Earth did the ancient Egyptians build such magnificent structures?
And the Osborn Stronghold was only bigger than the pyramids.
As the height of a pyramid increases, the top becomes increasingly pointed and thin. Standing under a pyramid, one can still see the Sun rise in the east and set in the west.
But standing in front of the Osborn Stronghold, unless the Sun happened to be on your side, you could only remain in the shadow.
A blonde woman with perfect body proportions, a dignified appearance, and an exquisite face walked out of the main gate and bowed slightly toward the two men.
"Mr. Halliday, Mr. Morrow, I am Kara, responsible for leading you both to the conference room to discuss financing matters."
Every move Kara made was impeccable, and combined with her sweet smile, it made the two men feel refreshed and delighted, and they quietly swallowed their saliva.
Following behind Kara, they walked into this mysterious building—the interior was not as strictly hierarchical or oppressive as they had imagined.
Instead, as soon as they entered, they saw a burly man teasing a cat.
"Carlo, how is your day going?"
This man was nearly two meters tall, bald, with a black exoskeleton that appeared mysterious under the lights, and his left eye emitted a dangerous red glow.
However, no matter how he teased that little kitten named Carlo, Carlo still held its head high.
Morrow said to Halliday in a low voice with great interest: "This scene could be added to the game—it's quite interesting."
Before Halliday could answer, the man's actions finally angered the little kitten. Carlo bit him hard, and this bite was somewhat frightening—
The man's finger was bitten off, sparks flew, revealing the metal structure inside—this was a mechanical prosthetic limb!
"Holy crap!" Morrow exclaimed.
A cat that could bite off an Osborn security guard's prosthetic limb in one go; this was not a cute little kitten at all, but clearly a biological weapon!
Halliday: "It really is quite interesting."
"Carlo is the smartest cat in the company, with an IQ equivalent to a 14-year-old child, though it has a much bigger temper than a child of that age." Kara waved her hand, and the little kitten trotted over and licked her palm.
Next, they saw researchers flying around on hoverboards, a gorilla being chased by a team of researchers with strange mechanical arms, giant flowers dozens of meters tall, and so on.
"It's not just interesting; I think our ideas seem a bit too conservative," Halliday added.
They intended to recreate the Osborn Stronghold in their virtual World, the oasis, and make a game based on Osborn.
As it turned out, they discovered that the interior of the Stronghold was completely different from what they had imagined.
It was not oppressive here, and there were no terrible human experiments, but there were cute black-footed cats that could bite off their fingers in one bite, fierce-looking security guards who loved petting cats, and flowers that didn't look like Earth plants.
This place and the outside World were two completely different Worlds, and the gap was as large as the difference between their "oasis" and the real World.
Getting on the elevator and watching their field of view slowly rise, they realized that what they had seen was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Alright, gentlemen, this is the conference room. Please enter; someone will come to negotiate with you shortly," Kara said politely.
After bringing the two to the conference room, Kara's task was completed.
Watching Kara's retreating figure, Morrow suddenly said: "You should have asked her for her number, asked her out for a meal or something."
However, Halliday, who was already somewhat insecure at heart, how could he possibly take that step?
"He is right; if you are interested, I can help."
Looking toward the direction the voice came from, both men were shocked.
"Harry Osborn? I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you! I am Ogden Morrow, and he is James Halliday."
Morrow reacted immediately and introduced himself, but Halliday was a bit flustered and didn't react for a moment.
They originally thought that just letting them come here to discuss matters was already giving them face. As for the money, it might be a problem for them, but for Osborn...
This was simply a matter of lifting a finger; it shouldn't have been at a level that required Harry Osborn himself to handle.
"I have finished reading your concept for the 'oasis,' but what equipment do you plan to use to support this concept?"
Halliday and Morrow looked at each other. Why Harry Osborn was talking to them personally was not something they should dwell on; what they needed to do was showcase their concept.
Listening to the two narrate, Harry discovered a problem.
When it came down to it, the "oasis" and the "framework" World that Harry wanted to construct were not the same thing.
The oasis, at the end of the day, was a completely virtual World, an entertainment game World, with "fun" as the priority.
But the framework was not; its purpose was to build a true "virtual Universe," which meant being close to reality, and even capable of replacing and innovating some traditional industries.
Therefore, in terms of data breadth and depth, the framework considered more, so the oasis had much lower requirements for server capabilities.
But the oasis was more interesting; that was a fact.
"It's like a utopia, but humans are, after all, creatures of reality, Mr. Halliday," Harry said.
Halliday and Morrow were stunned, not sure what Harry wanted to say.
"The stimulation level of the oasis World is too high. If one is in this state for a long time, the human excitement threshold will be raised—just like being on drugs."
If happiness is within reach, who would still want to return to reality?
But humans are, after all, creatures of reality. Unless one stops being human and puts all of one's consciousness into the virtual World, then one can be happy forever.
Happy until one day when one can no longer be happy, the consciousness disintegrates, truly achieving death by entertainment.
Faced with the problem Harry raised, the two ambitious young men were stunned; this was something they had not considered.
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