Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty-Five

Hazardous goods storage room.Fifty meters underground. Victoria Wittler stumbled forward and nearly hit the retinal scanner.In a daze, she felt that the American rushed over to support her, preventing her from falling down.On the floor at his feet, his father's eyes stared abruptly.A piercing pain hit her.They even gouged out his eyeballs!The whole world has changed.Kohler followed closely to comfort her, and Langdon led her back to the door.As if in a dream, she unconsciously aimed her eyes at the retinal scanner.The device beeped. The door slid open. The terrible look of her father's eyeballs was seared into Victoria's heart, and she felt that something terrible was going on in the house.Staring dreamily into the room, she knew that the second act of this nightmare had begun.In front of my eyes, the lonely charging platform was empty.

Storage is gone.They gouged out my father's eye in order to steal it.She thought of the connection so quickly, before she had time to fully understand it.There are accidents in everything.This sample was originally used to prove that antimatter is a safe and effective energy source, but now it has been stolen.But no one knew there was such a sample in the world!However, the facts are beyond doubt.Someone had discovered the secret, and Victoria couldn't figure out who that could be.Even Mr. Kohler, the director who claims to know the "European Nuclear Center" like the back of his hand, is puzzled by Monk Zhang Er.

Her father was dead, killed for his genius. Victoria, still in grief, felt a new emotion.The emotion was worse, more unbearable, stinging.This is guilt, uncontrollable, endless guilt.Victoria knew that it was she who had convinced her father to make the prototype.He agreed against his will, and was killed for it. 0.25 grams... Like any other technology, be it fire, gunpowder, or the internal combustion engine, antimatter can be deadly if in the wrong hands.Very deadly.Antimatter is a very destructive weapon, powerful and irresistible.Once the storage device is taken away from the charging platform in the "European Nuclear Center", the countdown will inevitably begin, like a fast-moving train, which cannot be stopped.

When the time comes... Dazzling bright light, deafening loud noise.Everything automatically burns to ashes.White light flashed... leaving only an empty pit, a huge pit. Victoria felt sick at the thought of her father's remarkable talent being used as a tool to destroy the world.Antimatter is an absolute weapon of terror.It has no metal parts, which would be useless to metal detectors; no chemical signature, which would be of no use to a hound's sensitive nose; no fuse, which experts could not remove even if they could find its location.And the countdown has begun... Langdon didn't know what else to do.He took out his handkerchief and covered Leonardo Witterer's eyeballs on the floor.At this moment, Victoria stood at the door of the empty storage room, her face full of pain and panic.Langdon walked towards her involuntarily again, but Khloe stopped him.

"Mr. Langdon?" Kohler said blankly.He gestured to Langdon to move away, and Langdon reluctantly complied, leaving Victoria aside. "You're an expert," Kohler whispered nervously, "I want to know what the Illuminati bastards are going to do with antimatter." Langdon struggled to concentrate.Despite the borderline absurdity of everything around him, his first instincts were perfectly rational.Kohler is still making assumptions, completely wrong assumptions. "Mr. Kohler, I firmly believe that the Illuminati are extinct. There must be someone else who stole the antimatter. For example, an official from the 'European Nuclear Center' may have inquired about Mr. Wittler's major technological breakthrough. And decided the project was too dangerous to continue."

Kohler looked stunned. "Mr. Langdon, do you think this is a crime committed out of a sense of justice? It's ridiculous. Whoever killed Leonardo wanted only one thing, and that was a sample of antimatter. No doubt , they have planned for a long time." "You are referring to terrorist activities." "That's obvious." "But the Illuminati are by no means a terrorist organization." "Speak that to Leonardo Witterer." Hearing this, Langdon felt a pang of reality.The Illuminati mark was indeed branded on Leonardo Witterer's chest.Where does this mark come from?If this sacred mark was used by some organization to cover up their whereabouts, then the difficulty of this cover-up is too high.So, there must be another possibility.

Langdon forced himself to contemplate the unbelievable thought again.If the Illuminati are still alive, if they stole antimatter, what is their purpose?Who are they attacking?An answer popped up in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.It is true that the Illuminati have an enemy, but planning a terrorist attack of such magnitude against this enemy is unimaginable.This is completely inconsistent with the usual style of the Illuminati.The Illuminati did kill people, but they were individual, carefully chosen targets.The massacres were too ruthless.Langdon paused.Then, he thought, there should be a more convincing explanation-antimatter, this top scientific achievement, will be used for destruction-

He couldn't accept this ridiculous idea. "I see," he said suddenly, "there is a more plausible explanation than terrorism." Kohler's eyes widened, obviously expecting him to continue. Langdon tried to make sense of it.The usual tactic of the Illuminati is to exercise power through economic means.They control the banks, and hold a large number of gold bars, and even spread rumors everywhere, claiming that they own a unique and priceless treasure in the world-the Illuminating Star, a large and flawless diamond. "It's for the money," Langdon said. "They're stealing the antimatter for financial gain."

Kohler showed an expression of disbelief. "Economic gain? Where are they going to sell a drop of antimatter sample?" "It's not selling samples," Langdon retorted, "it's selling the technology to make antimatter. The antimatter technology is almost like a mint. It's likely that they stole the antimatter to analyze it and then research and develop new products." "You think it's an industrial espionage? But the battery that supports the magnetic field of the storage can only last for twenty-four hours. Those researchers were blown to the sky before they even learned a fart."

"They can fully charge the storage before it explodes. They can build a matching charging device, like the one at CERN." "Within twenty-four hours?" Kohler demanded. "Even if they stole the blueprints, it would take months, not hours, to make a charging device like that!" "He's right." Victoria's voice was weak. They both turned around.Victoria came toward them, her steps as feeble as her voice. "He's right. No one can make a charging device in time. It takes weeks to make the interface. The magnetic filter, the servo coils, the power-tuning alloys, all have to be tuned to the environment. fit."

Langdon frowned.The problem is already clear.An antimatter trap is by no means the kind of thing you just plug into a wall outlet.Once it leaves the "European Nuclear Center", the storage device has embarked on a road of no return, and it will be destroyed after 24 hours. Then there is only one conclusion left, and a disturbing conclusion. "We have to notify Interpol," Victoria said softly.Even to her own ears, the voice seemed ethereal and distant. "We have to inform the relevant authorities, there can be no further delay." Kohler shook his head and said, "Absolutely not." This remark surprised Victoria. "No? What do you mean?" "You and your father have given me a hard time." "Director, we need assistance. We must find the antimatter and bring it back before the misfortune happens. We are responsible for this!" "It's more of a responsibility to think hard," Kohler replied, speaking forcefully. "Once this matter gets out, it will have a very, very bad impact on the reputation of 'CERN'." "Are you worried about CERN's reputation? Don't you know what that reservoir can do to a city? It has a blast radius of half a mile! That's nine city blocks!" "I think this should be something you and your father should have thought about before making the prototype." Victoria felt as if she had been stabbed.She defended: "But ... but we have taken precautions." "Obviously, not enough." "But no one knew that samples of antimatter existed." Of course, she realized, this was an absurd excuse.Of course someone already knew.Someone found out the secret. Victoria didn't tell anyone.Then there are only two possibilities left.One was that his father had revealed the secret to others without telling her. No, this is absolutely impossible.It was the father who suggested that they both be sworn to secrecy.That is they are being watched.Is the phone being monitored?Victoria remembers speaking to her father several times during the trip.Have we talked too long?maybe.Or maybe their emails got wind of it.They're cautious enough, aren't they?Could it be the security system of the "European Nuclear Center"?They were being watched and didn't realize it?She knew none of this mattered anymore.What happened has happened.Father is dead. Thinking of this, she immediately moved and quickly took out her mobile phone from her shorts pocket. Kohler hurried over, coughing violently, with anger shining in his eyes. "You...who are you calling?" "The switchboard at CERN. They'll connect me to Interpol." "Use your brain!" Kohler choked up as his wheelchair screeched to a stop in front of Victoria. "Are you so naive? The storage could be anywhere in the world right now. No intelligence organization in the world can immediately Act and find it in time." "Then we just sit and wait?" Victoria felt a little unbearable to embarrass such a weak person, but the director was so unreasonable, and Victoria felt that he was unreasonable. "We have to be smart," Kohler explained. "We must not blindly recruit experts who are not useful and damage the reputation of CERN. Not now, don't even think about it." Victoria knew that what Kohler said was more or less true.But she also understands that the so-called reason is often deprived of moral responsibility, leaving only the lonely word "reason".Her father had lived his life with moral responsibility—scientifically rigorous, never shirking responsibility, and a firm believer in the inherent goodness of human nature.Victoria is convinced of this too, but she only sees them in terms of karma.She quietly avoided Kohler, and turned on the phone with a bang. "You can't do that!" "You stop me." Kohler didn't move. Soon, Victoria understood why.Deep underground, her cell phone had no signal at all. Victoria was so angry that she walked towards the elevator.

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