"My current mentor, Thomson, has profound achievements in various fields of physics…" Dr. Sturgis led Mike towards the workbench, briefly introducing his current teacher.
This made Mike a little curious about what kind of person could be so highly praised by Dr. Sturgis, an old professor with a doctorate.
"Thomson, someone is looking for you—!" Arriving in front of the massive workbench, Dr. Sturgis shouted into the interior of the UFO wreckage.
Yes, on the giant workbench, which was several tens of square meters, lay a UFO wreckage that looked somewhat familiar to Mike, and many researchers were studying the alien high-tech on it.
Not long after, a scruffy old man, about the same height as Dr. Sturgis, with a big afro, crawled out of the UFO.
"Dr. Sturgis, you're back. Did you find the cutting machine?" The old man named Thomson seemed not to notice Mike and Needy behind him, focused on his unfinished work.
"Uh, yes, I found it." Dr. Sturgis answered his mentor's question while handing over the small laser cutting machine he had found earlier among a pile of clutter.
Clearly, he had been running errands before.
Over there, Thomson, after getting the laser cutter, confirmed the approximate position on the UFO's base, then started the cutting machine and began cutting along the predetermined location.
"Don't worry, Mike. I forgot to tell you, Thomson is very hard to stop once he gets into work mode. Just wait until he finishes his current task." Amidst the loud noise of the laser cutting, Dr. Sturgis explained somewhat awkwardly.
As expected of the MIB's researchers, they all had very distinct personalities.
Mike nodded, indicating his understanding.
A few minutes later, with the sound of a heavy object falling, a large hole was cut into the bottom of the UFO, revealing its intricate internal structure.
"Everyone, come and see, this is the power structure of this UFO, and it's our next project to study…" Thomson, after cutting open the UFO, seemed to be in a good mood, gathering his research team and assigning tasks.
It seemed he intended to draw inspiration from this UFO to develop his own aircraft.
"Oh, right, Dr. Sturgis, what was it you wanted just now? And what's with this agent next to you?" After distributing tasks to his team members, Thomson finally noticed Dr. Sturgis and Mike behind him.
It proved that he had indeed been very focused on his work earlier.
"This is Mike. He came to ask if we still have any 'Noisy Cricket' in stock here." Dr. Sturgis explained Mike's purpose.
"Noisy Cricket? Don't you agents dislike that weapon?" Thomson looked at Mike.
The high-end weapon, Noisy Cricket, was considered Thomson's brainchild. It was just a pity that, due to the tricky drawback of recoil, the entire project had been halted.
"I really like the power of the Noisy Cricket. As for the recoil issue, I have my own way to overcome it…"
Mike explained, "That's why I specifically applied to Agent O for two of these weapons."
Hearing someone appreciate his work, Thomson's expression showed a hint of satisfaction. Then he stared at Mike intently for a couple of seconds and said, "Alright, follow me—"
Including Needy and Dr. Sturgis, the four of them arrived at the high-tech product warehouse. This place was even larger, storing various high-end products that Thomson's research team had developed previously.
Mike then realized that a series of high-power weapons, including the Tri-Barrel Pulsar Blaster and Noisy Cricket 4, were all developed under Thomson's leadership.
Each product here was like a medal for Thomson.
Afterward, this research group leader took two miniature "Noisy Cricket" from a shelf, came to Mike, and said, "You need to prove to me that you're capable of taking these two weapons, otherwise I would rather leave them here as concepts."
"Of course—" Mike took the weapon he had long admired.
Immediately, the group moved again, arriving at the MIB's shooting range for testing weapon power.
Here, Mike demonstrated to Thomson how he overcame the recoil problem of the "Noisy Cricket."
In essence, it was by relying on his powerful physical constitution to absorb the impact.
Clearly, this method of overcoming the "Noisy Cricket"'s recoil was not suitable for widespread adoption by other agents.
"Alright, you've proven you can take these two Noisy Cricket. If they need recharging in the future, you can come directly to me." Realizing that his proud invention still lacked universality, Thomson felt a bit disheartened.
However, he still expressed his goodwill to Mike, the only person in the organization capable of using the "Noisy Cricket."
"Wait, Mr. Thomson. I want to know, can the size of the "Noisy Cricket" be increased?" Before parting, Mike asked his question.
Although the "Noisy Cricket" was easy to carry, its size was still too small. The size of a lipstick made it very uncomfortable to use.
And Mike, who could easily withstand the recoil of the "Noisy Cricket," had a better idea.
That was to proportionally enlarge the size of the "Noisy Cricket" while also trying to pursue greater power.
"Enlarge the size?" Thomson shook his head and said, "If you want comfort, you can directly use Noisy Cricket 4. If you're pursuing high power, you can also use the Tri-Barrel Pulsar Blaster."
It could be seen that Dr. Sturgis's mentor already held a pessimistic attitude towards the development of the "Noisy Cricket" series of weapons.
And that was indeed the case; the initial concept or advantage of the "Noisy Cricket" during its development was "small size, high power."
If comfort or recoil improvement were considered, then the already developed Noisy Cricket 4 and Tri-Barrel Pulsar Blaster could perfectly serve as alternative products for the "Noisy Cricket."
"No, you misunderstood. I mean to increase the weapon's power while simultaneously increasing its size." Mike directly stated his idea.
Just imagine, a "Noisy Cricket" the size of a normal handgun could blow up a building with one shot.
That scene would definitely be awesome!
"You mean to continue increasing the power of the "Noisy Cricket," but the recoil…" Thomson was about to deny it, but then he realized he had fallen into a mental trap.
This agent in front of him was clearly different from other agents; he might truly be able to withstand the greater recoil of the "Noisy Cricket."
This couldn't help but create a brand new idea for Thomson to improve the "Noisy Cricket."
"If we are to continue increasing the power of the "Noisy Cricket," then the energy compression device will also need special reinforcement. However, with increased size, the demands for manufacturing precision will be greatly reduced, and more alloy materials can be chosen…"
After some thought, Thomson had a rough improvement plan for the requirements Mike had given him.
"However, if this type of weapon is manufactured, it's probably only you who can use it." The calmed Thomson finally realized Mike's objective.
Yes, if circumstances allowed, Mike indeed wanted to get himself a weapon with even greater power.
"Then, Mr. Thomson. Are you willing to manufacture such a weapon?" Mike smiled and retorted.
This was also a form of provocation.
If Thomson didn't want his researched "Noisy Cricket" to gather dust in the warehouse, then he could only continue to improve the "Noisy Cricket."
Now, Mike gave him this opportunity.
"Alright, kid, you win. I'll make a brand new 'Noisy Cricket' series when I have time. I'm just afraid you won't be able to conquer it then." Thomson yielded, or rather, he found an excuse to continue researching the "Noisy Cricket" series of weapons.
Afterward, he discussed some specific details about improving the "Noisy Cricket" with Mike.
More than half an hour later, Mike walked out of the organization's research department, feeling satisfied.
"Mike, when you have time, I'll come find you. Maybe we can have a drink—" Dr. Sturgis escorted Mike to the entrance of the research department.
Besides scientific research, this old professor's life could be described as terrible.
He had no family and not many friends.
Now, the only person he could talk to was probably Mike.
"OK, you're always welcome." Mike left his contact information for him.
If there was a chance, he could continue to set him up with Connie in the future.