NOVEL WEB Chapter 35 - Farewell, Experiment
Chapter 35: Farewell, Experiment
Liu Manjun: “Because by then, even a fool would know that your goal is to establish a nation. No one likes competition—even if the Federation doesn’t intervene, there are families within the Federation with similar ambitions.
They won’t let you succeed easily. You have to understand that those relatively easy-to-conquer star systems have long been targeted by multiple major players. They certainly don’t want another competitor!”
“I see,” Lin Zhichen realized. It seemed that the internal situation within the Federation was far more complex than he had imagined.
“Don’t worry about the draftsman issue. To be blunt, you’re still too far from that level. Your priority should be figuring out how to survive the covetous eyes of the greedy,” Liu Manjun said.
“You don’t need to worry too much about the safety of the solar system. This is a critical period with Earth just having joined the Federation. No one would dare make any major moves right now. With your strength, you can handle any overt dangers.
The real danger comes when you leave the Federation. You won’t be able to avoid underhanded tactics.
You need to think carefully. You have plenty of time to grow slowly. There’s no need to walk a tightrope. In just a few decades, you can definitely lead Meteor to become a legion!”
“Do you know the name of my mercenary group?” Lin Zhichen asked.
From the beginning, he never intended to back down.
Life was short, and time waited for no one. Even with the awakening of psionic abilities, extending life to several hundred or even a thousand years hadn’t changed his mindset.
“I want a batch,” Liu Manjun said, calming down. “At the price of 1 energy credit per pill.”
That price wasn’t low, considering it only lasted for 24 hours, roughly enough to advance a step in progress, most noticeable during breakthroughs.
“Agreed, but it must be for personal use only, and it cannot be exposed in the short term,” Lin Zhichen agreed. “I want to use it to give my mercenary group a boost.”
“Will it be effective? Just one pill a month?” Liu Manjun looked at him doubtfully. According to her understanding, NZT-50 was most effective with long-term use. How much progress could be made in just one day?
Lin Zhichen smiled without answering. The item was the same, but how to use it was his own business.
He gently kneaded her, causing the beauty to gasp softly. “Let’s not talk about these mood-killers. Let’s start our morning exercise first!”
……
Three hours later, Lin Zhichen and Liu Manjun stood in the laboratory, looking at the glass bottle in Dr. Li Ping’s hand. It was filled with small, transparent pills, each about one centimeter in diameter.
“It’s truly remarkable, sir. Just some ordinary herbs, yet through a special process, they can produce such miraculous medicine. It’s unbelievable!” Dr. Li Ping said excitedly.
“I’ve already tested it, and the effects are exactly as described!”
“Since it was successful, expedite the production line,” Lin Zhichen nodded. “Produce a batch first; I have a use for it.”
“I understand, sir,” Dr. Li Ping immediately nodded. He went to find Manager Xu Wen from the Industrial Department to discuss. Implementing a new product required the cooperation of both departments.
As Lin Zhichen walked out with a box of pills, Liu Manjun suddenly said, “I have to go.”
“So soon? Not staying for a couple more days?” Lin Zhichen was a bit surprised.
“What? Can’t bear to see me go?” Liu Manjun smiled seductively, making Lin Zhichen’s heart itch. He reached out to grab her but missed, leaving behind a trail of her playful laughter.
“I originally planned to recruit you into my group, but since you already have your own mercenary group, I won’t say more.”
“NZT-50 is very valuable. You need to be extra careful. If things become untenable, with your strength and talent, it wouldn’t hurt to take a step back. What you lose now can always be regained in the future.”
“Safe travels,” he said with a calm smile, feeling a faint sense of melancholy.
The tactile and sensory experiences were vastly different from the virtual world. No wonder people say not to get lost on the internet; it was easy to miss out on some of life’s beauties.
In the sky, a gem-red flying car soared upward, like a fiery phoenix ascending to the heavens.
In the world of martial heroes, partings and reunions were commonplace.
…
At the headquarters of the Meteor Mercenary Group, in a closed training ground, over a hundred selected NPCs were engaged in martial arts training. Their movements were fluid and powerful, resembling the stretching of bears and birds.
As the foundation for refining essence into qi, a healthy body was essential. Here, health was not just about being strong or resistant to illness, but about mastering one’s breath.
From the Warring States period, Song, Zhuang Zhou’s “Zhuangzi · Ke Yi”: “Blowing and breathing, exhaling the old and inhaling the new, stretching like bears and birds, all for the sake of longevity.”
Through specific movements, one’s vital energy flowed through the meridians. In this process, the latent essence within the body was absorbed and strengthened.
The process of strengthening the body’s vital energy was known as refining essence into qi.
It looked easy, but the key lay in the coordination of the body’s movements with breathing. Any slight misalignment could affect the training’s effectiveness, and in severe cases, it could lead to internal injuries, commonly known as going astray in cultivation.
To master this set of movements in conjunction with the breathing technique, even those with good talent would need one or two years. However, the NPCs in front of him, who had only been training for a few hours, were already able to perform it smoothly.
“Not bad, not bad!”
The effects of NZT-50 exceeded expectations. Lin Zhichen had only demonstrated the technique once and corrected a few mistakes, and this group of NPCs was already able to perform it accurately, initiating the process of refining essence into qi.
Of course, he knew this was the power of the brain operating at super speed. By tomorrow, when they lose this ability, their training effectiveness might significantly decrease, and the movements they practiced could become sloppy.
But what he needed was this initial start. At this moment, on his personal panel, this batch of NPCs used for the experiment had already reached the initial stage of refining essence into qi. As they continued to practice, their progress was rapidly increasing.
Under normal circumstances, such an intense extraction of one’s vital energy would be a path to self-destruction. The human body produced a limited amount of vital energy daily, and over-extraction led to a shortened lifespan or even sudden death. Throughout history, many cultivators met untimely ends due to their greed for quick results, serving as cautionary tales.
But this wasn’t a normal situation. In the corner of the training room, there were stacks of boxes.
Some were already opened, revealing rows of azure blue vials inside.
These were psionic potions, specifically designed to accelerate the cultivation of psionics, made from the essence extracted from psionic plants.
After each period of cultivation, the NPCs would stop, come to the boxes, drink a vial, and sit down to meditate and recover.
Lin Zhichen had already discovered that the psionic plants of this world, if they existed in his previous life, would be considered on par with celestial herbs. Even a cultivator at the level of a Yang God would benefit greatly from consuming them, making them akin to celestial elixirs.
This was because the energy level of psionics was quite high. According to his research, the psionics of this world were comparable to the power of immortals, akin to the legendary celestial realm in his previous life’s cultivation world.
What was particularly valuable was that the psionic potions were highly effective yet did not cause adverse effects from over-supplementation. If the body couldn’t absorb the energy, it naturally dissipated. This characteristic was extremely important for the potions because, as Lin Zhichen observed, even the lowest quality apprentice-level potions on the market,
only about one-tenth of the potion’s efficacy could be absorbed by the NPCs. The remaining effects were mostly wasted, dissipating into the air, causing the psionic concentration in the area to gradually increase.