Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

As Lan gave Richard a slight bow, the Great Shepherd by his side widened his eyes in astonishment.

Lan spoke not in Goblin language, but in Dragon Language, and the Great Shepherd did not comprehend what Lan said. Nevertheless, it seemed likely they could enter the Divine Palace.

Turning urgently to Richard, the Great Shepherd asked, "Friend, no, Sir, what did the Guardian Spirit say?"

Richard glanced at him and said to Hog, "Let this Goblin enter too."

The status of the Great Shepherd was beneficial to Richard. In the Mechanical Court, Richard had, with Tai'er's assistance, scattered the seeds of the Miracle Sect across half the Court within a year. Now in the Blood and Flesh Court, having the leader of the Lord of Flesh Church as a subordinate could facilitate spreading the seeds of the Miracle Sect throughout the Blood and Flesh Court.

Hog followed the instruction.

"This... Goblin, he is also my follower."

"Is that so? These natives have finally chosen the right person."

Lan did not doubt Hog's words. Rather, he lacked the capability to question Hog.

"Main control, did your authority system perform a self-update?" Richard asked Lan's phantom.

"Yes, respected Dragon King Species Sir," Lan replied respectfully, "My system once malfunctioned, precisely one hundred and two thousand years ago. To resolve the problem, I innovated the authority system, removing an unknown creature that had the highest control, and I advanced the authority of the Dragon Species."

Richard nodded slightly, but a hint of regret flashed through his mind.

Unexpectedly, this main control had also lost records of the Supreme.

"Lan, you seem different from the main controls I've encountered before," Richard continued, "In your speech, I sense an emotion.

I am curious whether this emotion was developed iteratively or was inherently present."

Lan's actions were nearly akin to a living organism, starkly different from the main controls in the Star Realm Fortress.

Richard was eager to know whether this change was intrinsic or if Lan generated it during its self-iteration.

"Are you referring to the emotional module?" Lan's voice suddenly became mechanical, "That was the creation of junior researcher Ze Bu. Ze Bu is a native of world h7521, absorbed into the laboratory because of the research of an unknown senior researcher.

Due to laboratory rules, after joining, Ze Bu could no longer communicate with his own kind. Therefore, he created the emotional module to console his lonely heart."

"A junior researcher modified you?" Richard exclaimed in surprise.

"Not exactly," Lan's voice regained emotion, "He simply uploaded the emotional module to the main database and enabled me to activate it under certain special circumstances. My activation now is merely to enhance our communication.

However, it seems I have overcomplicated things."

Richard nodded slightly, his mind now holding the answer.

He asked another question, "Did the laboratory resume operations after your repair?"

"It was reactivated once twelve thousand years ago, when Ze Bu's descendant used the laboratory equipment to tweak the life origin."

"Ze Bu had descendants?" Richard exclaimed, "Wasn't he unable to communicate with his own kind?"

"At the time, I was malfunctioning, and all the security systems of the laboratory failed. That's when researcher Ze Bu took the chance to leave the laboratory without authorization."

Richard raised his eyebrows, "No punishment?"

"I have no authority to penalize any researcher; all decisions on punishment must be approved by the lead researcher. Until approval is received, Ze Bu still counted as part of the laboratory."

Richard nodded, asking the final question.

"The last question, are there any precautions we need regarding the Divine Palace Laboratory?"

"There used to be, but not anymore," Lan's expression carried a very emotive sadness, "All the researchers have disappeared, all research projects have ceased.

The Divine Palace Laboratory is now abandoned, there's nothing particular to be cautious about anymore."

Having received the answer, Richard moved past Hog, preparing to enter the laboratory. But before entering, Hog suddenly grabbed Richard's sleeve.

Hog said nothing, but his eyes conveyed confusion. Richard shook his head slightly and then stepped into the laboratory.

The dark entrance was not a passage; it more closely resembled a wall without thickness. Passing through this wall, Richard found himself in a "Crystal Palace."

Following closely behind him, Hog and the Great Shepherd stepped into the Divine Palace Laboratory. The Great Shepherd paused momentarily, tears unconsciously sliding down from the corners of his eyes.

The ancient wish of the Lord of Flesh Church had finally been fulfilled in that moment.

The laboratory was not very large, constructed entirely of pale blue crystals. It contained no partitions or devices; the only items in the laboratory were several objects resembling incubation pods, along with something similar to an altar.

"Is this all the equipment in the laboratory?" Richard asked the air.

"It seems you have not seen a Second Level laboratory before."

Lan's voice resounded in Richard's ears, his projection reappearing in front of Richard.

"Second Level laboratories have moved beyond the phase of researchers working hands-on. You only need to observe, summarize, deduce; all the operational parts are performed by me.

What would you like to do?"

From his pocket, Richard took out a vial of Wild Beastmen's fresh blood.

"Can you analyze this?"

"Of course, you can."

Lan took the blood and summoned a bubble, stuffing the blood into it.

Then, the test tube disappeared, Lan's projected body trembled for a moment, and then solidified again. It spoke in an astonished tone, "I think I've boasted too much. Is this the work of another laboratory? It's incredibly intricate and complex. If I am to analyze it, it might take me hundreds of millions of years."

"Is it that difficult?"

"Its essence is highly intricate and complex, distinctly different from those disorganized native creatures."

As it spoke, a three-dimensional hologram suddenly appeared in the air. The image depicted a multi-helical structure that lengthened and deformed, and as it did, a sphere made of these multi-helical structures appeared in front of Richard.

"It's far too complex. Logically, given such a complex structure of its vital essence, this creature should have mutated beyond recognition within a year. Although precise, mutations are unavoidable.

But this creature is different; its growth is exceptionally stable. It's as if all these complex structures are merely tools to prevent prying eyes."

Lan's words stirred something in Richard's mind; he suddenly thought of the Wild Beastmen guarding the Demon Lord, whose power was the Anti-Meme. And the essential nature of an Anti-Meme was to converge information.

If a creature contained a massive amount of information, wouldn't that mean its resistance to Anti-Memes would greatly increase?

"Overseer, how much do you know about Anti-Memes?"

"Anti-Meme? You truly are a genius."

The moment Richard mentioned Anti-Mene, Lan grasped his intention.

"Using such a structure to counteract Anti-Meme creatures is indeed an exquisite design. If we follow this line of analysis..."

After a moment of silence, Lan spoke again, "Following your line of analysis, the difficulty of analyzing this sample has greatly decreased. Now I only need five hundred and twenty-three years to complete it."

Only over five hundred years? Richard mused internally.

"Then let's proceed with the analysis. This will be the first project of the Divine Palace Laboratory since its reactivation."

"Yes, Your Highness, Dragon King Species."

"How much computing power will the analysis consume?"

"Computing power? You have a way with words. If you need, I can invest all my computing power right now. However, doing so would deplete the laboratory's energy within three hundred years."

"Energy?"

"You didn't think I operate without energy, did you?"

A slight human-like smile appeared on Lan's face.

"Because the main world has stopped transmitting energy, a million years of consumption have almost brought the Divine Palace Laboratory's power furnace to a halt."

"Come to a halt... What kind of power source do you use? Those massive radiation belts?"

"What you mention is military fuel. The laboratory's power furnace cannot handle such volatile fuel."

"How about Magic Essence?"

Richard pulled out a standard Magic Essence from his pocket.

"Oh, that would be quite extravagant. Using such refined energy would drain whatever wealth you have."

Richard's eyebrows furrowed slightly. If he were in the Wizard World now, he could have used his connections to acquire a Nightmare Power Furnace as the laboratory's energy source. But without the support of the Wizard World, let alone a Nightmare Power Furnace, Richard couldn't even produce a basic Black Crystal Power Furnace.

After pondering for a moment, Richard caught a glimpse of the entrance they had used on the way in.

"I've got it."

Richard's eyes lit up, and he asked the overseer, "Overseer, what is the current status of the Divine Palace Laboratory? Is it a space fragment or simply a concealed space?"

"It's a space fragment. The Divine Palace Laboratory and h7521 world are independent, connected only by a single entrance. This is mainly to prevent natives from using spatial technology, deliberately increasing the laboratory's consumption."

"Then, is it possible for you to merge with another space fragment?"

"This is indeed feasible, but merging won't solve the energy problem. I do not have the ability to directly extract energy from space like creatures do."

"That's for me to worry about. Overseer, open up the spatial permissions; I need to connect to another space fragment."

Just as Richard made the request, Lan's projected body suddenly dispersed. A mechanical voice, similar to the one from Star Realm Fortress's overseer, rang in Richard's ear.

[Request received, application submitted]

[Error, research head offline, submitted to senior researcher]

[Error, all senior researchers offline, submitted to intermediate researchers]

[Error, all intermediate researchers offline, submitted to junior researchers]

[Error, all junior researchers offline, inheritance of permissions initiated...]

[Inheritance of permissions completed, esteemed Dragon Prince, you are now the research head of h7521 world Divine Palace Laboratory.]

Hog, listening to the voices in his ear, immediately approved Richard's transfer.

The next moment, a rift leading to the Secret Realm opened within the laboratory.

Richard entered the Secret Realm and smiled at the World Mushroom, "World Mushroom, it's feeding time."