Outside the generator, the person in charge and the experimenters were chatting idly.
"This guy’s family is really rich. I saw the supermatter he brought himself—a whole twenty-six or twenty-seven grams! Using so much supermatter for an initiation ceremony is such a waste."
"Yeah, plus the three grams provided by the bureau, that’s nearly thirty grams. All this supermatter would have been enough to advance to the Third Energy Level."
"He can’t possibly absorb so much supermatter. HEH HEH, once he fails later, we’ll just collect the remaining supermatter in the generator—even though reused supermatter sells for a bit less, it could still fetch over a hundred million..."
The person in charge’s face darkened. "That’s his property!"
The workers all fell silent. Then, the person in charge’s expression suddenly changed to a smile. "Collect it. After we sell it, most of it will be kept as research funds. We’ll take out ten million to distribute among ourselves."
"Oh wow!" Everyone cheered. If they were really given a share of over a hundred million, they wouldn’t dare accept it. But with ten million split among them, each person would get several hundred thousand to a million, equivalent to their salary for three years.
As for the other practitioner present, he stood there indifferently, unresponsive to everything. He knew clearly that within that money, there was definitely a portion for himself—and certainly the largest portion.
At this moment, when he looked at Chen Gu inside the generator, he felt much better about him.
"I really hope this guy fails, ideally using up all three chances. That way, every few years, we could all make a hefty sum on the side, HAHAHA!"
The workers indulged in their happy fantasies. The person in charge said, "At least this time, he’s bound to fail. There were instructions from above to set the Omega Index to the highest level. He can’t possibly succeed."
Only then did the workers remember that when the generator started up this time, the lights in the room hadn’t dimmed.
Suddenly, someone recalled, "How long has this guy been in there?"
"Let me check... it’s been thirty-four seconds already."
Failures usually happened within the first fifteen seconds.
So, those who failed were all ’quick finishers.’
Nagano Takesakura sat in the empty hospital room, dispirited and distraught. Failing the initiation for the third time had caused severe damage to her body, and the upcoming medical expenses needed to be covered privately.
Despite the exorbitant cost, she didn’t actually need to worry, because these expenses could be paid with merit points.
Nagano Takesakura used to live a hard life because she was saving up merit points for her next attempt at initiation.
So, for the first two recovery periods, she had paid with her salary.
But now, her mind wasn’t on these things; her heart was filled with endless regret and unwillingness. In pursuit of becoming a practitioner, she had strived for over twenty years, throwing away the best years of her life for nothing.
She had never dated. She had cold-heartedly rejected several suitors she had actually been moved by, living a life like an ascetic every day. And for what?
In the end, all for naught.
Why! Nagano Takesakura roared in her heart.
Suddenly, a voice answered her in her mind: It’s unfair! You know, this is unfair!
What’s so great about being a practitioner? They’re just people with great power, after all. We can give you power, even stronger power than practitioners possess!
Come, join us. Apart from power, we can give you... immortality!
Nagano Takesakura’s eyes suddenly emitted a strong light, a light called desire.
Chen Gu was hanging by a thread.
It felt as if his body had been crushed countless times, then reassembled and resurrected.
Throughout this process, his physical strength kept increasing, but the pain did not lessen at all. Chen Gu felt as if all his strength was being drained away.
So, it turns out that initiation is really this difficult! I’ve substantially exceeded the preliminary training requirements, and my physical condition far surpasses that of the average initiate.
I prepared a large amount of supermatter, which, by all accounts, should far exceed the amount required for initiation.
Even so, it’s still this tough. Those successful practitioners... they really are lucky.
Indeed, no matter the era, luck is always a part of strength.
As Chen Gu’s thoughts ran wild, he experienced another agonizing round of his body being crushed and reconstituted. But in reality, if someone could have seen clearly at that moment, they would have found that Chen Gu’s body had not undergone any visible changes from start to finish!
Everything was happening subtly, beneath the surface.
Outside the generator, on the monitoring instruments, all indicators were hovering just below their critical values. Several readings only needed to rise by another three to five points to immediately turn red, prompting the person in charge to declare the initiation a failure.
But it was precisely those few points; they just wouldn’t budge any higher!
Trouble! The person in charge began to sweat nervously. The Director-General had given the order, and the branch director had personally come to convey and oversee its execution. If this guy still managed to succeed, the person in charge could forget about buying shoes for himself in the future. He’d be forced to wear ’small shoes’—meaning he’d be given a hard time—for the rest of his days, and they might even become a family heirloom!
But everything that could be done had been done. He was powerless over what remained.
The person in charge stared intently at the monitoring instruments, ready to declare failure the moment any data went into the red, giving Chen Gu no chance whatsoever.
Don’t blame me. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s yourself for offending a super bigshot.
However, the person in charge didn’t find his opportunity. The light inside the generator began to dim slowly.
A staff member inhaled sharply. "This... is he going to succeed?"
On the monitoring instruments, all data began to stabilize and fall, gradually approaching normal human standards.
It’s over... the person in charge inwardly wailed. He wanted to make a last-ditch effort, but the process ended quickly. Before he could think of a solution, a few seconds later, the generator completely cooled down, followed by a CLACK as the hatch opened.
Chen Gu sat in the chair without moving. After quite a while, he cried out, "Can someone come and help me? I really don’t have the strength to unlock the safety lock..."
Only then did the staff members rush in clumsily and hoist Chen Gu out.
Chen Gu had succeeded in his initiation. The person ’responsible’ was the one in charge; this had nothing to do with these ordinary staff members. They would still get their share of the money from selling the supermatter, so everyone was quite pleased.
This was a major patron, after all; they ought to look after him.
"Hungry..." Chen Gu mustered all his strength to utter a single word. This situation occurred frequently, so the lab always kept high-nutrition food on hand. Immediately, someone pushed over a whole cart of it, and Chen Gu began to eat ravenously.
Meanwhile, the person in charge was already considering collecting the remaining supermatter. It could sell for over a hundred million. He might as well take the money and resign.
That practitioner looked deeply at Chen Gu. To succeed in the initiation under the highest Omega Index standards! Just how incredible was this guy’s talent and luck?!
He wouldn’t want to be an enemy of such a person, but this guy had offended the Director-General... Better to keep a respectful distance.