Chapter 82: Chapter 82 Otherworld Central Superpower Bureau
The experiment design for the Fire Blade Mercenary Corps was quite simple; it was essentially to have them lie in the midst of a mass of Nest Crystals. Considering that each of them was endowed with Fighting Spirit or Magic, which could potentially interfere with the radiation acceptance, I even instructed Bubbles to boost the output power of the Crystal Energy. What Bubbles did was immediately connect with over two thousand people for a game carnival. The Nest Crystals’ flow of energy was akin to her thought process. Her approach was undoubtedly faultless, but whether this homebody and game-crazed Loli had taken the opportunity to shirk responsibilities for her own amusement was up for debate…
The Mother Nest was of significant importance to the entire Xyrin Base, so we naturally couldn’t allow outsiders to enter freely. Therefore, we had Bubbles make certain modifications to the Mother Nest and erected a miniature crystal “incubator” nearby, channelling a portion of the Mother Nest’s energy into this incubator. Looking at that incubator, which no matter how you looked at it resembled a coffin, I couldn’t help but marvel that Bubbles’ aesthetic sensibilities were beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals. No wonder Sandora has always strictly forbidden Bubbles from tampering with the base’s architectural blueprints…
Following our instructions, Reck and the others donned specially designed “Anti-Protective Suits” that intensified radiation and entered the incubator, then they suppressed all their Magic and Fighting Spirit, lying down on the platforms made of crystals. Of course, there was one exception. That timid Thief, whom Reck called “Monkey”, never ceased his resistance and adamantly refused to stop his Fighting Spirit protection after entering the incubator, severely disrupting the normal process of the experiment. Fortunately, in the end, Reck displayed his decisiveness as a leader and knocked out the “Monkey” with a punch, then rallied all the members to warm up on Monkey for about fifteen minutes…
I looked with a bit of a headache at the three sullen-faced temporary allies standing before me.
Muller, Mu, and Vinoa.
As soon as they discovered our proceedings and saw a dozen humans donned in strange grey robes being shut away in that new rectangular building, they arrived with an inquisitorial expression on their faces.
“We suspect you’re using the humans of this world for some kind of experiment.”
As a member of the Elf Clan, Mu was never one for subtlety—a trait that hadn’t changed a bit despite having lived in the human world for hundreds of years.
“Exactly,” Sandora acknowledged without hesitation and with an appearance of having no burden of thought, “In every new world, the Empire’s research teams collect the life forms of that world for study. The humans of this world happen to be the most suitable subjects for research.”
That’s probably the real reason you’ve been so eager to conduct this superpower activation experiment, isn’t it? You’ve finally admitted it, haven’t you?
Mu’s expression turned quite ugly. Elves are a race with a naturally detached nature; they do not show their emotions freely. However, they harbor an extraordinary sentiment for life, unimaginable to the common people. Once someone encroaches upon this, elves can become an incredibly stubborn and troublesome species to deal with. Clearly, Sandora’s statements had deeply offended the Elves’ philosophy of life, from the standpoint of their race.
The looks on Muller and Vinoa’s faces were not any better. Humans did not possess the Elves’ near-fanatical dedication to life, but seeing their own kind used as test subjects was unacceptable to anyone.
If it weren’t for the fact that they were surrounded by Xyrin Soldiers as strong as intermediate human warriors and that they stood before two Emperors whose strength was decidedly superior to their own, the three might have already initiated a blood-soaked human counterattack.
“Let me handle this.”
I pulled Sandora, who would only cause confusion in this situation, behind me and casually handed her a giant cake weighing six pounds. With her personality, she would never waste time explaining clearly to a few people in front of her whom she deemed insignificant. It was left to me to sort out such matters.
Seriously though, Sandora hugging that giant cake looked rather cute—yeah, about on par with Dingdang clutching her giant lollipop…
“To put it simply, we are trying to give the humans of this world the power to resist the Abyss—mind you, I’m talking about all humans, not just powerful individuals like you. If our experiment succeeds, even the most ordinary civilians will possess enough strength to confront a Demonized Creature on their own.”
The eyes of Muller and the others widened suddenly.
Taking on Demonized Creatures alone?!
The ferociousness of Demonized Creatures was well-known: they had thick skin and flesh, were fearless, and had astonishing attack power. Without the protection of ornaments blessed by the Life Goddess, a mentally steadfast warrior would be corrupted by the demonic aura of these creatures within minutes into a madman who slew on sight. Forget civilians, even battle-hardened warriors could not be absolutely sure they could single-handedly confront an average Demonized Creature. If humans didn’t have equipment and fortifications which the Demonized Creatures could never develop, humanity would have probably perished long ago.
“Now, the Xyrin Emperor in front of me is actually saying that they can give ordinary civilians the power to fight against the Abyss?”
“You don’t have to worry that we have ulterior motives,” I continued, “our sole goal is to annihilate the Abyss…”
“Your world has been eroded for far too long and holds little value to conquer,” Sandora said as she licked her finger, instantly adopting a queenly demeanor, “The Empire won’t waste time subjugating a world without any utilitarian value.”
Six pounds of special cake, Sandora! What size is your throat?
Regardless, in the end, Muller and the other two temporarily suspended their suspicions about our actions. Of course, that was ostensibly, they would certainly report to Modis III behind our backs, but by that time, we would have already achieved our purpose.
All members of the Fire Blade Mercenary Corps possessed a certain degree of strength. Even though their power might only qualify them as cannon fodder compared to most of the strong figures in this world, they were already much stronger than Qianqian and her sister, who were mere Earthlings. Hence, the catalytic radiation’s effect on them was not as miraculously transformative as it was for Qianqian and her sister, but free power, however mediocre, was enough to delight these mercenaries who valued strength as life itself.
The next morning, we met with Reck and his group, who had already recovered from their radiation-induced comas.
Seeing their faces beam with smiles, I knew the experiment had succeeded.
Perhaps it was their inherent energy resisting the negative effects of the radiation, Reck and his group didn’t undergo the significant personality changes that Qianqian and her sister did. However, they also didn’t acquire terrifying abilities like control over time. The new powers they did gain were primarily extensions and enhancements of their pre-existing abilities. Even though they weren’t as powerful as Qianqian or her sister, they signified a considerable overall enhancement for these mercenaries who were originally only fit to be cannon fodder!
Reck, being a warrior, gained a superpower that allowed him to partially petrify his body in exchange for astounding defensive and close-combat attack power. When I saw him, the guy was proudly sharpening his knife on his arm—I really couldn’t understand how an arm composed entirely of stone could still function…
Since Reck’s own strength was already quite high, the value of the superpower was substantial, but it still couldn’t compare to his less accomplished teammates.
The mercenaries’ mage, Catherine, acquired the superpower of energy suction, which could be activated every five minutes, absorbing all kinds of energies within a hundred-meter radius and storing them, while also creating an instant energy vacuum zone. The absorbed energies varied so much that they couldn’t be used for casting spells, but they could be released in a specified area as a powerful energy explosion comparable to high order magic, or form a sustained energy shield—and all these processes required no casting time! This meant that every five minutes, Catherine could instantly cast a high order spell, something that even a Magic Master might not be able to do!
Watching Catherine’s energy suction turn a hundred-meter radius into a ‘no-arms zone’ where no fighting spirit or magic could be used even for an instant, Vinoa was the most impacted. She instantly realized the horrifying potential of this ability: first use energy suction to completely strip the opponent of all energy, then release a powerful energy explosion in an instant. Even with her body strength reaching the pinnacle of humanity, she couldn’t guarantee she would escape unscathed from such an explosion without the protection of fighting spirit or magic—although she was confident she could exit the suction field or simply kill Catherine before the latter acted, it had been proven that a low-level mage who had just left the apprentice stage had the potential to severely injure top-level fighters!
“Monkey,” who had initially refused to participate in the experiment, now was all smiles, and began to fear deeply that if he had been a bit more resolute at the time, he might have missed this great opportunity. The ability he gained was beyond even my belief—water mimicry!
To turn oneself into a puddle of water!
Imagine the horrifying prospects if this power were used properly! “Monkey” would become the world’s most formidable assassin, stalker, spy, and… peeping Tom in a bathhouse…
Upon learning of “Monkey”‘s power, the first thing Catherine did was pin him to the ground, forcing him to swear not to apply his ability in inappropriate areas—and that was when I found out that the two were a couple!
Although Reck said that “Monkey” was quite trustworthy, Catherine still subjected her lover to half an hour of interrogation, only stopping when he swore to the Life Goddess that if he ever used his superpowers for wrongdoing, he would be drunk up like water.
“Alright,” I clapped my hands to quiet down the excited new superhumans and then announced, “Starting today, the Otherworld Central Superpower Bureau is officially established!”