Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 405 - 404: A Significant Harvest
[Void Bidirectional Worm]was eliminated by Dean Mason; theoretically, the biggest threat in this cursed space no longer existed.
However, Su Lun did not let his guard down or rashly head to Zone T11. Instead, he took out the brass spring sphere that the old dean had given him earlier.
This was the "key" controlling the planar gateway, and through the hollowed-out surface of the sphere, one could see many intricate components within its core. Su Lun wanted to understand the principles of this ancient mechanism, but the assessed result was a "beyond comprehension" asterisk indication. It was a spatial artifact forged by a "Godly Craftsman-level" Alchemist, technology that was difficult for him to comprehend at his current level.
Su Lun carefully studied the brass spring, and then understood why he had seen cracks in the spatial channels of the outer real world before.
It turned out to be intentionally left by predecessors.
The planes are not separated by a mere wall that can be broken through to see the other side; two different planes might be billions of miles apart, or not even in the same world as per human understanding.
Connecting two planes requires a "connecting point" to establish a planar channel.
It’s like the connection between Su Lun’s little void realm and the world.
He himself was that "point."
It’s somewhat like a balloon vendor holding a bunch of balloons. The great powers of the Alchemical civilization of the past held many planes in their grasp, connecting them with lines. Once lost, hydrogen balloons drift away, making them hard to find again.
In the Dawn Era, owning a different realm plane was like having an inexhaustible "mine". The Tarkolru Empire closed the planar channels to prevent a void invasion, not to lose this mine. To allow the possibility of reopening the channels while minimizing the risk, they created an easily closed, hard to open double-restricted key.
But due to the passage of too much time, the spatial channels had loosened like a tightened spring, creating new cracks.
...
Su Lun threw the Alchemy spring sphere into the small void realm, having the Dawn group members infuse energy to first close the planar channel and stop the incessant influx of void monsters.
The restriction mechanism of the planar channel was massive; even activating the key to close it required several hours.
Su Lun patiently waited in the laboratory.
Without that [Mother Insect], the monsters lost their organization and targeting. Although they still instinctively killed humans, their threat was greatly diminished.
This precursory void invasion had also entered the wrap-up phase beforehand.
Su Lun did not wander around, but found a safe spot in the laboratory and patiently waited.
In the palm of his hand, he continuously controlled a small black hole, maintaining the spatial connection between the brass spring and the planar channel.
During this period, he also encountered a few monsters that stumbled upon him by mistake, which Su Lun disposed of without much effort.
Gradually, he clearly felt the void energy in the air thinning.
That was obviously the planar channel gradually closing.
As long as the entire planar channel is completely shut down, even if that "spatial will" has any sinister tricks up its sleeve, it can at least no longer connect to other realm planes, reducing the threat tremendously.
A full three hours later, cheers sounded from the small void realm; they had finally completely locked the mechanism of the brass spring.
Su Lun immediately felt that the space, previously as fragile as thin ice, had become as hard as cement, just like the outer academy district.
He continued to pour dark spiritual energy, and the black hole in his hand gradually grew larger.
Qian Tiao, Barrett, and a dozen other key members of the Dawn group emerged. Dr. Banks, intrigued by everything in this laboratory, also appeared rarely.
"Whew~ Finally, out for some fresh air."
Qian Tiao clamored as she came out.
Her nature made it difficult to stay still, and after surveying the surroundings, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is the space stable?"
They did not possess Su Lun’s keen spatial perception; Barrett, standing nearby, tried squeezing his fist, coalescing a layer of force around it, and a look of joy appeared on his face: "It seems we can go all out now."
Others tried as well, and someone laughed, "Haha, now we can truly unleash our power. Those void monsters aren’t much of a threat anymore."
This was the biggest challenge in the cursed space.
High-level professionals could enter the planar channels, but would be threatened by unstable spatial states, unable to deploy much of their power. Now that the space was stable, that concern no longer existed.
With everyone around, Su Lun instantly felt a full sense of security. After all, the combat power in the cursed space had a limit, and now that the main force of the Dawn group was out, unless they encountered an entity on Dean Mason’s level, they could almost sweep through everything.
Even so, he reminded, "Everyone, be careful, there might still be some dangerous monsters remaining in this laboratory."
Everyone naturally took this seriously, and the group cautiously advanced through the laboratory.
...
Hei Ya led the way at the front of the hallway, and Su Lun along with a dozen others calmly explored deeper into the laboratory.
Along the way, they encountered some void monsters and mutant creatures, but with Qian Tiao, the Sword Saint, and Barrett, a near seventh-tier professional, almost no noise was made as they were efficiently dealt with.
The materials in the laboratory were also collected along the way.
Despite being an ancient laboratory from many millennia ago, its equipment was not inferior to the modern, such as the basic culture dishes and isolation glass, which were better than any glass available outside.
Dr. Banks walked along, marveling the whole way. He even collected some usable materials and instruments, planning to take them back for his own laboratory.
As they walked, they came across a sealed metal door.
This was the bottommost "Zone T11" of Lab Zero according to the intel.
A region once used for experiments involving highly dangerous projects.
Su Lun looked at the door, exchanged glances with Qian Tiao and several others, and reminded, "Everyone, be careful, I’m going to open the door."
"Alright!"
Everyone nodded, visibly on full alert.
Su Lun took out the brass spring, activated the door’s authorization device, and with a "click," the long-sealed door slowly opened.
Just at the moment the crack appeared, Su Lun immediately sensed the fluctuation of spiritual bodies, quickly teleported to dodge, and shouted, "Careful!"
No sooner had his words fallen than two shadows burst out from the gap in the door.
Because the Dawn group had prepared in advance, the moment Su Lun sensed the monster, he used the "Chronos Spatial Gloves" to grab one of them. Qian immediately took the opportunity to strike, cleaving the monster into two halves with a single slash.
The other monster was a little more troublesome. It used Void Displacement to evade a round of firepower and ran rampant in the laboratory. After injuring two members of the Dawn group, Barrett found an opportunity to punch it into the wall, killing it instantly.
These were two fifth-order Golden Oddities, resembling humanoid lizards, with ghostly Void Displacement abilities and claws and fangs that could easily pierce through steel plates.
Given the previously unstable spatial conditions, these two creatures were enough to wipe out a whole army of Mafa’s mechanical warriors.
It was also lucky that the main force of the Dawn group was able to exert their full strength, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been easy to say.
Ignoring the corpses of the two monsters, Su Lun fixed his gaze on the open door, but his eyes narrowed slightly. Because in his senses, there was another soul fluctuation inside. It seemed like a monster, but it did not move.
He issued a warning, "Everyone, be careful, there’s something else inside."
At this time, someone threw a piece of cold light source crystal stone into the room, and a black crow fluttered its wings and flew inside.
With the help of vision sharing, Su Lun finally saw the location of the soul body he sensed: two glass cultivation vessels. Complicated tubing connected to the equipment, and in the pale green liquid floated two pieces of biological tissue. Upon closer inspection, one jar contained a piece of "black flesh"; the other actually contained a large human "brain".
And the spiritual body fluctuation, was it actually coming from that "brain"?
Seeing no other danger and leaving some people outside, Su Lun and a few others cautiously entered.
The All-Seeing Eye identified the contents of the cultivation vessels right away.
The piece of flesh was called "Void Mother’s Brain Tissue", a material taken from a divine-level creature, which was the prototype of the earlier dimension-reducing monster.
And the other brain was identified as "Herbert Hillbilly’s Brain", still alive.
....
Seeing these two items, Su Lun immediately understood what this was all about.
The black piece of flesh was naturally the original material that Herbert had used to refine his gene potion.
And the brain… it was the "master will" of this space.
Normally, when that "Bi-directional Beast" was banished, the incident should have ended.
But by coming here, Su Lun and his companions were actually seeing the "obsession" that formed this cursed space.
Su Lun could actually understand this feeling very well.
He had always suppressed other emotions in his heart, imprisoning those beast-like evil thoughts deep within.
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However, Herbert’s situation was the opposite.
His human rationality was suppressed by the monster’s intellect, not disappeared, but "imprisoned" deep within the heart.
It was like the "T11 Zone" door, located in the deepest part of Laboratory Zero, locking up that brain.
The monster was him, but he wasn’t just a monster. This was actually two independent, contradictory, and entangled "conscious bodies".
Now that the monster was banished by the old dean, Herbert’s own human will could resurface.
This was also the final step in breaking the curse of this space.
Su Lun also breathed a sigh of relief; this was probably not dangerous anymore.
Dr. Banks, upon seeing the brain in that cultivation vessel, immediately acted as if he had discovered something, exclaiming, "He’s talking to me!"
The others listened, curious, A conversation?
Although Su Lun knew that the brain was alive, he still found it somewhat incredible.
Dr. Banks nodded, saying, "Yes. Mr. Herbert said, he left his research achievements here, wishing for future alchemists to take less detours and go further on this path…"
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes revealed contemplation.
Dr. Banks walked over and placed his hand on the cultivation chamber storing the brain, showing a complex expression.
In some ways, Dr. Banks could also be considered a "mutant monster", but unlike others, his rationality was still intact.
He could more deeply understand the genius alchemist of the Dawn Era, two biologists separated by time and space sharing thoughts, seemingly finding some resonance.
The room was silent for a long time, as everyone silently watched.
Only the restless crow flew onto the cultivation vessel containing the "black piece of flesh", pecking at the outer cover with its beak, creating a "clang", "clang", "clang" sound. After a few knocks, it also didn’t forget to turn its head and use its pitch-black eyes to look towards its master.
Su Lun, noticing this, slightly raised the corner of his eye. How could he not know what it intended?
The silly bird was hungry and wanted to eat the flesh.
Su Lun internally commented, "You really know how to pick."
This crow was picky; ordinary pieces of meat were not even considered, as it usually fed on the energy of the undead.
This seemed to be the first time that it had shown such a strong desire for food.
But the material in this glass jar was of divine level, not something to be fed carelessly.
Su Lun initially did not intend to bother with it, but the silly bird kept pecking more vigorously, the "clang", "clang", "clang" noise echoing clearly in the quiet laboratory.
Hearing this noise, Qian and Barrett also looked at Su Lun with puzzled eyes.
Su Lun spread his hands openly and said, "The bird’s just being greedy."
The others chuckled knowingly.
As Su Lun often kept this bird by his side to comprehend the spell of death, the Dawn group members were familiar with it and often played with it, which brought a lot of joy to everyone. Most importantly, during many past adventures, the herald of death had helped them avoid numerous life-threatening dangers. Although it couldn’t speak, it was undeniably an important member of the Dawn group.
Su Lun certainly wouldn’t treat it poorly.
But... that "Void Mother’s Brain Tissue" was a critical material for Void Potions.
Just then, Dr. Banks spoke up, "It’s okay. Producing gene potions no longer requires such high-level materials."
Su Lun listened, slightly surprised, "Doctor, have you finished talking with that person?"
"Yes. Spiritual communication is much more efficient than verbal."
Dr. Banks nodded, seemingly having gained a lot, his eyes sparkling with insight.
After pondering for a moment, he added, "Mr. Herbert and I have many overlapping areas in our research, and the comments he left have inspired me greatly."
Su Lun asked directly, "What about the research report you wanted?"
Dr. Banks looked complex and spoke with a grateful tone, "Mr. Herbert left it completely."
Hearing this, everyone’s expectant faces showed a relieved expression.
This was what they had been hoping for; having it in their hands now made the trip worthwhile.
Just then, Su Lun suddenly felt a spatial fluctuation in the room. Looking again, near the glass container, there was a separate storage space opening.
"Mr. Herbert’s storage space?"
Su Lun felt an inexplicable anticipation.
What kind of treasures might the storage space of a Great Alchemist contain?
He looked inside, and the first things he saw were various archives piled up like mountains.
But what caught his eye the most was that special colorful crystal... the size of a room!
[Fragmented Dimensional Crystal Source]
Explanation: A special crystal left behind after the collapse of dimensions, a spatial treasure containing the rudimentary principles of space; it can be used for dimensional expansion, various spatial techniques;
The description identified by this item is scarce.
But Su Lun was not puzzled; instead, he felt even more anticipated.
Being identified by the All-Seeing Eye as a "treasure" definitely meant it was no ordinary item!
Just like the [Sands of Time] he had obtained before, it wasn’t that these materials were useless, but rather, because they were too high-end, Su Lun was not yet qualified to use them in his current range of applications!
He was incredibly shocked inside, "This size... it’s exaggerated."
Before, he had bought various spatial attribute crystal cores on the market. However, due to their rarity, not only were they hard to come by, but even a piece the size of a fingernail was worth starting at a million Riso. How much would a piece as large as a house be worth?
And the energy it contained was also immensely different.
This enormous crystal in front of him was constantly radiating spatial energy like the sun, and from a distance of more than ten meters, Su Lun could clearly feel the terrifying spatial energy contained within it.
If a small piece of this was chipped off and used to perform spatial spells, it would completely eliminate the process of gathering elements. Wouldn’t spells below the sixth order be instantaneous?
Su Lun immediately thought of some practical uses for the crystal, and his thoughts kept expanding.
...
The "primary will" had opened the storage space, clearly intending to give the items to Su Lun and the others.
The members of the Dawn Group did not hesitate, efficiently moving research materials and cursed materials out of there.
Dr. Banks looked at the stacks of materials, his face lit up like he had found a treasure, his body trembling slightly with excitement.
Su Lun also placed that colorful crystal into the mini-void realm.
While everyone was busy, the crow perched on the glass container called out "caw caw" again.
Su Lun glanced at it and casually said, "I’ll get something for you to eat later."
Even though it was divine-grade material, he wasn’t stingy about feeding it to the crow, but not while he was busy. After all, handling divine-grade materials was very troublesome; their curse-like characteristics were like nuclear radiation, which could contaminate the environment if handled carelessly.
Unexpectedly, it was because of Su Lun’s permission that the crow excitedly cawed once more: The crow master is starting!
Su Lun understood its intention, sighed helplessly, and humorously remarked, "As you wish, Crow Master."
He was also curious: without his help, how would this silly bird manage to eat the meat inside the container?
The crow circled the container anxiously a few times, but because it couldn’t eat the meat that was right before its eyes, it distressingly cawed again.
Su Lun looked sympathetically and just about wanted to help it when, perhaps due to the meat’s enticing divine-quality, the crow slammed its head into the glass container.
Since the bird couldn’t kill itself by doing so, Su Lun didn’t stop it.
He was about to enjoy the spectacle when an astonishing scene unfolded before his eyes.
The crow flapped its wings to fly, and just as it seemed its head would hit the glass container, spatial fluctuations suddenly appeared on its feathers.
"Teleportation?"
Su Lun’s jaw dropped, the spatial fluctuation was eerily familiar to him.
Wasn’t this his "Teleportation" spell?
When did this silly bird learn this spell?
Looking again, the crow had dived into the culture fluid.
"..."
Su Lun hadn’t forgotten, this bird was a young divine crow from the underworld, supposedly feeding on divine decayed flesh which allowed it to grow and learn death-related powers.
Clearly, this crow had learned "Teleportation" from him.
Su Lun watched, unable to hold back laughter. The bird hadn’t shown this ability when saving its life, but had awakened it just to eat?
Then, an incredible scene played out once more.
He watched as the crow, which had wings just over a foot wide, opened its mouth and swallowed a lump of meat nearly one cubic meter in size!
Yes, just one bite!
This is another kind of spatial devouring ability...
Su Lun felt that this guy seemed to have evolved all his abilities into eating.
However, he also felt it was good, at least he was growing.
Then, the foolish creature got too full.
It barely exhausted the last bit of its energy to fly out of the jar, which saved it from drowning.
Unable to fly anymore, it lay next to the empty jar with a distended belly, looking extremely comical.
The walnut-sized head and the body a hundred times larger were disproportioned, making it look utterly ridiculous.
But the foolish bird was completely unaware, still wearing a satisfied, smug expression.
"..."
Su Lun once again fell speechless.
He did feel sorry for the materials, but since they were provisions, they were meant to be consumed sooner or later.
But these were divine-grade materials, cursed with strong properties that could easily kill a high-order magical beast. It ate such a large amount all at once, wouldn’t there be a problem?
Obviously, there was a problem.
The damned bird’s body began to emit strong spatial fluctuations, and its expression gradually became as tormented as constipation.
But it wasn’t as though it was contaminated,
rather, it seemed like... it had indigestion?
The black crow didn’t show any bad emotions, it looked as if it were constipated, struggling to defecate.
Su Lun didn’t bother with it, as it wasn’t going to die anyway.
....
While everyone was tallying their spoils, Qiān suddenly found a beautiful box among the materials, and upon opening it, it was actually three potions.
She called over Su Lun and Dr. Banks, "Su Lun, Dr. Banks, come see what potion this is?"
Su Lun walked over to take a look, and softly exclaimed, "It’s actually the finished ’Void Gene Potion’."
’Void Gene Potion Raw Liquid’
Detailed description: A genetic potion made from the spinal fluid of divine-grade void mother insects; integration requires a body tolerance rating of S, spiritual power of S+, and a bloodline inferior to that of the void lineage humans. After injection, there is a high probability of severe mutation; 95% probability of success after injection by the host, 3% probability of mutation, 2% chance of unpredictable mutations; after potion integration, evolves into void bloodline, greatly enhancing spatial affinity;
These three potions were the first batch of genetic potion raw liquids originally researched by Mr. Herbert.
However, Su Lun was surprised that a gene potion that could cause top-tier professionals to mutate, had a 95% success rate for his own integration.
Dr. Banks, who was also examining one, seemed to have recognized it and said, "This is the ’Void Gene Raw Liquid’ injected by Mr. Herbert. The energy contained in this potion is very rough, and normal humans almost certainly mutate upon integration, even those of the seventh or eighth rank."
Hearing this, Qiān asked, "Then isn’t it useless?"
Dr. Banks replied, "Yes, it’s currently unusable. But Mr. Herbert has already researched a solution to the mutation problem, which involves castrating and differentiating the void properties, and then injecting the potion in stages. This is another kind of gentler, safer method of using the potion. I already have an idea, just give me some time, and I can figure it out. And these few... require very special conditions to use."
Saying this, he suddenly turned to Su Lun and asked, "I think, Su Lun, you should try it."
Su Lun noncommittally shrugged his shoulders, curiously asking, "Doctor, how come you’re so sure I can?"
"Because the ’X Serum’ was developed under my leadership."
Dr. Banks smiled, "To suppress mutations at the genetic level, one must be biologically superior to the potion. And coincidentally, the ’Fallen Angel’ gene sequence is far superior to that of these void creatures. Since you successfully integrated the ’X Potion,’ this potion isn’t too dangerous for you."
"Oh."
Su Lun, having some knowledge of biotechnology, understood about seventy to eighty percent of it.
But Qiān and Barrett and the others were completely lost,
Seeing everyone’s confused expressions, Dr. Banks gave another easy-to-understand example: "Well... it’s kind of like grafting a pear branch onto a strong apple tree."
With this explanation, even though Qiān and the others didn’t understand the genetic technology, they grasped the general principle and showed expressions of sudden realization.
Su Lun, however, completely understood.
The Fallen Angel was very high on the biological scale, inherently of the True God bloodline.
That void mother worm, probably evolved from a tiny insect all the way to a divine-grade creature, was fundamentally still an insect.
Between them, there was absolute suppression at the genetic level.
Su Lun also hadn’t expected that a past opportunity would also grant him
a 95% chance, more than enough to attempt it. Even if he mutated, there was an expert on biological mutation right here.
Su Lun had just obtained the ’Voidwalker’s Portal’ and was about to remark on the insufficient affinity for the void, wasn’t this just perfect?
Indeed, to find the corresponding materials, coming to the specific place was the most direct way.
This journey into the void secret realm was immensely fruitful!
Speaking on this topic, Dr. Banks spoke with a solemn tone, "In fact, the ’Bloodline Potion’ has always been one of the most important paths studied by ancient alchemists to strengthen themselves. It’s just that so much heritage has been lost in the modern era, many things have to be researched from scratch. With these research data and materials, our Dawn Group can at least save a hundred years of detours in this field..."
With these words, whether it was Su Lun or the other members of the Dawn Group, all showed pleased expressions on their faces.
They all knew the significance of the ’Genetic Potion.’
It held great importance not just for their Dawn Group, but for the entire alchemical civilization!
