Chapter 116: What Is a Crown to Me?
Under the government's relentless efforts, working round the clock in three shifts and sparing no expense, the first phase of the experimental facility was completed like a miracle a month later.
Benefiting from the successful implementation of ideological education within the military, Huaxia still maintained a considerably high degree of control over its military. Although Ability Users occasionally caused trouble in various regions, they had not formed separatist armed forces like in the United States.
Just as the experimental facility was completed, Bai Mo received a call from Hu Feng.
"Mr. Bai, the first phase of the experimental facility is complete. Mr. Liu would like to ask when the experiment can begin."
"If the materials and equipment are ready, then it can begin at any time," Bai Mo said, setting down the pen in his hand.
"That's good. In two days, at ten in the morning, a special car will pick you up and take you to the experimental facility."
"The car needs to be a bit larger. I need to transport about five hundred jin of items."
"Yes." Hu Feng was once again taken aback by Bai Mo's directness.
"Is there anything else?"
"Goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Bai Mo began planning his next tasks.
...
Two days later, Bai Mo carried three "corpses" and some necessary items, stepping into the military vehicle sent to pick him up.
Although the guards in the car were a bit surprised, having been briefed beforehand, they still acted as if they saw nothing.
The car drove all the way to the outskirts of Tianqing. Bai Mo sat in the car, propping his head with his right hand, and quietly gazed at the scenery outside the window.
"Send the items in the car to my laboratory." Upon arriving at the heavily guarded experimental facility, Bai Mo instructed a nearby guard.
"Understood."
"This way, let's go to the conference room first."
...
"Good morning, everyone." Bai Mo walked through the door and found that inside, just like he often saw on television, a group of leaders were gathered in a circle, discussing matters of national importance.
"You're here?" The one who spoke first was a vigorous old man. After he spoke, the conference room immediately fell silent.
"Hello." Bai Mo nodded, showing not the slightest hint of deference as a junior.
By today, no one present still viewed him as a junior, and simply overlooked such formalities.
"Everyone, feel free to try the new thing I've developed this month." Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Bai Mo directly took out several test tubes of tea-brown reagent from his pocket.
"This potion was formulated after some special refinement of Liquid Gold. Its effect is relatively mild and it won't be as irritating as the original Liquid Gold solution. At the same time, it can accelerate the Spirit Energy Conversion of the Spirit Animation Stage to a certain extent," he then explained.
Although everyone present was somewhat tempted by his words, their long-standing caution prevented them from acting immediately. Instead, they looked at each other, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
"I'll do it." After hearing the news, Hua Taishan, who had come to the experimental facility with the others, stepped forward to proactively break the awkward silence. Relatively speaking, he was the person present who had dealt with Bai Mo the longest and understood his situation the most.
"Long time no see."
"It's been a while since we met. I didn't expect you to reach this stage so quickly. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared."
"I didn't bother with flavoring, so it might not taste very good. Furthermore, your Spirit Energy Conversion level is already quite high, so this reagent won't have too strong an effect on you."
"I've practiced martial arts my entire life. How could I not endure a little bitterness?" Hua Taishan said with a laugh, pulling out the stopper and swallowing the potion in one gulp.
After drinking the potion, Hua Taishan's expression became somewhat strange. His smiling face suddenly scrunched up, and a hint of tears appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"This..." Seeing Hua Taishan's sudden change in expression, Hua Changjiang, standing nearby, couldn't stand still.
"I'm fine, it's just that this potion is too sour!" Hua Taishan uttered this sentence with difficulty.
The expected bitterness of good medicine did not appear. Instead, there was an unusual sourness, as if he were eating a raw lemon and trying to savor its taste.
"The potion should take effect within about ten minutes. What level of Spirit Animation are you, approximately?"
"I've compared it to the public descriptions, and it should be the fifth level, the initial level of the Life Field Stage. Did you write those specific level descriptions?" Hua Taishan recovered quickly and began to sense the changes in his body using his Life Field.
"I wrote the outline. Then I uploaded it to the institute's internal database for them to organize."
...
"Bai Mo, have you checked how many Contribution Points you have under your name?"
"No, it's just a number anyway."
"What were your thoughts when you first proposed this system?"
"When I proposed it, I didn't think I would climb to the top of the pyramid so quickly. Originally, I estimated it would take me five to ten years to reach this stage."
"Five to ten years, huh? You're truly confident."
"One step ahead, always ahead."
"The world is unpredictable. Who would have thought that we old men would have a day to regain our youth?" Cheng Mu, as the leader of the group, sighed with emotion.
"Why did you choose to cooperate with us instead of joining the movement to overthrow our rule? With your power, to be honest, you'd have a chance to become the founding emperor," he asked directly.
"Even if I became the Emperor of Huaxia, what good would that do?" Bai Mo chuckled. "Just for a harem of three palaces and six courtyards?"
"True. Your eyes..."
"That's a minor matter. The most crucial point is this: this world currently has nothing. There are no cultivation techniques from predecessors, no ancient divine artifacts, not even a single magical treasure. Everything has to be explored from scratch. If I were this emperor, I wouldn't gain anything. It's better to cooperate with you and focus solely on research, without having to deal with so many troublesome political affairs."
"Haha." Cheng Mu was stunned by this bizarre line of reasoning and could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.
...
"How's the potion's effect?" Bai Mo asked, calculating the time.
"Not bad. A few more bottles and I'll reach the sixth level of Spirit Animation."
"The daily limit is one test tube's worth. Here are two more." He placed both test tubes on the table, allowing the group of old men to pick them up and examine them.
With Hua Taishan's example preceding them, Cheng Mu and Liu Zhen calmly drank the tea-brown potion. The sour taste naturally gave them quite a struggle as well.
"This is the first level of the Spirit Animation Stage?" Ten minutes later, Liu Zhen momentarily lost control, and sparks of electricity shot out from his fingertips.
"Golden Spring only has a certain possibility of directly entering the first level of Spirit Animation. However, its drug resistance hasn't been tested yet," Bai Mo said to Cheng Mu, who hadn't activated any abilities yet.
After seeing their former colleagues gain abilities and step into a new world, the others also began to grow restless.
"With the raw materials I currently have, about thirty tubes of this breakthrough potion can be produced. I'll bring over the other finished products later. Before new materials arrive, this is likely the only number there will be. As for how you distribute them, that's not my concern."
...
"I'd like to talk to you." While others were exchanging benefits over this groundbreaking invention, Cheng Mu walked up to Bai Mo and continued to ask. He was more interested in Bai Mo himself than in the benefits brought by Golden Spring.
"Is there something?"
"How do you... view this world?"
"That question is too abstract."
"Then more specifically, what kind of system do you think would be suitable for the future?"
"A hierarchical system is unavoidable. The chasm between lives is too great. At the very least, I won't talk about equality with people I can kill with a single thought."
"Including us?"
"You can think that way. However, we still have a common basis of interest now, and we can continue to cooperate for a long time. So, you should seize the time to grow stronger, because perhaps one day, I won't be so reasonable."
"You're a frank madman and completely disregard what others think."
"The last person who said that is already dead." Bai Mo revealed a devilish smile..
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