Chapter 1562
Chapter 1562 - 1558: The Stone of Life
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7 min read
"Originally, everyone was prepared for it to take at least four to five years before you could present any initial results. They were all ready for it to take up to twenty years to produce anything of value..."
As the client, the Martial God Church seemed to be overly generous with their terms, but if these demands were actually laid out and given to a typical high-level life series, they’d probably curse and run off.
What, create life with the potential for civilization and expect preliminary results in five years? Phase-specific practical results in twenty? Why not just ascend to heaven, or better yet, have Goddess Nuwa herself create life?
"Truth be told, I didn’t expect it either... I was really planning to embezzle ten years’ worth of funding."
"Hehe, what a jokester you are." The special commissioner from the headquarters of the Martial God Church chuckled, taking Lu Ping’an’s word as a sense of humor.
"He’s not lying, in front of me, there are no lies." Trina seemed to laugh merrily, but she actually had such ability? This was the first time Lu Ping’an was aware of it.
But saying the truth at that moment, made the situation awkwardly embarrassing.
You scam funding all you want, doesn’t everyone do that? Why spout it out loud, it looks so unseemly.
"Cough... Isn’t this a testament to your capabilities? The speed of the results has even surpassed your own best expectations!"
It’s a feat for the Envoy in front of us to steer the conversation back, keeping his smile intact.
But the truth is, regardless of the original plan, Lu indeed achieved phase results beyond everyone’s expectations. Naturally, it was a comforting and positive occurrence... especially when the conditions on the frontline were increasingly unfavorable.
Exactly for this reason, the high-level decision-makers were paying more and more attention to this project. The reason why an advanced combat power like Trina was rotating here for a "holiday", swinging by Lu’s place to become both assistant and bodyguard, was not without rationale.
And Lu Ping’an, having produced the results, made it clear with his invitation for them to come and take a look...
"Come take a look, also, increase the funding."
Lu Ping’an’s attitude was blunt. He didn’t bother to elaborate since the other side understood it quite well. The influx of resources and capital that day alone jumped by thirty percent, along with people sent to ask what else Lu Ping’an needed.
What Lu Ping’an returned was a large box.
"You guys can use this batch of experimental products first. If you’re a strongman, you shouldn’t die... though personally, I suggest you don’t use them too frequently."
"Eh, are there any side effects?"
What Lu Ping’an took out was a box of "Artificial Tearstones," which was also the mass production of the previous experimental batch.
The biggest difference from the original version was probably that it’s a "diluted" version, and therefore a consumable.
"The high-tier local life forms we cooperate with are all very important..."
If it could harm the local allied life forms, then the Martial Combat Church wouldn’t dare to use them much. Causing damage was not a big deal, but once there is a "victim", it might lead to a chain reaction of distrust.
"It won’t... Some weak Elemental Life forms have self-destructed because of it, but in reality, those with a strength above the standard can hang on. The problem is, they might not be able to stop using it."
"Eh? Are you suggesting... addiction?"
"No no no, this is aimed at all ages, how could it possibly contain that sort of thing. Psychologically, it just causes a certain degree of continuous anticipation, even long-term dependence."
"That’s basically... Alright, alright, I won’t say any more."
Now, this special commissioner’s gaze at those gemstones became even more fervent.
In fact, the most painful part of the local Church’s development has always been the lack of support from local powers. Merely relying on native support... with supply lines stretched to such lengths, it all seems utterly hopeless, no matter how you look at it.
Even if considering migration, taking into account the local environment, the Weaker and Mortals simply can’t survive here, let alone other alien species from the Foreign Domain... Even the desert Lizard-men, armored in scales, cannot reproduce in this cursed world.
If it weren’t for this world’s tremendous development value, and the fact that just by staying, High-Tier Life’s combat power could continuously increase, while mid-tier combat power could also steadily rise, the Martial God Church might have already given up.
"If we could get the support of the local residents..."
This has always been the greatest pain for outsiders. Lu Ping’an saw this aspect too, and that’s why his bottomless pit of a money-swindling scheme passed so easily.
After all, the daily basic maintenance costs are astronomical, so your share won’t make much of a difference. What if it actually worked?
"...I really didn’t expect it to come true so quickly."
"It’s only a prototype. And it’s not the real medicine, so don’t expect to completely control those at the top. To them, this is more like a high-quality luxury."
The intellect of high-level Elemental Life forms isn’t low... Although many of them lack the common sense of humanoid species, their capacity for logical thinking and memory recall is not poor, and sometimes their behaviors exceed the expectations of human Wise Men.
But still, they are quite lackluster in desire.
Towards outsiders, they mostly adopt an ignoring attitude. Even if they come to cause trouble, it’s probably with the mindset of "seeking fun."
The materials, knowledge, and luxury goods that humans can provide hold no meaning to them. Those "emotionless" beings also fail to comprehend human cultural products. When facing an entity that just can’t be traded with, yet possesses goods that one’s own side needs, there really isn’t much that can be done.
"One could probably absorb it three times, with the duration being uncertain. The first batch only has ’gluttony’, ’combativeness’, and ’pain’, you’d best try it out before using it..."
For "humans" without taste, the sudden enjoyment of delicious food naturally leads to an inability to stop.
High-tier Elemental Life doesn’t have to worry about dying from overeating, but the sensory stimulus of "gluttony" can cause strong psychological dependence.
Pain serves as a life-warning to avoid danger, yet it is also the sensation of "being alive."
Combativeness goes without saying—it is one of the foundations of Life evolution, and also something that local life forms greatly lack... They may fight, but it’s simply combat. When they win or lose they stay quite rational; thus, they won’t strive for victory, nor do they feel the joy of victory.
The self-confidence and self-esteem of the Strongman stem from continuous victories, making this "combativeness" extremely important in shaping one’s personality.
In fact, Lu Ping’an has also deciphered several "emotional hormones," including "reproductive impulses," "jealousy," "fear"... Uh, it’s better not to carelessly use these on the local high-level Elemental Life forms.
"Heh, I’m kind of looking forward to the reactions of those who use it..."
At least the results of Lu’s own experiments have been quite positive.
Lu Ping’an’s "Life Silver Rune" technology is equivalent to implanting an "external gland" within those large Elemental Life forms that have already matured, secreting pheromones they can understand and merge with... If there were no organs, Lu Ping’an created one.
These uniformly imbued Artificial Tears Stones of life’s emotions also naturally earned the nickname "Tearstones," and it seems Lu has more material for his academic papers.
And yet, this is still just the beginning.
"The 101st social experiment begins..."
As numerous trucks brought in experimental specimens and materials, the "village" initiative of Lu Ping’an was once again initiated.
Newborn "Fusion Apes," each merged with "more than six sins of humanity," how long they could survive this time... Lu Ping’an hoped to see a community in a village, instead of the mutual slaughter to extermination of yesterday.
— End of Chapter 1562 —