"I thought collecting resources would be the hardest part."
"I never expected construction to be the real challenge." Qi Suian glanced at the complex 3D projection of the blueprint and the progress graph displayed by the AI.
It was indeed a massive project.
[The Tai Sui God has no corresponding construction or industrial modules. Its speed cannot be increased.]
When it came to fighting and killing, the Tai Sui God was in its element. However, it lacked modules for other tasks, forcing the AI to handle everything manually.
"You can’t have your cake and eat it too. If it could do everything, the Tai Sui God wouldn’t be just SSS-class," Qi Suian said.
The Tai Sui God might be known for its infinite evolution, but that came with a prerequisite. Without enough resources, it couldn’t even raise its armor value, let alone achieve infinite evolution.
So, in the beginning, Qi Suian held on to the idea that he could have it all. Later, however, he came to understand the need for trade-offs.
After all, its evolution speed depended on the supply of resources. As a fugitive, he was either fighting and killing or desperately fleeing for his life. With no status and no backing, all he could do was burn, pillage, and plunder to make ends meet.
You could say he had painstakingly raised the Tai Sui God to its current evolutionary stage, through thick and thin.
It sounded a little off, but that was the gist of it.
"Let’s put that aside. AI, what’s the status on the analysis of the black and white gunpowder?" Qi Suian changed the subject.
In his situation, he couldn’t possibly analyze the highly toxic chemical substances of the Divine Intent system with his naked eye. He had the equipment, but he simply didn’t have the time.
So he left it to the AI. For the AI, it was a minor issue.
[Analysis failed. Composition consists of unknown components, but it possesses...]
The AI quickly generated a report for Qi Suian. The data within was extremely detailed.
After reading it carefully, Qi Suian nodded. "Not bad. It’s certainly toxic enough. An ordinary person would die for sure if they ingested it."
"And yet, survivors from the Divine Intent World can use it as a stimulant."
"It’s true that different environments nurture different people. The differences between individuals really are vast."
Then Qi Suian shelved the report.
He couldn’t use it anyway. He was full of sickness, not poison.
The Profound Virus was powerful, but it was also a non-cellular life form. At the end of the day, it was a living thing.
Even if the black and white gunpowder entered his body and he wasn’t poisoned, it would only be because his immune system had eliminated the toxins, not because it had truly taken effect.
’It seems the methods for cultivating the Divine Intent system are rather limited.’
The simplest approach would be to experiment on the survivors from the Divine Intent World. Once he figured out a method, he could use them as petri dishes to extract the specific evolutionary materials he needed.
"This... isn’t this a bit too much like the Demon Dao?" The thought suddenly occurred to Qi Suian, and he slapped himself. "What time is it to be worrying about the Demon Dao?"
’I should focus more on the progress of the missile silo and the intercontinental missile. What if I’m too late and all the survivors are wiped out?’
The Sacred Artifact World was unlike the Doomsday Worlds of the past. Its inhabitants were extremely aggressive; the natives couldn’t wait to slaughter every last survivor.
It wasn’t like before, when the survivors’ enemies were mostly natural disasters. This time, it was a purely man-made catastrophe, and what’s more, they were exposed.
The tides of battle were unpredictable. A single moment of carelessness could lead to total annihilation.
Take the Eternal United States, for example. Didn’t it lose a great deal of territory after Qi Suian messed with it?
The same thing could happen to the survivors.
"AI, pick up the pace. The survivor population isn’t like the natives, who can just respawn," Qi Suian said, glancing at the survivor count.
It was constantly dropping. There might have been some growth, but Qi Suian hadn’t noticed it.
The reason for any growth, naturally, was childbirth from pregnant women.
The entire Longjing City had been transported here. It was unrealistic to think there weren’t any pregnant women.
As for whether the newborn babies counted as survivors, how would Qi Suian know? He could only guess that they did.
However, this birth rate was just a drop in the bucket compared to the death rate.
The survivors weren’t like the natives, who were supported by corresponding Sacred Artifacts. For them, "giving birth" and "respawning" were basically the same thing.
So, naturally, every survivor who died was one less survivor for good.
As for abandoning the missile silo and the intercontinental missile to leave, he was already halfway done. Giving up now would be a total letdown.
Besides, Qi Suian now had other ways to grow stronger.
After muttering a few words, he turned his attention back to the Elemental Chalice.
He had reassembled this puzzle Sacred Artifact.
The native Sacred Artifacts that comprised it had already been studied. Now, naturally, it was time to start researching the Elemental Chalice itself.
And then there was the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Magic... no, in Qi Suian’s hands, it could now be renamed the Elemental Attachment Technique.
The two restrictions, "low-level" and "poison," had been completely removed.
However, this wasn’t the result Qi Suian wanted.
The reason was simple: it had only become the Elemental Attachment Technique thanks to the puzzle Sacred Artifact, the Elemental Chalice.
Although the elements produced by the Elemental Chalice were not the same as those from the Fantasy World where the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Magic originated, they were still usable after some conversion and fine-tuning.
However, this thing had a fatal flaw: energy limitations.
Even though the requirements for poison elements and Magic Power were gone, and any element could be used, the problem for Qi Suian was that he didn’t possess any elemental power at all.
And the simplest question was, what would he do after leaving a world with an elemental environment?
Therefore, Qi Suian wanted to change it into the Gloomy Attachment Technique, using the Profound Virus directly as the enchanting energy source.
That would make things much simpler. Qi Suian himself would be the energy source, and if he ran low, he could replenish his supply through the Tai Sui God.
The Tai Sui God was extremely adaptable across many worlds, so he wouldn’t have to worry about future energy problems.
Then, by using the Profound Virus as a powerful intermediary, he could ultimately create various elemental effects.
The biggest problem he was facing now was... the Profound Virus was alive.
The elements used in the Elemental Attachment Technique were, in essence, a type of multifaceted energy.
It was different from things like Cold Energy and Vigor, but they could all be classified under the same category.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t alive.
Fortunately, Qi Suian had a solution. The simplest approach was to create the Enchantment Array out of the Profound Virus.
This would replace a dead object with a living one.
As for the problem of the Enchantment Array made from the Profound Virus being unable to fully withstand the flow of elements due to Qi Suian’s own weakness...
He wasn’t worried about that. He didn’t plan to use it directly. Instead, after completing his tests, he would install it as a module on the Tai Sui God.
He could leave the rest to the Tai Sui God’s special traits. Qi Suian wasn’t concerned.
Just like how the old, scrapped Plasma Cannon had still managed to evolve into a Floating Cannon.
He could curse the Tai Sui God for its undeservedly high Tai Sui Divine Armor Value, and he could curse it for being a glutton.
But he would never question the power of the Tai Sui God’s traits.
Once the experiment was complete, Qi Suian would gain, at the very least, multiple modules for weapons, shields, energy, and more.
The only trouble was the issue of module slots.
Fortunately, in the Sacred Artifact World, as long as he was willing to go on a killing spree, he could obtain more than enough Sacred Artifacts.
A shortage was definitely not something he’d have to worry about.
’Although, it’s possible my virus talent will break through to SS-class first.’
Qi Suian was naturally multitasking. Besides researching the Elemental Attachment Technique and the Elemental Chalice, he was also continuously refining his virus talent using a series of related data from the Plague and Disease Suite module, the Seal of the Profound Dominator, and more.
Now, he had even incorporated energy-related research.
This included factors related to elements, Fire Seed, Cold Energy, Vigor, and so on.
If he succeeded, the Profound Virus would be able to fully step into the domain of energy.
In the future, while others used energies like True Qi or Magic Power, Qi Suian’s would be rather special. He would use a virus.
Others used dead energy; he used a living organism.
By then, he would be able to transform into an energy-based, virus-type, quasi-humanoid life form.
In short, a very complex and bizarre thing.
Qi Suian really wasn’t sure what kind of thing he would become, so he temporarily referred to it as a "bizarre thing."
’Three days or so at most.’
’After my virus talent breaks through to SS-class, I should be able to figure out the Gloomy Attachment Technique.’
’At this point, the only technical bottleneck left is the Profound Virus’s capacity to carry energy.’
’Since I can’t solve the technical bottleneck, I’ll just solve the problem with the raw material.’
-----------------
"Mr. Nalan, the master has stepped out on business."
"However, he instructed me beforehand that if you were to visit, Mr. Nalan, I am to give this puzzle Sacred Artifact to you." The butler of Duke Feng’s Mansion spoke with a perfectly measured tone and handed a puzzle Sacred Artifact to Nalan You.
This was the very puzzle Sacred Artifact that Feng Yu had previously promised him for tracking purposes.
Nalan You accepted it and expressed his thanks, "Please thank the Duke for me."
He knew, of course, that Feng Yu was in the mansion; he just wasn’t seeing him.
There was simply no need to tear away the facade.
As for the butler’s attitude? It had naturally changed. Before, he had been very warm toward him.
Now, he had adopted a strictly business-like demeanor. Nalan You had already been through the drama of being rejected by his ’classmates’ several times, which was why he could now face this without much feeling.
After all, they had respected him before because he was to become the son-in-law of Duke Feng’s Mansion.
Now that there was no relationship, the fact that he could even see this butler was thanks to their past acquaintance.
Otherwise, an ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to get a meeting at all.
Furthermore, when even the master of the house, Duke Feng Yu, was avoiding him, how could a mere servant dare to openly go against his master’s wishes?
The butler’s current attitude was, in fact, already quite good under the circumstances.
"I will be sure to pass it on to the master," the butler replied.
Nalan You understood the man’s meaning. It was simply time for him to leave.
"Since I have what I came for, I must now go and seek justice for Xian Mei."
"Time is of the essence, so I will take my leave." Nalan You used the deceased Feng Yaxian as his reason, rising to his feet and leaving as soon as he finished speaking.
The butler followed, saying, "Let me see you out, Mr. Nalan."
This was out of fear that Nalan You might harbor resentment and do something detrimental to Duke Feng’s Mansion.
Therefore, escorting him out of the mansion was also a form of risk mitigation.
Nalan You glanced at him, then said, "Then I thank you, Butler."