Chapter 309: The Impending Crisis

Chapter 309: The Impending Crisis

The Sapphire Princess cruise ship sailed on the Andaman Sea, gradually sinking into the horizon and disappearing amidst the sparkling stars.

On an island in the Andaman Sea, Lu Heng's team of four stood on the shore, watching the vanishing cruise ship.

Lin Zeyu, puzzled, asked, "Why not eliminate this guy?"

After Lu Heng and Gordon Jacob finished their conversation, they disembarked and reunited with the team.

Hearing Lin Zeyu's question, Xie Shi En smiled and said, "Killing this person is easy, but it's pointless.

"If you kill one Gordon Jacob, another will step forward to take his place.

"The Eliemer Biopharmaceutical Group has operations in over 60 countries and regions worldwide, with more than 260 companies and laboratories, employing a total of 130,000 people.

"Killing a major shareholder of a pharmaceutical group like this is utterly useless.

"The Creator Organization can simply appoint another person to take over the group the very next day.

"By then, we won't even know who the Creator Organization has chosen to control.

"For now, we at least know that Gordon Jacob is a member of the Creator Organization, and through him, we can speculate on their actions."

Lu Heng nodded in agreement, "Indeed, keeping him alive allows us to better control the situation."

Lin Zeyu furrowed his brows in thought and asked, "Then what about the super ability serum? I know several people who have become dependent on it."

Before joining the team, he had always been part of the second-generation circle of a coastal family, and most of his friends were young masters from large conglomerates and wealthy families.

Currently, the price of the SPA super ability serum could easily reach tens of millions for a single dose, and only this group could afford it.

Of course, this was the domestic price; the price was much cheaper abroad.

Therefore, this group sometimes sought purchasing agents, but the super ability serum had been listed as a prohibited substance, and possession was considered a serious crime.

Now, this group had started a trend of traveling abroad to inject the serum in countries where it was not illegal.

In short, many of Lin Zeyu's former acquaintances had become dependent on the super ability serum.

Previously, someone had even recommended that he inject it too, but he remembered Lu Heng's words—injecting the serum meant expulsion from the team.

Having been teammates for so long, he understood Lu Heng's character well when it came to serious matters; he was unwavering in his decisions.

So, Lin Zeyu dared not touch the serum, and after witnessing the ability user who went insane and craved human blood after injecting it, he was even more reluctant to do so.

Su Muyu had thoroughly studied the mechanism of dependence caused by the super ability serum, and it was similar to the function of endorphins.

Thus, she understood from a scientific perspective why the serum should not be touched.

Hearing Lin Zeyu's question, she sighed and said, "Once someone uses the super ability serum, they're essentially doomed, and there's almost no hope for recovery."

Lin Zeyu couldn't help but sigh, "Is there really no solution at all?"

"Actually... there are a few ways to address the side effects of the super ability serum," Lu Heng was aware of several methods to counteract the serum's side effects.

"What are they? Tell me quickly!"

Lu Heng raised two fingers, "According to my understanding, there are two ways to resolve the side effects of the super ability serum."

"What are they? Tell me!"

"The first method is mechanical transformation, like the Siks Civilization, where you transform your body into a machine, completely freeing yourself from the shackles of the flesh and thus becoming immune to the serum's effects," Lu Heng explained, offering the most straightforward solution.

The effects of the super ability serum, ultimately, act on human cells, and the side effects reside within the cells.

Therefore, by removing all bodily cells, one naturally becomes immune to the side effects.

Mechanical transformation can achieve this requirement.

Not only does mechanical transformation address the side effects of the serum, but it also grants immunity to all drugs and viruses, with computer viruses being a separate case.

"This..."

Lin Zeyu understood that this method could indeed resolve the side effects of the serum, but doing so would mean giving up one's body, and it was questionable if one could still be considered human.

He pressed further, "And the second method?"

Xie Shi En smiled and continued, "The second method is more challenging, but it can indeed resolve the side effects of the super ability serum."

Lin Zeyu raised an eyebrow and waved his hand, "I get it, no need to explain further. I know what it is."

As soon as Xie Shi En started speaking, Lin Zeyu knew what the method was.

The method was indeed straightforward and effective—transforming into a lich would do the trick.

By becoming a lich, one abandons life and places their soul into a soul vault, thereby freeing the body from the constraints of cellular life.

The effect is similar to mechanical transformation, granting immunity to all drugs and viruses, except for being particularly vulnerable to holy magic.

In summary, to free oneself from the side effects of the super ability serum, one must give up their body, either by dying and becoming an undead or transforming into a robot.

Comparatively, mechanical transformation is more feasible, while transforming into a lich is extremely challenging and difficult to achieve.

In fact, during the previous life, the rampant use of the super ability serum had severely affected many top-tier ability users. As their peak period passed, the side effects became increasingly apparent.

These ability users began seeking solutions to counteract the serum's side effects, and various methods were attempted.

The most effective and easily achievable method was mechanical transformation.

In the third year after the Abyss's arrival, many high-combat ability users who had injected the serum would transform their bodies into machines to reduce the impact of the side effects.

Mechanical transformation did free these ability users from their dependence on the serum, but it also stripped them of their life's original characteristics.

To enhance the combat power of a mechanical body, one could only replace it with a more powerful machine, losing the ability to continuously upgrade their strength as a living being, thus stagnating their combat power.

……

"Let's go. We should head back too."

Lu Heng mounted the Mechanical Tiger and soared into the sky, returning to Daxia.

The other three also displayed their unique abilities and flew back together.

Along the way, Lu Heng remembered something and said, "Oh, right, 013 asked me about the Soul Vault appearing in the Elven World, and they suspect you... Well, to be precise, they suspect that 027 was summoned into the Elven World."

"I'm afraid your identity won't remain hidden for long. With 027 appearing in both the Black Iron Dwarf World and the Elven World, they'll surely suspect you if they cross-reference the summoners from both worlds."

Xie Shi En pondered for a moment and nodded, "I understand. My identity being exposed is only a matter of time. I hope that before it's revealed, I can gain as much combat power as possible."

Regarding this matter, Lu Heng had been considering various solutions over the past few days:

"The Creator Organization only knows that Augustus used the Soul Vault, but they aren't certain if the one he used is the one you took."

"So, 027 being summoned to the Elven World is merely the Creator Organization's speculation, without concrete evidence."

"I was thinking the other day about whether to create the illusion that the Soul Vault is still with 027."

"If the Soul Vault is still with 027, then it proves that the one Augustus used wasn't the one you took."

"But after careful consideration, I realized that doing so would be too deliberate and might arouse their suspicions."

Xie Shi En nodded in agreement, "You're right in your thinking. We shouldn't intentionally release this information. I'll think of a way to make the Creator Organization work harder to trace the clues to the Soul Vault, so it won't seem too deliberate."

...

After returning to the coastal area, Lu Heng spent half a day practicing the skill Thunder Jail, raising its proficiency to the maximum (3000/3000).

This skill had been upgraded to B-rank long ago, and since it wasn't used frequently and he hadn't specifically trained it, he only now maxed out its proficiency.

Upgrading a B-rank skill requires 1500 Divine Energy points.

The last time Lu Heng returned from the Elven World, he received a 3600 Divine Energy point reward, which, combined with his remaining points, totaled 3700 Divine Energy points, enough for the upgrade.

Lu Heng unlocked the skill lock for Thunder Jail and infused 1500 Divine Energy points, merging them with the energy spheres in the skill slot.

After several minutes, the two energies completely fused, forming a new energy sphere.

Lu Heng closed the skill lock and then checked the skill information.

[Skill "Thunder Jail" upgraded to "Thunder Field".]



[Thunder Field]



[Skill Level: A-rank]



[Skill Consumption: 120 Origin Energy points]



[Skill Range: 20-meter diameter]



[Duration: 20 seconds]



[Skill Effect 1: Summon the power of thunder and lightning, weaving a force field of thunderbolts in the target area, pulling all targets within a 20-meter range to the center of the Thunder Field. The Thunder Field continuously strikes with lightning, dealing X lightning damage with a paralyzing effect. Lightning damage = 3 x Mental Energy per second.]



[Skill Effect 2: When the caster attacks within the Thunder Field, their attacks inflict additional lightning damage. Lightning damage = 3 x Mental Energy.]



Upon seeing the skill effects, Lu Heng's eyes lit up.

This skill had evolved into a force field-type skill.

The power of Thunder Field far surpassed that of Thunder Jail.

The strength wasn't in the first skill effect but in the second one.

The caster's attacks within the Thunder Field dealt additional lightning damage, and the damage value was quite terrifying.

This meant that within the Thunder Field, a rapid sword thrust could unleash over a dozen lightning strikes in an instant, capable of instantly defeating opponents of the same level.

...

The next day, Lu Heng received a message from Xie Shi En asking to meet.

After meeting, Xie Shi En, still catching his breath, asked a question, "Is there a problem with the biotechnology data you gave to the Creator Organization?"

Only three people knew the secret of this biotechnology data: Lu Heng, Su Muyu, and Xavier Matrix.

Lin Zeyu and Xie Shi En were teammates, but they didn't need to be informed about everything.

The fewer people who knew the secret of the biotechnology data given to the Creator Organization, the lower the risk of the secret being exposed.

Xie Shi En indeed didn't know what secret was hidden within the data, but he understood Lu Heng's character well.

The task of submitting the biotechnology data to the Creator Organization was initially given to Xie Shi En, who was then 027.

At the time, Lu Heng was clearly reluctant to hand over the data but later submitted it to the Creator Organization.

Xie Shi En didn't need to ask to guess that there was a problem with the data.

Hearing Xie Shi En's question, Lu Heng nodded, "Yes, there's a problem."

Xie Shi En continued, "Will the secret be discovered?"

Lu Heng thought for a moment and replied, "Theoretically, no. With humanity's current technological level, they can't detect the trap within the data."

Xie Shi En frowned, "Can the Siks Civilization discover the trap within it?"

Lu Heng's eyebrows rose, "That... is possible, but only if it's a biotechnology research unit within the Siks Civilization."

Xie Shi En took a deep breath, "In that case, this matter becomes more complicated. Someone from the Creator Organization has been summoned to the Siks Civilization."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end