Chapter 358 - 2: A Researcher’s Day

Chapter 358: Chapter 2: A Researcher’s Day

Stepping through the main gate, he saw researchers rushing everywhere.

Mo Zhi arrived at his research lab and walked in.

"Hi, Leader!"

"Have you eaten, Leader?"

"Leader, we finished our research on the rapid-fire Spiritual Energy Firearms last week. What are we doing next?"

...

Mo Zhi sat down at his desk, and researchers soon came over to greet him and ask about the next research plan.

"For our next research topic, let’s start by looking into more advanced Magic projection devices."

"Right now, all we have is the Elemental Missile Generator. Elemental Missiles are the simplest, lowest-damage Magic. We need other types, like various magic rays or more advanced Magic."

"First, research the feasibility. See what our current Rune Technology and manufacturing processes are capable of."

"Then, we’ll hold a meeting to discuss it."

...

Mo Zhi laid out the upcoming research goals.

Indeed. Although Mo Zhi had only recently graduated from the Spiritual Power and Comprehensive Science College and joined the research institute, he was already the leader of a research group. This was all thanks to his innate talent.

After Mo Zhi survived his Celestial Tribulation, he awakened his innate ability. However, this ability was different from that of other Crow Demons—in fact, it was different from most members of the Demon Race who had awakened their talents.

His innate ability was called "Spiritual Energy Construction." It allowed him to use Spiritual Energy to construct and materialize items, enabling him to create any object he could comprehend with Spiritual Energy.

In the hands of a common brute, this ability might only be used to create simple weapons like swords and spears.

But Mo Zhi was no ordinary crow. He was a researcher of extraordinary intelligence. Furthermore, his field of study was all kinds of Spiritual Weapons (of the mechanical variety), so he could easily construct Spiritual Energy Firearms and Spiritual Bombs.

In his hands, regardless of its combat power, this innate ability was extremely beneficial to his work, making him an exceptionally skilled validator of experiments.

To find out if a researched weapon would work, and how well it would work, he could simply construct it with Spiritual Energy and test it.

Ever since he awakened his ability, he had been highly sought after by everyone at the research center. After agreeing to spend five days a month helping the various centers test their experimental samples, he was granted the right to establish his own independent research group.

To outsiders and insiders alike, this research group was dedicated to studying various Spiritual Weapons.

But for Mo Zhi, it was a research group that strengthened his ability, made him more versatile, and increased his combat power.

After a short break, Mo Zhi picked up the reports submitted by the researchers on his team and began to read them carefully.

...

An hour later, Mo Zhi had finished the reports and made his annotations. Looking through the window at the dozen or so researchers on his team busily working in the lab, Mo Zhi revealed a fond, proud smile.

Afterward, Mo Zhi went to Weapons Test Site 5.

A spiritual light flickered around him, and the latest model of a rapid-fire Spiritual Energy Gun materialized in front of him. The gun took aim at a distant target and fired, sending a stream of blue, high-energy light pulses hurtling toward it.

When the light pulses hit the distant target, they left a scorched mark. The continuous fire caused the target’s temperature to rise steadily until finally, the specially-made, heat-resistant metal target melted completely.

A new target, made of a different material, then popped up to replace the previous one.

Mo Zhi continued to control the rapid-fire Spiritual Energy Gun and kept shooting. Under the barrage, the target was gone in moments.

Then a third target of a different material appeared...

A continuous stream of targets, each of a different material, appeared and were all destroyed by the sustained fire. Only when no new targets appeared did Mo Zhi stop shooting.

Several reports printed out from a machine beside Mo Zhi. He picked them up and examined them closely. They contained records of the target hits and various ballistic data. He shook his head, not quite satisfied.

’Simply compressing Spiritual Energy and firing it results in insufficient power. Its only advantage is its versatility; it has a similar effect on targets of any material.’

"Let’s call this gun the LF-1. It will be the basic model for our rapid-fire Spiritual Energy Guns."

’Next, let’s try a rapid-fire gun that doesn’t compress Spiritual Energy. Instead, it will convert Spiritual Energy into elemental energy and then compress that to fire Elemental Missiles.’

The firearm in front of Mo Zhi began to transform. While its overall shape remained the same, its components shifted, and the internal Rune Array changed.

Mo Zhi modified the rapid-fire gun as he thought. A few minutes later, a new firearm had taken shape. Compared to the basic model, its lower-middle section protruded slightly. This was because the newly added Spiritual Power Conversion Rune Array and Elemental Energy Activation Rune Array required more space.

Then, Mo Zhi picked up a bottle of Spiritual Energy Supplement from a nearby table and downed it in one gulp.

The supplement, created by purifying and then diluting the Spiritual Energy-restoring components from Life Spring Water, rapidly replenished the Spiritual Energy in Mo Zhi’s body.

’Sigh... this innate ability is useful, all right, but it consumes way too much Spiritual Energy. Maybe the next research project should be developing an External Spiritual Energy Source!’

’Hmm... I heard there’s been a breakthrough with Artificial Spiritual Crystals recently. I wonder if they’ve managed to create Mid-Level Spirit Crystals yet. The Basic Spirit Crystals contain too little Spiritual Energy. You’d need a ton of them to build a decent energy source.’

’Speaking of which, the controllable nuclear fusion reactors from Glacier World are pretty good. But they’re too dangerous, too bulky, and difficult to modify. They also involve the microscopic domain, and the territory’s progress in rune-microscopy is limited right now. We can’t handle those reactors.’

’If no one else is working on it, I’ll just have to do it myself. With a portable Spiritual Energy source, my innate ability could be much more effective.’

While waiting for his Spiritual Energy to recover, Mo Zhi’s thoughts had unknowingly drifted off topic...

Once his Spiritual Energy was fully restored, Mo Zhi controlled the modified fire-element rapid-fire gun and began shooting at the target.

The shooting didn’t last long, however, as the fire-element rapid-fire gun itself melted.

Mo Zhi wasn’t surprised. Experiments rarely go smoothly; accidents are to be expected.

He picked up the gun and inspected it carefully.

’Was the temperature too high? The gun’s frame couldn’t withstand the heat. It looks like I either need to contain the temperature, cool the gun, or change the material. Hmm... I could also contain the fire element’s energy and have it explode on contact, something like a fireblast...’

Mo Zhi thought as he modified the firearm, then fired again once the modifications were complete, repeating the cycle over and over.

And so, short, continuous bursts of gunfire echoed from Weapons Test Site 5 at regular intervals...

The gunfire in Test Site 5 finally ceased as dusk fell.

Mo Zhi dematerialized the firearm in front of him, which was now mangled beyond recognition, recorded the new experimental data, and walked out of the test site.

It was quitting time. He hadn’t eaten lunch; the Spiritual Energy Supplement had made him feel full.

The big dinner after work was something he looked forward to every day. After that, he could go back to his dorm and play games.

The "useless" game consoles adapted from Glacier World technology were surprisingly fun. Many people at the institute loved playing them, but unfortunately, they could only be played at the institute and couldn’t be taken home.

Only after seeing Mo Zhi leave the lab did the other researchers in his group pack up their things and leave for the day.

...