Chapter 160 - 159: Huge Improvement

Among the surviving Blutuk People, about 0.1% could be considered scientific researchers, a total of roughly 140,000 individuals.

Of those, only about 0.25% were involved in biotechnology, amounting to a mere 350 people.

Such a small group, even with the addition of all the technological data Li Qingsong had collected from various electronic devices, was clearly not enough to master the entirety of biotechnology.

But that didn’t really matter.

All Li Qingsong truly needed was the scientific framework.

He only needed the basic, essential principles to construct this framework, which was like having the main structure of a house already built.

The subsequent technical details were like renovating this bare-bones structure.

In the end, the framework, combined with the details, would form a complete technological system.

This wasn’t to say the details were unimportant. However, compared to the more fundamental overall framework, these details were usually technical issues. They didn’t require a genius scientist to propose some groundbreaking theory to be solved. Instead, they could most likely be overcome simply by investing resources and manpower into large-scale research.

At present, this was the case not only for biotechnology but for most technological fields within the entire Blutuk Civilization.

This meant that there were no longer any fundamental obstacles preventing Li Qingsong from elevating his technology to the level of the Blutuk Civilization; only technical hurdles remained.

And as it happened, overcoming technical obstacles was precisely what Li Qingsong—with his extremely high research and production efficiency—excelled at.

For this reason, while Li Qingsong felt some regret about the tens of billions of Blutuk People who had perished on Venus, he wasn’t overly concerned.

’It’s best to have you, but it doesn’t matter much if I don’t.’

Under the comprehensive tutelage of the mere 350 Blutuk scientists specializing in biotechnology, and through self-study with materials he had gathered, Li Qingsong’s own biotechnology soon saw a breakthrough.

Consequently, the various performance metrics of the Nuwa AI also improved dramatically.

He then conducted further research into engineering and mechanics. After all, tasks like gene editing and optimization required more advanced equipment, which in turn involved these fields. At last, equipment suitable for more advanced and precise genetic optimization and editing was created.

With all the necessary conditions in place, Li Qingsong immediately began producing a new batch of Clones. Half a year later, the time came for this latest batch to emerge.

’With such a huge breakthrough in biotechnology, how high will the maximum number of consciousness links for this batch of clones be?’

’I wonder if it will double. If it does, my maximum number of consciousness links will reach 220 million. That should be enough manpower and brainpower to digest and absorb the technology of the Blutuk People.’

Filled with anticipation, Li Qingsong carefully completed the preliminary processing for this newest batch of Clones. Then, he eagerly transferred his consciousness into one of their minds.

The next moment, Li Qingsong’s eyes widened in utter shock.

’What is happening?’

’How can it be this high?’

Li Qingsong had originally expected a twofold increase at most. Reaching 220 million would have been great, but reality had given him another surprise.

At that moment, the total number of active Clones—both standard and backup units not in hibernation—was about 330 million.

Yet, even after connecting his consciousness to all 330 million of these Clones, his mind still felt "empty," like a massive truck carrying a single small pebble.

’The increase is this massive this time?’

A thought flashed through Li Qingsong’s mind. He decisively ordered the Clones stationed at the various major hibernation bases to quickly execute the awakening protocol.

Before the war with the Blutuk People, Li Qingsong had stockpiled a total of about 3 billion Clones.

The war had consumed approximately 1.8 billion Clones. Now, apart from the 330 million active ones, about 870 million Clones remained, hibernating in 16 giant hibernation bases.

It was time to wake them.

And so, in one hibernation base after another, the lids of countless Hibernation Pods opened. The nutrient fluid was drained. The tubes connected to the Clones’ blood vessels, which had been delivering hibernation-sustaining drugs, switched to administering recovery agents instead.

The body temperature of each Clone began to rise, their heartbeats quickened, and their blood pressure increased. Finally, after a few hours of recovery, they slowly opened their eyes.

With every Clone that regained consciousness, Li Qingsong’s own consciousness instantly connected to it.

Clones emerged from their Hibernation Pods, one after another, and entered the recovery halls to begin their reawakening training and attempt to eat. The once-empty hibernation bases quickly filled with a bustling throng, becoming scenes of intense activity.

Li Qingsong quickly tallied how many Clones he was now connected to.

So far, about 70 million Clones had been awakened from hibernation and linked to his consciousness.

The number of Clones simultaneously linked to his consciousness had climbed to 400 million.

But it still wasn’t over. The feeling of emptiness had yet to disappear.

A massive number of Clones were still in the process of being awakened. It reached a point where the recovery and training facilities within the hibernation bases were filled to capacity, yet the process didn’t stop.

When designing the hibernation bases, Li Qingsong had never anticipated the need to awaken so many Clones in such a short time.

Even in wartime, there had never been a need to awaken this many Clones so quickly.

Left with no choice, Li Qingsong had to direct the first batches of awakened Clones to simply find a place to wait outside the bases. He ignored them for the time being, focusing on freeing up space for the others as quickly as possible.

Time flew by. In the end, all the Clones in the first hibernation base were awakened, then the second, the third...

By now, the number of his consciousness links had skyrocketed to 700 million, but he still hadn’t reached his limit!

One hibernation base after another was "emptied," and vast numbers of Clones gathered in various open spaces with nothing to do.

At this stage, Li Qingsong couldn’t possibly bother with assigning them tasks. That would have to wait.

It wasn’t until the twelfth hibernation base had been completely emptied, and his simultaneous connection count had risen to around 950 million, that Li Qingsong finally felt he was approaching his limit.

After switching bodies again—this time selecting the most exceptional specimen from the latest batch of Clones—his maximum number of consciousness links finally stabilized at around 980 million.

’Once I start mass-producing Clones using this latest genetic optimization technology, there will probably be some with even higher connection ceilings.’

’My maximum number of consciousness links will probably reach about one billion!’