Chapter 282 - 278: Gou’s Catalyst

Chapter 282: Chapter 278: Gou’s Catalyst

The association’s building had always contained several proper laboratories, but for a long time, they had remained idle and unused.

It wasn’t until Qin Xiaoxia began conducting his various experiments that they saw occasional use. Now, they were being used more and more frequently.

The laboratories were located down the corridor symmetrically opposite the main hall.

The outdated lab style and dust-caked old equipment had long since been packed up like antiques by Qin Xiaoxia, who planned to take them to the island and stash them away in some Secret Realm.

Now, apart from a few with special requirements, most of the labs were stocked with modern equipment.

The first to familiarize themselves with this new equipment were three individuals. Or rather, to be precise, only one of them was actually human: Qin Xiaoxia.

The other two were Doudou and Hama Pi.

The latter was an Ear-Piercing Monster, a species with a natural talent for scientific research. Many of the goods they sold as merchants were their own inventions, a testament to their skill.

Doudou’s ability to pick things up so quickly stunned everyone. In the end, they could only chalk it up to interest being the best teacher.

However, after Doudou took advantage of a moment when Qin Xiaoxia wasn’t looking to use Gou Junbao’s "evolution" to successfully impregnate six female rabbits, Qin Xiaoxia slapped it with a "Banned from the Laboratory" label.

Those eye-searing rabbits were immediately and "humanely" put down by Qin Xiaoxia, successfully adding some flair to that night’s dinner.

Besides Qin Xiaoxia and the culprit, Doudou, only Hama Pi and Su Su knew about the incident. No one told Gou Junbao and his wife.

"Mentor, you’re here! I’ve prepared the basic cultures as you instructed. The activity of those three vials of genetic essence hasn’t weakened."

Hama Pi was meticulous in the lab, and he immediately reported his progress upon seeing his Mentor enter.

Looking at the Ear-Piercing Monster in his well-tailored white lab coat and the impeccably organized laboratory, Qin Xiaoxia thought, ’While Ear-Piercing Monsters lack a certain innovative imagination, their micromanagement skills are pushed to the absolute limit, and their learning ability is top-notch.’

’I’m almost hesitant to send this student, into whom I’ve poured so much effort, to carry out the off-world plan. After all, the potential benefits are as unpredictable as the stock market.’

"Hama Pi, actually... if you’re willing, you don’t have to go and face that danger."

This was Qin Xiaoxia’s way of doing right by their teacher-student bond; otherwise, he would always feel like he was pushing his student into a pit of fire.

But Hama Pi interpreted these words in a completely different way.

’I have to return to my home world sooner or later to implement the plan. This period of study has not only allowed me to learn a wealth of knowledge from my Mentor and perfect the plan, but it has also led me to understand a certain truth.’

’While imparting knowledge and concepts, my Mentor constantly drilled one proven fact into me: being a hero is a profession with a high mortality rate. Before you can become one, the entire world will be against you.’

’I’m no fool. I can hear the concern in my Mentor’s words. But I am the Child of Destiny, one who has awakened to the true meaning of life and intends to end the tragic fate of the Akenis. If I don’t step forward, what hope is there for my race?’

With one hand held behind his back, he placed his right hand over the center of his chest, where an Akenis heart lies. Then, he performed a deep bow, bending slightly at one knee.

It was a noble gesture of his own creation, a combination of Akenis and classical Earth etiquette, which Hama Pi performed with elegance.

"Mentor, just as we perfected this etiquette through research, so too has the plan been perfected. If I do not carry it out, I may save my own life, but I cannot escape the condemnation of my own conscience. As an Akenis who has now awakened, silence is not my destiny!"

A few months ago, no one would have ever associated that simple Ear-Piercing Monster with the Hama Pi of today.

Those words left Qin Xiaoxia speechless. For a moment, he felt as if he was bathing in a holy light.

"Mentor, I’m here!"

Su Su arrived a moment later, effectively ending the conversation.

"Big Bro, I’m here too!" Doudou called out, running over excitedly from behind Su Su.

Qin Xiaoxia glanced at Doudou but didn’t stop it from entering.

"Alright, time to start the experiment. Su Su, come over and do a preliminary divination. Help me create a ranked list of compatibility based on the materials’ strength."

On the workbench, active tissues from various plants and animals were arranged in culture trays. Displayed beside them were numerous ores, metals, and even crystals. At the very front, a single test tube sat on a wooden rack.

"Okay now, focus. Don’t be shy, and stop thinking about what’s in the test tube. It’s no big deal."

As he said this, he seemed to remember something and quickly rushed out the door.

"I’ll be right back! You and Hama Pi can start the first round of screening."

However, Qin Xiaoxia’s words of comfort may have had the opposite effect. Within seconds, Su Su’s Magic Power fluctuations intensified, and her entire aura changed drastically.

Judging by her crimson lips and the blush spreading across her pale cheeks, she had once again entered her high-frequency Magic Power fluctuation state—her Witch state. It seemed her personality would change whenever she entered this unique state.

At the end of the day, Su Su wasn’t exactly a pure and innocent girl. Her powerful imagination, combined with her sensitive mental state around her Mentor, had even led to her having some rather... risqué dreams at night.

The reason she blushed when her Mentor was around wasn’t really because of the essence from Gou Junbao in the test tube, but rather the result of her own overactive imagination.

Her Witch state helped her relax considerably. Or rather, in this state, she could let her imagination run as wild as it pleased; the key was that her sense of shame was greatly diminished.

Due to their short stature, both Doudou and Hama Pi had hopped onto the display counter.

"Su Su, stop getting all hot and bothered! Get to work!"

"Huh?"

The shout startled Su Su. She frantically glanced around the lab, only breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that her Mentor hadn’t returned yet.

Then, her face darkening, she moved closer to Doudou.

"Are you looking for a death wish, Doudou? If you dare run your mouth again, I’ll tell our Mentor you were trying to wreck the lab. Let’s see who he believes then—you or me!"

That shut Doudou up. ’Whoa, I didn’t expect Sister Su to get so fierce!’

He glanced at Hama Pi, who was cowering slightly before this new Su Su. ’Looks like he’s not going to be any help.’

Ignoring Doudou, Su Su snatched the test tube from the rack with her left hand. She took a deep breath and slowly enveloped all the materials on the display counter with her Magic Power.

Her eyes, now a vacant blue, flickered as countless possibilities flashed within them.

The first things she saw were all the possibilities of Gou Junbao himself "combining" with these various substances. Su Su hurriedly banished the entire series of images. ’There’s no way the Mentor wants to see this.’

After that, information about deeper-level permeability began to faintly emerge. This must be the compatibility issue her Mentor wanted to know about.

But no matter how strong the rejection, there were still trace signs of "homogenization" erosion. Even a few different ores and metals showed a certain softening of their material at the edges.

However, within the divination’s multiple possibilities, apart from the "homogenization erosion" of liquid substances, the "little tadpoles" were mostly unmoved. It seemed they could distinguish for themselves which targets were... appropriate.

This comparative divination of various substances made Sister Su realize that Brother Gou’s essence wasn’t omnipotent. Its limitations were merely due to its own current strength; if Gou Junbao himself grew stronger, his essence would naturally rise with the tide.

That "impregnate-whatever-you-poke" ability was the result of several substances within the essence working in concert, and it was naturally related to his own strength. This was consistent with her Mentor’s hypothesis.

Su Su suddenly shivered during the divination, for reasons unknown. She immediately covered her entire body tightly with her Magic Power, especially the hand holding the test tube.

When Qin Xiaoxia returned, he was holding a black, ping-pong-ball-sized mass of matter. It was a small piece of the Puppet Demon Spirit’s corpse. Separating this part had taken considerable effort; he and Mumu had restored the corpse to its original size and searched for a long time before finding this tiny piece that still retained a trace of vitality.

"Impressive efficiency!"

He came in to see Su Su and Hama Pi already labeling some of the materials on the counter. They had already arranged them in order according to the compatibility standard, and he offered them a bit of praise.

"Hmm, just as I thought. Even non-living things are affected..."

Qin Xiaoxia looked at several of the ores and some Metal Ingots—like silver, Gold, and iron. Although their ranking was low, they weren’t at the very bottom of the list.

At the very bottom, surprisingly, were Mumu’s Thorns tissue and a small piece of ocular secretion from the Eye of Void—something that looked suspiciously like eye gunk.

’Having Su Su around is so convenient,’ he thought. ’Gou Junbao really ought to thank Sister Su. Otherwise, if we had to rely solely on physical experiments to reach these conclusions, another three test tubes might not have been enough. Now, however, we can obtain these baseline results before even starting the formal experiments.’

"Hama Pi, take the other two test tubes, put them in the centrifuge, and separate the ’little tadpoles’ from the liquid."

"Yes, Mentor!"

The latter jumped down from the display counter and deftly operated the high-tech instrument.

Amid the roar of the machine, he even used his own Magic Power to help the instrument sense the separation, allowing machine and magic to complement one another.

"Su Su, try this one now."

The Puppet Demon Spirit was, after all, a Demon Spirit. At times, they were things not so different from Ghost Messengers.

Su Su took the black ball and tried again, after which she placed it between Mumu’s twig and the Demon Eye’s gunk.

"It works. Damn, Brother Gou is hardcore. He can even fuck a ghost!"

’Looks like there’s really something special about this Gou’s Catalyst,’ he mused.

...

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, a certain someone sneezed. "ACHOO!"

’Someone must be singing my praises again...’

Watching his wife happily splashing around in her bikini, then looking over at the Red Demoness drawing a Technique Array by herself on a distant stretch of sand, the ever-honest Brother Gou felt that he and his wife were being a little inconsiderate.

"Hey, Red, maybe Lili and I..."

Before he could finish, the Red Demoness shot her head up and stared daggers at Gou Junbao.

"NO!!! You two just have your fun."

"Are you sure you don’t need me to..."

"NO!!! The farther you stay away from me, the better!!!!"

Gou Junbao fell silent for a moment.

"Alright..."

PS: First Chapter for Wednesday.