Xiang Ning and Alia safely arrived in the private research facility. It was the most advanced research facility available, built especially for top-level staff like the Twelve Prodigies. Since Alia had been sent by Mr Dong, she naturally had the privilege of a member of the Twelve Prodigies.
His jaw dropped looking at the research facility that was more than five hundred square meters wide. Although the renovations were a little rough, the equipment was complete.
Alia placed the Kaiser Aurumsaur’s beast core aside and asked, “Alright, we won’t have much of a problem now that we’re here. What kind of weapon do you need?”
Xiang Ning thought for a moment and took out his iridium sword. “Something like this.”
Iridium swords were similar to swords found during the Tang Dynasty. They were also similar to Japanese Tachi swords, but they were straight, not curved, and only had a blade on one edge.
Alia nodded, then quickly made a sketch on a sketchbook for him. He looked and thought it was cool, though there seemed to be an additional part added at the section where the blade and hilt joined. The blade also wouldn’t be small, and he felt it would be difficult to hold it with one hand.
The blade was ten centimeters wide and its total length, including the hilt and blade, was almost Xiang Ning’s height. This wasn’t a convenient, portable weapon like his iridium sword, it was a single-edged longsword from the mid-centuries!
When Alia saw his raised eyebrows, she smiled. “If we made an exact model of your current iridium sword, do you think it could withstand the beast core’s power? You might not have comprehended the terrifying might of a bioweapon.”
“Please enlighten me then.” Xiang Ning was curious!
“Uh, how do I put this? You can treat the beast core as the core of the weapon, while the outer shell is the overall shape of the weapon made of metal. This shell must be able to withstand the power within the core so that both can successfully integrate. If the shell can’t withstand it, the core will be useless. If the shell is too heavy, it would be unable to unleash its true power, struggle to capture prey, then age and die.”
“Wait, I think I understand the first part... but what do you mean by the last part? Capture prey?” Xiang Ning was shocked that a weapon could capture prey. What did it eat exactly?
“Yes, you may treat the weapon as a real beast. It needs to eat too. But there’s risk to it—during the process of capturing prey, it’ll become more powerful. If the user is too weak, you’ll be unable to make it fight for you, and it will in turn consume you.” Alia closed her fist.
“That’s a tier four, nine-star beast core, while I’m only tier three. Will I be able to control it?”
“Probably,” said Alia.
“What do you mean, probably?!” Xiang Ning instantly lost all trust in her.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough talking. Wait here and I’ll make the outer shell for you now.” As she spoke, she walked up to a machine. Before he asked, she continued, “This is a 3D printer. The weapon you’re holding was made using this.” Alia started to adjust the volume and proportion of metallic materials needed, finally using her special privileges to add some claws obtained from fierce beasts.
Xiang Ning, on the other hand, had heard of it before. “I remember seeing on an advertisement that there’s something similar launching next year in March. I think it’s called the Forge Mk. 1 3D Printer. It looks similar, but I don’t think it’s the same thing.” He wasn’t surprised to see this printer in the fortress, since this was the military. In fact, the weapons in the market were probably old tech phased out of the military.
“The model you saw was… you can call it civilian make. This isn’t the Forge Mk. 1, this is a Thunderbolt Mk. 1. It’s probably going to take two or three years before this appears in the market.” She waved him off, so he just stood in his spot and spaced out while she started operating the machine. It would take about two hours to finish.
Xiang Ning shrugged and quietly watched her work while the 3D printer slowly printed the ‘outer shell’. Meanwhile, he also found a magnifying glass in the laboratory and started observing the details of the product. This was his first time seeing a 3D printer in action. Even the most skilful blacksmith would have to spend time polishing and correcting his work later, requiring much longer time than this machine. He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration as the weapon slowly materialized. It looked very cool; even a person who did not care about appearances like him was impressed.
The two hours passed quickly. Alia wiped the sweat from her head, then controlled a robotic arm at the console to carry the new sword into a glass enclosure. The glass enclosure was huge, and the beast core was already inside. Alia patted his shoulder and said, “It’s all up to you now. My subsequent work will require help from your Mental Power. Remember, you need to treat the beast core as a stallion, and you’re the rider. If you want it, you must tame it. That’s why I wanted you with me here,” said Alia.
She meant that Xiang Ning had stronger Mental Power than ordinary people. A beast core was the second life of a beast, containing a consciousness but no body, so it had powerful Mental Power. Upon integrating into the ‘shell’, it would instinctively retaliate. Xiang Ning would thus have to use his own Mental Power to suppress it, forcing it into the ‘shell’. If he succeeded at that, they had a very high chance of successfully making the bioweapon.
“I understand, don’t worry about me!” He pressed his fingertips to his temples, closing his eyes to focus his Mental Power.
It was all for Fang Rou. Xiang Ning had spent many Fury Points upgrading his Mental Power to tier three, seven-star. He had only upgraded to the minimum level he thought he needed, not more, because Fury Points were hard to come by. He never knew when he would need them.
Very soon, he experienced what they really meant by ‘the second life of a beast’. The beast core looked like a quiet, unassuming rock, but when it was placed near the shell and felt Xiang Ning’s mind wrapping around it, the ‘rock’ suddenly stretched like clay. However, it wasn’t fragile, but rather resembled a powerful set of muscles. Even the way it stretched looked like an actual beast.
“Stay alert. We’re beginning the integration—Xiang Ning, suppress it!”
Xiang Ning didn’t speak, but the solemn expression on his face indicated that he had already begun!
Xiang Ning and Alia safely arrived in the private research facility. It was the most advanced research facility available, built especially for top-level staff like the Twelve Prodigies. Since Alia had been sent by Mr Dong, she naturally had the privilege of a member of the Twelve Prodigies.
His jaw dropped looking at the research facility that was more than five hundred square meters wide. Although the renovations were a little rough, the equipment was complete.
Alia placed the Kaiser Aurumsaur’s beast core aside and asked, “Alright, we won’t have much of a problem now that we’re here. What kind of weapon do you need?”
Xiang Ning thought for a moment and took out his iridium sword. “Something like this.”
Iridium swords were similar to swords found during the Tang Dynasty. They were also similar to Japanese Tachi swords, but they were straight, not curved, and only had a blade on one edge.
Alia nodded, then quickly made a sketch on a sketchbook for him. He looked and thought it was cool, though there seemed to be an additional part added at the section where the blade and hilt joined. The blade also wouldn’t be small, and he felt it would be difficult to hold it with one hand.
The blade was ten centimeters wide and its total length, including the hilt and blade, was almost Xiang Ning’s height. This wasn’t a convenient, portable weapon like his iridium sword, it was a single-edged longsword from the mid-centuries!
When Alia saw his raised eyebrows, she smiled. “If we made an exact model of your current iridium sword, do you think it could withstand the beast core’s power? You might not have comprehended the terrifying might of a bioweapon.”
“Please enlighten me then.” Xiang Ning was curious!
“Uh, how do I put this? You can treat the beast core as the core of the weapon, while the outer shell is the overall shape of the weapon made of metal. This shell must be able to withstand the power within the core so that both can successfully integrate. If the shell can’t withstand it, the core will be useless. If the shell is too heavy, it would be unable to unleash its true power, struggle to capture prey, then age and die.”
“Wait, I think I understand the first part... but what do you mean by the last part? Capture prey?” Xiang Ning was shocked that a weapon could capture prey. What did it eat exactly?
“Yes, you may treat the weapon as a real beast. It needs to eat too. But there’s risk to it—during the process of capturing prey, it’ll become more powerful. If the user is too weak, you’ll be unable to make it fight for you, and it will in turn consume you.” Alia closed her fist.
“That’s a tier four, nine-star beast core, while I’m only tier three. Will I be able to control it?”
“Probably,” said Alia.
“What do you mean, probably?!” Xiang Ning instantly lost all trust in her.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough talking. Wait here and I’ll make the outer shell for you now.” As she spoke, she walked up to a machine. Before he asked, she continued, “This is a 3D printer. The weapon you’re holding was made using this.” Alia started to adjust the volume and proportion of metallic materials needed, finally using her special privileges to add some claws obtained from fierce beasts.
Xiang Ning, on the other hand, had heard of it before. “I remember seeing on an advertisement that there’s something similar launching next year in March. I think it’s called the Forge Mk. 1 3D Printer. It looks similar, but I don’t think it’s the same thing.” He wasn’t surprised to see this printer in the fortress, since this was the military. In fact, the weapons in the market were probably old tech phased out of the military.
“The model you saw was… you can call it civilian make. This isn’t the Forge Mk. 1, this is a Thunderbolt Mk. 1. It’s probably going to take two or three years before this appears in the market.” She waved him off, so he just stood in his spot and spaced out while she started operating the machine. It would take about two hours to finish.
Xiang Ning shrugged and quietly watched her work while the 3D printer slowly printed the ‘outer shell’. Meanwhile, he also found a magnifying glass in the laboratory and started observing the details of the product. This was his first time seeing a 3D printer in action. Even the most skilful blacksmith would have to spend time polishing and correcting his work later, requiring much longer time than this machine. He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration as the weapon slowly materialized. It looked very cool; even a person who did not care about appearances like him was impressed.
The two hours passed quickly. Alia wiped the sweat from her head, then controlled a robotic arm at the console to carry the new sword into a glass enclosure. The glass enclosure was huge, and the beast core was already inside. Alia patted his shoulder and said, “It’s all up to you now. My subsequent work will require help from your Mental Power. Remember, you need to treat the beast core as a stallion, and you’re the rider. If you want it, you must tame it. That’s why I wanted you with me here,” said Alia.
She meant that Xiang Ning had stronger Mental Power than ordinary people. A beast core was the second life of a beast, containing a consciousness but no body, so it had powerful Mental Power. Upon integrating into the ‘shell’, it would instinctively retaliate. Xiang Ning would thus have to use his own Mental Power to suppress it, forcing it into the ‘shell’. If he succeeded at that, they had a very high chance of successfully making the bioweapon.
“I understand, don’t worry about me!” He pressed his fingertips to his temples, closing his eyes to focus his Mental Power.
It was all for Fang Rou. Xiang Ning had spent many Fury Points upgrading his Mental Power to tier three, seven-star. He had only upgraded to the minimum level he thought he needed, not more, because Fury Points were hard to come by. He never knew when he would need them.
Very soon, he experienced what they really meant by ‘the second life of a beast’. The beast core looked like a quiet, unassuming rock, but when it was placed near the shell and felt Xiang Ning’s mind wrapping around it, the ‘rock’ suddenly stretched like clay. However, it wasn’t fragile, but rather resembled a powerful set of muscles. Even the way it stretched looked like an actual beast.
“Stay alert. We’re beginning the integration—Xiang Ning, suppress it!”
Xiang Ning didn’t speak, but the solemn expression on his face indicated that he had already begun!
