Chapter 1000: Chapter 998: Fifteen Days of Preparation
Blue Lake Estate, Eden Garden.
In the main laboratory, Richard sat at the circular experiment table, silently pondering over the recent events he’d experienced.
After ten minutes of contemplation, he sighed lightly, confirming that his previous actions were reasonable, and indeed, there was no better way to handle Long Mei’er’s order to close the mine. After all, for Long Mei’er to mention closing the mine indicated that he had already picked up on some clues, and any sneaky actions like agreeing on the surface while secretly continuing mining wouldn’t fool him.
Given this, Long Mei’er’s orders left him with only two possible responses: to adopt a resistant attitude as before or to comply and completely give up resisting.
Comparing the two, even if the former failed, he would have a 15-day respite, which he could use to extract as much remaining uranium from the Shambhala Mine as possible.
As for why it was exactly 15 days, that was the result of careful consideration.
If the time was too short, even hastening the mining wouldn’t yield enough raw material to produce nuclear weapons, making no substantial difference.
If the time was too long, Long Mei’er might realize it was just a stalling tactic and not agree.
Thus, 15 days is a relatively safe choice.
Besides, he might not necessarily fail.
Indeed, Long Mei’er is strong, capable of easily killing enemies of Level 4 Wizard strength, making him the strongest presence Richard had encountered thus far. But the agreed outcome wasn’t to kill, or even defeat, but merely to injure him.
That already set the conditions at the lowest; if he couldn’t even achieve that, there would be no point in researching the world’s truth anymore.
Of course, necessary preparations still needed to be made, and the 15 days of time gained should not be wasted.
So, let’s begin... Richard said to himself, standing up and walking out of the door.
...
Mechanical Processing Sector, Research Room No. 1.
Richard appeared here, working on engraving magic runes onto the body of a miniature magic tracking missile at the processing station.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
The end of the processing instrument grazed the missile body, quickly creating smooth grooves, then filling them with special magic liquid metal that solidified, thereby enhancing the power of the miniature magic tracking missile.
It could be seen that the currently processed miniature magic tracking missile differed from previous models. Its body was more slender, and the magic runes were more complex; these were some temporary improvements.
Some improvements were indeed quite risky, immature, and potentially hazardous, but Richard continued making them. He knew that for Long Mei’er, such a weapon might struggle to inflict effective damage, so rather than tickling him with old, proven versions, trying a few bold ideas might bring Long Mei’er some surprises.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
While thinking, Richard continued processing.
...
Three days later passed in the blink of an eye.
Richard appeared at the magic test field’s heavenly pit in Eden.
In the pit, Richard stood at the edge of the bottom, looking ahead at a row of lead-grey metal humanoid targets set up to test attack power.
By today, he had completed the manufacture of the miniature magic tracking missile, but he was here not to test the effects of these missiles, but to test a light-based spell.
This light-based spell was mastered during his research on light energy, alongside spells like Achilles Armor and Langdonick’s Spear. Due to its special nature, he had never used it before, but now he intended to give it a try.
"Hoo——"
Richard took a deep breath, feeling the air fill his lungs, then willed the energy elements in his magic origin to flow. The elements quickly coursed through specific channels in his body into an active state, then surged out, bringing about its effect.
"Swish!"
Richard’s entire body suddenly shone brilliantly, enveloped entirely in dazzling golden light, making his silhouette invisible. Then, a half-meter thick light beam roared as it shot out, blasting toward the distant metal targets.
"Sizzle!"
A sound echoed as the light beam hit the target, causing the metal humanoid to evaporate on the spot.
A few seconds later, the light beam vanished, revealing Richard’s figure once more. He glanced at the remaining targets towards the left and right edges, his lips slightly pursing.
...
Seven days later.
Main Laboratory.
Richard sat at the circular experiment table, squinting at the two "Void Books" and Allen Pamp’s handbook journal.
To him, creating an energy absorption tower using incomplete void knowledge for stable energy absorption was currently impossible, but that didn’t mean void knowledge was useless.
The knowledge recorded in the "Void Book" was powerful, which is why obtaining these two books was so difficult for him; Long Mei’er even explicitly told him not to think about acquiring a third one. Thus, the void knowledge, even if not usable for stable energy absorption, could be applied elsewhere, like in combat, producing remarkable effects.
Previously, Allen Pamp’s weakened form was nearly immune to dodging all his skill attacks, serving as an example.
Of course, employing it this way would inevitably come with a certain price, thus requiring caution.
With eyes squinting at the books on the table, Richard continued studying, then, after a moment, withdrew his gaze, lost in thought.
"Is it possible to do this..." Richard said slowly, as if he had made a discovery.
As he spoke, his body gradually faded, dissipating like smoke until completely vanishing from the seat in a few seconds.
A few more seconds passed, and with a "creak," the main laboratory door opened, and the disappeared Richard re-entered from outside, reclaiming his seat.
"Hmm..." Richard uttered, affirming, "It seems this indeed works, but..."
Halfway through his sentence, Richard paused, raising his hand to see crimson blood seeping from beneath the skin of his palm, drop after drop, unstoppable.
"However, there is indeed a price to pay," Richard sighed, "but this way, it makes sense."
...
Ten days later.
Mechanical Processing Sector, Research Room No. 1.
Richard appeared here again. This time he opted not to produce miniature magic tracking missiles but instead was crafting the Destructive Gloves.
The Destructive Gloves were evidently far more complex than the miniature magic tracking missiles, with the magic runes alone outweighing by at least two magnitudes, necessitating the use of light engraving to successfully produce them. However, because the Destructive Gloves wielded powerful force, acting as a trump card, they were seldom used, needing little replenishment after manufacturing a certain amount.
To date, most Destructive Gloves he used were manufactured at once on the East Coast.
But now, he planned to craft a new batch.
An entire batch.
After managing to manufacture a whole new batch of Destructive Gloves, he didn’t stop there – next, he brought out the Black Spirit King Mask.
The Black Spirit King Mask was the most powerful magic tool he acquired on the East Coast, bar none; in some sense, even stronger than the Destructive Gloves, for it contained the residual power of the Black Spirit King. Previously, to confront the Supreme Order Divine Society on the East Coast, he used up about half, leaving another half still available.
What he intended to do was to prepare some modifications, serving as the ultimate safeguard in future battles.
...
Time passed day by day, and Richard utilized his entire wisdom, increasing his combat capability.
In Richard’s view, he always considered his identity as a researcher, not a warrior. However, given time, this researcher could become more powerful than a warrior, fearing no one.
And so, the fifteenth day arrived.
...