Chapter 395: A Vital Compensation

One day later.

When Chen Chen awoke in the Spire’s laboratory, he only felt as if he had just gone through a serious illness. His entire body felt light and flimsy.

Not only that, but there was something extra in his mind. It was an utmost mysterious feeling. It seemed that if only he concentrated, whatever it was would surge out all at once...

He could not help looking around, only to realize that he was in a lounge now, and there was a glucose drip attached to one of his arms.

There was a haze in his mind. Chen Chen was a little unaware of where he was, but when he saw the crystalline fragments glowing with faint fluorescence under the bed, he suddenly remembered.

Last night, he returned to the Spire Experimental Base and then used the USB flash drive to extract the crystalline.

Just as last time, Chen Chen took out 500 pieces of crystalline at one time, then continued to absorb them until he fainted at some point.

“Sir Godfather, you’re awake.”

Little X’s voice rang directly from the intercom on the wall. “Please don’t worry. After a blood test just now, I’ve concluded that your physical condition is rapidly getting better. In no more than three days at most, all your physiological functions will be back to normal.”

“Does it take three days?”

Chen Chen frowned. He remembered that after absorbing 500 crystalline pieces at the beginning of this year, he recovered after only one night of sleep.

“Yes, your body has suffered a lot of damage after absorbing the radiation of the crystalline, but you have been modified by the T-virus after all. Your physical fitness is far superior to that of ordinary people. These injuries are nothing.”

Little X replied.

Just as Little X was talking, the door of the lounge slowly opened upward. Two Black Knights walked in from outside and handed Chen Chen an energy bar and some drinking water.

The reason they gave him an energy bar was that food alone could hardly meet the needs of Chen Chen’s body. Without an energy bar, Chen Chen would have to eat a bucket of rice and 5 kilograms of meat for a meal, like those famous generals in ancient times. Then he would need to use the toilet for more than an hour.

Chen Chen was naturally unwilling to waste time eating and going to the toilet, so he used energy bars instead.

After eating the energy bar, Chen Chen felt a little bit more solid. He thought about it and suddenly waved to the pile of crystalline by his side. At that moment, five pieces of crystalline flew up and swooped to Chen Chen, before they braked sharply, drifting around Chen Chen like asteroids.

Currently, Chen Chen could feel that his control was incomparably stable and extremely relaxed. As he had absorbed 500 crystalline fragments again, he had improved immensely in his control.

However, thinking of what had happened last night, Chen Chen frowned unwittingly and analyzed aloud, “Sure enough, there’s a limit to the radiation of crystalline the human body can bear. After absorbing 500 crystalline pieces last time, I felt refreshed and healthy the next day. Even so, as the radiation absorbed by the crystalline increases, the load on the body becomes heavier and the growth of the Field energy each time becomes smaller and smaller...”

As he spoke, Chen Chen coughed a few times. These were the sequelae of absorbing the crystalline.

“According to my calculations, in addition to 500 pieces twice and the number of pieces taken in between, you have already absorbed more than 1,300 pieces of crystalline. This is already your physiological limit. If you continue to absorb them, it will be as if your body is irradiated by excessive nuclear radiation and it will collapse at the genetic level...”

Little X suddenly reminded with some concern.

“Sure enough, the limit has been reached.”

Chen Chen nodded, unsurprised. After all, the amount of radiation absorbed was more than that of the three main characters in the movie. The absorption of so many crystalline fragments also meant that, in terms of the growth potential of Field energy, Chen Chen had officially surpassed the protagonists of the movie.

Thinking of this, Chen Chen opened his hands slightly and suddenly the five crystalline pieces whistled sharply through the air, after which he heard the deafening sound of “bang, bang, bang, bang, bang”. The alloy walls of the Spire’s laboratory were directly impacted and five shallow depressions were created.

At the same time, the five crystalline pieces had shattered completely due to the massive impact.

This power...

Chen Chen converted this in his mind. It was known that the weight of a crystalline piece was 4.7 kilograms and the speed they achieved just now was at least 20 meters per second. If these five fragments hit a person, they would suffer some wounds and broken bones at the very least.

“According to my visual observation, the force just now was at least 100 Newtons or more. I think you haven’t used your full strength yet, right?”

Little X asked, “If you use your full strength, how many Newtons would that be?”

Chen Chen heard these words and calculated silently. 100 Newtons was the force required to move a 100-kilogram object at a speed of one meter per second. Applied to a 5-kilogram object, it would make it move at 20 meters per second.

Thus, Chen Chen raised his head and said, “My current full strength is about 150 Newtons, which isn’t much better than before. Still, compared to this sort of crude application, the real value is the in-depth application of Field energy.”

With that, Chen Chen suddenly closed his eyes, just like when he had lost his eyes in the dream world, trying to use Field to perceive the world.

After Chen Chen closed his eyes, the scene in his mind did not disappear. Instead, with the release of Field energy, it became a special scene, just like how a bat used ultrasound to detect its surroundings. Nevertheless, Chen Chen’s Field energy would receive feedback much more quickly than ultrasound and it was more vivid and specific.

Even the surrounding temperature, radiation intensity, airflow speed, and other invisible data could be perceived.

At this time, Chen Chen’s perception range had reached about 20 meters, but the farther the distance was, the fuzzier the feedback he received, and the more difficult it became to control the object.

“The limit of the extended Field is 20 meters, which is a full forty times more than when the ability was first acquired.”

Chen Chen estimated aloud, “It’s only two or three meters larger than its range before absorption. The role of the crystalline is to increase the potential of Field energy, rather than directly enhance it.”

“So within the extended range of Field, what’s the extent of your powers?”

Little X curiously asked, “How far are you from being what they called ‘omniscient and omnipotent’?”

“Assuming that Field is fully extended, within 20 meters, I’m considered to be omniscient, but am by no means omnipotent.”

Chen Chen closed his eyes and replied, “Within 20 meters, I can perceive what everyone is carrying on them, what movements they make, the quality of their clothes, and even the changes in their body temperature can be observed. Not even blind spots can obstruct my ‘line of sight’.

“Moreover, within this range, I don’t have to use huge kinetic energy to kill my opponent. Only one poker card is enough. Within 20 meters, I can kill anything in an unstoppable manner. My target wouldn’t even know how they died.”

Hearing this, Little X could not help exclaiming, “So, you’re already very strong. Now only firearms can threaten you and cold weapons are ineffective against you.”

“It’s a pity that times have changed, big guy.”

Chen Chen teased, then he continued to test his powers and began to focus on a laboratory bench in front of him.

At this time, his eyes were still closed. In his perception, as he continued to gather his focus, he gradually zoomed in on the lab bench in front of him, and the once-smooth epoxy resin tabletop started to appear bumpy as Chen Chen observed it.

When this amplification had reached the limit of his focus, Chen Chen realized that in his perception, the sleek lab bench had become like the surface of the moon, filled with craters and ravines.

At the same time, within these ravines, Chen Chen saw tiny black spots for the first time. These black spots were like animals on a hill. They slowly wriggled in front of Chen Chen’s eyes, like ants and worms...

This was the microscopic world that could be “seen” by Field.

Chen Chen was ecstatic. Those black spots were nothing else other than bacteria invisible to the naked eye.

The size of bacteria was generally between 1 micron and 5 microns. It was impossible for humans to see them with their two naked eyes. With the visual ability of humans, bacteria would need to be magnified by at least three hundred times to even be noticed and closer observation required magnification by more than a thousand times.

Now, at the micro-level, Chen Chen could only see black spots, but it also represented the first time he was exposed to the existence of bacteria.

“In other words, my current subatomic application of Field energy is about three hundred times that of the naked eye.”

Chen Chen silently estimated. His goal was nothing else but to manipulate matter on a subatomic level, not only on a macroscopic level like now.

If Chen Chen could manipulate matter at the subatomic level, there was too much he could accomplish. For example, if the subatomic level reached the molecular level, Chen Chen could change the structure of matter at will; at the atomic level, Chen Chen could even change the atom, turning rocks into gold and creating objects out of thin air; if he reached the smaller level of electrons, Chen Chen could even freeze the irregular movement of electrons.

Once the irregular movement of particles was halted, it was equivalent to plunging this area into a state of absolute zero. In this state, everything would be stagnant and even time would not pass.

All of this could be said to be the power of the gods.

To achieve this, Chen Chen’s level of subatomic control must be at least five million to one hundred million times more powerful than the naked eye.

If the enhancement of Field energy was an improvement in “quantity”, then the enhancement at the subatomic level was an improvement in “quality”.

“It seems that in the future, I still have to exercise more in terms of accuracy.”

Chen Chen quietly decided on this. Then he opened his arms again, trying to use Field to lift himself into the air.

During the period of dreaming, Chen Chen’s Field energy suddenly soared to ten times the level of power in the real world. Not only could he easily lift himself, but he could also continue to accelerate to the point where he surpassed the speed of sound.

The feeling of flying freely in the sky caused great yearning in Chen Chen. After absorbing five hundred crystalline pieces at this time, although his power had not increased much, Chen Chen decided to give it a try.

Thinking of this, Chen Chen began to try to lift himself. He only felt countless filaments pouring out of his mind. These filaments kept flowing out, shrouding Chen Chen’s body. He also felt that there was some invisible substance covering his body as if countless hands were lifting him.

Soon enough, Chen Chen slowly rose to the ceiling.

Chen Chen floated back and forth across the ceiling of the laboratory in this manner, abruptly accelerating from time to time. He would zip across the room at great speed, from one end of the laboratory to the other.

“Sure enough, it’s still a little strenuous to use my current power for flight.”

After a long while, when Chen Chen’s head was dizzy and he began to have a nosebleed, he slowly landed. He knew that currently, he was 180cm tall and 75kg in weight. At most, he could accelerate his own body from a static state to a velocity of two meters per second, which meant that the explosive power of his field energy was about 150N.

Although he could fly alright at this speed and could continue to accelerate in the air, he could forget about using it for travel. The speed of two meters per second was no match for good old running, especially if his opponent had a gun. Chen Chen would not even have time to fly into the sky before he was shot through like a sieve.

If his use of Field was to be practical, it must be augmented by at least five times, that was, half its strength in the dream, before he could use it for flight.

Still, this was not far away because at this point, Chen Chen had filled up with all the crystalline he could and reached the absorption limit of his body. At this time, the growth rate of Chen Chen’s Field would also skyrocket, just like Andrew in the movie. It only took a year or two for them to go from controlling a tennis ball to stopping bullets in thin air, and even flipping back dozens of police cars.

After having done this crude test, Chen Chen put on his coat and walked out the door of the lounge.

In the corridor outside the door, Little X had been waiting in a white dress for a long time. She skipped along as she followed Chen Chen, chattering noisily with him as she moved forward.

Seeing this, Chen Chen did not say anything. After all, this was Little X’s preference. Chen Chen knew that Little X had grown up with him and her thinking was naturally closer to human beings. As the only smart lifeform in the world, she was lonely inside, though she had never admitted it, so she would want to blend in with the crowd.

This human body was most in line with her tastes, so she used this body as a vessel to compensate for her desolation.

This was a good thing as it would further enhance Little X’s sense of belonging to him.

Chen Chen silently watched Little X’s jumping figure, a trace of gratification flashing in his eyes.

In the final analysis, it was just that he was still wary of Little X. Otherwise, since he knew that if he implanted himself with the God chip, with the all-out support from Little X, he could become an absolute, superhuman existence, why then had he never mentioned this possibility?

Just because once the God chip was implanted, he opened himself up to being countered by Little X. Therefore, even if he had to rely on his strength, Chen Chen would never implant himself with the God chip.

Besides that, Chen Chen had also secretly set up many countermeasures against Little X. In particular, allowing Little X to enter the Gantz server was also something planned by Chen Chen long ago. Just in case one day Little X got out of control, Chen Chen was assured that he could get rid of her at the least cost.

Thinking of this, Chen Chen slowly closed his eyes and a warm, gentle smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He only hoped that day would never come.