The entire hall fell silent.
The scientist's mouth hung open, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Everyone else was stunned as well.
Old Vegapunk… had he lost his mind?
Just moments ago, he had been ready to face death with a "kill me if you must" attitude. How had he changed so drastically in the blink of an eye?
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Because the next moment—
Everyone, as if by instinct, performed the same action.
They clenched their right fists, placed them over their hearts, and bowed deeply.
"We pledge our loyalty to His Majesty Raiver!"
Raiver watched the scene with satisfaction.
He retrieved a vial of blood from his Space Warehouse.
"This is a sample of my blood."
Raiver held the container up for everyone to see:
"Aren't you researching bloodline factors? I want to use my blood as a foundation and leverage the biological cloning technology you've mastered to create a batch of powerful combat bionic robots."
The strength of Raiver's cells lay in their ability to maintain the human body in its healthiest state.
For example, if a hand was severed, they would regenerate a new one.
If a pound of blood was lost, they would produce a pound of blood to replace it.
The principle was simple: "Where something is missing, replenish it."
If the cells within Raiver's body were considered "primary cells,"
then the cells rapidly divided and assimilated after transplanting these primary cells into another organism were called "first-generation cells."
While the primary cells possessed a hundredfold enhancement effect, the first-generation cells only had a thirtyfold enhancement effect.
If the first-generation cells were further transplanted and divided to assimilate new cells, these became "second-generation cells," with an enhancement effect of only a few times.
Moreover, the primary cells held absolute control over the first-generation and second-generation cells.
In other words, Raiver had absolute control over Jieming, Jiexi, and all the attendants in the Sky Palace—he could manipulate their thoughts and bodies.
But he had never used this ability.
Because it was unnecessary.
First, Jieming and Jiexi were fiercely loyal to him.
Second, the love all the attendants in the Sky Palace felt for him came from the depths of their hearts.
Whatever Raiver asked them to do, they would do willingly, wholeheartedly, and without hesitation.
"No problem."
Vegapunk stepped forward, respectfully accepting the vial of blood with both hands:
"However, may I examine the blood sample first?"
Raiver nodded.
Vegapunk carefully opened the container, used a specialized tool to extract a drop of blood, and placed it under a microscope.
The others crowded around, craning their necks curiously to see.
"Old Vegapunk, have you discovered anything?"
"This is the blood of the world's strongest man. His genes must be incredibly powerful, right?"
"Tell us, what's it like?"
Vegapunk did not answer.
He simply stared into the microscope, motionless.
His eyes widened further, his mouth hung open wider, and the expression on his face shifted from curiosity to surprise, from surprise to awe, and from awe to utter astonishment.
"Old Vegapunk? Old Vegapunk!"
Someone beside him nudged him, and he finally snapped out of it.
But he offered no explanation, merely stepping aside silently.
"See for yourself."
The scientist leaned in and took a look—
"This… this… this—!!"
He exclaimed loudly, his voice trembling:
"My God! Is this what cells are supposed to look like?! I feel like they could jump out and punch me to death!"
"What? Let me see!"
All the scientists rushed to take a look.
After seeing it, every single one of them was shocked.
"This cellular activity... it's simply unbelievable!"
"Its division speed... it's too fast! I've never seen cell division this fast!"
"And this regenerative ability... my God, if these cells were implanted into a human body..."
"Cells that humans should have? No, these are definitely not cells that humans should have!"
At this moment, they all had only one thought in their minds—
Are these cells that humans should have?
This is a monster, isn't it?!
Raiver waited until they had calmed down enough before speaking slowly:
"I'll allocate 50 billion Belly to you as research funding first."
As soon as these words were spoken—
"Oh—!!"
"50 billion!!"
"That's even more than what the World Government gives!"
"If I keep doing research for the World Government, I'd be a bastard! So stingy!"
The scientists instantly fell into a frenzy.
With this funding, they could research whatever they wanted and buy whatever equipment they needed!
Vegapunk also showed a long-lost smile.
He walked up to Raiver and bowed once again:
"Your Majesty Raiver, please rest assured, I will give it my all and live up to your trust."
Raiver nodded without saying anything more.
He turned around, stepped into the Space Gate, and disappeared on the spot.
Behind him, enthusiastic discussions from the scientists echoed from the research base.
"Which direction should we start with?"
"Of course, cell cloning! That's the core!"
"No, no, we should first research the extraction method for cellular activity factors..."
"You're all wrong, we should first study how to combine these cells with metal..."
By now, Raiver had already returned to the Sky Palace to enjoy his blessings.
But these blessings were not the ordinary kind.
Raiver's joy was something no one else could understand.
...
Two years later, Sea Calendar 1502.
Fengtian Empire, Imperial Capital, Scientific Research Institute.
This massive white building was located in the northwest corner of the Imperial Capital. It was an upgraded version of the Vegapunk research base that had been relocated from Laird Island two years ago.
After two years of expansion and renovation, it had become the world's most advanced scientific research center.
In the core laboratory at the deepest part of the institute, Vegapunk stood before a huge monitoring screen, surrounded by over a dozen core researchers.
On the screen was a running bioreactor.
Inside the transparent container, a humanoid outline was slowly taking shape.
Its skeleton was made of a special alloy, while its muscle tissue was continuously being filled and solidified by a dark red liquid.
"Number 1000, about to be completed." Vegapunk's voice was calm, yet it carried an unmistakable excitement.
An assistant beside him couldn't help but ask, "Doctor, is this thing... really that powerful?"
Vegapunk glanced at him, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth:
"Powerful? No, that word isn't enough to describe them."
He pulled up another set of data:
"Shadow Corps, height two meters, weight three hundred kilograms.
Their bodies are made of bio-alloy, a material formed by combining first-generation cells with special metals, with a hardness twenty times that of ordinary alloy."
"Strength: a single punch can penetrate thirty centimeters of steel plate, capable of lifting objects weighing hundreds of tons."
"Speed: A hundred-meter sprint takes only three seconds, with a jump height easily exceeding twenty meters."
"Recovery ability: Ordinary wounds can heal within ten seconds. Even if the body is dismembered, as long as the core chip remains intact, it can reassemble within one minute."
"Combat skills: The chip is preloaded with thousands of combat techniques, including Swordsmanship, Body Technique, and martial arts, sufficient to handle various combat scenarios."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present:
"Overall combat capability is equivalent to that of a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral."
A collective gasp echoed through the laboratory.
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