Da Yuanyuan gazed at the youthful and hopeful faces, feeling both a sense of relief and a heavy weight of responsibility.
“The exact time will be determined by Professor Yan after evaluating your initial physical data, at the latest… it won’t be later than tonight.”
Her words elicited a muffled gasp.
“Remember, this isn’t a regular training meal. After consuming xiao songta (little pine cone), your bodies will enter a very special and sensitive ‘window period.’ This has a decisive impact on the absorption efficiency of the ‘true’ grain crystal and the effectiveness of subsequent adaptive training. In the coming days, you will have no patrol duties, no shifts; your only mission is to—adapt and become stronger!”
Her gaze swept over everyone, and her tone suddenly became serious:
“The Base has invested unimaginable resources in you. This is both an opportunity and a challenge. I don’t want to see anyone fall behind due to laziness or lack of resolve, and even less do I want to see anyone harm themselves by being too eager for success!
All training plans must be executed meticulously. Any subtle physical changes, even slight dizziness or emotional fluctuations, must be reported immediately to your instructors or directly to me! Do you understand?”
“Yes, we understand!”
Forty-nine voices converged into a powerful torrent, echoing under the dome of the training ground, carrying a determination to burn their bridges.
Da Yuanyuan nodded slightly: “Very good. Now, rest in place and await further notice. Adjust your state; the true transformation is about to begin!”
The girls sat down in place, their hearts filled with excitement and apprehension. The training ground was silent.
Da Yuanyuan stood there, took a deep breath, and looked in the direction of the Laboratory on the fifth floor of the Base, silently thinking:
Professor Yan, I hope your deductions go smoothly. These children carry the future of Firefly.
Fifth-floor Laboratory.
The dim blue light of the screen illuminated Professor Yan’s slightly tired but extremely focused face.
Yue Jiaxue walked in quickly and said to Professor Yan:
“Professor Yan, please start arranging the preliminary training for the Super Individuals.”
“Mm.” Professor Yan only responded with a hum, his gaze still fixed on Mao Duoduo’s data, his fingers unconsciously gesturing in the air, as if simulating some complex energy path.
He said to his assistant:
“Notify logistics to deliver the Level 2 xiao songta (little pine cone) to every preparatory member who has not yet taken xiao songta (little pine cone) at one hour after dinner, according to the grading and dosage sequence I’ve marked. The four female students and Jian Ruoxi who directly took Level 1 xiao songta (little pine cone) also need to have their Sheng Sheng Bu Xi (Life Without End) increased to Level 2. You must personally watch them take it.
The ‘true’ grain crystal special meal will be supplied starting with the first meal tomorrow morning. Similarly, record each person’s food intake and reactions.”
The assistant quickly recorded the instructions, then turned and left.
The entire Firefly Base was instantly enveloped in a tense yet orderly atmosphere.
In the afternoon, Lu Zhuoyan led his subordinates, escorting nearly 600 pathogens on the verge of outbreak to Firefly for handover. This was also what Zuo Feng had previously promised: Firefly would acquire a pathogen on the verge of outbreak for the price of five seven-line zombie crystals. 600 pathogens represented a massive transaction of nearly three thousand seven-line zombie crystals.
Firefly naturally could not produce so many zombie crystals at present, so this transaction was effectively a deferred payment through “A-level metal weapon transaction shares.”
Lu Zhuoyan was fortunate; he caught the squad responsible for deploying the pathogens and directly found the pathogen deployment points, making the sweep naturally quick. Now, apart from a few stragglers, it is estimated that the pathogens Wan Youyu deployed at Huo Yao Base have been completely cleared.
After completing the handover, Lu Zhuoyan learned that the detection agent had been successfully developed and naturally took away 1 million units of main materials and the manufacturing agent formula, preparing to produce it himself at Huo Yao Base.
Before he left, he specifically sought out Yun Qianqian, instructing her to notify him immediately if there were any abnormalities in the experiments in H City.
In the evening, Si Jingjing and Si Yingying finally awoke from their slumber. However, what surprised Zuo Feng was that the first thing these two little ones did after waking up was to ask Zuo Feng to catalyze a Six-Slash Zombie. Then, they flew to H City with this Six-Slash Zombie.
Zuo Feng knew that these two little ones intended for the seven-line Mutant in the central area of H City to devour this Six-Slash Zombie.
This also left Zuo Feng puzzled as to what was so peculiar about the patterns and runes of the Six-Slash Zombie, that even a taboo big shot like the seven-line Mutant needed it.
Night quietly descended, and the bustling Firefly Base was brightly lit.
Inside the training ground, fifty preparatory members sat cross-legged. The air was filled with a silence mixed with excitement and tension, with only faint breathing sounds rising and falling.
They had all taken xiao songta (little pine cone) and become Mutants. This time, Zuo Feng had truly gone all out; the Sheng Sheng Bu Xi (Life Without End) of these 50 people were all Second Order. Even those who had previously taken Level 1 xiao songta (little pine cone) had their Sheng Sheng Bu Xi (Life Without End) elevated to Second Order.
Beside them, dozens of researchers bustled back and forth with testing equipment, recording the changes in each Mutant’s vital signs.
Zuo Feng stood at the edge of the training ground, his gaze fixed on the fifty Mutants in the field.
These were all the seeds of Firefly, the future backbone of Firefly, so Zuo Feng naturally attached great importance to them.
However, what surprised Zuo Feng was that Bai Duanqian and the young madam also appeared at the edge of the training ground, observing the Mutants with focused expressions.
Zuo Feng was slightly stunned before realizing that these two girls were here to select subordinates! There were many types of Mutant awakenings; the young madam and Bai Duanqian should be here to select medical and forging Mutants, respectively, to reserve talent for their specialized fields.
Zuo Feng’s lips curved slightly upwards, understanding in his heart that this was a good sign, indicating that Firefly was gradually beginning to divide into specialized directions, and a system of distinct roles was quietly forming.
However, these 50 seeds would not immediately become Super Individuals. The present was about laying their foundation. Only after Professor Yan confirmed that the Super Individual plan was flawless and optimized would the advanced cultivation of Super Individuals begin.
Meanwhile, deep within the central area of H City, shrouded in death and silence.
Si Jingjing and Si Yingying, the pair of symbiotic little beasts, floated lightly in the air. The Six-Slash Zombie they had brought, which Zuo Feng had catalyzed, was now bound by strands of silk, with blood-colored patterns faintly flowing beneath its ashen skin.
Ahead, the seven-line Mutant with snow-white hair reaching the ground stood silently atop the ruins, its white pupils gazing into the Six-Slash Zombie like an abyss.
With a soft “squeak” from Si Jingjing and Si Yingying, the seven-line Mutant slowly opened its small mouth, revealing four sharp little fangs, and gently bit into the Six-Slash Zombie’s glabella.
In an instant, the Six-Slash Zombie convulsed violently, and the blood-colored patterns flowed like living things up the seven-line Mutant’s fangs, seeping into its body.
The seven-line Mutant’s pupils suddenly contracted, and the afterimages of blood-colored runes appeared in its white pupils. Its body trembled slightly, and the snow-white patterns on its body rapidly spread to its limbs and bones, transforming into a flowing sheen as if ice and snow were melting.
A moment later, the seven-line Mutant let out a crisp and deep roar, its voice imbued with an indescribable joy and awakening.
The blood-colored runes completely disappeared into the depths of its pupils, turning into a deep, hidden crimson. In the center of the snow-white patterns on its body, a bloodline ran through, like the mark of a bloodline awakening.
The seven-line Mutant’s aura suddenly surged, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment, followed by an explosion of violent yet orderly energy fluctuations.
The space around it seemed to subtly distort, as if even light was being pulled by its power.
The seven-line Mutant slowly raised its right hand, fingers slightly spread, palm facing upwards, as if sensing this nascent power.
Most terrifyingly, at its glabella, an eighth slash mark was slowly emerging, deep and hideous like a brand.
This newly appeared slash mark emitted a faint white light, as if containing some immeasurable forbidden power.
But that wasn’t all. The seven-line Mutant, or more accurately, the eight-line Mutant, did not stop its actions after completing its evolution. Its body leaned slightly back, and a low hum emanated from deep within its throat, as if communicating with some unseen entity.
The surrounding air began to vibrate violently, and an invisible pressure spread outwards, causing distant ruins to crumble with a rustling sound.
Its hands slowly rose, fingertips slicing through the air, then fiercely plunged into the void, as if tearing through the membrane of space. A pitch-black crack slowly opened, like the eye of a deep abyss gazing at this world.
Blood-red light flickered deep within the eight-line Mutant’s pupils, seemingly drawing some power from the crack.
Immediately after, accompanied by a violent roar, its hands suddenly tore the crack wider, as if ripping apart ragged cloth. A torrent of energy surged out from within, like the forbidden power of an ancient seal being broken.
The energy torrent swept out, surging like a tide in all directions. Wherever it passed, the earth cracked, metal twisted, and the air was filled with a mixed scent of decay and burning.