Merely explaining the function wasn’t enough to satisfy. Afterwards, Tia walked into the shooting range and, using her authority, unlocked the seal of the handgun, took it out, and fired at a target in the range.
*Bang!*
It hit the bullseye.
Apart from Tia’s impressive marksmanship, the handgun seemed no different from ordinary firearms.
But then, Tia raised the handgun again and fired at another new target beside it.
*Bang… Boom!*
A violent explosion sounded in the corridor, amplified by the echoes, deafening.
Even Keyji, who had been focused on his phone beside Renji, was startled by this and pulled his attention back from his phone to the scene.
In the shooting range, one target had a normal bullet hole in the center, but the other… the entire upper half of the target had turned into a large hole, as if it had been blasted by some kind of artillery shell.
The comparison was stark. Tia the shooter remained the same, but the difference lay in the firearms used.
Specifically, it was the mysterious pattern in the third indentation on the second firearm that lit up when fired.
“Slot three Branding, codename [Explosion], tentatively classified as a ‘single’ Branding group. Its effect is to grant the next attack an ‘explosive’ effect, causing 240% power in area damage, with a 10-second cooldown for recharging.”
During Tia’s explanation, the recently destroyed targets in the range were swiftly replaced by the staff with new ones, this time simulating high-speed dodging moving targets. 𝘳.𝑐𝘰
Then Tia turned back to face the range, still holding the same handgun. However, observant scholars noticed that the mysterious pattern in the indentations of the handgun had changed.
This time, it wasn’t the third indentation that lit up, but a new pattern that simultaneously lit up in the first and second indentations.
Following a ‘bang’ of the gun, despite the target being a more difficult moving one, Tia didn’t even seem to aim properly. It looked like she casually fired a shot, and even the direction of the muzzle was significantly off from the target.
But then, the fired bullet, as if controlled by some mysterious force, adjusted its trajectory. Even the high-speed dodging moving target was hit precisely in the center when it finally stopped. The advisory group could clearly see the bullet hole piercing right through the bullseye.
“Slots one and two Branding, codename [Elf], tentatively classified as a ‘Component’ Branding group. Its effect allows the weapon to achieve a ‘guaranteed hit’ for a period of time. Of course, as per our tests, the target needs to be within the weapon’s range, and the attack form won’t change; it can be blocked.”
After the two demonstrations, Tia placed the handgun back in its original sealed slot and smiled at the Sin City advisory group. Despite Tia’s beauty, which could be seen from the expression of Keyji beside Renji as if he had encountered the unreal beauty from his airplane musings, the reaction of the other scholars in the advisory group seemed to be the opposite.
Indeed, whether it was the earlier area explosion damage or the current bullet tracking, with Sin City’s technology, it was possible to replicate for a handgun.
But the question was:
“Can this Branding technology be applied to any weapon?” a scholar couldn’t help but ask.
After receiving a nod of confirmation from Tia, many scholars from the Sin City advisory group began discussing more intensely.
The reason was simple.
Take “bullet tracking” for example, the more complex the firearm, the greater the difficulty. It’s easy to implement bullet tracking in a handgun, but what about rifles, submachine guns, or even missiles, lasers, or nuclear bombs?
However, Kael Technology with Branding technology could achieve this universally, just by equipping any weapon with the “three indentations” of Branding technology.
“It doesn’t seem too complex. If we follow this project, it shouldn’t be difficult to achieve, right?”
Some younger scholars were optimistic, but the white-haired elder professor shook his head. He didn’t explain directly but instead asked Tia.
“What would happen if you swap the Brandings in slots one and two?”
Tia performed the demonstration and found that although the mysterious pattern still lit up, it lost the previous effect of guaranteed accuracy, behaving like a normal firearm.
Seeing his assumption confirmed, the elder professor nodded. He didn’t need Tia’s explanation; through these demonstrations, he had already formed a rough hypothesis and analysis of the Branding technology.
“The real difficulty of Branding technology, besides the carrier and the engraving artistry, lies in how to arrange and combine these Brandings. From Miss Tia’s introduction, as well as the three indentations, it’s clear that Brandings can be single, double, or triple. If they are not arranged in the correct combination, the Brandings will not be able to produce their effects.”
“When we obtain an unknown Branding, we need to first determine whether it is a single or a component. If it’s a single, it’s much simpler; we just need to test it in slots one, two, or three. But if it’s a component, we need to find its other half, or other two halves, and then test which positions they each should be in. The complexity of this arrangement and combination…”
The elder professor didn’t continue, just shook his head in amazement.
Then, Tia showed respect to the Sin City elder professor and affirmed, “You are right. To put it in a more understandable way, you can think of Branding technology like a chemical element with at most three combinations.”
Describing Brandings in terms of the periodic table of elements, many scholars instantly understood the complexity and profundity. Each single Branding is like a single element, and the combined Brandings are like compounds.
Only by correctly arranging and combining elements can effective compounds be formed, and it’s the same with Brandings.
“Incredible! Brother Renji, Kael Technology has really invested heavily this time! To make such technology public, only a cross-
era technology like this could offset the losses they faced in Dragon Nation.”
Seeing even the rich second-generation as if having an epiphany, excitedly, Eileen couldn’t help but wonder.
“Is this thing really that advanced?”
Although Keyji’s “professor” title seemed somewhat superficial, he was still a professor. Seeing Eileen beside him with a “Is that all?” expression, he couldn’t help but shake his head internally. Renji was bold to bring such an inexperienced lover along.
“Miss Eileen, let me put it this way for you. What Kael Technology is doing now is like revealing an ancient version of the periodic table, and they have already mastered many ‘formulas’ in comparison to others. It’s like you’re still studying the components of oxygen, but others have already grasped water and even more advanced compound components.”
On the other hand, seemingly to confirm Keyji’s words, Tia then made a stunning announcement that shocked the entire Sin City advisory group.
“Now that all of you have a general understanding of Branding technology, Kael Technology hopes to collaborate with Sin City on our latest acquisition of a Branding set – a three-piece module.”
‘A three-piece set!?’
The advisory group was abuzz with surprise, and even the leading elder professor took a deep breath. As mentioned before, Brandings are categorized as single, double, and triple sets, with their combination complexity exponentially increasing. And here Kael Technology was, introducing a ‘three-
piece set’ while they were just beginning to understand the technology?
“Bad news, my goal of a billion is too small. I need to set several more such goals,” murmured Keyji, who was already frantically operating his phone to borrow money and buy Kael Technology stocks.
As for Eileen
She couldn’t take it anymore.
She stealthily reached behind her clothes and touched the two blood wine cup patterns on her back, resembling tattoos, divided into “upper” and “lower” parts. These were given to her by Renji in the Holy Kingdom and played a crucial role in the sewer battle against Maria, possessed by Suthia, and the test subjects.
They granted her the ability to become “stronger with each kill” In the more professional terms of Renji, it seemed to be called ‘infinite energizing’.
Taking advantage of others not paying attention, Eileen gently tugged at Renji’s sleeve. When Renji looked over at the girl as if she had just realized how precious the item Renji had casually given her was, she carefully ventured to ask:
“Doctor, that Branding thing they’re talking about… it wouldn’t happen to be what I have on my back, right?”
“You guessed it right,” Renji nodded.
Eileen instantly gasped in surprise, then asked with some nervousness, “Then about my thing, I have two Brandings on my back… they wouldn’t happen to be…”
“Yes, it’s a two-piece set. I’m still considering what to use for the middle one, so it’s been left empty for now.”
Updated from .𝒎