novelraw Chapter 545: Modification and New Subsystem
Chapter 545: Modification and New Subsystem
Chapter 545 Modification and New Subsystem
Dozens of days later, Jie Ming stopped the operations in his hands.
The various massive arrays around him slowly dimmed and extinguished, and the assorted glows emanating from the Nest gradually faded away.
He took two steps back, looked at the enormous creature before him, and nodded in satisfaction.
After this period of effort, the modification was finally complete.
Compared to before, the Nest’s external appearance had not changed much – it was still that mass of semi-transparent gelatinous substance, still emitting a faint blue luster, looking just like a giant slime.
But Jie Ming knew that its internals had become completely different.
He summoned the light screen, browsing through the post-modification data while mentally organizing ideas behind this modification.
First was the issue of positioning.
In Jie Ming’s original design, the Nest was meant to be a biological warship with dual functions as both an arms factory and a combat unit. But now, the automatic factories inside the internal cave-heaven could fully replace its production capabilities. Continuing to retain the arms factory function would only make its role ambiguous.
So Jie Ming simply canceled that portion, turning it into a pure water-combat unit.
Since it was now a pure water-combat unit, its combat methods naturally needed focused improvement.
In this regard, Jie Ming had made preparations long ago.
Back during the coordinated battle on the battlefield, he had once saved a fifth-ring wizard from his own workshop.
That person specialized in the Water Elemental Law. Afterward, to express gratitude, he had given Jie Ming his years of painstaking research in its entirety: Water Elemental Shaping and Energy Compression Techniques.
After all, it was core technology from a fifth-ring wizard. Combined with some methods Jie Ming already possessed, it was more than enough to bring the Nest’s combat power in water up to a considerable level.
Jie Ming marked “Completed” on that section of the records, then continued scrolling down.
Next was the core of this modification – time techniques.
The Nest originally possessed a certain degree of time manipulation ability, derived from biological technology taken from the snow monsters. It could slow down enemy units in the surroundings while accelerating its own actions.
Jie Ming had strengthened this portion. The effect was now nearly twice as powerful as before.
Judging by the standard that enemy deceleration equals self-acceleration, although each aspect had only been doubled, the acceleration and deceleration overlayed together meant the Nest’s effective speed was now four times faster than previously.
But this was only the foundation.
The true core was a small spell structure he had inscribed into the Nest’s core consciousness, using that piece of biological tissue as material.
Time Reversal.
To be precise, it was a small-scale time reversal limited to the Nest’s own body.
The source of this technique was undoubtedly the Samsara Plane.
As long as the Nest suffered damage, this spell structure would automatically activate, reversing the state of the damaged body portion back to before the injury.
Simply put, as long as it was not instantly killed in one strike, it could rapidly return to normal.
Jie Ming watched the rapid pass on the light screen for this section and nodded in satisfaction.
However, time reversal was only a safety net.
Mere time reversal made it difficult to kill, but it was not enough to produce a qualitative change.
He had also stored a large amount of biological information inside the Nest’s body.
This information came from his collections over the years – the various variants of the Sickle-Skull race, the special creatures from the Void Realm, the bizarre beings from the Triangle Plane, and even partial structural data from the Black Giants.
Paired with the time reversal ability, the Nest could, after receiving a certain type of attack, immediately “evolve” corresponding biological structures to resist or counter it.
For example, after taking fire-type attacks, it could temporarily generate fire-resistant shells; after ice-type attacks, it could imitate the cold-resistant tissues of snow monsters; after piercing damage, it could locally harden…
In theory, given enough time to adapt, it could become immune to the vast majority of damage types.
More importantly, on top of this, Jie Ming had also attempted to inscribe body-forging methods inside it.
However, the results in this area were mediocre.
The Nest’s species form was too far removed from that of the Black Giants, and even further from human individuals.
The efficiency of the body-forging methods on it was far lower than on the Black Giants.
Still, paired with time reversal, it could still play a considerable role.
But with so many functions added in, there were naturally corresponding drawbacks. The biggest one was excessively high energy consumption. This was the most headache-inducing problem.
Time reversal consumed energy, adaptive evolution consumed energy, and mutated body forms consumed energy along with large amounts of biomass.
Moreover, if all these functions were activated simultaneously, the rate of energy consumption would reach a terrifying level.
If it still relied on the energy absorption system from the Lava Giants, the Nest would fall into a dilemma: if absorption efficiency was too high, the surrounding water temperature would plummet, affecting the water-combat environment; if absorption efficiency was too low, it would fail to keep up with consumption.
Fortunately, the cross-spatial energy transmission system of the Incense Fire Divine Dao had already been successfully debugged earlier.
Jie Ming simply installed a receiver inside the Nest, allowing it to directly draw energy from the Infernal Sulfur Plane.
As long as the Incense Fire Divine Dao continued operating, energy would no longer be an issue.
The cost was that, in order to carry this portion of the law, the Nest’s core had grown another size larger. Correspondingly, the body size it could control had also increased significantly.
As for biomass, there was no need to worry.
The Nest’s own enormous body was already a sufficient biomass warehouse.
Moreover, during battle it could devour enemies and convert their flesh and blood into its own biomass reserves.
As long as it did not encounter opponents it could not swallow, biomass would basically never run short.
Jie Ming closed the light screen and looked at the Nest before him.
“Let’s go and test it.”
Ripples like water waves spread across the surface of the giant slime, responding to Jie Ming’s voice.
The testing chamber was located beneath the central laboratory. It was an ultra-large space specially opened using spatial techniques.
When Jie Ming teleported to the testing chamber with the Nest, the Black Giant priests were already inside, having prepared various testing equipment.
In the center of the vast space was an artificially created ocean, over a thousand meters deep, with an area large enough for the Nest to move freely.
The Nest slid into the water. The mass of semi-transparent gelatinous matter unfolded comfortably in the water, looking exceptionally at ease.
Jie Ming floated in the observation area of the testing chamber, with several Black Giant priests responsible for recording data standing beside him.
“Begin,” he said.
First test: offensive capability.
With a wave of his hand, a row of targets appeared above the water surface, each one lighting up with an energy shield.
These were energy targets specially used to test damage intensity, ranging from first-ring to sixth-ring levels.
The Nest slightly contracted in the water, then released violently.
A water column shot out from its body under its control, condensing into dozens of sharp water spears in mid-air that whistled toward the targets. Puff puff puff…
All energy targets below fifth-ring shattered instantly.
“Water spear salvo, power covering fourth-ring to fifth-ring,” a Black Giant priest quickly recorded. “Excellent penetration, good firing rate.”
Jie Ming nodded.
The Nest on the other side moved again.
This time, the water flow around it began to spin violently. In the blink of an eye, a massive vortex formed.
At the center of the vortex, water was continuously compressed into a supercritical state. Then, a highly compressed water blade shot out, slashing toward the sixth-ring target. Boom!
The sixth-ring energy target shook violently, ripples spreading across its surface.
Jie Ming felt some regret at the sight.
The destructive power was indeed decent. This was because he had applied techniques similar to those used in talisman-imbued wizard artifacts to the spell model the Nest employed.
It could greatly enhance the effect of spells by mobilizing large amounts of energy.
“Unfortunately…”
Jie Ming felt a bit of regret in his heart. The modified spell required an excessively high level of control to release, and it also demanded a certain degree of understanding of the Spiritual Qi Law from the caster.
At least with Jie Ming’s current level of knowledge, he still could not make the Nest learn modified spells.
Otherwise, that strike would have possessed the standard power of a sixth-ring spell.
“Continue,” he said.
Second test: defensive capability.
A pillar of fire descended from the sky, slamming straight toward the Nest in the water.
The Nest did not dodge.
The instant the flames made contact with its body, large amounts of white steam rose.
But the tissues on the Nest’s surface rapidly changed. A layer of heat-insulating tissue quickly formed, isolating the flames.
“Fire resistance generated. Reaction time reaches the standard of a sixth-ring wizard,” the priest reported.
Jie Ming nodded.
After all, the Nest excelled in time-related abilities. Its reaction speed was sufficient to handle most surprise attacks.
Next came ice-type attacks.
An extremely cold ray struck the Nest, and ice began forming on its body surface.
But in the next instant, those ice crystals melted—the energy flow pattern inside the Nest changed, and a large amount of heat was mobilized to the attacked area.
Then came lightning strikes, corrosion, piercing…
For every type of attack, the Nest could generate corresponding resistant tissues in a short time.
Although each resistance consumed quite a bit of energy, the effect was genuinely significant.
“Resistance capability beginning to strengthen…”
As time passed, a Black Giant priest began reporting in this manner.
Jie Ming roughly calculated the ratio between attack density and the time it took for the Nest to evolve corresponding adaptive abilities, then nodded:
“It’s… passable, I suppose.”
Third test: time reversal.
This was the part Jie Ming was most looking forward to.
He took action personally.
A beam of Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light shot from his fingertip, directly piercing through the Nest’s body—of course, with the power heavily controlled.
A huge hole appeared in the Nest’s body, its edges still burning.
But soon, the scene around the hole began to distort, as if time was flowing backward.
The burning flames shrank back, the pierced tissues regrew, and in the blink of an eye, the hole had completely vanished.
The Nest was restored to its original state.
“Target has fully recovered,” the priest’s voice carried a trace of amazement. “Energy consumed… equivalent to the full energy reserves of a fifth-ring wizard.”
Jie Ming smiled.
This level of consumption was completely acceptable.
“Again,” he said.
This time, he increased the power.
The dark-golden light that rapidly expanded in size struck the Nest once more. This time, nearly one-third of its body was blasted away.
Time reversal activated again.
This time, the reversal was even faster, even giving a sensation like frame-skipping, and the Nest returned to normal.
“It seems the technique learned in the Samsara Plane is operating perfectly. As long as it isn’t instantly killed, it can recover in an instant.” Jie Ming confirmed this conclusion in his mind.
Afterward, he conducted tests on many more aspects in succession.
Looking at the recorded data, Jie Ming could not help but let the corners of his mouth rise.
“Not bad!” Jie Ming said softly. “At the current stage, it is fully capable of stalling a relatively low-level sixth-ring wizard for a short time.”
This level of combat strength had almost caught up to the newly promoted seventh-ring Black Giant leader, Molten Mountain.
He looked at the Nest in the water. The semi-transparent creature seemed to sense his emotions as well. It gently turned over in the water, its blue luster flickering.
“From today onward, you are no longer that idle Nest.”
After completing the Nest’s modification, Jie Ming calculated the time and found that less than fifty years remained until the next mandatory conscription.
How should he spend the next fifty years?
Continue modifying the Prowler?
Jie Ming thought for a moment and shook his head.
The Prowler was indeed somewhat outdated.
Having undergone two modifications, it still could not keep up with the strength of the Black Giants. Logically, it should be upgraded and replaced together this time.
But the problem was that there was not enough time.
Fifty years sounded long, but for modifying an entire biological race, it was actually quite tight.
The Nest’s modification had already taken decades, and that was only because he had prepared the Sickle-Skull research materials in advance and finished digesting the time-related knowledge beforehand. The Prowler still had some use for now, at the very least it could fly, scout, and provide some support.
Rather than spending fifty years making it a bit more useful, it would be better to first solve the problems on himself.
Jie Ming raised his hand and listed out a checklist on the light screen.
First, insufficient reconnaissance capability.
He stared at this line for a long time.
Choosing the Causal Trace Shadow Technique as the modification spell back then had indeed had its reasons.
That spell was truly all-purpose – it could track targets, search for information, and conceal one’s own traces.
More importantly, its methods for processing information were perfectly suited to perfecting the combat system of “Light God Transformation.”
But being all-purpose also meant it was not strong enough compared to specialists at the same level.
If it truly came to the battlefield and he encountered an opponent specialized in reconnaissance, the Causal Trace Shadow Technique would feel somewhat inadequate.
Moreover, the casting speed of Light God Transformation was also an issue.
Although the “Five-Step Framework” was complete, each step required time.
Informationization, energy filling, steady-state maintenance, information control, energy resonance fusion – completing all five steps gave the enemy enough time to react multiple times. To increase the speed, one very important point was to improve information processing capability.
Second, information processing capability needs to be enhanced.
Looking at these two items, Jie Ming fell into deep thought.
Insufficient reconnaissance capability required stronger information acquisition methods.
Insufficient information processing capability required stronger information processing methods.
After pondering for a moment, Jie Ming closed his eyes and sank into the depths of his consciousness.
There, the white-jade-like Great Dao Book Pavilion floated quietly.
With the movement of his will, streams of flowing light flew out from the Book Pavilion, forming several rows of bookshelves before him.
On these rows of bookshelves were placed various classics concerning the Incense Fire Divine Dao.
From basic theory to high-level applications, from array arrangements to believer management—everything was there.
Jie Ming’s gaze landed on one jade slip.
[Incense Fire Divine Dao · Fate Chapter]
He reached out, and the jade slip fell into his palm.
This was a subsystem of the Incense Fire Divine Dao.
Strictly speaking, it was knowledge concerning “fate”—how to perceive the fate trajectories of believers through the power of incense, how to extract information threads from thousands upon thousands of beliefs, and how to construct information processing networks within the divine dao system.
Yes, he planned to add a new subsystem to the Incense Fire Divine Dao.
Fate.
In this way, the Incense Fire Divine Dao would not only produce incense power and transmit energy across space, but could also help him process information, perceive fate, and enhance reconnaissance capabilities.
Killing multiple birds with one stone.
Jie Ming had once flipped through this content, but at the time his knowledge reserves had been insufficient and he could not understand it at all.
Now?
His spiritual power probed inside and began.
Half an hour later, Jie Ming withdrew his spiritual power, his expression complex.
He could understand it.
But only just understand it.
The knowledge recorded in this classic was still quite profound.
Jie Ming returned from the depths of his consciousness, thought for a moment, then opened magic network terminal and entered the military merit exchange interface.
Search keywords: fate, information, causality.
A dense list of entries popped up. From the most basic introductory textbooks to profound law research, prices ranged from a few dozen low-level military merits to several million high-level military merits.
Jie Ming scrolled all the way down and finally stopped at one entry.
[Fate Law Basic Knowledge Collection (Star Ring Federation Universal Textbook Edition)]
[Content Introduction: Covers core concepts of the Fate Law, basic spell structure models, and introductory theories on information perception and processing. Suitable for systematic study by zero-foundation or shallow-contact users.]
[Price: 120,000 high-level military merits]
Looking at that number, Jie Ming’s mouth twitched.
120,000.
The high-level military merits he had accumulated over these years only totaled a little over one million.
This would take away more than one-tenth in one go.
But he still confirmed the purchase.
[Purchase successful]
[Estimated delivery time: within one standard day]
Jie Ming closed the Magic Net terminal, leaned back in his chair, and gently exhaled.
The Star Ring Federation’s delivery speed was indeed fast. Although it said “within one standard day,” in reality, not even a minute after he placed the order, the spatial teleportation array had already received the goods.
Soon, a specially made memory crystal was delivered into Jie Ming’s hands.
He took the crystal into the study, sat down on the meditation cushion, and slowly probed it with his spiritual power.
Then his brows furrowed.
“This…”
The content inside the crystal was far more complex than he had imagined.
He recognized every single character in those formulas, models, and concept definitions, but when put together they turned into heavenly books.
Things like “disturbance equations of causal lines,” “law-based expressions of information entropy,” “observational collapse of fate nodes”… After reading for a while, Jie Ming silently withdrew his spiritual power.
He rubbed his temples.
No wonder it cost 120,000.
If this stuff were easy to learn, it wouldn’t be worth this price.
But Jie Ming did not give up.
He sighed and probed with his spiritual power once more.
This time he slowed down, digesting one concept at a time.
If he didn’t understand something, he noted it down first, read it several times, and if he still couldn’t understand, he skipped it for now and returned to it later once he had built up a foundation.
In this manner, he sat in the study for a full year.
One year later, Jie Ming opened his eyes. His expression was somewhat weary, but a trace of insight flickered in his gaze.
“I’ve barely managed to get started,” Jie Ming shook his head again. “Forget it. At my current level, I’ve only just learned what it’s about. It doesn’t even count as getting started.”
The profundity of the Fate Law far exceeded his imagination.
Those basic concepts were like a door. Only after pushing it open did he discover an endless ocean behind it.
He was now merely standing at the doorway, barely able to hear the sound of the waves.
However, Jie Ming was not anxious.
He had never expected to become a master of the Fate Law in one go.
He was learning fate-related knowledge only to gain insights by analogy for the “Fate” knowledge, not to delve deeply into this field. Moreover…
Even if the Fate subsystem was ultimately not completed, the knowledge on information manipulation alone would be enough to significantly improve the level of his Causal Trace Shadow Technique and greatly increase the casting speed of Light God Transformation.
Jie Ming glanced at the newly purchased memory crystal in his hand, then at the jade slip inside the Great Dao Book Pavilion, and could not help but sigh.
“I have to chew through both sides of the knowledge. This is going to be deadly…”