ATPnovel Chapter 70 The Shadow Guard Project
Chapter 70 The Shadow Guard Project
"If Heaven had not given birth to me, Li Fulan, the path of immortality would have remained shrouded in eternal darkness!"
This ridiculously cheesy line echoed through the lab, the voice rising and falling with powerful energy, like the soul-stirring cry of a protagonist in a web novel during their moment of glory. The researchers around him looked at the young "boss" with complicated expressions, unsure whether to applaud or pretend they hadn't heard it.
Several young researchers secretly exchanged glances, their lips twitching uncontrollably as they desperately tried to suppress their laughter.
Lin An's transparent figure silently drifted to the corner. Although no one could see his expression, the almost inaudible sigh coming from the air indicated that he had indeed rolled his eyes.
As an old comrade-in-arms who had witnessed Li Fulan's countless "failed attempts to show off," he was already used to this kind of scene.
Fortunately, Li Fulan quickly dropped his pretentious attitude, as if he wasn't the one who had just had a fit of adolescent delusions. He turned around, his eyes becoming serious, and the aura of a "serious person" returned to him.
"Professor Yuan, how much can this symbiotic mushroom increase yield?"
After snapping out of his euphoria, Yuan quickly switched into scientist mode. He walked to the control panel, pulled up a detailed data report, which listed various complex parameters and graphs.
"Based on the current cultivation progress, we should be able to cultivate at least thirty mature symbiotes before the Soul King's heart completely withers away." He pointed to a growth curve on the report. "This heart is extremely resilient. Even after a piece of its flesh was removed to cultivate mushrooms, it is still beating tenaciously. At this rate of consumption, it can last for at least two more months."
"Thirty plants..." Li Fulan tapped the table lightly, his fingers making rhythmic sounds on the metal surface, a habitual action he took when thinking.
Just then, Zhou Zhibai, who had been standing silently in the corner, suddenly spoke up.
"etc."
She pushed up her thick, black-rimmed glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold light of the laboratory, obscuring the expression in her eyes. But from her slightly furrowed brows, one could tell that her ever-working mind was contemplating something important.
"Since this symbiotic mushroom can give humans the ability to become invisible, its strategic value has already exceeded the scope of ordinary scientific research projects."
She walked unhurriedly to the control panel, her eyes, hidden behind thick glasses, scanning the various data on the screen. Her fingers tapped rapidly on the virtual keyboard, bringing up another analysis report she had previously prepared.
"I have previously conducted a detailed risk assessment and application prospect analysis of this symbiote." Her tone was calm and objective, as if she were giving an academic presentation. "Based on the current data, this mushroom has extremely high compatibility with the human body, and no rejection reaction or side effects have been found. In other words, theoretically, every healthy adult can become an 'invisible person'."
She paused, looked up, and her gaze fell on Li Fulan.
"But precisely because of this, it is extremely dangerous. If this technology falls into the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable. Imagine a group of invisible terrorists or assassins..."
"So what's your suggestion?" Li Fulan asked.
"Hand them over to the state." Zhou Zhibai's tone was resolute. "Transfer all of these symbiotes to the organization, where they will be managed and distributed by a professional department."
She tapped the keyboard a few more times and brought up another document.
"Lin An mentioned before that they have a group of special operations personnel who practice 'Quantum Meditation Method'. These people are elite soldiers carefully selected from various military regions, and have undergone strict political vetting and loyalty tests. More importantly, after long-term mental training, their nervous systems have evolved to a certain extent, and their compatibility with symbiotic mushrooms is theoretically higher than that of ordinary people."
She looked in the direction where Lin An was in the air.
"Lin An, how many people on your side have reached the advanced stage so far?"
Lin An's voice echoed through the air. Although he couldn't be seen, his voice was steady and powerful: "Currently, there are forty-seven people who have reached the advanced stage. They are all elite soldiers carefully selected from various military regions. Each of them has undergone at least three years of quantum meditation training, and their mental strength level far exceeds that of ordinary people."
"Forty-seven people." Zhou Zhibai nodded. "And we can cultivate thirty symbionts. Considering experimental errors and possible failures, the actual number of people who can successfully fuse is probably between twenty-five and twenty-eight."
She turned to Li Fulan, her gaze becoming more formal.
"My suggestion is to hand over these symbiotes to the organization to arm those who practice quantum meditation. If successful, we will have a true 'Shadow Guard' force—that's the codename I've given to this force for now."
Li Fulan remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing something.
Finally, he nodded.
"I have no objection. This kind of power should belong to the country, not my personal property." His tone was calm and firm. "I am only responsible for providing raw materials and technical support. The specific troop organization, personnel selection, command authority, and usage methods are all arranged by the organization."
"I agree." Yuan stroked his beard, a look of satisfaction shining in his cloudy old eyes. "Scientific research results should serve the people. This is a belief that we old scientists have upheld throughout our lives."
"Then it's settled." Zhou Zhibai turned to Lin An. "Lin An, go contact your comrades and report this matter. Remember to emphasize the strategic value and potential risks of this technology so that the organization can make a decision as soon as possible."
Lin An's voice came through the air, his tone solemn: "Understood. I'll take care of it right away. This matter must be approved by the highest level. Also, give me your storage ring; I'll prepare some supplies for you."
"Can you open it?" Li Fulan asked.
"I've also practiced quantum meditation, so opening a storage ring is more than enough for me."
"Okay!" Li Fulan tossed the storage ring to Lin An.
With a soft footstep, the invisible figure left the laboratory. The door slid open and closed automatically, making a slight hissing sound.
Zhou Zhibai stared at the doorway until the footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor before turning back. Her gaze fell on Li Fulan, her eyes holding a complex expression.
"There's one more thing." Her tone became hesitant, which was extremely rare for her—after all, she never hesitated when she spoke. "It's about your... time-traveling ability."
Li Fulan raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong?"
Zhou Zhibai didn't answer immediately, but instead walked to a huge electronic whiteboard. She picked up an electronic pen and began to write and draw rapidly, with complex formulas and charts flowing from her pen like water.
"I've analyzed all the data and reports you provided, including the time points of each time you traveled through time, your sleep depth, your level of consciousness, and so on," she said as she wrote. "Based on this data, I've built a mathematical model to describe your time-traveling mechanism."
A complex coordinate system appeared on the whiteboard, with "time" labeled on the horizontal axis and "depth of consciousness" labeled on the vertical axis.
"The conclusion is clear—your time travel mechanism is closely related to sleep." She drew two curves on the coordinate system, one representing "consciousness on this side" and the other representing "consciousness on the other side." "Simply put, you must enter a deep sleep state on this side for your consciousness to travel to Douluo Continent; similarly, you must enter a deep sleep state on the other side for your consciousness to return."
"That's right." Li Fulan nodded. "That's why I always carry sleeping pills with me, and I take one when I need to travel through time. It's not very elegant, but it really works."
"That's the problem." Zhou Zhibai frowned and drew a clearly declining curve on the whiteboard. "Any drug will develop resistance with long-term use; this is a basic biological principle."
She pulled up another data report, which listed in great detail the time, dosage, and onset speed of each time Li Fulan took sleeping pills.
"According to my calculations, the sleeping pills you're currently using—I believe it's clonazepam—have lost at least 40% of their effectiveness." She pointed to a set of numbers on the report. "The first time you took it, you were in deep sleep within five minutes. But the last time, it took you almost twenty minutes to reach the same depth of sleep, and you even woke up once in the middle of the night."
Li Fulan's expression changed slightly. He had indeed felt that the sleeping pills were becoming less and less effective lately, but he hadn't expected the situation to be this serious.
"If this trend continues," Zhou Zhibai drew a red cross at the end of the curve, "it will become completely ineffective in three months at most."
"You mean, I might lose my ability to travel through time?" Li Fulan frowned.
"It's not about losing, it's about losing control," Zhou Zhibai corrected. She walked up to Li Fulan, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "You can still travel through time, but you will no longer be able to freely choose when to fall asleep or when to wake up. This is a fatal flaw for operations that require precise planning."
She began to list the potential problems:
"Imagine you're on an important mission in Douluo Continent, but suddenly you can't fall asleep and have to return because your sleeping pills have worn off. Or, conversely, you have an urgent matter to deal with here, but you're unable to travel there due to drug resistance."
Li Fulan fell silent; he had to admit that Zhou Zhibai was right.
"So I have a suggestion." Zhou Zhibai pulled up a document she had prepared long ago, titled "Feasibility Analysis of Obtaining the Soul Ring of the Thousand-Year Dream Eater".
"According to the information about Douluo Continent you provided, there exists a soul beast called 'Dream Eater' in that world." She opened the document, which contained detailed information she had compiled about this soul beast. "This soul beast specializes in manipulating sleep and dreams, and is one of the most skilled in mind control among all known soul beasts."
The document included an image of a Dream Eater, a strangely shaped soul beast with a long nose like a tapir and a body like a lion, surrounded by a purple mist.
"If you can hunt down a thousand-year-old Dream Eater and obtain its spirit ring, theoretically you will have the ability to actively enter dreams," Zhou Zhibai analyzed. "The skills of this kind of spirit ring are usually related to sleep and dreams, such as 'forced sleep,' 'dream traversal,' or 'consciousness slumber.'"
She put down the electronic pen and turned to face Li Fulan.
"This way, you won't rely on any external medications anymore, and you can sleep whenever and wherever you want. The efficiency of traversing will be greatly improved, and you won't have to worry about drug resistance anymore."
Li Fulan stroked his chin thoughtfully, his fingers unconsciously running over the thin layer of stubble.
This suggestion really hits the nail on the head.
He had always regarded time travel as a "talent," an innate ability, but he overlooked the fact that such a talent actually has conditions and limitations. The problem of drug resistance to sleeping pills would inevitably surface sooner or later, so it was better to prepare for it now than to scramble to find alternatives later.
"Dream Eater..." he murmured. "I remember that this kind of soul beast is mainly distributed in the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest. It shouldn't be hard to find a thousand-year-old one."
"Not only that," Zhou Zhibai added, "According to my analysis, the Dream Eater's soul ring has an additional benefit—it allows you to remain conscious during sleep, forming a so-called 'lucid dream' state. This means you can perform more precise operations during time travel, instead of being completely unconscious during the process of falling asleep and waking up, as you are now."
"Lucid dreaming..." A hint of interest flashed in Li Fulan's eyes. "Interesting."
"Moreover, from a tactical perspective," Zhou Zhibai continued, "having the ability to control dreams can also bring other benefits. For example, you can process information, make plans, and even engage in some form of 'dream communication' with others who also possess mental abilities while you are asleep. Of course, these are all theoretical speculations, and the specific effects still need to be verified through practice."
Li Fulan nodded and made her decision.
"Okay, I accept this suggestion. Next time I return to Douluo Continent, I will hunt down a Thousand-Year Dream Eater."
"Then it's settled." Zhou Zhibai rarely showed a hint of satisfaction, an expression that seemed especially precious on her usually cold face. "I will compile detailed information about the Dream Eater for you, including its habitat distribution, activity patterns, combat habits, weaknesses, and the expected effects of its spirit rings. With this information, your hunting efficiency will be greatly improved."
Just as the two were discussing their next plan, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open.
Lin An's figure—this time visible—appeared at the doorway. He had somehow deactivated his invisibility and was wearing a sharp black combat suit that accentuated his tall and imposing figure.
Behind him followed several young soldiers in camouflage uniforms, exuding a fierce aura.
These men were clearly elites in the military. They stood as straight as tall poplars, their eyes as sharp as newly sharpened blades, and they exuded the kind of killing intent that comes from countless life-or-death training sessions.
"Comrade Li," Lin An's voice carried a hint of solemnity, "my comrades have arrived. They are all advanced practitioners of quantum meditation, and also the first batch of 'Shadow Guard' candidates selected by the organization."
The soldiers strode into the laboratory in unison and stood in a row in front of Li Fulan. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had been carved from the same mold.
"salute!"
The five men simultaneously raised their right hands and gave Li Fulan a standard military salute. The movement was clean and crisp, without the slightest unnecessary sway.
"Nice to meet you!"
The sound was loud and resonant, echoing throughout the laboratory and causing the precision instruments to tremble slightly.
Looking at the resolute faces before him, Li Fulan smiled slightly.
These are the future "shadow guards," the nation's sharpest weapon, and the invisible force protecting this land.
"You're welcome," he said, his voice calm yet powerful. "Next, you will gain a power that can change the rules of the battlefield."
He walked to the still tenaciously beating heart of the Soul King, and light gathered in his palm. Another pale blue, transparent mushroom broke through the soil, emitting an alluring fragrance.
A flicker of surprise crossed the soldiers' eyes, but their training allowed them to quickly suppress their shock, and their gazes hardened once more.
"Are you ready?" Li Fulan asked.
"Report! Ready at any time!" the five answered in unison.
Li Fulan nodded in satisfaction and picked the mushroom.
A new era is about to begin.