When the camera angle of the series moved away from the boundless starry sky and began to drop like a falling star, the scene that met the eyes of the dimensional audience was no longer the urban ruins ravaged by the monster tide, but the immensely familiar Embers Base.
Outside the specialized glass, Tendo sat quietly in the detection pod, dozens of slender Artificer detection needles hovering around him, clearly conducting an extremely detailed data analysis.
"Doctor, why is Little Tendo's examination taking so long?"
Yun Meng stood outside the glass, her concern for 'Little Tendo' undisguised.
After all, she had never seen the Doctor perform such a meticulous examination on any child, to the extent that even his breathing rate was calibrated three times repeatedly.
In response, the Doctor adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and suddenly spoke: "Yun Meng, do you know why cancer was the disease humanity feared most before the Star Origin Era?"
Yun Meng paused for a moment, then offered her explanation.
"Because cancer cells can proliferate infinitely, and in the process, they aggressively seize the host's nutrients to strengthen themselves, never stopping even if it means mutual destruction."
"Exactly."
The Doctor's gaze fell back on Tendo inside the glass, his expression deeply complex.
"I observed a similar existence within Tendo. His cells also possess the potential for infinite proliferation and infinite self-repair."
"But Tendo is highly unique, because he uses his own will to suppress his cells' desire for growth, activating them only when necessary."
"Huh? Isn't that self-restriction?"
Hearing this, the Doctor shook his head, abandoning his usual composure to give Tendo an exceptionally high evaluation.
"No, this is not restriction. It is restraint."
The Doctor raised his hand and swiped across a tactical tablet, pulling up the graph of Tendo's cell activity curve.
The growth line, which should have been as steep as a cliff, was now as smooth as a lake surface, clearly the result of deliberate suppression.
"Yun Meng, everything must have a limit, and once that limit is exceeded, events will simply spiral out of one's control."
The Doctor's fingertip gently tapped the screen, and Tendo's cellular data instantly zoomed in.
"Tendo's efficiency in absorbing Star Energy is 37 times that of an ordinary person. His effective conversion rate of Star Energy has even broken the theoretical limit for a Rank 1 Star Envoy."
"Therefore, theoretically speaking, as long as Tendo is given enough energy, his body can evolve infinitely."
"However, this kind of unrestrained, rapid evolution has devastating consequences."
"It could cause the Tendo who could easily lift a thousand-pound boulder one second, to lose control and throw it the next because of an exponential increase in muscle density."
"The moment before, he could perceive the slightest rustling of grass a hundred meters away. The next moment, he could be overwhelmed and lose his sanity due to the overload of sensory information."
"It's like a train that's always accelerating; eventually, it will lose control and derail."
At this point, the Doctor turned his head to look at the calm figure inside the glass and said: "Fortunately, Tendo seems to have known about his unique nature since birth, and he accurately anticipated the consequences of indulging desire."
"That's why he chose to forge a prison with his will, locking up the beast within his body, only releasing it when necessary."
As he spoke, the tactical tablet in the Doctor's hand suddenly displayed Tendo's physical test data.
After every value—Strength, Speed, Neural Reaction, etc.—was the glaring red identifier: 'Did Not Reach Limit'.
Looking at this data, the Doctor sighed with emotion: "The breakthroughs that others yearn for are, for Tendo, just a choice made in a single thought."
"And this innate, terrifying will of his is more formidable than any Star Source or any Miracle Stone."
"Because the human will is a 'miracle' in itself, and Tendo is the epitome of 'miracle.'"
The Doctor's words concluded, and he signaled the research staff outside the glass to stop the physical monitoring of Tendo, issuing a top-level directive to the people around him.
"Stop the detection, and classify all of Tendo's data as the base's highest confidentiality. Forbid anyone from privately keeping his hair or blood samples."
"He is currently a Pandora's Box. If this box falls into the hands of others, they will not only fail to realize their heart's desires but will also bring unprecedented disaster to this world."
Yun Meng nodded, about to say something, but heard the Doctor add a supplement.
"Also, seal off the data for NO. 36 Chen Kong as well, only retaining the most fundamental data information."
"Ah?"
Yun Meng was somewhat perplexed by the Doctor's action.
Because among the current Children of the Stars, Chen Kong was the only one who had experienced no anomaly.
He was so ordinary that he seemed like a regular person who hadn't undergone a Star Core surgery.
If not for the Doctor insisting against all objections, Chen Kong would have likely been sent away as a failed experiment long ago.
Looking at the confused Yun Meng, the Doctor offered a profound explanation.
"Yun Meng, not everyone is Tendo, and not everyone has the terrifying will to control everything, as he does."
"In this regard, whether it's you, or me, or Chen Kong, we are nothing more than the most ordinary of people."
The Doctor pulled up Chen Kong's basic profile. The young man on the screen had a completely unremarkable appearance, showing no special traits.
"And for an ordinary person, the best way to restrain desire is never to test one's willpower, but to stay far away from temptation from the start."
"Since someone has already built a high wall to isolate desire for him, we don't need to do anything extra; we just need to guard this high wall."
With his words, the Doctor turned off the tactical tablet in his hand and spoke in a completely unemotional, absolutely rational tone: "Acknowledging our ordinariness and keeping everything within a controllable range—that is the principle of survival for us ordinary people."
"Because those fools controlled by desire all started by believing they could control things they couldn't."
"On this point, even a talent as strong as Tendo understands that the human will cannot withstand testing, and thus he maintains his self-restraint."
As he spoke, Tendo, having finished the examination, walked out of the laboratory.
Looking at the calm Tendo, the Doctor smiled and said, "Tendo, you don't mind that I temporarily sealed your Hyper-Computation?"
Tendo smiled in return.
"Not at all. After all, the speed of thought progress always precedes the physical body. It's truly exhausting trying to maintain a balance between the two."
"Is it just exhausting?"
The Doctor chuckled, clearly hearing the implied meaning in Tendo's words.
That is, it wasn't that Tendo couldn't balance the relationship between his 'Tendo Cells' and 'Hyper-Computation'; it was just that it would disperse too much of his energy.
Therefore, the Doctor's 'sealing' was seemingly a 'restriction,' but in reality, it was a form of protection, allowing him to focus more energy elsewhere.
Furthermore, this so-called 'seal' didn't exist from the beginning. If Tendo wished, he could break the 'shackles' the Doctor placed on him at any time.
With this, the lights on the series' screen gradually dimmed, and the Tendo exclusive extra episode titled Innate Strength, Part 2, came to a complete end.
And everyone who watched this extra episode clearly understood one thing.
That is, the most terrifying thing about Tendo is not just his unique physique, but his terrifying 'will' that can lock even desire itself.
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An Important Announcement: Time to Write Our Own Novel!
Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for your support; it truly helps me keep going!
I have some exciting news: after translating many fanfics, I've decided it's time to start writing my own Novels! I plan to begin with a new fanfic—I'm currently thinking of either the Avatar: The Last Airbender or Douluo Dalu universe, featuring a Neutral protagonist.That is exactly what I meant by Neutral Protagonist (This refers to the character's Alignment. A Neutral Protagonist is not strictly bound by concepts of absolute good or evil, nor are they necessarily tied to Law or Chaos. Their actions are generally motivated by their own survival, personal goals, or a desire for balance, operating in a morally gray area.)
Once I've written a few fanfics and gained more experience, I can then move on to developing my own original novel soon after.
If you want a direct hand in shaping the main character's destiny and giving input, be sure to join the poll!
I've launched a poll on my P@t reon page!
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
1. Head over to our P@t reon page and become a member. (Don't worry, even those with a free membership can join the poll and share their input!)
2. Select any option you desire in the poll
3. Leave a comment on the poll post or send me a DM if you have any specific thoughts or ideas!
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