"'More magnesium here... The fusion needs to be a bit faster here... And 0.3 milligrams less tin here...'"
After fine-tuning the process for the seventh time, Zhou Chen tossed aside his ballpoint pen, took a deep breath, and applied a sticker-like Alchemy Matrix to the back of his hand.
Then he reached out, aimed at the several pieces of metal on the desk, and clenched his fist in the air.
The transformation began!
The Alchemy Matrix on the back of his hand lit up. Guided by his will, the metals on the desk—magnesium, tin, potassium, and others—instantly disintegrated into powder. The particles flowed through the air like quicksand, slowly converging and fusing.
Zhou Chen was completely focused, beads of sweat trickling down his cheeks. He struggled to balance the quantities of the many unstable metals. Even an error of a single milligram could trigger a violent alchemical reaction and cause an explosion.
As his concentration peaked, time seemed to stand still. He pushed the entire World to the back of his mind, leaving only the small metal sphere slowly taking shape before him and the general steps and procedural details flashing through his thoughts.
Understanding, deconstruction, reconstruction...
Finally, when the entire process had been completed as planned, CLANG! With the crisp sound of metal hitting metal, a small, pigeon-egg-sized sphere dropped onto the desk. It rolled a few times before coming to a stop beside a tray.
Zhou Chen remained frozen in his outstretched pose, staring blankly. It took a long moment for him to process it. 'Did I... succeed?'
At that moment, a wave of relief washed over him. He slumped into his chair and let out a long sigh, feeling as if he'd finally defeated a boss that had tormented him for hundreds of attempts. A sense of accomplishment welled up from within, and he couldn't help but smile.
Next, he got up, took a few steps back, and condensed a wisp of pale white flame at his fingertip. With a flick, he sent the Cyan Flame flying toward the simple Flash Bomb on the desk.
The instant the two made contact, a loud BANG erupted. The Flash Bomb burst with a terrifying glare that stung the eyes, and a tide of white light engulfed the entire laboratory.
A few seconds later, the light slowly faded. Zhou Chen rubbed his hands together excitedly.
'Once I've succeeded and gotten the hang of it, all that's left is repeated practice to build proficiency.'
'I have three Trial Version Conversion Arrays left. Better strike while the iron is hot and really get a feel for it...'
And then—
—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three explosions in a row!
"I don't believe this!"
Zhou Chen wiped the black soot from his face, grit his teeth, and ran to the sales hall of the Alchemy Department. He bought ten Trial Version Conversion Arrays and returned to continue his experiments.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Six of the experiments ended in explosions for various reasons, while only four successfully produced a simple Flash Bomb.
A forty percent success rate.
"This is burning so much money..."
Zhou Chen complained as he looked at the floor littered with ruined Trial Version Conversion Arrays. One Trial Version Conversion Array cost ten thousand, which meant ten cost one hundred thousand... and to improve his proficiency, he had no choice but to keep burning through them.
No wonder the forums all said that the essence of Alchemy was being pay-to-win.
And this was just to make a simple Flash Bomb. If he wanted to make actual bombs or other items in the future, he'd be burning even more money.
But even so, he had to grit his teeth and keep at it. The sheer, all-purpose practicality of Alchemy was just too good—so good that it was worth learning no matter how much money it burned.
It was just like the common saying—how are you supposed to get stronger if you don't pay up?
So, Zhou Chen went out and bought another twenty Trial Version Conversion Arrays, beginning his painful life of burning money.
·
·
"So, you're planning to attend the university anniversary looking like this?"
On the evening of the fifth day, in a secret room in the Research Department, Jiang Che stared expressionlessly at the disheveled man before her. She hadn't seen him in a few days and could barely recognize him.
Zhou Chen's face was covered in stubble, and his hair was a messy, scorched bird's nest from all the explosions. Covered in soot, he looked as if he had just escaped from a coal mine.
"Making Flash Bombs by hand is too hard. It blew up more than ten times..."
He scratched his head. "But I've succeeded now. I can make them reliably."
"Ha, a Flash Bomb? What's so hard about that?" Xiao Yan, who was giving him a physical exam nearby, opened his palm. Small metal spheres materialized in his hand, then merged into a basketball-sized metallic orb. It stretched and shifted into various shapes before transforming from metal back into Essence and returning to his body.
Zhou Chen was speechless. 'How is that the same? You've been studying this for years; I've only just started.'
'Besides, learning to make them by hand in just five days is a sign of great talent, okay!'
"By the way, aren't you a scholar? Why are you learning Alchemy too?"
"I picked it up a bit during breaks from writing papers. Just for relaxation," Xiao Yan replied casually.
'Alright then...'
Zhou Chen didn't press the issue and embarrass himself further. As a student of Professor Li An, the head of the Research Department, Xiao Yan's talent was undeniable. He was like one of those academic gods from your school days that you could never comprehend—a being from another world that normal people could only look up to.
"You've been eating well these past few days. Your physical stats are 1.5 times higher than before. Your Spiritual Power and Essence have also increased by 3%, and your muscles are firmer... Whoa, those pecs, those biceps! How'd you train them?"
"By getting my ass kicked every day," Zhou Chen rolled his eyes. "Want me to recommend my coach? I guarantee you'll have a great body like mine in five days."
"Nah, I'm too scrawny for that... Anyway, the physical is done. Go take a shower and get ready for the procedure," Xiao Yan said.
"Procedure?"
Zhou Chen was stunned. "What procedure?"
"One related to the mission, of course. Don't worry, it's just two simple, minor procedures. No incisions needed," Xiao Yan replied.
After his shower, a bewildered Zhou Chen was pushed onto an operating table.
"Relax, we're just giving you a camera and an earpiece."
The doctor performing the procedure used tweezers to pick up something that looked like a cosmetic contact lens and placed one in each of Zhou Chen's eyes. Zhou Chen only felt a cool sensation. There was no discomfort when he moved his eyeballs; the lenses seemed to have fused with them completely.
After that, the doctor picked up a tiny patch, only a few millimeters in size, and inserted it into his ear.
Zhou Chen tilted his head. It didn't fall out; it seemed to have merged with his flesh as well.
Xiao Yan explained from the side, "Those are cosmetic contact lens-style stealth cameras in your eyes. They'll transmit everything you see back to command in real-time. The thing in your ear is a micro Essence Communication Device. It transmits what you hear, allows for mental communication by vibrating Essence, and it also includes a GPS."
"These are cutting-edge devices created by combining technology and Alchemy. They aren't easily affected by interference, are very difficult to detect, and they fused with your body the moment they were implanted."
"Science and Alchemy... pretty amazing, right?"
He clapped Zhou Chen on the shoulder. "From now on, you're the man with cameras in his face."
Zhou Chen glanced around, then turned to look at a screen in the room. The image displayed on it was exactly what he was seeing, and in glorious 32K ultra-HD, no less. Every detail was perfectly clear.
He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. "So, what if I see something... uh, private? Will it be censored automatically?"
'Like when I'm using the bathroom...'
The room instantly fell silent.
There was no solution to that problem, nor was there any automatic censorship program.
Either you don't look, or everyone else pretends they didn't see anything.
The long silence was finally broken by Jiang Che, her tone as placid as ever. "The university anniversary is tomorrow. According to the Intelligence Department's investigation, Xu Lingling has already passed on the latest information about you to the Fanatics at Jinzhu University. If all goes well, they will try to contact you covertly tomorrow.
I hope you can seize the opportunity and perform well."
The reason they hadn't arrested Xu Lingling yet was so she could be used to pass along false information, creating an opportunity for Zhou Chen to go undercover.
All the information she had was exactly what Jiang Che wanted her to have.
If their predictions were correct, Xu Lingling was currently reveling in the joy of her supposed contribution, while the Fanatics of the Eternal Fire, lurking in the shadows, were likely already debating whether or not to contact and recruit Zhou Chen.
·
·
Amidst these intense preparations from all sides, the day of the university anniversary arrived.
Zhou Chen's career as a mole was about to begin.