Qi Suian quickly suppressed the whole "intelligence reduction" issue.
It wasn't like he could fight it, so he had no choice but to muddle through.
However, he was certain that it didn't actually lower his IQ. Instead, it just made his logic and behavior unconventional.
After securing the fighter jet, Qi Suian began raiding the major laboratory branches of the Watchman Morning Company, acquiring a vast amount of knowledge and evolution materials.
In the process, he successfully raised the Tai Sui God's armor value to 3, achieving his second evolution and unlocking a brand-new module slot.
This enabled both the Interstellar Psionic Floating Cannon Swarm and the Artificial Crystal Vein Alloy to be equipped.
However, the next evolution required an armor value of 4, and the amount of evolution materials needed had increased significantly.
The reason was simple. While the armor value could be seen as a progress bar, it wasn't the primary beneficiary of the materials. The real beneficiaries were the module slots and the modules themselves.
At zero evolutions, he only needed to supply enhancements for five SSS-rank modules. But at two evolutions, he had to support seven. If the material cost for evolution didn't increase, that would be a huge issue.
The further he progressed and the higher his evolution count, the more materials each point of armor required, yet the effectiveness of the armor itself remained unchanged.
This was a flaw of the Tai Sui God, but fortunately, it could be compensated for with modules. An alloy module increased base armor by a percentage, so if that percentage was stacked, the results would be quite substantial.
Its virtues far outweighed its flaws.
Then, with the A.I. Core's assistance, Qi Suian began conducting biochemical experiments.
Reaching the third evolution wasn't going to be easy, so Qi Suian decided to change his focus for the time being.
His learning efficiency wasn't slow by any means, but it was far too slow compared to the pace of the apocalypse.
It was now the third week of the apocalypse. Tier-3 Mutated Zombies had already appeared, and even Zombie Lords had been sighted.
Therefore, he needed to improve his learning efficiency to master vast amounts of knowledge as quickly as possible.
'By stimulating the activity of the Deep Virus and concentrating it in the brain, I can make my body secrete corresponding hormones as a stimulant.'
'This will ultimately activate my brain and temporarily increase my Spirit attribute, drastically improving my learning, thinking, and logical abilities.'
'It's just... the side effects...'
Qi Suian stared at the vial of viral agent in his hand. He had created it from a low-concentration Deep Virus Crystal. After consumption, its enhancement effect would last for twenty-four hours.
Nowadays, the brains of common, wild zombies contained these low-concentration Deep Virus Crystals. As for high-concentration ones, he would have to hunt down the zombies or Mutated Zombies manufactured and released by the Watchman Morning Company.
As for why he had succeeded so smoothly, Qi Suian wouldn't dare claim it was due to his own profound knowledge. It was thanks to the A.I. Core's assistance, his own Celestial Fate: Profound, and the enhanced effect of his strong luck.
Luck played a huge part, and he was self-aware enough to admit it.
'Drastically increases my own infection level, my constitution will continuously decline, and my symptoms will worsen.'
'But that's fine. The first two problems can be resolved through Death Recast. For the last one, I can use the Deep Virus to stimulate adrenaline secretion.'
'I'll be sick, sure, but it won't affect my ability to learn and think.'
As for adrenaline poisoning, that was even less of a concern. Death Recast was the solution to all his problems.
What Qi Suian needed to figure out was how to not waste any time.
'At the rate my constitution is declining, I won't even survive the full twenty-four hours. So, the best solution is to shorten the duration and increase the potency.'
It didn't matter if he couldn't survive the full duration. He just had to shorten the time and boost the effects.
'Oh, right, the dying process will also be quite painful.'
When it finally kicked in, it would definitely be agonizing. It's not like the Deep Virus was some benevolent saint.
"The A.I. Core can give me a hand when the time comes," Qi Suian muttered.
He immediately began working with the A.I. Core to further refine the agent.
He named the agent the "Death Agent."
This stuff could easily be used as a poison. Well, in reality, it *was* a poison; Qi Suian was just using it as a personal tonic.
A normal person would be guaranteed to die after drinking it.
Once the Death Agent was created, Qi Suian downed it in one gulp without a second's hesitation.
The absorption rate was incredibly fast. In an instant, Qi Suian felt his mind begin to race. Obscure concepts that were once difficult to grasp suddenly became crystal clear.
'So this is what it feels like to be a top student... no, a god of studying.'
'And I'm a studying god plus.'
Then, Qi Suian began running various tests to check the extent of his enhancement.
'My Spirit attribute is rising. Looks like it'll keep going until I die. Too bad it's only temporary.'
'Photographic memory, multitasking... and my comprehension and thinking abilities are double what they were before. And that multiplier is still increasing along with my infection level and Spirit attribute.'
'The higher the infection level and the more active the Deep Virus, the sharper my mind becomes.'
'At the same time, my constitution drops and my symptoms worsen. Time for the adrenaline to spike!'
Right now, Qi Suian's fever had already reached 40.5°C and was still climbing.
'If all goes according to plan, with the Tai Sui God's life support system, I can survive for about three hours in this state, perfectly using up the Death Agent's effects right to the very end.'
'Even if some is wasted, it won't be much.'
Qi Suian recorded the data while communicating with the A.I. Core.
'In my current state, one day of work is equivalent to at least a month of studying before.'
"Excellent. Humans truly do have their limits," Qi Suian quipped, before immediately wondering if the Death Agent could be improved even more.
For example, by further shortening his survival time while simultaneously increasing the agent's potency.
After all, he could revive just by watching a thirty-second "ad," so the more potent the agent, the better.
With his newly sharpened mind, Qi Suian—aided by a flash of luck-driven inspiration and the A.I. Core—quickly began a second round of modifications on the Death Agent.
Two hours flew by in an instant. Before Qi Suian could stop, the A.I. Core directly took control and deactivated the Expedition-class Ecological Circulation Device.
SNAP. Qi Suian died and began to reform.
Three hours was his limit, but that didn't mean Qi Suian had to wait the full three hours. After two and a half hours, his Deep Virus infection level would reach a critical 88%, so there was no need to push it to the absolute last second.
Better to die a little early than risk full infection and turning into a zombie.
'The one-hour version is done. I can die ten minutes early.'
'That's equivalent to watching a thirty-second ad to revive every fifty minutes.'