SS 72: Destroy Specimens

Now announcing the final task for the host, Pang Kirates.

After the assassination of the five inmates, which was anything but covert, the entire Eimiral Star was put under martial law. Airports and parking lots near the interstellar port underwent rigorous inspections, as the Alliance was convinced that the assassin couldn’t have gone far. They believed there were no means of transportation fast enough to allow for a quick escape, and thus, the assassin must be hiding in a nearby parking area, likely disguised.

The assassin probably used a bright flash bomb. Video footage from the scene could only capture a silhouette with two mechanical wings, likely a transformable small combat armor. This type of combat armor, once modified, could look like an ordinary airship, which the assassin must have used to escape. Thus, by checking nearby airships or cars for modifications, they believed they could find the assassin.

Unbeknownst to the Alliance police, military, and security departments, in a short while, they would find a metal mask scorched by high temperatures in a deserted area 3000 kilometers away from the Alliance Sports University. They wouldn’t be able to find any clues on the mask, but they could be certain the assassin was hiding nearby.

4500 kilometers away, Feng Lianzhu successfully completed his graduation speech. When he stepped down, he stumbled nervously, eliciting laughter from the audience.

Even the host joked, saying that it was unexpected for a once-in-a-century genius of the Alliance to be so shy, blushing during his speech.

As everyone knows, biological simulation masks can mimic anything except for facial capillaries, which means they can’t blush. Even if someone were to suspect Feng Lianzhu in the future, this video of his speech could serve as an alibi.

Even General Laurie, who was in on the secret, was shocked to see Feng Lianzhu appear at the graduation ceremony, and seeing him blush was even more startling.

He knew that Feng Lianzhu and the golden Kirates dragon were two separate entities, but was it possible that Feng Lianzhu was actually an adult Kirates? If he wasn’t an adult Kirates, how could he possess such speed?

It took General Laurie a long time to calm down, thinking that regardless of Feng Lianzhu’s identity, it didn’t matter as long as they were allies, not enemies.

He resolved to avoid antagonizing Feng Lianzhu and the Primitive Star in the future.

Feng Lianzhu returned to the Science Academy with his diploma unimpeded, where everything was peaceful, unaffected by the outside world’s events.

Taking advantage of the chaos on Eimiral Star, Laurie used an internal code to pass on Feng Lianzhu’s instructions to the intelligence operatives.

Contacting operatives during such a critical time was risky and could expose their identities. However, these operatives were about to be framed for a major conspiracy and forced to flee, so their exposure was no longer a concern.

The day after the assassination of the five inmates, the brave prosecutor who had exposed the crimes of the underground arena questioned the “Atavists Protection Act” and proposed its repeal to the council. The Alliance, knowing this prosecutor was an Imperial Army spy, dared not touch him due to his popularity among the public for standing up to dark forces. Killing him then could have incited public outrage.

Even if he were killed, it would be futile; who knew how many spies the Imperial Army had within the Alliance? If one prosecutor died, thousands more spies willing to take up his cause would stand up, possibly inciting public protests, resulting in a net loss. The Alliance could only endure and promote the prosecutor while waiting for an opportunity to eliminate him later.

The prosecutor was highly efficient; he proposed the repeal of the “Act” one day, and by the next day, he had opened an official online voting channel for public opinion, reaching 50% of the votes in favor of repeal in nearly a day. Now, only an official procedure was needed to repeal the act.

Feng Lianzhu, who had been following the news, tapped his desk. The gap between the end of the underground arena case, the repeal of the “Atavists Protection Act,” and the legislation of new laws was the perfect opportunity for the Atavists to declare their nation’s foundation.

To distract the Alliance from interfering with the Atavists’ nation-building, nothing was better suited than framing Imperial spies for stealing and destroying the dragonling specimen and blowing up the laboratory.

On the third day of work, like usual, Feng Lianzhu was the last to leave the office. After checking the energy switches and experimental equipment, he locked the office door. He even greeted a senior from the Botanical Science Institute on his way back to the dormitory, entering his room under surveillance. Both his room and the hallway were adorned with plants named after his mentor.

These plants, called Linke bamboo, were personally cultivated by Feng Lianzhu. Each bamboo contained a wisp of his spiritual energy, allowing him to direct them like a net with just a thought.

Ensuring all the bamboo plants were within his teleportation range, Feng Lianzhu took out a metal mask identical to the one used during the assassination and put it on his face.

He changed into the skin of the Golden Winged Peng again, transferring his essence into the bamboo in his room.

Feng Lianzhu’s skill of attaching to bamboo allowed him to teleport and switch hosts within a certain distance among the bamboo. Even when the game’s maximum level was only 30, this skill, which also allowed health regeneration, was a headache for players. Every time they fought Feng Lianzhu, just as they managed to reduce his health to 50%, the boss would disappear, hiding within the bamboo. At that time, level 30 players didn’t have wide-range ultimate skills and had to use area attacks to search, exhausting themselves only to find the boss already regenerated to below 90% health and mana. Due to this abnormal skill, the game’s designers were severely criticized by players.

The teleportation distance of the bamboo attachment skill was 15 meters; beyond that, Feng Lianzhu had to physically move and could no longer silently transfer through bamboo. In his specific report on Linke bamboo, he mentioned that the optimal distance between two plants was about 10 meters, their oxygen production range perfectly covering 10 meters, making it ideal for the Science Institute to have a bamboo every 10 meters.

Even if some were placed slightly further apart, they wouldn’t exceed 15 meters, allowing Feng Lianzhu to reach the secret specimen storage room without obstacles. Even when people passed by his host bamboo, they didn’t notice his presence.

Only those of the highest clearance had keys to the storage room, and even the spies who had infiltrated for years didn’t have one. However, one of them was qualified to participate in the dragonling specimen research and could enter the laboratory, but only in groups of five or more, led by a team leader.

If Feng Lianzhu forcibly entered the storage room, it would undoubtedly draw attention, complicating his escape and endangering the spies. Naturally, he wouldn’t be so foolish.

He only asked the spy to do one thing—avoid surveillance and bring a handful of soil from any Linke bamboo pot into the lab.

The spy didn’t understand the significance of this seemingly mundane task. Entering and exiting the lab required biometric scans, and while most items couldn’t be brought in, sterile soil, considered completely harmless, wouldn’t be detected by the scanning system.

Feng Lianzhu didn’t even instruct him on what to do with the soil; merely bringing it in was enough.

This arrangement was also conveyed through Laurie’s secret code, ensuring Feng Lianzhu had no direct contact with the spies. They lived kilometers apart, dined in different cafeterias, and worked in completely unrelated departments.

After the spy brought the soil into the lab, he didn’t bother with it any further. Only when he returned to his room and thought to clean out his pockets did he realize the soil was gone. Following this task, the spies withdrew early, unaware of what had transpired, simply executing their orders mechanically.

Naturally, the handful of soil was a clay figure crafted by Feng Lianzhu’s skill. Through manipulating the clay figure, he surveyed all items in the lab, ensuring all the specimens were present.

He activated his spiritual power, causing the clay figure to slump on the lab’s tabletop, from which a seed wrapped inside began to grow rapidly.

This seed, hidden within the clay figure and enveloped in spiritual energy, was undetectable by the biometric scans. It grew wildly in the lab, only 14 meters away from Feng Lianzhu.

Feng Lianzhu seamlessly entered the lab via the bamboo, retracting the clay figure and the bamboo. Observing the dragonling specimens stored in various containers, his hair gently floated in the air without any breeze.

Even as mere specimens, the Kirates clan’s essence was immensely powerful. To completely destroy them, he had to use the Black Scale Arrow, infused with the dragon’s force.

The specimens were divided into countless parts, each soaked in different vessels, with the largest piece secured in a massive safe.

Fortunately, Feng Lianzhu had enough hair. He targeted each specimen, unleashing Black Scale Arrows. The dragon’s force exploded within the lab, engulfing it in a sea of flames.

As the alarm sounded, Feng Lianzhu calmly ensured the largest safe was destroyed before safely transitioning outside to a bamboo.

After teleporting through hundreds of Linke bamboo, Feng Lianzhu returned to his room, shedding the Golden Winged Peng skin for pajamas adorned with baby dragons, appearing both young and innocent.

He then tousled his hair to give the appearance of having just woken up, creating a messy look.

Prepared for any inquiry, there was a rapid knock at the door.

Feng Lianzhu slowly got up, feigning sleepiness as he opened the door, pretending to be clueless.

He was supposed to be clueless, after all, since the alarm had sounded over at the Genetic Science Institute, completely unrelated to the Botanical Science Institute.

The visitor was a military officer stationed to protect the academy. After the alarm, a special forces team arrived at the lab within a minute, extinguished the fire in three, and reacted swiftly. Yet, the dragonling specimens were obliterated.

Within five minutes, thousands of soldiers had all research staff exit their rooms for searches, questioning, and frustration among some uninformed professors. Amidst the irate researchers, Feng Lianzhu played the role of a bewildered intern, closely following his supervisor.

Only after it was discovered that four personnel had left the academy early under various pretexts did the barrage of questions cease. Except for a few highly esteemed professors, the rest waited together, dozing off, for the investigation results.

Feng Lianzhu’s fingers curled around the baby dragon in his pajamas, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The system had just notified him of completing the fifth stage task for Pang Kirates. The final stage of the game world’s Fat Dragon evolution had begun.

【Host Feng Lianzhu has completed the fifth stage task for Pang Kirates. Now beginning to infuse evolutionary energy into Pang Kirates’s body. As the energy enters, Pang Kirates will simultaneously receive ancestral memories.】

【Now announcing the final task for host Pang Kirates.】