Quadruple split.

Chapter 2735 Talent?

"tutor?"

Gahrez looked at the thoughtful old man with some trepidation, and after a long while asked in a weak voice, "Is...is there a problem?"

"Who knows."

Merlin shrugged, downed his coffee in one gulp, and said noncommittally, "Anyway, that's not something you should care about, or rather... it's something you should care about, but it's pointless to care."

Then, just as Merlin had expected, Gajres simply scratched his head in confusion and offered no comment.

He was confused.

He couldn't understand.

He couldn't properly take into account either the pain of the so-called 1000 level or the torment of the 3000 level.

It was not intentionally done to cater to the bravado of some madman, nor was it a manifestation of madness awakened today.

Rather, it was something that had accumulated over time, and after countless rounds of nurturing that were difficult for ordinary people to understand, it had become roots that covered the sky and the sun, covering the essence of this young man whose true nature had long been blurred.

[It's also possible... that the problem, which has been constantly bound by so-called routines and principles, is only now being exposed to the light of day...]

Merlin calmly gazed at Gajres' somewhat bewildered face, not lowering his eyes like Lef Astor had at the banquet, but instead smiled slightly, revealing a satisfied expression.

Deep within the eyes of the young man lay an unconscious rage and madness.

The old man's eyes also held shadows of madness and chaos.

"Ah."

Finally, Merlin let out a playful chuckle, put away the parchment in front of him that had lost its meaning, and asked calmly, "Then, my good student, brave and fearless Mr. Gahrez, please tell me, what exactly happened after the [Anti-Agent FIII] took full effect on you?"

"My body has mutated over an area of about 40%."

Gahrez subconsciously touched his heart area and said carefully, "To be precise, it should be 60%, but the brain mutation was less than halfway complete before it was forcibly terminated and reset by some force unrelated to my own immunity and [Agent FIII]. Although I can't be sure, I think there is a high probability that the system rules of [The Realm of Innocence] took effect."

Merlin nodded slightly and continued, "What about the remaining 40%?"

"The remaining 40% is mainly concentrated in the respiratory system, abdominal cavity, cardiopulmonary system, muscles and limbs."

As Gahrez carefully recalled the events, he said, "The most noticeable sensations were in the muscles and the cardiopulmonary system. At the two peaks, my heart rate reached 400 beats per minute and 15 beats per minute, respectively."

Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly: "What about physical sensations? Are there any obvious symptoms of discomfort?"

"No."

Gahrez shook his head and said seriously, "Even when my heart rate was at its highest, I did not experience palpitations or chest tightness, and when my heart rate was at its lowest, I did not experience weakness or blurred vision."

Merlin stroked his beard: "Are there any relevant debuffs on the character panel? Are there any fainting symptoms that you've been ignoring due to the sensory protection system?"

"No."

Gahrez gave a resolute answer, saying seriously, "During the experiment, I was constantly monitoring my character panel, but it only showed one debuff: [Man-made Mutation - Alienation FIII]."

What is the content of the debuff?

Merlin's words were concise and to the point.

"Specifically, the player is undergoing controlled human-induced mutations, and every 0.5 seconds there is a chance to trigger an unavoidable lethal effect. The specific probability is affected by the player's mental and physical state."

Gahrez glanced down at the needle mark on his arm, which had almost completely healed and was now just a faint white mark, and said seriously, "During the 75-minute experiment, the actual lethality rate on the panel remained at 0%."

"very good."

Merlin nodded and asked again, "You mean that although you experienced a negative status after being injected with [Anti-Agent FIII] with a probability of death twice per second, that probability value remained at 0% from beginning to end?"

Without hesitation, Gahrez nodded firmly and said, "No, I can guarantee that."

"I see."

Merlin didn't dwell on the topic too much, but instead asked, "So, has your physical condition changed after using [Anti-Agent FIII]?"

"A lot has changed."

Gahrez stared at his right hand, gently clenched his fist, and said in a serious tone, "Let's talk about the side effects first. First is the mutation process. In the first five minutes, almost all of my resistances were reduced to the level of an ordinary person, that is, the level of a normal young man outside the game. My physical strength was directly locked at 1 point, and my health was also reduced to 5% of the normal level, which is about the level where I would die if I were slightly injured."

Merlin casually pulled out a jet-black magic crystal plate, and while gently tracing patterns on it, he looked at Gahrez and said, "Do you think it has anything to do with your own weak strength?"

"Ok?"

Gahrez paused for a moment, then asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"What you mean is, do you think the extent to which your physical condition has been reduced is related to your original lack of strength?"

Merlin tapped his magic crystal board lightly and said calmly, "After all, you're only at the level of a mid-level physical damage dealer. Putting aside newbies who have just started playing, you're among the worst players."

"Ah, I understand what you mean."

Gahrez immediately realized, then shook his head and said, "But I don't think this negative effect is related to the physical condition of the test subjects. Take the test subject [F-S41], who was also injected with [Animal Transformation Agent FIII] but died without a complete body, even if he had a high-level peak physical strength, the result was not much stronger than other test subjects."

Merlin nodded and continued, "So, what do you think is the main reason you were able to persevere while all the other test subjects failed without exception? Is it your player identity?"

"..."

Faced with this question, Gahrez fell into a long silence. The reason was simple: although he had recorded the relevant information in his experimental log, under Merlin's guidance, he had gradually realized that his thinking at the time was not very rigorous.

The old man didn't urge them at all; he simply refilled his coffee and waited silently with his arms crossed for the other person to reach a conclusion.

Merlin had seen too many young people eager to prove themselves miss opportunities because of their impetuousness, so Gajeres's serious attitude at this moment not only did not displease him, but also made the old man feel gratified.

Of course, that doesn't matter. After all, Gahrez has already given an impeccable answer, so even if he did make some foolish mistakes, it won't shake his position as 'Merlin Workshop's First Assistant and Chief Researcher'.

As for anything further...

That has nothing to do with me.

Merlin glanced at the moonlight gradually disappearing around the workshop on the monitor and gave a meaningful smile.

Rather than a so-called 'coincidence,' the old man, who was once a staunch materialist and is still cultivating the ladder of truth, now feels more like it's some kind of 'fate,' and even feels a slight empathy for a certain philosopher who spent the latter half of his life immersed in theology.

[Although I won't judge the age of this planet based on the completely fabricated content in the Bible~] Merlin thought to himself with a slightly joking tone, while taking a leisurely sip of coffee, his expression filled with an incomprehensible sense of superiority.

Finally, after a long period of thought lasting about five minutes, Gahrez slowly spoke—

"I think that has nothing to do with my player identity."

The young man, his brow furrowed, took a deep breath and said slowly, "Although the system can guarantee that players will not experience negative physical sensations exceeding their individual thresholds, giving us double insurance with a sensory protection system and an emergency disconnection mechanism, even if we take these two points into account, under normal circumstances, my result should be that my character is declared dead after being forcibly disconnected."

Merlin nodded noncommittally: "Continue."

Gahrez continued cooperatively, "Based on the above judgment, I think the variables still lie in the quality of the 'subject' and the composition of the [Antidote FIII] type. Putting aside the latter, which has room for optimization, I think the core reason for the success of this experiment lies in 'me' personally."

"The approach is correct."

Merlin took a big gulp of coffee, raising his eyebrows slightly: "Continue."

"In conclusion, I believe the most crucial factor lies in..."

Under Merlin's watchful gaze, Gahrez said very seriously, "My two talents are [Venomous Blood] and [Deteriorating Mutation]."

"Ah."

Merlin glanced at Gajres and asked, "Do you really think so?"

"Uh……"

Gahrez hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded vigorously: "Yes, at least that's what I personally think. Do you think there's something I've overlooked, mentor?"

“You are the only successful subject, and I don’t think there’s anything ‘big’ wrong with your conclusions.”

Merlin put down his coffee and said slowly, "As for the minor issues that may arise, we can balance them by 'adjusting the threshold of the [Antidote],' for example, by increasing the safe range by about 50%."

Gahrez's eyes widened immediately, and he asked in astonishment, "Fifty percent? You mean, after taking into account [Poisonous Blood] and [Deteriorating Mutation], you want to increase the safety margin of [Aberrant Agent] by an additional 50%?"

"It's at least 50%."

Merlin added casually, speaking in a calm tone, "You can assume that you are a test subject with an extreme compatibility with the [Anti-Agent FIII] type, of course, this is also taking into account your two talents."

Gahrez hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said seriously, "I understand."

"Now that we know, let's begin preparations for the development of the [Dissimilar Agent FIV] type."

Merlin nodded slightly and said calmly, "You'll be in charge of this project. Is there a problem?"

"Ah I?"

Gajeres, who had been assisting Merlin as his assistant the entire time, was startled and stammered, "I...I...I can't do it, can I?"

“It’s not a question of whether it will work or not, Gajres.”

Merlin's gaze gradually turned stern, and he said in a deep voice, "My time is precious, and so is the time of our sponsors. So, given that you already have certain qualifications, certifications, and even valuable data at the sensory level, I have no reason to waste more than twenty minutes of your time on this project."

Only then did Gajrez realize that his mentor hadn't actually sought his opinion, and he fell silent, nodding repeatedly.

"Very good, then you don't need to show me the experimental logs or anything like that. You are in full charge of this project. Submit a project plan by noon tomorrow."

Merlin glanced at Gahrez and added casually, "Remember to keep the word count under three pages."

"I understand, mentor."

Gahrez nodded vigorously, and felt a surge of excitement, for being able to lead an independent project under Merlin was something that even in the Realm of Innocence, it was enough to make a young academic like Gahrez blush with excitement.

So, Gahrez blushed and made a promise to the old man, saying that he would work harder and strive to complete the development of the [Dissimilar Agent FIV] type in the shortest possible time.

"As long as we can produce results, it doesn't matter if we fail."

Merlin casually reassured Gahrez, his tone softening: "As for resources, just apply for them directly in the plan. Make sure to allocate a generous amount, understand?"

Gahrez nodded again: "I understand, mentor."

"Well, I'll call Garros over to assist you later. Osiris is currently unavailable, and I don't know where Yin Tian has been sent by Gavin. At the moment, only Garros is qualified to do some auxiliary work."

Merlin thought for a moment, then said, "And... how much research funding do you plan to ask for this time?"

Gahrez: "...Research funding?"

"Yes, research funding."

Merlin nodded slightly, then frowned and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Gahrez hesitated for a moment, thinking for a while before saying somewhat uncertainly, "I think we have enough materials to complete this experiment, and didn't you just say that resources can be applied for directly from the project proposal? So... uh, what exactly is the research funding used for?"

"Ugh……"

"tutor?"

"Thirty thousand yuan, will be transferred to your account tomorrow."

"Ah? No, Professor, I..."

"This amount of money allocated to appease beggars is a form of punishment."

"what?"

"Punish your ignorance and your blockhead."

"Uh……"

"Alright, now let's talk about the core issue."

"The core issue?"

“That’s right, Gahrez, you should also share with me the specific changes that happened to you after using [Anti-Morph Agent FIII] and surviving it.”

"Oh, okay, mentor."