Technological practice: leading the human race to the stars

Chapter 53 Tempering Mental Strength

Yuanze sat cross-legged and used the secret method taught by Zhang Zhisheng to release his mental power combined with the activated source power.

Yuanze also used gene chips to modify the way the gene lock ability "Mind Flow" was used, attaching the ability of "Mind Flow" to every mental power released, trying to speed up the absorption and understanding of knowledge.

The network threads wrapped around Yuanze, as if they had found prey, all gathered around Yuanze's body and connected one by one with his outward mental power.

Some of the threads even arrived too late and had no corresponding mental power interfaces, and they began to become tangled and entangled, as if they were about to start a fight.

Mingtu was incredulous. There had never been such a situation in his database, nor had he calculated such a situation. He looked at Yuanze carefully, peeling off the thread of knowledge bit by bit, so that it would match the thread of Yuanze's mental power.

But at this time, a change occurred that surprised Mingtu even more. The mental power released by Yuanze actually changed in form.

He saw that the source power in Yuanze's spiritual power was interfering with the development of cells. The stem cells underwent a radical change. They seemed to be given a new life and gradually transformed into precious "neural stem cells".

These neural stem cells are like newborn seeds, taking root and sprouting in Yuanze's body, and then differentiating into "neural precursor cells" of various shapes and cell groups with unique functions.

This process is like a grand symphony, with each cell playing its own music precisely according to the direction of the source force. As time goes by, mature neurons gradually emerge, extending their slender axons and dendrites, dancing in the spiritual world of Yuanze like countless tentacles.

These neurons are connected to each other through dendrites, forming a complex and orderly neural network. They are like the guardians of knowledge, constantly drawing wisdom from the test tower. Each neuron is like a smart thread of knowledge, closely connecting the source with the vast ocean of knowledge.

Mingtu vaguely saw a blurry outline behind Yuanze. It was made up of countless brain waves that were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. This outline maintained the same posture and body shape as Yuanze, as if it was his spiritual projection, a mysterious existence of a "second self".

Mingtu also noticed the glittering gene chip in Yuanze's hand. It was running at full capacity, constantly analyzing and encoding neurons, and carefully carving Yuanze's spiritual world.

The circuits of the chip extend from Yuanze's brain and are closely connected to the newly formed nerve tissue. They are like life lines, firmly binding Yuanze to this mysterious world. Through these lines, Yuanze can sense every fluctuation of knowledge in the assessment tower and transform it into nourishment for his own spiritual power.

Astra on the side also fell into a rare silence. She was concentrating on receiving the massive amount of data absorbed by Yuanze. The influx of a large amount of information made her virtual face flush, as if she was unable to breathe due to excessive effort.

In this flood of information, Astra is also growing at an astonishing speed. Her figure gradually transforms from a little girl into a graceful young lady, elegant and powerful.

This unprecedented growth rate surprised even Mingtu, a knowledgeable AI.

What frightened him was that Astra and Yuanze had the same will, and their spiritual fusion degree soared from 22% to 64% before gradually stabilizing. In this process, their bond became closer and closer, moving towards inseparability.

After an unknown amount of time, Yuanze was finally awakened by a strong feeling of hunger. It seemed that his body had reached its limit.

His eyes, which had just opened, lost their luster and were covered with a thick turbidity.

He stared at his hands quietly, as if only skin was left tightly wrapped around fragile skeletons. The lines on his palms were like an old, wrinkled map, and his fingers were slender and dry, like withered branches in winter.

Yuanze clenched his fists and could clearly see the bones moving suddenly under his skin. He stood up and moved around, feeling that every cell in his body was screaming in pain, craving for nutrition.

Although his body was exhausted, Yuan Ze's spirit was unusually full. He stretched out his arms and lay back. The moment he landed, he used his mental power, which had almost condensed into substance, to lift himself up steadily.

Ming Tu slowly appeared at this time and looked at him helplessly: "You are really a lunatic. You have to push yourself to the limit before you stop."

"How long has it been now?" Yuanze's breath was long and lingering, like an old wise man. "It's been 102 days, and you have absorbed nearly half of my knowledge." Mingtu also saw Yuanze's worry, "The assessment is over, and I have transmitted the results to the Flesh and Blood Tower."

"In order to protect your vital signs, I drove everyone away and sealed the entrance."

The space here is equipped with a basic life support device called a "micro bioreactor" to keep Yuan Ze alive.

It uses nanotechnology and bioengineering to interact directly with cells to provide necessary energy and oxygen; they can also intelligently monitor the state of the body and adjust inputs and outputs, and can promptly remove waste from the body, allowing Yuanze's body to maintain basic operations under extreme conditions.

However, despite such an advanced and comprehensive life support system, under Yuan Ze's almost crazy consumption, it finally seemed unable to cope with it and could not keep up with his needs.

"Thank you very much." Yuanze paused for a moment, "Which red assessment tower is the Flesh and Blood Tower?"

"It's the red assessment tower."

After hearing Mingtu's response, Yuanze immediately asked what to do next, because at this moment Astra had severed her spiritual connection with him and fell into an unfathomable state of sleep.

"I'm ready. What you need is there. Just go to the Tower of Flesh and Blood."

Yuanze stood up, wrapped himself with mental power, manipulated every muscle and bone in his body, and walked out of the assessment tower.

The outside of the assessment tower was crowded with people, even many professors and instructors. Because during the last 50 days of Yuanze's operation, Mingtu expelled all students and closed all channels of consciousness, prohibiting anyone from entering.

But when everyone saw Yuanze's appearance, they were so shocked that they were speechless, as if a chill instantly ran through their bodies.

Yuanze was emaciated, with only skin and bones left. Clothes hung loosely on his thin body, swaying in the wind, like a piece of cloth forgotten on a clothes rack. His cheeks and eye sockets were sunken, and his cheekbones were high, making his eyes look unusually large.

However, there was no trace of decadence or confusion in those deep eyes. On the contrary, they were like the brightest stars in the dark night sky, shining with hope.

The spiritual power brought by this belief is like a warm current, washing out waves in everyone's hearts.

Everyone was shocked by his tenacity and perseverance. Regardless of their status or strength, everyone consciously made way for Yuanze to pass by calmly.

"Why is he so calm? He seems to be hollowed out." Some people still couldn't help but whisper.

"Shh, don't say anything. Just follow him and see what he's going to do."

So, a group of people began to follow him and saw him step into the majestic red assessment tower. Then, the assessment tower seemed to sense something and suddenly began to expel the students who were submitting assessments in the tower and tightly closed all the entrances.

At first, everyone was curious about what was so special about this assessment tower that contained ranking scores.

Time passed quietly, and the people who followed gradually left. Only occasionally someone would stop in front of the red assessment tower for a moment, but as time went on, more and more people gathered at the door.

(End of this chapter)