Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 606 Replicas

She walked to the window. Although the outside was just a simulated natural landscape screen, her gaze seemed to penetrate through layers of barriers and see the possible future.

"Imagine the spread of the extraordinary, like releasing a wild beast from its cage. If not controlled properly, even with my overwhelming power, how can I monitor the entire empire at all times? At that time, ambitious individuals will rise up with the help of the twisted objects, and local forces will become powerful with their own 'weapons'. The entire country will likely be reborn, but it will also fall into fragmentation and turmoil."

This is her deepest worry.

Absolute power brings absolute authority, but it can also bring absolute division.

She can destroy any individual, but she cannot easily quell the chaos that spreads throughout the country.

Li Zhongren suppressed his smile, jumped off the sofa, and walked to Isabella's side.

His eyes became deep; he was no longer the five-year-old child.

“Your concerns are valid. Therefore, my telekinesis cannot and will not spread out as a general source of power. That is my, and also your, greatest trump card. I do not want ‘that enemy’ to notice my existence now. Our duel will not and cannot come too soon.”

He paused and continued.

"The power of control cannot rely solely on deterrence at the source; it must be rooted in the system itself. What we need to do is to focus on research and design a set of shackles—a set of shackles that, even if the power is dissipated, can still be firmly held in our hands."

He looked at Isabella and used a simple metaphor to highlight the key point.

"Think about cars. Cars can be made very well, run very fast, and can even be sold to anyone. But the 'gasoline' that powers cars—its formula, its production, and its supply channels—must be firmly controlled by the Empire. Without the 'gasoline' we provide, even the best car is just a pile of scrap metal."

Isabella's eyes suddenly lit up.

This metaphor instantly dispelled the fog in her mind.

That's right! She doesn't need to ban "cars," she just needs to monopolize "oil"!
As long as the "energy source" of power is controlled, then no matter who the extraordinary equipment falls into, its lifeline will still be held by the Empire.

"I understand!"

She took a deep breath, and the blueprint in her mind became clear.

"Then let's begin designing the first 'car' that requires a specific 'gasoline' to start for the Empire's extraordinary era."
-
Dividing line

The research officially began, and the air was filled with a mixture of excitement and fear.

The isolation level of the core laboratory below was raised to the highest level, and the heavy, lead-gray gates fell one after another, while the energy barrier emitted a low hum.

Queen Isabella and Li Zhongren, codenamed "Zero," were stationed in the control room, like pillars of strength, but it was the people in the laboratory who truly stepped into the unknown battlefield.

Benjamin did not remain on the secure observation platform; instead, he personally entered the outer command area of ​​the laboratory. Through the final reinforced glass wall, he could clearly see everything inside the isolation chamber.

He needs to sense things and make judgments immediately.

"Final checks of all systems complete!"

Reports from various departments came through the communication channel.

"The monitoring network is online, and the sensitivity is set to the highest level."

"The emergency response team is in place, and the high-energy laser cutter is ready."

Benjamin took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the somewhat thin young figure in the isolation ward, wearing protective clothing: Doyle Hawkins.

He was an unknown technician in the logistics department, who was usually engrossed in various theoretical deductions. During the previous injection of the "Awakening Potion", he showed amazing telekinetic talent, not only in intensity, but also in the subtle control, as if his telekinesis itself was an invisible precision instrument.

During this operation, he was promoted to the top leader of the on-site operations, despite not meeting the usual requirements.

"Doyle, how are you feeling?"

Benjamin inquired through the internal channel, his voice calm and encouraging.

“Unprecedented clarity, Deputy Director.”

Doyle's voice was a little tense, but more focused.

“I can ‘feel’ it, like a cold, wriggling flame. From a normal perspective, it is still, but in my telepathic perception, the energy patterns on its surface are breathing slowly like a living thing, no, they are whispering.”

This description sent a chill down Benjamin's spine.

"Start the first phase: disassembly and verification. Remember, safety first. If any abnormality is found, stop immediately."

"clear."

Inside the isolation chamber, the robotic arm slowly extended under Doyle's telekinetic guidance. Its end was not a traditional tool, but a specially modulated stream of particles designed to make the smallest possible interference.

Doyle closed his eyes, his entire mind immersed in his telekinetic perception.

"Activate the laser particle stream, power 0.1 percent."

He gave the order.

A barely perceptible beam of energy touched the edge of the glove.

On the regular monitoring screen, there was no change.

But in the perception of all the awakened ones, that ball of "cold flame" suddenly trembled!
Doyle's telekinesis, like the most flexible thread, coiled around the particle stream, not only guiding it but also sensing the most subtle energy feedback at the point of contact.

Finally, the laser descended, leaving a mark on the leather surface. Then, the laser rotated, and a small piece was cut off.

"Tsk~~"

A sound, like tearing cloth, exploded out, not through the air but directly within everyone's mental perception!

Almost at the moment of separation, a sudden change occurred!
In my perception, the light on that fragment dimmed rapidly, like a candle flickering in the wind.

At the same time, a faint but extremely sharp sense of "wailing" assaulted the consciousness of all the awakened ones.

The main glove suddenly erupted with an even stronger energy field, like an enraged beast, its surface energy patterns twisting wildly!

At that moment, a tremendous force of thought descended from the sky, forcefully suppressing the seemingly rebellious glove and pinning it firmly to the experimental table.

The gloves were struggling, causing the testing table to creak and groan.

This scene sent chills down the spines of the researchers. At that moment, they finally understood why the Queen hadn't left. If it weren't for the Queen, everyone in the room would probably be dead.

"You, continue your research."

The Empress's voice drifted in softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Doyle responded and once again enveloped the fragments with his telekinetic power.

"Oh no, it's 'dying'! It's yearning, yearning!!"

Doyle shouted again.

"Blood, quick!"

Nearby, researchers immediately brought over the blood they had prepared, and Doyle swiftly placed the fragment that had communicated with him through telepathy into the blood pool. The good news was that the death process was slowing down.

The bad news is, it's still dying.

This time, however, Doyle was no longer flustered, because through telekinesis, he was able to communicate with the fragment—not in the traditional sense, but through a kind of insight and understanding.

For example, Doyle knew that the fragment died because it lost its roots, just like a leaf separated from a tree, which, even when soaked in water, could only delay its withering.

"root"

"Isn't my mental power the root?"

So Doyle immediately used his telekinesis to guide the fragment, using himself to help it absorb blood.

Thus, at the level of telekinesis, it can be clearly seen that the fragments are constantly growing and multiplying, growing into a large piece of leather at a speed almost visible to the naked eye. Even more amazingly, stitches can be seen on this piece of leather, just like part of a glove.
"I...I can't do it anymore."

Suddenly, Doyle's legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.

"Quick, relay!"

At his prompting, the other researchers rushed forward to continue the process. After all, everyone possessed telekinesis, and the events that had just transpired were clearly visible to everyone on a telekinetic level.
In this way, through the relay efforts of dozens of researchers, a brand new glove grew out in about an hour, and, under the observation of telekinesis, it was exactly the same as the original glove.
The first experiment, from start to finish, took less than two hours to successfully replicate a brand new "sacrifice glove".

As the replica, which under telekinetic observation was almost indistinguishable from the original glove, was carefully placed on the inertial platform, Isabella in the control room slowly exhaled, her eyes filled with undisguised shock.

"In less than two hours, a 'twisted object' was created from scratch."

She muttered to herself that the efficiency far exceeded her most optimistic estimates.

If we rely on traditional scientific research methods to analyze a completely unknown form of matter and energy, it may take years or even decades, but here, it only takes two hours.

Sitting next to her, Li Zhongren seemed to see through her thoughts and spoke calmly.

"This is the overwhelming power at the 'observation' level. Scientific instruments are like scratching an itch through a boot; they can only capture the surface. But telekinesis, especially telekinesis with the corresponding talent, can directly 'touch' the surface of the rules and even make limited interventions and guidance. This is extraordinary power."

He changed the subject, displaying a composure beyond his years.

"But this is also the limitation of the extraordinary. It is highly dependent on talent and the individual, cannot be standardized, and is even more difficult to replicate on a large scale. You see, it took almost all the effort of Doyle and dozens of researchers to complete this glove. It required a relay race. The way forward is to transform this extraordinary 'observation' and 'understanding' into 'craftsmanship' and 'processes' that can be achieved by technology. It is about integration, not replacement."

Isabella nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed, the power of an individual can usher in an era, but what truly supports an empire must be a replicable and widely applicable system.

At that moment, Deputy Director Benjamin's detailed report was transmitted via an encrypted line.

The report briefly reviewed the thrilling experimental process, focusing on the subsequent comparative test results.

Tests confirmed that the cultivated new gloves are highly functionally identical to the original gloves, both sacrificing flesh and blood for power, and both posing a risk of overuse leading to the user turning into a dried-up corpse.

In theory, if they could solve the problems of training efficiency and energy supply, they could indeed, in the short term, create an army with superhuman strength by having soldiers wear these gloves.

But this is clearly far from perfect.

Leaving aside the enormous human resources required for the cultivation process, its very nature of "absorbing from the host" makes it a double-edged sword that could backfire at any time.

"It seems we've only copied the 'beast,' and we're still far from putting 'reins' on it."

Isabella said softly.

Li Zhongren jumped off the sofa, a look of eager anticipation on his face.

“Copying is just the first step. Now, it’s my turn to install the ‘battery’ and ‘switch’.”

He looked at Isabella and Benjamin.

"There are two key points."

"First, the form of energy. Using liquid blood directly is too inefficient and too bulky. I need to try to purify and compress it, remove water and other 'impurities,' and retain only the most essential life energy in the blood that can be identified by the gloves. Let's see if we can solidify it."

"Second, the design of the energy channel, how to enable the gloves to prioritize the identification and absorption of external energy, and at the same time feed the converted power back to the wearer."

"Can you do this?"

Benjamin asked curiously.

But Li Zhongren offered no explanation and directly demanded to enter the laboratory.

When Li Zhongren's small figure appeared in the core laboratory, all the researchers, including Doyle who had just recovered some of his strength, held their breath, their eyes filled with awe and curiosity.

As members of the Extraordinary Bureau, they knew of Zero's existence, and even knew that he could fly at Mach 15 as an infant.

That glove was practically nothing compared to him.

Li Zhongren was not wearing any protective equipment; he walked straight to the open space in the center.

On the workbench next to it were newly grown gloves, several bags of spare blood plasma, and some basic metal and crystal raw materials.

He stretched out his small hand, and a silver light seemed to flash in his eyes.

The next moment, something astonishing happened.

The metal and crystal raw materials seemed to lose gravity and float up. Under Li Zhongren's powerful and exquisite mental control, they were as if being polished, shaped and combined by invisible, skillful hands. Metal wires were woven into tiny energy-conducting circuits, and crystals were shaped into small, exquisite, finger-thick transparent bottle-shaped containers.

At the same time, a bag of blood plasma flew into the air. The crimson liquid churned and compressed violently under the influence of psychic power. Water and other components were precisely stripped away and vaporized, leaving only the core, viscous essence that emitted a dark red luster. It then solidified further, turning into several fingernail-sized, ruby-like solid crystals.

These crystals were precisely injected into the newly formed transparent crystal "bottles," fitting perfectly.

The entire process was smooth and effortless, without a trace of fussiness, as if it were not a difficult manufacturing process, but an elegant artistic creation.

The researchers were mesmerized. They could feel the control and creativity contained in that telekinesis, far beyond their comprehension. Most importantly, they knew that all of this was aided by telekinesis. They wondered if, one day in the future, their telekinesis would become so powerful, would they be able to do the same thing?
Finally, Li Zhongren turned his gaze to the new glove.

His mental power surged forth once more, this time not at the material level, but to "carve" on the invisible energy structure of the glove.

He sketched out of thin air, and one after another, incredibly complex runes and energy circuits composed of pure halos were born under his fingertips. They were like living things, containing ineffable power of rules. These halo runes were "engraved" into the energy channels of the gloves, especially at the pre-set crystal bottle interfaces on the wrist and the back of the hand.

As the last rune fell, the entire glove glowed slightly before returning to calm.

But in the perception of all the awakened ones, it is completely different.

That chaotic, greedy, and disorderly absorption characteristic was restrained and guided, and a clear "instruction set" and "energy path" were added.

Li Zhongren picked up the modified glove. The crystal bottle inlaid with dark red "blood crystals" was firmly stuck in a delicate slot on the wrist, like an external energy module.

He raised his gloves, his clear gaze sweeping over every researcher present, finally settling on Benjamin and the barely standing Doyle, and asked in a naive yet unquestionable tone.

"Who wants to give it a try?"

The laboratory was silent, except for the low hum of the energy barrier. Everyone's eyes were focused on the seemingly ordinary glove, which had been given a completely new set of rules.

(End of this chapter)