On how PhDs become human evil

When Bai Jie mentioned his magic, he raised his hand, and strands of light that looked like they were made of cubes lit up in his palm. Then those cubes spun rapidly and grew larger, finally transforming into a pistol in a burst of light.

Holding the pistol, Bai Jie explained, "No matter what weapon it is, as long as I assembled it myself, I can recreate it by consuming magic power like this."

"Regardless of the type of weapon?"

“For purely cold weapons, I would have to forge them myself, but for firearms like these, I only need to assemble them. The main thing is that I need to understand the process of how the weapon is made.”

"Can it be mass-produced indefinitely?"

"Given my current situation, I can only produce ten at most. Any more than that, and I'll run out of magic power."

"And in terms of power?"

“It’s guaranteed.” It wasn’t Bai Jie who answered Finn, but Tiona. “During the battle during the day, Xiao Bai took out something… uh, I think it’s called a Gatling gun, and it shattered the scales of monsters below level 50 with a few quick shots. Those monsters would break our skin if we fought them bare-handed.”

After hearing Tiona's explanation, Finn remained silent for a moment, then looked at everyone and asked, "What do you all think?"

“This is undoubtedly a trump card,” Riveria said. “If Tiona’s explanation is true, then at least the monsters on the 50th floor will no longer be a threat to us. They can be used as ranged firepower, and at the same time, we mages can save mana and potions for the later battles.”

"Moreover, weapons with such destructive power would probably be riddled with holes before the monsters even attack, greatly reducing the pressure on the defense personnel."

The Loki Familia's high-ranking members all gave positive feedback. Finn nodded after hearing this, then looked at Bai Jie again with a slight smile.

Seeing Finn's smile, Bai Jie instinctively shivered. Experience told him that whenever Finn smiled, he was bound to suffer.

Don't ask why, if you do, it'll just be another RPG.

"Bai Jie, starting today, I'll add another training exercise for you—in dungeon battles, you'll constantly switch between unarmed combat and ranged combat. At the same time, in your spare time, you'll also need to manufacture weapons for your Familia to enhance its strength."

"Huh? Doesn't that mean..." Bai Jie realized the danger of the situation, "I have to work overtime again?!"

"Keep it up, I'm really looking forward to the day you take the team leader position from me."

Seeing the expectant smiles from Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Bert, and Loki, Bai Jie silently lowered his head, and then—

"Oh~~~~~~~~NO——————————————————————————!!!!!”

A mournful cry echoed through the night sky of Orario.

◆

At the top of the Tower of Babel, in the stronghold of the Freya Familia.

Standing by the window overlooking the entire city of Orario, Freya, the goddess of beauty, looked out and suddenly said, "That child of the Loki Familia shines even brighter now."

"Among the monsters that appeared in town during the day, he defeated the Silverback Ape all by himself, and then teamed up with the rest of the Loki Familia to deal with that strange monster. He should have leveled up to level 2 by now," said Ota, the burly pigman standing behind her, in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Freya swirled the wine in her glass, a seductive smile that could intoxicate any man appearing on her face: "That child's soul is truly fascinating. It appears extremely pure, yet deep within lies darkness. He must harbor a dark will to destroy everything around him for himself and his companions. I eagerly await the moment he reveals that will."

"The children on Hestia's side are shining brighter and brighter, and they're not far from leveling up."

"I've seen him fight up close, and his abilities are undoubtedly up to par; he just lacks an adventure."

"An adventure... I'll leave that to you, Ota," Freya said with a faint smile. "Prepare a worthy opponent for that child."

"Yes, my beloved goddess."

PS: Update

P.S.: Although there's no Amiya urging me, the PhD still has to work overtime; not working overtime is impossible!

Section 13.13. This silly dog ​​is damn cute.

My name is Bai Jie, I am 21 years old, I live in the Loki Familia headquarters in Orario, and I am still single.

I work for the Loki Familia, and I work until 10 PM every day, often working through the night, with no fixed rest time. I don't smoke, drink a little alcohol occasionally, and drink a lot of coffee every time I work overtime. Every night before bed, I go to the public bathhouse for a relaxing half-hour soak. Since it's already late at night, I often have the whole place to myself, and sometimes Commander Finn will join me.

After taking a bath, I eat apple pie with Exusiai, and then fall asleep to the sound of Texas saying "You stupid dog" to Lappland. I can sleep almost all night, and when I wake up in the morning, I feel like a baby without any fatigue. My health checkup shows no problems, and the doctor says I'm perfectly normal.

And now, I'm doing my final work in my room.

"Materials defined... Basic framework complete... Concept released..."

In the dimly lit room, a small, transparent blue cube appeared in Bai Jie's palm. As Bai Jie continued to inject magic power, the cube expanded. When it reached a certain size, the cube suddenly shuddered and began to change shape. Finally, a shiny, large-caliber rocket launcher appeared in his hand, with a line of words engraved on the surface of the barrel: "Caliber and range are not to be compromised!"

Anti-tank rocket launcher - Magic Edition ver.3!

"Hahaha! It's done! No recoil and five times more powerful than a normal rocket launcher!"

"It looks like you've finished your preparations here as well."

A voice sounded behind him. Bai Jie turned around and saw Finn standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, looking at him.

Looking at the rocket launcher in Bai Jie's hand, Finn said, "Is that the latest model? It's finally finished."

"That's right, I stayed up for three days and three nights straight, and I finally finished it! By the way, Captain, that's a failed, half-finished piece of junk in that corner. Although the power is the same, the recoil is huge. You can take it if you like. Next to that pile of junk are some standard equipment, about sixty or seventy guns and two hundred grenades... I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep now."

Because he had stayed up for three consecutive nights, Bai Jie lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep the moment he finished speaking, snoring as soon as he closed his eyes.

Finn gave a helpless, bitter smile and didn't stop him. After all, it was Finn who had made Bai Jie work so hard, and he felt bad making him continue to work overtime.

"Get a good night's sleep, Bai Jie." Finn left Bai Jie's workshop, clutching the huge pile of [junk].

◆

Bai Jie's rest continued into the night, and as the moonlight shone into Orario, Bai Jie finally woke up from his bed.

Clutching his rumbling stomach, Bai Jie arrived at the restaurant. There's a rule in the Loki Familia that everyone eats together, so the restaurant was incredibly noisy right at mealtime.

Yawning, Bai Jie pushed open the door and immediately smelled a fresh scent.

"That smell... apple pie? Did Exusiai cook?"

"Doctor! You're awake!"

As Bai Jie expected, Exusiai with a halo appeared in the crowd. She seemed to have just finished making apple pie and hadn't taken off her apron yet.

Looking at Exusiai in her chef-like pose, Bai Jie was silent for a moment, then gave her a thumbs up and exclaimed, "GOOD JOB! Exusiai! This outfit suits you very well!"

"Hey Doctor! At least look at us!" Suddenly, Lappland and Texas, whom she had pulled out, rushed out from beside Exusiai. They were wearing gray and white aprons, respectively.

Perhaps it's because both of them have animal ears that they always give off a cute vibe, and Lappland's cuteness is amplified even more by her fluffy tail.

After pondering for a while with his chin in his hand, Bai Jie suddenly shouted, "Hey, is Senior Bert here? Could you please come out and give his opinion on Lappland's outfit?"

"Forget it, Xiaobai, Bert is over there!"

In the crowd, Tiona pointed to the wall next to her. Bai Jie remembered there was a decorative bull's head there, but now when Bai Jie looked over, a Bert was hanging from the bull's horns.

Holy crap, what kind of person is this embarrassing senior?!

"As soon as Lappland came out wearing this outfit, Bert ran over to fawn over her, but Lappland just kicked him up there and he's been hanging there for over ten minutes now, hahaha!"

Upon hearing Tione's explanation, Bai Jie couldn't help but cover his face.

(This is so embarrassing, you're such a disgrace, Bert! Aren't you supposed to be a proud and fierce wolf? How come you're acting like a husky!)

"Hey! Doctor, don't stay silent! Tell us how our outfits look!" Lappland had already come up to Bai Jie and pressed him for an answer.

Looking away, Bai Jie said somewhat perfunctorily, "Mmm, it looks great, it suits you very well."

"That's so perfunctory! You're so serious when you're with Exusiai!"

"This shows that the Doctor likes me a lot. Come on, Doctor, have some apple pie." Exusiai walked up to Bai Jie with a plate of apple pie, cut off a piece and put it in front of his mouth.

Upon seeing this, Lappland immediately flew into a rage.

"Doctor! I also baked an apple pie, you should try some!" Lappland said, handing the plate of apple pie in her hand to Bai Jie.

Staring at Lappland's apple pie, Bai Jie asked somewhat seriously, "Lappland, are you sure this is an apple pie?"

"It's just a little burnt, but the taste is absolutely guaranteed. Stop talking and just eat!" Lappland cut off a piece and stuffed it into Bai Jie's mouth before he could answer.

After chewing it a couple of times unconsciously, Bai Jie's expression froze for a moment—it actually tasted pretty good?

Moving closer to Bai Jie, Lappland asked nervously, "Doctor, how is it?"

"...I can only say it's delicious. I can't find any other words to describe it."

This is the truth.

Bai Jie knew that the most important thing between people was trust, and he had always been honest with these operatives who had shared life and death with him. Moreover, Lappland's apple pie was really delicious—except for the burnt crust.

Upon hearing Bai Jie's affirmation, Lappland beamed with joy, a childlike smile spreading across her face.

Looking at that smile, Bai Jie felt his heart beat faster.

(This silly dog ​​is damn cute!)

"Oh dear, poor Bert, he got dumped by Lappland again."

"It's true, Lappland is really devoted to Little White."

Tione and Tiona were still making sarcastic remarks, but their eyes were fixed on Bai Jie and Lappland, their eyes full of gossip.

Upon hearing their words, Lappland and Bai Jie immediately blushed.

Lappland: "You two stupid Amazons, watch your mouths! How could I possibly like the Doctor? Texas is enough!"

Texas: "Stay away from me, I don't want to be misunderstood."

Bai Jie: "Seniors, I want to make one thing clear: I am devoted to Exusiai!"

Exusiai: "Doctor, even if you say that, I won't be moved. Texas is much cuter than you."

Sitting in the head seat, watching the group of people below playfully bickering, Finn smiled and said, "Bai Jie and the members of the clan are getting closer and closer. He's gradually integrating into this place."

“Finn, you seem to be paying close attention to him. Are you planning to groom him as your successor?” Gareth asked.

"At present, we only have this idea, and we need to observe for a period of time before deciding whether to implement it."

“Why don’t we take advantage of this expedition to observe?” Riveria suggested. “Don’t give any orders before we go into the depths. Leave all the work to Bai Jie and see if he can handle the duties of the captain.”

Finn silently took a sip of his drink, nodded, and then stood up.

"Ahem! Everyone, please be quiet. I have something to announce!"

Upon hearing Finn, the leader of the Loki Familia, speak, the members of the Loki Familia stopped their antics and listened attentively to what Finn had to say.

"Based on our discussion with Riveria and Gareth, and after consulting with the High God Loki, we have decided to begin a new expedition in three days! This time, our target is the unreached area—the 59th floor!"