On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

Many scholars frowned upon hearing this. Judging from the way Kyle Technology was doing now, it seemed they weren't going to serve up the main course right away, and instead had to waste their time visiting other gadgets.

But soon, as one by one the so-called "trinkets" were displayed in the corridor, and after Tia introduced them, many scholars in the advisory group put away their previous expressions and began to be serious and focused.

"The plasma V-shaped clusterer, disassembled from [Ancient Relic-051], is one of the key components of the 'Floating Superconducting Gun,' providing the superconducting gun with a more efficient and faster charging speed."

"This weapon, which we named the 'Thunder Scepter,' was modified and imitated based on the ability of [Ancient Relic-027] to manipulate lightning. We successfully replicated its characteristics, but unfortunately, it can currently only produce enough lightning to fell a single tree, far less than 10% of the power of 027."

"The Turbid Purifier was designed based on the concept of [Ancient Relic-012]. It can collect and compress extremely dangerous turbid radiation and pollution into a relatively stable, less polluting liquefied state. However, because several research members experienced physical discomfort under the influence of 012, the project to develop a 'solidifier' was suspended."

"This item was extracted from [Ancient Relic-654]."

As researcher Tia's clear explanation rang out, Irene glanced at the serious expressions of the scholars around her and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled, especially when she saw the incredibly surprised expressions on the faces of many scholars regarding the "Turbidity Purifier," which made her even more perplexed.

She nudged Liao Ji beside her and whispered, "Doctor, I feel like these things are just so-so. Aren't they making a big fuss over nothing?"

"No, I should say that I now think that Keltech is indeed a very impressive company."

It's not surprising that Liao Jihui made such a remark.

To put it simply, KEL Technology is like an ancient person trying to figure out how to use a brick called a "mobile phone". To figure out how to "turn it on", they might have to take the phone apart and work backward from each circuit and electronic component to figure out its principles, even for something as simple as pressing and holding the power button.

Liao Ji thought that Kai'er Technology was indeed quite impressive because, although he was a "modern" person who knew how to turn on a mobile phone and how to use the applications inside, as well as what each application did, it would be difficult for Liao Ji to replicate a mobile phone. However, Kai'er Technology succeeded, even if they only replicated 10%, it was still a replication.

Just like the Turbid Liquefaction Device that Irene looked down on the most, its capabilities are obviously more advanced than those of the mad doctor that the Kaleva gang encountered in the Holy Kingdom. More importantly, it can be mass-produced.

For Liao Ji, it was true that he could easily create genuine turbid crystals with a purity a hundred times higher, but these only belonged to him. However, if Kyle Technology continued to develop and research, perhaps one day everyone could hold such a purifier and everyone would have the ability to purify turbid crystals, which was something Liao Ji could not do.

Of course, Liao Ji did not comment on whether this phenomenon was good or bad, but he affirmed the strength of Keltech in his mind.

In addition, Liao Ji actually focused on another point, which is also the underlying reason why many scholars were increasingly shocked by the purchase.

It's easy to see that all the new products in this "Research Corridor" are inextricably linked to one word—[Ancient Relics].

The question then arises: how exactly did Kyle Technology manage to acquire so much information and data about ancient artifacts all at once? Liao Ji already had a rough idea of ​​what was going on.

Soon, without keeping Liao Ji waiting too long, as if they were about to reach the finale of the exhibition, Tia led the advisory group to a small shooting range inside a corridor. They saw a small pistol in a sealed display case, which seemed to be the product that was going to be shown to them.

Just as the scholars were wondering, the old scholar with graying temples was the first to squint his eyes. His eyes, which were slightly cloudy but still bright, immediately pointed his gaze to a certain part of the pistol. When the other professors followed suit, they discovered that there were actually three strange grooves hidden on the pistol.

On one of the grooves, there is a strange pattern that is shimmering with an unfathomable light.

"The technology I'm about to introduce to you is not about modifying any [relics]. Rather, it is the ancient relic itself that we are restoring. It is precisely because of this technology that we have been able to overcome the difficulties in [Dream Zero], go to more unknown areas, and excavate more and more ancient relics."

"The more we study this technology, the more we discover its beauty—an artistic beauty, unlike other ancient artifacts. It is simply composed of patterns, but after specific arrangements and combinations, it can be endowed with all sorts of incredible and unimaginable powers. The researchers at Kyle Technology unanimously believe that any other new name for them would be a desecration, so we follow the name we used for them 500 years ago and call it branding technology."

Chapter 186 This thing...is it really that advanced?

Explanation alone is not enough to achieve satisfactory results. Afterwards, Tia went into the shooting range, unlocked the pistol's cover using her privileges, took out the pistol, and fired a shot at the target in the shooting range.

Bang!

Right in the bull's eye.

Ignoring Tia's superb marksmanship, this pistol seemed no different from any other ordinary firearm.

But then, Tia raised her pistol again and fired at another new target next to her.

Boom!

A violent explosion echoed through the corridor, becoming exceptionally deafening.

Even Luo Xiaoji, who was sitting next to Liao Ji and had been fiddling with his phone, was startled and his attention was drawn back to the scene.

There were two targets in the shooting range. One was right in the bullseye with a normal bullet hole in the center. However, the other target had a large hole in the upper half of it, as if it had been hit by a shell.

In both comparisons, the user was still Tia; the only difference was the weapon.

To be precise, on the second gun, the mysterious pattern in the third groove lit up when the gun was fired.

"The third slot brand, codenamed [Explosion], is temporarily classified as a 'single piece' brand. Its effect is to grant the next attack the 'Explosion' effect, dealing 240% area damage, with a 10-second charge cooldown."

While Tia was speaking, the staff quickly replaced the discarded targets in the shooting range with new ones, this time simulating a moving target dodging at high speed.

Tia then turned around and faced the shooting range again, still holding the same pistol as before. However, some observant scholars have noticed that the mysterious pattern in the pistol's groove has changed.

This time, it's no longer located in the third groove, but has become a new pattern that lights up simultaneously in the first and second grooves.

Immediately following, with a "bang," a gunshot rang out. Although the target had become a moving target with a greater difficulty, Tia didn't even make an aiming posture. It was as if she fired a shot casually, and even the direction of the gun muzzle was far off from the target.

But then, the bullets that were fired seemed to be controlled by a mysterious force, able to adjust their trajectory on their own. Even when the moving target was dodging at high speed, when it finally stopped, the members of the advisory group could clearly see that the bullet had pierced through the very center of the bullseye.

"The first and second branding marks, codenamed [Elf], are temporarily classified as the 'Component' branding group. Their effect is to grant attacks a 'guaranteed hit' effect for a period of time. Of course, according to our tests, the enemy must be within the weapon's attack range, and the attack pattern will not change, so it can be blocked."

After the two demonstrations, Tia put the pistol back into its original sealed slot and smiled at the members of the Shanghai Advisory Group. Although Tia was very beautiful, you could tell from Luo Xiaoji's expression next to Liao Ji that it was as if he had really met the beautiful female researcher he had mentioned on the plane, a girl who did not exist in reality.

But clearly, for the other scholars in the Shanghai advisory group, Tia's smile might be quite the opposite.

Indeed, whether it's the area-of-effect explosion damage from before or the bullet tracking damage from now, with the technology in Shanghai, it's still possible to achieve these effects with a handgun if one wanted to.

But the problem is

"Can this branding technology be applied to any weapon?" one scholar couldn't help but ask.

After receiving Tia's confirmation, many scholars on the advisory group in Shanghai began to discuss the matter even more intensely.

the reason is simple.

Take "bullet tracking" as an example. The more complex the firearm, the greater the difficulty. It is easy to track bullets in a pistol, but what about a rifle, a submachine gun, or even a missile, laser, or nuclear bomb?

However, Kyle Technology, which possesses branding technology, can solve this problem once and for all. Simply equip any weapon with the "three grooves" branding technology.

"It doesn't seem too complicated. If we follow up on this project, it shouldn't be too difficult to implement, right?"

The less experienced scholars were optimistic, but soon the old professor with graying temples who had been leading the group shook his head. Instead of explaining directly, he asked Tia.

What would happen if we swapped the brand marks in positions one and two?

Tia demonstrated it directly and found that although the mysterious pattern behind it was also lit up, it no longer had the absolute hit effect as before, and was no different from an ordinary firearm.

Seeing that his guess was correct, the old professor nodded. This time, he wouldn't need Tia. Through these demonstrations, the old professor had already made a rough prediction and analysis of the branding technique.

"The real difficulty of branding technology, besides the carrier and the exquisite carving skills, lies in how these branding marks are arranged and combined. From Miss Tia's introduction just now, or those three grooves, it can be seen that branding marks can be made as single pieces, double pieces, and triple pieces. If they cannot be arranged in the corresponding combination, the branding marks cannot produce their effect."

"When we obtain an unknown mark, we need to first consider whether it is a single piece or a component. If it is a single piece, it is much simpler; we just need to test its position one by one. However, if it is a component, we not only need to find its other half, or the other two halves, but we also need to test where each of them should be in the correct position. This is the difficulty of permutation and combination."

The old professor didn't continue, but simply shook his head in amazement.

Afterwards, Tia showed a respectful expression to the old professor from Shanghai and nodded in affirmation, saying, "You are right. To make it easier to understand, you can think of branding technology as a chemical element with a maximum of three combinations."

After using the periodic table to describe the brand marks, many scholars instantly understood their complexity and profundity. Each individual brand mark is like a single element, while the combination of brand marks is equivalent to a compound.

Only when elements are correctly arranged and combined can an effective compound be formed. Isn't the same true for branding marks?

"Incredible! Brother Liao, Kyle Technology has really gone all out this time! They actually made this technology public. Indeed, only such groundbreaking technology can offset the setbacks in China."

Seeing that even this rich second-generation seemed to have suddenly realized something and looked extremely excited, Irene couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Is this thing really that advanced?"

Although Luo Xiaoji's "professor" title was questionable, he was still a professor at least. Looking at Yilin next to him, who seemed to have a "that's all?" expression, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. The Liao brothers were really bold to bring such an unsophisticated lover.

“Miss Irene, let me put it this way: what Kyle Technology is doing now is making public an ancient version of the periodic table of elements. Compared to others, they have mastered many ‘formula’ combinations. It’s like you’re still studying the composition of oxygen, but others have already mastered the composition of water, and even more advanced compounds.”

On the other side, as if to confirm Luo Xiaoji's words, Tia then made a surprising statement, releasing news that shocked the entire Shanghai advisory group.

"Now everyone should have a general understanding of branding technology. What KEL Technology hopes to collaborate with the Shanghai team on is a branding kit, a three-piece module, which we have just mastered."

Three-piece set!?

The advisory group was filled with gasps of surprise, and even the senior professor at the head of the group took a deep breath.

As mentioned earlier, branding is divided into single, double, and three-piece sets, and the difficulty of combining them increases exponentially. While they were just learning about branding technology, Kyle Technology directly presented a "three-piece set" sequence.

"Damn it, my 100 million yuan goal is still a bit too little. I need to make a few more small goals." After muttering to himself, Luo Xiaoji started frantically operating his phone again, trying to borrow money to buy shares of Kairui Technology.

As for Irene

Irene couldn't take it anymore.

She secretly reached behind her clothes and touched the two blood-red wine cup patterns on her back, which looked like tattoos, one above the other.

This was something the old antique had casually given her back in the Holy Kingdom. It did indeed play a crucial role in the battle between Maria, who was possessed by the goddess, and the group of test subjects in the sewers.

They endowed themselves with the ability to "become stronger the more they kill," or, in more professional terms from the old folks, it seems to be called "infinite energy injection."

While the others weren't looking, Irene quietly tugged at Liao Ji's sleeve. When Liao Ji looked over, the girl seemed to realize just how precious the thing Liao Ji had casually given her was, and cautiously asked:

"Doctor, that brand they were talking about... could it be the one I have on my back right now?"

"You guessed right." Liao Ji nodded.

The girl gasped, then asked nervously, "Should I look at my thing? I think I have two brand marks on my back. Could they be..."

"Yes, it's a two-piece set. I'm still considering what to give you for the middle piece, so it's been left empty."

Chapter 187 Zero Dream and the Old World

While Irene was left bewildered, Liao Ji's thoughts returned to Tia's words.

Three-piece set?

Liao Ji had already guessed that Kyle Technology would use "branding technology" as a way to save the market from the very first time he met Tia.

The Branding System is an important progression system in the game, comparable to the "Equipment" of the Evil Ones. A good set of Brands can greatly enhance the Evil Ones' combat power, and some can even achieve a qualitative change and a 1+1=100 effect.

Take Irene as an example. When Irene is in her Great Annihilation state and has the mark of "Raise a Glass!", she can infinitely stack attack power as long as there are enemies. Irene was able to knock Maria, who was many levels higher than her, away with a single punch because of the chemical reaction between her skills and the mark.

The basic theories of the branding techniques that Kyle Technology has developed so far are sound. Moreover, Liao Ji is well aware that although there are many excellent single-piece and two-piece branding sets, the truly powerful branding sets are always complete three-piece sets. Individual pieces can never match the strength of a three-piece set.

Looking at the number of brand marks in the game alone, Liao Ji, who has a complete collection, knows that there are probably over a hundred sets. These are sets, not individual pieces. If we're talking about the number of individual pieces, Liao Ji thinks there are probably over a thousand.

From the game's perspective, you can clearly see the name of each mark, its correct location, and its corresponding attributes and effects.

However, it is clear that people in later generations did not have this ability. Liao Ji could tell from the names of the two marks that they belonged to the same series, but for Kyle Technology, it might be necessary to try them one by one among hundreds or thousands of marks, like finding a needle in a haystack.

No. There must be other methods, otherwise the efficiency is too low, such as comparing the similarity between patterns, or looking at the historical background of the branding marks.

This is perhaps why it is associated with "ancient studies".

Even so, Liao Ji could imagine how complex and enormous the computational workload was. Kyle Technology's attempt here was not as simple as in the game, where you can just put it on. They might have to spend weeks just trying out a permutation and combination to replicate a brand and carve it into the corresponding position. Therefore, Liao Ji was still impressed that Kyle Technology could produce a complete set of three branding pieces, and at the same time, he was very curious about which set it would be.