Douluo Continent: We agreed on a simulation, but they've come to life?

This senior Cheng, even she can't see through his true nature, does she really think he's someone kind?

But then she remembered Keke's words.

He seemed nonchalant just now, but he had actually spoken to her heart.

Can that prince really be trusted? Even she herself is constantly on edge, trembling with fear as if walking on thin ice, worrying about doing something wrong or saying something inappropriate, which might incur his wrath and lead to her falling out of favor and being punished.

And this Senior Cheng... his future achievements will probably not be inferior to His Highness the Crown Prince. It seems that, just as Keke said, he is indeed a good person to stay with.

……

The next day.

Inside the laboratory.

Lu Cheng smiled as he flipped through the documents, while on the other side, Ke Ke was being scolded until her face turned red. Clearly, this lax attitude had aroused Xuan Ziwen's strong dissatisfaction, and Ke Ke didn't dare to utter a sound, hanging her head and fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

In the past, she dared to tease Xuan Ziwen in person and got along well with Teacher Xuan, but that depended on the occasion. When Teacher Xuan became really strict, she was also afraid, otherwise she would not have studied so late last night before going home.

After all, as the owner of the laboratory, Xuan Ziwen also had absolute "life and death power" over Keke. He could expel her at will, or add a little bit of "dissatisfaction" to her recommendation letter after graduation. And that little bit was enough for Keke to fall from grace.

The teacher-student succession system of the Sun Moon Empire is still quite ancient and serious. Generally, no one dares to disobey their senior brothers or teachers.

"The core of the mental operating system lies in the resonance of mental power, similar to the way one mobilizes their own soul power when releasing a soul skill. However, the difficulty lies in how a soul master's sea of ​​spirit can connect with these nodes one by one..."

Lu Cheng flipped through the documents, his head spinning.

No wonder even Jing Hongchen gave up. Generally speaking, the larger the spiritual sea, the harder it is to find the anchor point for the link. The vastness of the spiritual sea of ​​strong people like Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen goes without saying. No wonder the stronger the strength, the harder it is to implement an operating system.

Operating systems for Soul Saints and below are easier to develop.

This era had very little research on spiritual power, far less than the Dragon King era ten thousand years later. Therefore, most Soul Saints did not deliberately cultivate, and could not even be considered to have entered the threshold of spiritual power.

However, after stepping into the Title Douluo realm, every step forward requires transforming soul power from solid to liquid, which necessitates extremely strong mental power. This forces you to cultivate, causing your mental power to surge dramatically, spiraling upwards. Super Douluo are even more exaggerated in this regard. This results in a mental power gap between Title Douluo and Soul Douluo that can be described as an insurmountable chasm.

No wonder the Sun Moon Empire quickly developed a large number of systematic mechs in the later stages of the war. In his memory, those mech legions were piloted by level six or seven soul masters on average, and their basic mental operating system was indeed simple.

However, in the secret files, a researcher also recorded a conjecture: for high-level humanoid mechs, soul power is necessary but not important, as it can replace a soul master if equipped with a baby bottle. However, mental power is absolutely the most important factor.

Any spirit-type soul master is capable of "leveraging" massive mechs dozens of times stronger than themselves, because the milk bottle compensates for the innate deficiency of soul power. As long as the mental power is sufficient, the spirit operating system can be used to drive it and operate it.

This is indeed a development direction for high-level mechs.

This is also the most suitable development direction for Lu Cheng.

He currently possesses spiritual power comparable to a titled Douluo, but he can only use it for detection and illusion, which are auxiliary functions. He cannot actually convert it into powerful combat strength. However, with an advanced humanoid mecha, things might change.

Only his vast, ocean-like spiritual power can unleash its terrifying power.

Even if he only relies on his combat power, he will be able to fight against a Title Douluo... He is only at the Soul Emperor level now.

"finish watching?"

Xuan Ziwen waved his hand, somewhat exasperated, signaling Keke, who was wiping her tears, to go back. He wasn't the type to settle personal scores, but maintaining the dignity of a teacher was still necessary. This girl had been too cocky lately; he needed to teach her a lesson.

His attitude towards Lu Cheng was much more amiable, even giving the impression that he was communicating with a researcher of similar status.

He was, after all, the senior student in his lab and a pillar of strength.

"Hmm." Lu Cheng nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "It is indeed a huge project, especially in terms of mental linking. The cost of researching it would be extremely high, and..."

"If we want to continue to develop upwards, we need even stronger rare metals that can withstand the pressure... Even a wealthy place like Mingde Hall probably can't afford the consumption of these materials."

The original story is about an entire ice cave filled with ice crystals. It is unknown how much was lost before a mental operating system was created. Ice crystals are the most precious metals in the world, comparable to metals that have been forged by the heavens, not to mention ordinary rare metals.

"Hehe, not bad." Xuan Ziwen smiled and nodded slightly.

"Actually, if we really grit our teeth, the top-tier metal reserves in the Imperial Warehouse would be enough to support the formation of this mental operating system. However, after discussions among the higher-ups, it was decided to focus on basic mechs. As long as we can create linked... cough cough, and humanoid mechs, it will be enough to sweep across the continent."

Lu Cheng remained silent.

In fact, the Sun Moon Empire's decision was correct, and he knew what Xuan Ziwen was going to say.

The terrifying aspect of the linked defense soul tool is that it can treat all strong individuals equally. Even if you are as strong as a Limit Douluo, you cannot break through the defense with the combined efforts of thousands of soul masters. In the original work, Xuanzi was helpless against this. Of course, there may be reasons for Xuanzi's incompetence, but it is enough to show the terrifying nature of the word "linkage".

With the addition of a large number of sixth and seventh grade humanoid soul tools, an iron legion was mass-produced, and this torrent was enough to sweep across any corner of the Douluo Continent.

In comparison, the weapon of a Title Douluo-level powerhouse, which enhances top-tier combat power, is not so important.

It's not that we don't do research, it's just that everything has its priorities.

“Since you’re interested, and I’m quite wealthy, let’s have a go for it, master and disciple.” Xuan Ziwen was clearly intrigued as well, and handed Lu Cheng a black card: “Here, this is my entire net worth, about four million gold soul coins. I’ll leave the purchasing to you.”

P.S.: The next chapter will be updated at 1 AM.

Chapter 176 Purchasing Metal, The Shocked Orange

"More than four million gold soul coins..."

Lu Cheng looked surprised.

Watching Xuan Ziwen turn and leave without giving him a word, he truly lived up to his reputation as a research fanatic, the most eccentric character in the original work. To throw away his entire legacy like this for a newly joined disciple, even when it was highly likely to be a complete waste...

This shows that he trusts himself, and also that he has clearly been coveting the mental operating system for a long time.

You should know that the Sun Moon Empire used to throw tens of millions of gold soul coins into it, accumulating hundreds of millions of gold soul coins in total. With their little money, they probably wouldn't even make a ripple.

"Tsk."

Lu Cheng toyed with the black card in his hand, his expression unchanged.

This guy is just like him, a madman.

Wait a little longer, until the relationship is closer, then he takes out the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. It was dug out from the underground cave of the Earth Dragon Gate several years ago. The Ice Extreme Divine Crystal still weighs nearly a hundred tons and is filled with several storage soul tools.

Although Xuan Ziwen trusts him now, it's based on the fact that they are both "people of the Sun and Moon Empire." Only when their master-disciple relationship becomes closer, like Huo Gua's inseparable bond, will it be possible for them to reveal certain things.

"Senior Brother, where are you going?" Keke asked, her eyes reddening and her eyes brimming with tears.

"..."

Lu Cheng's eye twitched. This scene was just like tearing off a heartless scumbag.

This girl is probably just curious.

"Purchasing rare metals." Lu Cheng replied simply, then glanced at Ke Ke and smiled, "I'm not very familiar with Mingdu. I don't know the supply channels of Mingdetang's many laboratories. Could you take me there?"

"Well... I still have schoolwork." Her eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again. Keke pouted and said, "Let Ju Zi go with you. She's been in charge of shopping before."

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Ju Zi looked up, put down her goggles and the soul tool casing she was carving, quickly washed her hands, and stood gracefully to the side with a smile on her lips: "Senior Brother, let's go..."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow, smiled, and pushed open the door to leave.

This girl seemed to have become more affectionate towards him overnight.

Along the way, Ju Zi yawned, her beautiful face showing a hint of weariness. She hadn't slept all night and had figured out many things. She needed to take revenge, and she needed to take advantage of the situation. Xu Tianran was fickle and violent, far inferior to Lu Cheng.

Regardless of the future, it's definitely a good idea to cultivate a good relationship with this newly arrived senior disciple.

On the way here, Orange seemed afraid of an awkward silence, so she introduced the current situation: "Nowadays, the purchase of rare metals is only divided into two places. One is Wan Jin Ge, which is backed by the imperial family and has abundant capital. It is the only legitimate place to purchase rare metals. As long as you have money, you can basically get any rare metal. Moreover, people from Mingde Hall get a 30% discount. The other place is Xishui Alliance."

"The Evening Water Alliance?" Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right, those guys are backed by evil spirit masters. Their power is exceptionally strong, and they are one of only two places in the empire where you can buy rare metals.” Speaking of evil spirit masters, Ju Zi’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, clearly showing her extreme disgust.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng nodded slightly. Given his status in the simulator, he didn't need to make the purchases himself, so he knew nothing about it.

However, it is quite an exaggeration that Xi Shui Meng can get a share of this pie.

His Majesty still relies on evil spirit masters.

Upon arriving in the capital, they were greeted by a woman in a red robe in front of a magnificent shop with the sign "Wan Jin Ge" (meaning "Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion"), who led them into the hall.

"May I ask, sir, what type of rare metal do you require?"

An elderly man with white hair and wearing a black robe asked with a smile.

"Sinking silver, mithril, black gold, purple iron, star iron... do you have any?" Lu Cheng asked thoughtfully. Xuan Ziwen's money was probably just a drop in the ocean for researching the mental operating system, but the project itself was a money-devouring beast if it was to progress, so there was no need to save this little bit. With the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School supporting him, he didn't care.

"Of course..." the old man said with a smile.

……

"Four million gold soul coins?"

on the way back.

Orange was stunned. This was practically the entire lab's budget! What exactly was Professor Xuan planning to do? Was he planning to die?

"For the research project," Lu Cheng said with a smile.

"A mental operating system?" Orange couldn't believe it. She thought the two were just joking, but it turned out they had gone crazy and went all in.

"Don't worry, there was no money involved in moving the mobile detection soul tool; it's purely Teacher Xuan's personal assets," Lu Cheng said.

"Oh, oh..." Orange stuck out her tongue. Logically speaking, Lu Cheng and Xuan Ziwen were the managers of the entire laboratory, so she had no right to ask these questions.

"Is this thing... difficult?" Orange hesitated for a long time before asking. With her soul guidance level, she was far from reaching that level, and didn't even have the qualifications to study it.

“It’s difficult.” Lu Cheng nodded.

"However, once it is developed, the rewards will be extremely generous. The Empire's ordinary mecha technology is already quite mature, but I hope to be able to pilot a humanoid mecha with the combat power of a level nine soul tool. This is my lifelong dream."

"Level nine..." Orange swallowed hard.

He shrank his neck and shut his mouth completely.

She could chime in on any mobile detection soul tool, but she probably wouldn't ever come across this level of soul guidance technology in her lifetime.

They're all big shots, so they speak with authority, unlike her, who's just a complete slacker like Keke, and will sneak off to the army for training when the time comes.

Back in the lab, Lu Cheng caught a glimpse of Wang Shaojie.

The latter, with an unfriendly expression, sat coldly in the corner, preparing his own things.

It seems that Keke had previously embarrassed him, and he had taken out all his grudges on Lu Cheng, but he hadn't figured out Lu Cheng's background yet, so he hadn't made things difficult for him.

Lu Cheng ignored them and greeted Ke Ke and Zi Mu with a smile.

The next two months passed in the blink of an eye.

They all lived repetitive lives, discussing mental detection soul tools with Xuan Ziwen. During the process, Xuan Ziwen also gained a vague understanding of Lu Cheng's strength, becoming increasingly amazed and trusting. Ke Ke, Ju Zi, and even Zi Mu all had great faith in Lu Cheng, and he had become a core figure in the laboratory.

Another day.

"what……"