No strange things are allowed to evolve!

What does he want to do?

Just as the doctor was filled with doubt.

Jiang Shu's voice could be heard coming from all directions.

"You are all inside my belly now."

The doctor was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice... the carriages have gotten bigger?"

By the time the doctor realized what had happened, it was too late. He could only cry out in despair and horror, "When...?!"

"Now, I'll tell you where all the desert power within me has gone..."

Jiang Shu couldn't help but laugh at the thought of what he was going to do next:

"The Great Wilderness Prisoner's Finger!"

As he pointed to the people inside his body.

The all-powerful firewall—Heart of the Great Wilderness...

Target found!

Chapter 149 The greater the power, the greater the side effects

As we all know, firewalls can not only passively prevent external virus intrusion, but also actively scan and kill viruses.

After Jiang Shu gained the ability to turn sand, his first thought was whether he could link this ability with the Heart of the Great Wilderness and make full use of the Heart of the Great Wilderness's almost invincible but untriggerable antiviral ability, turning a passive situation into an active one.

He succeeded.

Just after he successfully covered the entire carriage with his body, encompassing the doctor and the others, the Heart of the Wilderness detected a threat.

With its strength, it could have completely annihilated these people whose greatest reliance was merely the power of a calamity-level desert in an instant. However, under Jiang Shu's artificial control, the Heart of the Great Wilderness only locked onto them and did not forcefully crush them.

Control has now fallen into Jiang Shu's hands.

"If I just tell you, you definitely won't believe that you have no chance of winning, so let me demonstrate."

Jiang Shu was like a creator god. With a single thought, he used the Heart of the Great Wilderness to simultaneously erase the desert power on the doctor's left arm.

Before the doctor could react, his arm, which had been able to stretch and contract like a spring after being turned into sand, began to shrink. In the blink of an eye, his left arm returned to its normal state, having been forcibly stripped of its power by Jiang Shu.

The doctor was horrified.

He looked at his left arm, which had lost all strength in an instant, and couldn't understand what had happened.

"You can actually suppress the power of the desert?"

He asked in a shocked, almost roaring manner, looking in all directions.

Jiang Shu calmly corrected, "It's not suppression, to be precise, elimination."

"Eliminate...eliminate?!"

"Now you should believe that I'm not bluffing, but that I can really crush you, right?" Jiang Shu's voice was tinged with laughter.

The doctor came to his senses.

To Jiang Shu's surprise, he didn't argue or feel annoyed. He just explained somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, I was already impressed when you completely covered the entire carriage after you turned into sand. I was about to say that, but you didn't give me the chance."

Jiang Shu was stunned.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that I really didn't give the other person a chance to speak.

But who would have thought that decomposition and overlay could be considered an advanced technique?

Seeing that Jiang Shu didn't react for a long time, the doctor continued to shout, "Stop your supernatural powers!"

The next moment, all the dust and smog inside the carriage gradually began to flow again.

They gathered towards the spot where Jiang Shu had been standing, and soon Jiang Shu reappeared before everyone.

Jiang Shu didn't say much, but simply waved to the doctor and the others.

Seeing that Jiang Shu had such methods, the researchers realized that they were now completely under Jiang Shu's control and had no room to resist. Each of them had a look of panic on their face.

They were terrified that Jiang Shu would seek revenge for what had just happened.

Let alone using their own methods against them, even if Jiang Shu just gave them a few injections without anesthesia, they would absolutely not be able to stand it.

However, the doctor was different from the others.

When Jiang Shu beckoned him to come closer, he didn't even think twice. After being freed from the sandification, he immediately ran over.

Approaching Jiang Shu, he asked with deep respect, "How should I address you?"

“I’ve already used the Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger, so what do you think I should be called?” Jiang Shu retorted.

"The Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger..." The doctor pondered for a while, but came up with nothing. He had no choice but to tell the truth: "Forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of this move."

"That must be the Desolate Heavenly Emperor."

"So it's the Desolate Emperor." The doctor nodded, then asked eagerly, "How did you manage to eliminate the power of the desert?"

Hearing this, Jiang Shu couldn't help but find it a little amusing: "We were just arguing, don't you think it's a bit too presumptuous of you to ask such a question?"

"Uh... if you put it that way, it does seem a bit true."

The doctor realized what was happening and explained somewhat embarrassedly:

"But I hope you can understand how I feel."

I am first and foremost a scientific researcher, and only secondly the owner of the laboratory on this zodiacal train. The conflicts between us due to our different positions are, in my opinion, less important than my research on the power of the desert.

Moreover, wasn't the issue of stance just resolved?

I'm your prisoner now, you've taken me hostage. No hostage resists their captor, so we're practically on the same side now.

"Goodness." Jiang Shu was genuinely surprised.

I thought that the hostage situation the other side hinted at before the fight started was just something they would consider cooperating with to a certain extent.

Who knew that in their understanding, it was directly equivalent to surrendering to someone else?

Using the pretext of a kidnapping was merely a way to leave themselves an escape route. If the guards returned and rescued them, they could claim that their actions were out of necessity and therefore justifiable.

However, although Jiang Shu understood the doctor's little scheme, she didn't expose him.

In the current situation, the possibility of the guards being able to defeat him is almost zero—close to zero.

So he skipped the topic and asked curiously, "Shouldn't you be more interested in why I'm so strong? But from what you're saying, it seems that how to eliminate the power of the desert is more appealing to you."

Upon hearing this, the doctor smiled wryly and said, "I think you've probably misunderstood. You might think that my research aims to give people more and stronger desert power, right?"

No, quite the opposite. My research is to find ways to control the power of the desert.

However, just like developing a vaccine, to find a way to control a virus, you must first cultivate the virus.

"To defeat the Sand Puppet and the Sand Demon?" Jiang Shu asked.

The doctor shook his head: "While that's part of the reason, it's not the main goal."

"Why is that?" Jiang Shu asked, puzzled.

The doctor didn't explain immediately; he simply pointed to his face and asked, "Do you think there's anything different about me now compared to before?"

Jiang Shu looked closely and seemed to have discovered something.

"You seem... a bit more tired than before. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but you suddenly look a lot older."

"Yes."

The doctor nodded:

"This is the price humans pay for using the power of the desert: our lifespan is much shorter than that of ordinary humans, and the aging process is accelerated every time this power is used."

Moreover, those who possess desert powers cannot leave the desert for too long, otherwise not only will their aging process accelerate, but they will also develop many health problems. Only by returning to the desert can their condition stabilize.

That's why the stronger the guards, the older they look. They not only need to use the power of the desert frequently, but they also come into contact with this power more often than others, and are thus more deeply corrupted by it.

Take the falcon for example. Looking at its appearance, you might think it's very old, at least forty or fifty years old.

But in reality, two years ago, when he became a new recruit and guard, before he even possessed the power of the desert, he was just eighteen years old.

"So he's only twenty?" Jiang Shu was somewhat surprised; the falcon was actually several years younger than him.

“That’s right.” The doctor nodded.

After listening to the doctor's words, Jiang Shu understood why, in addition to anesthetics carried by sand, even the desert power, the Great Wilderness Heart, which was forcibly infused into him, could be rendered immune.

Although it is called the power of the desert and can grant people special abilities, it is not energy in essence, but a disease, a curse.

Once infected, you'll be stuck in the desert for life, and your maximum health will be reduced. Plus, every time you use it, your health bar will be shorter by one point.

“I understand…” Jiang Shu thought of something and asked, “So what he meant when he said that no guard has ever survived three missions in a vehicle, is not because the missions themselves are dangerous, but simply because they don’t have enough health?”

"That's not entirely true."

The doctor explained:

"The mission itself is very dangerous, and there is a possibility that you will die at the hands of the sand golem before you even die of old age."

"Hmm...then I don't understand." Jiang Shu found it strange: "Why is it that becoming a guard almost always means certain death, yet so many people still flock to it?"

He still remembered the note he saw when he woke up in his room.

The anticipation and excitement conveyed in the words demonstrate that the new recruits are highly motivated to become guards.

So what exactly attracted them, making them willing to fight tooth and nail to board this train even when they were almost certain to die?

"Because the Zodiac Train is humanity's last hope."

The train carries humanity's hope of exploring and conquering the desert. Being able to board the train means becoming an executor and pioneer of hope, and a final guardian.

They themselves would gain unparalleled fame and glory, and their families, through them, would enjoy the finest living conditions in those oasis cities.

The doctor sighed:

"And most importantly, everything about the desert power is top secret. Before they obtained the desert power, they didn't actually know that this power had such a big side effect."

"So you didn't know, that makes sense."

Jiang Shu understood.

It has always been this way since ancient times; there will always be a group of passionate people who go to the battlefield without knowing how cruel it is, and then fall into eternal sleep.

He was impulsive and clumsy, but also admirable.

Without these people, civilization could not continue, nor could it usher in the light from the darkness.

The doctor continued, "So perhaps it's to give the guards something to look forward to, so that even after they learn about the side effects of the desert power, they can still use this power to expand the desert."

It is unknown when or where the legend began to circulate that if one survives three missions and makes a contribution each time instead of just taking a shortcut, one can become the strongest guard and find a way to escape a predetermined death.

Of course, no one has been able to do it so far, because the number of times the desert power needs to be used within two missions already exceeds the lifespan of most people, not to mention the missions themselves are very dangerous.

“It’s not that I don’t know.” Jiang Shu smiled, then changed the subject: “So, normally, how would the garrison obtain desert power? It shouldn’t be as simple and crude as we are, right?”

"of course not."

The doctor replied:

"As you said, there are many kinds of sand, all of which are processed from sand containing the power of the desert. The sand used to numb you and your companions is called 'intoxicating sand,' and the sand used to give the desert power is called 'enriching sand.' In addition, there are many other kinds of sand."

But no matter what kind of sand it is, it is extremely dangerous to let it directly enter a person's body.

Typically, there will be a pool filled with sand. Those who want to obtain the power of the desert will sit in it, relying solely on skin contact, and slowly sense its mysteries.

This process will take a considerable amount of time and will be relatively slow. Success will be achieved once the desert power has permeated the bone marrow. Further enhancement will primarily depend on the efficient use of this power after acquisition, or on gradually introducing the sand into the body after adaptation.

So, I'm considered to have achieved everything in one go?

"Yes." The doctor said somewhat embarrassedly, "The experiment was bound to be rather extreme, involving humanitarian considerations and such... hehe."

Jiang Shu didn't say much.

He knew it all too well. Experiments, especially those that study limits, such as the strength of materials, the safety range of drugs, and so on, are, to put it nicely, tests; to put it bluntly, they are aimed at killing the experimental subjects.

So he simply asked, "Then where is this Fusha Pond you mentioned?"

The professor asked, "Why are you asking this?"

"Your kind of injections, which are like squeezing toothpaste, are no longer enough for me."

Jiang Shu sighed: