Chapter 161: 51: Phased Research Results (4k)

November.

The weather in the Northern Hemisphere is turning colder.

This year is the same as last year and the year before that.

The heat is hard to come by in ten years, and the snow is hard to come by in fifty years.

Bai Shihang rarely caused any trouble, and his clones also mostly remained silent unless there was something necessary to deal with.

Even when Xiao Ke used the [Zhanzhan Card] to copy the [Unknown Evolution] of a giant lizard in the Galapagos Islands, he didn't care much.

That [Zhanzhan Card] is somewhat useful to him. For example, it can allow a parasite to adapt to only one ability, so that randomness becomes certainty.

But a one-time thing is meaningless.

Moreover, he has been researching too many things recently, which can be generally divided into three topics.

[Testing the upper limit of the forgery's ability - and creating a tool that can automatically collect nearby souls]

[The fantasy creature test created by Moth - and created a creature that can carry soul collecting props to help him collect souls around the world]

Can we use moths to create a life that meets the three elements of emotion, self-control and death?

After intensive research, the first project has been basically completed, and the moth experiment of the second project has also made some progress.

These two abilities have some similarities. The application of [Moth] is wider than that of [Forgery]. It can create life. The disadvantage is that it cannot be too imaginative. Even the inanimate objects it creates have great limitations.

However, [Forgery] can complete many imaginary items and can actually grant corresponding abilities, as long as it is not outrageous.

The disadvantage is that it requires consuming Bai Shihang's "mana", or energy.

Either fill it in advance and it will disappear automatically when it is used up, or it will occupy his "casting memory" all the time and disappear when he stops supplying it.

His first goal was to design the soul-collecting lamp, whose purpose was to help him automatically collect nearby souls.

The soul lamps were small because he had no intention of using humans to collect them.

After continuous trial and error, he has created the first relatively stable creature using moths - the Soul Crow.

This creature is completely black, has a superficial intelligence, can use simple English words, is relatively cautious, and likes to eat various human products, especially French fries. He believes that he is a messenger from the underworld and flies around the world to collect the souls of the dead and send them to the underworld.

Ascending to heaven and searching souls in the underworld, this makes sense.

Even if this underworld is called [False Paradise]

Soul Crows are also capable of reproduction, and Soul Lamps will appear beside them when they reach adulthood through a specific calling ceremony passed down through some memory.

The greatest expense in creating a Soul Lantern is that it can appear in response to the specific call of the Soul Crow.

In order to make it easier for them to hide, Bai Shihang used the crow as a reference template when creating them, so that they could easily blend in with the crow flock.

Meeting these conditions was already the limit for the moth. Bai Shihang was reluctantly satisfied, and then he couldn't wait to release dozens of soul crows that were bickering all day long.

I hope this group of guys can flourish. As for ecological balance, these smart guys will prioritize ingesting human processed food through smell.

Your fries are mine now!

Maybe people will no longer dare to come out of fast food restaurants with French fries in their hands.

A world was reached where only French fry lovers were hurt.

Not long after releasing this group of soul crows, Bai Shihang could already feel souls entering the tent through the soul lamps.

The capacity of his [False Paradise] is not comparable to that of the low-end version of Shirai Anko.

According to estimates, it would take at least one million to have some impact on him.

What if there are really too many?
By that time, I'm afraid that Bai Shihang's false paradise will have evolved into the original paradise.

If it really doesn't work, the worst that can happen is that you can refine it in an instant.

Anyway, the Heaven Beacon also consumes souls.

A few more days passed in various experiments, and Bai Shihang estimated the progress. It was not so easy to make a heaven beacon. At the current collection speed, it might take ten days or half a month.

He had wanted to use this time to study the art of divine grace, but he discovered that even if he wanted to acquire basic knowledge, he had to first go to a heavenly beacon, which was simply counterproductive.

Now, with his development, parasites are becoming less and less sufficient, and most of them are even used for experiments on moths.

The strategy of casting a wide net is too inefficient, so there was no other way before. But now, if we can experiment with using moths to create life that has a high probability of mutation, then no matter how large the initial investment is, it will be worthwhile.

Of course, the search for suitable symbionts among the population will not be cancelled, but the screening will be more stringent.

Since the art of divine grace could not be researched and parasites were in short supply, Bai Shihang picked out a few serious criminals and put them in prison. He sent out a wave of demonic declarations to collect some souls and give the officials something to do so that they would not be tax thieves.

Overall, Shiraishi Hang had to admit that the official handling methods are becoming more sophisticated.

Less than ten minutes after the fall of the American prison, the demons hadn't even escaped yet, but all kinds of missiles and artillery fire were bombarding the prison like crazy, and the prison was reduced to ruins.

The situation in Japan was not as violent, but they also responded quickly, sending in several extraordinary people like Inagaki Miki and quelling the unrest within an hour.

This is good. Only when the official response capability is stronger can Shiraishi Hang's experiments be carried out more freely.

It’s just a pity that the quality of the criminal’s soul is too low, and the quality of this accidental death has to be discounted further.

During these ordinary days, he finally gathered enough soul strength to become a beacon of heaven.

Without further ado, get it for yourself first.

A large group of souls in the false paradise seemed to be kneaded and flattened by an invisible giant hand, and gradually formed into a star-shaped chassis with a pyramid-like structure on top, and a glowing beacon rotating at the tip.

This thing materialized and appeared in Bai Shihang's hand, and then according to his thoughts, a beam of light shot out from the tip and went straight into his forehead.

"Is this the art of divine grace... It advocates rational research, which is interesting. Rational research can help me build a model of the rules of heaven."

He gradually understood.

We can still apply the previous explanation of the computer operating platform. Only by being endowed with the existence of the Heaven Beacon can one master a programming language, use this language to explore the operating logic of this "platform", and try to achieve a certain goal.

For example, the energy source from the souls stored in the false paradise can be extracted and used in reality, and this energy has excellent compatibility. Through research, it can be expanded into multiple factions and uses, just like magic.

Even differences in the degree of understanding between different people can lead to differences in power.

Bai Shihang pondered over it for half a month before he managed to construct a set of [water transformation - low temperature - throwing] combo.

The prospects are certainly broad, but the only problem is how to encourage those who possess the Heaven's Beacon to voluntarily devote themselves to helping him study divine grace?

After all, this kind of research is too time-consuming and he would rather be a supervisor than a front-line researcher.

Either he is a very idealistic person, and Divine Grace is a shortcut to realize his ideal, or he has a reason to study it.
Britonia. Oxford.

Professor Jeremy Wade has locked himself in his room for seven days since dealing with the funeral of his daughter Dora.

Although all the visitors received a response, no one could persuade him to leave the house, not even his ex-wife.

But no matter what, the ones who most hope he can get out of this are his students.

To be more precise, they are master's and doctoral students.

Some of their research topics are even under the name of Professor Jeremy!
As a result, they became the group of people who came most frequently, fearing that something might happen to the professor.

But today, as soon as they rang the doorbell, they saw a haggard Jeremy wearing a more formal outfit appear in front of them.

"I'm fine, you guys go back first, I have an important guest to entertain."

The students were surprised and delighted. They said hello to Jeremy and left.

Jeremy closed the door and sat back in his chair.

There were two cups of black tea on the table, but no one was sitting opposite them.

He stared at his cup and occasionally looked at his watch.

Yesterday, he received a strange letter, which was placed next to his bedside cabinet. It said:
[Seeking knowledge may not defeat death. I hope to discuss with you about the soul and death. Tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock, please make a cup of black tea if you are interested.]

After he finished reading, the words on the letter disappeared automatically, as if they had never existed.

He suspected that Chaofan had set his sights on him, but what was there about him that was worthy of Chaofan's attention?
Is it what I call curiosity?

While I was guessing, ten o'clock had arrived unknowingly.

"I should have said in advance that no sugar should be added to black tea."

A stranger's voice came from the other side, bringing Jeremy back to his senses.

Sitting opposite him was an old Asian man who had come in at some point. He had a kind face and seemed to pose no threat at all.

Jeremy looked at the doors and windows. Everything was intact. This meant that the other party had either been hiding in his house, or had entered through some means he couldn't understand, and sat opposite him without him noticing.

"Sir, what's your name?"

"I don't have a name. You can call me 'the old man with white hair', 'the old guy' or 'the Supreme'."

"First? Supreme? Archbishop?" Jeremy read the word several times, recalling its meaning, but soon he put aside his instinctive curiosity because he had more urgent questions that needed answers.

"I think you are one of the extraordinary ones. May I ask why you are looking for me? What is the meaning of the message you left me yesterday?"

His cheeks were sunken from not having eaten well for a few days, and his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. Facing Chaofan, he guessed that he might be of some use, but he was also afraid that his value was not enough.

"Where do you think the soul will go once a person dies?" Zhigao put down the unpalatable black tea and asked calmly.

"The brain is everything to the soul. Without the brain, there is no soul, so death is death, and there is nothing." This is the view of the soul that Jeremy has always adhered to.

"You don't agree with the soul hypothesis?"

"Because it has not been proven, whether the soul is a magnetic field or some kind of substance, its existence cannot be confirmed."

"Then do you believe in God?" Zhigao asked with great interest.

Jeremy answered seriously, "I will believe it when I need it."

"What do you know about the extraordinary?"

"I have studied the tissues of some extraordinary creatures. In terms of genes, there is no decisive difference between them and ordinary creatures. There is no way to explain the source of their abilities."

Zhigao took out a well-behaved snake from his arms and placed it on the table.

Then, as Jeremy's eyes gradually glazed over, the snake emitted a light, and in front of it, a crow slowly emerged.

"Angang!"

As the snake dissipated into a point of light, the crow seemed to come alive, cawing and flapping its wings before flying onto the Supreme's outstretched index finger.

Jeremy could even smell the distinct avian scent.

"Is this, life for life, or transfiguration? Is its instinct still the same snake as before?" he asked anxiously.

Soul Crow glanced at him and said, "Oh my god, what an illiterate person! He can't even tell the difference between a snake and a crow. Ang ang."

A professor of molecular biology was called illiterate, but he was not angry. Instead, he was shocked: "It can think?!"

"You talk very interestingly. We have a proverb, 'French fries are actually fried', which is very suitable to describe people like you." This soul crow seems to be smarter than the others.

"Incredible, incredible." Jeremy's decadence was swept away, and he stared at the Supreme in front of him with sharp eyes, "So, this is magic or something else? Can you touch the level of life and soul that is difficult for mortals to touch?"

"You can call it divine grace. If you find it hard to understand, maybe you can pull out the God in your heart and use it."

".You came to me, am I suitable to learn the 'Divine Grace'?"

"No, talent is nothing. What matters is whether you have enough will to embark on this extraordinary and irreversible path."

"Perhaps words alone are not convincing, but if divine grace can really explore life and soul, I am willing to devote the rest of my life to it."

"I do feel your sincerity, so please accept it. This is a gift from heaven to you."

The Supreme took out the Heaven Beacon and placed it on the table. The tip of the pyramid began to rotate rapidly. A ray of light appeared and blasted into Jeremy's brow. It turned into a vast expanse of white in his sight, and a variety of knowledge continued to pour in.

By the time he slowly woke up, it was already late at night.

His arms were numb from being pressed, half of his face was covered with red marks, and there was no one sitting opposite him.

“A Gift from Heaven”

He whispered silently, taking in the knowledge he had gained and the logic behind its use.

Studying the art of divine grace is more like a kind of meditation, which requires one to devote one's body and mind to it. Then one will feel as if one is in a vast and boundless void, and he needs to create a new universe in this void.

This universe does not concern itself with so-called physical science, but has its own operating logic. When one explores it deeply enough, perhaps the resurrection of the dead is not such an incredible problem.

Feeling hope again, Jeremy perked up, regained his long-lost appetite, and began to look for something edible in the refrigerator.

"Except for necessary matters, I will devote as much time as possible to the art of divine grace in the future, and resign from my position at the school as soon as possible."

While swallowing the instant food, he planned his next step.

(End of this chapter)