Chapter 2918: All Coincidences Are Inevitable!
Chong Feiyu wasn't just mildly interested—she immediately dove back into the pile of documents, flipping through them eagerly!
Li Bing paid her no mind. Instead, she pulled a lollipop from her pocket, popped it into her mouth, tilted her head back, and hummed a little tune as she continued reading through the materials.
What Li Bing was looking at was the list of newly added former slave races that had joined the Star Project during this period.
There were as many as the stars in the sky!
During this time, the Carbon Alliance and the Matter Alliance had joined forces to fight against the Finality Legion, with the Finality Defense Line as the front. The battle was raging fiercely!
They had no time to deal with those former slave races. These slave races, though living in turbulent times, still had a relatively stable rear area where they could develop.
This was like a fertile nursery for them!
They didn't have to worry about the development of the starry sky situation or major crises.
As the saying goes, when the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up—the Carbon Alliance and the Matter Alliance were those tall ones!
The smaller fish, on the other hand, could thrive in such an environment!
The outbreak of war also provided them with excellent opportunities for development.
After all, war consumes resources. The amount of resources burned every moment was enormous!
This gave the minor races a chance. They began to use their racial abilities to produce supplies like medicines, military equipment, and provisions for the soldiers fighting on the front lines.
As long as they could develop something needed for war—even something as insignificant as lubricant, attack speed boosters, or armor-piercing spikes—the money they earned would be enough for these minor races to support themselves.
And they didn't have to worry about the major races coveting their gains, robbing them, refusing to pay, or taking them as captives.
Because of the red line Jiangnan had drawn, these races had a relatively safe environment for development.
As the war progressed, these minor races began to unearth their own treasures, develop their racial abilities, and their development had already gotten on track!
Just as Jiangnan had said, life always finds a way to survive!
During this period, the Firefly Alliance also absorbed nutrients and developed rapidly. It had already become the dominant force among countless small organizations and factions!
It had even established the Firefly Alliance to maintain order and balance among the small fries, preventing unnecessary internal conflicts.
Any minor race could join and receive the protection of the Firefly Alliance!
The Firefly Alliance had also started to export various military supplies and products. The money they earned was used to support their own development. They had already formed a scale, and the daily transaction volume was terrifying!
After all, some things could only be produced by minor races with special abilities!
Logically, for an alliance organization of this scale, the major races would inevitably be tempted. It wasn't impossible for them to make a move, as there was huge profit to be gained!
But the Carbon Alliance wouldn't touch the Firefly Alliance, and because of the Carbon Alliance, the Matter Alliance naturally wouldn't either!
The Bose clan, turning a deaf ear to the outside world, had no interest in some shabby Firefly Alliance!
The Silicon clan wanted to make a move, but the Carbon Alliance and the Matter Alliance wouldn't give them the chance!
It could be said that the Firefly Alliance had developed under Jiangnan's protection!
Of course, not all minor races joined the Firefly Alliance. Going to the Milky Way Star Domain to join the Star Project was also an option!
Over the past year or so, countless races had joined the Star Project!
The Milky Way Star Domain, originally a barren wasteland like the outskirts of the starry sky, had now become incredibly prosperous due to the Star Project, almost like a civilization center in the starry sky!
And the various races of the Star Project were also major military suppliers. Their signature products were extremely popular on the battlefield!
For example, the Mist Hidden Race's Heaven Hidden Pill, the Slug Race's Zero-Friction Lubricant, the Twin Race's Puppet Straw Doll, the Soul Spirit Race's Mind God Potion, the Rainbow Thunder Race's Rainbow Fixing Grenade, the Subhuman Race's Beast-Transformation Dried Meat...
All were mature and reliable products that could play a big role on the battlefield!
They were highly favored by frontline soldiers. Everyone wanted to stock up on them for emergencies!
These races in the Star Project, with their various abilities, had found their means to make a living!
At this moment, the materials Li Bing was reviewing were the latest statistics from Ai Jiang—information on various former slave races, numbering in the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands!
Among them, there were many with extremely interesting abilities. Because they had always been slave races, these abilities had been buried, never fully developed, and never noticed by the world!
With the complete collapse of the slave system, these races were like beautiful jade shedding their stone shells, shining like gold!
The infinite possibilities of the era were gradually being revealed!
However, Li Bing hadn't started researching these slave race materials on a whim!
At this moment, on Li Bing's experimental table!
Marrow Cleansing Fruits, Strength-enhancing herbs, Spiritual Energy Leeks, Golden Giant Durians, Black Garlic, Extreme-Speed Slippers, Deadly Green Clubs, Awkward Dance Grenades... Various small tools were all laid out on the experimental table!
Even the Horse Pen, the Offensive Soap, the Chicken Soup for the Soul, the Destiny Coin, the Strongman Pill, the War Horn...
Jiangnan never held anything back from Li Bing. Whenever she needed any system reward items, Jiangnan would send a batch over!
So Li Bing always had a large inventory here!
If there was anyone in the world who understood the functions of these small items better than Jiangnan, it had to be Li Bing!
Li Bing's eyes kept darting between the Star Project race materials and the small tools on the experimental table, even expanding her scope to the entire myriad races of the starry sky!
Li Bing frowned deeper.
(｡･ˇ～ˇ･) "Coincidence?"
Having said that, Li Bing laughed at herself!
"No... there are no coincidences in the world, and scientists never believe in coincidence! All coincidences are a kind of historical inevitability..."
But having said that, Li Bing fell silent, her eyes filled with emotion!
"Little Nan... Little Nan... How long are you going to keep this from me? When... when will you finally tell me the biggest secret you've been hiding?"
"If a girl gets curious, you know she might fall in love with you, don't you? Hehehe~ you little scoundrel Nan..."
Having said that, Li Bing chuckled to herself!
At that moment, Chong Feiyu, who had been rummaging through the pile of documents for a while, suddenly popped out!
She was holding a thick, yellowed document in her hands!
(๑ớꇴờ)っ▓ "Hey~ look what treasure I found? "Overview of Blood Incineration Experimental Data"? You made the Blood Incineration for Nan Shen, right?"
"Did you come up with this back in the Blue Star era?"
Chong Feiyu remembered it vividly. Back then, she had once hidden in the two-room-one-hall of Jiangnan's heart. But when Jiangnan activated Blood Incineration, he almost cooked Chong Feiyu alive!
He practically stir-fried her like a silkworm chrysalis!
Hearing this, a proud smile curled at the corner of Li Bing's mouth!
(˵¯͒◡¯͒˵) "Well, what do you think? What kind of existence is your good sister? She's a genius goddess with an off-the-charts IQ, got it?"
Chong Feiyu eagerly flipped through the documents. The paper was somewhat yellowed, recording the massive experimental data from when Li Bing first created the Blood Incineration potion, along with many failed directions.
The pages were densely packed with notes!
Until Chong Feiyu turned to one page, she froze!
(°～°〃) "This "Blood Incineration Type 17 Modified Version" was successfully tested, right? Its effect is even better than the initial version you finally made. Why didn't you complete it?"
The document was marked "Top Secret," and the paper was even wrinkled, as if it had been crumpled up and then smoothed out again!
Li Bing was taken aback: (๑•̌～•̑)ˀ̣ˀ̣ "What Type 17 Modified Version? Let me see?"
She went over, took the document, and examined it seriously!
Chong Feiyu said regretfully, "The effect of this Type 17 Modified Version is incredibly explosive! By accelerating the metabolic level of bodily functions, it enhances physical strength and all basic parameters!"
"It can even permanently improve a person's innate talent! This is an overpowered effect, isn't it? Why did you give up on advancing this experiment back then?"
Li Bing looked at the crumpled paper and smiled indulgently: "Indeed, the effect is incredibly abnormal! Humans are born with fixed talents, which can hardly be enhanced or changed through human means!"
"This Blood Incineration Type 17 Modified Version, however, can increase talent!"
"But... did you notice the side effects of this Type 17 Modified Version?"
Chong Feiyu was stunned: ∑(°～°๑) "Side effects?"
Li Bing spread her hands:
╮(•́～•̀)╭ "This kind of nearly abnormal effect naturally comes with a price! Continuously enhancing the metabolic level of bodily functions can indeed bring about a talent improvement effect similar to marrow cleansing! All physical attributes also increase significantly!"
"But doing so drastically shortens a human's lifespan! It's trading life for talent! I experimented on spiritual beasts and spiritual monkeys, and without exception, the lifespans of these spiritual creatures were all severely shortened!"
"This is using life to buy tomorrow! The effect of Blood Incineration Type 17 Modified Version has already violated the original intention of my creation of Blood Incineration, so I abandoned it!"
Chong Feiyu said regretfully:
(´-～-`٥) "But you couldn't just give up on it entirely, right? You could have made it for those who need it? This thing..."
But Li Bing shook her head: "In the era of humanity... it was different from now! If there was a potion that could shorten lifespan to enhance talent, turning the tables for spirit warriors, what do you think would happen?"
"Such a thing would become something countless humans would fight over! Once it leaks out in large quantities, the consequences would be unimaginable!"
"Human lifespans are already short. If this potion were actually made, it would undoubtedly cause irreversible damage to the very foundation of the entire human race!"
"Everyone would want to use it to change their fate, trading the future for the present. In that case, would humanity even have a future?"
Chong Feiyu was stunned. She never expected Li Bing had thought so far!
"But you could still make it, as long as you don't misuse it, right?"
Li Bing smiled: "You don't understand! Once this thing is made, you can't help but use it. When you're out of options, you'll think of it and then put it to use... Humans are just that kind of creature!"
"Once Pandora's box is opened, it can't be closed again. So... it's better to abandon it from the start!"
Back when Li Bing developed Type 17, she had struggled over it. The crumpled paper was proof of that. But in the end, she gave up, preventing the thing from coming into the world and stopping the experiment!
Because she knew that once this thing was created, it would likely cause enormous, irreversible damage to the Spirit Martial Force, Dragon Abyss, and Dark Night!
It was better not to make it at all!
But she couldn't bear to completely let go, so she picked up the crumpled paper and permanently sealed it away!
In the end, she completed the initial version of Blood Incineration. Though it also had a cost, compared to this Type 17 Modified Version, it was much gentler!
Li Bing's eyes reflected deep emotion: "You know? As a scientific researcher, you stand on the boundary of human knowledge! Every step you take forward expands that boundary one step!"
"You inevitably come into contact with the essence of life and the bottom line of human ethics! You know clearly that doing so would be better, but there are some things you simply must not do!"
"You must hold fast to your bottom line! Because a decision that crosses that line might destroy the foundation of an entire race!"
Back on Blue Star, Li Bing had already developed such abnormal products as Type 17 Modified Version, and there were many experiments like this that Li Bing had abandoned and terminated!
Chong Feiyu looked at Li Bing in shock, her mouth agape in awe!
(•́口•̀٥) "I have to say, good sister, your image has instantly become much taller in my eyes~"
Li Bing said proudly:
(︶◡︶*) "Hmph~ isn't my usual image already tall? But you've reminded me. Times have changed. Technology has advanced!"
"Many things that seemed impossible before are now possible. This Type 17 Modified Version research could be revisited. Maybe we can find a way to eliminate the lifespan-shortening side effects while still safely performing marrow cleansing and talent enhancement..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Bing's expression suddenly froze. She tilted her head mechanically and looked toward the experimental table...
On the experimental table, a Marrow Cleansing Fruit, shaped like a small persimmon, lay there, emitting a captivating red glow under the light...