Chapter 1475: Successful Activation
Xu Huo walked out of the testing room and asked, "Are there any risks or side effects?"
"If the activation goes smoothly, there are no side effects." Bai Kou looked at him. "Nothing is foolproof, but if it fails, at worst you'll have muscle soreness for a few months. No big deal."
"Scared?" She raised an eyebrow slightly. "Scared I'll screw you over, or scared the activation will fail?"
Xu Huo smiled. "You said yourself nothing is foolproof. As the one taking the risk, I naturally have to think it through clearly."
After a pause, he added, "You should know someone has been following me. Are they from the City Hall?"
"City Hall wouldn't bother tailing a C-rank player." Bai Kou nudged a nearby instrument. "If they wanted to take you out, they wouldn't send someone so weak."
In other words, a C-rank player wasn't worth City Hall's attention. If enforcement were truly needed, the Enforcement Team would handle it, aiming to end the fight and capture the target in the shortest possible time.
"That person wasn't weak," Xu Huo said. "Thank the Enforcement Team for arriving in time."
Bai Kou let out a scoff, clearly not believing him.
"The Platinum Eye can't possibly control every player," she warned. "Local player disappearances might leave traces, but for out-of-zone players, the Enforcement Team generally won't interfere unless they've broken the law."
"This matter concerns you as well," Xu Huo replied.
"Plenty of things concern me. You're not expecting me to guarantee your personal safety, are you?" Bai Kou gave him a cold look.
Xu Huo opened his communicator and projected a photo of the attacker. "Being a stranger in a foreign land is troublesome. One person might bring a whole string of others behind them. Keeping distance is the safest bet."
"Suit yourself. Just don't get tripped up by your own caution." Bai Kou recorded the attacker's features and then led him to another room.
The activation instrument was similar in shape to the testing instrument they'd used earlier—a full-body metal suit that covered him from head to toe.
"There's a button near your right index finger. If you can't bear it, you can force an interruption." Bai Kou also changed into the room's connection suit.
Xu Huo stepped into the instrument according to the instructions. The sensors inside pressed against his scalp, temples, spine, and other points. The cold touch of metal seeped through his clothes. After a prompt in the room announced "Instrument connection successful," the other half of the instrument closed and locked.
"Evolver, please focus your attention. Activation will begin in five seconds. Four, three, two, one... Activate!"
The activation process wasn't as unpleasant as Xu Huo had imagined. At least his reaction wasn't severe. Initially, he only felt the metal pieces against his skin growing warm, followed by a slight vibration spreading from his skin to his insides—like an even, rhythmic pulse of energy covering his entire body from different points, gradually giving him a sense of relaxation.
The last time he'd used the S-grade Evolution Agent, he'd felt a slight fatigue, a sluggishness in his body. It was like the feeling of not getting enough rest—his body functioned normally and had ample strength, but it never felt quite comfortable. Now, under the instrument's stimulation, that subtle fatigue seemed to fade away.
After another ten minutes or so, Xu Huo began to feel his body becoming more active, a desire to stretch his limbs and move around. But as this activity increased, he gradually felt his whole body starting to swell, like a balloon being continuously inflated.
As the swelling intensified, his body reacted with instinctive rejection. First came a slight cracking sensation in his skin, then his blood flow quickened, followed by his heartbeat and breathing speeding up, and finally his muscles and internal organs—his entire being felt as if it had been permeated by the shockwaves released from the instrument, even the cells deep within his organs were being stimulated!
The rapid expansion of power and his body's endurance clashed against each other. Xu Huo focused all his energy on himself, forcibly suppressing the feeling every time the power seemed about to break through his limits. When it became truly unbearable, the advanced instrument from the Platinum Eye would adjust the intensity of the shockwaves, pulling back to the critical point, forcibly testing his limits without letting him collapse.
After being pulled back and forth at this critical point dozens of times, Xu Huo was nearly exhausted. He felt his mouth and nose clogged with dried blood, making breathing difficult. He was about to press the stop button, but before he could reach it, a notification sounded from within the instrument:
"Activation is about to end. There will be a five-minute recovery period. Please do not forcibly disconnect."
Xu Huo relaxed slightly, leaning back in the instrument. He felt the shockwaves soften again, repeatedly penetrating his body, easing the pain from the inside out.
After the recovery ended, he stepped out of the instrument with minimal movement.
Bai Kou was leaning by the door, waiting for him. Seeing this, she smiled. "Not bad. You managed to walk out standing."
"How did the activation go?" Xu Huo asked.
"The agent you used is different. Within the agent's range, your body has undergone maximum evolution. It didn't reach one hundred percent, but it far exceeds the effects of other agents. Also, you haven't abused the agent, so absorption was good. The process went smoothly, with an activation rate exceeding eighty-five percent. However, your evolution rate hasn't increased." Bai Kou explained in detail. "But when you first used the agent, you already pushed the evolution rate to its maximum. It's normal that it didn't increase further. Now that the agent is mostly digested, you can use the next dose within a short period."
"But you cannot use the activation instrument again within a year."
"The body and mind have limits to their endurance. Frequent use could cause permanent physical damage. Compared to saving a little time on digesting the agent, the cost is too great."
Bai Kou had said everything she needed to. She glanced at her watch. "Have lunch in the lab before you go."
Xu Huo only then realized it was already afternoon. With his tense nerves relaxed, hunger quickly swept over him.
The lab had a cafeteria, but lunchtime was already over, and no staff lingered inside. All meals were prepared by household robots. Bai Kou ordered a five-person set meal first. "If it's not enough, order more."
Xu Huo nodded slightly.
Neither of them spoke again, both focusing on eating quickly. Bai Kou, in particular, sped up noticeably after receiving a message.
She was completely unlike the dignified and elegant figure she'd been in Rose Castle or Mechanical Castle. After finishing her meal, she set down her bowl and chopsticks. "I have something to do. You'll take my car to Mechanical Castle later."
Xu Huo asked politely, "Need any help?"
Bai Kou glanced back at him sideways. "Can you handle it?"
No further words were needed. Bai Kou left the cafeteria, and the female researcher walked in, generously giving him two bottles of stamina recovery agent before subtly hinting that he could leave.
(Chapter End)