018. Mass-Produced Omega Energy Serum
The advancement of Omega-tier Omega Energy development gave Li Aozi greater confidence to meddle in the affairs of the Grand Duchy of Grant.
In fact, even without Tianhuan's intervention, the Grand Duchy of Grant would have started moving toward independence before Dai Weilin came to power, as suppressing the Grant people's uprising was a main storyline task for Frost-Plated players.
Unless it involved a matter of principle, no one wanted to constantly play in a losing situation, including Li Aozi. In his view, if he could take Tianhuan's money for free, why not?
Li Aozi's cooperation also benefited Triangle Town, with the Auckland family's minerals being exported to Tianhuan at lower tariffs, leading the lord to look at Li Aozi more and more like a lucky cat.
During this time, Li Aozi took some time to check international news: after gathering enough evidence, Tianhuan launched a full-scale attack on Frost-Plated at the GTB summit, exposing all the anti-human scandals of Abyss Humanitarian, continuing the momentum Li Aozi had stirred up and launching a global wave of condemnation against Frost-Plated.
Frost-Plated's businesses in other countries were marginalized, and private capital and Frost-Plated's students abroad were ridiculed and discriminated against. Coupled with the accumulated domestic tensions, the approval rating of the current Frost-Plated president, Medveya Ostavya, plummeted to 56%. The furious president ordered the Law III mechanism to go into full operation, starting sabotage and infiltration against Tianhuan's colonies, which only intensified Tianhuan's hostility toward Frost-Plated.
Seizing the opportunity, the Red Arrow Empire directly announced an interest rate hike by the Red Reserve, causing the currencies of Frost-Plated and Tianhuan to depreciate, further fueling the fire.
The Red Arrow Empire's temporary rate hike wasn't to cool the market; instead, a large amount of Red Arrow currency flowed back through GTB, causing many Frost-Plated companies to lose financing overnight, leading to skyrocketing inflation and a runaway market in Frost-Plated.
As for Tianhuan, its currency had already depreciated significantly, and the public's fighting spirit was high.
Anyone with eyes could see that Tianhuan had long coveted Frost-Plated, and war was imminent.
To Li Aozi, neither Tianhuan nor Frost-Plated were any good—one was a warmongering invader, the other a corrupt, anti-human beast. Let them bite each other; he had already reaped the greatest benefits.
He had long predicted the tense situation. The devaluation of Tianhuan's currency was a historical trend, so he had already converted it into a large amount of supplies and began closed-door experiments.
Using research data obtained from Abyss Humanitarian and combining it with the hydroponic technology of the biochemical pool, he quickly matured and harvested a large amount of Calamity Crystal plants for refining.
Li Aozi understood: the so-called Calamity was not a virus. The Professor had taken the wrong direction from the start; no matter how much she increased the efficiency, she couldn't figure out the essence of Calamity—or perhaps she did, but as a staunch materialist, she refused to believe the truth.
However, Li Aozi also understood why the Professor refused to accept the truth about Calamity.
Calamity wasn't a virus; it was information.
Information from the Entropy Lord.
The red-black Calamity clouds covering the sky weren't real clouds but the Entropy Lord's thoughts constantly flowing, with information pulsing at high speed, enveloping all of Azure Star.
Occasionally, some people would receive the Entropy Lord's information, causing fragments of their genes to be shattered and replaced, adapting to the ancient and mysterious memories of the Entropy Lord, thereby forming Omega Energy.
It's like when an artist has a sudden inspiration, combining fragments of past memories with their creativity to produce a stunning work of art.
But this doesn't constitute a true mutation, as these gene fragments don't inherently belong to the individual; they are gifts from the Entropy Lord.
A professor who had spent a lifetime researching Calamity virus theory could never accept such a fact, could she?
Omega Energy is called the ultimate power because, in theory, as long as it's not an Alpha-tier Omega Energy with no potential, any Omega Energy has infinite possibilities due to countless combinations and mutations of genes.
The Entropy Lord's thoughts generate what humans call the Calamity red-black clouds, covering the sun and further providing energy to the sleeping Entropy Lord. As the Entropy Lord ponders, a small portion falls into human bodies, either turning them into deformed monsters or, if a match is found, expressing the power of Omega Energy.
A true [Mutant] must have a core Omega Energy that arises from their own genetic mutations, unlocking infinite potential, not relying on someone else's charity.
And Li Aozi is the only true Omega Energy Master on this planet who fits the definition of a [Mutant]. His genetic potential is fully unlocked, allowing all extraordinary genes to integrate into his body—regardless of the strain on his telomeres from bearing such a massive genetic load. But the point is, did they integrate or not?
The Omega Energy awakening serum he was developing was intended to prepare both himself and the players, a true mutation-inducing serum.
"It's time for the people of Azure Star to witness a true [Mutant]."
Due to his average skill and knowledge levels as a [Craftsman] and [Biochemist], Li Aozi relied on the weightless environment created by Omega Energy to achieve precise raw material ratios. After thousands of failures, through continuous experimentation and refinement, he finally stabilized the mutation-inducing properties.
As a result, the serum he produced not only granted ordinary people Omega Energy but truly unlocked their genetic potential, allowing them to gain Omega Energy that was truly their own.
Li Aozi breathed a sigh of relief as he finally completed his serum a week before the players' arrival.
Although the success rate and wastage were somewhat disheartening, it was barely at a mass-production level.
"Looks like I need to acquire more [Biochemist] skills and knowledge. It's also time to have old Dimitri bring his family over to take over my business."
He then deployed the biochemical pool in Triangle Town, setting it up for automated production, and began expanding the capacity for mass production.
With a week left before the players arrived, Li Aozi calculated that this should be enough time to complete his mission.
Li Aozi contacted Director Liu Deming, indicating that he was ready to head to the Grand Duchy of Grant.
While waiting for the special plane to pick him up, Li Aozi took three lab-grade [Mutation Inducing Serums] from the freezer.
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[Name]: DM-101 Mutation Inducing Serum
[Type]: Consumable/Serum
[Description]:
"If a lizard drinks this, it might breathe fire or turn into Godzilla."
A strange mutation-inducing serum synthesized by an unknown small workshop, capable of unlocking some extraordinary genes at the genetic level, producing new Omega Energy.
I think its only benefit is that it's extremely cheap.
[Effect]: Induces mutation, awakening Omega Energy.
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These vials of Calamity serum, after several filtrations, appeared dark yellow, with a halogen-like bromine color, looking quite cheap. But this was the best product Li Aozi could create, fully meeting the standards for a mutation-inducing substance capable of awakening new Omega Energy.
That was enough.
Every Omega Energy awakening would inevitably lead to a mutation.
The requirement for advancing to Beta-tier is to achieve three perfect mutations, and Li Aozi just happened to have four perfect mutation reset options.
"The serum I made is quite slow-acting; it takes two days to take effect. Conservatively, it will take me six days to advance to Beta-tier."
Without further delay, Li Aozi immediately injected himself with the first dose of the mutation serum.