CHAPTER 9: CHAPTER 9: GENETIC TRANSFORMATION POTION

Qu Jianlei’s predicament didn’t sway the woman at all; she pointed out very clearly.

"This is betrayal, the Scavenger’s code... you should understand."

As of now, I’m not even a Scavenger, am I? Qu Jianlei felt somewhat unable to retort.

He had to indicate, "This is an order from Mr. Sai, it’s not something I volunteered for."

"Since you all disagree, should I report it to them?"

Just now, when Mr. Sai was here, nobody said anything, and now they’re dragging things out with him. Who are they trying to bully?

At this moment, someone couldn’t put up with it any longer; it was the thin Hunter with the Laser Sniper Rifle on his back.

He lightly coughed, "Don’t keep Mr. Sai’s name on your lips so lightly. When this matter is over, you’ll still have to make a living here!"

He’s seen plenty who take a feather for a command, but it’s rare to see someone so clueless.

The lower tier has its own set of rules; don’t think that by climbing high you can be immune to them.

In the thin man’s view, whether this fool can survive until this matter is over is quite uncertain.

Scavengers are not lacking in scheming characters!

Qu Jianlei looked at him oddly, thinking to himself: what’s it your business?

Then he declared, "I have these three weapons, which are enough for me. You guys can go scavenging the others’ corpses."

The thin man coldly spoke out directly, "We don’t touch the corpses of Scavengers, and you don’t touch the Hunters!"

The stout Scavenger wasn’t satisfied after hearing this, "You didn’t stop Greedy Wolf just now either!"

The thin man responded without hesitation, "That’s because you didn’t dare to stop him, what does that have to do with me? Hunters don’t engage in internal conflict!"

He understood the rules, but everyone has their own camp, thus naturally having different alignments.

Qu Jianlei observed coldly and didn’t comment on their conflict.

As he expected, there wasn’t much wealth on the other corpses, mainly food, water, and ammunition.

While they scavenged the corpses, Qu Jianlei was in a daze, and not long after, he pulled out a vial of Nutrient Injection and consumed it.

A middle-aged Scavenger couldn’t help but voice out, "How hungry are you?"

"It’s because of the injection," Qu Jianlei replied without thinking, "Does anyone know what’s up with this injection? I’ll reward handsomely!"

Everyone paused again upon hearing this, he was just constantly referring to "Mr. Sai" earlier, and now he wants to understand the injection?

However, this isn’t a bad thing; it proves the loyalty of this fool is also limited—at least he values himself more.

"I... might have an idea," the thin Hunter spoke up, "What can you offer?"

The middle-aged Scavenger initially watched this play out with a smile, and upon hearing this, was startled, then lightly coughed.

"Xiaoqu, when it comes to identifying things, do you think Hunters... can match us Scavengers?"

This really wasn’t boasting; Scavenging is indeed not something just anyone can do.

He originally wanted to use his insights to negotiate for better terms, which is why he kept silent for a moment.

But now someone was stepping in to snatch the business, he could no longer hold back.

However, Qu Jianlei had his own persistence, "Seniority first, this Hunter brother, you go first."

The thin Hunter gave a glance to the middle-aged Scavenger, shook his head, and turned to leave without saying a word.

But his attitude was very clear: since someone else knows, he wouldn’t say anything.

Your secrets, I’m not interested in hearing them.

That’s the true Wasteland person, despite being powerful, they wouldn’t inquire into matters they shouldn’t.

The middle-aged man looked at Qu Jianlei, "What can you offer in return?"

Qu Jianlei tilted his head and thought for a bit, then answered, "You know, I’m quite poor..."

"My offer is that I’ll report your information truthfully, absolutely not fabricating anything, if..."

"Alright, that’s enough!" The middle-aged man interrupted him in time, "I hope you won’t spread it around."

He took the other’s words as a threat—"if you don’t tell me, then..."

Anyway, something along those lines.

But Qu Jianlei was quite surprised; what he wanted to say was: "If someone wrongs you, I can help you" in some way or another.

However, since the other was willing to talk, naturally he wouldn’t stop him, so he nodded, "I promise not to tell anyone else!"

He had to admit, although he lived poorly these years, he managed to build a reputation.

He is a bit foolish, but he never harms others.

The promises he makes, he will absolutely fulfill, and the things he doesn’t want to do, he won’t do even if beaten.

Generally, people wouldn’t trust a fool’s promises, but for most Scavengers, this fool... is an exception!

So the middle-aged man pulled him aside and spoke softly, "Strictly speaking, this injection isn’t poison."

"It’s a Genetic Transformation Potion for the human body, but... it failed before the apocalypse."

Qu Jianlei looked at him pensively, "It failed?"

"Yes, because the side effects are too large," the middle-aged man nodded straightforwardly, "This is an extremely violent energy."

Qu Jianlei nodded silently; this was consistent with his own understanding, indeed an extremely violent energy.

The middle-aged man continued, "This energy is very persistent... it causes irreparable damage to muscles, blood vessels, and nerves."

"So we must have artificial repair fluid to repair these damaged tissues."

"And I happen to know that the upper limit time for artificial repair is five days... Beyond five days, it’s very difficult to repair."

Qu Jianlei blinked, pulled out a tube of nutrient injection, consumed it, and licked it clean...

"I can mostly understand what you’re saying, but why is there a second five days?"

"Because this energy is very enduring," the middle-aged man looked at him strangely, "Did I not make it clear enough?"

"Enduring... I like that," Qu Jianlei smiled slightly upon hearing that, what man could refuse endurance?

However, he still had a question, "How long does it endure?"

"About... a month and a half to two months," the middle-aged man mused before answering.

Then he added, "In fact, this is a very effective transformation potion for the body, which counts as a good thing."

Qu Jianlei nodded, "Alright, you don’t have to say more, just say the ’but’ that comes next."

There must be a "but," otherwise, how could this potion fail?

"But..." the middle-aged man sighed, "After reaching the limit, a small number of people cannot withstand the transformation and will die..."

"Of course, a small amount of death doesn’t mean absolute failure, the key is that many people... will become permanently disabled."

"Only a very small fraction, probably less than five percent, can gain some physical enhancement."

"But this enhancement also varies in strength with no predictable pattern, so it is considered a failure."

"Five percent," Qu Jianlei pondered for a while, he felt this ratio... should not be low.

To cultivate outstanding talents, such a ratio is entirely worth a gamble.

"The problem is, when the apocalypse is near, shouldn’t we concentrate our efforts to make a last-ditch effort?"

The middle-aged man was in a trance upon hearing this, "What exactly the apocalypse is, no one can clearly say..."

"I was originally from a lineage of doctors, but later my ancestors made mistakes and were exiled to the wild..."

"The inheritance left some things, but they are very limited, so the things that happened during those days, I really don’t know!"

Qu Jianlei was stunned for a moment before asking, "Is there any other evidence?"

His question was abrupt, a typical high-functioning autism trait, but the middle-aged man really understood it.

He raised his hand to point at his chest area, "Here, it’s hot, I can feel it!"

No wonder he was more confident than the skinny Hunter, besides family background, the key is he had been injected with the potion!

The skinny Hunter, no matter how much he knew, was just an observer and didn’t know the real reaction after being injected.

So he could only turn around and leave because the other party was... a firsthand experiencer!

The sword thrust? Qu Jianlei thought for a little while.

His primary reference system for enhancing himself is the Daoist Sect collection, which always emphasizes things like Dantian and Sea of Qi.

The sword thrust position is basically not mentioned in the Daoist Sect.

The common saying "a punch to the heart could kill" is mostly about this sword thrust area.

If the sword thrust is fractured and pierces the heart, and treatment is not timely, one is definitely doomed to die!

Moreover, the sword thrust area is very weak, without intentional training, it’s impossible to naturally enhance the muscles at the sword thrust.

The so-called six-pack or eight-pack abs, are usually between the top two packs.

These two abdominal muscles must be formed through targeted training.

So Qu Jianlei thought that if the genetic potion prioritized modifying the sword thrust position... it might make some sense.

Wait, isn’t the sword thrust adjacent to the Chest Acupoint?

The Chest Acupoint... that’s the famous Middle Dantian!

Although cultivation generally starts from the Lower Dantian, this is a Genetic Transformation Potion, not Daoist Sect cultivation.

They are entirely different systems!

So modifying the Middle Dantian from the start is not impossible.

However, Qu Jianlei was not very sure about the feelings expressed by the other person.

Because he compressed most of the potion into his right arm.

Even if some of the potion’s effect still permeated through the whole body, generally speaking, he felt heat only in his right arm.

He didn’t have any particular feeling of anomaly in the sword thrust area.

But Asperger’s Syndrome, besides behavioral anomaly, has another trait—acting irrationally when it strikes!

Whether the other person’s claim was true, he didn’t really care, as long as the logic was sound, he was willing to believe it.

Supposedly, he could also seek verification from other scavengers, but he decided to act recklessly!

He didn’t want others to know that his sword thrust felt no abnormality; that would expose his secret.

Qu Jianlei simply released his blocked blood and energy, allowing the violent energy to invade his entire body in an instant.

After about thirty to forty seconds, he exhaled lightly, this feeling was truly... invigorating!

At this moment, he felt his entire body was filled with strength!

And the sword thrust area of his chest became noticeably hot and increasingly warmer.

And at this moment, his mind also became exceptionally clear.