Chapter 42: Gene Strengthening!
Translator: Limostn Editor: Tennesh
"Why do you have this expression on your face?" Mu Yuan suddenly felt his hair stand on end.
"Nothing." Chen Feng recalled something important. "Do you know how to increase spiritual energy?"
"Through gene production," Mu Yuan stated confidently. "For us gene producers, as long as we produce genes, our spiritual energy will increase. If you feel like the growth is too slow, you can temper your gene to a certain extent. Some high-difficulty training classes are also able to help with increasing spiritual energy."
Chen Feng shook his head. "I want a rapid increase method."
He knew about those methods Mu Yuan had mentioned. Those were how producers normally improved themselves. For him, however, what he lacked the most was time!
"Rapid increase?" Mu Yuan frowned. "Let me think… Buy a permanent increase gene reagent? It’s quite expensive though."
"I used it." Chen Feng rebuked firmly.
"I don’t think there are any other methods." Mu Yuan suddenly recalled something and shook his head. "For a gene producer, only these few methods are available. There’s basically no other shortcuts. However, if it’s a genetic warrior…"
Chen Feng’s eyes lit up. ‘Right. A gene producer is basically a spirit-type genetic warrior! Those pure genetic warriors can’t produce any gene reagents. How do they increase their spiritual energy then?’
"I don’t know if I should tell you this."
Mu Yuan smiled bitterly, hesitating for a bit before saying, "Do you know how genetic warriors increase their power?"
"Through tempering?" Chen Feng guessed.
"That’s only one part of it."
Mu Yuan inhaled. "Apart from normal training and high-difficulty drills, genetic warriors have another method that is faster yet more dangerous—gene strengthening!"
"Gene strengthening?" Chen Feng’s eyes brightened, he seemed to have heard this term before.
"Yes. Gene strengthening!" Mu Yuan nodded. "The so-called gene strengthening is a method where one kills the mutated beasts from the same species as the gene one fused and takes their genes for one’s own use! For example, if you fused the lumberbear gene at F class, then you only need to kill a lumberbear that is stronger than you and absorb its gene into your body. This way, you will be able to strengthen your own lumberbear gene!"
Chen Feng was still somewhat confused. "How to strengthen?"
"Kill, absorb, and fuse," Mu Yuan said forthrightly. "Gene strengthening is different than gene refining. If you want to absorb a gene into your body and strengthen your own gene, you need to guarantee the gene’s reactivity! In other words, you need to complete the gene strengthening process within a few minutes after killing the beast. Otherwise, the reactivity will disappear."
‘So this is how it’s done.’
Chen Feng thought about it. ‘It doesn’t seem too hard?’
For example, if he fused the lumberbear gene with 30 points of strength, he only needed to kill a lumberbear with strength higher than 30 points and absorb its gene into his own body to complete the strengthening? It seemed so simple, how was it as dangerous as Mu Yuan made it sound?
Chen Feng suddenly thought of something. "Is the attribute increase 100%?"
"Of course not." Mu Yuan shook his head. "You can treat gene strengthening as a mixture of two liquids with different concentration. In other words, if you kill a mutated beast with an attribute two points higher than yours, you will only obtain one point of the attribute! However, if some of the attributes are lower than yours…"
"Hehe… that attribute of yours will decrease."
"It’s not a problem if the attribute increases. However, the moment an attribute decreases and your gene starts to degenerate, the harm it causes your body will be extremely huge. The consequences would be disastrous."
"Hiss—"
Chen Feng inhaled a breath of cold air.
Decrease?
Gene degeneration?
He suddenly understood.
In other words, in order to perform gene strengthening, one needed to kill a mutated beast whose attributes were all higher than one's own attributes for it to work.
Otherwise, after killing the mutated beast with much difficulty and performing gene strengthening only to end up with a decreased attribute, wouldn’t that be ridiculous?
However, not only was it hard to find the mutated beast fulfilling this requirement, even if one were to be found, could it be defeated? A mutated beast with the exact same attribute as a human possessed much higher power than the human. Hence, it would definitely be stronger than the human!
This was gene strengthening!
Killing a mutated beast, absorbing its gene, fusing it with one’s own gene, and completing the gene strengthening process to increase one’s own attributes!
This was the way in which genetic warriors increased their power.
Simple yet cruel!
Furthermore, it was dangerous!
"Hence…" Mu Yuan said in a gloomy voice, "the mortality rates of genetic warriors are extremely high."
"Understood."
Chen Feng was enlightened. However, this lead to another question. "If I were to find a few mutated beasts with 100 attribute points and kill them, wouldn’t I reach the limits of F class immediately?"
Chen Feng was still somewhat hopeful.
If he were to fully unleash the power of Wind Blade…
"How is it that easy?"
Mu Yuan said straightforwardly, "You think gene strengthening is really so easy to perform? The difficulty level of gene strengthening is directly related to both your body’s endurance and your willpower. What the Genetic Union recommended for F class was around one or two attribute points per increase. If it’s too high, things will get dangerous."
Chen Feng was curious. "What kind of danger?"
"How should I know? I’m not a genetic warrior." Mu Yuan rolled his eyes before his expression turned solemn. "What’s dangerous is your current condition. Chen Feng, I know you want to rapidly increase your spiritual energy. However, you are in too much a rush!"
"Is it that obvious?" Chen Feng was somewhat embarrassed.
"Don’t take this lightly." Mu Yuan sighed. "I remember how when I was short of money when young, I had thought of a lot of ways to make money fast and easy. However, I did not have the ability to act on it. Only when I grew up and planned to start my thought-out plans did I notice that all these shortcuts were already described in the law."
"…" Chen Feng was dumbstruck. ‘So what you thought of was all illegal methods?’
"Do you understand me?" Mu Yuan advised, "Normally, shortcuts are accompanied by danger. The faster it is, the more dangerous it is! Even if its gene strengthening, you need to take it slow and not act recklessly."
"Many thanks." Chen Feng understood his meaning. "In order to rapidly improve, there will be dangers."
Mu Yuan smiled. "Not everyone can be like us gene producers. We only need to steadily produce our genes and will be able to increase our power as a result. Look at me, my spiritual energy has been increasing steadily. Now, I have broken through E class."
Mu Yuan was proud. This was also the reason why gene producer was a popular profession.
"That’s true." Chen Feng laughed involuntarily.
"Remember, don’t be reckless," Mu Yuan warned repeatedly.
Chen Feng smiled. "Naturally."
After thanking Mu Yuan, Chen Feng ended the call.
Although this ‘chatterbox friendly elder brother’ repeatedly emphasized the dangers, Chen Feng had already made up his mind. No matter how dangerous it was, could it be more dangerous than the Dragon’s Passing Mountain incident?!
Chen Feng had never planned to become a shut-in nerd producer all along!
To aid in gene production, a majority of gene producers would fuse with support-type genes. As such, their combat power was very weak. Although a grandmaster producer could hire someone to protect himself, could Chen Feng leave his safety in the hands of others?
If Chen Feng was being honest with himself, it was something he couldn’t do.
A human’s heart was too complicated.
This was especially true in this dangerous yet unfamiliar world!
Chen Feng did not want to depend on other’s protection forever. Nor did he want to stay in safe zones forever, becoming a shut-in nerd. There were too many mystical places in this word, and he wanted to visit them all!
Who said that a gene producer had to fuse with a support gene?
Who said that a gene producer could not have combat power?
Even as a gene producer, he also wanted to be the gene producer with the highest combat power!
Chen Feng was confident.
Since he wanted to be an expert, the basic activities such as battling and tempering himself couldn’t be avoided!
Gene strengthening?
Chen Feng had to do it.
However, he needed to make ample preparations.
On the same day, Chen Feng started researching the information of Wind Blade online. His genetic ability originated from a mutated beast called wind fox, which was abundant everywhere.
If it was Gold City…
After filtering the options, only one place was left: Greenhill Forest.
Greenhill Forest.
60 meters south of Gold City, there was a huge forest. Due to the terrain being rugged, human activity there was sparse. It became the habitat for tens of types of mutated beasts. Not many people stepped foot there normally. Only small genetic squads that were comparatively strong would dare to perform gene strengthening there!
Wind fox was one of the tens of types of mutated beasts available there.
"Mhm…"
Chen Feng carefully looked over the information. Luckily, the wind fox was not a species that liked to live together in flocks.
"Presently, the advantages possessed by mutated beasts are comparatively huge. I couldn’t defeat those stronger than me at all."
Chen Feng sank into contemplation. If he were to activate Luck Aura to instantly kill wind foxes that were stronger than him, his rate of improvement would be faster as well.
Mhm…
One point of spirit was able to increase the maximum spiritual energy by one point while his current spirit was at 52 points.
"I still need 38 points."
Chen Feng’s requirement was not high. He only wanted his spiritual energy to reach 90 points, enabling him to produce the strongest gene, and it would be sufficient. If he were to hunt for mutated beasts in a rational way, it was possible for him to rush to 90 points in a short period of time!
"There’s a chance."
Chen Feng was tempted.
After calculating, he deduced that with Luck Aura, the risk he faced when going to Greenhill Forest to kill wind foxes was not too high, yet the gains he stood to reap were extremely high!
Chen Feng decided. "It’s worth going."
However, there were some other problems.
For example—
The three idiots that had trailed him previously. Although they had subsequently disappeared, Chen Feng couldn’t help but to maintain a high vigilance and prepare himself thoroughly.
Spirit recovery reagent—three bottles.
Spirit increase reagent—three bottles.
Thundersnake gene reagent—one bottle.
Mutated beast detector—one set.
…
After two days, Chen Feng finished all his preparations.
He had originally planned to produce two bottles of thundersnake gene reagent. Unfortunately, he was totally broke; his funds could only support the production of one of them.
After everything was prepared, he left for the Genetic Union’s camp at Greenhill Forest.