Chapter 192: The Future of Soul Tools—Interstellar Warfare!
"Alright, enough chatting. Get on the table and lie down."
At the innermost testing platform stood instruments so intricate that Tang Wulin had never even seen anything like them.
Ouyang Zixin smiled gently. "Junior, lie down."
"Uh… okay…"
Before he knew it, Tang Wulin was laying there, still wondering how he'd been dragged into all this. A chilling thought flashed through his mind—one of those horror stories his father used to tell him.
Was this going to be one of those cases where a mad scientist dissected people?
No way. His senior sister would never harm him.
Trying to calm himself, he took a breath. Even through her white gloves, the warmth of her slender hands made his heart stir.
"Be good, don't move. It won't hurt," she said.
Then, with a mechanical hum, a large, unnamed machine extended a sharp probe straight toward his forehead—
"Wait, what are you—"
Before he could finish, a sudden weakness swept over him.
"You... what did you do to me?"
"Relax," she replied mildly. "Just drew a drop of your essence blood. I'll compensate you."
She paused thoughtfully. Her research points still weren't enough to exchange for the Di Tian Dragon Scale. Normally, she rewarded her assistants with minor items, but this time she handed him her personal faculty meal card.
After all, she'd long since half‑mechanized her body. Eating was hardly necessary anymore.
"What's this?"
Tang Wulin blinked at the blue card she handed him, then tried to sit up—only for his legs to buckle slightly.
Seeing that, Ouyang quickly caught him by the arm.
Senior sister is worried about me, he thought blissfully.
"It's a staff dining card. You can get high‑quality food for free," she said. "You're weak from the blood extraction. You need to eat and recover."
"Ah? I… go alone?"
Ling Zichen, who stood nearby, shot him a look. "Of course. What, you expect me to take you out myself?"
"But… shouldn't you at least explain why…?"
As Ouyang let go of his arm, Tang Wulin felt a pang of disappointment.
They'd gone through all this trouble just for a meal card?
Ling Zichen waved her hand dismissively. "We're working right now. Go, eat. When you're done, Ouyang Zixin will bring you back for testing."
There were thirty students in her lab, but only Ouyang Zixin met her standards—often acting as her assistant.
The rest? Useless deadweight.
Fine minds were rare, and since Ouyang's talent in soul mastery was mediocre, she'd devoted herself entirely to technology instead.
"Alright!"
The moment Tang Wulin heard she would personally guide him afterward, his energy came rushing back. He dashed off excitedly toward the cafeteria.
The sooner I'm full, the more strength to impress senior sister!
Back in the lab, Ouyang's smile faded.
"Teacher… did you just sell me off?"
Ling Zichen coughed. "Nonsense."
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin stumbled toward the cafeteria, body still weak but spirit blazing with determination.
"For senior sister… eat up!"
He dove into the food like a starving wolf.
Later, he returned to the lab just as Ling Zichen resumed her lecture.
"The overdevelopment of soul tools has pushed Douluo Star's resources to near exhaustion," she explained sternly.
"Have you ever heard of the twelve‑level fixed‑installation Soul Guidance Cannon? The Federation's greatest weapon—a product born from an accidental surge of rare energy. The Federation spent almost everything just to create three of them."
"It's not that we don't want to make more—the planet simply can't sustain the resource drain."
As Tang Wulin sat beside Ouyang Zixin, he listened carefully. Even while secretly basking in being next to her, he still took notes seriously—because that was his attitude toward learning.
"The Federation has already launched three exploratory fleets," Ling Zichen continued. "The first has yet to return. The second wave found a few worlds similar to Douluo Star, but none suitable for human survival."
She shook her head, eyes dimming slightly.
Finding another world capable of sustaining life was proving far more difficult than expected. If not for the Soul Beast race maintaining the planet's ecology through the Lake of Life, Douluo would have collapsed long ago.
To expand soul tool development on a massive scale—the extraction of minerals, rare metals, and immense energy was an unavoidable drain.
At the same time, the environment needed preservation.
Such a delicate equilibrium was the only reason the Douluo Continent could still endure under the weight of technological progress.
"Of course," she added, "science comes hand in hand with politics."
Though she spent most of her time buried in her laboratory, it didn't mean she lacked political insight.
"At present, the Federation is divided into two major factions—hawks and doves—with a few neutral parties in between.
"Officially, Shrek Academy claims neutrality. In reality, they're fence‑sitters," she snorted.
"The hawks push for assertive, even aggressive policies. They want to unify the planet—defeat the Star Luo Federation and the Heaven Dou Empire, consolidate all power, develop a formidable military, and ultimately expand into space as humanity's vanguard—colonizing aliens if necessary."
"The doves, on the other hand, advocate peace and cooperation. They oppose wars and massive military projects, preferring stable mutual development among the three nations. Their pacifism, however, only accelerates resource depletion and hinders human advancement."
Tang Wulin raised a hand. "Teacher, which side are you on?"
Ling Zichen gave a sharp grin. "The hawks, obviously. If we run out of resources, we'll just move to another planet.
"How else can science progress? How else can humanity reach the stars? When we face unknown threats, how will we protect ourselves without powerful weapons?"
She regarded the dove faction with undisguised contempt.
"They've been brainwashed by Shrek's sentimental nonsense! Without technology, the Tang Sect's hidden weapons would've never existed. And, oh, those? All stolen tech anyway!"
She rolled her eyes.
"When humanity finally enters the cosmos and encounters beings stronger than us—do you think reason will save us? You want to talk peace while they vaporize us?"
"As for resource shortages—simple solution. Find another star, another planet."
But then her expression darkened slightly.
"Because of those peace‑mongers, the Federation has frozen research on energy‑generating rare metals for years. Many high‑energy scientific projects are shut down entirely—even my own."
Her tone rose with frustration.
"Is it any wonder progress has stalled? The Federation already had the courage to destroy Shrek Academy—why not finish the job and clear out the rest of the dead weight?"
"Huh? Teacher, what was that?" Tang Wulin blinked.
"Nothing," Ling Zichen said quickly. "Anyway, always remember one thing—a true scientist must never lose curiosity."
Given that Tang Wulin had provided her with an excellent experimental sample, she'd indulged him with a glimpse into the Federation's internal structure—a rare favor.
In her field, those who failed to produce results weren't worth remembering.
But those who did... inevitably became entangled with those who ruled the world.
(END CHAPTER)
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