Bro, You Smell So Good

After ending the call, Su Luo sat quietly where he was. His expression remained placid, but a ripple of satisfaction stirred in his heart.

His primary objective had always been this world's modern body of knowledge. Learning about Great Yong's progress in researching Superpowers was merely something he did along the way.

Su Luo sorted through the materials in his possession and gathered the knowledge he intended to give Great Yong.

[Meditation], [Zen Meditation], [Basic Visualization Method], [Fireball], [Ice Arrow]...

This knowledge was enough to provide the framework for a basic mage system.

Of course, without Su Luo's Talent and the help of the Survival System, even if the natives of this world possessed these texts, they would still need years of arduous training and attribute refinement before they might reach his current level of strength.

Wang Shouye's voice held a trace of hesitation.

"The [Meditation] method is indeed extraordinarily profound, but for some reason, not one of the promising candidates we selected has managed to get started. None of them can sense the existence of this so-called 'Mana.'"

Su Luo glanced at Wang Shouye.

"Of course they can't. Your world is a 'mana-less' environment. If there were Mana here, someone would have developed a supernatural system long ago."

Wang Shouye: "..."

Then what use is this knowledge?

Su Luo spoke unhurriedly. "There's no need to worry. This is only the theoretical preparation stage. When the time comes, I'll make a few 'Mana conversion devices' for you to create small areas rich in Mana first. Even without Mana, [Meditation] and [Visualization] can still temper the mind, though they'll only yield half the results for twice the effort. Have your people build a solid theoretical foundation first."

After having Wang Shouye prepare a lavish meal, Su Luo took his time savoring Great Yong's cuisine, then prepared to find a place to continue studying.

"Mr. Su, our newest underground research institute in Hudu will be ready for use in three days. It's equipped with some of the country's best research teams and equipment..."

"All right. I'll go there when the time comes."

Su Luo flew off alone again.

Back in the familiar little park, Su Luo thought for a moment, then opened the [Spell Permanence Technique (Incomplete) (Blue)] Skill Book.

He had kept this Skill Book with him the whole time, but had never formally studied it.

There were only two reasons.

First, it was far more difficult than a green skill. Second, he had been tied up with other matters.

[Spell Permanence Technique (Incomplete) Blue, level 0 (59/500)]

Just to get started, a blue skill required ten times as much experience as a green one. Su Luo skimmed through it and found its contents and structure more than ten times as obscure and complex as those of basic spells like [Fireball].

In other words, the difficulty of mastering the skill through self-study had risen considerably.

But that was all right. Su Luo could stay in this world for more than twenty more days, which was extremely valuable time for him to develop.

Time slipped quietly by as he turned pages and worked through ideas in his mind.

Three days later, Su Luo arrived as agreed and slowly descended outside the heavily guarded research institute in Hudu. Wang Shouye was already waiting for him.

"Mr. Su, the laboratory is ready, and the first batch of experimental specimens has also arrived."

Su Luo merely nodded slightly, with no intention of exchanging pleasantries, and followed him straight through layer after layer of security gates into the core underground laboratory.

Let's start with a dissection to get some practice.

Su Luo had taught himself some physiology before coming, and as soon as he got started, he took a corpse apart into little pieces.

It was the corpse of a person with the D-rank Superpower Muscle Hardening.

After an extremely thorough examination, he found that, apart from significantly increased muscle density and the development of a new type of unknown, exceptionally tough muscle fiber, its internal organs, tissues, and energy circulation system were no different in essence from those of an ordinary person.

There were no special organs, nor any unusual energy reactions.

Taking the materials from an assistant nearby, Su Luo first carefully reviewed the previous research findings.

The records showed that some Superpower users' bodies underwent specific mutations as their strength grew.

For example, the body of a person with the B-rank Superpower Bone Armor would automatically accumulate a milky-white special fluid. When they actively used their ability, the fluid would pour out through their pores and form white bone armor with extremely high defensive power.

The types of mutations also varied.

For example, a person with the C-rank Superpower Fire Spitting would grow an additional special gland in their chest to store a special fuel secreted separately by the body, which was replenished extremely quickly.

But the reports also noted that people with high-rank Superpowers, such as the S-rank "Fire Control," often had no such obvious organic changes. Their abilities seemed to arise out of nowhere, with the only other manifestation being an increase in physical strength in step with their Superpower level.

They could produce flames with a crook of a finger, and researchers could not understand how the flames were created or where the energy came from.

Su Luo personally dissected the bodies of another C-rank and another B-rank Superpower user. He found that they did have specific organs or reinforced tissues related to their Superpowers, but he still could not find an energy source beyond their physiological structures.

"The key to the problem may not lie on a purely physical level..." Su Luo pondered for a moment, then instructed, "Arrange for a volunteer. I need to observe a living subject."

The assistants only knew that Su Luo was a special researcher assigned by their superiors and had extensive authority. And for some reason, his words always carried a sense of conviction.

A young male assistant researcher spoke quietly with his colleagues for a few moments, then silently left the room. A short while later, he returned to the laboratory wearing a volunteer's outfit and sat down in a chair, looking a little nervous.

"Oh? You're doing double duty?"

"I just happened to awaken a Superpower... Professor Su, could you be gentle?"

"Don't worry, it won't hurt." Su Luo placed a hand on his forehead, and a strand of pure, gentle mental power slowly entered him, carefully sensing the state of his entire body.

"What's your Superpower?"

"A C-rank Superpower, Gluttony. Mainly, my digestion and energy conversion are far more efficient than an ordinary person's."

As his mental power swept through the man, Su Luo clearly "saw" that his stomach was unusually enlarged, with overgrown auxiliary tissues attached around it. The digestive fluids it secreted contained peculiar active chemical substances.

Once again, there were no extra special organs or unusual energy reactions.

Could the source of their Superpowers lie on a more microscopic level?

No. Su Luo rejected the idea.

When Great Yong first discovered Superpower users, its cutting-edge technology had not yet stopped working, so they must have already made microscopic observations.

Then... what about the mind?

Su Luo reached into the assistant's mental world.

Probing here and feeling around there, he found the experience quite novel. This was his first real attempt to invade another person's soul.

"No, no, no! Bro! It's too big! It hurts!" The assistant felt as though he were being "stretched open."

Su Luo silently withdrew his immense mental power, leaving only the finest thread to explore cautiously through the assistant's murky, indistinct mental world.

An ordinary person's sea of consciousness had not yet taken shape and was shrouded in a haze.

Su Luo quickly swept through it.

"It's a little itchy. There's this... indescribable feeling." The assistant felt strange.

"Quiet." Su Luo paid him no heed.

Feeling Su Luo stirring up a storm inside his "body," and with Su Luo somehow also giving off an inexplicable charm, the assistant suddenly felt a mysterious flutter.

"Bro, you smell so good..."

After searching for ten minutes without finding anything amiss, Su Luo heard him and looked down, only to see the assistant's dazed eyes.

"Seriously."

Su Luo withdrew his mental power expressionlessly, at a loss for words.

He kicked the assistant straight out and switched to a living subject he could experiment on as he pleased.