Suddenly Appearing Viruses

Aside from being ground into powder and refined into medicine, Energy Crystal Orbs had another method of use called the Implantation Method. They could be directly implanted into flesh, using the blood as a medium to transmit energy.

In reality, the Implantation Method allowed one to gain power more quickly, with almost no energy loss.

Of course, ordinary people would never accept having something taken from the body of a virus-infected creature implanted into them. Who knew whether it carried a virus?

Furthermore, the energy in such an object required blood as a medium, so implanting it into the heart usually produced the best results. If it could not be implanted into the heart, it had to be placed at least somewhere near the aorta. No matter how one looked at it, such an implantation could not possibly be risk-free.

When Gu Ding heard about this method from Sea Emperor, he was taken aback as well. Implanting it through the heart was definitely beyond him and had to be done by a professional physician. As for implanting it near the aorta, Gu Ding had no idea how feasible that would be.

"Where near the aorta would be safer?" Gu Ding was still considering where exactly to implant it. "If it were implanted into an artery in my arm or thigh, wouldn't that be troublesome during combat?"

"That is why implanting it near the Carotid Artery is more appropriate," Sea Emperor explained. "The movements involving that area are relatively limited, and it is less likely to be attacked. Although your physique is unusual, I estimate that it will still take at least two or three days to fully absorb the energy from this orb. If it is implanted in your arm or thigh and a battle breaks out during that time, an impact to the implantation site could destabilize the orb. In serious cases, it might even explode. So no matter how you look at it, the neck is safest."

"Even so, who's going to perform it?" Gu Ding glanced at Liliath, who was sitting not far away, then shook his head. He guessed this little girl probably would not agree to it.

"You can only rely on yourself," Sea Emperor advised.

"How are you planning to use that Energy Crystal Orb?" Liliath suddenly asked. "If it isn't crushed into powder, it can't be made into medicine. But neither you nor I are strong enough to crush that orb into powder..."

"I plan to implant it!" Gu Ding had no intention of hiding it.

Liliath fell silent for a moment. "Do you need my help?"

"No, I can do it myself." Gu Ding shook his head.

"It's too dangerous for you to operate on yourself. This thing has to be implanted close to an artery. If you use surveillance equipment to watch, the image will be reversed, and a mistake causing severe bleeding would be troublesome." Liliath frowned slightly. "I should do it. I once took courses to become a surgical physician. Although I only studied for a year, I should still be much better than an amateur like you. At the very least, I've dissected quite a few beast carcasses."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gu Ding did not think this was in line with Liliath's personality.

"I can only handle one of those monsters outside by myself. And my wristwatch has just connected to this ship too. It says the power system was deliberately damaged, and I'm guessing the other ships are the same. So we have to kill those five monsters before the two of us can sneak into the shipyard and see whether there are any intact ships. For that, you need to raise your strength as quickly as possible. This is no longer a matter of wanting to or not. It would be much safer if I performed the implantation. Besides, I'm guessing you don't have much food left, so we need to leave this planet as soon as possible." Liliath explained seriously.

"It would indeed be much safer for her to perform it than for you to do it yourself. You have seen just how precise her eyesight is," Sea Emperor reminded him from the side.

Liliath had demonstrated her extraordinarily precise eyesight on the very first day. Only eyesight sharp enough could allow someone to hit the mark every time as she did.

"Fine." Gu Ding took out the Energy Crystal Orb and handed it to Liliath.

"In the neck?" Liliath asked as she accepted the Energy Crystal Orb. Gu Ding nodded and pointed to the artery on the left side of his neck. "Here."

Liliath took out a bottle of medicine and injected it beneath the skin of Gu Ding's neck. It was an anesthetic. Then she began the sterilization process.

Her surgical equipment was very simple: a small knife, a pair of sterile gloves, and a bottle of Cellular Repair Agent.

Before long, Gu Ding felt the anesthetic taking effect, and his neck had already gone numb.

"The anesthetic should have taken effect by now, right?" Liliath estimated that enough time had passed.

"Mhm," Gu Ding grunted.

"Then I'll begin." Liliath picked up the sterilized knife and cut into Gu Ding's neck.

About two or three minutes later, Liliath inserted the cleaned Energy Crystal Orb into Gu Ding's wound. The entire process encountered no obstruction whatsoever.

Gu Ding could not help marveling at how incredibly precise her eyesight was. Her hands never hesitated or faltered; every movement was completed in one go.

After placing the Energy Crystal Orb into the wound in Gu Ding's neck, Liliath injected the Cellular Repair Agent into his body.

In less than thirty seconds, the wound on Gu Ding's neck had completely healed, leaving no trace behind.

After putting away her surgical equipment, Liliath smiled. "So? Not bad, right?"

Gu Ding touched his neck. The numbness left by the anesthetic had not yet faded, but he could feel that the wound had completely healed.

"See for yourself. It healed perfectly." As she spoke, Liliath took out a mirror and held it up to the spot on Gu Ding's neck where the implantation had just been performed.

Gu Ding raised his head and looked. There truly was not the slightest trace left behind, nor was there any visible bulge from the implant. "Yeah, pretty good."

"After the Energy Crystal Orb is implanted, you'll soon feel a huge amount of energy overflowing from within it, and your body will be filled with strength. But don't vent that power carelessly. Use it to strengthen your cells..." Before Sea Emperor could finish, it seemed to be interrupted by something. Then its voice became somewhat panicked. "Where did these viruses come from? I clearly checked countless times. This orb contained nothing but pure energy—how could so many viruses appear?!"

"No, these aren't the same kind of virus as the ones inside those monsters..." Sea Emperor quickly noticed the abnormality of these viruses. "And they're only devouring energy; they aren't eroding Gu Ding's body..."

"What's happening?" Gu Ding asked in confusion. "Don't tell me my body has been invaded by a virus. I don't want to turn into one of those monsters."

"No, I was mistaken." Sea Emperor stared intently at the changes inside Gu Ding's body. The viruses that had appeared from nowhere quickly devoured every last bit of energy in the orb. The entire process took less than three minutes. If Gu Ding had absorbed it himself, it would have taken at least three days.

After absorbing the energy, those viruses vanished completely without a trace. Then, one of the Gene Locks within Gu Ding's body began to develop a crack. As each second passed, that crack grew larger and larger...

(Just a few dozen more favorites until three thousand! Everyone, keep it up~~ I need to keep it up too~ I didn't expect to get a front-page recommendation slot so quickly. Thank you all for your incredible support. Without you, this book's numbers would not have exceeded my expectations so greatly. Of course, I also have to thank my chief editor, Starfish, and my editor, Kangaroo~