Experiment

When Chen Hao woke from a night's sleep, he felt as though a lifetime had passed. Everything before his eyes was not an illusion, and the mental energy he had exhausted yesterday had fully recovered. However, he felt the hunger in his stomach again.

He got up, dressed, washed up, and spotted the potatoes on the table. His eyes lit up. He picked up a kitchen knife, cut the potatoes into several chunks, put them into the steamer, and began cooking them.

Time passed quickly. About half an hour later, the potatoes had turned yellow and were giving off a rich fragrance.

When he lifted the lid, the smell of the potatoes made his mouth water. After all, potatoes nowadays were grown in nutrient solution.

As for purely natural potatoes, even living space was scarce now. How could anyone possibly have land to grow potatoes? Food supplies in the Base Cities were almost entirely produced through soilless cultivation.

That was thanks to the technological support found in the many ruins after the Great Nirvana. Otherwise, given the size of the Base Cities, it would have been impossible to feed hundreds of millions of people without enough land.

Soilless cultivation technology, combined with alien technology, had perfectly solved that problem. But as for the taste of the food, there was no need to expect much.

Yet this potato Chen Hao had synthesized tasted far better than the soilless-grown ones he usually bought.

Chen Hao quickly took the potatoes out of the pot, placed them on a plate, and carried them to the table. Though they were scalding hot, he still wolfed them down. In less than five minutes, he had completely finished a potato as large as a watermelon.

After finishing all the potatoes,

"Burp—"

The fullness in his stomach filled him with happiness.

In his predecessor's memories, he had never eaten potatoes this fresh. To save money, he always bought wilted vegetables, and potatoes were no exception.

This was his first time eating fresh potatoes. They even seemed more delicious than the potatoes he had eaten in his previous life.

Thinking back on his predecessor's memories, Chen Hao could not help but sigh. In this world, life was truly difficult for those at the bottom.

After eating, Chen Hao sat in his chair and began thinking about his future.

Now that he had obtained a cheat ability, the most important thing was to figure out its limits.

Although it only had a synthesis function, he needed to experiment and find out whether it could synthesize all kinds of items or only plants.

Chen Hao then found his bank card, took his wallet, and headed outside the residential complex.

After walking for more than twenty minutes, he arrived at a supermarket. He did not go on a shopping spree. Instead, he made his selections rationally.

He bought three fruit knives, three kitchen knives, and several kinds of vegetables before returning home.

After getting home, Chen Hao placed the vegetables on a table to one side. Then he took out a fruit knife. With a thought, the computer-screen-like virtual projection appeared again.

This time, he did not rush to tap the furnace icon. Instead, he tapped the card icon. To his delight, the card icon actually moved.

An image of the fruit knife appeared within the card, and a line of text appeared on it:

Inferior Small Knife

Forged from iron, carbon, molybdenum, manganese...

Quality: Does not meet A1 Level

Seeing the words on the card, Chen Hao's eyes lit up. Could the card's function be identification? And it was extremely detailed, even listing the knife's composition and forging method.

It seemed he could use this function in the future to Identify things he did not understand. After all, Earth had many ruins and unknown items.

As for the quality display, its indication that it had not reached A1 Level made Chen Hao think that this A1 was probably not the A1 Level weapons of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. It should be the quality rating for Planetary Level weapons—A1 Level alloy weapons.

If that was the case, forget this inferior fruit knife. Even Earth's S-Grade Weapons probably only barely reached A1 Level.

As for whether it had other functions, Chen Hao had no way to judge. He then picked up a kitchen knife, and the virtual image on the card changed again. Another line of text appeared:

Inferior Knife

Materials: iron, carbon, nickel, manganese... mechanically forged and rolled into shape

Quality: Does not meet A1 Level.

Chen Hao then picked up a tomato, and the text on the card changed again:

Tomato

Fruit of an Earth herbaceous plant. Edible, without nutritional value, contains no Cosmic Energy, can fill the stomach.

Item Level: Does not meet A1 Level

Chen Hao discovered that using the card to Identify items consumed almost no mental energy, so he happily kept at it, identifying nearly everything in his home.

The results were all ordinary quality, but that was only normal. How could a poor worker like him have any treasure-grade items in his house?

Next came testing the synthesis function. Chen Hao looked at the virtual projection in front of him. It was very similar to a 3D virtual interface, so he decided to call it the Synthesis Panel from now on.

Chen Hao placed the three fruit knives into the Synthesis Panel and tapped the swirling Synthesis Button. He felt a trace of fatigue in his mind. Then he looked at the synthesized knife, whose blade gleamed with a faint, cold light.

Chen Hao curiously took out the small knife. He did not know whether it was just psychological, but it seemed to radiate an icy chill.

He picked up a kitchen knife and used the small knife to shave at its tip.

With a screech, the tip of the kitchen knife fell off. Chen Hao was startled because he had not felt much resistance at all.

It seemed the chill he had sensed earlier was not psychological. The quality of this small knife had truly risen by one level.

He Identified the small knife, and the card displayed the result:

Ordinary Small Knife

Made through a special method. Cuts through iron as though it were mud.

Quality: Does not meet A1 Level.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Chen Hao began experimenting one by one. He discovered that as long as he placed two identical items into the synthesis slots, they could be synthesized, but the changes after synthesis were not very significant.

If he placed three items into the synthesis slots, however, the item's quality would rise by one level.

For example, potatoes grown in nutrient medium became natural, pollution-free potatoes with their original flavor and juices.

Synthesizing four to eight items did not produce much difference either. It was roughly the same as synthesizing three items. Only when nine items were synthesized did the item undergo another qualitative transformation, and the changes were considerable.

As for exactly how great the changes were, he had no proper comparison and could not judge.

Looking at the items he had synthesized, Chen Hao suddenly burst into laughter. "I'm finally going to get rich!" It took him quite a while to calm down.

Chen Hao tidied up the things on the table. With the Synthesis Panel, he knew his future would definitely not be too bad.

Of course, if he had the chance, he would still cling to Luo Feng's thigh. But that desire was no longer as strong as it had been at first.

After looking around his home, Chen Hao put away the synthesized items. After eating some of the synthesized fruit, he began considering what he should do next.

The most important thing now should be finding treasures useful for improving his physical fitness. The only things he could think of were the Spirits of Grass and Wood and Gene Potions from the original novel.

Unfortunately, he had no way to obtain those things. He could only rely on the Synthesis Panel to fend for himself, while finding the raw materials on his own.

Chen Hao did not have a computer at home, and the phone he used was an old model that could not access the internet at all. Perhaps that was also a compromise his predecessor had made after despairing over society and life.

Chen Hao went out and locked the door, then walked down the stairs. It was already past nine in the morning. Most people had gone to work, and there were not many pedestrians on the paths in the residential complex.

As a tenant who had only recently moved in, Chen Hao was not familiar with most people. The reason he knew Luo Feng's family was that he had attended the same high school as Luo Feng.

The two had met at school, and when Chen Hao had first moved in, he had run into Luo Feng once. Thus, he could be considered acquainted with Luo Feng's family as well.

After all, he was Luo Feng's senior schoolmate, and there was also Wei Wen.

However, Chen Hao had little contact with either family. He worked every day and came home exhausted, with no interest in socializing.

Therefore, he was basically an unnoticed nobody in the residential complex.

After leaving the complex, Chen Hao followed his memories to an internet café. There were not many people inside.

After all, Swallowed World was not like his previous life. This place was filled with danger, so not that many people were obsessed with online games and the like.

Of course, because most people could not afford electricity, and computers were luxury goods to ordinary people, there were not many home computers. Thus, internet cafés still did decent business.

Chen Hao entered the internet café and walked up to the counter. He took out his identification and handed it over. "Hello, I'd like to open a computer."

The young female attendant looked up from her screen. Seeing the identification Chen Hao handed over, she took it and swiped it through a machine beside her.

"Done. Find any computer and log in. It's five yuan an hour. A beautiful woman to play with you costs fifty yuan an hour. Your account is your ID number, and the password is the last six digits."

The corner of Chen Hao's mouth twitched. Damn it, getting online wasn't cheap in any world.

He then shook his head. "No need. I'll be fine by myself." After taking back his identification, he found a computer and sat down. He turned it on, then logged onto a website.

He typed in the words "medicinal herbs that improve physical fitness." In an instant, countless search results appeared. However, there were few official websites, while forum-style posts made up the majority. He remained skeptical of their authenticity.

Still, several results seemed somewhat reliable to him. The ones he was more familiar with included Ginseng, He Shou Wu, Glehnia Root, and so on. Those medicinal herbs all had to be purchased from pharmacies.

After searching for quite a while, Chen Hao discovered that there was not much information online about improving physical fitness.

Even the available information was mostly unreliable. It seemed that anything even remotely related to Martial Artists was hidden away. It was truly difficult for ordinary people to rise up.

Since he could not find useful information online, he had no intention of lingering at the internet café. He soon left and went to a nearby traditional medicine shop.

After he entered the shop, a clerk in his thirties approached him.

"Hello, sir. What medicinal herbs would you like to buy? Do you have a prescription? Our medicinal herbs are very comprehensive. If you want us to prepare medicine for you, we can decoct it for free."

Chen Hao merely nodded slightly without revealing anything. "I've been feeling a little weak recently, so I want to buy some Ginseng, He Shou Wu, Glehnia Root, and similar things to nourish myself. Do you have them here? Could you introduce them to me?"

The clerk's eyes lit up when he heard that.

"Hello, sir. We have Ginseng, He Shou Wu, and Glehnia Root. We even have wild mountain Ginseng, wild He Shou Wu, and wild Glehnia Root."

Seeing Chen Hao's unconvinced expression, the clerk quickly added, "Of course, we also have plenty of cultivated Ginseng, He Shou Wu, and Glehnia Root. Which kind you choose is up to you. Different ages have different prices, and wild and cultivated ones also differ in price. Naturally, wild herbs have the best medicinal effects, and the older they are, the better their effects. Their prices are naturally higher as well."

Seeing that Chen Hao was listening attentively, the clerk continued, "Look, this cultivated three-year Ginseng costs one hundred yuan per plant. If it's wild, it costs around three hundred yuan per plant."

"He Shou Wu here is a bit cheaper, but one plant still costs fifty yuan. Wild ones cost one hundred yuan each as well. As for Glehnia Root, I don't think there's any need for you to use it, sir. Both Ginseng and He Shou Wu are more effective than Glehnia Root, and Glehnia Root isn't cheap either. Too few people cultivate it."

Chen Hao thought for a moment and asked, "I only want to buy some to take home and stew in soup. Would yours work for that? Cultivated ones are fine too."

The clerk understood immediately. Another one fooled by online rumors. Still, he was a little surprised. There were many ways to use Ginseng and He Shou Wu. Rumors had long circulated online that fresh Ginseng and He Shou Wu could improve physical fitness.

But the clerk was somewhat disdainful. Improve physical fitness with this stuff? You'd probably have to eat it by the pound.

Still, the clerk kept a smile on his face. "We have fresh ones as well, but fresh and dried herbs cost the same. Which kind would you like, sir?"

Chen Hao was rather surprised. "How could that be? Aren't dried medicinal herbs more expensive, while fresh ones are cheaper?"

The clerk smiled. "That was before the Great Nirvana. Before the Great Nirvana, Ginseng's medicinal efficacy would gradually fade with time. That was why it had to be dried and processed through professional methods to preserve its effects."

"After the Great Nirvana, because of the changes caused by the RR Virus, cultivated Ginseng is not much worse than wild Ginseng. Ginseng also grows extremely fast, so it is fairly cheap. There is no need to dry and process it, and even if it is processed, the price cannot rise much."

Chen Hao was somewhat speechless. So he had simply been ignorant. "All right, then. Give me twelve Ginseng plants and ten He Shou Wu plants. Fresh cultivated ones will do."

The clerk swiftly packed them both and placed them on the counter. "Hello, the Ginseng comes to 1,200 yuan, and the He Shou Wu comes to 500 yuan. The total is 1,700 yuan."

Chen Hao looked at the two bags of medicinal herbs. Though it pained him, he still paid by card without hesitation. "I'll try nourishing myself with this Ginseng first. If it works, I'll come back here to buy more."

The clerk handed him the receipt with a smile. "Certainly. You're welcome to visit us again. Take care."

Chen Hao hurried home with the medicinal herbs. He could barely wait. Whether this worked or not would depend on this attempt.

After returning home, Chen Hao closed the door, placed the Ginseng and He Shou Wu on the table, then summoned the panel. Looking at the fresh Ginseng in his hand, he muttered, "Let's Identify it first. It'd be embarrassing if it was just white radish pretending to be Ginseng, hehe!"

After Identifying them, he looked at the results that appeared on the card:

Ginseng

Three years old

Contains minute nutrition, does not contain Cosmic Energy, can slightly replenish qi and blood.

He Shou Wu

Ten years old

Contains weak nutrition, does not contain Cosmic Energy, can slightly replenish qi and blood.

Chen Hao shook his head. Cultivated herbs really were unreliable. Even after the Great Nirvana, with Cosmic Energy nourishing them, their effects were still poor if they had not grown long enough. Now he could only rely on the Synthesis Panel.

Chen Hao then placed nine Ginseng plants into the nine slots of the Synthesis Panel. After tapping the vortex, a wave of dizziness rushed over him.

Chen Hao swayed and immediately sat down in a chair. Gripping the armrest, he took a moment to recover. He had not expected the mental energy consumption to be so great.

Chen Hao focused his attention on the panel. At this moment, the nine Ginseng plants had disappeared.

In the center appeared a plump Ginseng plant about the size of an ordinary carrot. It looked fresh and appetizing.

Suppressing his dizziness, Chen Hao took out the Ginseng. A clear fragrance immediately filled his nose. He then placed it on the panel and began to Identify it.

Information appeared on the card as well:

Century-Old Ginseng

Herbaceous plant. Contains a trace of Cosmic Energy and can strengthen the physical fitness of flesh-and-blood lifeforms below the Planetary Level. Its medicinal effect is mild.

Quality does not meet A1 Level

Seeing the identification result, Chen Hao was ecstatic. This was on the verge of evolving into a Spirit of Grass and Wood!

He then plucked off a Ginseng rootlet, placed it in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

A cool, refreshing sensation immediately surged through his entire body. Even the dizziness in his mind seemed to ease considerably.

As the cool sensation faded, Chen Hao's body grew hotter and hotter.

He hurried to the rooftop and began training according to the Basic Training Method. After exercising for around twenty minutes, he felt the heat in his body gradually subside.

Then Chen Hao felt as though he had shed a thick set of shackles. His body felt much lighter.

Feeling the effects of the Ginseng, Chen Hao's eyes immediately lit up. The feeling of being unable to keep going that he had experienced when training in the past was also faintly weakening.

He was somewhat excited. It seems the deficiencies I accumulated when I was young have been made up for quite a bit by the Ginseng. If I eat the whole plant, the deficiencies in my body and the hidden injuries left behind from previous training will probably be repaired.

At that thought, Chen Hao was overjoyed. He then returned to his room and glanced at the He Shou Wu on the table.

"It seems my mental energy isn't enough to perform two Nine-Grid Syntheses. If I want to synthesize multiple times, I'll probably have to wait until my strength improves. Too bad I'm not a Spiritual Thought Master and don't have the talent for it. Otherwise, the mental energy consumed by Nine-Grid Synthesis definitely wouldn't have such severe side effects."

Chen Hao understood that too much was as bad as too little, so he would eat the Ginseng bit by bit. He would not eat the entire plant at once, or he probably would not be able to withstand its medicinal effects.

After putting away the He Shou Wu, he took a shower and rested for a while. After casually eating lunch, he began taking Ginseng and training again.