Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Super Gene

Several days later, at the Suburban Villa.

Si Yao finally made up his mind to find Su Xiao Li something useful to do, putting an end to her daily harassment as she tried every possible way to "fulfill her sugar relationship obligations."

He sat on the Living Room sofa, watching Su Xiao Li clumsily try to make him tea, then called out, "Su Xiao Li, come here."

Su Xiao Li immediately set down the teapot and hurried over, anticipation and a hint of nervousness on her face. "Boss, what do you need?"

Si Yao took one look at her and knew she had gotten the wrong idea again. He couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush, so he got straight to the point:

"The Fairy Civilization Gene flows through your body. The Fairy Civilization uses a Gene Engine based on Natural Resonance, which can manipulate Dark Energy in the environment and guide elemental forces to produce effects similar to... magic."

He briefly explained the potential and limitations of this ability. In the Pre-Nuclear Era, she might have been able to pass herself off as an Immortal. Its actual destructive power was roughly equivalent to a Large Yield Bomb, but it had the advantages of being instant, flexible, and effective against Second Generation Super Soldiers.

Su Xiao Li listened, understanding only some of it, but her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

She had always felt she was different from everyone else. So it turned out she really did have "superpowers"!

"Now, I'm planning to upgrade you." Si Yao's tone turned serious. "But there are a few things I need to make clear first."

"Once you accept this upgrade, our relationship will no longer be a simple employment or Sugar Relationship. You'll have to take on much more than just feeding Suo Dun. You'll officially enter a much broader—and more dangerous—world. Have you... thought it through?"

Su Xiao Li's heart pounded.

Not simple anymore? A more dangerous world?

She filtered out the dangerous part automatically. All she could think about was the phrase "our relationship will no longer be simple," echoing wildly in her mind.

Was Boss... finally going to acknowledge her? Was he going to form a more "intimate" connection with her?!

Her cheeks flushed with excitement. She nodded hard, her voice utterly resolute. "I've thought it through! Boss! I'm willing! Whatever I have to do from now on, I'll do as you say!"

Si Yao looked at her as if she were swearing her undying loyalty and knew she had misunderstood again.

His stomach twisted with discomfort, but then he thought about it. This girl had little sense of belonging to Earth or society, and there didn't seem to be much she cared about. If he had to name her greatest obsession right now, it was probably... him.

This nearly blind "affection" had come from nowhere, but perhaps he could make use of it.

Besides, this would give him a chance to conduct an important experiment—the practical application of [Yuanshi Realm Divine Power].

[Yuanshi Realm Divine Power] was the slowest-progressing of the eight Divine Powers he had designed. Its core principle was to imitate the power of ancient Mythical Beasts and imbue it into Super Soldiers, granting them the ability to transform into beastlike forms. It was similar to Sun Wukong's mode, which combined divine river wisdom with the combat power of a beast body.

"If you had the chance to gain the power of a Mythical Beast, what would you want?" Si Yao asked.

Su Xiao Li answered without hesitation. "Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox!"

With "Li" in her name, she had always felt a subconscious affinity for foxes. And the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox of legend was both beautiful and powerful, perfectly matching her taste.

Si Yao nodded. "All right, then. Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox."

He said nothing more and began making preparations. He drew on the resources he had obtained from Sumali and used the Seed of Delusion to convert them into a stream of pure energy.

At the same time, he decided to use a method common among advanced civilizations, but one he had never tried himself: Dark Plane Sharing, or "Networking."

Just as Angel Warriors connected to Holy Kaisa's Knowledge Vault, and the demons connected to Morgana's Demon One, he planned to connect Su Xiao Li directly to his Dark Plane.

The advantage was that it would let him pool resources and complete the process quickly, without having to build Su Xiao Li a separate, poorly equipped Dark Plane.

The downside was obvious: if something happened to him, the "host," then Su Xiao Li, the "terminal," would be all but useless.

Considering that Su Xiao Li was practically illiterate when it came to Super Genes and the use of Dark Energy, and that he himself lacked the resources to build her an independent network, this was currently the Optimal Solution.

[Core: Use [Yuanshi Realm Divine Power] Encoding as a blueprint to create the "Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox" Super Gene.]

[Empowerment: Initially integrate the Bottom Layer Code of [Kongshi Realm Divine Power] (basic mental perception), [Yongzhen Realm Divine Power] (basic elemental manipulation), and [Jingang Realm Divine Power] (basic physical enhancement) to form composite abilities.]

[Resources: Use the resources previously obtained from Sumali.]

[Architecture: Adopt the "Master-Slave Dark Plane Connection" model.]

...

"How much would this cost, according to my design?"

[10000000]

"..." Si Yao.

"Why don't you just rob me?"

Ten million True Points?

Just to integrate existing Divine Power Encodings and use available resources to optimize and empower the genes of a non-divine target—how could it possibly cost that much?

It was far more than he had expected.

But he immediately realized where the problem lay. Although he had already mastered the basic Encodings of [Kongshi Realm Divine Power], [Yongzhen Realm Divine Power], and [Jingang Realm Divine Power], and even had some ideas for [Yuanshi Realm Divine Power], perfectly integrating these different systems of power into a Gene Framework originally rooted in the "Fairy Civilization," while ensuring it remained stable and capable of growth, involved far greater technical complexity and far more gaps that needed to be filled by "Distort Reality" than he had anticipated.

This wasn't a simple matter of adding one and one to get two. It involved the compatibility of different Energy Systems at a microscopic level, the rearrangement and stable anchoring of Gene Chains, and a host of other extremely precise, high-risk operations needed to prevent the conflicting powers from causing Gene Collapse.

More importantly, Su Xiao Li's Fairy Gene was already a non-mainstream system of questionable stability. Forcibly grafting multiple Divine Power Encodings onto it was like adding several stories in wildly different styles to an old house whose structure was unclear. The difficulty and risks would increase exponentially.

The Seed of Delusion's assessment was clearly based on a standard of "starting from scratch and achieving a perfect result." It needed to build from nothing a Fusion Algorithm and Stable Framework that could safely support multiple Divine Powers and closely match Su Xiao Li's own genes. Naturally, the cost was staggering.

Looks like... I'll have to lower my standards. Si Yao realized. Creating a perfect "Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Super Soldier" was unrealistic for now.

He quickly adjusted the plan:

"Reset the parameters: using the available resources as a foundation, optimize the target 'Su Xiao Li's' genes in stages and to a limited extent."

"Phase One objectives:"

"1. Stabilize and activate her original 'Fairy Civilization Natural Engine,' improving the precision and efficiency with which she controls Dark Energy and basic elements—wind, fire, water, and earth."

"2. Implant a simplified [Yuanshi Realm Divine Power · Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox] gene fragment, giving her rudimentary beastlike traits, such as the manifestation of Energy Fox Tails, and a slight physical enhancement to her speed and reflexes."

"3. Establish an initial, low-bandwidth Dark Plane connection, allowing her to borrow a tiny portion of my Dark Plane Computing Power for energy guidance and basic calculations, but preventing her from directly invoking my Divine Power."

"4. Ensure the gene integration process is safe, avoiding rejection and the risk of collapse."

"Assess the cost."

[Ding!]

[Plan adjustment confirmed.]

[Phased Optimization will reduce the complexity and risk of integration, significantly lowering the cost.]

[Phase One Manifestation Cost assessment: 500000 True Points.]

[Confirm?]

Five hundred thousand points. It was still a considerable amount, but compared to the ten million before, it was a world of difference—and well within what he could accept.

"Confirm manifestation!"

[Ding! 500000 True Points consumed. Beginning Phase One Gene Optimization and empowerment of target "Su Xiao Li"!]

A faint, gentle glow, like moonlight, began to emanate from Su Xiao Li's body.

Under the influence of [Kongshi Realm Divine Power], her senses became extraordinarily sharp. The energy flowing through the surrounding air, the faint vibrations of insects chirping in the distance, even the signs of life in the soil—all were clearly reflected in her mind.

She instinctively tried to guide the active Fire Element around her. A weak but steady orange-red flame danced at her fingertips. This was the most basic Elemental Affinity granted to her by [Yongzhen Realm Divine Power].

The most conspicuous change came at the base of her spine.

A tingling, itchy ache spread through her. As she let out an unconscious moan, the phantom of a fluffy, snow-white fox tail quietly appeared, swaying gently behind her.

It wasn't real, but a manifestation of [Yuanshi Realm Divine Power]'s initial activation. Her Life Form had begun to draw closer to the concept of a "Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox."