Outdoing the Master

Xiao He wasn't actually a big fan of hot pot, but eating it on Mars certainly had a unique flavor...

"That..." Xiao He looked out the window at the enormous shadow outside, writhing like a white snake as it approached them, and couldn't help but ask, "What is that thing?"

"It should be 'Dust Demon', right?" Wu Changchun glanced at it and replied, "It's somewhat similar to Tornado on Earth, but because Mars' gravity and atmospheric environment are different from Earth's, it forms that shape. It's quite common."

"Are you alright? It seems to be getting closer to us." one of the astronauts asked with some concern.

"Of course it's alright. As long as we're still in this base, there's nothing to worry about." Wu Changchun picked up a piece of beef and ate it without changing his expression.

Meanwhile, the "Dust Demon" outside the window was rapidly approaching them. Once it got close, Xiao He realized that this Dust Demon was on a world-destroying scale, even larger than the Typhoon "Lin Tiannan" that he had defeated the first time.

What level of wind is that? Level 20? Level 30? Who knows!

It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried; just in case, Xiao He used the Perfect Cube to protect everyone present.

The "Dust Demon" moved at incredible speed, covering thousands of kilometers in just a few seconds. It ravaged the small Dust Demon Mars Base, making them seem as insignificant as a speck of dust in the face of the massive Tornado. Yet, despite being engulfed by such a powerful hurricane, the Mars Base didn't even tremble.

Not only inside Xiao He's Perfect Cube, but also on the beakers placed on the experimental table outside, there was no tremor.

"...Awesome." One of the astronauts couldn't help but exclaim, then picked up a piece of dried bean curd.

"Judging from this, it must be absolutely safe inside the Mars Base, right?" another female astronaut laughed.

"Next, we need to consider how to communicate with Earth. Our country's three deep space monitoring stations can act as relays to achieve real-time communication with Mars, so that you can report the situation at any time. You need to complete the following tasks within a month..." Wu Changchun discussed the mission and details of this experiment with the astronauts.

Xiao He and Ye Wanqing were eating their hotpot alone at the next table.

"How does it feel to eat hot pot on Mars?" Xiao He gently pinched Ye Wanqing's nose.

"That's weird..." Ye Wanqing said with a wry smile.

"Yes...it's much more enjoyable to eat hot pot on our island." Xiao He nodded, "It's just a bit hot."

There are clearly still many details to be improved regarding living on Mars. This is also a topic of this long-term study, which aims to identify the conditions necessary for colonizing Mars by having researchers live on the Mars for a month.

The energy problem has now been perfectly solved. Ninety-five percent of the atmosphere on Mars is carbon dioxide, so there will be absolutely no shortage of materials for Antimatter Generator that use carbon as raw material.

The key now is how to obtain water and food from Mars' native resources. Human exploration of Mars is still very limited; this is just the first step.

After finishing the meal, Xiao He made two more trips to bring back experimental equipment, food, and water supplies for the researchers. Xiao He's mission for the day was officially over: humanity finally had its first Mars Base.

"This is just the beginning," Wu Changchun said confidently. "Currently, we still lack a normal route to Mars, but with the Perfect Cube structure and Antimatter Generator as a foundation, this step is not far off."

As he spoke, Wu Changchun turned to Xiao He and patted him on the shoulder. "Our country has already begun building a new type of spacecraft. I believe that soon, a spacecraft capable of reaching Mars will be officially completed. This is all thanks to you. I will apply for a bonus for you from higher authorities to recognize your contributions to our country's aerospace field."

"That won't be necessary," Xiao He said with a smile, patting Ye Wanqing's head. "Just give us a small island."

"Well, a month from now, we'll have to trouble Yinglong to come and pick them up." Wu Changchun turned to look at the researchers behind him who were checking the operation of the research equipment and replied, "During this month, we will also try our best to train more astronauts who can work in space, and then increase our research and colonization efforts on Mars... cough cough!"

Wu Changchun became more and more excited as he spoke, then coughed and quickly patted his chest. "No, I need to calm down!"

"Take your time, don't rush..." Xiao He chuckled dryly, then activated the Dimensional Walker, taking Wu Changchun back to Earth first. The six people at the Mars Base could contact Earth at any time through the communication system.

Over the past few years, Dragon Country has deployed three deep-space monitoring stations as relay points, so the signal can definitely be transmitted back from Mars. As for the delay, Xiao He doesn't know.

However, putting everything else aside, as long as they are inside that Mars Base, nothing can threaten the safety of the researchers.

After a busy day, it was almost dark when Xiao He returned to the arena to report to Cui Man.

"How did it go?" Cui Man asked with a smile. Xiao He gave an "OK" sign. "From now on, our country is the first to colonize Mars. Sister Man, if you need anything, I can help you get a house there."

"I prefer your house on the island to Mars," Cui Man joked, then turned to the screen in front of her. "Let's watch the game first. There are two more games in the M Country today. After this week's intergroup round-robin matches, it'll be over."

Xiao He glanced at the screen; the two Mutant taking the stage were "Thousand Magnet" from M Country and "Apasi"Mutant from Y Country.

"This guy's still alive?" Xiao He asked, giving Apasi a disdainful look.

He fought Apasi with all his might, but he was operating remotely from outside the arena. Compared to his LV6 physique, the damage caused by his Psychokinesis and Inorganic Matter Control was relatively lower.

However, at this moment, Xiao He suddenly noticed "Thousand Magnet," whose abilities were quite interesting.

Thousand Magnet raised his left hand, and an invisible force field immediately pushed away all the oncoming water dragons. Then, Thousand Magnet raised his right hand towards Apasi, and a powerful suction force pulled Apasi towards him. Apasi hurriedly controlled the water flow to transform into ropes that pierced the ground to resist the powerful suction force, and managed to stop with difficulty.

"Isn't that just Almighty Push and Universal Pull?" Xiao He frowned and asked, "Good heavens, are they going to throw out a Planetary Devastation right away?"

However, Xiao He discovered that Thousand Magnet's Superpower also has a cooldown-like effect. There is a five-second interval between when the same object is subjected to repulsive or attractive forces, but the intervals of attraction and repulsion are calculated separately.

"His ability wasn't like this in the group stage," Xie Haining suddenly said.

"Really? To be honest, I haven't noticed." Xiao He raised an eyebrow.

"During the Group B round-robin tournament, his ability was triggered by positive and negative poles," Xie Haining explained. "He would mark positive and negative poles on an object and then use those poles to control gravity and repulsion. The ability was very powerful, but it required a lot of skill and was a bit cumbersome to use. But now... it's different."

"What do you mean?" Cui Man frowned and pondered.

"I don't know..." Xie Haining shook his head and said, "This guy's fighting style seems to have suddenly changed, as if his Superpower has evolved. I'm not sure if he was holding back a killing move, but it just feels... very strange."

"Hmm..." Cui Man thought for a moment and replied, "We'll investigate this guy."

At that moment, Thousand Magnet raised his hand and aimed it at Apasi. In the instant he pulled Apas towards him with gravity, he pushed him away with repulsion. The strong contrast in impact caused Apasi to feel as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer, and he flew backward.

"Congratulations to Thousand Magnet for winning!" the host roared on stage.

"Relax..." Thousand Magnet grinned, then went back to the elevator through the players' rooms.

Ruiwen had just stepped off the elevator when he stood at the elevator entrance.

"Oh? Is it your turn to play next?" Thousand Magnet asked with a slight smile.

"No, the trash from Y Country Team isn't even worth my time," Ruiwen sneered, arms crossed, then pointed to the Werewolf Victor behind him. "Weak trash, let that guy eat him. The person I'm looking for is you..."

"Me? I won this match." Thousand Magnet asked, puzzled.

But Ruiwen just stared coldly at him, then grabbed his collar and pulled him up, whispering in his ear, "You fucking aren't Thousand Magnet himself, are you? Who are you? Why do you have abilities similar to Thousand Magnet's? You'd better fucking tell me the truth, otherwise..."

"Let go!" Thousand Magnet raised his hand and pushed against Ruiwen's chest, a powerful repulsive force spreading outwards.

But Ruiwen suddenly tightened his arms, locking Thousand Magnet in his embrace. His powerful Physical Strength allowed him to withstand the repulsive force, while Thousand Magnet groaned from the reaction force, feeling as if her internal organs were about to be crushed.

"I'm fucking warning you, you better behave yourself..." Ruiwen whispered coldly in Thousand Magnet's ear, "I'm not on the same level as those trash. If you dare to try anything funny again, I'll cripple you..."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Thousand Magnet quickly raised his hand, then glanced warily at Victor approaching from behind. "It's not convenient to talk here... Wait a minute, in the training room. There are no cameras there, I'll let you know. We can cooperate..."

"Get the hell over there right now!" Ruiwen shoved Thousand Magnet and said irritably.

Thousand Magnet's brow twitched slightly, seemingly displeased, but he still agreed.

After the two arrived at the training room, Ruiwen shoved Thousand Magnet, making him stumble, and then coldly said, "Let's get started. Who the hell are you? Where did the original Thousand Magnet go?"

"You can call me Adam," Thousand Magnet said, a layer of phosphorescence spreading from his face, and he completely transformed into another person, a blond, blue-eyed young man with blue and cyan snake tattoos on his left and right hands. "Thousand Magnet ... he disappeared."

"Morph Hero's abilities? What kind of Superpower do you have?" Ruiwen asked through gritted teeth.

"There's an old saying in the Dragon Country..." Adam showed off the tattoos on his hands, "...'The student surpasses the master.' It means that while cyan is derived from blue, it's a deeper shade, symbolizing that the disciple is superior to the master. My Superpower is to Replication the abilities of my enemies and then evolve them; my Superpower are superior to those I Replication. Although I can only Replication five people..."

"No wonder your Superpower are stronger than his..." Ruiwen's face darkened, then he got into a fighting stance. "Dangerous bastard... I'm going to kill you right here today."

"Wait a minute!" Adam quickly raised his hand. "Perhaps we can work together, can't we?"

"Cooperation?" Ruiwen narrowed his eyes. Adam nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, your Superpower is to Plunder the power of the enemies you defeat, right? I know your target is 'Yinglong,' and so am I. I can help you. We can work together to defeat him. I'll weaken him, and you can finish him off. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

Ruiwen was silent for a moment: In fact, one detail about his Superpower that no one knew was that after defeating an enemy stronger than himself, he could Plunder all of the enemy's power, but only Physical Strength. So as long as he could defeat "Yinglong" and Plunder Yinglong's power, combined with his existing power, it was impossible for him to lose to Adam, even if the other party Replication "Yinglong's" Superpower.

This collaboration sounds fantastic, but the only problem lies in the terms offered by the other party...

"Tsk, you?" Ruiwen sneered. "It's not that I look down on you, but with your current strength, trying to weaken Yinglong is just a pipe dream! He could defeat you with just one finger!"

"That's exactly why!" Adam looked at Ruiwen with shining eyes and smiled, then extended his right hand. "That's why I need your Superpower."

"..." Ruiwen frowned, looking at the blue snake tattoo on the back of Adam's right hand. He hesitated slightly: What if this brat tricked him? What if this brat grew up to be beyond his imagination?

However, Ruiwen hesitated for only a moment, because his Superpower didn't actually grant Mutant any real power; all power was gained by defeating enemies, and it only Plunder "Physical Strength." Since his opponent didn't understand fighting techniques, this Superpower wouldn't be of much use.

Thinking of this, Ruiwen grasped Adam's right hand and sneered, "Is that enough?"

"...It can't be done through gloves," Adam paused, then added, "It needs to touch the skin to Replication."

"Tsk..." Ruiwen spat in annoyance, took off his gloves, and shook hands with Adam.

"The student has surpassed the master..." Adam gripped Ruiwen's hand tightly, then a twisted smile of ecstasy spread across his face, "It's here... Now, all the keys are gathered!"

But then, Ruiwen grabbed him by the neck and said coldly, "Don't forget what you promised me."

"Of course, of course..." Adam replied with a smile. Ruiwen then released him, snorted, and turned to leave.

"There's no need for two 'gods' in this world, let alone three," Adam said with a gloomy smile.