Su Changfa gave no comment but coughed softly.
Kou Ruhuo, the muscular, bald man, strode forward and said briefly, "Fellow Cultivator Li, I am the chief of arms of the exploration team. All the magical equipment and tactical choices in the exploration and battle operations will be decided by me. Do you have any objections?"
Li Yao shook his head quickly.
Of course, he had no objections. Besides, he was very curious about how advanced the magical equipment of the Imperium of True Human Beings was.
Kou Ruhuo tapped on his wrist crystal processor softly. Four spiritual puppets dragged an enormous box of Crystal Suit to the two of them.
After a while of spurting noises, the box of Crystal Suit blossomed like a lotus flower, revealing a glamorous, glittering, and intimidating Rockman!
Li Yao's face immediately turned weird.
Wasn't it exactly his lousy suit?
It had only been repaired and repainted with a layer of golden paint that suggested that it was a nouveau riche!
"We've studied your Crystal Suit carefully and discovered that the Crystal Suit technology of the Flying Star Sector is still in the underdeveloped phase," Kou Ruhuo said solemnly.
"Fellow Cultivator Li, you are used to the underdeveloped Crystal Suit. Even if you are given the most advanced Crystal Suit of the Imperium right now, you will not be able to grasp it immediately. If you fail to integrate it, your combat ability will be lowered."
Li Yao scratched his nose. It seemed that he had outsmarted himself.
The Rockman was an ancient Crystal Suit from hundreds of years ago in the first place. It was used as a civil engineering suit in the Flying Star Sector.
The Rockman was used as a decoy so that the Immortal Cultivators would misjudge the overall capability of the Flying Star Sector. But it did not mean that he could not use the more advanced Crystal Suit!
If he had known it earlier, he would have equipped himself with a more advanced Battle Crystal Suit, at least as advanced as the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. Chances were that he would have been able to trick the Immortal Cultivators into buying a more advanced Crystal Suit!
"In order to start the exploration as soon as possible, we have maintained your Crystal Suit and upgraded it with superalloys. Also, we have installed some critical units in it, too. As long as it is within your control, the combat ability of the Crystal Suit has been maximized!"
Kou Ruhuo seemed to be a battle maniac. He was usually a man of few words, but when the topic of battle was brought up, his eyes lit up and he started talking non-stop.
Pointing at the weird units on the back of the Rockman that were riddled with holes, he said, "Among them, the most important one is this' Superstring Shield Generator '. It can build an extremely tenacious light membrane on the surface of your Crystal Suit. Under the control of your telepathic thoughts, the shape and range of the membrane will be changed precisely. Its efficiency is five times higher than the spiritual shields triggered by your outdated technology!
"Great Flux Shield!"
Li Yao's heart was beating wildly. The hot blood of an Artificer was surging through his entire body!
He had studied it carefully a long time ago. The Crystal Suit of the Immortal Cultivators was not much more advanced than the top Crystal Suits that he knew in every aspect. The gap between the two of them was obvious!
For example, the tailor-made, limited-edition super Crystal Suit that he was using, the comprehensive specifications of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit might even be better than the MP Crystal Suit of the Immortal Cultivators!
However, the spiritual shield technology of the Imperium of True Human Beings was much more advanced than that of the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector combined. It was at least two hundred years ahead of them!
If he could learn this kind of technology ….
Li Yao's eyes immediately turned red. Red, bloody, and frighteningly red!
Looking at Kou Ruhuo, the bald, muscular man with whiskers, he swallowed hard in his heart and was greatly tempted.
Kou Ruhuo had never dreamed that he would be regarded as a hunting target by Li Yao, a bumpkin from a remote village. He explained patiently, "Do you know 'String Theory'?"
"String Theory?"
Li Yao scratched his head. He was good at practical operations, but he did not know much about the mysterious, cutting-edge theories.
"I've discovered that your spiritual shield technology is still confined to the more classical field of fundamental particles," Kou Ruhuo said. "Your spiritual shield is condensed by the mystic rays generated by the surging spiritual energy. You haven't studied or made use of the photons that make up the mystic rays.
"Such a basic mechanism determines that the efficiency of your 'mystic ray shield' is very low. It consumes too much spiritual energy, and it is not easy to control during the maintenance. Also, tremendous photons are leaking to the outside world all the time, making it impossible for you to hide yourself under the scanning of the enemy's telepathic thoughts!
"All in all, from the perspective of spiritual energy consumption, controllability, invisibility, and many other aspects, it is a rather underdeveloped technology. It can only be called a 'first-generation spiritual shield'!"
Li Yao coughed hard, his face somewhat red. "What's different about the spiritual shield technology of the Imperium?"
"Of course it's different!"
Kou Ruhuo said proudly. "The Imperium has long surpassed the classical theory of fundamental particles and marched toward the ultimate path of 'string theory'!
"We believe that the fundamental particles that make up everything in the universe, including electrons, photons, neutrinos, and so on, are still not the most fundamental units of nature!
"Fundamental particles can be further explored and divided!"
"If you continue to divide the fundamental particles, you will be able to obtain … tiny 'strings'. These strings are existences that exist between energy and matter. They vibrate and ripple at a specific frequency, raising ripples known as' membranes'. When these ripples are stacked together, they form fundamental particles, and from those fundamental particles, everything in the universe will be formed!"
"In other words, our understanding of the universe is one level deeper than yours! You have only grasped the level of 'fundamental particles', but we have grasped the level of 'strings'! "
Li Yao was greatly astonished!
String theory was still in the beginning phase of exploration in the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector. It was still a hypothesis and conjecture!
It had never occurred to him that it would become a prominent school in the Imperium of True Human Beings and even be applied in real battles!
"Our spiritual shield technology will establish a special force field around the Crystal Suit," Kou Ruhuo said proudly. "When the photons collide at a high speed, there is a chance that the photons will be in a certain 'superstring state' during the collision, which will completely change the structure and nature of the spiritual shield!
"The 'superstring shield' that adopts such technology is the second-generation spiritual shield, which is vastly different from the first-generation spiritual shield. They are two entirely different things!
"Of course, our exploration of 'string theory' is still in the beginning phase. No more than 0.01% of the photons will be in a 'superstring state' during the collision. Also, the 'superstring state' will not last more than 0.01 seconds before it collapses. However, it is enough to make our 'superstring shield' more than ten times better than your 'mystic ray shield'!"
Li Yao secretly chuckled. This Kou Ruhuo was too honest. How could he confess the shortcomings of his technology in detail?
If it were Su Changfa, he would probably be bragging about it again, wouldn't he?
It appeared that Kou Ruhuo was one of those technical specialists. When it came to technology, he would be completely stubborn and would not tolerate the slightest falsehood or exaggeration.
To some extent, Li Yao was the same kind of person himself. When it came to magical equipment and refining, he did not like to exaggerate, either.
Su Changfa coughed and smiled. "What do you mean by 'you and us'? We are all on the same side right now. We belong to the Imperium!"
"Yes, we are all on the same side!"
Kou Ruhuo patted his bald head and pointed at the two tiny cannons on the shoulders of the Rockman. "Other than the shield, I've also installed two 'Erratic Light Cannons', products of the same technology, on your crystal suit. Their efficiency is five times higher than general cannons. Every cannonball of light that is shot out is covered in a controllable membrane, which allows you to change the shape of the cannons according to your will. You can do anything you want with all the mysteries!"
"Fellow Cultivator Li, are you satisfied with my modifications?"
"Yes, yes. More than satisfied!"
Li Yao was drooling. His eyes glittering, he rubbed his hands and said, "Do you have any more powerful magical equipment? Wouldn't it be better if you add them all?" "What do you think? What do you think?" Li Yao nodded, his eyes glittering.
"Yes, but I'm sorry —"
Kou Ruhuo said solemnly, "Fellow Cultivator Li, your contribution points have been exhausted."
Li Yao was dumbfounded. "Huh?"
Kou Ruhuo tapped on the light beam softly and sent a stream of information over. "Since Fellow Cultivator Li is satisfied with my modifications, this is the bill. Please leave your spiritual mark and sign your name as confirmation!
"The bill includes the maintenance cost of the Crystal Suit, the consumption of the super alloys, the Superstring Shield Generator and the two Erratic Light Cannons, as well as my own labor fee and the cost of maintenance and modification. Every expense is clearly stated. The prices are all within the range of the Bureau of Commodity Prices of the Imperium. Fellow Cultivator Li, if you have a chance to visit the heartland of the Imperium in the future, you can check them in person!"
"…" Li Yao.
"Fellow Cultivator Li, as a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, you have joined the Imperium through the 'Overseas High-Level Talent Introduction Act'. Therefore, you have a certain amount of contribution points. Also, as a native of this planet, you are sort of an 'expert native of a primitive planet'. In order to integrate the local experts into the Imperium as soon as possible, the Imperium has given you special privileges. When you become a subject of the Imperium, you will be given a 'gift package of contribution points for the newcomers of the Imperium'!
"All the magical equipment that involves the string theory is invaluable in the Imperium. The two contribution points added together were enough to exchange for the modified Rockman. Not only did I consume all of your contribution points, Fellow Cultivator Li, I also owe you a lot of money. I really can't offer you any more equipment."
"The detailed data are all on the bill.
"This is not a forced sale. After careful evaluation of the operation as a professional, I believe that Fellow Cultivator Li must be equipped with magical equipment for the safety of the team as a whole!
"As the chief of arms, it is my right and obligation to choose the most suitable magical equipment for the team for the interests of the team!
"This is a matter of life and death. There is no room for carelessness. Fellow Cultivator Li, please don't hesitate to spend the money!"
Li Yao was dazed for a long time. He stammered, "I — I'm not scared of spending money. I just didn't know that … I would have to pay for the equipment myself."
"If Fellow Cultivator Li were our slave, of course, you wouldn't need to buy the equipment yourself. But as a result, Fellow Cultivator Li would not have a share of the trophies of the exploration, either!"
Tang Qianhe stepped forward and smiled. "Or maybe, if we have ill intentions and are planning to kill Fellow Cultivator Li to keep your mouth shut after the mission is accomplished, of course, we won't ask you for money but will offer all the equipment voluntarily.
"But right now, Fellow Cultivator Li is a partner of equal status with us. After the mission is accomplished, we will all share the benefits. We will not take any of your contribution points. Why should we pay for the equipment for you?"
Li Yao scratched his head for a long time.
It did sound quite reasonable!
Such a scrupulous and 'fussy' Imperium gave people the feeling that it was a law-abiding and formal country.
Together with the raising of the national flag, the playing of the national anthem, and the granting of green cards by the Immigration Bureau, a sense of solemnity and fairness was built.
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