[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times":3,"chapter-the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-649":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Fiercest Man in the End Times",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2319887,4536,"Chapter 649: Energy Freedom?","the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-649",649,"\u003Cp>“I want to follow and see what Dr. Xie is really after with Mr. Zhang, but I’ll probably get caught. Brother Duan, any good ideas?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Wei sat in his wheelchair, watching Xie Yanshan and Zhang Su laugh and chat as they left the parking lot, his eyes filled with longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Wu was still packing up; hearing Fu Wei’s words, he rolled his eyes: “Wei Jun, why are you so obsessed with your career? Can’t you just rest for once? Look at tonight—if it weren’t for Brother Zhang’s foresight, we’d both be lying at the bottom of the mountain. You don’t know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first. Give your mind a break, okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, I’m just muttering to myself. I’ve been counting the days—only a few left until lockdown ends. I’m just talking, that’s all. Here, let me adjust your lamp—does it look brighter now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Wei dropped the subject without pressing further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su, still within earshot, heard the exchange between Duan Wu and Fu Wei and smiled inwardly—he too thought Fu Wei’s ambition was excessive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two arrived at the dark mouth of a mountain ravine. Zhang Su turned on his flashlight; due to the terrain, this area had barely been affected by the blast wave—it looked exactly as it had during the afternoon training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides training, we only come here occasionally. How’s this? Spacious enough? Hidden enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excellent, excellent. This spot is perfect—quiet and sheltered from the wind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan casually complimented, then continued: “After you left at noon, I immediately began testing this cubic crystal. First test: fire…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah! Fire! Don’t you dare use fire recklessly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su was startled—just as Zhao Erhu would be if Pang Qingyun said he wouldn’t pay the troops—and cut Xie Yanshan off mid-sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The toxic zombie explosion had happened just hours ago; the earth-shattering noise was still fresh in memory, and the shock hadn’t faded—yet here they were, testing the zombie’s energy source with flame? Reckless to the extreme!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know what caused that explosion tonight, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su stepped forward, frowning seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan nodded: “I know, I know—it was one of those toxic zombies we dealt with earlier. Don’t worry, Mr. Zhang, I’ve got it under control…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing Zhang Su’s alarmed and serious tone, he explained: “I heated the crystal very gently, constantly monitoring its activity. As the temperature rose, I concluded the black crystal is fire-resistant—in short, it doesn’t fear flame. And…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he pulled a large pair of tweezers from his pocket, lifted the black crystal from its sealed bag, then produced a lighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Zhang, turn off your flashlight. I’ve got a big surprise for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Make sure it’s a surprise—not a scare!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su turned off his flashlight, watching Xie Yanshan’s actions. He understood what he intended to do—and figured he wouldn’t risk his own life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan lit the lighter. A small flame, a few centimeters tall, rose and flickered, casting a faint glow over the two, their blurred shadows stretching across the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the flame stabilized, Xie Yanshan used the tweezers to place the black crystal directly above it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su’s entire body tensed—but less than two seconds after the crystal touched the flame, his expression hardened, his legs braced, and he leapt backward three or four meters! Whoosh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A half-person-tall flame erupted from the black crystal—ink-blue and alluring, radiating intense heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha, Mr. Zhang, look! Is this a surprise? More than a surprise—it’s a miracle, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan stretched his arms out, leaning back to keep distance from the heat. The glow cast his smile in an eerie light—his excitement was extraordinary. “This… a flame amplifier?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su didn’t need to get close—he saw clearly: the lighter’s flame didn’t spread like it would against a pot’s bottom. Instead, the flame was entirely absorbed by the black crystal, then erupted from its surface as a massive new flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! Hahaha! Can you believe it? This is a flame-enhancing device. Mr. Zhang, look again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan hadn’t finished demonstrating. He carefully rotated the black crystal. As the angle between the crystal and the lighter’s flame changed, the size and color of the flame above it shifted too. “This is the minimum setting—lowest temperature.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, the flame above the crystal shrank to a foot high—shorter than an adult’s arm—with a diameter no wider than a bowl, its color now pale red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m adjusting the angle now, along this axis… sorry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mid-demonstration, the lighter in Xie Yanshan’s hand went out. He clicked it repeatedly—likely triggered by an overheat safety lock, unable to reignite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su pulled out his own lighter and handed it to Xie Yanshan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After relighting it, Xie Yanshan continued: “Point this edge at the flame. See? The color changes. This flame—no good, too hot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black crystal now glowed with flecks of white flame, giving it an air of refined elegance—but the temperature was so high it couldn’t even last until he finished speaking. Xie Yanshan reoriented the crystal’s flat face toward the lighter, and the flame reverted to pale red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The closer to the edge, the higher the enhanced flame’s temperature. But how do you adjust its size?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan shook his head and smiled: “Each face of the crystal has X and Y axes. One controls size, the other temperature. Look—different combinations of position, size, and temperature are possible. The maximum setting can only be shown at the lowest temperature, or it’ll burn you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Xie Yanshan moved the black crystal back and forth over the lighter’s flame, producing a dazzling array of colors. When he finished speaking, the flame on the crystal suddenly roared to life—expanding to a full person’s height, its thickest part as wide as a water barrel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh whoosh whoosh—the flame surged as if alive, releasing torrents of light and heat. It couldn’t be sustained long. Xie Yanshan quickly returned it to the minimum setting, lowest temperature, holding it aloft like a tiny torch—utterly sci-fi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su stared at the dancing flame in silence. His mirrored sunglasses reflected the flickering fire spirits dancing before him. After about half a minute, when the lighter’s flame finally died out, he murmured: “If this is true, does that mean our camp has basically achieved energy freedom?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Energy—humanity’s eternal pursuit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan turned on his flashlight, illuminating the ground, and slowly shook his head: “Not quite energy freedom. The black crystal merely enhances energy. Without professional equipment, I can’t measure the exact multiplier. Roughly speaking, combining flame intensity and temperature, the maximum enhancement exceeds ten thousand times—even the minimum is over a hundredfold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Xie Yanshan’s extremely conservative estimate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A tiny lighter flame turned into something that big—releasing energy tens of thousands of times greater… Dr. Xie, I don’t get it. I’ve heard nuclear fusion is powerful—humanity only needs to master it to have limitless energy. Is this thing basically the same as a fusion reactor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su reached out and touched the black crystal. Dr. Xie signaled he could take it. Indeed, it was only slightly warm—about thirty degrees—remarkably strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Zhang, there may be some misunderstanding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanshan smiled: “Though I lack professional equipment to measure precisely, I can confirm the black crystal’s energy amplification still falls far short of nuclear fusion. Do you know how much energy one gram of fusion fuel releases? Equal to ten tons of coal! One gram versus ten million grams—that’s a ten-million-fold difference.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ten million times… no wonder you call it energy freedom. This technology is incredible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Su was stunned. One gram of fuel equaling ten million tons of coal—undoubtedly one of humanity’s most advanced technologies. Too bad recreating it was likely centuries away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1293,"2026-06-20T15:15:17.100Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","828fdf9d77f8fcfe6a6345e8c94939c96fb7499bd2c205cfb5d0781a185ee492","the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-650","the-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-chapter-648",694,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-fiercest-man-in-the-end-times-cover.jpg"]