Chapter 207: Kid, I really am not your dad

After checking Edgar's collection once, Ji Ming was still hesitating whether to immediately start researching alchemy.

After all, knowledge about life and soul is overly complex, and it seems useless now, so there's no need to rush to master it.

But to cultivate the bottled life before him, this huge pile of stuff, as profound as heavenly scriptures, seems unavoidable to study.

Fortunately, now both Sunshine City and Underground City have people who can help share the burden, so many things don't need worrying.

Otherwise, if things keep developing like this, even if a day could be extended to forty-eight hours, I'd still be busy to the point of not touching the ground…

He pulled out a chair, Ji Ming sat down and casually opened a book, intending to skim a portion to get a basic grasp.

But just after finishing one page, he again heard the bottled life crisply calling "dad".

"Stop, stop, stop, I'm not your dad, don't call me that."

He didn't expect an embryo to understand his meaning; he was about to keep reading, but the other's next sentence frightened him so much he almost threw the book away.

"But you took my mother's keepsake, so you're my dad!"

Damn, how do you still remember that?!

To some extent, even if I'm not the hatred's mother-killing enemy, I'm still the chief culprit who destroyed their family happiness.

So, if the embryo is a new life born on the hatred's corpse, he can raise it without any psychological pressure.

But if, in essence, he is a reincarnation of the hatred's consciousness…

Alright, let me see what fate usually befalls a villainous big shot who is soft-hearted and raises an enemy's children to adulthood.

Eh~

However, Ji Ming didn't rush to kill and silence; instead, he first probed indirectly and struck up a conversation with the embryo.

You let ordinary people come, they can't match Ji Ming's eloquence, let alone a fathead fish that looks stupid at first glance.

The bottled life naturally tells all it knows, sparing no detail.

Bad news: this bottled life has countless ties to the hatred behemoth, inheriting not only memory but also self-awareness.

Good news: the hatred's brain is like Edgar's charm—almost nonexistent.

In the hatred's shallow cognition, whoever gives the mother a burial and preserves her keepsake is definitely the father.

Moreover, in its short life, Ji Ming is, aside from Edgar, the first being who didn't shout for it to be beaten or killed.

So Ji Ming equals dad, the equation holds!

"No, not allowed to hold!"

"This kid's logic is too bizarre," Ji Ming shouted in rebuttal.

"Where haven't I hit you? Did you forget I threw out a thunderclap bomb to blast you?"

Who would have thought the little fathead fish in the bottle would shake its head and actually say seriously.

"Actually, when Mom gets angry, she often smashes me with medicine bottles, and that hurts even more."

???

Ji Ming quickly searched through Tou Ge's diary again and found that this beast really had done such things.

Corrosive potions, scorching potions, hypothermia potions… and several times they used a strong acid solution specially made to destroy corpses and erase traces.

—No wonder the hatred is so thick-skinned; it turns out it's been undergoing high-intensity training since childhood.

Upon inspection, compared to these black-hearted gadgets, the thunderclap bomb I threw is really just a harmless little firecracker that can't break defenses.

Ji Ming was pondering, while the little fathead fish in the nutrient solution continued speaking.

"Actually, I know my mother wasn't a good person; she killed many to create me, and later even ordered me to kill many."

"And you, after seeing me, didn't consider killing me outright but first thought about how to keep me alive, so I'm willing to believe you're my dad!"

He spoke very sincerely, even passionately, but Ji Ming immediately retorted.

"Really? I don't believe it; there must be another reason."

The little fathead fish hesitated a moment, then leaned forward.

"Actually, it's also because you're good-looking! You look far better than my mother, and I want to be good-looking too!"

Fine, looks like charm points are scoring big again.

Seeing Ji Ming's appearance like an old man on the subway with a phone, the little boss also timely began to explain.

【The savior need not be surprised, just as dragon clans have bloodline inheritance to boost hatchling survival rates; for its own continuation, artificial life in youth will prioritize seeking a suitable caretaker to lower its chance of dying young.】

【Since you are a supreme god and the master of this place, it's only natural for him, driven by instinct, to try to please you; it's not some malicious scheming, and at least for now he can still be trusted.】

"In other words, if the number training fails, could it also bring bad luck?"

【That depends on your plans.】

Heh, what volcano's fathead fish?

"Not everything can be said to a child," Ji Ming stood up, walked a few steps, and asked quietly.

"By the way, how did those artificial beings in history turn out? Have any successfully advanced to perfect existence?"

【No, most of them die in youth; those who barely grow up also face disaster due to exposure of their identity.】

【After all, artificial life is theoretically too strong; in earthly terms, they are a must-pick, non-bannable existence.】

【Therefore, in some more extreme eras, once artificial life is born, it will be attacked by the whole world and killed in the cradle.】

Since we can't get it, might as well just destroy it.

In contemplation, Ji Ming's gaze fell upon the nearby Rotten Meat Mountain.

Actually, in his original plan, this hatred should have been placed as a boss at the bottom of the mine dungeon for players to repeatedly challenge.

Unfortunately, losing the bottled life, the hatred's corpse cut in half became a dead thing not even worthy of resurrection.

A monster that could smash all top players in its prime just died like this—what a waste…

【Actually, this plan is still feasible; as long as I control it, it'll work.】

At the critical moment, the little boss again stepped in to solve the problem.

Although it is the world's will, its authority is inferior to the world law that governs everything and to the world fate that guides everything.

But since it can bring Ji Ming from high dimensions to the Yangyue World and also let him summon so many players.

With just a bit of cleverness, it, possessing wisdom, can still fool these rigid machines.

【I can try to simulate the characteristics of hateful creatures to see if I can deceive the world law's judgment.】

【If successful, we would have found a boss level that we can fully control, a refresh point that can yield a huge amount of experience.】

【Even if it fails, even if it's just a broken shell, under my control it can still last a couple more moves against the players.】

……So it's really just Yangyue official, and the skin suit is a hateful monster?

However, as long as the plan can be executed, that's good; Ji Ming only cares whether he can harshly train the players.

Excellent, let's arrange it that way!

He turned off the warship's isolation shield, walked up to the glass jar, and lowered himself.

Listen, I'm not your father; if you insist on giving me a title, I'm a doctor.

Having said that, he lifted the glass jar and placed it behind the curtain.

Stay here nicely; I'll come see you every day.

Worried about trouble, he went to the sanctuary and pulled the nearby bell.

From the attic came a rustling sound, and finally a tail drooped down.

With the internal test underway, everything was busy; I had no time to manage many things, and this lazy dragon really just clung on up there, refusing to come down.

Ji Ming also had no time to argue with her, so he just said directly.

Behind the curtain I placed a bottled life; you've lived so many years, after all you're a grandmother—remember to watch over it for me.

Ah?

With a cry, above there rang a clatter again, and the drooping tail also turned into a head.

Great deity, you're amazing—having a child with the bottle, is it a glass bottle or a porcelain bottle?

Saying that, she shrank her form, but not into a human; instead she became a large lizard with wings, quickly darting into the red cloth on the high platform, then moving beside the glass bottle.

Ah, truly artificial life?

Such dragon creatures have long lifespans and innate bloodline inheritance for learning knowledge, so each is well-informed and knowledgeable.

In the curious gaze of the small fat-headed fish, she circled the bottle back and forth, clicking her tongue in wonder.

This is a rare curiosity, Great Deity; where did you get such a fine thing?

Ji Ming didn't want to waste time retelling the previous events, so he directly took out a video file.

Please watch the VCR.

Bu Long Fei Er De lay on the ground, watching it repeatedly several times, before finally turning off the video with an incredulous expression.

Back then, the tower mages expended great effort to barely succeed in creating artificial life, yet it was born just like this?

—This is as ridiculous as a playboy secretly building a battle mech from scrap in a terrorist's lair and finally escaping!

Seeing him open his mouth saying 'Back then,' still reminiscing about the glorious history thousands of years ago, the little silver dragon, Ji Ming also suddenly recalled another matter.

As the foundation of pharmacology, alchemy is actually a rather ancient discipline.

Therefore, unlike pharmacists who only emerged in the past few centuries, its professional history has evolved to a length that cannot be examined.

So……

You ask if I know alchemy? I have indeed been exposed to some, but I'm a mage, so my understanding is limited.

If Ji Ming asks Bu Long Fei Er De for something else, she will surely curl up on the ground and quickly play dead.

But since she can become a dragon mage, her fervor for knowledge exploration still exists.

The topic of artificial life is so tempting that it could make her make a decision against her ancestors—taking the initiative to work.

Because there are some trivial matters, I still need a little time to organize this knowledge; how about this, come find me tonight!

This question also opened Ji Ming's mind again.

—Right, why should I alone raise this creature?

Everyone present is a member of the Production Team; we can totally work together.

So he urgently contacted those in the Production Team who had revived via a Resurrection Card, asking them to quickly prepare some alchemy, especially knowledge about life and soul, which he urgently needs.

But they lack the boss's help to screen and organize information; even if their wisdom is high, their vast memory will drag them down.

To write down all alchemy knowledge, the earliest it can be submitted is tonight.

Not rushed; tonight is fine—being able to record comprehensively would be better.

And after notifying everyone around, the area beside the small glass jar is already in chaos, filled with various oddly shaped creatures.

Sylvia lowered her body, and the helmet hummed.

Don't be afraid, child; I am the great angel.

Verelmo kept turning circles while holding a forging hammer.

By the way, is this little cover a bit fragile? Or should I give the child a big iron fish tank?

Moshou ran over excitedly, then stormed off angrily.

Cheating, you said it was bottled life; why is it a fish? I hate this kind of thing...

It might be because he's been dealing with fish every day lately; Grelson is also especially enthusiastic about bottled life.

Little guy, I'm Grelson; what's your name?

Although his face looks rather comical, the small fat-headed fish's words still carry seriousness.

My name is Beaker!

???

Facing everyone's gazes, Ji Ming spread his hands.

"Such an ugly name definitely wasn't chosen by me—I have good taste, after all. This is the handiwork of that alchemy madman."

As the current Production Team's deputy, Sylvia hurriedly offered suggestions.

"My lord, I suggest we still give him a more normal name."

Ji Ming nodded.

"Hmm, indeed, then how about Invincible Iron Ox? Or... Superman Power King? Which do you think sounds better?"

……

"Ah~"

Ignoring Ji Ming's suggestion, several Production Team higher-ups gathered together and began brainstorming names in a buzzing chatter.

"If it really won't work, let's just change it from a beaker to a graduated cylinder—after all, isn't artificial life hard to raise? Perfect, a humble name is easy to keep alive."

Since this bunch of old folks were willing to put in the effort, Ji Ming felt reassured, tossed off a joking remark, and returned to the Clinic.

According to yesterday's plan, there's still a very important new product launch meeting to be held today—no delays allowed.

So he first finished drawing the remaining part of the talisman symbols on the fur garment, confirming that its nature had completely changed.

Then have Master Velm take out the pre-prepared iron exterior armor, using the talisman clothing as an inner lining to combine the two into one.

Thus, a set of talisman chest armor and a pair of talisman greaves were completed.

Just placed on the rack, it even had a hint of mecha-girl outfit style, which could be considered an otherworldly aesthetic surpassing the times.

Unfortunately, as the inaugural generation of talisman armor officially unveiled, its purpose was to be destroyed.

After setting it down securely, Ji Ming lifted the shovel and struck it hard twice.

Even the best armor is essentially a consumable, but the quality of consumables still varies.

At most, his two shovel strikes only scraped a faint white mark on the armor's surface, not even managing to dent it.

If this were in battle, it would be a great kindness worthy of recording the armorer in the clan genealogy.

But in Ji Ming's brand story, he supposedly fought an alchemy madman while wearing this special armor—being this clean would just be too fake.

"Everyone step back, I'll give it some oomph!"

He pulled out several alchemy grenades made from transformed harm potions and first bombarded it with a crackling explosion.

Still not satisfied, he then had each member of the Production Team under level thirty give it a hit.

The first few strikes turned out pretty good, and they marveled at the incredibly sturdy talisman armor, hinting that they wanted one for themselves too.

But when it was Cloi's turn, she slapped it with a paw, only to find her hand starting to smoke.

"Ow, what kind of armor did you find for me?"

"Sorry sorry, I forgot you were a weird werewolf."