Chapter 304: Life Is Impermanent

310. Chapter 310 Life Is Impermanent

Nothing happened all night.

The next day, Sunday.

Mo Li, like yesterday, went to the laboratory to do her research and experiments.

Even with a God-Eating Insect silkworm baby as a half-spirit beast and a giant flame salamander as a contracted spirit beast, Mo Li's strength already far surpasses that of an ordinary second-rank mage.

She is even slightly stronger than Lan Ni. Tai Le, who has recently made rapid progress.

But compared to Lin Ke, the gap continues to widen.

Mo Li must exert twelvefold effort, striving to catch up, in order to keep pace with Lin Ke's steps.

The current state of Selin Sage and Paro Sage is mainly due to Paro Sage being overly blunt, but Selin Sage also bears some responsibility for not keeping up in time.

The lessons of the past are right there; Mo Li certainly doesn't want to end up the same way.

Lin Ke sent Mo Li to the laboratory, turned his vehicle around, and immediately used his Portable Smart Brain to submit an application to the Academy, wishing to return for a trip to the mage world's homeland.

According to the Academy's rules, exchange mages may not easily return to the homeland during the two-year exchange period unless the Academy assigns a mission.

However, there are people in the court who can get things done, making everything go smoothly.

When Asande and Ruini got married, Lin Ke successfully requested leave through Shanduola's arrangements and returned home, thus setting a precedent.

Last time, before a mission, Lin Ke did not go through Shanduola again; he submitted his own application, got permission, and made a trip back to the homeland.

This time was no exception; the Academy quickly approved Lin Ke's application.

After putting away his Portable Smart Brain, Lin Ke drove straight to the interworld transmission gate, completed the verification process, and returned to the homeland.

On the way to the Northern District Headquarters of Do Anything Free, Lin Ke used his Portable Smart Brain to arrange a meeting with Asande and Kelisitinna.

Soon, the speeding flying car pulled into the headquarters' courtyard.

Asande and Kelisitinna, who was holding her daughter Jialuona, waited in advance to greet him,

After exchanging pleasantries with Asande and hearing about recent developments at the Do Anything Free headquarters, Lin Ke then drove Kelisitinna away from the Do Anything Free headquarters.

The reluctant Jialuona was handed over to Asande.

In the car, Lin Ke got straight to the point: 'Have you made up your mind?'

'Of course.'

Kelisitinna replied decisively.

'Let me tell you in advance: so far, I haven't found a way to remove the Construct.'

Lin Ke gave a kind reminder.

'No problem, I don't care.'

Kelisitinna's ruthlessness has surfaced; her vengeful obsession makes her overlook whether her decisions are thorough.

It was precisely this ruthlessness and obsession that helped her survive her brother's death and her own desperate situation, not only staying alive but also achieving revenge.

Now, Kelisitinna does not intend to change her style.

Seeing this, Lin Ke stopped advising.

He has already fulfilled his duty; there's no need to meddle further.

The vehicle drove into Lin Ke's Northern District villa.

The two got out of the car without delay and went straight down to the underground laboratory.

While Lin Ke made preparations, Kelisitinna held back nothing, removing all her gear and shedding her close-fitting clothing.

When the Shadow Annihilation Set was designed, Kelisitinna had already steeled herself for this.

It was just a matter of being frank with Lin Ke.

The last time she asked Lin Ke for prenatal care, underwent various examinations, and received targeted conditioning, it wasn't as if she had never been frank with him before.

Once Lin Ke had prepared the materials needed to implant the Shadow Annihilation Set, Kelisitinna voluntarily lay down on the operating table.

'Do you need anesthesia?'

Before implanting the Construct, Lin Ke asked.

'No, I can endure it.'

Kelisitinna replied calmly, 'The pain I have endured is beyond what most people can imagine.'

'Alright.'

Lin Ke said nothing more.

After disinfecting the implantation sites for the Construct on both himself and Kelisitinna, Lin Ke formally began implanting the Shadow Annihilation Set.

This time, Lin Ke did not use magic beast fur as a medium; instead, he directly applied the Construct to Kelisitinna's skin in the form of needle punctures, carrying out the drawing and implantation.

The Construct's three-dimensional structure allows the depth of the needle punctures to be freely controlled, which fits perfectly.

Since the Shadow Annihilation Set was tailor-made for Kelisitinna's specific condition, as long as Lin Ke keeps his hand steady and avoids other mistakes, the implantation will proceed without issue.

After about an hour and a half, all Construct components had been implanted, lacking only a single stroke that would serve as the finishing touch.

Lin Ke took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and then said, 'Following my command, activate each component in turn, then finally activate the entire set—understand?'

'Understood.'

After enduring no less than ten thousand needle punctures of varying depths and greatly differing force, Kelisitinna showed no expression, seeming to feel no pain, and her tone of response was calm and untroubled.

'Begin.'

Lin Ke held the needle and, in order, tapped the already-implanted Construct components.

Eight components, powered by Kelisitinna's mental and magical energy, were activated in sequence.

Shortly after, Kelisitinna sensed a powerful force arising deep within her body, violent and roaring.

Following this sensation, Kelisitinna orderly controlled this powerful force, breaking through her body's limits and revealing it to the world.

Only two thumb-thick blackish-gray beams shot from her eyes, which still bore traces of snake-like pupils.

Lin Ke appeared just in time on the path the light beam must take, blocking this attack.

Both to prevent the laboratory's ceiling from being shot through and the lab from being destroyed, and to personally test the attack power of the 'Shadow Annihilation' set.

Lin Ke, wearing the defense-mode battle armor, stubbornly resisted the black-gray light beam impact for a full 10 seconds, and also gathered all the tiny light points that scattered after encountering obstruction.

When Christina's mental power and magic reserves were about to run low, the 'Shadow Annihilation' set automatically ceased.

Lin Ke floated back to the laboratory floor, turned and walked out, saying as he went: "Rest a bit; I'll wait for you on the first floor."

"Thanks."

The slightly weakened Christina lay on the operating table and sincerely gave thanks.

Lin Ke gave no response and walked straight out.

Shortly after, Christina got up, put on her clothes, and also headed to the villa's first floor.

The smart butler Hamid had already prepared tea and snacks as Lin Ke instructed.

"Sit, have something to eat."

Lin Ke pointed and then took a light sip of green tea himself.

"Thanks."

Christina found that when facing Lin Ke, the phrase she said most often might be this one.

The help received was truly too much.

"How do you feel yourself?"

After Christina ate some pastries and drank some tea, Lin Ke then posed the question.

"Never before have I felt so powerful."

Christina carefully recalled the feeling when activating the 'Shadow Annihilation' set, when her eyes shot two black-gray light beams, thought it over, and gave a solemn judgment.

"Any discomfort or other negative feelings?"

Lin Ke continued questioning.

"The duration was a bit short."

Christina thought for a long time, and finally only found this one negative point. "Hehe."

Lin Ke heard this and gave a slight smile.

A short duration is not a drawback of the 'Shadow Annihilation' set; rather, it's an advantage.

According to my own firsthand experience, the attack power of the two black-gray light beams emitted by the 'Shadow Annihilation' set has already reached the average level of ordinary third-circle attack-type sorcery.

And Christina can at most be considered a senior first-circle sorcerer.

Even using high-power magical devices, it is rare for a first-circle sorcerer to emit an attack equivalent to the average level of third-circle attack-type sorcery.

From this, it can be judged that the 'Construct' still has certain advantages over magical devices.

"Um……"

If, after subsequent standardization, this effect can still be achieved.

After coming to his senses, Lin Ke earnestly instructed:

"When I designed the 'Shadow Annihilation' set, I referred to your Shadow City warship version's small-caliber 'Annihilation Light'."

"You have experienced the attack method yourself, and the attack power has reached the design expectation."

"For now, it can only be your trump card; only when your mental power and magic reserves increase can it become a regular attack method."

"Hmm."

Christina nodded firmly, agreeing, "I will pay more attention."

Lin Ke chuckled: "But you still have to use it when needed; otherwise, why implant a Construct?"

"Once I advance to second-circle sorcerer, can I still implant a new set, or upgrade the 'Shadow Annihilation'?"

Christina suddenly asked a somewhat greedy question.

"Of course you can implant a new set; you can do it now, but there's no good design—better none than poor."

Lin Ke gave an honest answer: "As for upgrading, going higher still would be fourth-circle sorcery level, which involves some rule power. I don't have any Shadow City fourth-circle sorcery data for reference."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Christina fell into thought.

After that, the two didn't talk much more.

After finishing the snacks, Lin Ke drove, taking Christina back to the headquarters of "Do Anything Free."

Christina went on her own to accompany her daughter Galona.

Lin Ke, after chatting a while with Asande, went to Lin En's deputy general manager office.

"Boss, hello."

The core members of the Benevolent Brother Group, Social Anxiety Group, and Third Echelon were already waiting here.

"Hmm, everyone hello."

After Lin Ke nodded in response, he sat down in the main seat without yielding.

Although the previous talk went somewhat off track at the end, it still had an effect.

Feeling that the boss, despite making great strides forward, remained as affable as before, the Benevolent Brother Group, Social Anxiety Group, and Third Echelon core members relaxed considerably, lacking the reservation hidden in their hearts from the last meeting.

That's already good enough.

United yet tense, solemn yet lively.

They became a unified whole.

After a bit of small talk, Lin Ke brought up the main point: "After multiple experiments and improvements, we can consider opening the 'Fairy' potion to internal members, especially those who joined early and have passed trials as senior members."

"Boss, has the 'Fairy' potion matured?"

Ba Ke, accustomed to being careless, immediately shouted, "Great, boss. I have a younger brother who is honest and loyal to you, but suffers from poor aptitude and has long been unable to advance. With the 'Fairy' potion's wizard‑aptitude boost, he will surely be able to reach first‑level wizard before the four‑year limit."

Although others didn't show their emotions as openly as Ba Ke did, they were also somewhat excited.

They all knew of the existence of the fairy potion, and had many times sounded out the big sister head, but they had never obtained approval to promote the fairy potion within the meeting.

Now the big boss finally agreed to lift the restrictions; it's truly a surprise.

Who doesn't have a couple of little lackeys under them?

Lin Ke smiled slightly, seeing the Benevolent Brother Group, the Social Anxiety Group, and the third echelon cadre get excited for a moment, then he poured cold water: "This matter is entirely under the responsibility of General Manager Asande Connet. Whoever can accept the fairy potion, whoever cannot, will follow General Manager Connet's standards and rules. No one is allowed to interfere in any way. Understood?"

"This... big boss, should we discuss it again?"

Ba Ke's face instantly showed a strange expression.

Everyone else looked at Lin Ke simultaneously, waiting for a reply.

"No room for discussion."

Lin Ke firmly made his position clear.

"Fine."

Ba Ke instantly wilted, lowering his head in dejection.

Even though he himself was an elder of the 'Do-as-you-please' faction, Ba Ke still didn't dare to act up in front of the big boss who had personally invited and appointed General Manager Asande Connet.

Leaving aside rank and strength, Ba Ke still greatly admired General Manager Connet's management ability and development planning.

'Do-as-you-please' under General Manager Connet's stewardship grew visibly stronger and more regular.

The big boss entrusting the fairy potion matter entirely to General Manager Connet is also perfectly reasonable.

Didn't you see Vice General Manager Lin En silently accepting it, without even saying a word?

"This matter is settled like this."

Lin Ke came to inform, not to discuss; he had hammered it down definitively, leaving no room for doubt.

Only then did Lin En speak up, asking, "Big boss, can we do an internal key recommendation?"

Upon hearing Lin En's question, Ba Ke immediately slapped his own forehead.

This, damn it, is the question a smart person should ask.

"Yes."

Lin Ke didn't rebut Lin En's face, first giving an affirmative reply, then turned the conversation: "Those selected for key recommendation must also undergo key evaluation, no objections?"

"No."

Before Lin En could speak, Ba Ke thumped his chest in response.

"No!"

Lin En answered the same way.

"No problem then."

Lin Ke nodded, not continuing to discuss the fairy potion, and instead asked, "How have the few in the West District been lately? What's the feedback on fabrication?"

The person in charge of West District infiltration, Da Er Dun, instantly showed a gloomy expression on his face.

After hesitating a moment, Da Er Dun took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Big boss, they're all dead."

"What happened?"

Lin Ke had not paid attention to the miscellaneous affairs of the 'Do-as-you-please' faction for a while.

Mo Li has also been busy lately, not mentioning these matters.

"Spies have been scouting our tea leaves, tea drinks, and potion factories, and have entered the West District black market to gather information about us. In the process of tracking those spies, they were discovered, fought a bitter battle, and all died."

Speaking of this, Da Er Dun inevitably felt somewhat heartbroken.

Lin Ke pondered for a moment and said, "All those who died in battle will, according to the association's rules, receive compensation."

After a pause, Lin Ke brought up another matter: "In a few days, the new member welfare system will be announced, with greater compensation amounts; we'll go by that standard."

Speaking, Lin Ke felt somewhat disinterested, rose, and walked outward:

"Let's end it here for today; disperse."