Chapter 228 Cyber-material body? No, this is a runic exoskeleton!

A frenzied cheer swept through the entire laboratory like a tsunami. The usually rigorous and meticulous researchers, at this moment, were like a group of madmen who had been lost in the desert for dozens of days and finally found an oasis, embracing each other and weeping.

Wang Mingyuan braced his hands on the control panel, tears streaming down his greasy and tired face.

Three years! A full three years, countless bloody and cruel live experiments, and he finally broke through that seemingly insurmountable class barrier!

"Beep—Severing the spiritual energy output circuit, the machine enters cooling mode."

With a heavy mechanical exhaust sound, the test bench in the center of the laboratory, filled with pipes and rough metal supports, slowly descended.

Inmate number 1024 ripped off the various monitoring probes attached to his body and jumped off the testing platform.

"Bang!"

The moment his feet touched the ground, they actually created two shallow dents on the hard alloy floor!

He did not die, nor did he turn into flesh and blood fireworks like the previous thousand or so test subjects.

At this moment, the originally emaciated death row inmate was panting heavily. The free spiritual energy in the surrounding air was being strongly drawn into the "artificial pseudo-spiritual root" emitting an eerie red light at the base of his spine.

"Ugh!"

The death row inmate let out a low, painful but powerful roar. Under the extremely domineering transformation of the pseudo-spiritual root, violent spiritual energy surged through his limbs and bones like boiling water. His muscles swelled and tightened at a visible speed, and a faint bronze luster appeared on his skin.

He suddenly threw a punch, slamming it into the supporting column next to him, and actually smashed a terrifying fist mark into the five-centimeter-thick steel plate!

"Incredible..."

The major general's adjutant strode forward, staring in shock at the death row inmate's body, which radiated explosive power. "He's really absorbing spiritual energy? He... he's cultivating?!"

"Yes, General. He is cultivating."

Wang Mingyuan wiped away his tears, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "Since there's no innate spiritual root to nurture our spiritual energy, we'll use the bone marrow fluid of demonic beasts mixed with micro-carving arrays to create an artificial 'engine'! At this moment, this death row inmate's sheer physical strength has already fully reached the body cultivation standard of the first level of Qi Refining!"

Upon hearing this, the major general's adjutant's breathing became extremely rapid. Mortals could cultivate! This was undoubtedly the greatest invention in the history of the Alliance!

"Not only that." Wang Mingyuan took a deep breath, his tone revealing immense ambition. "This is only a first-generation pseudo-spiritual root. Currently, as long as there are enough materials, pseudo-spiritual roots can be upgraded by implanting the essence blood of higher-level demonic beasts and more complex formations! The cultivation speed will also increase dramatically."

Our Academy of Sciences' ultimate goal is to one day create perfect creations that are exactly the same as, or even surpass, naturally occurring top-grade spiritual roots using inexpensive materials!

The major general's adjutant was thrilled, but then he glanced at the rough metal frames on the testing platform and frowned slightly: "Since he already possesses strength comparable to a cultivator, and can even circulate spiritual energy like a cultivator, why rely on those cumbersome mechanical exoskeletons? Why not just send him to the battlefield to cast spells and kill enemies?"

"General, this is precisely the biggest flaw of pseudo-spiritual roots at this stage."

Wang Mingyuan coldly snapped his fingers and ordered the death row inmate, "Use your body's meridians to cast a basic fireball spell."

Upon hearing this, the death row inmate gritted his teeth and slowly raised his right hand.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall, and the muscles in his face were contorted with pain and concentration. He had to control the raging, chaotic pseudo-spiritual power within him, which was transformed from a pseudo-spiritual root, with extreme care.

On his arm, the blue veins bulged out like earthworms, as if the slightest distraction would cause the fragile meridians to be torn apart and shattered by spiritual energy!

Three seconds... eight seconds... twelve seconds!

It took a full twelve seconds for a fireball, barely the size of a fist and teetering on the brink of collapse, to finally take shape in the death row inmate's palm.

Wang Mingyuan pointed at the fireball and said coldly, "Did you see that? After mortals are implanted with pseudo-spiritual roots, they can indeed circulate spiritual energy through their own meridians. However, because they lack the gentle filtering of natural spiritual roots, the spiritual energy in their bodies is too violent, and their meridians are too fragile. This requires them to control the flow of spiritual energy with extreme care, like walking a tightrope."

"Casting even the most basic spell requires a full twelve seconds of wind-up! General, on the ever-changing battlefield of the wilderness, twelve seconds is enough time for a mutated beast to tear him to pieces ten times over! This casting speed is practically suicide in actual combat!"

The major general's adjutant suddenly realized. Being able to cultivate is one thing, but whether one can use it in combat is another matter entirely.

"So, the function of an exoskeleton is..."

"That's right! Exoskeletons are external meridian systems tailor-made for mortals!"

With a wave of his hand, Wang Mingyuan displayed a set of extremely rough mechanical skeleton design drawings on the holographic projection, full of the atmosphere of industrial wasteland.

"Since the meridians in our bodies are too fragile and casting spells too slow, let's completely bypass the flesh and meridians!"

"The pseudo-spiritual root only serves as a 'power source' in the spine. Inside this exoskeleton armor, there are 'external spiritual energy conduction lines' made of the tendons of low-level demonic beasts. When the pilot wants to cast a spell, spiritual energy is directly and seamlessly channeled into the circuitry of the steel exoskeleton through the spinal interface!"

"Using an indestructible alloy to withstand the raging spiritual pressure, and employing magic arrays carved into the outer armor to achieve 'instantaneous spellcasting'! Flesh and steel, cultivation and technology, have achieved an extremely perfect closed loop here!"

The major general's adjutant clenched his fists in excitement, but as a soldier, he immediately thought of the most practical problem.

"Professor Wang, this idea is simply ingenious! But... to arm hundreds of millions of ordinary people, can the cost of this exoskeleton be reduced? If the cost is too high, the Alliance's finances simply cannot afford it!"

"Haha, General, you're overthinking it."

Wang Mingyuan burst into laughter, his tone revealing an extremely ruthless pragmatism.

"What you see in front of you is just a prototype in the lab. To ensure a high success rate in testing, it has too many redundant structures, and many components have not been optimized for cost, so the cost is naturally not low."

He raised his hand and pointed at the holographic projection, his eyes flashing with an almost insane light.

"But just because the prototype is expensive doesn't mean that mass production will be expensive."

"The first generation of mass-produced rune exoskeletons that are truly deployed to the general public will eliminate most of the unnecessary structures, retaining only the most core modules for damage, pressure resistance, and spiritual energy conduction. It does not need to be precise, aesthetically pleasing, or forged like a magical artifact."

"Once it enters the production line, its cost will be reduced to an extremely low level."

"A standard set of the first-generation runic exoskeleton couldn't even buy a low-grade flying sword in the hands of a Kunlun outer disciple!"

"It is cheap to manufacture and crudely constructed, yet it is enough to unleash extraordinary destructive power in ordinary people."

This is the ultimate answer Wang Mingyuan gave.

"However, General, I must remind you," Wang Mingyuan said, his smile fading and his voice becoming low, "the cost of this technology remains extremely high."

"Pseudo-spiritual roots constantly exploit the life essence of mortals. Once implanted, an ordinary person who could live to ninety will at most live to fifty! Unless the user can continuously break through to higher levels. If the exoskeleton is used excessively in battle, lifespan can even be shortened to a few years!"

"By shortening one's lifespan in exchange for a brief chance at immortality, this is a wicked path that burns away one's life."

The major general's adjutant remained silent for a moment.

Then, a cold, icy glint flashed in his eyes.

"Professor Wang, you have greatly underestimated the desires of human nature."

The major general looked at the death row inmate's powerful hands, which were staring intently at him. Instead of fear of the prisoner, the inmate's eyes were filled with fanaticism and greed.

"In this era of rigid social classes, where mortals are less than dogs, let alone shortening their lifespan..." The major general's voice echoed in the laboratory, "As long as we can give them power and trample the arrogance of those cultivation clans underfoot, even if they only live for three months, the mortals of the lower city will kneel and beg us to implant it for them like moths to a flame!"

"Report this to the Supreme Council immediately! Initiate the mass production line for the god-making project!"

At this moment, the gears of history were forcibly turned by this group of mad scientists and politicians with their flesh and steel onto a completely distorted track, yet one filled with bloody hope.

……

Five days later. Three hundred kilometers outside the Jianghuai defense line, there lies a completely abandoned ruin of an old-fashioned city.

This place has long since become a paradise for mutated monsters. Packs of "Tier 1 Mutated Ironmane Wolves," each the size of a calf, roam among the collapsed skyscrapers. Their tough fur, comparable to bulletproof vests, and their sharp claws capable of crushing steel bars, make this area an absolute no-go zone for ordinary human armies.

"Boom!!!"

High in the clouds, an extremely ear-piercing supersonic boom ripped through the deathly silence of the ruins. A stealth transport plane from the Alliance military swept across the sky like a black hawk hunting its prey.

Immediately afterwards, ten extremely heavy black metal airdrop pods, trailing crimson flames from friction with the air, crashed precisely into the plaza in the center of the ruins, like ten meteors!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The enormous impact slammed deep craters into the reinforced concrete ground, and several Ironmane Wolves that couldn't dodge in time were thrown out by the terrifying shockwave.

"Awoo!"

The hundreds of Ironmane Wolves around them were startled. Their eyes flashed with a ferocious green light, and they bared their fangs, which dripped with foul saliva. They quickly surrounded the ten extraterrestrial beings.

"laugh!!!"

With a sharp sound of the high-pressure valves releasing pressure, the heavy doors of the ten airdrop capsules suddenly sprang open.

Amidst the swirling dust and the heavy, precise clanking of machinery, ten tall figures slowly emerged from the airdrop pod.

This is a combat testing squad secretly deployed by the military, the first generation of mass-produced rune exoskeleton warriors!

They are inexpensive to manufacture, but by no means ugly. On the contrary, they exude an extremely pure and suffocating aesthetic of military-industrial violence.

Forged entirely from matte black industrial alloy steel, the armor boasts sharp, practical lines, devoid of any superfluous decoration, exuding an aura of absolute rationality and ruthlessness. The first-generation pseudo-spiritual root embedded in the spine at the back of the cockpit emits an eerie red light, like the beating of a heart.

Extending from the spine are the tendons of a low-level demon beast, hardened and treated with anti-corrosion agents, resembling black high-voltage cables. These "external meridians" are perfectly embedded in the grooves on the armor surface, connecting all the way to the extremely intricate dark blue array patterns on the limbs.

Cold and chilling, like ten emotionless steel killing gods.

"Target area locked: Ruins No. 043"

"Pseudo-spiritual root engine output power: 80%. External psionic circuit is working well."

From the lead exoskeleton armor came an extremely hoarse yet endlessly fanatical voice.

On his retinal holographic screen, the Ironmane Wolves that once struck fear into the hearts of mortals were now all marked as red living targets by the tactical system.

"Brothers, these beasts used to feed on us mortals."

The armored vehicle slowly raised its head, and an extremely cold blue light shone from the helmet visor. Its voice trembled slightly with extreme excitement:

"Today, let them taste our fury! All, fire at will!"

The next second, more than a dozen Ironmane Wolves roared and pounced on the steel monsters from all directions.

However, instead of retreating, the ten rune exoskeletons advanced, raising their right arms simultaneously.

No painful pre-coital jolting! No need to carefully manipulate delicate meridians!

"Buzz!!!"

The pseudo-spiritual root at the spine suddenly overloaded, and the violent pseudo-spiritual power was instantly drawn along the monster tendons outside the body and directly and brutally poured into the energy gathering array and fire array engraved on the mechanical right arm!

"boom!!!"

Ten raging beams of fire, compressed from pure spiritual energy, erupted from the palm cannons of the exoskeleton like ten indestructible swords of judgment!

Without even a second's pause, the dozen or so Ironmane Wolves at the forefront had their proud mutated fur as fragile as paper in the face of the psionic flames. They were instantly pierced through and burned into charred piles in mid-air before falling to the ground!

Once mere mortals and insignificant beings, at this moment, pulled the trigger for their comeback.