Chapter 565: Semi-Bionic Luxury
Ye Xingli designed a magical artifact called the Chaos Soil Eater.
After conducting extensive research among Junior College Students, Ye Xingli realized a crucial point: eating soil and stones was a widespread practice among them.
Just as many University Students at Myriad Laws University swallowed cement blocks to suppress their digestion, preventing their overly strong digestive systems from harming their bodies, or because prolonged food scarcity had weakened their digestive systems, Junior College Students across various regions resorted to swallowing stones and soil for the same purpose.
Unlike the University City at Myriad Laws University, where cement and edible cement were readily available, Vocational Colleges often lacked the resources, technology, and funding to provide such alternatives. In these environments, soil and stones were far easier to obtain.
However, compared to the more scientifically sound and healthier edible cement, consuming soil and stones clearly had numerous side effects. These included placing a burden on the gastrointestinal tract’s motility, forcing Qi Refining Realm Junior College Students to expend considerable energy on peristalsis, increasing physical strain while sometimes reducing work efficiency.
Ye Xingli designed a soil-eating magical artifact that processed earth and stone before consumption, effectively reducing the burden on the digestive system while also enhancing the flavor.
At that moment, as Zhang Yu activated the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology, a torrent of knowledge and techniques flooded his mind. With each burst of inspiration, a new design gradually formed in his mind, tailored to meet the cost-reduction requirements.
Naturally, Zhang Yu didn’t immediately present the design diagram to Ye Xingli. Instead, he replied, “Senior Sister, I have an idea.”
Zhang Yu: “What if we modify it like this? Do you think it could lower the cost a bit?”
Although Zhang Yu only offered a rough direction without detailing the specifics, Ye Xingli found his suggestion profoundly insightful.
Especially since Zhang Yu’s optimization focused on cost reduction, it wouldn’t drastically alter Ye Xingli’s design philosophy. Moreover, Ye Xingli understood the critical importance of cost in the Junior College Student market.
Ye Xingli: “Junior Brother, your suggestion is very helpful. [Clasped Hands] [1 Spirit Coin]”
Over the next few days, Ye Xingli and Zhang Yu engaged in frequent discussions, collaboratively refining the design of the Chaos Soil Eater.
With the finalization of the design blueprints, Zhang Yu and Ye Xingli completed the Chaos Soil Eater’s Artifact Refinement Diagram together. As they did, a Dao Seed called the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart materialized on the Feather Book.
Zhang Yu’s heart leaped with joy at this newly copied Dao Seed. He immediately began to quietly sense the abilities it contained.
“Hmm? So Senior Sister is a master of fusion? No wonder some parts of the Chaos Soil Eater’s Artifact Refinement Diagram seemed familiar.”
In Zhang Yu’s view, the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart was essentially a diagram fusion ability. It could merge any two Artifact Refinement Diagrams to create a new one.
However, the fusion’s outcome wasn’t guaranteed to be positive. It might extract the best aspects of both diagrams, or it might combine their worst flaws. Choosing which diagrams to fuse was crucial.
For example, fusing two flying sword diagrams would likely yield a good result. But fusing a flying sword diagram with the Chaos Soil Eater’s diagram could easily produce a useless hybrid diagram that excelled at neither purpose.
Moreover, this fusion process clearly had its limits. It wasn’t as simple as merging all the magical artifact diagrams on the market to gain the functions of every artifact.
If new diagrams were continuously fused in, the elements from the original diagrams would gradually be lost.
It’s like a hard drive: it can only hold so much. Once it’s full, adding more requires deleting something else.
For example, merging two speed-type flying sword diagrams could create a new sword that combines the strengths of both, resulting in even greater speed.
However, if you then merge in a siege-type flying sword diagram, the new design might gain enhanced siege capabilities, but its speed would likely decrease.
In short, merging with the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart isn’t a universal solution. It depends on the specific diagrams chosen and the inherent Immortal Dao and physical limits of the refined artifact itself.
This merging process consumes one’s spiritual inspiration.
Repeatedly depleting this inspiration not only prevents further merging for a period but can also paralyze creative thinking, leaving the mind stagnant.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Merging a few times each month should be manageable.”
He then sensed the advancement requirements for the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart and mused, “Does upgrading to level 2 require designing ten Foundation Establishment-level artifact refinement products?”
“I don’t have time for that right now. I’ll deal with it later.”
With the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart, Zhang Yu felt increasingly confident about the upcoming Design Competition. He immediately began a new round of design work.
A flash of light flickered within his Bionic Eye, and a series of design diagrams materialized before him.
Among them were Ye Xingli’s Chaos Soil Eater, along with blueprints for an External Digestive System, Abrasion-Resistant Power Boots, Disposable Artificial Skin, and other designs.
These diagrams were the result of Zhang Yu’s month-long research into Junior College Students, during which he gradually refined them using the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology.
Activating the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology required burning his dao heart, making it unsuitable for large-scale operations. Therefore, Zhang Yu spread the work over the entire month.
By distributing the effort across the month, the daily drain on his dao heart was manageable. After a few days of mental cultivation, his dao heart gradually recovered, allowing him to maintain it at level 19 (83%).
The foundational diagrams originated from the Great Library of Myriad Laws University City. While conducting his research on Junior College Students, Zhang Yu simultaneously optimized the blueprints using the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology.
In his view, the artifact refinement designs were well-suited for Junior College Students, but they still fell short of securing a top position in the Design Competition.
“Only the top 10 teams from the hundred participating schools in the Design Competition will receive Military Certificates. If I miss this year’s opportunity, I’ll have to wait until next year. I need to make these designs even better.”
“Now that I have the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart, I can try fusing these diagrams a few times to see if I can get a more creative and commercially viable design.”
“If that works, I’ll optimize it further using the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology…”
As Zhang Yu activated the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart, he felt the design diagrams for the Chaos Soil Eater and the External Digestive System rush into his mind like two raging torrents, swirling and converging violently.
The various magical artifact designs merged, ultimately coalescing into a brand-new blueprint that shimmered with golden light in Zhang Yu’s mind.
“This is…”
Sensing the radiant new diagram in his mind, Zhang Yu slowly read aloud its name: “Artificial Feces Generator… Eat soil, excrete shit, the ultimate companion for Junior College Students…”
“Fuck!” Zhang Yu cursed under his breath. “How am I supposed to enter this in the competition? It’s way too vocational college-y — the judges will never approve it.”
Zhang Yu shook his head and selected another pair of diagrams to fuse. Moments later, another radiant blueprint appeared before him.
“Too much of a ‘University Student’ vibe. The flavor is too strong.”
Zhang Yu continued fusing diagrams, one after another appearing before him.
“Automatic ad-watching machine? No technical merit.”
“Hemorrhoid cultivation device… What kind of garbage is this?”
“University Student simulator? Lacks originality.”
With each activation of the Spirit Resonance Artifact Heart, just before Zhang Yu’s inspiration ran dry, a diagram finally appeared that satisfied him.
“Wind God Semi-Bionic Working Boots.”
Although the diagram described them as “semi-bionic,” in reality, the design merely borrowed from top-tier foot bionics in terms of aesthetics: streamlined shapes, dynamic shimmering lights, and illusions mimicking Spirit Realm Projections.
Once the boots enveloped the entire foot and lower leg, their appearance made them resemble a foot bionic, exuding a subtle luxury that appealed to University Students.
“Named like a bionic, looks like a bionic, feels like a bionic when worn, but it’s actually not a bionic at all — just a pair of magical artifact boots.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew that Junior College Students were all at the Qi Refining Realm, with a maximum Magic Power of 100 points. After installing a Bionic Eye, equipping additional bionics for daily life would place an excessive burden on them.
The design before him, while resembling a Bionic, fundamentally deviated from traditional Bionic principles. In a world where Bionics were revered even more than the human body, this approach would undoubtedly appeal to Junior College Students.
Beyond its aesthetics, the functional design also catered to the specific needs of Junior College Students.
Through his recent research, Zhang Yu had come to understand that these students, while comprising a significant portion of the Second Layer’s population, remained a marginalized group with little voice in the Spirit Realm. Consequently, major corporations had long overlooked their needs.
For instance, Junior College Students relied entirely on their physical bodies for mobility. They had to train in martial dao, run errands, and work, yet their vocational colleges lacked convenient facilities like Primordial Magnetic Channels or Anti-Gravity Passages. This led to severe wear and tear on their legs and frequent damage to their shoes.
A durable, cost-effective shoe capable of handling rough terrain was precisely what Junior College Students desperately needed.
And if such a shoe could also reduce leg fatigue, all the better.
Zhang Yu’s work-power boots not only met these requirements but also incorporated principles from the Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force. This allowed for enhanced power transmission, improved cushioning, and increased leg explosive power while minimizing wear and tear.
In addition to these features, the boots also included a jet-assisted acceleration function and an overload mode that unleashed lightning magic.
They were equipped with a solar magic power charging system, allowing them to replenish magic power through sunlight exposure. While the charging efficiency was extremely low, it proved quite useful for Junior College Students.
Under these circumstances, as Zhang Yu once again activated the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology to optimize costs, the production cost of these work-enhancing boots was further reduced.
“While maintaining peak performance within the Qi Refining Realm, the cost has been minimized.”
“Hmm… the only drawback is that prolonged use may cause overheating and electrical leakage.”
Zhang Yu considered optimizing away this side effect, but the Encyclopedia of Celestial Technology was bound by the limits of Immortal Dao and physics.
Even if he could eliminate the side effect, it would result in either cosmetic degradation or performance reduction.
Zhang Yu ultimately abandoned optimizing the side effect and sent the design diagrams directly to True Monarch Magnetic Pole, hoping she might have a solution.
Upon receiving the diagrams, True Monarch Magnetic Pole replied: “What’s there left to optimize?”
True Monarch Magnetic Pole: “Afraid of burns and shocks? Just give the Junior College Students some painkillers.”
After replying to Zhang Yu, True Monarch Magnetic Pole continued studying the design diagrams, a complex expression appearing on her face.