Chapter 64: One Hundred Percent Compatibility

Chapter 64: One Hundred Percent Compatibility

After Pang De was quickly taken away, the other recruits were not having it. They all crowded around, pressing Instructor Ding Hu on whether Chen Feng could really wear the armor now.

Ding Hu immediately got a headache.

He hadn’t anticipated this situation at all earlier, so he hadn’t made a definitive statement. He never thought Chen Feng would actually pull it off.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

A time of 37 minutes and 8 seconds for twenty laps was a top-tier performance, even among veterans who had been training with the armor for a long time.

This guy Chen Feng then pushed his luck further, bringing it up publicly again, putting Ding Hu right on the hot seat.

Now he was really stuck between a rock and a hard place.

If he went back on his word, it would damage his authority as the new recruits’ instructor.

Even if he had to refuse, he needed to find a reason that could convince himself.

But the result Chen Feng ran was just too outstanding. Even Ding Hu himself thought Chen Feng was ready for the Azure Dragon Armor right now.

But he was just an ordinary instructor at the base. He didn’t have the authority to allow a brand-new recruit to wear the world’s most advanced individual combat weapon.

Ding Hu was in a tough spot.

Chen Feng saw his predicament and decided to back off while he was ahead.

He admitted to himself that he felt a powerful curiosity about the Azure Dragon Armor he had never seen and really wanted to try operating it himself to see what it was like.

But he also knew it was just a suit of individual combat armor. It couldn’t change humanity’s fate.

One year later, everyone would still die without dignity.

But as a real man, who wouldn’t want to pilot a mech?

Especially a brand-new model he’d never seen before.

He knew that with his way-above-standard abilities, he would definitely get to pilot one within four months at the latest. But by then, he’d almost be leaving, with only a few days of novelty left. It happened last time too, not very satisfying at all.

Getting it earlier would be great, of course. But since it wasn’t possible, he wouldn’t force the issue.

“It’s fine, Instructor. If it’s not convenient, I was just saying. Forget it, forget it.”

Chen Feng’s sincere concession, however, looked to Ding Hu like a tactical retreat to force his hand.

Ding Hu felt indescribably uncomfortable all over.

Just then, the watch-style personal terminal on his wrist vibrated.

Ding Hu focused his thoughts and connected the brainwave communication. His immediate superior’s voice came through.

“Have that recruit named Chen Feng go for a political review. If there are no issues, have him start receiving training for wearing the Azure Dragon Armor.”

Ding Hu was stunned, shouting in his mind, “But Chen Feng is just a recruit!”

“That’s why I just said political review first, didn’t I? This is the General’s order. What is Article Seventeen of the Military Regulations?”

“Never question the motivation behind a superior’s decision.”

The brainwave communication cut off automatically. Ding Hu’s face flushed slightly.

He took a deep breath. “Chen Feng, go to the Political Department for your political review right now. If there are no problems, starting today you will receive early training for wearing the Azure Dragon Armor. However, you cannot skip your basic recruit training. So if all goes well, after you finish here every afternoon, you will have overtime sessions at the Individual Combat Armor Training Department.”

Chen Feng’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

His mindset shattered.

He boasted his way into trouble and lost his precious free time.

Chen Feng’s political review had no surprises.

He himself felt full of suspicious points, but the information the Political Department found was flawless.

Although they still couldn’t figure out where his parents were, they at least found corresponding sources in the gene database.

Chen Feng also finally learned why Soldier Chen Feng a thousand years later had no family in his hometown.

It was somewhat sad.

This body never had parents in the biological sense.

Starting as early as a thousand years ago, humanity’s birth rate became a problem.

This problem persisted for centuries, not only unresolved but getting worse.

For the first two hundred years, no matter what policies or incentives were used-for the ‘Generation 90s’, ‘Generation 00s’, ‘Generation 10s’-every generation thought their own generation had it the hardest, couldn’t even take care of themselves, and shouldn’t have kids to make the next generation suffer with them.

In the next two to three hundred years, gradually advancing technology increased productivity, and humanity sprinted into a high-welfare social system. After that, people indeed had no worries about food and clothing.

But these people, content with enjoyment, found new reasons not to have kids.

Raising kids is so hard, but once you have them, human biological instinct makes it impossible to neglect them.

We won’t be slaves to genetic instinct! We want to liberate ourselves!

This was the consensus of a very large group of people. The result was still no kids.

But five hundred years ago, the jointly established World Government made a drastic decision.

With the complete maturity of artificial embryo cultivation technology, the World Government initiated the Gene Bank Cultivation policy.

You didn’t have to give birth. You didn’t have to raise the child. But you had to donate, well, that, putting your genes into the Gene Bank.

Every year, the government would use a completely random combination method, adjusting the male-to-female ratio, turning the stored resources in the Gene Bank into embryos, which were then cultivated into adults.

When this policy was first introduced, it faced countless attacks. All sorts of ethicists vehemently opposed it.

But the World Government shut everyone up with just one sentence.

If this aging trend continues, humanity will go extinct.

You have big objections?

If you oppose artificial cultivation, then you’d better fricking have kids yourselves!

The loudest critics instantly fell silent.

In the blink of an eye, another five hundred years passed. Now, the population had recovered.

Partly due to changing attitudes, partly due to the effectiveness of the artificial embryo policy.

Chen Feng himself was such a cultivated super-new human.

So he had a hometown, a native land, and parents in the genetic sense. But neither side cared about the other, and they had never been in contact.

Rootless people like Chen Feng were the norm in this era.

Everyone’s roots shifted from the narrow sense of ‘hometown’ to the entire blue planet.

That night, in the bio-training room, Chen Feng’s whole body was submerged in a large transparent liquid tank. Even his head was buried in the liquid.

Strangely, he could open his eyes, breathe, and remained fully conscious.

In front of this tank were Ding Hu and four busy people in white lab coats.

Ding Hu nodded at him through the glass. Chen Feng heard Ding Hu’s voice through brainwave communication in his ear.

“The Azure Dragon Armor’s maximum maneuver pressure exceeds 20 Gs, placing tremendous stress on the human body. An ordinary person subjected to that level of acceleration would undoubtedly have all their blood vessels burst and die instantly. So before every actual machine training session or combat simulation, all armored soldiers receive an injection of Coagulation Serum beforehand.”

“The Coagulation Serum can, for three hours, greatly enhance the blood’s ability to transport oxygen and nutrients. But it also makes the blood thicker. This raises the armored soldier’s threshold for withstanding acceleration, and it has no side effects after wearing off.”

Chen Feng thought in his mind, “What about the cellular fluid and tissue fluid? If the acceleration is too intense, the brain won’t handle it either!”

Ding Hu shrugged. “There’s a drug for that too. But it’s still under research. The side effects are severe, fatal for sure, with symptoms eerily similar to an incurable terminal disease from a thousand years ago called ALS. It’s not ready for standard issue yet.”

“Alright then.”

“Your political review and basic physical tests showed no problems. Theoretically, after the serum injection, you could withstand 20 Gs of acceleration. But this is the final hurdle. We need to perform a full-body examination to determine your compatibility with the serum. If the compatibility is below sixty percent, your dream of wearing the armor ends right here, right now.”

“I get it. It’s like a skin allergy test.”

“A full-body subcutaneous tissue test. If you pass, you can start basic theoretical training tomorrow. Then, in about two to three months, you can score ninety points on the operation test, step down from the Simulator, and put on the Azure Dragon Armor.”

Chen Feng’s mindset continued to crumble.

Two to three months… I’m so busy, you know!

Forget it. What’s done is done. Gotta grit his teeth and go through with it.

The large individual combat armor he piloted last time he was here didn’t have such fierce maneuvers. Basically, any sturdy, strong man could handle it, so there wasn’t this step.

This was clearly another new technology brought by this era’s technological evolution. He wasn’t surprised.

After Ding Hu finished explaining the precautions over there, one of the people in white coats pressed a button. Dozens of probes inside the tank began injecting an orange-yellow liquid into the bath.

This orange-yellow liquid dissipated within the original base fluid, spreading like a fog that enveloped Chen Feng.

Chen Feng began to feel a tingling, numb itch all over his skin. He subconsciously twisted his body.

“I forgot to tell you. The first time you come into contact with the serum, there will be some discomfort. You’ll feel an uncontrollable itch. Scratching won’t help. The more you scratch, the itchier it gets, and it will start to hurt, eventually making you pass out from the pain.”

“When I underwent the serum test, I struggled in the tank for over three hours before I scratched myself into passing out from the pain.”

“So I suggest, don’t scratch no matter how itchy you get. Hold out as long as you can. Or you can just start scratching now and pass out sooner. Good luck, my brother.”

Outside the tank, Ding Hu’s face showed a look of smug satisfaction from a plan succeeding. His expression seemed to say, ‘Serves you right for messing with me! I’m messing with you back!’

Chen Feng wanted to curse, but Ding Hu cut the communication again.

He could only open his mouth, bubbles gurgling out.

Ding Hu saw his furious look, and his earlier displeasure from Chen Feng’s pressure tactics vanished without a trace.

Just then, Chen Feng suddenly stopped twisting. He closed his eyes tightly and fell silent.

Ding Hu was stunned at first.

Chen Feng had lasted less than five seconds and was already still!

Thinking something had gone wrong, he quickly turned and shouted at the people in white coats, “Stop it now!”

His voice was too loud, cracking a bit. Even Chen Feng inside the tank heard it clearly.

The lead person in the white coat, however, looked utterly confused at the monitoring readings on the instrument, muttering, “One hundred percent?”

Ding Hu was taken aback. “What? One hundred percent? Someone actually has one hundred percent compatibility with the Coagulation Serum? What was the previous record? If it’s one hundred percent, why is Chen Feng unresponsive?”

Ding Hu turned back, pointing at the tank, but was surprised to find Chen Feng inside had already opened his eyes and was waving at him playfully.

Yes, the itching had suddenly stopped.

He didn’t know why either.

Thinking of Brother Hu suffering miserably for three hours and passing out from pain, his own experience was way too easy.

The person in the white coat looked completely baffled. “The previous highest record was 91.73 percent. Theoretically, as mammals, humans cannot reach one hundred percent. The instrument must be faulty!”

At this moment, Chen Feng still didn’t know he was setting a new record for all of humanity.

He was still gloating about messing with Brother Hu again.

Hearing what the person in the white coat said, Ding Hu’s mind was shaken. A whirlwind of emotions flooded his thoughts.

He asked again, “If this is real, does it mean Chen Feng has a chance to break through the Azure Dragon Armor’s 20 G acceleration limit?”

“Yes. If he wants to, he can perform the most intense maneuver in the history of the Azure Dragon Armor. No, I have to report this immediately!”

When Ding Hu looked back at Chen Feng again, his eyes suddenly looked a bit red.

In his understanding, every step forward for Human Civilization meant a greater hope for survival.

This rascal Chen Feng had quietly helped all of humanity take this step!

Now, the smug, mocking smile on Chen Feng’s face suddenly looked endearing in Ding Hu’s eyes.