Chapter 23: Pseudo-Third Stage Gene Lock

Chapter 23: Pseudo——Third Stage Genetic Lock

"Wait, why does even the Clow Card set have options?"

"Do you want me to roast a magical girl from *Spruce* too?"

"I never imagined the God Space would be like this~~~~~"

Despite the many options being stripped away, the remaining varieties still left Li Xiao feeling overwhelmed.

While hesitating, Li Xiao suddenly tapped his own dull head.

A thought suddenly struck him

The list in his mind shifted continuously, and soon, Li Xiao found what he was looking for.

Before long, only one option remained in the list.

【Future Medicine: NZT: Liberates the God domain within the brain and stimulates neurons. (From the movie *Limitless*.)】

【Value: 50 Reward Points.】

Li Xiao did not exchange it immediately; instead, he disconnected from the God.

When he opened his eyes in the plaza, he found that Chu Xuan, who had been beside him, had left at some unknown time.

Only then did he feel safe enough to close his eyes and make the exchange.

Looking at the transparent pill in his palm, Li Xiao picked it up to inspect it.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he tossed it into his mouth.

The NZT pill was the only "pre-stage physical cheat" Li Xiao could think of.

In his view, this pill essentially bypassed the first and second stages of the Genetic Lock to a certain extent, directly achieving a semi-liberated state of the third stage.

In the movie, this drug could extremely enhance memory, intelligence, and cognitive abilities, drastically boosting one's computational power.

And this was a crucial prerequisite for countering Chu Xuan—or rather, resisting being manipulated in a grand scheme.

As Li Xiao felt the pill dissolve in his throat, it did not flow into his stomach like an ordinary medicine.

Instead, it moved upward, toward his brain.

In the next instant, Li Xiao’s eyes snapped open.

All was silent!

The entire world seemed to pause for a moment in Li Xiao's perception.

It was as if time had stopped.

But in the very next moment, an onslaught of chaotic information rushed toward him.

Subconsciously, Li Xiao re-activated the Genetic Lock that the God had just repaired.

His brain told him that only by being in the Genetic Lock state could he perfectly adapt to the effects of NZT.

At this moment, the eyes Li Xiao opened were no longer lost or confused.

Under the influence of the drug, he actually neutralized the negative feedback typically produced when activating the first stage of the Genetic Lock.

Instead, he accepted it all.

It was like jumping directly from a manual abacus to a quantum computer.

His gaze was contained and focused; the exhaustion from his narrow escape from the Xenomorph was gone.

Instead, his eyes shone with a brilliant, piercing light.

Beneath that contained brilliance were eyes that were calm, unruffled, and crystal clear.

At this moment.

The memories from the moment he opened his eyes on the Xenomorph ship played before him like a documentary on fast-forward.

Over and over again.

Countless pieces of missed information were found and analyzed one by one.

The location of the first room.

The surveillance footage in the control room, Ripley's side quest.

The communication device on the robot Ash's arm.

And that planet filled with reward points (Xenomorph eggs).

Setting aside everything else, that commercial spaceship carried at least two high-powered weapons.

A couple of shots aimed at that planet would likely yield a significant amount of points.

Looking at the countless pieces of information he had missed, Li Xiao shook his head and sighed.

"Chu Xuan, oh Chu Xuan, why must you go this far!"

Li Xiao felt a sudden impulse: he wanted to call out both Chu Xuan and Zhang Jie.

Have a "real man's" moment of total honesty.

Since this was the God Space, anyway,

Death is just a return to the earth, but life is eternal.

Even if he blew their covers, Zhang Jie could only stare blankly, unable to strike.

If nothing else, the next target, *Ju-On*, had Kayako, who could kill seven times—each time yielding a B-rank side mission.

With the three of them, they might actually be able to fleece the God quite heavily.

Gathering three A-rank side missions and another fifty or sixty thousand reward points wasn't impossible.

If he had those points...

A clone of Zheng Zha?

The Demon Team?

I could even beat out a pile of shit for you!

I'll show you who the real king of the Reincarnation Space is.

"Stop, stop, stop!!!!"

Li Xiao quickly slapped his own head, forcibly halting his newly born brain's divergent thoughts.

Closing his eyes to reconnect with the God once more, he thought to himself

"God, I have a question. Can I exchange for formulas and materials to manufacture them myself?"

After a moment, that emotionless voice replied

"Yes, but the probability of manufacturing failure will be above seventy percent."

After asking a few more questions, Li Xiao completely abandoned the idea of saving money.

Now was not the time for penny-pinching.

After paying a black-hearted processing fee of over ten points, Li Xiao now held two more transparent pills, which, under the white light of the God, turned into twenty-four small transparent beads.

In the movie, one pill lasted twelve hours.

But Li Xiao didn't need to maintain this state for a long time.

After all, he couldn't keep the Genetic Lock open for twelve hours—at least not yet.

Feeling the warning from his genes, let alone twelve hours, he hadn't even lasted five minutes.

One could only say that on the path of the Genetic Lock, he still had a long way to go.

Time was tight; Li Xiao focused his mind back on the exchange screen.

However, looking at the prices, Li Xiao grimaced.

It felt like having flesh carved from his body.

Compared to the prices, the duration of each exchange was pitifully short.

The longest was five or ten minutes; the shortest were "real man" durations of just a few dozen seconds.

To be honest, they were expensive, but these were one-time use items. Once used, they were gone for good.

"No wonder so many people exchange for Bloodlines and Skills; at least those are permanent and don't hurt to use.

In the future, if I sell anything, I'll be charging by the point."

In Li Xiao's worldview, there are three types of people you shouldn't mess with. The first type: the Grinders.

"Practice a skill a thousand times, and its true meaning will reveal itself."

Li Xiao wasn't sure about that.

He didn't consider himself that type of person; he was the type who would soak in a hot spring and watch the clock, enjoying every single second of comfort.

The second type: the Lucky Gods, the kind who pick up money on the street.

In other words, the Children of Destiny, the protagonists of novels (like that fellow Zheng Zha).

And such lucky gods were worlds away from him.

If he were truly lucky, would he have fallen to this state?

Fighting to this extent just for a few scraps.

Therefore, out of sheer helplessness, Li Xiao could only choose the third path.

That was Pay-to-Win.

As long as I spend enough, I am the strongest.

If I can't beat my opponent, it's because I didn't spend enough!

Li Xiao dared to say: you spend ten thousand on a Bloodline,

You won't beat me spending ten thousand on temporary items.

After all, Bloodlines are about growth and development; they are for late-game dominance.

But the route Li Xiao prepared for himself was one of short-term explosive power through forced spending.

I've said it before: you can't even imagine the joy of spending money!

It's like a Desert Eagle costing 30 points, while one with infinite ammo costs 100.

Within the initial sixty rounds of ammunition, they have the same power, but the latter is more than three times as expensive.