parentshiftbook Chapter 653 Research and Action
Chapter 653 Research and Action
The metal panels of the underground laboratory provided a steady, shimmering white light.
Jemin stood in front of his work, with a half-disassembled seal rune stone slab laid out before him.
The stone slab was silver-gray, its surface engraved with fine grooves, in which pale blue runic powder remained.
His fingers moved slowly along the grooves, his fingertips covered with a thin film of spiritual energy formed by alchemy, dissecting the structure of the stone slab layer by layer as he touched it.
This is what he has been doing for the past two weeks.
The study of the shadow thief has come to an end.
What Jemin is now researching is the dangerous and bizarre thing he bought at the auction, which was sealed in a metal box.
As for the Shadow Thief, he has been studied by Jemin countless times over the past two weeks.
Its energy structure, the mechanism of devouring shadows, the way it connects with the host's life level, and even its "dormant" cycle when it is sealed, were all repeatedly analyzed and recorded by him using his all-powerful eye and destiny system.
The results were naturally quite remarkable.
On the left side of the work area, in a row of incubators, new "micro-eyes" are slowly growing in the culture medium.
As one of the few beings with an inherent, bizarre nature, the Shadow Thief is more than just a source of research for Jemin.
Its own structure and energy distribution can serve as a reference for optimizing the Eye of Light.
The energy frequency of the second-generation Eye of the Glimmer has been recalibrated, which not only greatly extends its lifespan but also makes it "compatible" with most eerie auras, reducing the instinctive reaction that makes psychics panic.
After completing the initial examination of the sealed stone slab in front of him, Jemin wanted to conduct further tests on it.
Subconsciously, I looked up to the left, then suddenly remembered that the area was now occupied by the incubator for cultivating the Eye of Light.
Scratching his hair, Jemin waved his hand, and several experimental instruments on the left were stored in his inner space. Then, with another wave, a strangely shaped experimental instrument was summoned out of his inner space.
After placing the stone slab into the instrument and completing a series of operations, the second round of testing was finally able to proceed.
Suddenly, Jemin sighed, his voice filled with helplessness.
He has dug as much as possible around this underground laboratory.
The four walls were pushed outwards by several meters, expanding the total area of the basement to three times its original size.
Space expansion technology was also used.
He carefully cast the wizarding spell that could "expand" the existing space four times, each time increasing the internal volume by about fifty percent.
But this is the limit; it cannot be expanded any further.
The problem lies with the strange power.
This basement is located beneath the old city of Chongqing. Over hundreds of years, the soil and rocks of this land have been permeated with various strange residual energies.
When the expansion of space is too great, the internal space becomes unstable, which in turn leads to disorder at the level of laws.
After the third expansion, Jemin discovered the problem: the energy fluctuations of the two strange samples placed in the laboratory began to show irregular random fluctuations.
To confirm this phenomenon, Jemin also conducted a control experiment.
The same batch of bizarre samples were divided into two groups: one group was placed in the expanded laboratory, and the other group was placed in his bedroom on the second floor of the bookstore.
The results were clear: the energy fluctuations in the laboratory samples exhibited unexplained random variations, while the samples in the bedroom remained perfectly normal. This was the effect of some mysterious force.
When the spatial structure is artificially altered, the eerie residual energy that permeates the land will be activated, thereby affecting the environment inside the laboratory.
If Jemin insists on continuing to expand the research, the results will no longer be reliable, and each experiment will produce random conclusions.
This is unacceptable to researchers.
As for digging downwards... he had considered it.
However, beneath the old city lies a dense network of underground pipes, and the so-called underground black market basically uses these pipes as its base. As for digging deeper, bypassing these pipes, that's not an option either.
Less than thirty meters down this land, you enter a special rock stratum.
He scanned the rock layer with his mental power during the day and discovered an extremely faint periodic vibration deep within it.
Later, after consulting the records, Jemin learned that the people in this dimension called similar situations "the strange occurrences deep underground."
No one knows exactly what level it is, because no one has ever come back alive from that depth.
But Jemin had seen related records in the internal documents of the Psychic Association: that strange characteristic was closely intertwined with the concept of "earthquakes," and once provoked, it was enough to wipe an entire city off the ground.
This is not an exaggeration.
Similar events have occurred in this dimension before.
One hundred and twenty years ago, a city accidentally triggered a deep-seated mystery during the construction of an underground project.
The entire city was devastated by continuous high-intensity earthquakes over three days, with the death toll exceeding 300,000.
That city was later abandoned and remains a restricted area to this day.
Jemin doesn't intend to be the next case.
He also considered another option: to send the strange fragments or strange power into the inner cave of his body for research.
That way, the environmental limitations of this plane can be completely avoided, the space is large enough, the environment is stable enough, and it is absolutely safe.
But he rejected the idea as soon as it came to mind.
The reason is simple: even the level eight wizard Austin crashed and burned.
While conquering another dimension, Austin inadvertently allowed strange phenomena to seep into his backyard, causing the miniature glass garden dimension to be "infected".
Even an eighth-level wizard couldn't completely stop the strange infiltration.
Jemin did not believe that his inner world was more stable than Austin's plane.
After the true form is formed, the inner cave is the foundation of his internal circulation and the support of the true form.
If some strange force were to seep into it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Before fully understanding the nature of the strange phenomenon, it is not something a good researcher should do to rashly incorporate unknown forces into their core system.
Therefore, he could only continue to squeeze into this laboratory, which was already too small for him.
Having finally completed the current stage of research in what could only be described as rudimentary conditions, Jemin arranged the last piece of equipment, closed the cabinet door, and walked back to his workspace. Suddenly, he paused.
He raised his head, his gaze passing through the ceiling and the floor of the first-floor bookstore, and landing on the street outside.
Someone is approaching the bookstore... It's a shady real estate agent.
When the wooden door of the secondhand bookstore was pushed open, the hinges made a louder sound than usual.
Clearly, the person who pushed the door was too hasty and didn't control their strength well.
The shady real estate agent stood at the door, his trench coat collar turned up and his hat brim pulled low.
His breathing was a little rapid, and it seemed that he had run the distance from the street corner to the bookstore entrance.
Moreover, he was running very fast, as if something was chasing him from behind.
Jemin sat in the rocking chair, holding a newspaper, and glanced at him.
"Close the door," Jemin said.
The shady agent quickly closed the door and locked it.
He turned around, took off his hat, and his forehead was covered in sweat; he looked quite nervous.
"Long time no see, Mr. Jemin." He lowered his voice. "I'm so sorry, the checks have been too strict lately."
Jemin put down his newspaper and remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"The Psychic Association has suddenly tightened its control over bizarre resources and gene serums since last month." The black market broker took out a cloth bag from inside his trench coat and placed it on the table, but did not open it as usual.
"Many things are out of stock on the black market. It's not that they're all sold out, it's that nobody dares to sell them anymore. This time, I took several detours and changed cars three times to shake off any potential followers."
Jemin's gaze fell on the cloth bag.
Judging from its appearance and weight, the quantity of goods this time is much less than usual.
"Do you know why you're investigating?" Jemin asked.
The shady broker shook his head, then nodded, and finally sighed: "I heard it's related to the abandoned factory incident. I don't know the specifics, but someone I know who works in the association's logistics department said that the higher-ups are investigating internally. Not us, but their own people." Jemin's expression didn't change; he had expected this.
After all, the people in the Psychic Association aren't stupid. The other side's actions in that battle were too obvious. Without many clues, they would definitely prioritize investigating internal spies and the flow of various large-scale resources in the city.
"Have you found out yet?"
"I don't know." The shady broker wiped the sweat from his brow. "They won't let us know about these things. But the control is real. The price of the strange fragments on the market has tripled, and gene serums are even more outrageous. Some contraband items have increased fivefold and are still impossible to buy. I could only bring this much this time, so please make do with it for now."
As he spoke, he opened the cloth bag. Inside were several small, eerie fragments and two vials of gene-altering agents encapsulated in metal tubes. There were indeed far fewer than usual, but the quality seemed quite good.
Jemin picked up a piece of the shard and examined it under the light.
Danger level, medium to high quality. It seems that the psychic association's self-inspection has had an impact on these black markets.
"The payment is the same as always." Jemin put down the shards and closed the cloth bag. "Next time you come, bring more intelligence. Less goods are fine, but less intelligence is essential."
The shady broker nodded repeatedly, then took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and carefully placed it on the table:
"This is what I've found out over the past few days. I can't guarantee it's all accurate, but it should be useful."
Jemin opened the note and glanced at it.
The above is a few lines of handwritten text, written in a messy hand, recording some recent activities of the Psychic Association: which department's warehouse has increased guards, which batch of strange fragments has been moved to which place, and which area has recently seen frequent appearances of association members.
This information was nothing new to Jemin; he could see it during the day by scanning with his mental energy.
But the fact that these shady brokers can provide these services shows that their channels are indeed extensive.
"Okay." Jemin put the note away. "You can go now. Don't come around too often lately. I'll contact you if I need anything."
The shady broker breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Jemin.
He put his hat back on, turned up his collar, opened the wooden door a crack, peeked outside for a few seconds, and then slipped out.
Jemin sat in the rocking chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.
The fact that the Psychics Association is investigating so thoroughly shows that they are indeed taking the issue of the mole seriously.
This isn't a bad thing; at least it shows that the association's higher-ups aren't going to let this slide.
But this also means that it will become increasingly difficult for him to obtain high-quality research materials from the black market.
"However, the problem with research materials should be resolved soon..."