Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot-Chapter 928 - 366 Mechanical Body_2

Chapter 928: Chapter 366 Mechanical Body_2

“Are you all right?”

“Haha, thanks for the concern! I’m fine!”

Wang Tao laughed heartily.

“Phew… that’s good!”

Qu Shilin, relieved, patted her chest.

“Cough, sorry… a bit unfamiliar…”

...

Xiang Hongbin scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, a sound of metal friction emanating from the back of his head.

“Let’s go test it out first!”

Qu Shilin led Wang Tao, Xiang Hongbin, and a group of researchers to the adjacent testing grounds.

She had Xiang Hongbin test some items, while other researchers recorded and analyzed. She briefly explained Xiang Hongbin’s situation to Wang Tao.

The moment she saw Xiang Hongbin for the first time, she thought he was an excellent candidate for experimenting with “mechanical bodies.”

Before the apocalypse, such mechanical bodies had already been manufactured, and the technology was not a problem. However, due to limitations in materials and energy, there was still significant room for improvement… so let alone mass production, even custom-made ones were unusable.

After the apocalypse, the Hope Research Institute inherited these valuable data, felt that this technology was very suitable for the post-apocalyptic environment, and decided to continue the research. Then, Crystal Cores emerged, enabling them to develop Crystal Energy Technology, and the appearance of various monsters provided many strange materials… This supplemented the previously lacking energy and materials.

Now, with technology, energy, and materials all available, mechanical bodies would undoubtedly play a significant role.

In their vision, these mechanical bodies differed from ordinary prosthetics, which are separate from the human body, each acting as independent entities. Prosthetics cannot move on their own and need to be driven and controlled by other parts of the body.

For example, the mechanical arm Wang Tao had picked up from the airdrop—although it added an extra hand, that hand still needed to be controlled remotely—meaning, you need an operational hand to manage it. If someone was reduced to a torso, then controlling the mechanical arm would likely only be possible with voice commands…

These mechanical bodies, however, were different. Before use, they were independent, but once used, they fused with the body, becoming one with it!

To control these mechanical bodies, no buttons were needed, just a functioning brain. You control them with your thoughts, just as you would control your limbs!

Moreover, these could be swapped out and repaired. Theoretically speaking, as long as the brain was intact, no matter how severe the injury, one could not die!

If mechanical bodies could be widely introduced in human society, they could significantly enhance human combat power, and there might even be no need to fear the Zombie Virus! Humans could completely confront zombies head-on, and zombies would probably be no match!

Of course, all these were theoretically feasible, but there were still many difficulties to overcome in practical application.

The most challenging aspects were not with the mechanical body equipment itself.

The first problem was with the users.

Because the mechanical body integrated with and connected to one’s nerves, experiments had shown that during the integration process, users needed to have strong physical constitution and willpower!

If the willpower was not strong enough, integration was simply impossible. Even if forced, control would be unattainable. Moreover, there would be various side effects, making it no better than ordinary prosthetics. If the physical constitution was not strong enough, one might die during the integration process…

This issue was due to their inadequate technology, which could be resolved given time. However, what they currently lacked was time… Thus, they needed disabled individuals with strong physical constitution and willpower for testing.

It might seem like such individuals would be plentiful, especially now in the post-apocalypse. But in reality, they were not easy to find.

Especially in the early stages of the apocalypse, there was no concept of being severely injured. Forget being severely injured; even a small scratch from a zombie would lead to infection, mutation, and death within a few days…

For a considerable period, the only distinctions were between “uninjured” and “dead.” Being injured was synonymous with being dead.

Although the establishment and development of the base and the improvement of medical facilities revived many wounded and disabled people, ordinary disabled individuals were not suitable; the process required those with exceptionally strong physical and mental strength, which were difficult to find…

When Wang Tao first saw Xiang Hongbin, his condition was so dire… Qu Shilin had no idea how he had survived!

If he could survive all that, his willpower was certainly not a problem, and being a military man and a Level 3 ability user, his physical condition was definitely up to par.

As it turned out, so it was indeed.

Throughout all kinds of painful experiments, Xiang Hongbin couldn’t remain completely silent but at least he could tough them out. This was far beyond what previous test subjects had managed…

The second issue involved the integration of mechanical bodies with people and fluids.

If a person was missing a hand, creating and integrating a mechanical arm would have a difficulty of “1”. But if they were missing both hands, integrating two mechanical arms wouldn’t be “2”, but “3” or even higher!

Simply put, the more areas of the body that were modified, the greater the difficulty of integration became, and the lower the probability of a complete seamless integration.

With Xiang Hongbin’s condition, the sheer amount of modifications needed initially seemed impossible. It wasn’t a question of his willpower, but of the technology not being adequate.

Qu Shilin originally thought of taking things slowly, first integrating one hand, then one foot, gradually testing and improving with the hope that it ultimately would be successful. The only one who would suffer through the ordeal was the test subject like Xiang Hongbin. Although there was no risk to his life, the repeated experimenting was truly agonizing…

However, sometimes luck turns out to be incredibly good—Wang Tao managed to obtain a [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle]!

When others saw this kind of weapon, of course, they thought about enhancing their own combat power. But the researchers at the Hope Research Institute found it fascinating, slightly akin to their mechanical bodies, yet differing as one involved integration into the body and the other was a semi-integration; one primarily utilized mechanical technology, and the other biological technology… Couldn’t they learn something from this?

The Hope Research Institute took an interest in the Iron Armored Beetle at the City Hall.

After a prolonged tug of war, the Iron Armored Beetle from the City Hall ended up in the hands of the Research Institute. Qu Shilin didn’t go into specifics, but presumably, the institute had given a lot in return.

Once they acquired the Iron Armored Beetle, the institute began tirelessly researching it.

And then, they successfully dismantled the armed status of the Iron Armored Beetle—then couldn’t put it back together…

But the gain was substantial, they successfully merged some of the biological technology of the Iron Armored Beetle with their own mechanical technology! Coupled with enhancements from Crystal Energy Technology… Xiang Hongbin was their latest product!

“Xiang Hongbin’s body still has many flaws. For example, it hasn’t reached our expected sensation of being ‘exactly like his original body’… There’s also a certain ‘delay’ when using it, somewhat like operating an Armored Beetle… Its appearance can’t be made exactly like a human’s—let’s not even talk about being exactly alike; this design is more like powered armor than a person… Anyway, there are still many issues…”

“But I also believe that we will eventually create better mechanical bodies, indistinguishable from human bodies. Perhaps even reaching the legendary state of living with just a brain—no, with just a consciousness!”

There was a twinkle in Qu Shilin’s eyes.

“I believe you can do it!”

Wang Tao nodded earnestly.

He truly believed that Qu Shilin could achieve it. Honestly, for him, since seeing the powered armor, the technological level of the apocalypse had already surpassed his understanding, and whatever outrageous inventions they came up with next, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“Thank you!”

Qu Shilin joyfully hugged Wang Tao, then continued:

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“Now that I’ve explained the origin of Xiang Hongbin’s modifications, let’s talk about his strength. You can see the specifics in the tests…”

“I’m not sure about others, but his physical condition, I feel, can’t be matched by many. If paired with various weapons… he completely possesses the combat power of an Awakener!”

“But there’s a small flaw; he needs to consume Crystal Cores…”