Earth, First Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
A black sedan sped from the distance.
Screech—!
With an ear-piercing brake sound, the car left four black marks on the ground before it even came to a complete stop. Zhou Junguo kicked open the rear door and leaped out.
While running, he shouted into the institute, "I'm Zhou Junguo, the one who contacted you earlier. Where's the lab?"
Inside the institute, a middle-aged Director ran over, carrying a small silver-white metal case.
Zhou Junguo spotted the silver case immediately and rushed forward, "Is this the vaccine?"
The Director panted heavily, "Yes, it was made according to the data you transmitted earlier, but—"
Snatching the case, Zhou Junguo turned and jumped back into the car, "Drive!"
The Director hurriedly grabbed the car door, "This vaccine hasn't undergone any biological testing. No one knows if there will be side effects, you—"
"My grandson sent this," Zhou Junguo's voice was firm. "That's all I need to know."
Watching the car speed away, the Director stomped his foot, "How old is your grandson? This is madness!"
He then turned and rushed back into the institute, yelling, "Conduct biological tests on the vaccine immediately, check all data, hurry!"
...
Time passed, and Zhou Tianming slowly regained consciousness, his memories hazy.
He only remembered completing the vaccine, enduring dizziness to send the formula to Zhou Junguo before blacking out.
The side effects of low Mental Power remained, his head throbbing with pain.
He opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
He lay on a soft bed, a gentle breeze brushing his cheeks, the scent of disinfectant lingering in his nose.
Hospital again?
He couldn't help but feel amused.
Suddenly, a slender, pale hand with long fingers reached over from the side, its back lightly caressing his cheek.
Startled, he turned his head and looked.
Zhou Hanxiang wore a transparent oxygen mask, her clear black-and-white eyes gazing at him. Her face was still unnaturally pale, but a faint smile touched her lips.
After a brief pause, he smiled back.
"Mom."
It felt as if a cool spring had washed over his aching mind, his Mindpower visibly recovering.
Propping himself up on his elbows to rise, Zhou Hanxiang pressed a hand against his chest.
"Rest a little longer. Stay with me," her voice was soft and weak.
She then gently moved her arm to hold Zhou Tianming's hand in her palm.
Feeling the coolness of her touch, Zhou Tianming obediently lay back down.
They exchanged a glance, smiling before closing their eyes.
Seeing Zhou Hanxiang safe, Zhou Tianming felt at ease.
He sank into his consciousness space, where the first thing he saw was the golden sphere, now noticeably larger.
The Mental Command representing [Love] flickered faintly.
Mindpower: 328.
An unprecedented high value.
Just as he was about to savor the wonders of exceeding 300 in Mental Power, his peripheral vision pierced through the golden sphere to its center.
First glance—he froze.
Second glance—he rubbed his eyes.
Third glance—his jaw dropped.
The SEED had bloomed!
The original black seed had unfurled into a translucent, crystalline black flower.
SEED = seed, and seeds can bloom.
Makes perfect sense.
He hastily shook his head to dispel the word "reasonable" from his mind.
I only activated SEED Mode once, and it already bloomed?
Recalling the sensation of SEED Mode, truth be told, the enhancement wasn't particularly significant.
At best, it was equivalent to the effect of [Concentration].
For an ordinary person, this might be a substantial boost, but for Zhou Tianming, who could freely utilize Mental Commands, it was practically useless.
But who wouldn't want a free ability? Now that the SEED had bloomed, could he still activate SEED Mode?
Would activating it again revert it back to a seed?
Zhou Tianming leaned in closer, and as he approached, a stream of information flooded his mind.
[SEED] consumes 100 points of Mental Power to transform into a Flower Pistil, which can carry Mental Commands and automatically triggers upon activation.
His eyes lit up.
The limitations on Mental Commands were gone?!
After carefully reading further, his expression soon turned disappointed.
Of course, there were still restrictions.
1.
The Flower Pistil's capacity is limited. Powerful Mental Commands require more pistils to carry them.
2.
Each time SEED Mode is activated, the SEED blooms. Mental Commands can only be modified during the flowering phase, while SEED Mode can only be used during the seed phase.
Zhou Tianming examined his 18 Mental Commands, which had also undergone slight changes—phantom images of Flower Pistils now appeared beneath their marks.
The higher the Mental Power consumption, the more pistils were required. The most staggering was the duration maintained by Mental Power.
[Unyielding] 50/sec
[Sure Hit] 30/sec
[Overdrive] 10/sec
...
There were pros and cons. When Mental Power was low, it was less efficient than using the upper limit to activate. But with sufficient Mental Power, the duration could be significantly extended.
Currently, he had 328 points of Mental Power. Considering the baseline 100 points couldn't be touched and accounting for consumption, he could use up to 100.
Actions speak louder than thoughts. Zhou Tianming spent 100 points of his Mental Power limit.
A cluster of yellow pistils sprouted from the center of the black flower.
A single cluster could only carry three Mental Commands: [Concentration], [Overdrive], and [Analyze].
Zhou Tianming pondered. Now that he had returned to East Asia, he had no immediate plans to leave. His trip to the Junk Guild had made him realize many of his ideas were built on unrealistic, illusory information.
This time, he needed to carefully reassess his future plans based on actual circumstances.
If he wasn't fighting, [Concentration] and [Overdrive] could be set aside for now. [Analyze] had been instrumental in deciphering the Vaccine, and though it only cost 1 point per use, frequent usage added up.
This time alone, he had used it nearly 30 times. He regretted not checking the changes in his consciousness earlier—now, the thought made his heart ache.
His return to East Asia would focus on investigating real conditions and mastering various technologies, making [Analyze] particularly useful.
With that thought, the mark of [Analyze] flew into the black flower and settled onto the pistils. The crystalline petals slowly closed.
The flower reverted to its seed state.
Zhou Tianming clicked his tongue in amazement as he curiously studied the SEED.
After waiting for a while without noticing any further changes, he closed his eyes and fell asleep since there was nothing else to do.
...
Outside the ward, Zhou Junguo watched the sleeping mother and child through the small window on the door, a smile spreading across his face.
Beside him, the Director of the research institute held a tablet, continuously marveling at the data displayed: "This is astonishing. To think this result could be achieved purely through deduction? We failed hundreds of times in biological experiments due to variations in the subjects' conditions and constitutions."
"For your grandson to accurately deduce the perfect Vaccine structure tailored to Miss Zhou's constitution purely through reasoning is truly, truly..." The Director struggled to find the right words, his expression troubled.
Zhou Junguo looked pleased but spoke casually, "Hmph, just a child's good luck."
The Director rolled his eyes at this. "If there's nothing else here, I'll take my leave. This Vaccine is too narrowly targeted—we need to further optimize it for mass use."
Zhou Junguo nodded and extended his hand. "Thank you for your help this time."
The Director shook it. "No need. It was worth it for this Vaccine."
After the Director left, Zhou Junguo turned to Gao Jing beside him. "There's nothing else for now. You should get some rest too."
Gao Jing nodded. "I'll just lean here for a bit. What about you?"
His expression turning serious, Zhou Junguo replied, "I need to go to the government hall. We must report the Vaccine and gauge their reaction. After all, Siegel contributed greatly this time, and we in East Asia don't mistreat our friends."
"Ah..." Gao Jing sighed. "Between Earth and PLANT, some things are just too much to bear."
"Don't just look at the surface. PLANT isn't entirely innocent in this matter either. We'll observe quietly under the guise of the 'cooperation' agreement."
With that, Zhou Junguo strode away.