Chapter 103: Level 3 Strengthening in Progress

Lin Lei’s permission for Level 3 Strengthening was already full. The first thing he did was return to the Star Alliance to exchange for Strengthening Original Liquid. His reserve for Level 3 Strengthening had decreased by 22 percent due to previous genetic consumption calculations, so he needed to replenish the loss with 110 milliliters of the liquid.

He returned to the Star Alliance. On the way, all the Ao Star warriors he met nodded to him in greeting. Of course, they also looked at Fuweili, who was by his side, and the little one in her arms with curious eyes.

“This is my wife and daughter,” Lin Lei explained as such. He intended to return to Earth to complete the Level 3 Strengthening and bring Fuweili there with him.

Faintly, Lin Lei felt that a storm was brewing in the Galaxy. Major interstellar civilizations were no longer safe. Surprisingly, Earth, this unremarkable corner, seemed to be able to escape the center of the storm.

“Leizi, do you mean we are returning to Earth? But Apocalypse has my relatives. I don’t know how they are doing in this chaos? I am very worried about them.” There were still people who cared about her in the Moles family, such as her cousin Raymond.

Lin Lei pulled Fuweili aboard the Sky Shuttle without looking back, answering at the same time, “You don’t need to worry about these things. I had checked the damage situation in Rumba City earlier. Raymond was safe, and the entire Moles family was safe. Wei, you must listen to me this time. Under the calm surface of the Galaxy, undercurrents are surging. The higher the level of civilization, the less safe it is.”

That Pan-dimensional Creature, who was connected to the Dark Saint, was creating warriors! As for why, Lin Lei did not know. But since they were warriors, the higher their physical fitness, the better. Therefore, apart from the Watcher Civilization which it could not touch, other high-level civilizations were its preferred targets.

Earthlings with a maximum Energy Level of no more than 2.0 would not catch its eye.

Lin Lei set the jump target of the Sky Shuttle to the outer rim of the Solar System. As soon as he materialized from Subspace, he received a contact signal from the Tiansuo spaceship.

After the signal was connected, Li Yi’s figure appeared on the holographic screen.

“Leizi, it’s you. Why did you return so quickly?” Li Yi’s gaze simultaneously turned to Fuweili beside Lin Lei, wondering why Yan Siyu was not staying by Lin Lei’s side, but instead a strange woman was there.

Lin Lei did not explain much. He simply introduced Fuweili’s identity to Li Yi and praised him a few times for his good vigilance.

Then, Lin Lei ignored Li Yi’s surprised expression, turned off the holographic screen, and the Sky Shuttle began its jump again. In the next second, their figures appeared in the outer space of Earth.

“Is this Earth? Leizi, it looks very similar to the mother star of Apocalypse.” Fuweili looked at this crystal-clear blue planet and sighed with emotion.

Lin Lei chuckled, “Here is a satellite that Apocalypse Star does not have—the Moon. It is a very wondrous satellite. Viewed from Earth, it is extremely beautiful.”

Of course, the Moon’s function was not only beauty. It was actually one of the reasons why humans could exist on Earth. The original Earth’s rotation speed was not like it is now, with 24 hours.

It was very fast, at least much faster than modern humans could adapt to. It was only due to the Moon’s decelerating effect that the speed dropped to the suitable level it has now. Of course, this process was very long, and the current distance between the Earth and the Moon was also much greater than in ancient times.

This was because it converted the Earth’s rotation energy into gravitational potential energy.

Lin Lei’s sudden return did not disturb anyone, except for a few high-level figures on Earth. Humans now would not be surprised by spaceships appearing in the sky. Because of the exchange with the Morentz Civilization, there had never been a break in the ships transporting supplies in the sky.

The current Earth was a busy scene. Everything was starting from scratch, with myriad tasks waiting to be done. All humans were working hard to develop, and no one complained. Humans who had experienced the hellish life in the Ecological Sphere all knew how hard-won the current situation was.

It was believed that when future humans looked back on this period of history, they would definitely consider it the simplest and most beautiful period in human history, and also the golden age of human development.

Fuweili stepped onto this land and said with deep emotion, “This place is full of Hope!”

“Because this is the City of Hope!” Lu Daolin, who was accompanying her, immediately responded, his face full of pride.

Lin Lei also introduced to Lu Daolin, “This is Fuweili. Her mother star is Apocalypse. She is my wife.”

Saying this, Lin Lei picked up Lin Xin in his arms, tickled her little nose with one hand, and said, “This little guy is my daughter, Lin Xin. From now on, they will stay on Earth.”

Lu Daolin also looked confused on his face. His head was a bit tangled. Hadn’t an Aostarian named Yan Siyu been following Lin Lei a while ago? How did he bring back an Apocalypse Person after a trip, and even bring along a daughter who was over a year old?

Lin Lei rarely showed an awkward expression. This was his private matter, and he did not want to explain: “Alright, Lu Daolin, you go get busy first. Remember to help us arrange accommodations.”

Lu Daolin was also a shrewd man. Who wouldn’t know about those trivial male matters? He immediately apologized and slipped away to a distance.

The suspiciousness in the situation was naturally noticed by Fuweili. She looked at Lin Lei with eyes full of doubt, waiting for his explanation.

Lin Lei lowered his head, gently playing with little Lin Xin’s hand. After a long while, he decided to clarify everything. This thing dragged on, and it would not be good. He gritted his teeth and told Fuweili everything, without omitting a single detail.

At the end, Lin Lei also let go, sighed, and said, “Fate is too wondrous. Some things happen unpredictably, just like when we first met on Blue Rain Star. Wei, I respect any decision you make! Your place in my heart will never change.”

Fuweili’s face became somewhat pale. She hugged Lin Xin from Lin Lei’s arms, took a deep breath, and said, “Leizi, can you leave for a moment? Let me calm my heart.”

In the past, if such a situation occurred, Fuweili might have cried out in tears. But now that she had become a mother, she was undoubtedly stronger.

Lin Lei felt gloomy in his heart but said nothing. He stood up alone and left.

Fuweili needed to calm down, and he should also go complete his Level 3 Strengthening.

Not letting emotions disturb matters, Lin Lei never delayed what needed to be done.

Level 3 Strengthening was the beginning of Lin Lei’s transcendence. He would break free from the shackles of carbon-based life forms and become a Superman in the true sense.

Lin Lei piloted the Sky Shuttle directly to the South Pole. Here, no matter how much commotion the Level 3 Strengthening caused, no one would discover it.

Lin Lei left all the items from the Star Alliance on the Sky Shuttle, including the Combat Suit he was wearing. He jumped onto the ice layer of the South Pole completely naked.

It was a bit cold. That was his first sensation. Lin Lei shivered and drank the 200 milliliters of Strengthening Original Liquid in his mouth in one go. Then, regardless of the movements inside his body, he started running on the hard snow layer of the South Pole.

He wanted to run far away. Instinctively, he did not want this Strengthening to be exposed to the eyes of the Watcher Civilization. Lin Lei ran for hundreds of kilometers, and the Strengthening Original Liquid in his stomach was completely absorbed by his body. His reserve for Level 3 Strengthening was now full.

Now, it was time to start the Level 3 Strengthening.

“System, start Level 3 Strengthening! And shield everything happening here. No civilization can detect it.” The 90 milliliters of Strengthening Original Liquid Lin Lei had drunk extra should be able to support the energy consumption for this skill of the System.

“Accepting Host’s request. A virtual scene has been established within a hundred meters around the Host to mask all energy fluctuations.”

“Starting Level 3 Strengthening. Please ask the Host whether to endure all the pain during the Strengthening process.”

… The System actually let him choose. Lin Lei’s heart panicked. What did this mean? Was it painless, or did the System think he might not be able to endure it?

“No!” Lin Lei was uncertain, so he simply ignored it.

“Forcibly closing the Host’s consciousness. This Strengthening process will last for three months!”

Then, Lin Lei’s eyes went black, and he knew nothing else. His body just lay in the ice and snow, slowly being covered by the wind and snow of the South Pole.

Something was taking root and sprouting in the darkness, incubating a surging power. Lin Lei’s body, except for his head, had completely dissolved or vanished. Or rather, it had become transparent!

In this transparent shadow, every cell was connected to some place in the Void, as if absorbing energy. Every cell was slowly evolving. The gap between the cell nucleus and the cell fluid disappeared. A cell was no longer layered but had completely become a whole.

Then, these cells began to merge slowly, eventually becoming one entity. Lin Lei’s body looked like a large liquid bag, as if it could be pierced with a casual touch.

However, this was only the beginning. The body, returning to the Origin state, began to differentiate again. Bones, internal organs, and muscles appeared once more.

Different from the previous time, these structures were no longer composed of cells but had become an indivisible whole. Furthermore, a layer of tough, transparent field-like material wrapped around the outside.

In the end, nerve fibers wrapped by a certain substance began to extend from the brain towards the body. These nerve fibers were colorless and transparent. On Lin Lei’s new body, they formed an incredibly complex network. Its complexity even reached the level of the neuron network formed by the cerebral cortex of ordinary intelligent beings.

“Transfer Host’s consciousness to the neural network of the new structural body. Begin head nerve modification.”

Bang, Lin Lei’s head simply disappeared. If outsiders saw this, they would definitely be scared faint. As time passed, on the newly formed spinal column, another cluster of neurons began to grow and slowly constructed a new brain.

From the outside, this brain looked no different from the original. It was covered with gyri and sulci just like before. But its complexity far exceeded the limit that an intelligent being could reach. Moreover, the basis for signal transmission was no longer chemical-electrical signals, but light quanta.

Only light quanta could support such a complex structure. Otherwise, relying on the speed of hundreds of meters per second of chemical-electrical signals, Lin Lei’s head would not think faster; instead, it would become as slow as an old car.

This change not only greatly increased Lin Lei’s nerve reaction speed in an instant but also gave him nearly infinite potential for improvement.

This Strengthening was very slow because the changing process was too complex and precise. It was essentially creating life!