Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Liu Clan
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The Liu Clan.
It's what they call themselves—the top of the Seven Chinese Families.
Individually, none of them amounted to much.
But they'd always stuck together like a pack, so whenever an external threat arose, all seven families would band together in response. And their combined might was nothing to scoff at—not even the Mutant Medical Corporation could match it.
But the power of the Seven Chinese Families didn't end there.
Even in this era where national and racial boundaries had blurred, they still served as spiritual leaders for one of humanity's most populous ethnic groups, easily in the top two.
That meant if the Seven Chinese Families took the lead, a massive number of people would rally to their call.
'No wonder they keep bragging about being "Chinese, Chinese."'
The verbal sparring dragged on for a bit longer.
But Junior couldn't overcome Rune Shin, whose inner strength had deepened at the Academy.
Having witnessed true integrity, Junior now seemed at a complete loss for words.
"...How can there be someone this unreasonable!"
"Then stop yapping and let's have a go! I'll show you the true face of Rune Shin, master of the Chinese First Spear Technique!"
Junior glared at me, fuming, grinding his teeth.
He looked pissed at how I was just sitting back and watching comfortably.
But as a prospective superhuman, he couldn't just charge in and demand a duel, so he couldn't cause any more trouble.
"...What rotten luck."
In the end, he spun on his heel and stormed off.
'Smart move.'
He wasn't dumb enough to start something right here.
I could've really wrecked him if he had.
On the other hand, I was relieved it ended like this.
'We'll clash eventually, but not yet.'
Just because Junior was laughable didn't mean his backing was.
Mutant Medical Corporation.
It was deeply tied to the "Next Generation"—that problem child group with a different flavor from the Elohim Church.
'I've gotta peel back the layers, one by one.'
I wasn't worried about the fallout from today.
Once they learned about me, they'd regret ever messing with me.
Besides, I hadn't directly insulted him.
Rune Shin had handled all that.
They had to have brains enough for that much.
"Hmph! What a coward. He ran off after just a taste of Chinese pride."
"Enough. Come here."
"Don't drag me! You damn brute!"
Pulled over by Giz's massive hand and plopped down, Rune Shin looked at me, caught his breath, and straightened his clothes.
I gave a slight smile and spoke.
"Thanks to you, we shook off that pest. Appreciate it."
"...I was just educating an ignorant fool."
"Here, have some of this. I grabbed too much, and there's leftovers. Take some too."
"Thanks, boss."
"...Not turning it down."
He took it graciously.
So why had I come here again?
'Whatever. He'll spill when the time's right.'
I turned my head the other way.
Roze was still inhaling her food, and Merdi—who I'd just finished fixing her hair for—was looking my way.
"Special? One of a kind?"
"......Huh?"
"At least her eyes work fine."
She picked at the fruits one by one, her face oddly cheerful.
It'd been a while since I'd seen her smile like that.
'No doubt about it—she looks like a model right now.'
Self-radiating, or whatever you call it.
Her vibrant aura seemed to color everything around her.
I could see why Junior had clung to her.
'Merdi's been hot lately, that's for sure.'
These days, the term "Miracle Generation" was openly tossed around after she'd taken down a Red.
With her status as one of them, plus her skills, looks, and personality—there really was no one else like her.
Even I, used to her after all this time together, found myself staring blankly at moments like this.
"Um... You're Leonard Monarch, right?"
But I didn't have time to just sit and admire.
People who'd figured out I was from the Monarch family started swarming.
"We've heard so much about your great reputation, Leonard."
Right now, I was famous for entirely different reasons.
Unlike my companions, it was among the elite rather than the masses.
With the Monarch family's rising fame, those looking to latch onto that glory had taken an interest in me too.
"A great reputation? I'm just an Academy cadet..."
A chance to expand my network.
I responded with a ready smile.
Over there, Sahim was already buried in a crowd, completely out of sight.
'Probably worse for him.'
Unlike me, Sahim was well-known as one of the major shareholders in the Salmon Lab.
On top of that, he was a direct prince of the Mohaim royal family and one of the Miracle Generation who'd played a big role in slaying a Red.
The premium attached to him was on another level.
He was probably the most sought-after cadet in the Academy right now.
No need to envy him, though.
"Haha, yes, yes. Ah, I see."
I was swamped just handling the crowd around me.
Time flew by in a blur.
The party dragged on late into the evening, and by the time I came to the next day, I was holding a genuine Core Weapon—not a fake one.
*
Core Weapon.
It's the weapon designed to make superhumans truly superhuman.
The origins of the Core Weapon trace back to the Superhuman Project.
Comic books and movies depicted humans with Superman-like powers.
People obsessed with that dream poured resources into creating them artificially through fierce competition.
But the results were a failure.
They only churned out countless mutants—no true superhumans.
Then, as the space pioneering era kicked into high gear, natural superhumans with superpowers emerged, spreading the notion that such projects were useless. Research shifted to superhumans instead, and most superhuman efforts halted.
Of course, it never fully stopped.
Similar experiments resumed whenever tech hit a leap forward.
The turning point came with success in refining primal energy aggregates into an "engine" powered by that energy.
It started when those engines reacted to superhumans.
Superhumans could draw on the engine's power as if it were their own.
But efficiency was abysmal, and with control mechanisms slapped all over, the massive engines were too bulky to move in. Experiments stalled.
They'd only confirmed the potential.
Then, around 2,500 years ago—300 years back from now.
On a newly pioneered planet, they found native lifeforms carrying miniaturized versions of that primal energy in their bodies.
These natives were stronger than any lifeforms humanity had known, wielding powers akin to superhumans.
Naturally, excited researchers captured and studied them.
The result was the prototype Core Weapon.
Early Core Weapons had tons of issues.
The biggest hurdle was production cost—it was so exorbitant that mass production was a pipe dream.
The money for one Core Weapon could've funded a large pioneering fleet for over a year.
Meanwhile, it was useless to anyone but superhumans—might as well have been a rock to normals. They had no choice but to shelve it.
Half a success.
The tech was effectively half-discarded again.
Then the Aliens appeared.
War broke out, and small entities with cores like those natives emerged.
Their performance was shocking.
Creatures barely larger than humans unleashed energy blasts rivaling those of battleships, rampaging wildly.
It was like seeing the superhumans from those old dreams.
Dusty tech saw the light of day again.
Studying Alien corpses, they refined Core Weapons based on the findings.
Along the way, new functions were added, boosting performance to truly superhuman levels.
Mass production issues eased too.
Ironically, Aliens turned out to be the perfect supply source for Core Weapon materials.
After several more upgrades, here it was—the Core Weapon in my hand.
The superhuman from the bunker explained how to use it.
"It's simple. Take the spiked end and stab it right into the center of your chest. The solar plexus."
The solar plexus is that central dip below the sternum.
Located on the body's anterior midline at the boundary between chest and abdomen, it's close to all vital organs and linked to major nerves—a critical point.
That's where the Core Weapon would go.
'So this is what it looks like.'
My first time seeing one in person.
A black sphere about fist-sized.
A needle-thin spike protruded from the bottom.
"Won't this kill me if I mess up?"
"Not a chance. It'll sting a bit, sure. Scared cowards can return it and go home."
The cadet who'd asked shrank back and shut up.
"...And remember, once you use it, it's with you for life."
A synchronized Core Weapon is nearly impossible to remove.
Extraction requires major surgery, ripping out fused organs too—and losing your superhuman abilities.
No turning back.
That's why the Alliance only issues them to superhumans who've trained for two full years.
'Hand 'em out and get a reject? Headache city.'
It's also why superhumans are in it for life.
Even with costs down, you can't just give priceless gear to anyone.
"...That's really all there is to it?"
"Worried about side effects? Just jam it in. Otherwise, the pain'll just get worse until it settles."
He couldn't shake the image of a fist-sized thing lodged in his solar plexus.
I got it.
But size wasn't an issue.
In my knowledge, no one had died from using one.
"Hurry it up. Planning to crash here?"
The superhuman prodded the still-hesitant cadets.
I stared at the Core Weapon in my hand for a moment, hiked up my shirt, and plunged it in.
It stung.
As blood from the wound soaked it, changes began slowly.
'Now it seeps in.'
Synchronization started.
I knew this process inside out.
Something flowed into my body through the tiny hole at the spike's tip.
Biometal coating the Core Weapon's surface.
These were a type of nanobots.
Unlike standard medical nanobots, they had strong bonding and poor self-replication, but they excelled at linking the "core" to the human body for specialized functions.
The nanobots spiderwebbed out from the solar plexus, adhering to nearby lungs, liver, heart, bronchi, and more.
They burrowed deep into the solar plexus.
The Core Weapon now served several purposes.
Primary goal: protect the user's life.
If the heart stops, it delivers a defibrillator-like shock to revive.
For bleeding, it boosts platelets to staunch it fast and expels toxins.
'No more need for the armorsuit now.'