Chapter Seventeen: I Want It All!

Of course, Zhou Shu was aware of "Genetic Ascension," but without any special superpowers, could the human body really outperform machines? Especially in the early stages. Or perhaps he would soon develop superpowers through training in the virtual battlefield? But he was just the user; the Hunter was merely an auxiliary system, which was why it used the word "suggestion."

Once Zhou Shu learned that the power armor before him was real, his mind immediately became active. Even if what the Hunter said was true, at least in the early stages, the human body was certainly no match for machines, especially machines of war.

He had already considered the scenario of "being hit by a missile." Unless he could become a superhuman in a second, he would be dead for sure. And even the superhuman couldn’t crush a coin at first—he had suffered so much, been through so much stimulation, spent so many years, and gone through so many versions before he became that superhuman.

So, the current situation is... becoming "Iron Man" is the logical path.

Since powered exoskeleton armor was real, then similarly, all the vehicles and equipment in the virtual battlefield of "Edge of Tomorrow" should be real too. As long as he could obtain the technology, he could build them in the real world.

Whether the people inside were real or not remained to be seen.

Of course, machines could be mass-produced with technology, and humans... well, that was seemingly possible too.

But Zhou Shu instinctively regarded the people in the virtual battlefield as game NPCs—just with a higher degree of intelligence.

After all, he would be "dying for real" here many times.

From the Hunter system's self-introduction, although some information was missing, it didn't seem like some arcane, mystical entity; it was still a technological product—just at an unknown level of advancement.

With that level of technology, the powered exoskeleton armor in "Edge of Tomorrow" might be considered museum pieces. Compared to Earth, it would be like a Neolithic stone axe to modern humans.

And that was even with the Hunter system being damaged.

While the Hunter wanted him to become a super soldier, specifically one under the Genetic Ascension model, it still operated strictly by its programming. Zhou Shu wondered if he could use logic to outwit it and persuade the system to let him become a super scientist instead.

His argument would be based on how he acquired English conversation skills.

Logically, being able to speak English has nothing to do with combat strength. But in this virtual battlefield, if you can't speak English, you can't communicate; if you can't communicate, you can't enter the base, can't receive military training, can't fight monsters on the battlefield, and thus cannot become stronger quickly.

So the Hunter promptly granted him this seemingly unrelated skill.

If he could prove that his actions contributed to becoming a super soldier, he might be able to trick the system into following his lead.

He didn't have to rely solely on trickery; he could also take mutually beneficial actions.

Take the English skill, for example: it was useful here, and even more so once he left the virtual battlefield.

Since his acquisition was based on English-Chinese subtitles and original English audio, he wasn't just an "illiterate" who could only speak English; he clearly understood the true meaning of vocabulary and the correct structure of sentences, which would greatly benefit him in English exams.

With English, he could read the latest technical documentation and learn cutting-edge foreign technologies.

Of course, his English was still pretty basic for now, but that didn't matter—once you have the foundation, everything else is easier to learn.

Even if he couldn't progress, he could extract relevant memories.

He had thought that his dream of becoming a super scientist was unattainable, but now it seemed "where there is a will, there is a way!"

He had previously wondered: could a virtual system designed to train super soldiers really not train super scientists?

Now it seemed, it could!

In fact, he might not even need to study on his own. Since the Hunter system could simulate the armor, the database must contain all the technical data—perhaps it could be directly implanted into his brain?

Sensing Zhou Shu’s curiosity, the Hunter explained, "In theory, it’s possible, but I am a combat—"

"Enough, I understand," Zhou Shu interrupted.

Hunter: "…"

Zhou Shu did understand; it was just the standard "combat systems don’t train scientists" argument.

He’d already made up his mind, but he wouldn’t limit himself to a single path.

In the practical values of the Chinese people, anything useful is a good thing. One should avoid binary thinking and instead absorb from many sources and integrate them.

Iron Man was an amazing scientist, but without his iron suit, his physical combat ability was pitiful—Zhou Shu didn’t want to be like that.

And to further persuade the Hunter, he would still need to boost his attributes and follow the super soldier route to some extent.

Even if he never met any alien monsters in the future, having a strong body was always a plus; only a strong body could withstand the toll of staying up late to do research.

Being a scientist is no easy job; being a super scientist, even less so.

If he did encounter alien monsters, well, he’d be the kind of scientist who knows martial arts—not even monsters could stop him!

He’d have them dropping their jaws in amazement.

Although Zhou Shu didn’t plan to follow the system’s "Genetic Ascension" path exclusively, he wasn’t abandoning it either; he wanted to pursue both at once. As an auxiliary system, the Hunter had no objections.

It checked the remaining source energy and left Zhou Shu to do as he pleased.

With only 1.37 units of energy left, he’d have to make his choices when the time came.

Zhou Shu was well aware that to carry out his plan, he’d need a lot of source energy.

Adding attribute points required energy; entering and leaving the virtual battlefield required energy; materializing equipment required energy; making memories explicit required energy; implanting data directly into his brain required even more energy!

With just 1.37 units left, his grand plan would have to be put on hold.

However, the 2 units of source energy used to generate the "Edge of Tomorrow" world had already been consumed; all the data and information already existed in the "NPCs'" minds, and the powered exoskeleton armor was right in front of him. Maybe he could try self-study—it might save energy, maybe even yield a return!

So he began seeking instruction from the teachers of Squad J.

"Do you know its technical specs?"

"Do you know how they’re made?"

"What’s special about its servo system? Is it all military-grade?"

"Do you find the personal support system easy to use?"

"Is the mechanical framework reasonable? As users, do you have any suggestions?"

He fired off questions about the powered exoskeleton armor like a machine gun, leaving the members of Squad J dumbfounded.

He didn’t know some of the words, so he had to gesture at the armor, becoming more and more animated as he went.

If the members of Squad J hadn’t stopped him, he might have started dismantling the armor on the spot!

"My God, Zhou, you’re definitely in the wrong place—you should be in engineering or maintenance."

"Right, almost all the parts for these new suits are mass-produced in your old country. Only that country can supply such a vast amount of parts on short notice."

"Exactly, exactly, so it’s only natural that someone from that country would have this kind of talent."

Hearing this, Zhou Shu’s eyes lit up.

This was exactly what he’d been waiting for!

These grunts were just users—they definitely didn’t know the core technology.

But as a new recruit, he was limited in many ways; he’d have to come up with a plan and wait for the right moment.

After the veterans gave the new recruits their "final lesson," night had fallen. After dinner and another physical training session, they were all sent back to their dormitory to sleep.

They had to go to bed early to rest their minds and bodies, since tomorrow morning they would be heading to the battlefield.

Zhou Shu stayed with his teammates the whole time and couldn’t find a good excuse to slip away to the mechanical maintenance center, so he obediently went to bed.

Anyway, in reality, he could play through the scenario ten times tonight if he wanted. After a few more runs, once he’d figured out everything, maybe he could sneak off successfully right at the start.

P.S.: Thanks to Feng Wuxi, Solar Delusionist, and Master of the Southern City for your generous rewards. I’ll shamelessly ask for more monthly votes and bookmarks!