Endless Debt

"According to my current capabilities, I can command extremely tiny matter. I can’t reach the microscopic level of individual cells yet, but it’s enough for me to distinguish capillaries and neural networks."

A faint light flickered in Bologue’s eyes as Ether spread out silently, permeating the surrounding matter. At the same time, the composition of those materials became clear in his sight, as if he could see at a glance the blueprint drawn by the Creator.

"Do you know something called asbestos?" Bologue suddenly had a whimsical thought.

"What about it?"

How could Aimou not know this kind of industrial material; immediately afterward, Aimou understood what Bologue was thinking.

"You think you can manipulate something on that scale?"

Bologue answered with certainty, "Of course. Don’t you think a material with those properties matches my current abilities perfectly?"

"Asbestos, to be precise asbestos fibers, is a general term for certain silicate minerals that can be split into elastic filaments. Their size lies at a very subtle critical point, like an invisible bundle of steel needles that can easily invade the human body and cause severe damage to internal organs."

Bologue’s thoughts spread out. "Under my Infinite Sharpness, I can, to a great extent, carry out precise operations on these deadly fibers, guiding them along the nose, mouth, skin, and so on, to pierce into an enemy’s body. They carry my Ether, so they can be regarded as another form of Ether invasion..."

"Shattering the Rectangular Soul Critical from the inside out, putting your enemy completely in your grasp." Aimou picked up Bologue’s words; she knew very well what kind of power Bologue wielded.

"Your idea is beautiful, but at the end of the day, these fibers are still too ordinary. Ordinary people can avoid their harm through simple protection. Do you really think your opponents will fall for it that easily?" Aimou asked.

"That’s why I need you, the great Aimou, to help me."

Bologue said with a broad smile. He shifted his chair closer to the desk, shortening the distance between himself and Aimou.

He knew Aimou couldn’t handle flattery; once you praised her too much, her head would go all fuzzy, like she was drunk. At that point, whatever you asked for, she’d agree.

"Let’s push the imagination further, Aimou. You can completely transform these fibers through qualitative change into something tougher and more lethal, and imbue them with certain toxins to further enhance their lethality.

My upcoming opponents are Defenders and Seekers of Glory; no amount of sharpening the blade is ever too much."

As Bologue spoke, he picked up the newspaper on Aimou’s desk. "I saw an introduction in the science section. People discovered a highly toxic metal, said to be extremely lethal to biological cells."

Aimou didn’t even need to look; just from Bologue’s rough description, she could guess what he meant.

"You’re talking about those radioactive metals?"

"Oh, sounds like that’s the name."

Aimou sighed helplessly. Bologue could just casually toss out an idea and a technical person like her would have to run herself ragged for him.

"Bologue, you didn’t study for many years; that much I can understand... What I’m saying is, those radioactive metals are extremely deadly. They spontaneously emit radiation.

They’re just like that new type of weapon you’re imagining: like asbestos fibers—no, finer than asbestos fibers. They pass through the human body without obstruction, not only destroying cells but causing deformities from the most fundamental genetic level.

An ordinary person merely stepping into their radiation range would suffer damage from the rays. Even if they don’t die, their cells will later become cancerous."

Bologue seemed to have completely ignored Aimou’s words. He asked, "Are these death metals easy to contain?"

Aimou sighed again and rubbed her forehead hard. "It depends on the type. Some metals have a short radiation range; a mere sheet of paper can block them. But you can’t let your guard down because of that. Once this kind of metal enters the human body, it will destroy all your flesh without any cover, turning you into a puddle of mush."

"Hold on, Aimou, aren’t you forgetting something?"

Bologue suddenly stood up, braced both hands on the desk, leaned forward, and brought his face right in front of Aimou’s.

Aimou blinked at Bologue; a few seconds later, she suddenly realized, "Oh, right, you’re an Undead. This level of radiation is like a light sprinkle of water to you."

Bologue sat back down and asked, "So what do you think of the feasibility of my weapon concept?"

"Toxic metals, fiberization... and combined with the plasticity of Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid," Aimou wrote a string of requirements on the paper. After pondering for a while, she answered, "In terms of feasibility, it’s not really a problem. But as for manufacturing costs, they’ll be extremely high.

Its design requires a Yellowing at the level of Triple Transformation, and may even touch on the Red Transformation of the fourth qualitative change."

Bologue understood this part. Matter had four levels of qualitative change: Yellowing corresponded to Defenders, Red Transformation to Seekers of Glory. Looked at this way, the degree of qualitative change was just right.

"Cost is not an issue."

Bologue said. He was already a Defender; crafting a piece of exclusive Yellowing equipment was only natural.

"I know cost isn’t the issue, but time! Time!"

Aimou sighed for the third time. "You have no idea how busy I’ve been since Mamo went down."

"What about those people in the Scholars’ Hall?"

Bologue remembered there were still quite a few old geezers in the Scholars’ Hall. Even if each of them had a urine bag hanging from their waist, at times like this, it was about time they burned what remained of their lives for all humankind.

"Them? You can think of them as living computational units. Other than research, they can’t do anything. Maintaining the Sublimation Furnace Core requires more than research; you also need allocation, logistics, scheduling..."

Aimou rattled off a series of words that made Bologue’s head ache. "These things obviously can’t be handled by those old grandpas; people like us, the younger generation, have to do it ourselves."

"Any ways to improve things? Like expanding recruitment."

"We’re already expanding. Ever since the Order Bureau started running short on manpower a year ago, every department’s been recruiting," Aimou muttered in a low voice. "But what’s the point of recruiting so many people? They’re still just a bunch of interns who need time to get used to the workflow."

"Right now the Sublimation Furnace Core interns are being led by Balder," Aimou said conspiratorially. "They call Balder the Silent Iron Can."

Bologue recalled Balder’s image—the guy who hid under that thick layer of Protective Clothing all year round, Belli’s junior fellow disciple, and technically Aimou’s senior. Having a taciturn guy like that lead interns really was making things difficult for him.

"You only know how to hack and slash; you don’t understand any of this." Aimou squinted as she sized Bologue up.

Bologue felt a bit embarrassed under her gaze. It was indeed the truth. Even after he was promoted to team leader, he rarely handled these troublesome matters; Geoffrey and Lebius basically took care of them for him. All Bologue needed to do was carry his sword and kill according to the list.

Simple and straightforward work, very suitable for someone as pure as Bologue.

"But there’s no need to worry either. We’ve already discussed it; we’re planning to recruit directly from the broader society," Aimou said.

"Such as?"

Bologue couldn’t think of what kind of people they could recruit from the social level. Those independent Scholars who operated outside of any Extraordinary Influence? They might not even be better than the Scholars in the Sublimation Furnace Core.

"The Order of Truth."

Aimou said. "Remember Duwa?"

Bologue thought briefly and soon recalled the guy who suddenly joined them during the trip to the Joyful Garden.

Duwa, a Scholar from the Order of Truth, had provided considerable help to Bologue and the others during the events of the Primordial Object and the Joyful Garden trip. Since then, he’d remained in the Sublimation Furnace Core. Because Duwa was too obsessed with research, he rarely appeared in front of outsiders, to the point that Bologue had almost forgotten about him.

Aimou said, "With Duwa acting as the go-between, we’ve connected with the Order of Truth and plan to have them temporarily join the Sublimation Furnace Core to participate in the upcoming research."

"How did you manage to convince those freedom-seeking fanatic Scholars?"

Bologue had barely asked the question when he realized it was pointless.

Leaving aside the Sublimation Furnace Core’s current understanding of the Ethereal Realm, the information gained from Raymond Gaudent alone was enough to make these fanatical devotees of King Solomon join the Sublimation Furnace Core’s research at all costs.

They might not even need a salary and might even chip in some funds for the Order Bureau, just for the chance to stay on the project.

"Was this your idea or the Decision Room’s?" Bologue asked.

"Mm... let’s say we arrived at the same conclusion independently," Aimou said. "Is this what you’re worried about?"

"No, on the contrary, I’m actually relieved."

Bologue silently thought to himself, "Unite all forces that can be united."

This seemed like a good start.