Invincible through Touching Corpses

At the words "Corpse-man Plan," the expressions on many faces shifted slightly.

Although rumors of this project had long circulated among the higher-ups, actually achieving it was considered incredibly difficult. Even if it were possible, it shouldn’t have happened so soon.

"Has the Corpse-man Plan really succeeded? After a ’Corpse-man’ is created, can they truly maintain their sanity?" one of the instructors immediately asked, his voice laced with doubt.

The so-called Corpse-man Plan was, in essence, a project to modify the zombie virus using scientific methods. The goal was to let it retain its original abilities without causing the host to lose their sanity.

This new type of zombie virus would then be injected into a human subject. If the person could maintain their sanity after Zombification, they would become what was known as a "Corpse-man."

Theoretically, a Corpse-man would completely inherit the abilities of a Zombie.

They would possess a body far superior to that of a Martial Artist of the same level.

They would have no fatal weaknesses aside from their head.

They would have terrifying regenerative abilities, capable of completely regrowing a severed hand or foot in a matter of days.

Furthermore, simply by eating, their bodies would continuously strengthen. The higher the energy content of their food, the faster this strengthening would occur.

One could only imagine how terrifying it would be if all these advantages were combined in a single person who could still maintain their sanity and continue their Cultivation.

That would be tantamount to artificially creating a Demon genius.

Moreover, because these Corpse-men would emit the aura of a Zombie, low-intelligence species generally wouldn’t even attack them after they entered an Abyssal Passage.

This meant that these Corpse-men would truly have the ability to infiltrate the Abyssal Plane and conduct reconnaissance.

It was safe to say that if the Corpse-man Plan succeeded, it would play a decisive role in humanity’s exploration of the Abyssal Plane.

But the difficulty of such a project was plain to see. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ initial disclosures, it would take at least twenty to thirty years to see even a glimmer of hope for the plan’s success. As for its complete success, that was estimated to take over fifty years.

Yet now, only ten years had passed, and the plan was already entering the experimental stage. It was only natural for people to be skeptical.

Hua Zhenghao glanced at the instructor who had asked the question and nodded. "You could say it’s been a success. At least, we have successful cases. Of course, the current success rate is only ten percent, which is still quite low."

"Also, because the zombie virus conflicts with Blood Qi Power, we can only select candidates from among the Optimized. After they are successfully converted, they will need a period of training before they can undertake reconnaissance missions in the Abyssal Plane."

"Therefore, the plan won’t be truly implemented for at least another year. But since we’ve received the notice, we must start preparing now for these future Corpse-men and their infiltration of the Abyssal Plane."

Hearing Hua Zhenghao’s explanation, the crowd nodded in understanding.

So, the technology wasn’t fully developed yet. It was just that the nation was under immense pressure due to the recent eruption from the Abyssal Passage, forcing them to deploy this incomplete technology.

However, hearing the ten-percent success rate sent a chill through everyone’s hearts. They could all too easily imagine how many people would die because of this immature technology.

Even though everyone was aware of this, no one dared to bring up such a somber topic. The meeting quickly moved on to the next item on the agenda: handling the academy’s internal affairs.

These routine matters mostly involved reviewing applications and dealing with issues like budget allocation.

This was especially true for the fourth-year students. Many of them had already been assigned to the Military Department, with some even stationed inside the Abyssal Passage. The academy would do its utmost to support these students until the day they graduated.

After all, those admitted to East Sea Academy were all geniuses selected from countless Optimized. It would be a terrible waste if they were to die before reaching their full potential.

One by one, resolutions were quickly passed. For the next quarter, the academy allocated nearly fifty percent of its equipment and Cultivation Resources to the fourth-year students, with the third-years receiving the next largest share.

As for the second- and first-year students, the vast majority were still in the Blood Qi Realm. They didn’t require as many resources, and since they weren’t required to do internships outside the academy, the level of danger they faced was much lower. Consequently, their requests were far fewer.

Zuo Wenya, who had just broken through to the Divine Demon Realm Middle Stage, had been sitting quietly and listening since the meeting began. He waited until the other instructors had more or less made all their requests before finally speaking. "I have two applications here myself. I hope you’ll approve them."

As he spoke, Zuo Wenya took out the first application form and placed it on the desk. "I’ve broken through to the Divine Demon Realm Middle Stage. I hope the academy will increase my personal quota of Cultivation Resources by thirty percent."

His words immediately caused a small stir. Zhang Qishui, another instructor at the Demon God Realm who had a history of friction with Zuo Wenya, spoke up directly. "According to the academy’s standing rules, advancing a minor level within the Divine Demon Realm only warrants a twenty-percent increase in resource allocation. Why are you demanding thirty percent?"

Faced with this rebuttal, Zuo Wenya didn’t get angry. Instead, he simply smiled at Zhang Qishui and said, "Because I’ve done the math. If my allotment of Cultivation Resources is increased by thirty percent, I’m confident I can break through to the Divine Demon Realm Late Stage within a year."

"While I might receive more resources than certain others over the next year, my Cultivation speed is faster. When you calculate the total resources I consume for each Realm, it’s far less than what some people who just warm their seats use."

"You...!" Zhang Qishui choked on his anger, momentarily at a loss for words. Zuo Wenya was, in fact, the academy’s youngest powerhouse in the Divine Demon Realm, and the one with the most potential. When it came to Cultivation Speed, no one could compare to him.

The other instructors in the room all feigned deep contemplation, minding their own business. Until they became powerhouses of the Divine Demon Realm themselves, they didn’t even have the right to interject in such a conversation.

Zuo Wenya’s potential was clear for all to see. Coupled with the firm backing of Wen Qiuying, who was also a Divine Demon Realm powerhouse, his proposal passed without any real opposition.

"Alright, on to the second application," Zuo Wenya said, presenting the next document. "I hope to increase the monthly Cultivation Resources for the first-year student, Lin Xinghai, to five million Huaxia Coins."

Unsurprisingly, the moment his words fell, the entire conference room erupted in an uproar.

"I object! Are you kidding me? Five million Huaxia Coins in Cultivation Resources per month? That’s more than we instructors get!"

"I object as well! The academy has its rules. I understand giving him some preferential treatment since he’s a Special Class Student who broke a record, but an increase this massive is out of the question."

"I object, too! With that amount of resources, you could cultivate ten Special Class Students! Funneling it all into a single student is completely unwise. How can one person possibly compare to ten Special Class Students?"

Instructor after instructor voiced their opposition. Zhang Qishui, in particular, leaned back with a look of someone enjoying a good show, eager to see how Zuo Wenya would get himself out of this.

But when he glanced over at Zuo Wenya, he saw a look of complete composure on his face, the picture of confidence.

Instantly, a bad feeling bloomed in his heart.