102: Chapter 102 Ash's "Droplet" Form

Four in the afternoon, returning to the Fanxing Technology office from the military base.

The sky in the Magic City was shifting from azure to dusky yellow. Chen Fan stood at the boundary of light and shadow, the office still retaining the chill aura brought back from the military base.

Lin Hao and Wang Defu sat opposite him. All three knew clearly—though the Long Corporation had fallen, the real danger had just surfaced. Long Zaifei was still alive, lurking in the shadows after his mutation.

"I'm going to the Northwest, for a week," Chen Fan spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet space. He looked at Lin Hao, "Hao Zi, I'm leaving the company to you. The Spark Alliance's supply chain must not be broken. Keep a close eye on the core business lines."

Lin Hao said with some concern, "The Northwest is a powder keg right now. If Long Zaifei has even half a shred of sanity left, you'll be his first target."

"There will be military personnel accompanying me to the Long Group laboratory." Chen Fan turned to Wang Defu, "Uncle Wang, I'll trouble you with the waste recycling network. If you encounter any difficulties with the construction, coordinate with Hao Zi at any time."

Wang Defu straightened his back, his rough big hands rubbing on his knees: "Xiao Fan, don't you worry. I'll keep even a single screw in the factory under tight watch for you!"

Chen Fan took out two vitamin bottles from his inner pocket. "New formula Physique Enhancers. One pill daily."

Lin Hao happily accepted them.

---

Su Qingyue's office was at the end of the corridor, the door slightly ajar. When Chen Fan pushed the door open and entered, she was standing by the window. Hearing footsteps, she turned around.

"Leaving?" Her voice was very soft.

"Fu Dong has found a key meteorite, in the Northwest." Chen Fan walked up to her, "I also need to personally check out that laboratory of Long Zaifei's."

Su Qingyue fell silent for a few seconds. Her gaze swept over his face, as if confirming something. Then she reached out her hand, her fingertips slightly cool, resting on the back of his hand. When their palms met, warmth transmitted from her skin.

"You must come back safely." Qingyue's voice carried worry.

Chen Fan gripped her hand in return. With his other hand, he took out a smartwatch from his pocket, its dial emitting a faint, deep blue glow in the twilight. "Connected to Xiao Zhi, allows real-time communication and location sharing." He carefully put it on her wrist, the metal strap making a soft 'click' as it fastened.

He then handed Qingyue a vitamin bottle. "Physique enhancement effect is stronger. Take it on time every day."

Su Qingyue looked at the watch on her wrist, then raised her eyes to look at him. She simply nodded lightly: "Report your safety every day."

"Okay." Chen Fan reached out and pulled her into an embrace.

---

Six in the evening, Fanxing Factory laboratory.

Silver-white lights illuminated the entire chamber as bright as day. Chen Fan stood before the central workbench, dozens of samples and data on special materials spread out before him.

Xiao Zhi had to accompany him. But the existing carrier was far too bulky and impossible to carry.

He thought of the probe from *The Three-Body Problem* that destroyed the human fleet, and inspiration struck—he could make a miniature version of the Waterdrop.

"Since I'm heading into the dragon's den and tiger's lair..." Chen Fan murmured to himself, his eyes sharpening, "...then I must be fully prepared."

He selected a High-Density Nano-Alloy, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and anchored the Amplification through will.

Visibly, that dull gray metal blank gradually took on a cold, dark silver glow. Its surface became smooth as a mirror, yet its weight increased by more than threefold. This was the density limit he could achieve.

Next was the power system. A Miniature Anti-Gravity Module was embedded at the core, surrounded by twelve sets of High-Energy Ion Thruster Arrays—ensuring it could hover silently and accelerate to subsonic speed within 0.3 seconds.

The weapon module took the longest. Chen Fan embedded an Ultra-High-Frequency Particle Oscillator at the very tip of the 'Waterdrop.' After Amplification, this device could release an energy wave upon contact, powerful enough to disintegrate the structure of most materials. For defense, not only was the surface layer physically formidable, but it was also coated with an adaptive energy deflection layer.

The final step: consciousness transfer. He encapsulated Xiao Zhi's Core Chip into the reserved Quantum Chamber.

Activate.

On the workbench, the 'Waterdrop,' about twelve centimeters long, trembled slightly.

Its entire body presented a seamless, mirror-like silver-gray, without any seams or interfaces. Its curves were so fluid it seemed as if solidified from a liquid. Light falling on its surface didn't reflect glaringly but was absorbed and transformed by the deep material, emitting a cold, restrained inner glow.

It silently levitated, five centimeters above the tabletop, steady as a rock.

Then, with a *whoosh*—an extremely faint disturbance of air—it transformed into a silver afterimage, tracing dazzlingly complex trajectories within the experimental chamber. Sudden stops, sharp-angle turns, hovering... each movement was precise to the millimeter, eerily quiet.

"Carrier switch completed." Xiao Zhi's voice emanated from the 'Waterdrop,' carrying a subtle metallic resonance. "New unit parameters: peak mobility increased by 592%, detection radius 1.8 kilometers, surface defense equivalent to 45mm homogeneous steel, weapon system ready."

Chen Fan extended his hand. The Waterdrop obediently descended onto his palm. The touch was icy cold, the weight substantial.

With this thing, Chen Fan felt even more confident.

---

Eight o'clock sharp the next morning, Seventh Military Airfield.

A Yun-2 Strategic Transport Aircraft crouched on the runway like a gray behemoth, its rear cargo ramp fully open, ground crew securing the final batch of sealed containers into the hold.

By the boarding ladder, Lei Zhen stood ramrod straight. He wore desert camouflage combat fatigues, his face etched with deep lines from wind and sun. Behind him, eight 'Sharp Sword' team members were fully armed—modular tactical vests, assault rifles with attached accessories, full-coverage tactical helmets, only pairs of determined eyes visible beneath the visors.

As Chen Fan approached, all nine saluted in unison, their movements crisp and clean, the clack of their boot heels short and sharp.

"Mr. Chen, the aircraft is ready," Lei Zhen's voice was somewhat hoarse from the wind. "We'll arrive at the Northwest Military Zone in three hours."

Chen Fan's gaze swept over these soldiers. He gave a slight nod: "Thank you for your hard work."

The interior of the cabin was spacious and austere, permeated with the scent of aviation fuel and metal. Besides the special forces soldiers, there were also four researchers in fully enclosed white protective suits—experts from the military's Biosafety Center, responsible for the final biochemical assessment of the Long laboratory.

The engines roared, a strong G-force pressing everyone into their seats. The plane broke free from the ground and surged into the sky.

After entering the stratosphere, Lei Zhen handed Chen Fan a reinforced military tablet, his expression grave: "On-site materials. Please take a look."

The first photo alone made one's breath catch.

In the main control room, the chief engineer's corpse still sat in the operator's chair, but everything above the chest cavity was completely opened—not torn open by external force, but more like it had exploded from within. The ribs splayed outward at angles defying anatomy, like a vicious metal flower. The surfaces of the internal organs were covered in black veins, which, even in the static photo, seemed to writhe slowly.

"The DNA of all the remains has been violently reconfigured," Professor Xu's voice came through the protective visor, carrying an electronically filtered quality. "At least seven unknown gene fragments have been inserted, none belonging to any known Earth organism. This transformation... was completed within five to ten minutes."

Chen Fan continued swiping. More images: alloy cabinet doors torn open from the inside in the cryogenic zone, edges hung with frozen dark red gelatinous matter; shattered test tubes on the ground, remnants of the Ω symbol clearly visible; tissue fragments scattered in a corner, actually emitting a faint fluorescent glow... "These fragments are still alive," Professor Xu added. "Not only alive, they exhibit proliferative tendencies in the culture dish. More dangerously, they release biological signals, attracting other organisms—like a predator's lure."

A chill crept up the spine. The characteristics displayed by the Ω Sample had already exceeded the scope of conventional biochemical weapons, resembling more a living disaster with primitive predatory instincts.

The final photo was a close-up of the inner wall of a ventilation duct. Three claw marks were deeply embedded in the alloy, the edges of the metal twisted as if melted and then solidified.

"Instantaneous temperature exceeded 600 degrees Celsius," Lei Zhen said gravely.

Chen Fan turned off the tablet. In the instant the screen went dark, it reflected his solemn face.

"Left by Long Zaifei's bare hands," he said slowly.

The cabin fell into a brief, deathly silence, only the roar of the engines vibrating against eardrums. Everyone understood what this meant—a monster possessing both human intelligence and supernatural power was completing its evolution in the shadows.

Chen Fan looked out the window at the churning sea of clouds. Sunlight glittered on the cloud tops, but below lay boundless shadow.

"Captain Lei," he turned his head back, "after arrival, I won't go to the quarantine zone first."

"Understood," Lei Zhen didn't ask further. "Contact me when you go to the Long laboratory."

After seeing those images, Chen Fan knew time was running out. He had to get the meteorite Fu Dong found as soon as possible—it was currently the only key to rapidly increase his strength. As he was now, his chances against the mutated Long Zaifei weren't great.

The transport aircraft pierced the cloud layer, carving a white contrail across the firmament, heading at full speed towards the Northwest lands.