114: new capabilities

After confirming that Bone Chime had escaped and the scene was temporarily safe, Lu Jianchuan immediately returned to the overturned transport vehicle. "Everyone out, move to a safe distance," he shouted into the vehicle. With the assistance of Wang Yu and the other team members, the personnel inside were quickly evacuated.

Next, Lu Jianchuan bent down, his arms covered in dark red armor pressing against the heavy chassis. The thrusters at his feet gave a brief, auxiliary burst to provide extra explosive power.

"Up!" With a low shout, he exerted force from his core, forcibly righting the multi-ton bulletproof transport vehicle. The wheels hit the ground with a heavy thud.

The group dared not linger any longer. They quickly checked the vehicle's condition and, confirming it was still drivable, immediately boarded and sped toward the GUPA Base.

Upon returning to the base, Lu Jianchuan deactivated his transformation at the first opportunity. The moment the armor shattered and dissipated, a sense of weakness and searing heat far more intense than ever before swept over him. He stumbled slightly, his face flushed, and his breath came out scalding hot.

"Comrade Yin Hai, your body temperature is abnormally high!" Medical personnel, who had already been notified and were waiting, immediately stepped forward. After checking him with a portable scanner, one spoke in a serious tone, "Continuous high-intensity use of high-energy consumption forms has led to bio-energy metabolic overload, causing a sharp rise in core body temperature. Immediate physical cooling and energy replenishment are required!"

He was quickly sent to the medical observation area and laid on a specialized cooling bed. Cold circulating fluid flowed beneath the mattress, helping to carry away the staggering heat accumulated within his body. Medical staff applied highly efficient fever-reducing patches to his forehead, neck, armpits, and other major arterial areas, and began an intravenous drip of specialized high-energy nutrient solution and electrolyte supplements.

Lu Jianchuan closed his eyes, feeling the restless high temperature within him—like a volcano about to erupt—being forcibly suppressed bit by bit. However, the exhaustion and burning sensation originating from deep within his cells remained incredibly clear. The price of using the Explosive Combustion Form twice in a row was far heavier than imagined.

[Consciousness Space]

Han Chengyu's consciousness was currently focused on a GUPA internal academic bulletin labeled [Non-Mainstream Theoretical Discussion]. The title of the bulletin was: "EVO Factor Embryonic Consumption Model and the 'Semi-Dormant' Hypothesis Based on an Energy Perspective."

"...Based on existing detection data and energy residue back-calculations from some ancient biological fossils, scholars generally believe that the evo factor possesses extremely high active energy density during the initial stages of life (the embryonic period).

During embryonic development, these energies are consumed in large, targeted quantities to complete the construction and differentiation from a single cell to a complex living organism. Once the evo factor is exhausted, its active structure collapses, degrading into ordinary cells that form the basic architecture of the organism."

"The concentration of the evo factor detected after an individual's birth is actually the portion remaining after this 'embryonic-level consumption.' The hypothesis further points out that while these residual factors still possess energy reactions, the vast majority of them remain in a 'semi-dormant' state under normal conditions.

Even for those dominant individuals whose concentration reaches the threshold and can be 'activated' by crisis or strong will to drive evolution, their factors do not completely break away from this 'semi-dormant' substrate.

True, complete, and irreversible 'activation' only occurs at the moment the evo factor is fully consumed to complete an evolutionary command—that is, the demise of the factor itself marks the final completion of an evolutionary act."

A ripple of doubt rose in Han Chengyu's consciousness.

"The viewpoint of this paper... has obvious discrepancies with the mainstream discourse I saw before regarding the definition of energy levels and the description of the 'activated' state," he mused. "One emphasizes that the factor is an efficient 'catalyst,' while the other believes the factor itself is the 'fuel'... Which one is closer to the truth?"

Just then, a clear System notification sounded at the core of his consciousness, interrupting his thoughts.

[Notification: Unit operation log update detected. New functional module unlocked: 'EVO Factor Remnant Collection and Conversion Protocol.']

"A new function?" Han Chengyu's attention was drawn to it. "Collecting evo factor remnants?"

[Confirmed. After the Aptitude Holder successfully kills or completely purifies an abnormally evolved individual, this Unit can automatically capture and recycle its dissipated evo factors.]

"What's the use of this ability?" He thought back to the "fuel" hypothesis he had just studied. "I remember the records saying that these factors contain energy themselves, but we can't directly transplant them into others, right?"

[Correct, direct transplantation carries extremely high risks. However, the recycled factor remnants can be safely purified and converted by this Unit. There are two primary uses:]

[1. Extracting pure life energy to accelerate the Aptitude Holder's recovery or to provide minor replenishment for transformation consumption.]

[2. Serving as special Materials for modifying or generating semi-biological auxiliary equipment that can resonate with the Aptitude Holder.]

"Sounds good," Han Chengyu nodded. "So, how many evo factors have we collected now?"

The System was silent for a moment.

[Current Inventory: 0 Units.]

Han Chengyu was stunned. "...Zero?" [Yes. This function was just unlocked. Past battles did not trigger the collection program.]

"So, the warehouse monster we took down before, and White Star, and even that Bone Chime just now... all those factors they dissipated were wasted? They don't count?" Han Chengyu's tone carried obvious regret.

[Correct. Before the protocol was unlocked, all escaped evo factors naturally dissipated and cannot be recovered.]

"Fine, fine." Han Chengyu felt somewhat helpless. "It seems I'll have to keep a close eye on things from now on. I can't let 'experience' and 'Materials' slip away again."

He paused, a spark of inspiration flashing in his mind. "Since we have this new function, can I start doing some designs in advance? I can't wait until I have enough Materials to start scrambling at the last minute."

[Confirmed. The host can pre-plan equipment blueprints. What do you intend to design?]

"As a proper Tokusatsu hero, how can one not have a dedicated, flashy vehicle?" Han Chengyu's interest was piqued. "I think that custom motorcycle Lu Jianchuan got from Shen Hongyi before is quite good; it has a great foundation. Let's use that as a template to design an upgraded, exclusive vehicle for him that can resonate with the power of the armor!"

[Command received. Initiating Auxiliary Vehicle Design Module. Please provide a preliminary concept, host.]

"Hmm... first, the appearance should be sharper, more biological. It would be best to incorporate some line elements from the armor... As for the color, keep silver-white as the main body, but we can add some azure light strips to echo the color of the armor's eyepieces..."

As Han Chengyu brainstormed, he sketched out a draft in his mind.

"The key is the core! It needs to be capable of being strengthened and driven by the collected evo factor energy.

Ideally, it should achieve... well... a certain degree of 'symbiosis.' For example, it could respond to Lu Jianchuan's summons or automatically navigate to his side when he transforms... Defense and speed must also be significantly improved. It needs to adapt to various extreme terrains and even perform short-range, low-altitude gliding..."

Following his vision, a 3D model outline of a motorcycle with sleek lines and a futuristic bio-mechanical aesthetic began to emerge on the System interface, its details constantly being refined... [Real World]

Inside the medical observation area of the GUPA Base.

The searing heat on his skin finally receded slowly like a ebbing tide, and the cold sensation of the specialized cooling bed became clear. Lu Jianchuan let out a long sigh. The burning feeling in his chest had subsided quite a bit, but a deep-seated exhaustion, originating from the cellular level, still clung heavily to every inch of his muscle and bone.

A medical staff member looked at the real-time physiological data on the tablet in their hand, frowning slightly as they warned in a serious tone, "Comrade Yin Hai, although your core body temperature has dropped, your bio-energy levels are fluctuating wildly and are far from returning to balance. In this state, your immune and endocrine Systems will be very fragile, making you extremely susceptible to secondary illnesses. For the coming period, you must strictly control your activities, ensure sufficient rest and energy intake, and absolutely cannot engage in high-intensity combat again."

Lu Jianchuan leaned against the headboard, his face still somewhat pale. He nodded, his voice carrying a hint of raspiness. "Yes, I understand. I'll be careful."