95: Chapter 96 Only Poor People Make Choices, I Want Them All

"Ding."

Li Cang was scrolling through his phone.

He put down his phone and glanced at the console.

[Prompt: Technology decryption completed: Gene Engineering: Advanced. Please check the results.]

He had waited for eighteen hours.

It wasn't long, but every hour had been agonizing.

Tossing his phone aside, he sat down at the console, swiped open the panel, and entered the technology library.

[Technology Decryption Result: Gene Engineering: Advanced]

Decryption Status: Successful

Technology Description: The theoretical foundation for the evolution from T2 Thunder Warriors to higher-tier T3 Transhuman Warriors.

Unlocked Content:

1. Chassis Upgrade Path T2→T3

Thunder Warriors can be upgraded to T3-level Transhuman Warriors through gene-remodeling surgery.

The genetic stability of the T3 chassis far exceeds that of the T2, with life expectancy increased from T2's three to five years to T3's fifty to eighty years.

The surgical risk is extremely high, and the success rate is directly related to the subject's current genetic collapse level.

Collapse level below 10%: 85% success rate

Collapse level 10% to 30%: 50% success rate

Collapse level 30% to 50%: 20% success rate

Collapse level above 50%: Success rate below 5%

Upgrade failure will cause the subject's genetic collapse level to instantly increase by 30 to 50 percentage points, with a very high probability of death.

Upgrade Cost: GP 5,000 + BP 1,000

2. Gene Stabilizer: Improved Type

An upgraded version of the original gene stabilizer.

Can reduce the rate of genetic collapse by 80%, with no limit on the number of uses.

Production Cost: GP 600 + sun warrior gene sample ×1. Production Time: 24 hours.

3. Genetic Collapse Reversal Therapy, Experimental

A treatment protocol that has not yet been fully verified.

Theoretically, it can reduce the genetic collapse level by 15 to 25 percentage points.

30% probability of causing the subject to enter a coma for 72 hours.

Each individual can only receive this treatment once in their lifetime.

Cost: GP 1,200 + Gene Stabilizer: Improved Type ×1 + sun warrior gene sample ×1

Treatment Time: 48 hours

Li Cang stared at the screen, his mind racing.

Three things.

Chassis upgrade path. Improved stabilizer. Collapse reversal therapy.

First, look at C-19.

C-19's genetic collapse level is 8%. Below 10%. The chassis upgrade success rate is 85%.

85%.

It was high, but not 100%.

What if it failed?

He scrolled down and found the description of the consequences of failure.

Collapse level instantly increases by 30 to 50 percentage points, with a very high probability of death.

His finger froze.

85% success rate, 15% chance of immediate death.

C-19 was the only SS-rank Hero unit in his hands, with 121 points and all five trait slots filled.

If he died, this card would be ruined. It wasn't just a matter of losing a unit; the core command system of the entire legion would collapse.

But if successful, C-19 would evolve from a T2 Thunder Warrior to a T3.

The base score would jump from 50 to 75, and the trait bonus coefficients would increase accordingly.

Life expectancy would change from three to five years to fifty to sixty years.

The genetic collapse problem would be completely solved.

"To gamble or not?" Li Cang asked himself.

He thought for three seconds.

"No rush."

C-19's collapse level was only 8%, and the stabilizer was still in effect, so there was no immediate danger to his life.

The chassis upgrade could wait.

Wait until he saved enough money, wait until he handled other matters, wait until he found a way to lower the risk.

Next, look at Corvin.

Corvin's collapse level was 41%.

Chassis upgrade success rate: 20%.

Twenty percent.

That was no different from sending him to his death.

But the reversal therapy could reduce it by 15 to 25 percentage points.

If he was lucky and it dropped to 16%, the chassis upgrade success rate would increase to 50%. Even with bad luck, dropping it to 26% would still yield 50%.

However, the reversal therapy itself had a 30% chance of causing a coma.

Li Cang ran through this path in his mind.

Step one: Produce an Improved Stabilizer. Cost: GP 600 plus one sun warrior gene sample.

Step two: Perform reversal therapy on Corvin. Cost: GP 1,200 plus one dose of Improved Stabilizer plus one sun warrior gene sample. 30% chance of a 72-hour coma.

Step three: If the reversal is successful and the collapse level drops to between 16% and 26%, perform the chassis upgrade. Cost: GP 5,000 plus BP 1,000. 50% success rate.

After the three steps, the total cost would be GP 6,800 plus BP 1,000.

Plus two sun warrior gene samples.

He had three samples; after using two, one would remain.

He currently had 510 BP, short by 490.

He currently had 3,640 GP, short by over three thousand.

"Money again," Li Cang rubbed his temples.

He opened the mission panel.

The Sun Warrior tracking mission reward was 1,200 GP. Daily patrols gave 200 GP.

Then he remembered something.

Nathan Doom's first piece of intel should be arriving soon.

He had been in custody for over sixty hours. The production cycle for the first piece of intel was seventy-two hours, so there were about ten hours left.

"Forget the intel for now," Li Cang muttered, "Let's do what can be done first."

He switched back to the technology panel and began producing the Improved Stabilizer.

He didn't need to wait for this; he could place the order now.

[Production Order: Gene Stabilizer: Improved Type ×1]

[Cost: GP 600 + sun warrior gene sample ×1]

[Production Time: 24 hours]

[GP Balance: 3,040]

[sun warrior gene sample Remaining: 2]

The Improved Stabilizer would be ready in twenty-four hours.

When the time came, he would use it on Corvin first, reducing the collapse rate from 1% per day to 0.2% per day, buying more time.

As for the reversal therapy and chassis upgrade, he would wait until the GP from the tracking mission arrived.

Next was organizing the tracking squad.

The Sun Warrior tracking mission recommended a force of twenty to thirty men.

Fifteen A-rank veterans and fifteen B-rank standard soldiers picked from the forty recruits with the best synergy. Thirty people in total.

He thought about the choice for Commander.

Corvin wouldn't work; with a 41% collapse level, he couldn't go to the battlefield anymore. TW-201 didn't have enough experience.

In the end, he chose TW-078. An A-rank with a score of 79, a veteran who had followed C-19 from the Ural Mining Area to the Pacific Ocean.

Steady and not impulsive, he was suitable for reconnaissance missions.

[Tracking Squad composition complete]

[Commander: TW-078 · A-rank / 79 points]

[Force: 30 men, 15 A-rank + 15 B-rank]

[Target: Direction of the Pacific Ocean coast, tracking Sun Warriors' traces]

[Estimated Action Time: 72 hours]

[Dispatch? Y / N]

Li Cang pressed Y.

[Tracking Squad dispatched]

[Estimated arrival at target area: 36 hours later]

Alright.

The tracking squad was sent out. They would reach the target area in thirty-six hours, and the mission would end in seventy-two hours.

Leaning back in his chair, he went over everything currently in progress in his mind.

Tracking Squad: Arrives at target area in 36 hours, mission ends in 72 hours.

Improved Stabilizer production: Ready in 24 hours.

Nathan Doom's first intel: Produced in about 10 hours.

C-19 Chassis Upgrade: Waiting for money.

Corvin Reversal Therapy: Waiting for money and the stabilizer.

Hexapod Walking Mech production: Waiting for money.

Replenishing remaining 34 personnel: Waiting for money.

All roads led to the same word.

Money.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The streetlights in the city outside were already lit. The sky had darkened, and distant neon lights flickered in the night.

Looking at those lights, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

What if, during the tracking mission, they discovered heavy equipment hidden by the Sun Warriors?

Before being captured, Nathan Doom had scattered the Sun Warriors across Terra; those people couldn't have left empty-handed.

They must have taken weapons, supplies, and possibly even vehicles.

If the tracking squad could find a Sun Warrior cache, the equipment inside would be loot. It could be reverse-engineered, dismantled, or sold.

He might not even need to build a Hexapod Walking Mech from scratch. He just needed to find an existing vehicle and then use a high-energy core to give it a new heart.

"Interesting," Li Cang said.

Returning to the console, he added a line to the tracking squad's mission notes.

"If a Sun Warrior cache is found, all heavy equipment, regardless of condition, must be fully inventoried."

Then he closed the panel.

Everything that could be done had been done.

The rest was up to time.