manynovel Chapter 47 Ability Test
Chapter 47 Ability Test
Seven levels below Stark Tower, deep within a laboratory named "The Barrier," lies a specially modified testing chamber. The walls are constructed from a composite of vibranium alloy and special energy-absorbing materials, capable of withstanding the impact of a small nuclear explosion. The chamber is surrounded by high-precision energy sensors and spatial fluctuation detectors.
Chen Haotian stood in the center of the testing chamber, eyes closed in concentration. He wore a simple black training suit, his posture upright, a faint smile playing on his lips—the focused confidence of a top student facing a challenge, mixed with the carefree nonchalance of a dashing rogue. Having experienced the world of The Walking Dead, and after returning and conducting preliminary analysis and absorption of otherworldly resources, especially the void energy crystals, he could clearly feel a significant increase in the energy and controllability of the transmigration rune originating from an unknown entity within him.
Tony Stark leaned against the bulletproof glass of the observation area, a glass of whiskey in his hand, his eyes sharp as an eagle. Several holographic screens hovered beside him, displaying real-time data from inside and outside the test chamber. "Jarvis, are all the sensors calibrated? I don't want to miss a single detail of my 'good brother's' energy leakage."
"All systems are ready, sir. Energy monitoring sensitivity is set to maximum, and the spatial anchoring stabilization field is activated to ensure that the test energy will not be accidentally leaked." Jarvis's voice echoed in the observation area.
"Let's begin, Haotian. Let's see what new tricks you can pull off after this 'recharge'," Tony said into the microphone, his tone laced with his usual sarcasm, but a barely perceptible anticipation lurked deep in his eyes. The breakthrough brought about by data integration may have already shown him enormous potential, and strengthening the "key" to that potential—his time-travel ability—is crucial.
Chen Haotian didn't open his eyes, but simply nodded slightly. He focused his mind on his body, actively communicating with the complex rune floating deep within his consciousness. Unlike before, when he had to pry it open with difficulty and guide it carefully, this time, the rune moved almost instantly upon his thought. Gentle yet powerful energy surged out like a tide, flowing through his body along some mysterious path.
He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread, pointing towards the empty air in front of him.
There was no violent energy storm, no blinding burst of light; only the space in front of his palm began to ripple like the surface of water to which a pebble had been thrown, spreading in circles of visible, transparent ripples. At the center of the ripples, a point of extreme darkness rapidly expanded, not pure blackness, but rather a "nothingness" that seemed to devour all light and concepts.
Soon, a stable spatial passage about one meter in diameter took shape. Silver and pale purple halos flowed along the edges of the passage, a manifestation of the fusion of spatial power and absorbed void energy. The passage was deep and dark, obscuring the view on the other side, but one could sense a distinct, faint fluctuation of laws emanating from it, carrying an aura of decay and death—the remnants of coordinates from the world of the walking dead, deliberately maintained at an extremely low connection level by Chen Haotian for testing.
"The channel diameter is 1.02 meters, and the opening time is 0.87 seconds. The spatial structure stability index is 95.3%, and the energy dissipation rate is 2.1%, which are far lower than the initial observation data," Jarvis calmly reported a series of data.
Tony took a sip of his drink, raising an eyebrow slightly. "The stability has improved significantly, and the energy utilization efficiency is also higher. It seems those glittery stones weren't a waste of money. Let's try scaling it up."
Chen Haotian's thoughts stirred again. The runes within his body glowed slightly, and the energy output suddenly increased. The spatial channel in front of his palm, like an inflated balloon, began to expand steadily and rapidly.
1.5 meters, 2 meters, 3 meters...
When the tunnel reached a diameter of five meters, the flowing light at the edges became more solid, and the scene inside the tunnel became slightly clearer; one could even vaguely see a gray, dusty ground on the other side. The space inside the test chamber distorted slightly, and the air emitted a low hum, but the tunnel itself remained stable.
"A diameter of five meters, a stability index of 92.1%, and an energy dissipation rate of 3.5%. Still within the safety threshold," Jarvis reported.
"Not bad, you can even drive a truck across now," Tony commented, a hint of approval in his voice. "It seems the limit on the number of people you can bring across might not just be related to the number of people, but also to the size of the passage? Were the previous limit of only two people because the passage was too small to fit more?"
"Possibly." Chen Haotian finally spoke, his voice steady, with a hint of the pleasure of a successful experiment. "It feels much easier than before. Maintaining a channel of this size consumes only about two-thirds of the energy required to open a micro-rift before."
"Keep going, push it to the limit." Tony put down his glass, leaned forward slightly, and became focused.
Chen Haotian took a deep breath, increasing the energy output of the runes to 80% of their current level. The spatial passage expanded again, six meters, seven meters, eight meters! The halo at the edge of the passage became dazzling, silver and purple intertwining intensely. The humming inside the test chamber intensified, and even the solid vibranium walls began to vibrate slightly. The details of the gray, desolate ground opposite the passage became clearer; a broken, rusty steel bar could even be seen.
"Diameter 8.5 meters! Stability index dropped to 85.7%, energy dissipation rate 6.2%! Space anchoring stability field pressure increased!" Jarvis warned.
"That's enough." Chen Haotian decisively stopped the energy output and began to slowly shrink the channel. He didn't choose to push the true limits; the purpose of the test was to understand the enhanced abilities, not to take risks. Under his precise control, the channel shrank smoothly and eventually disappeared completely, as if it had never existed. The anomalies inside the test chamber also subsided.
"Maximum stable opening size: 8.5 meters. The maintenance time can be adjusted according to energy output. Preliminary estimate: maintaining a 5-meter channel for one hour consumes approximately 15% of the total energy reserve." Chen Haotian opened his eyes, looked at Tony in the observation area, and wore a confident smile of control over his power. "Moreover, I feel that my control over the 'shape' of the channel has become much more refined."
As he spoke, he raised his hand again. This time, instead of opening a large passage, he instantly unfurled three tiny spatial rifts, each only the size of a fist, in front of him. These three rifts were arranged in a triangular pattern, each perfectly stable, with their interiors faintly leading to different points of subtle coordinate fluctuation—this was his attempt to simulate locking multiple world coordinates simultaneously. Although he couldn't actually open them yet, the precision of his control was already incomparable to what it was before.
Tony stared at the three stable, small cracks, his eyes gleaming. "Multi-threaded operation? Heh, your upgraded ability is quite in line with a programmer's aesthetic." He stroked his chin. "With this energy consumption and stability, let alone carrying two people, even packing up and taking away our favorite sports car wouldn't be a problem. We could even consider transporting some small equipment."
"The premise is that the target world has roads that can run sports cars," Chen Haotian said jokingly, dispelling the micro-cracks. He walked to the entrance of the observation area, and the sensor door slid open silently. "It seems that the Void Energy Crystal has not only increased the 'capacity' of the runes but also optimized their 'operating system.' We are now capable of conducting more efficient and larger-scale cross-world material and personnel deployments."
Tony walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Although the gesture still carried a touch of Stark's arrogance, his tone was much more serious: "Well done, kid. This means that the feasibility of our 'Inter-World Research Alliance' plan has increased significantly. At least, we don't have to worry about logistics anymore."
He turned and walked to the control panel, pulled up the previous draft of the cooperation agreement, and quickly marked it: "We need to reassess the upper limit of the list of supplies that can be carried on each crossing, as well as the possibility of establishing a temporary outpost in an emergency. The passageway, which is more than eight meters long, is enough to transport some modular prefabricated components."
Chen Haotian watched Tony excitedly revise the plan, a slight smile playing on his lips. Enhanced abilities meant increased initiative, and also meant he could place more significant pieces in this grand game. Feeling the runic energy within him becoming more responsive and intuitive, he felt less uncertain and more composed about the impending, potentially more dangerous world of Resident Evil, and the DC universe that followed.
"Well then, next, we should take a closer look at that 'little gift' from DC." Chen Haotian turned his gaze to the heavily sealed-off isolation area on the other side of the laboratory, where the metal fragment containing the mysteries of the laws of another universe was stored. "I'm very curious about what will happen when my runes come into contact with a more 'higher-level' creation of laws."
Behind the joy of a successful test lies a yearning for deeper exploration. The enhanced capabilities seem to have merely opened another new door, behind which the scenery appears even more expansive and holds even more unknowns.