Chapter 165 A Comprehensive Survey of Spiritual Roots
"bell--!"
A sudden, sharp, piercing telephone ringtone broke the silence.
The entire conference room fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on the telephone.
The eldest brother remained expressionless, reached out, and pressed the hands-free button.
A slightly arrogant voice came from the receiver.
Good afternoon, Mr. Zhou.
They've arrived.
The bigwigs in the conference room all felt a chill run down their spines.
The leader leaned back in his chair, his tone indifferent: "Mr. Mike, what brings you here?"
"Can't we exchange a few pleasantries with an old friend if there's nothing else going on? Zhou, we're good friends."
"Oh? Good afternoon, my good friend."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, as if the person was not satisfied with the answer.
“Zhou, you’ve opened up too few clinical trial slots for us. We’re willing to pay a high price. You know, the Liberal D, the Democratic D, and the Republican D are arguing about these slots every day.”
"Sorry," the boss said curtly.
“We don’t even have enough spots for our own use. Domestic demand is our top priority. The number of spots we’ve allocated to you is already the limit. We don’t have the extra capacity to allocate any more. My good friend, please don’t make things difficult for me.”
"Really? Zhou, if you really don't have enough manpower and resources, we'd be happy to help you for free. Can I pack up a team and send them to you tomorrow?"
"Haha, Mike, you're joking. We don't need any help."
"Is that so?" The voice on the other end of the phone carried an undisguised threat: "We hope our good friends understand that refusing to help could have some...unnecessary consequences. For example, a new round of comprehensive economic sanctions."
A threat, a blatant threat.
However, the eldest brother laughed, his laughter tinged with mockery.
"Are you done talking?"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone.
"After you've finished speaking, listen to what I have to say."
"First, just yesterday, we caught three more of your spies. The evidence is conclusive, and they've been caught red-handed. Mr. Mike, do you still want these three?"
"Second, regarding sanctions."
The leader paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Do as you please. We'll keep you company."
"Beep...beep...beep..."
The call was abruptly cut off.
The meeting room remained deathly silent, but a fire was burning in everyone's heart.
That's tough!
This is the attitude that China should have!
"It seems that the days ahead are destined to be anything but peaceful." Chief Zhang sighed, but his eyes were full of fighting spirit.
"What's there to be afraid of! They have technological supremacy, we have cultivation! It's all about the future! Who's afraid of who!"
“That’s right!” The leader stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: “Time is on our side. Let’s act now!”
"yes!"
...
The meeting has ended.
Carrying the weighty documents of the "Shennong Project" and the "Hundred Arts Project," Qi Si returned to the post-apocalyptic base immediately. She was determined to cultivate the first spiritual field for China on the wasteland.
Commander Zhang personally took charge, drawing personnel from the military and various research institutes to form the "Hundred Arts Cultivation" research group, thus launching a vigorous study combining cultural revival with cultivation.
Chen Jianguo took on the heavy responsibility of conducting a "national genius census".
A few days later.
An official document jointly issued by the Education Bureau and the Health Commission was delivered to the desks of all primary and secondary schools, high schools, and universities across the country.
—Notice on Conducting Supplementary Monitoring of Physical Fitness of Adolescents and Students Nationwide.
The news immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the students.
"A supplementary physical exam? What's going on? Didn't we just have one last semester?"
"I don't know, but a physical exam is great! You don't have to go to class during a physical exam, that's a huge win!"
"Hey, have you heard? It seems that the physical examination items are the same nationwide this time."
"Who cares? As long as I don't have to listen to the teacher nagging."
Immediately, all sorts of speculations arose.
The actual medical examinations, however, were carried out rapidly under strict confidentiality.
In an ordinary gymnasium.
The students lined up in long queues.
The physical examination process was no different from before: height, weight, vision...
But at the end, there was an additional project that no one had ever seen before.
In the side room of the stadium, partitions divide it into two rooms, with three small openings in the middle, just big enough for an arm to fit through, simulating a hospital blood-drawing window.
Outside, staff in white coats stood with serious expressions, maintaining order and providing instructions, while inside were recorders.
"Next, reach in and grab what's inside."
"Yes, it's a rock."
"Then, don't think about anything, just focus all your attention on your hands and the stone."
The teacher in charge of guiding the students kept repeating the instructions, and although the students were confused, they still followed them.
Inside, one staff member kept a close eye on the students, while another quickly took notes on a special tablet.
"Next up, Wang Hao."
"Put your hand in and concentrate."
There was no response on the tablet.
The recorder shook his head and put an X next to the name.
"No spiritual root."
"Next up, Li Xue."
"Concentrate...yes..."
The tablet remained completely still.
"No spiritual root."
"Next, Zhang Wei."
...
"No spiritual root."
"No spiritual root."
"No spiritual root."
More than a dozen people went through the process, and the result was the same for all of them.
The staff responsible for the test were all drawn from the first batch of soldiers. They had successfully guided the Qi into their bodies. They frowned slightly as they looked at the results.
That probability is way too low.
"Next up, Zhao Lei."
When the boy named Zhao Lei put his hand in and focused his attention, a faint, yellowish-brown light finally appeared on the tablet.
The recorder's spirits lifted!
"A low-grade earth elemental root! Record it!" Although it's only low-grade, at least we've made a breakthrough!
The entire morning was spent in this monotonous repetition.
Around noon, they tallied the results.
In one morning, out of more than 500 people, only 36 were found to have spiritual roots.
The vast majority of them had low-grade spiritual roots, only 9 had mid-grade spiritual roots, and only one had a high-grade spiritual root!
As for the legendary top-grade spiritual root, not even a trace of it has been seen.
"This... feels like so little," the younger tester couldn't help but say.
"It's normal," the older one replied calmly.
"A genius who's one in a million isn't easy to find. If a school can produce even one top-tier student, that's already considered pretty lucky. Once we finish the rest of the tests this afternoon, we can call it a day."
Just then, at the end of the line, a girl with a high ponytail and black-rimmed glasses was moving slowly along the line, holding a thick English vocabulary book in her hand and muttering to herself.
She was a well-known academic star in the school, Lin Qingqian. Time was of the essence, and she couldn't afford to waste time waiting in line. Finally, it was her turn.
"Student, please put your book away," the staff member reminded him.
"Oh, okay." Lin Qingqian quickly stuffed the book into her school uniform pocket and scratched her head a little embarrassedly.
Following the instructions, she reached her hand into the hole and grasped a cool, smooth stone.
"Concentrate."
Lin Qingqian nodded, but her mind was still lingering on the word she had just memorized.
"hegemony... hegemony, leadership..."
She couldn't help but secretly glance at her pocket out of the corner of her eye.
The staff member behind the table noticed her fidgeting, frowned, and sternly reminded her, "Student! Please concentrate all your attention on your hands! Don't get distracted! Otherwise, the test won't be accurate!"
Lin Qingqian's heart skipped a beat. This was strict? This wasn't a part of her previous physical exams! She dared not be careless any longer, so she looked away and took a deep breath.
Oh well, the sooner I finish the test, the sooner I can memorize a couple more words.
She closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on the cold stone in her right hand.
One second.
Two seconds.
There was no response on the tablet. The recorder had already picked up a pen and was about to mark the "no spiritual root" column.
"Alright, classmate, that's enough. Next..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
An unexpected change occurred!
Suddenly, the screen of the test tablet, which had been completely unresponsive, flashed!
Immediately afterwards, a pure blue light burst forth! It instantly filled the entire screen!
The pen in the recorder's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
Another staff member next to him suddenly stood up from his chair and stared at the line of text on the screen.
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