The Berserker's test required sufficient space and an opponent of equal strength. Qu Shi's laboratory test room had limited conditions and could not complete the Berserker's combat strength test, so they could only test it outside.
However, the detailed data of the Berserker could not be leaked for the time being. Otherwise, if Feng Qian caught wind of it, with his vigilance, he would not fall into the trap again.
Qi Yuan and Qu Shi sneaked into the wilderness and found an unformed Insect Beast Lair. They prepared to test it, but Qu Shi felt his scalp go numb when he saw the dense light dots on the Insect Beast Detector.
Was this a test of the Berserker's performance or a suicide mission?
The probability of a malfunction occurring during the first test of the Mechanical Armament was much higher than the probability of it not malfunctioning. It would not be strange if the test machine self-destructed.
Qi Yuan chose to test it in an Insect Beast Lair for his first test. It was blind confidence.
"There are too many Insect Beasts here. There are nine Rank 3 Insect Beasts. Do you want to go somewhere else?" Qu Shi asked softly.
Nine Rank 3 Insect Beasts in addition to dozens of Rank 1 and Rank 2 Insect Beasts. Even a peak Rank 3 Insect Beasts could only run in front of this number of Insect Beasts, not to mention Qi Yuan who was only a Rank 2 Insect Beast with Rank 3 combat strength.
In theory, the Berserker could strengthen the user's offensive and defensive capabilities. However, it was only a Rank 3 Mechanical Armament. Even if it did not malfunction, Qi Yuan was not confident that he could defeat these Insect Beasts.
If something were to happen to Qi Yuan during the test, it would truly be a loss that would outweigh the gains.
"Don't worry!"
Qi Yuan grinned and began to equip the Berserker.
A palm-sized Xiao Hei -colored eight-clawed spider lay quietly on Qi Yuan's spine below his neck. Eight sharp needles that looked like spider legs instantly pierced into his flesh.
Qi Yuan controlled his body's instincts and stopped resisting the needles. Otherwise, these needles would not be able to pierce through his skin.
The needles' cold touch gradually penetrated deeper. The moment they pierced into his spine, the ends of the needles released bioelectricity and connected with the nerves in the center of his spine.
"So this is the Mechanical Armament!"
Sensing the Berserker's presence, Qi Yuan willed the black spider on his back to life. A formless black shadow spread out and enveloped Qi Yuan's body. Shadow-like energy flowed around Qi Yuan's body like a burning black flame.
Roar!
The wanton energy ripples alerted the Insect Beasts in the nest.
Sensing the threat from the outside, the Zerg Beasts crawled out from their underground nests and growled at Qi Yuan who was shrouded in black flames.
Qi Yuan raised his head. His eyes that were covered in darkness were as deep as The Abyss. Wherever his gaze landed, the insects and beasts fell silent. It was as if they had been targeted by their natural enemy.
In the next second, Qi Yuan's burning figure suddenly disappeared. The void was pierced through, and the figure that shot out from the arrow instantly broke through the encirclement of the bug beasts.
Burning black flames soared into the sky. Tens of bug beasts went on a rampage at the same time. Their furious roars and growls intertwined.
"This lunatic!"
Qu Shi only took one look before he took out an energy gun that looked like a sniper rifle from the car. He aimed the gun at the encirclement of the bug beasts and was ready to support Qi Yuan at any time.
But soon, before he could pull the trigger, he saw a shocking scene.
A dark flame exploded in the wilderness. A Class 3 bug beast that was covered in black scales was instantly sent flying hundreds of meters away. Even from hundreds of meters away, he could see that there was a bloody hole in the bug beast's chest.
Before this insect beast had even landed on the ground, it was killed by Qi Yuan's attack in mid-air!
That was a Class 3 Black-Scaled Beast!
How could it be killed so easily? Moreover, it was surrounded by a group of bug beasts!
The death of the Class 3 Black-Scaled Beast was just the beginning. Soon, Qu Shi saw a human-shaped shadow that could not be seen clearly moving around the bug beasts. None of the bug beasts could stop Qi Yuan's footsteps.
Dust billowed like a dragon as the black flames raged.
Whether it was Class 2 or Class 3 bug beasts, they were no match for the burning shadow.
Qu Shi was originally furious that Qi Yuan had recklessly charged into the encirclement of dozens of Insect Beasts. However, from the looks of it, it was Qi Yuan who had surrounded the dozens of Insect Beasts by himself.
Was this Qi Yuan's true strength?
Qu Shi mumbled to himself. He had heard from Luan that Qi Yuan was powerful. However, in his opinion, Qi Yuan was only a Class 2. It would be difficult for him to unleash the power of a Class 3 Berserker.
However, in just a few seconds, Qi Yuan had used his absolute strength to change his opinion.
Qi Yuan was slaughtering the bug beasts!
The bug nest in front of him had turned into a slaughterhouse. There were bug beasts' corpses everywhere. There was also fresh blood. Even the black flames seemed to have been dyed in a cruel scarlet color.
When the black flames finally stopped, there was not a single intact bug beast left. There were only broken limbs and minced meat everywhere.
"It ended just like that?"
Qu Shi stared blankly at the scene in front of him. He felt that it was unreal.
Even if the entire Wolf's Teeth Hunt team was mobilized, they would not be able to wipe out a bug nest with tens of bug beasts in such a short time. However, Qi Yuan had done it alone.
How long did he take to kill all the bug beasts?
Ten minutes?
Eight minutes?
Were Berserkers really that powerful?
Or could it be that Qi Yuan's strength had exceeded his expectations?
Qi Yuan spat out a mouthful of turbid air as he walked step by step to Qu Shi's side. The black flames around his body slowly dissipated. After slaughtering ten insect beasts in one go, even his body was unable to take it.
"How is it?" Qu Shi's voice was a little dry.
After witnessing such a massacre, it gave him the illusion that Qi Yuan with the Berserker was invincible!
No matter how strong Feng Qian's Berserker was, it would not be able to beat Qi Yuan!
Qi Yuan warmed up his sore limbs. Although the massacre was satisfying, the nine minutes of high intensity had brought about some aftereffects.
For example, his limbs were a little weak. However, with the support of the [Steel Regeneration], these side effects were quickly healed.
"Coordination, explosion, balance, and control are all very good. However, the requirements for the user are rather high. Under full explosion, the burden on the body is a little heavy. Without the support of a few rank 3 Combat Domain abilities, a normal rank 3 ability user would not be able to unleash its full power even if he wore the Berserker!"
Qu Shi looked at Qi Yuan strangely.
You are only a rank 2 ability user!
Qi Yuan pretended not to see Qu Shi's gaze. How can my rank 2 be the same as other people's rank 2 ability!
Have you seen a rank 2 that can kill a peak rank 3?
"The most important thing is that the energy core we are using is not strong enough!" Qi Yuan said.
Qu Shi raised his eyebrows and quickly went into work mode.
"How much energy does the Berserker have left?"
"Thirty-one percent!" Qi Yuan slowly said a number.
Qu Shi frowned. Although Qi Yuan's battle just now had killed dozens of Zergs, it did not last long. This battle that lasted less than ten minutes had actually used up close to 70% of the Berserker's energy. This was completely out of his expectations.
Moreover, this was under the condition that he did not use energy weapons. If Qi Yuan had used energy weapons, the time would have been reduced by 30%.
The consumption was too great!
This meant that a Berserker with an energy weapon could not even last ten minutes. This was definitely not a good number. Of course, it was easy to solve this problem, and that was to change the energy core.
The powerful explosive power of a Berserker, other than relying on the user's strength, was mainly driven by energy consumption.
An excellent energy core was the guarantee of a Berserker's endurance.
However, with his own energy, being able to obtain a rank 3 energy core was already the limit. Moreover, it was an old type of energy core of average quality.
The Black Steel Shelter had strict control over high-quality energy cores. In order to prevent smuggling, the interface design of those high-quality energy cores was completely different from ordinary energy cores. This meant that even if a high-quality energy core was obtained, it could not be quickly loaded into the Berserker unless the energy core interface was changed.
Without a high-quality energy core sample, even a Blazing Angel would not be able to construct the corresponding energy core interface.
Energy endurance was a technical problem that could not be avoided!
Unless Qi Yuan could finish off the opponent before the energy was exhausted, the Berserker would become a useless piece of scrap metal once the energy was exhausted.
Although Qi Yuan could finish off an Insectoid nest in less than ten minutes, he might not be able to finish off a powerful opponent like the Berserker.
With Feng Qian's ability, once the two sides really faced off, he would definitely be able to find the strongest rank 3 Combat Domain ability user. If Feng Qian stepped into the trap left behind, Qi Yuan indeed had the possibility of a quick victory. However, if Feng Qian did not step into the trap, then it would be a different situation.
Placing all his hopes on the opponent's mistake was undoubtedly gambling with his life for Qi Yuan!
Qu Shi was unwilling to accept this situation, and Qi Yuan also did not want to put his life in the hands of others.
Qi Yuan glanced at the corpses on the ground. With a thought, he suddenly recalled the scene of the Blazing Angel absorbing the energy in the blood and awakening from her slumber. He vaguely had a solution to this problem.
Since he could not solve the endurance problem with the energy core, then he would bypass the energy core!
Although he did not have a better energy core, he had a stronger energy heart. The energy heart could be used as a backup energy source.
If the energy in the energy core was not enough, then he still had the Blazing Angel, a large rechargeable battery!
An energy body that could eat the energy core like a snack would definitely have enough energy to sustain the Berserker!
"I have a way to solve this problem!" Qi Yuan said.
"Really?" Qu Shi looked at Qi Yuan.
Although he was already used to Qi Yuan creating miracles, when he heard that he had found the endurance problem so quickly, Qu Shi still felt energized. After all, the Berserker's test results were perfect, except for the energy endurance.
If Qi Yuan could solve this problem, then it meant that the Berserker could go to the Black Steel Shelter and fight Feng Qian's Berserker head-on.
A mechanical equipment, from design to maturity, needed to go through many tests and improvements. However, the two of them did not have any more time to waste on this. Moreover, the craftsmanship of this Berserker was unexpectedly mature. If it was not for the fact that the basic framework used was his own design, Qu Shi would have thought that this was a mechanical equipment that Qi Yuan had plagiarized and mass-produced.
There had never been a mechanical equipment that could perform so perfectly in the first test. Never!
After the two of them got on the car, Qi Yuan quietly released the Blazing Angel. The Zerg's body also contained a lot of energy, so the Blazing Angel could clean up the battlefield and have a good meal. Although a lot of the energy in the dozens of Zerg's corpses had dissipated due to their deaths, it was still comparable to dozens of energy cores.
Moreover, this energy was relatively mild and was not as violent as Ling You's lightning. It was easier to digest and absorb.
Facing so many corpses with hidden energy, the Blazing Angel did not seem too interested. She was still thinking about the Asterite energy in Qi Yuan's body.
If the energy from the star energy stones was a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, then the energy from these corpses was a simple meal. After the Blazing Angel had tasted the taste of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, it was obvious that he no longer had much interest in this simple meal.
However, under Qi Yuan's command, the Blazing Angel still pouted and began to clean up the battlefield.
Even a mosquito's leg was meat. If it was not for the fact that there were no tools to help cut up the corpses, Qi Yuan was even prepared to pack up some valuable parts and bring them back.
The CD operation was a shameful waste!
The Blazing Angel cleaned up the station at an extremely fast speed, and Qi Yuan had deliberately slowed down in his vehicle. Before they had even reached the halfway point, the Blazing Angel had already stealthily returned and carried Qu Shi to hide in the energy heart. Lying in the dense star energy, the Blazing Angel rolled about in satisfaction while drooling.
Back in the laboratory, Qi Yuan directly took out an energy core and used Energy Control to absorb all the energy inside. Then, he injected all the energy into the energy core. Qu Shi understood Qi Yuan's solution.
The problem of endurance was solved, and the Berserker had crossed the last threshold.
"Any news from Tanqiu?" Qi Yuan asked.
Qu Shi was stunned, then shook his head worriedly.
According to the time, Qi Yuan's thesis should have been published in the new issue of Hope by now. However, there was no news from Tanqiu, which gave him a bad feeling.
Qu Shi was not worried that Tanqiu would steal the thesis. She was now a Tier 4 researcher, and such a thesis would not bring her any significant improvement. Plus, with Tanqiu's pride, she would not stoop so low as to create a scandal of academic theft.
Tanqiu was not the Feng Qian who was eager to stand out. She was the proud and successful Tanqiu!
However, if Tanqiu refused to sign her name, causing the thesis to be rejected by Hope, it would undoubtedly be bad news for Qi Yuan. This was because this meant that Qi Yuan would lose a life-saving talisman. He would have to place all his hopes on the Berserker.
If Tanqiu did not take the initiative to contact them, the two would not be able to get any timely feedback. Although some academic journals would sometimes leak out from the shelter through special channels, a top academic journal like Hope would never leak out of the shelter. Therefore, the two could not judge the progress of Qi Yuan's thesis through the latest issue of Hope.
Tan Qiu's silence was the worst possible outcome for the two of them. If they could confirm that 'Hope' had rejected their submission, then the two of them would still have time to submit to 'Truth' or 'Life'. However, before they received confirmation that their submission had been rejected, the two of them could not even take the next step. Submitting more than one submission was absolutely prohibited by the Academic Committee.