As Chief Molin's big project approached, the Level 4 researchers who had been named to participate handed over their tasks one after another, preparing to give their all to participate in this big project.
For most researchers, Level 4 was the peak they could reach. Any higher was not something that could be achieved through simple research projects.
Although the Academic Committee had divided the levels of researchers and set a few rules for advancement, the Academic Committee did not have the right to touch the core of the laboratory.
The Academic Committee only divided and recorded researchers between Level 4 and Level 4. They did not say anything about Level 5 researchers.
This was because there was only one Chief in every Shelter's laboratory. The direction and final authority of the entire laboratory were in the hands of the Chief.
Although the Academic Committee had a strong influence, they obviously did not abuse this power. This was the main reason why the Academic Committee could break the academic barrier and reach this point.
Under the huge external pressure, all the authorities of the Shelters needed a purely academic research organization to promote the advancement of human science and technology. However, they would never allow the Academic Committee to become an ambitious organization that dictated their core rights.
The appointment and dismissal of the Chief of the laboratory, which was also a Level 5 researcher, was always firmly in the hands of each Shelter.
The Chief of the Biological and Mechanical Research Laboratory had always been appointed and dismissed by the Board of Directors. Although there were many people fighting for power on the Board of Directors, very few people wanted the position of Chief of the laboratory.
Before each Chief retired, they would usually recommend one or two candidates to the Board of Directors. The next Chief would basically be chosen from the candidates recommended by the previous Chief. There were very few exceptions.
Now that Chief Molin was old, he was on the verge of stepping down. All of the level four researchers present knew very well that this big project would probably be Chief Molin's last one.
As for the next Chief's successor, it would definitely be chosen from the Level 4 researchers who participated in this project.
They were Feng Qian from Level 6, Cao Yansheng from Level 8, Tan Qiu from Level 10, and He Shou from Level 18.
On this day, the four researchers named by Molin to participate in the project all put down their work and sat together, which was rare.
Other than Cao Yansheng who had clearly expressed that he was not interested in the position of Chief, the other three were all eyeing the position covetously.
The relationship between Tan Qiu and Feng Qian was very tense because of a series of conflicts.
Now, the four of them were gathered together. Other than Cao Yansheng who was resting with his eyes closed, the other three were filled with a tense atmosphere.
After an unknown period of time, Cao Yansheng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at the three people with a gentle gaze and said faintly,
"The chief has ordered us to select ten third-level researchers to participate in this project within three days."
"This project is of great importance. I hope that everyone will choose the participants carefully!"
As the most senior of all the Level Four researchers, although Cao Yansheng had no intention of becoming the chief, his research strength was respected by everyone. Over the years, the academic points he had accumulated were second only to Chief Molin. Even among the twenty-one shelters of the Doomsday Munitions, his academic points stood at the top. If he wanted to compete for the chief position, no one else would be his opponent.
Thus, in the laboratory, aside from the leader, only Cao Yansheng's words had the most authority. Even Feng Qian and Tan Qiu would not be impudent in front of him.
After listening carefully to Cao Yansheng's words, Feng Qian and He Shou looked at each other and the atmosphere became even more tense. They had recruited many third-level researchers under their command and they wanted their direct subordinates to join the project team.
If a third-level researcher wanted to join the project team, in addition to their recommendation, they also needed Cao Yansheng's approval.
Cao Yansheng, who had devoted all his time and energy to the laboratory, did not even care about the position of chief. Other than research experiments, he had no other desires. There was only one way to convince him, and that was to show enough evidence to prove that the person they recommended would help the project progress. Otherwise, he would never agree so easily.
When it came to the selection of project personnel, Cao Yansheng had always preferred to go without. If there were no suitable candidates, he would rather leave the quota empty than let people who were not strong enough join.
Compared to Feng Qian and He Shou's nervousness, Tan Qiu was very relaxed. This was because she did not recruit any third-level researchers. She did not have any requirements for the third-level researcher list. She could just sit back and watch the fight between Feng Qian and He Shou.
The few of them discussed for a while and Cao Yansheng took the lead to recommend three third-level researchers. These three people were all top third-level researchers who were doing research in their own independent laboratories. Their research direction was also very compatible with the project this time. No one raised any objections and the three people Cao Yansheng nominated easily took up the three spots.
He Shou and Feng Qian also nominated a third-level researcher each. They were all people under their command and had strong research abilities. Their research direction was also relatively compatible.
The first test between the two of them was relatively gentle and there was not much conflict. After the two of them explained in detail the reasons for their recommendation, Cao Yansheng only pondered for a few seconds before nodding and agreeing to their recommendations.
However, for the remaining five spots, the two of them were relatively nervous about their recommendations. The two of them each tested Cao Yansheng once and in the end, they were all directly rejected by Cao Yansheng.
With Cao Yansheng holding the fort, the few of them were not too presumptuous and did not oppose each other too much. They barely managed to maintain a friendly appearance on the surface.
There were still a few days before the official start of the project, so Feng Qian and He Shou were not in a hurry to reveal their trump cards. After testing each other for a while, they ended this short meeting.
After the conversation ended, Feng Qian went directly to Xiao Yu's laboratory.
After entering the laboratory without any obstructions, Feng Qian bumped into Xiao Yu and Zhong Yunhai who were just about to go out. Although the two of them were pale, their eyes were clearly filled with excitement and joy.
Did they succeed?
Looking at their expressions, Feng Qian vaguely guessed the answer. However, he still asked in a deep voice,
"How's the situation?"
Xiao Yu and Zhong Yunhai looked at each other and suppressed the excitement in their hearts as they said, "The experiment has produced results. We can write the paper immediately."
"Not bad!"
Feng Qian smiled and nodded.
Those third-level researchers who were at the top of their abilities and had a very compatible research direction had already entered the list of ten people. There were no other third-level researchers in the laboratory who were more suitable than those people.
Therefore, the remaining five people would be the place where they would be tested.
Although Xiao Yu and Zhong Yunhai's research ability was slightly weaker, their research direction was very compatible. If they had the bonus points of this research project, Feng Qian was at least eighty percent confident that he would be able to convince Cao Yansheng.
"The latest issue of Hope will be published tomorrow. Your paper won't be able to make it in time. Organize the experiment records and write a simple experiment report. I'll send it to Cao Yansheng for review. Whether you can enter the list will depend on Cao Yansheng's review results tomorrow morning!" Feng Qian said.
Xiao Yu nodded excitedly.
"We'll organize the experiment report immediately. I'll send it over before six o 'clock tomorrow morning."
Previously, Xiao Yu was almost beaten silly by Qi Yuan's continuous thievery. Now, he finally had the opportunity to turn the tables. As long as he entered the project team, no matter how many tricks Qi Yuan and Tan Qiu had, they would not be able to threaten him.
After Feng Qian left, Xiao Yu and Zhong Yunhai immediately started to organize the experiment report. These few months of almost non-stop experiments had finally reached the final moment of harvest.
Just as Xiao Yu was looking forward to joining the project team, being promoted to a fourth-level researcher and walking towards the peak of his life, Fu Qingqing was undergoing high-intensity training in the training room.
Fu Qingqing was holding an energy weapon that looked similar to Death Dance. She was facing a strange bug that was only the size of a fist and was emitting a colorful glow all over its body.
The strange bug was as fast as lightning. Even with Fu Qingqing's perception, she could only catch a blurry shadow. When it moved quickly, the entire training room was filled with its shadow.
Fu Qingqing, who was surrounded by countless colorful streams of light, held her breath and focused. A dark golden flame burned in her hand. Even the weapon in her hand was emitting a dark golden mist.
Suddenly, Fu Qingqing's eyes focused. The colorful stream of light that filled half of the training room suddenly appeared in front of her and rushed towards her head.
With the speed of this strange bug, as long as it hit its target, this attack would be enough to pierce through Fu Qingqing's head even if her core ability was defense. Not to mention, Fu Qingqing's core ability was Elemental Domain.
The moment the colorful stream of light appeared in front of her, Fu Qingqing's body swayed imperceptibly. Then, the colorful stream of light directly pierced through her body.
The stream of light pierced through Fu Qingqing's head, but no blood splattered. Only Fu Qingqing's blurry shadow slowly dissipated.
The multicolored beast seemed to have sensed the danger it was in after missing its attack. It spun in the air and instantly transformed into dozens of identical multicolored streaks of light that shot out in all directions.
Behind it, Fu Qingqing had already raised the weapon burning with dark golden mist in her hand and aimed it straight ahead.
"Flame Vortex!" Fu Qingqing said in a low voice.
A dark golden flame vortex suddenly appeared in the void, then crazily collapsed toward the center. The streams of light that shot out in all directions seemed to be attracted by an invisible force and flew toward the dark golden flame vortex. Soon, they were all swallowed by the vortex.
The colorful streams of light that occupied half of the training room slowly disappeared, leaving behind a dark golden vortex that spun rapidly in the void.
The dark golden vortex spun, its center beating like a heart. It was as if something was struggling inside, trying to escape.
A dim light flashed in Fu Qingqing's eyes. She pointed the weapon in her hand, and an extremely condensed dark golden beam of light instantly shot out, aiming directly at the dark golden vortex.
"Flame Burst!" Fu Qingqing shouted in a low voice.
The rapidly spinning dark golden vortex shrunk first, and then it suddenly exploded.
Countless dark golden streams of light shot out in all directions like fireworks. Destructive energy waves instantly swept out, and the sound of thunder echoed in the training room. It was as if the void was torn apart by the Flame Burst.
Under the energy waves, Fu Qingqing grunted. At the same time, her face paled, and the weapon in her hand almost slipped out of her hand.
A colorful stream of light suddenly rushed out from the dark golden stream of light. Although its color was much dimmer and its speed had decreased, it still took this opportunity to shoot toward Fu Qingqing again.
Fu Qingqing gritted her teeth. Dark golden flames instantly emerged from her body, and she prepared to continue fighting the colorful beast.
"Enough!" A gentle voice suddenly rang out in Fu Qingqing's ears.
Then, a warm hand passed through the dark golden flames and appeared in front of Fu Qingqing, grabbing at the colorful stream of light shooting toward her.
The colorful beast seemed to have sensed danger. It suddenly spun rapidly, and was about to use the same trick again, turning into countless streams of light and fleeing in all directions.
The hand made a grabbing motion, and the colorful streams of light that scattered in all directions all disappeared into the hand like rivers flowing into the sea.
Mo Sheng let go of his right hand, and a colorful stone with four colors could be seen lying in the palm of his hand. If one looked closely, they would discover that this stone with four colors was actually an exotic beast that had curled up its body.
The four-colored exotic beast's body was trembling and curled up. That was the instinctive fear of the strong.
"How is it?" Mo Sheng asked softly.
Fu Qingqing panted for a while. After her breathing calmed down, she shook her head.
"Its speed is too fast. I only have one chance to attack. If I can't defeat it with one attack, the one who will die will be me!"
"You've already done very well."
Mo Sheng lightly tossed the stone-like exotic beast in his hand.
"This elite colored stone beast's defense and speed have already reached the peak of rank 4, and it might reach rank 5 at any time. Normal rank 4 ability users wouldn't even have the chance to escape when encountering it. You being able to reach this step is already pretty good. If the weapon in your hand was changed to Death's Dance, your final attack just now should have already defeated it, or even killed it!"
Mutated energy weapons were something that could only be found by chance. Even in the Shelter, there were very few people who had mutated energy weapons.
Fu Qingqing's Death's Dance was a powerful weapon created from the corpse of a Type 5 Elite Insectoid that was extremely compatible with Fu Qingqing's abilities after Mo Sheng had ventured deep into the red zone.
Mo Sheng had spent almost half of his accumulated wealth on this Dance of Death. Once the Dance of Death was fully activated and resonated with each other, Fu Qingqing's strength would reach a new level.
Fu Qingqing was about to say something when her personal communicator suddenly vibrated.
Someone had sent a message.
Just like Qi Yuan, Fu Qingqing's communicator only added a few people.
Opening the message, Fu Qingqing's body suddenly trembled. After a few seconds, she slowly said,
"Teacher, Qi Yuan sent a message. He has completed the activation of Dance of Death!"
Mo Sheng smiled when she heard that.
"Not bad."
"Before you go get the Dance of Death, go to my personal storage and take two hundred kilograms of Asterite to Qi Yuan."