"Hello, sir, we have one of this model left in the warehouse. Would you like to take it now?" Two minutes later, the sales manager emerged from the back and asked Bai Mo.
"I'd like to test drive it first. If there are no issues, I'll place the order."
"Alright, please wait a moment while I prepare it." The sales manager looked at Bai Mo's calm demeanor, feeling that the deal was likely to go through and somewhat relieved he hadn't judged the customer by his clothes.
Just as Bai Mo was sitting on the sofa, spacing out and waiting for the sales manager to prepare the test drive, a man and a woman walked into the 4S dealership.
When someone entered, he habitually swept them with his divine sense, discovering that one of them was an acquaintance he had just met.
The two had been chatting continuously before entering the door.
"Xiao Xi, aren't you planning to get a new car? Let me buy you one."
"Captain Li, please don't be so familiar. Only family members call me that," Chen Xi said with a cold expression.
"Alright, alright, then, Miss Chen, have you found a car you like?" Li Changfeng continued to flirt.
Chen Xi was thoroughly annoyed. She had just left the coffee shop, intending to buy a new car, only to run into this persistent pest on the way. Unable to shake him off, she could only answer him half-heartedly.
After stepping into the 4S dealership, Chen Xi's eyes immediately landed on Bai Mo, who was sitting on the sofa, as if she had spotted a savior.
"Mr. Bai Mo." Chen Xi walked over and greeted Bai Mo with uncharacteristic warmth.
"Miss Chen, we meet again. Are you also here to buy a car?"
The two immediately began chatting, and Li Changfeng, standing beside them, watched them ignore him and felt extremely displeased.
"Miss Chen, who is this person next to you?"
"Li Changfeng, Captain Li."
"Hello, Captain Li."
The displeased Li Changfeng gave a perfunctory greeting in return. Bai Mo saw Li Changfeng's expression, then Chen Xi's enthusiastic overture. Being well-versed in web novels, he quickly deduced the plot. It was nothing more than one person being interested, the other uninterested, and running into him was simply an opportune moment to use him as a shield and pass the buck.
He had no interest whatsoever in this "hero saves the beauty" scenario that would likely lead to endless future troubles.
"See you when you're free, both of you take your time choosing. I'm going to test drive the car first." Anxious to slip away, Bai Mo located the sales manager with his divine sense, dropped that line, and walked directly towards him.
Having successfully passed the buck back to Chen Xi, Bai Mo got straight into the new car, drove it around once to confirm there were no issues, paid in full, bid the two farewell, and drove off.
Driving his new car, he returned to the research institute and continued working with Zhao Jia Sen on the topic they had outlined last night.
The two of them spent an entire week immersed in it. During this period, aside from updating 100 characters to the Martial Edict on the web novel site daily, Bai Mo even took leave from his weekly gatherings at the National Martial Arts Association.
However, with the public release of the Martial Edict, martial arts regained widespread attention. The old masters of the National Martial Arts Association also became busy with exchanges everywhere, so they simply agreed with Bai Mo to temporarily suspend their meetings and handle their current affairs first.
As Bai Mo didn't need to eat or drink, he stayed in Zhao Jia Sen's laboratory, mostly engaged in research, except for sleeping.
Zhao Jia Sen's body, however, clearly couldn't withstand it as much as Bai Mo's. After all, he was elderly. Even though his body had significantly improved through Spirit Qi, there was still a large gap between him and Bai Mo's abnormal physique. Moreover, his appetite at the initial stage of Qi cultivation was remarkably large, forming a stark contrast with Bai Mo, who ate nothing at all.
"Xiao Mo, how long will this soaring appetite last?" Zhao Jia Sen asked while eating. "I have to eat every two hours; it's really affecting the experiment's progress. I wonder how they're managing this in Africa, where food is already scarce."
Zhao Jia Sen was eating, so he couldn't continue the experiment. He simply started chatting with Bai Mo.
"Probably a week or two, I'm not too sure," Bai Mo replied casually, continuing his work.
"A week or two... that's fine then. The country won't fall into chaos. If this appetite continued indefinitely, just the food shortage alone would plunge the nation into disarray." Zhao Jia Sen had lived through decades of hunger, and deep down, he was a person who sought stability.
"But the situation in Africa is very serious. Their daily food supply is already insufficient, and the emergence of Spirit Qi has led to countless hungry people rioting directly. Governments have changed hands repeatedly in the past few months, and it's estimated that millions have died. If not for the support from a few major grain-producing nations, the problem would be even worse," Zhao Jia Sen continued.
"I haven't paid much attention, but the chaos will probably increase even more in the future," Bai Mo responded indifferently.
"Xiao Mo, what do you mean?"
"The stones you asked me to research a few months ago, the ones you later published about in your 'Spirit Steel' paper—when heated, they can release Spirit Qi that is easy to absorb. For those just beginning to absorb and refine Spirit Qi, it can significantly boost efficiency."
"For these stones, I estimate that the old men in the upper echelons of various countries will fight desperately. After all, many elderly people with poor health have extremely low Spirit Qi absorption efficiency, and without Spirit Stones, their absorption speed is barely better than nothing. Your body is already robust, so your absorption speed isn't too slow, which is why you don't feel this urgency."
"Why didn't you tell me this before, you rascal?" Zhao Jia Sen glared at Bai Mo.
"Unless such a discovery is about to be exposed and can no longer be hidden, no one would speak of it, would they?" He thought these things to himself but said nothing aloud.
"It's a matter of timing and luck."
"Mentor, your discovery this time might open up a new field," Bai Mo consoled him.
"According to previous experiments, Spirit Qi can very effectively eliminate nuclear radiation, or rather, nuclear radiation can be quickly converted into Spirit Qi in a Spirit Qi environment. Does that mean the Spirit Qi concentration in Chernobyl would be very high now?" he muttered softly.
"Xiao Mo, what are you muttering about? Whether it opens up a new field or not, this is definitely a major discovery. Many radiation-contaminated areas will also be purified and become habitable again."
"Mentor, have you ever considered this? If high-energy radiation cannot exist long-term in a Spirit Qi environment, does that mean nuclear bombs would become just oversized conventional bombs?"
"I just thought of that, but don't oversimplify it, you rascal. Nuclear bombs aren't prohibited solely for their long-term lethality from radiation; there's also the major problem of nuclear winter. Spirit Qi has already made the current food problem more pressing, and a nuclear winter would mean even faster deaths. Just focus on your experiment."
"Alright, alright."
"Looks like after this experiment, I'll have to quickly go to Chernobyl for an investigation. While the discovery of Spirit Qi converting high-energy radiation hasn't spread, I can still buy some time," Bai Mo began to scheme inwardly.
"Mentor, how do you think we should design the experiment for the conversion ratio of Spirit Qi to ultraviolet light in sunlight..." Bai Mo began to intentionally lead Zhao Jia Sen towards a slightly tangential exploration, hoping to delay the announcement of Spirit Qi's effect on radiation, giving himself time for a trip to Ukraine.
Somewhere in Tianhai, "Useless! Useless! Are all of you useless?! Not only did you let that experimental subject escape with the experimental records and reports, but everyone you sent to kill him was killed by him! Even the people sent to capture his sister and retrieve the hard drive ended up one dead and one fainted! Are you forcing me to throw you all into the reactor for waste utilization?!" A person sitting in an executive chair roared at his subordinates.
"Apologies, Boss. That experimental subject's combat power is terrifying. Our people would be carbonized to death just by getting close and being brushed by his green wind. All the Ability Users we sent died to that single move."
"Are you all idiots?! Just because you have abilities, you don't know how to use guns anymore?! His wind has an attack range, doesn't it? Shoot him! Why am I paying you pig-headed fools?! And that woman from the collateral branch, how did she manage to escape? Her combat power isn't that strong, is it? Explain it to me properly!" The person in the executive chair continued to rage.