Chapter 50: New Direction for Sound Wave Control
Chapter 50: Chapter 50: New Direction for Sound Wave Control
It was completely different. Yang Bo now truly understood that a Genetic Evolver was fundamentally distinct from ordinary residents.
"To hell with Ancient Martial Arts and Genetic Potions. In front of me, they’re nothing but trash.
"Fighting is all about speed, ruthlessness, and precision. Once my speed reaches a point where technological weapons can’t even lock on, I’ll be invincible.
"Then again, it seems my Invisibility already gives me that edge."
Having lived a thoroughly repressed past life, Yang Bo was utterly desperate for strength in this one. He squeezed his fists. He wasn’t entirely sure just how much Power he possessed now, but the fact that he could mold a solid Metal ornament like dough meant it certainly wasn’t ordinary.
More importantly, it wasn’t just about his Power. His skin, muscles, and bones felt absolutely no discomfort when molding the Metal. It felt exactly like playing with clay.
Yang Bo stood in front of a mirror. The reflection staring back was his past-life self: a greasy, five-foot-seven middle-aged man with a beer belly from a penchant for heavy drinking.
"This still looks the most natural to me," Yang Bo murmured, admiring his former appearance. Now that his Disguise had reached this level, he could fine-tune his entire skeletal structure and manipulate his height. Of course, he could adjust certain *other* parts as well... ahem.
"How am I going to get out of this dangerous place?" Yang Bo said as he dropped the disguise, reverting to his current appearance. He looked up at the Air-Ground Combat Aircraft patrolling the sky. With those machines looming overhead, any individual whose strength hadn’t reached the legendary S-level was practically a sitting duck.
He thought aloud, "With my Invisibility, I could easily slip out unnoticed. But where would I go next?" Yang Bo felt a wave of uncertainty, much like the very first time he left home to find work in his past life—unsure of what lay ahead or what he would have to face.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Yang Bo began to test and adapt to his newfound Power. He effortlessly knocked out five hundred push-ups in a single breath, not even breaking a sweat. He wondered how he could precisely control his Power, but despite mulling it over, he couldn’t come up with a good method.
The last time he went out, he had bumped into Li Aiduo. To avoid drawing attention this time, he put on a mask before leaving the house. More than half the population in this world wore masks; due to a severe lack of physical human interaction, most residents suffered from social anxiety. Yang Bo hadn’t worn one previously simply because he wasn’t used to it from his past life.
Strolling down the street, he made sure to quickly steer clear of any areas cordoned off by security robots. He had no idea what the Red Earl had unleashed underground, but judging by the endless cleanup efforts, it was definitely nothing good. In areas without signal interference, robots handled the vast majority of the work. For the occasional tasks that required specialized handling, humans would operate the machinery remotely. The reason Mecha required manual human operation was that the combat situations they faced were infinitely more complex than these simple automated tasks.
"Mr. Liu," Yang Bo greeted as he entered the office. He had taken a nearly empty bus to the company today after receiving an email from Liu Zhijie summoning him.
Liu Zhijie rubbed his forehead and asked, "Yang Bo, how have you been lately? Are you feeling any better?"
"Much better, thank you, Mr. Liu," Yang Bo replied, wondering why his boss had called him in.
Liu Zhijie let out a heavy sigh. "Due to the threat from the Red Earl, the alert level across the entire planet has been raised, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. As you know, housing prices have plummeted, causing massive financial losses for many of our employees. On top of that, several staff members have gone missing. The company is facing a serious crisis."
"Mr. Liu, are you shutting down the business? Do you need to terminate my contract? I have no objections," Yang Bo offered, assuming the man was throwing in the towel.
Liu Zhijie shook his head. "This planet is no longer safe. An extremist organization like the Red Earl could launch a frenzied retaliation at any given moment. During their worst attack, they released a toxic substance that wiped out half a planet’s population."
"Ah." Yang Bo didn’t doubt for a second that the Red Earl was capable of such atrocities; those lunatics were completely unhinged.
"Because of this, I’ve been considering leaving the planet and relocating our operations elsewhere," Liu Zhijie continued. "Headquarters has agreed in principle, though we’re still waiting to finalize the exact destination. I called you here today to see where you stand on the matter. If you’re willing to come with me, once we get settled, the company will provide you with a Genetic Potion or a Secret Technique free of charge. There are no strings attached—you won’t be required to do any extra work to earn it."
Yang Bo’s heart skipped a beat at the offer. He wondered if this plump boss of his had sensed some imminent danger. Was he preparing to make a run for it?
"I’ll have to go back and think it over," Yang Bo replied, not agreeing right away. He genuinely hadn’t expected Liu Zhijie to propose such a thing.
Liu Zhijie nodded. "Of course. Take your time. We won’t be able to leave in the short term anyway."
"Will that be all, Mr. Liu?" Yang Bo asked, sensing the conversation was winding down.
Watching Yang Bo leave, Liu Zhijie massaged his temples. From Yang Bo’s reaction, it didn’t seem like the young man wanted to relocate to another Administrative Star. On top of everything else, an Administrative Star would never willingly permit a massive population drain; it would severely damage the local politicians’ economic metrics. Securing a smooth departure was going to require an exhausting amount of red tape and maneuvering. Although the baby factories could artificially replenish the population, that process took time.
As Yang Bo walked away, he pondered a new idea. He wondered if he could use Sound Waves for targeted destruction.
Rather than taking the bus back, he opted for a slow, leisurely stroll. He was grateful for his mask today—an accessory he had previously overlooked. He planned to drop by a nearby Weapon shop to check out the Energy Weapons used by Genetic Evolvers. According to the store’s schedule, it had just reopened to the public today.
As he walked, Yang Bo experimented with his Sound Wave Control. Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Footsteps?" he muttered to himself. Back on Earth, didn’t geologists use explosive shockwaves for seismic oil exploration? He could absolutely do the same thing! With that thought in mind, he slightly amplified the sound of his footsteps, carefully sensing the acoustic feedback echoing up from beneath the ground.
Sound Waves could actually travel vast distances; it was merely the hearing limits of different organisms that restricted their perception. If someone shouted from a hundred meters away, you could hear them. If they shouted from five hundred meters away, you couldn’t. However, just because you couldn’t hear the Sound Waves didn’t mean they ceased to exist.
"Three meters?" Yang Bo murmured as he pushed his perception to its limits. He realized his current sensory range extended a maximum of three meters beneath the surface. Anything deeper than that became an unintelligible blur.
"If I can use Sound Waves to destroy an object buried three meters deep..." Yang Bo’s eyes lit up with excitement. He resolved to run some experiments at home later. If he could truly penetrate three meters of solid matter with Sound Waves and obliterate a target within, this technique would have boundless potential.
He continued his acoustic experiments as he walked. His footsteps were a bit heavy at first, but soon returned to a normal rhythm. For the time being, he refrained from attempting to destroy anything underground, wary that such anomalous activity might attract unwanted attention.
The store selling Energy Weapons was completely different from what Yang Bo had envisioned. Instead of a high-tech armory, it looked exactly like a cheap hardware shop back on Earth. The storefront was haphazardly piled high with a dizzying assortment of Energy Weapons in all shapes and sizes. Frankly, it looked like a literal pile of scrap Metal.
"Browse and pick whatever you want. All sales are final, no refunds. Choose carefully." The shopkeeper, who was fully engrossed in some unknown game while wearing a Virtual Helmet and haptic control gloves, casually called out when he noticed someone enter the store.
Yang Bo felt completely dumbfounded. He wondered how he was supposed to pick something out himself when he had absolutely no idea what he was looking at.