novelslam Chapter 12 [The Alchemist's Workshop]
Chapter 12 [The Alchemist's Workshop]
The wise king Kaz hovered in the center of the hive, his consciousness contracting inward.
Its civilization, its empire, has now been completely transformed into a super factory operating at high speed to fulfill divine decrees.
The first step is deconstruction.
Countless decomposers surged like a tide toward the barren soil that the gods had cast down, representing "problems."
They clung to a hardened, grayish-white clod of earth, instantly activating their unique racial abilities.
In just a few minutes, the hard clod of earth crumbled, turning into a colorful nebula suspended in mid-air, composed of countless pure elements.
Silicon is bright white, carbon is deep black, iron is dull red, and countless trace elements shimmer with their own unique brilliance.
This is the alchemy of the Kaz civilization, which reduces the complex world to its simplest and purest foundation.
The second step is modeling.
While the decomposers were busy, the team of perceivers had already wrapped the handful of fertile soil that represented the answer layer by layer.
"Target sample analysis in progress..."
"Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio: 3.14 : 1 : 2.71..."
"Seventeen rare amino acid complexes have been detected; structural analysis in progress..."
"The structure of an unknown macromolecular humic acid has been discovered, and its spatial folding mechanism... is beyond the scope of current understanding. Simulation and simulation will be initiated..."
"Key enzyme activity data recorded; reverse engineering of its catalytic model is underway..."
This divinely bestowed sample was to the Kaz civilization what ancient humans would have obtained as a blueprint for alien technology.
The life information and structural complexity contained within them far exceed their previous understanding of the matter in this world.
Over several decades (a few minutes in the real world), supported by massive computing power, a highly optimized nutrient ratio model was completed.
It eliminates all redundancy and pushes the ratio of all effective ingredients to the theoretically optimal limit—a perfect "ideal blueprint".
The third step is restructuring.
Once the blueprint was finalized, the builders stepped forward and precisely extracted the required particles from the elemental nebula spewed out by the decomposers.
They float in the air, absorb a specified amount of raw materials, and after several complex catalytic and synthetic processes, finally produce batches of intermediate products with specific functions.
The final step is crystallization.
Under the personal direction of the wise king Kaz, these intermediate products of various forms were arranged, stacked, and aggregated in a specific structure revealed in an oracle.
The Anthill Era, approximately 1300.
Outside, only a few hours had passed.
The first batch of finished products was manufactured in the center of the Nest City.
It was a small cluster of beautiful crystals, weighing only a few grams in total.
They display a vibrant array of colors, refracting a dreamlike halo under the dim light of the cave.
The wise king Kaz, leading his people, presented their first answer to the world beyond.
……
Xu woke up from a light sleep, ate a few bites of dinner, and then habitually headed towards the glass palace.
"The oracle has been delivered all night. I wonder if my apostles have understood my intentions."
When he leaned down to look into the middle layer of the cave, he was momentarily stunned.
The barren, lifeless soil he had thrown in has vanished without a trace.
Instead, in the center of the hive, there was a small pile of... colored powder?
"This...it's a success?"
Xu was somewhat surprised. He immediately opened the sampling port on the top of the eco-box, reached in with a long-handled metal spoon, and intended to scoop up some.
In the world of Anthill, this action caused the heavens to crack open.
A huge gap appeared in the sky, and a silver pillar descended from it.
The silver pillar's surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the tiny microcosm of the city and its people, exuding an aura that did not belong to this world.
All of Kaz's subjects, whether Decomposers or Constructors, were thrown into a collective shutdown at this moment.
This is God's response!
The silver pillar descended upon the pile of colorful crystals and then scooped away a small portion of them.
Compared to the volume of the Heavenly Pillar, the removed portion was as insignificant as a speck of dust.
"God...has taken our offerings!"
The wise king Kaz was the first to recover from the immense shock; his core emitted light, and he issued the most urgent command to all his subjects:
"Record everything! Every detail of the 'Divine Artifact'! Its form, its material, the way it disturbs the world! This is a new miracle, the best opportunity to understand God!"
The "sky dome" quickly closed, and the silver pillar disappeared.
God was pleased with their sacrifices!
Xu had no idea that his simple sampling action had stirred up a theological storm in his "anthill".
He took out the small spoonful of crystals; they were slightly cool to the touch and exuded a fresh scent, like a forest after the rain.
Back inside, he found a watering can, filled it to the brim with water, and then scooped up a tiny bit of powder, smaller than a grain of rice, from a spoon and tossed it in.
The crystals dissolve instantly in water, giving the entire pot of water a faint halo.
Xu Ye carried the kettle and walked to the windowsill.
There, there was a pot of orchids that was on the verge of dying because he had neglected it recently.
The leaves were scorched, curled, and lifeless.
He poured the prepared solution into the dry, cracked soil of the potted plant.
A miracle happened.
Almost the instant the solution seeped into the soil, the withered yellow leaves began to show a visible hint of green from their veins.
A minute later, the green spread, turning the entire leaf green again.
Three minutes later, the leaves, which had been curled up due to lack of water, unfolded one by one and stood upright again.
Ten minutes later, on the very top branch, a tender green bud, barely larger than a pinhead, pushed through the dry skin and stubbornly emerged.
The entire plant was put on fast-forward, completing its journey from near death to rebirth in just over ten minutes.
Its vitality is even a hundred times stronger than when Xu first bought it.
"This...this..." Xu Ye was so shocked by the scene of the dead coming back to life that he stammered.
I did think it would succeed, but I never expected the results to be so miraculous!
Just a small amount can turn a desert into an oasis, or the most barren saline-alkali land into vast fertile fields.
He named it "Jiurang," meaning the essence of the land of the nine provinces.
Xu Ye glanced again at the glaringly low balance of just over three thousand yuan remaining in his mobile banking app.
Holding the magic fertilizer "Golden Fertilizer" that could revolutionize modern agriculture, he's still worried about food expenses.
The most urgent task is to turn the land into money.
Should we just take it out and sell it? No way.
This thing is too shocking and its origin cannot be explained; it will only cause trouble.
It must be introduced into the market in a sufficiently discreet manner, and only to a specific group of people who are capable of absorbing this magic and will not delve into its details.
Xu Ye's thoughts drifted back to what had happened some time ago.