Chapter 24: Alchemical Technology, A New Specialty

The second floor of the library was vastly larger than the first, its shelves laden with books multiplied several times over. The section dedicated solely to “Alchemical Technology” held more volumes than the entirety of the first floor, more than threefold. It was impossible for Jiang Chen to read them all in a short time; he merely skimmed through the catalogues, gaining a rough understanding of what this so-called “Alchemical Technology” entailed.

As it turned out, “Alchemical Technology” was quite similar to the ‘alchemy’ Jiang Chen had encountered in many works of fantasy, a discipline present in countless worlds. Its essence lay in the analysis, deconstruction, recomposition, and reconstruction of matter—transforming one substance into a completely different one. Alchemy’s origin had been the quest to create gold from cheap materials. Yet in conventional technological civilizations, this path proved unworkable; it was only in worlds suffused with mysterious powers that alchemy truly flourished, spawning even civilizations centered around its practice.

Advanced alchemy could almost be considered the power of a creator, the ability to forge anything. However, within the second floor of the library, the standard of “Alchemical Technology” was still far from reaching such heights. Even so, a cursory glance convinced Jiang Chen that its integration with conventional technology would yield extraordinary results.

Of course, to attain mastery in this field, time and effort were indispensable. Even in traditional technological domains, Jiang Chen’s achievements were concentrated in a few areas: mechanics, electronics, information, and energy. He had invested little in gene modification or biochemical fields. For now, he would continue to focus on mechanics and electronics. Alchemical technology would serve at most as a secondary aid. Naturally, if time and energy allowed in the future, Jiang Chen intended to acquire proficiency in as many technical systems as possible—but that was a matter for later.

Without rushing to acquire new knowledge, Jiang Chen exited the library and opened the “Specialization” menu. With 243 specialization points at his disposal, he could exchange them for some fairly powerful abilities.

Originally, Jiang Chen had saved these points in case a formidable enemy appeared, intending to exchange them for a specialization that would rapidly boost his combat prowess. However, upon advancing to the planetary level, his urgency for personal combat improvements waned. Instead, specializations like “High Focus,” which accelerated personal growth, seemed to hold greater long-term value.

The system offered a vast array of specializations, though the majority were beyond Jiang Chen’s reach. After some searching, he selected several that appealed to him:

“Mechanical Affinity”: Grants the attribute ‘Mechanical Affinity,’ with base value equal to Intelligence. Each point in Mechanical Affinity increases the attributes of controlled mechanical creations by 1%. Requires 111 specialization points.

“Cognitive Enhancement”: Increases Intelligence by an additional 5%. Requires 88 specialization points.

“Scholar’s Mind”: When learning and mastering new knowledge, each point of Intelligence increases learning efficiency by 1%, and each point of Spirit increases efficiency by 0.5%. Requires 199 specialization points.

“Mass Production Insight”: Success rate of assembly lines +50%, mass production efficiency +20%, production costs -20%. Requires 222 specialization points.

With his current points, Jiang Chen could exchange for “Mechanical Affinity” plus “Cognitive Enhancement,” or choose either “Scholar’s Mind” or “Mass Production Insight” alone. Three options, corresponding respectively to the combat power of mechanical creations, efficiency in mastering new knowledge, and the ability to mass produce mechanical creations.

Put more simply, “Scholar’s Mind” was about ‘upgrade speed,’ “Mass Production Insight” was about ‘swarming ability,’ while “Mechanical Affinity” plus “Cognitive Enhancement” would alter his combat tactics, allowing him to treat “Boxer” and other mechanical constructs as his ‘psychic weapons,’ greatly enhancing their power.

Jiang Chen was fond of all three options, but he could only pick one. After much hesitation, he chose “Scholar’s Mind.”

With each point of Intelligence boosting efficiency by 1%, and each point of Spirit by 0.5%, Jiang Chen’s current attributes translated into a 213% increase in learning efficiency—more than doubling his ‘upgrade speed.’ As his level grew, this figure would only rise. Moreover, mastering more advanced technologies would enable him to exchange for even more formidable blueprints from the system, allowing him to craft superior weapons, another avenue to enhance combat power.

As soon as the new specialization was exchanged, a sudden chill surged through Jiang Chen’s mind, sending a shiver down his spine and goosebumps across his skin. Yet the sensation vanished as quickly as it came, disappearing before he could react, as if it were nothing but a fleeting hallucination.

Still, Jiang Chen could distinctly sense his thoughts moving faster than before.

“Is it effective even outside learning mode?” The idea flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind, and he immediately felt the specialization points well spent.

Suppressing his urge to reenter the system library and delve into higher-level knowledge, Jiang Chen closed the system and returned to reality.

He glanced at the clock; breaking through to the planetary level and studying the system’s changes had taken over a dozen hours—it was already the next day.

“So much time has passed…” Jiang Chen muttered in surprise, then opened his communication wristband, summoned Jarvis, and asked, “Did anything happen while I was in seclusion?”

“Li Dawei called once. When you didn’t answer, he sent an email, asking about the ‘Boxer’ modification progress. Other than that, nothing else occurred,” Jarvis reported swiftly.

Jiang Chen pondered a moment and shook his head. “Ignore him for now. Jarvis, I’ll give you a new alloy formula. Try using it to replace the shell material for ‘Boxer’ and manufacture a new experimental model.”

With that, Jiang Chen picked up the “Neural Access Device,” and, through mental input, transmitted the alloy formula he had just exchanged from the system into Jarvis’s database.

“Master, our facility currently lacks the capability to smelt alloys,” Jarvis reminded. “Purchasing new equipment and manufacturing a new ‘Boxer’ experimental model will take at least two weeks.”

“Two weeks… That’ll do.” Jiang Chen nodded softly. “It’s just in time for me to demonstrate my abilities and join the Temple of War as a planetary-level member.”