Witch Special

Lin Zhenxi and Genos watched the entire process of the battle between Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle and Saitama through the magic round mirror, from the moment Saitama broke through the gate to the moment Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle was annihilated into ashes by Saitama's "ordinary punch", without missing a minute or a second.

Although the image in the circular mirror was severely disturbed due to the energy burst when the two were fighting each other, the energy burst came and went quickly. Except for not being able to see clearly how Asura Rhinoceros Beetle died, almost all the things that should be seen and the data that should be collected were satisfactory results.

Saitama's battle with the last ace of the House of Evolution has ended, and Hayashi Maki has no reason to disappear any further.

But before leaving, Lin Zhenxi couldn't help but ask Genos, who seemed unusually silent after watching the entire process of Saitama's battle, a few questions that she was very interested in.

"Can your rhinoceros beetle still be produced in large quantities?"

"Oh, so what if I could? I'm nothing but trash in front of that man." Genos was a little disheartened because the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle, for which he had poured so much effort and high hopes, had been defeated by Saitama with such a simple punch. His response to Lin Zhenxi's question was somewhat lackluster.

But Hayashi Maki didn't see it that way. In her eyes, the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle, as a man-made creature, was far more valuable than the unique Saitama. There was only one Saitama, and Scorpion Poop was one-of-a-kind. No matter how much others envied him, there was nothing they could do—at least not at this stage. As for the future, that depended on whether Genos would be able to deliver. But the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle was different. After watching the entire battle between the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle and Saitama, Hayashi's biggest impression was that this creature was just fucking awesome. It had speed, strength, tough skin, and impressive regenerative abilities. With enough energy, it could constantly break through its limiters and grow stronger. It was the perfect super soldier.

Indeed, Lin Zhenxi didn't need a single-handed superhero, nor did she need a team of subordinates with complementary abilities but distinct and unruly personalities. What she wanted most were elite soldiers like the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle, tough and capable of fighting, carrying heavy loads, and running quickly. Most importantly, they could be mass-produced. She didn't need more than three or five of these super soldiers to stand in front, giving Lin Zhenxi plenty of time to do whatever she wanted. And given enough time and space, a witch herself would become a miracle.

"Garbage can also be recycled. Nothing is completely useless. Moreover, I believe the value of your Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle is even greater than your research on Saitama."

Kinos looked up suddenly, his eyes bloodshot. In just a few minutes, he had been tortured by his own anxiety and had become a bit neurotic.

His blood, his youth, his entire investment, his decades of hard work, had all been shattered by a single blow that seemed to bring the light of the world together. Now, he was drowning in endless self-loathing, even beginning to doubt the meaning of his own existence.

At this moment, someone suddenly stood up and affirmed his achievements. Even if it was not to the extent of being pulled back when he was about to jump off a cliff, it was almost equivalent to a glass of iced sparkling water to cool down on a hot day.

Lin Zhenxi shrugged and said, "What you're pursuing is the replicability of Saitama, this unique individual. So you should know better than I do that a controllable, replicable finished product is far more valuable than an uncontrollable and unpredictable experiment. The level of an inventor's skill has always been judged by their achievements, not by the sophistication of their ongoing projects."

"Perhaps your current achievements are far from meeting your expectations, but I think it's only because you set too high a goal for yourself that the feedback is less than ideal. But have you forgotten that there is only one Saitama, and he is the most special and unpredictable variable that should be eliminated from the value formula? Leaving Saitama aside, compare your achievements to the outside world. I don't need to tell you how powerful those genetically modified monsters under your command are; you know much more clearly than I do."

After the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle's explosion, its limiter constantly reached its limit, and its power must have surpassed 99.9999% of all creatures in the world. Excluding Saitama, the Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle's rivals, if any at all, could probably be counted on the handful. After all, even a watered-down S-class hero like Wild Hammer, created by Hayashi Maki, wouldn't be able to withstand a single blow from a post-explosion Ashura Rhinoceros Beetle, let alone a single finger. Even S-class heroes have their strengths and weaknesses, but since they're all S-class, their strength should be on par... well, at least for the most part.

如果用蛮锤来当计数单位，那么普通形态的阿修罗独角仙大概就相当于5蛮锤，而爆种之后则直接飙升到到了50。这里的5和50并不是5个蛮锤和50个蛮锤就能打得过这两个形态的阿修罗独角仙了，而是说阿修罗独角仙的战斗力简单粗暴的是蛮锤的5倍和50倍。

Forget five times, even two would be enough for the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle to crush a Wildhammer like a father beating his son. With such a huge disparity in power, it would take no more effort for the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle to kill a Wildhammer than it would to crack a walnut with a hammer.

While the current Wild Hammer is merely a rudimentary form of Lin Zhenxi's work, there's still plenty of room for improvement. If Lin Zhenxi tattoos all of Wild Hammer's skin, his combat power will likely increase several times over. However, this still doesn't change the fact that his upper limit is far lower than that of the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle. At least when it comes to creating thugs, Kinos is far more successful than Lin Zhenxi.

"So, can your Asura Rhinoceros Beetle be mass-produced?" Lin Zhenxi did not give Kinos too much time to sigh. She wanted to know what valuable things she could squeeze out of Kinos.

"Yes, I have all the technical information for making the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle stored in the cloud database. However, the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle may not be as good as you think. After all, its raw material is just a Rhinoceros Beetle. Although the Rhinoceros Beetle is the most powerful insect in nature, its brain is pitifully small. Even if its body size is enlarged, its intelligence is far below normal. Also, due to its small brain capacity and the proliferation of muscle tissue, I can't even insert a control chip in its brain. Therefore, I can only keep it in a dormant state at all times, releasing it only when needed, allowing it to vent its violent desires at will. Besides that..."

"Okay, I get it. You actually have absolutely no control over that thing. Aside from deciding when to release it, you can't tell it to do anything, right?" Lin Zhenxi waved her hands impatiently. Seeing Kinos nod, she said nonchalantly, "It's just that you can't solve this problem. I'm the best at dealing with guys like this with big muscles and simple brains."

An underdeveloped brain often means a weak soul, making it easy to erase or replace it. Once the body was fully developed, Lin Zhenxi would remove the soul born from the body and inject an obedient, blank soul into it. Thus, a perfect cannon fodder who would obey orders without hesitation was born. It was simply too simple.

Upon hearing that Lin Zhenxi had a way to control the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle, Genos instantly forgot about the beetle's fragility before Saitama. He'd previously worried about the beetle's difficulty controlling it, even going so far as to intentionally implant weaknesses in it to prevent it from completely losing control and leaving him without a countermeasure. This would obviously weaken the beetle's strength, contradicting his original concept of creating an ultimate life form.

However, Lin Zhenxi was not in the mood to take care of Genos's rekindled scientist soul at this time. Saitama had already started looking for her outside, and she couldn't lie to Saitama. If she disappeared for too long, it would be too difficult to explain.

"Okay, I should be leaving. This place is already trashed, and I guess you can't use it anymore. When you're done, come find me in the old city. That area is basically mine now, so it doesn't matter where you want to rebuild the lab. Anyway, you provide the brains, I provide the money, and all the academic achievements will be yours. I only want your research results on the limiter and the method for making the Asura Rhinoceros Beetle. Is that okay? If you're fine, I'm leaving."

After Lin Zhenxi threw down such a long string of words, he didn't care about Kinos's answer at all. He just turned around on the spot and disappeared with a "pop".

The target is the bald Saitama, and he teleports away.

Even though he'd already witnessed Hayashi Maki's unscientific teleportation, this act of completely shattering scientific common sense and then repeatedly grinding on the debris still piqued Genos's curiosity. Besides the question of why Saitama was so powerful, he now had a second pressing question: how exactly Hayashi Maki's teleportation was possible.

But before that—

He had set up his safe house deep underground in the base, but now the base above him had been severely damaged and completely lost its function...

In other words, he was trapped in this hellhole and had to find a way to get himself out first.