Chapter 1745: Chapter 1743: A Bold Idea (Tried Something Depressing)

After learning the true identity of this mysterious substance from the Goddess’s backup, Fang Zheng was left speechless. However, the last sentence spoken by the Goddess caught Fang Zheng’s attention.

"After all, it’s something once used by a goddess; it’s only natural it would affect mortals."

Though the sentence seemed fine, if true, it would overturn Fang Zheng’s original ideas.

Initially, he thought that the mysterious substance’s abilities were intrinsic. But now it seems... is it merely due to the divine power of the Goddess infused in it?

Wait a minute, if the Goddess’s divine power can do this, what about his own divine power?

With this thought, Fang Zheng once again retrieved samples from Riko, Ruiko, and Frenda, then extended his hand. Soon, a ball of burning Primordial Fire emerged from Fang Zheng’s fingertip, and the heat quickly spread out... shortly thereafter, Fang Zheng observed that almost simultaneously with the release of his divine power, the structures of the three samples began to react — even more intensely than the radiation emitted previously by the substance.

Thinking about it carefully, this was normal. The substance Fang Zheng used in Riko was less than a milligram, and since the Goddess was already dead, the residual divine power was certainly very weak. On the other hand, Fang Zheng himself was an energetic current deity, whose divine power was much stronger than whatever minuscule amount left by the Goddess.

If Fang Zheng’s current divine power wasn’t even comparable to the residue left by the Goddess, he might as well go back home and indulge in revelry.

However... upon realizing this, Fang Zheng suddenly thought of another issue.

In that case, what about others?

"Nymph."

"Present."

"Bring over samples from Kurumi, Eiriri, and Natsuse."

"Understood."

Heavenly Dao Palace conducts regular check-ups, so backups of blood samples from the girls must also exist. Soon, a small portal opened before Fang Zheng, from which several well-sealed samples emerged. Fang Zheng took the samples and conducted an experiment similar to before.

To Fang Zheng’s surprise, this time, his divine power only slightly affected Kurumi and Natsuse, while Eiriri and Asuna’s samples showed no reaction whatsoever.

What’s going on?

In terms of genetics, Asuna, Eiriri, and Ruiko have no differences whatsoever. Whether observed from the DNA structure or chromosomes, they’re standard humans. Yet facing Fang Zheng’s divine power, Asuna showed no reaction at all.

Could it be related to the nature of their world?

Fang Zheng remembered that Asuna was from a game world, where even though there were Angels and Vampires, humans were merely ordinary humans, seemingly bereft of any concept akin to Superhuman. Meanwhile, Kurumi’s Spirit Crystal had already formed, and Natsuse had undergone modifications from the Swarm...

Following this, Fang Zheng successively compared samples from Fate, Nanoha, and Little Sakura, finding similar results. When his divine power acted, samples from worlds inherently "mystical" showed certain reactions, though they didn’t mutate. At least, the data was somewhat similar to an overall enhancement buff.

But there wasn’t mutation as seen with Ruiko and Riko.

In worlds where the definition of humans, like Asuna’s, lacked special traits, divine power wasn’t very effective.

Thinking about it, perhaps Yukina and Meixi would similarly show no significant response? Though it’s hard to say...

This helped Fang Zheng uncover the key to boosting abilities.

In simple terms, it requires divine power catalysis...

This is quite straightforward.

If it stemmed purely from the mysterious substance’s special ability, Fang Zheng may not have had any viable solution. However, if enhancement is possible through divine power catalysis, it becomes a lot simpler.

However, there’s still one problem.

Neither the Goddess of Creation’s nor Fang Zheng’s divine power could induce permanent mutation; during the effect of divine power, the genes could mutate, but once the power dissipates, they revert to their original state — a bit like inflating a balloon that deflates once the air supply stops.

Only when Fang Zheng "infuses" divine power can the mutation be fixed instead of reverting.

But this is puzzling...

Divine power is akin to Inner Strength in Martial Hero novels — elusive and intangible. Though Fang Zheng could simply extract his blood and inject it, biologically feasible, human testing poses high risks. It’s safer to opt for forming a magic contract and becoming a Magical Girl.

Thus, Fang Zheng finally brought Riko over and explained the situation.

"...So, at present, you have two choices. First, you can form a contract with me, becoming a Magical Girl. The contract will activate your nature and provide variant power according to it. Second, you could experiment using divine power infusion to ensure permanent gene mutation... But candidly, this bears certain risks."

"Uh..."

After Fang Zheng’s explanation, Riko hesitated slightly. She knew Fang Zheng had immense power; rationally, the first option was preferable. But...

Thinking this through, a sudden idea struck Riko. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Then Mr. Fang Zheng, can I have both?"

"...Huh?"

"You said the second method is very dangerous, but if I become a Magical Girl, and then..."

"Once you become a Magical Girl, you won’t be affected anymore... because signing a contract to become a Magical Girl is essentially a mutation, and the possibility of a second mutation is too small, and I wouldn’t agree to this method because there’s no precedent."

Fang Zheng rejected her as a matter of course.

Are you kidding, adults want everything, and you’re just a little girl, okay?

"Uh... I see... then... then..."

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s answer, Riko pondered for a long time, then gritted her teeth.

"I choose the second method!"

"Are you sure? A word in advance, I don’t know what kind of effects and problems this will cause, and if something goes wrong, you might end up dead."

"Even so, I still want to try!"

Saying this, Riko clenched her fists, and for once, a serious expression appeared on her face.

"This is the power of the Lupin Clan. I also want to prove that I am worthy of the name Lupin IV! Our Lupin Clan will never surrender in the face of difficulties! Besides, I carry my great-grandfather’s bloodline, I can surely awaken the power of Lupin!"

"Alright, since you’ve come this far, there’s nothing more I can say."

Facing Riko’s answer, Fang Zheng silently shook his head. This was Riko’s choice, and since she had already made it, Fang Zheng naturally wouldn’t try to dissuade her further.

"However, you should be mentally prepared, okay?"

"Eh...?"

Soon, Riko understood what Fang Zheng meant.

"Uh... Mr. Fang Zheng, do I really have to take off everything?"

Standing in the cold room, Riko blushed anxiously as she looked at Fang Zheng, who nodded.

"That’s right. From the abilities you used while wearing that cross before, your abilities might be of the transmutation type. The power I’ll infuse later will stimulate the mutated genes in your body to the greatest extent. In other words, when that happens, your power will definitely exceed your current control level, and no one knows what you’ll turn into. Therefore, the fewer artificial materials on your body, the better. You wouldn’t want to find a hairpin or skirt stuck somewhere when you revert to your original form, right?"

"Ugh..."

Just imagining that scene made Riko’s face turn ashen.

"Absolutely not..."

"So, do you want to continue? Or choose to give up?"

"...Continue."

Although Riko looked small and delicate, she was a person with firm determination. Even after being locked in a cage by Vlad for years, she never gave up resisting, so she certainly wouldn’t give up over such a small setback. Soon, Riko changed her clothes in the dressing room and then came out wrapped in a nightgown, somewhat shyly.

"Turn around and stand with your back to me, take off your clothes, don’t worry, I’ll be watching over you."

"Mm..."

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Riko took a deep breath, then removed her nightgown and stood with her back to Fang Zheng, closing her eyes.

Even so, her rapid breathing indicated she wasn’t calm... which was only natural.

Fang Zheng extended his finger, and soon, a small flame appeared at his fingertip. This flame was so weak that it seemed like it would extinguish with a gust of wind. Despite this, Fang Zheng continued to fixate on the flame. Under his gaze, the flame grew even weaker until it was just a strand as thin as a hair, glowing orange-red.

At first glance, it looked like some kind of illusion.

Then, Fang Zheng looked at Riko’s back in front of him and flicked his finger gently.

The next moment, that hair-thin strand of orange-red light shot out and entered Riko’s body. Simultaneously, Riko’s body trembled slightly.

"Uh... It feels a bit warm, what is this..."

"The infusion is complete, how do you feel now?"

"Doesn’t feel particularly strange..."

Riko carefully moved her limbs and tilted her head.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, I feel like—!"

However, before Riko finished her sentence, her voice suddenly became sharp and high-pitched. At the same time, the girl’s form before Fang Zheng’s eyes underwent an unimaginable transformation!