Chapter 58: Bountiful Harvest
After confirming that the other party didn't pursue him, Su Hao returned to the previous hiding place of the books and retrieved the package containing the books. He held the two packages in his hands and chuckled, "Tonight's mission is basically completed, a bountiful harvest."
Su Hao drove with the radar, avoiding the crowds, and quietly returned to the dormitory in the academy.
"Whew..." As he sat on the bed, he finally let out a long sigh.
Although it hadn't been a long time since tonight, Su Hao felt it was exhilarating enough.
The battle with the Master Martial Artist was exceptionally intense. Despite being adequately prepared, he was still caught off guard by two sudden changes. One was when his "Mysterious Stab" targeted the opponent's throat, only to be blocked, and the other was when a sudden burst of light from his opponent's hand caught him off guard.
This made Su Hao realize that he lacked experience in dealing with unexpected situations during battles.
However, he had already achieved his basic goal now, and he was in a very good mood. He had also eliminated a menace for Lingyun Town.
Although he hadn't confirmed the opponent's complete death in the end, considering the severity of the injuries, it was highly unlikely for the opponent to come back and cause trouble in the short term.
As for why Jin Datong appeared there and why he saved the killer, Su Hao didn't know, nor did he want to spend time pondering over these questions.
He had already recorded the opponent's blood information, so as long as the opponent approached again, he would immediately notice it.
He now had something more interesting to do, which was to study the precious information he had obtained.
Su Hao couldn't wait to open the package carried by the killer.
There were two bottles containing an unknown liquid, four scrolls, three books, and two black stones.
Setting the bottles and stones aside, Su Hao first picked up the four scrolls and looked at the labels one by one.
"Barrier," "Radiance," "Manipulation," "Extraction."
The four scrolls had animal patterns on them, and Su Hao's eyes flashed with delight as he immediately stored them in the spatial ring.
He then picked up the three books.
"Fundamental Structure of Runes," "Application of Runes," "Rune Drawing Ink."
"Such a big gain!" Su Hao first flipped through all three books from beginning to end before securely storing them in the spatial ring.
The following night, Su Hao had no sleepiness at all. He started reading under the light.
He started with the "Fundamental Structure of Runes."
...
After finishing reading all three books in one breath, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Su Hao not only didn't feel a bit tired, but he was even more energetic.
What did he see?
He saw another special kind of science in this different world.
Different from the science in the technological world that mainly relied on electricity as the primary energy source, the scientific system of this world was based on the life force contained within living beings.
In just these three books, Su Hao caught a glimpse of the wisdom of life in this world and felt incredibly amazed.
It was a natural miracle, and only through natural evolution could such a perfect structure be achieved.
These three books mainly described the superficial phenomena associated with rune creation.
In other words, where runes came from, what they were used for, and how to use them.
In simple terms, runes were derived from animal patterns and were simplified versions of animal patterns, but they were still quite complex.
To draw runes, four conditions had to be met. Firstly, a special drawing ink had to be used because the specially made drawing ink could blend and preserve the life force effectively. Secondly, the runes had to be drawn on a living organism with vitality because life force was essentially bioenergy and couldn't be drawn on lifeless objects.
Thirdly, the life force needed to be continuously maintained. If not sustained, the drawn runes would dissipate in an instant.
Lastly, only one instance of the same rune could be drawn on the body. If two were drawn simultaneously, they would cancel each other out and collapse.
But what Su Hao saw wasn't just the surface of the runes; he also saw the underlying principles beneath these appearances.
Why could the "Perception" rune sense life force? Why could the "Radiance" rune emit bright light? Why could the "Indestructible" rune be impervious to damage?
The effects produced by the runes were only their surface manifestations, the results. Su Hao didn't have much interest in that. However, he was very interested in the principles that led to these results.
It was like how many people knew that light bulbs could emit light, electric fans could rotate, microwaves could heat, speakers could produce sound, televisions could display videos, and atomic bombs could explode, etc. But the detailed principles behind them were unknown.
Similarly, the people in this world knew that runes, once activated, could produce various special effects, but no one knew the specific reasons behind them.
It wasn't that the people in this world didn't research it, but rather, their initial research direction was misguided.
Modern technology was based on the study of external materials and energy, with the focus on matter and energy.
In this world, due to the peculiarity of the process, people based their research on the physical body, the development of bioenergy, and the exploration of individual power limits.
Therefore, people's view of runes was more attributed to the blessings of the Creator, a unique treasure possessed by ferocious beasts.
They only collected the superficial aspects of runes and explored how to use known runes to enhance their individual strength, reaching the pinnacle of combat power.
Few people, like Su Hao, thought about the principles behind the runes when they first obtained them, rather than marveling at how powerful the runes were.
Even if someone did think like Su Hao, they didn't possess as extensive knowledge as him, and in the end, almost everyone failed to grasp it and could only helplessly give up.
"These runes must have operational principles, just like how electricity produces magnetism, magnetism produces electricity, heat energy is converted into electrical energy, electrical energy is converted into light, and the photoelectric effect, etc. This energy source, the life force, is similar to electrical energy. When operated according to certain rules, it will inevitably produce a certain kind of special force field, and when multiple force fields combine, they prompt the life force to undergo special changes, forming the observed appearances like emitting light, being indestructible, manipulating barriers, and more."
A blazing flame lit up in Su Hao's eyes, and his whole body trembled with excitement. This was another set of scientific principles based on biological energy!
"I must dissect all these runes and completely uncover the secrets contained within them! How does life force generate force fields? What are the properties of these force fields? How to control the intensity of force fields? I can't wait any longer!"
After taking a deep breath and calming his excited emotions, Su Hao entered the spatial ring.
"Xiao Guang, create a rune experimentation platform."
The living room of the room faded away, and a circular experimental platform appeared.
"Dissect the structures of the runes 'Perception,' 'Barrier,' 'Radiance,' 'Manipulation,' and 'Extraction.'"
"Please set the dissection conditions."
After contemplating for a moment,
Su Hao gave the command, "Dissect each rune into ten parts according to the length of their operational routes."
"Dissection successful."
After saving the files, Su Hao continued to dissect the rune fragments into smaller pieces based on their structural complexity, such as dissecting them into circular structures, special curve structures, and so on.
In just a moment, with the help of Xiao Guang, he dissected all the runes into small fragments in various forms and categorized them for archiving.
"Now, each fragment needs to be tested one by one, observing the results of their operation."
Su Hao confirmed the plan and listed the necessary precautions.
"There are also some issues to be resolved. Some force fields cannot be perceived with the naked eye, so I need corresponding testing tools and equipment. I need to find materials science information in this world. However, the good news is that my 'Perception' rune is highly sensitive to the operation of life force. With focused attention at close range, I can perceive subtle changes in the life force field."
Su Hao looked around the dormitory environment and frowned, murmuring, "It seems that this place is no longer suitable. It's time to change locations."
He picked up the four animal-patterned scrolls in his hand and revealed a mysterious smile, "If I can sell these, they'll be worth a fortune."
"But, I have to wait for school to start!"
There were still more than ten days until the start of school.
Su Hao wasn't in a hurry. He planned to thoroughly study the recovered books during this period, then go to town to browse and confirm the list for subsequent purchases.
(translated by begs)