My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Each of its sides has the same small grid.

The elemental servants randomly selected one side to fire, and the three bullets got stuck deep inside the metal cube, failing to penetrate the bionic lung.

It was Hillenburg's group's turn.

Xia Zuo wasn't nervous at all... Long before submitting the research results, he and Hillenburg had already conducted tests, and their bionic lungs could withstand magic bullets with 170 points of power.

And indeed, things went smoothly; Hillenburg's team passed.

What Xia Zuo didn't expect was that three groups would simultaneously enter the fourth stage—the additional function assessment.

Adanavados, seated as the chief examiner, waved away his elemental servants and addressed the three groups opposite him:

"Congratulations everyone on entering the fourth stage."

"Each group has up to 30 minutes to demonstrate the additional functions of the bionic lungs."

Adanavardos looked at the Metal Cube team, "You guys start."

The male leader of the Metal Cube team, dressed in a crisp alchemist's robe, stood up from his chair and carried a metal box to the center of the field.

Xia Zuo learned his name from the other person's name tag:

Leonard Lister, member of the Wildhammer Alchemists' Guild.

After taking the stage, Lister first greeted the judges and other groups politely, then opened the incubation tank and turned the damaged side of the metal cube upwards so that the people around him could see what was about to happen.

"Everyone, our team has developed the 'Cube Zero' bionic lung, which has a unique battlefield repair function."

Lister took a tube of silver "liquid" from the metal box, walked around the venue, and showed the judges what was inside the glass tube: many tiny, silvery-gray insects.

At first glance, the scene of them drilling holes everywhere looks no different from sloshing silver liquid.

"Silver-Eating Insects, a type of insect-like monster originating from the mineral alchemist's territory—the Wild Hammer Kingdom," Lister explained.

"This insect feeds on metal objects, and its excrement is also made of metal."

"Commissioned by the Kingdom of Desolate Hammer, the Desolate Hammer Alchemy Association has spent decades developing a method to control the Silver-Eating Insects, which can be used to devour specified metal objects, or..."

"Repair the damaged metal objects according to the controller's intentions."

"The Wild Hammer Alchemy Chamber Association has named this technique for automatically repairing metal items the Silver-Eating Insect Repair Method, like this..."

Lister removed the stopper from the glass tube and poured the silver "liquid" into the hole in the metal cube.

The sound of rolling metal pellets came from inside the metal cube, like someone violently shaking a metal box containing steel balls.

Lister held up the metal Rubik's Cube with both hands and presented it to the judges, demonstrating how the silver-eating worms repaired the cube.

Adanavardos stroked his beard with interest. "Heh heh, I didn't expect the Desolate Hammer to actually be successfully developed. I didn't even receive a single word about it."

He whispered among the outer temple masters around him, each of them revealing excitement in their expressions.

Lister brought the metal Rubik's Cube to Hillenburg's group.

Xia Zuo saw the scene inside the Rubik's Cube: countless silver-eating insects were spitting out silver threads, weaving small metal squares like a spider web, and inside the squares were air tubes, air pumps, and air sacs...

As a poison alchemist, Xia Zuo saw another layer of meaning...

The Wild Hammer Alchemists Association sponsored the Lister Group to participate in this bidding process, which is not simply about publicly revealing the Zero Cube bionic lung.

They wanted to take this opportunity to announce that, starting today, in addition to enchanting with light energy, there would be a method for repairing metal items independently using the Silver-Eating Insect Repair Method developed by the Wildhammer Alchemists Association.

The live demonstrations of the bionic lung trauma testing and additional function introduction sessions will become the best promotional materials, spreading throughout the entire alchemical school through the words of the outer temple master!

Xia Zuo and Hillenburg exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.

Lister's team solved the biggest flaw in the metal cube bionic lung and became the most likely team to advance among the three teams.

It took the Silver-Eating Bug 22 minutes to repair the metal cube.

Lister placed the repaired metal cube back into the incubation tank, bowed to those around him, and returned to his seat with the metal box, a smile playing on his lips, as if victory was assured.

The additional features of the Wind Cannon Frog Team were far less impressive than those of the Lister Team.

Just like its name suggests, the Wind Cannon Frog can spit out wind balls like cannonballs to attack enemies.

After a few seconds of charging, the balloon-shaped bionic lung, through its multi-layered nested structure, will layer pressure to create a wind cluster with a power of up to 110 points in the very center of the lung.

This is the additional function: a special ability to cast wind orbs without the need for wind magic.

To be honest... in Xia Zuo's opinion, this additional feature might actually be a weakness for the Wind Cannon Frog team...

The alchemy school specifically requested the development of bionic lungs with a 0% energy transfer rate in order to prevent Nyxath ​​from becoming aggressive.

The Wind Cannon Frog team went a step further, directly equipping the bionic lungs with an attack method that lacked energy fluctuations and was difficult to detect, thus violating the original intention of the alchemy school.

In contrast, the additional features that Hillenburg designed for the bionic lungs were much more useful.

"I am honored to demonstrate the additional functions of the Zero Bionic Lung to you all..." Hillenburg walked to the center of the hall, exchanged pleasantries, and then said:

"Alchemical bionic systems made from biological materials will possess strong self-repair capabilities as long as they are not directly related to the alchemical nervous system."

"The Demon Whale Zero bionic lung, which was jointly developed by Xia Zuo and me, can proliferate up to 1.3 small alveoli when the large alveoli are not severely damaged."

Hillenburg stood beside the culture tank and drew a circle on the damaged area of ​​the bionic lung.

"The previous three magic bullets pierced through six layers of small alveoli, and were still about four centimeters away from reaching the first layer of large alveoli."

"According to our group's calculations, this 4-centimeter thickness can withstand 3 to 5 magic bullets with 150 points of power, or one magic bullet with 170 points of power."

"This level of defense is sufficient to withstand the vast majority of attacks."

"But I feel it's not enough!"

Hillenburg emphasized, "The Demon Whale Zero only demonstrated passive defensive capabilities, gentlemen..."

Hillenburg bowed slightly to the judges' table. "Please allow me to use the culture tank to inject air into the Whale Zero."

Adanavardos nodded, flicked his finger, and summoned an elemental servant to help Hillenberg control the cultivation tank.

"Hiss~~~" Air continued to rush into the air supply tube, and the Demon Whale Zero gradually swelled up.

“Air is an easily accessible natural material,” Hillenburg said in a speech, replacing the act of inflating the air.

"The host of the Demon Whale Zero can continuously inhale air when moving on the ground, filling his lungs and making the outer alveoli hard and resilient."

"After inhaling enough air, the Demon Whale Zero will be able to withstand a magic bullet with 220 power."

The number 220 moved everyone present.

The alchemists of Lister's group whispered amongst themselves.

Hillenburg bowed slightly to the judges' table again, requesting permission to fire a magic bullet with 300 power.

An elemental servant brought over a psionic rifle as tall as an adult and pulled the trigger at the Demon Whale Zero inside the cultivation tank.

"Boom."

"puff.."

The tan bullet pierced the bionic lung, creating a huge cavity, and stopped 1 centimeter away from the large alveoli inside.

"Incredible..." Lister stared blankly at the Demon Whale Zero, muttering to himself, "An alchemical bionic organ constructed from biological materials, possessing protective capabilities comparable to metal artifacts..."

"As you have all noticed, the protective measures of the Demon Whale Zero are closely related to the layout, structure, and materials of its alveoli."

Hillenburg took a bulletproof vest out of his alchemy pocket; it was the protective gear he and Shazo had prepared for the amphibious combat puppet.

"The lining of this vest is filled with alchemical materials similar to the alveoli of the Demon Whale Zero."

Hillenburg put the vest on and placed his hands on the waist and abdomen of the vest.

“We can use wind energy to power the internal air pump array, filling the vest with air, or we can use wind magic.”

A greenish light flowed from Hillenburg's fingers, seeping into his vest, making the black vest bulge and giving him a fuller appearance.

"Due to the limited appearance of the bulletproof vest, the vest after restarting can only withstand blunt or sharp weapon attacks with a power of less than 100 points."

Hillenburg bowed to the judges' table for the third time, imploring Master Adanavados to let the elemental golems attack him.

Adanavardos stroked his beard, pondered for a second, and finally approved the other party's request.

The elemental golem took out a pistol made of elemental energy, briefly charged it, and fired a shot.

"Bang." The magic bullet struck the vest, creating a noticeable dent. The bullet bounced off the ground, rolled twice, and then disappeared.

Hillenburg was pushed back a few steps by the impact, and after regaining his footing, he said, "Again."

"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."

The elemental golem fired several shots.

"Bang, pfft!"

On the sixth shot, the vest burst like a balloon, tearing open a large hole.

The elemental golem retrieved its elemental pistol and ceased firing.

Hillenburg, panting, rubbed his chest a few times, took off his tattered bulletproof vest, held it up, looked around, and said:

"Six magic bullets with 100 points of power each—that's the current limit of what this Whale Bulletproof Vest can withstand."

"Due to the special materials and structure, this bulletproof vest cannot be repaired for the time being. Only the materials with recycling value can be selected and reused to weave new Magic Whale bulletproof vests."

"The demonstration of the additional functions of the Zero Bionic Lung of the Demon Whale is complete. Thank you all." Hillenburg folded his vest, bowed to everyone in thanks, and then sat back down in his chair.

The results of the review were announced on the spot, but Adanavados needed to consult with the outer temple master beside him beforehand.

He cast a spy-proof barrier, temporarily shielding the bidding team from being seen and heard.

Chapter 66 Back Door

The period during which the judging panel discussed the final selected bionic lung was the most difficult for all the participating research groups.

However… Xia Zuo felt that his chances of winning the group were over 80%.

First, we can rule out the Wind Cannon Frog team, because their research gave Neraksaart an offensive superpower, which violated the imprisonment requirements.

Secondly, Neoxsat was a member of the fundamentalist shamanic society, and Shazo had inquired about this shamanic branch from Hillenberg.

This is a branch of shamanism that avoids using metal materials, reveres nature, and worships the spirits of trees.

It's unrealistic to expect the elders of this branch to use bionic lungs made entirely of metal...