Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

“I advise you to reconsider. What you produce might just be a moldy piece of junk sitting in the warehouse. Although the Philosopher’s Stone can be recycled, researchers’ time is very valuable. We also have several projects under development. If you miss this opportunity, you won’t get another one,” Mans said.

“How would you know if you don’t try?” Lu Mingfei said. “I think I can handle it. I’ve had a dream since I was a child: to move freely through the city like Spider-Man.”

“Alright, I’ll give you another test today. We have plenty of these grappling hooks in our warehouse,” Mans said. “But they’re all disposable and can’t be reused, and they can’t compress with the weight of an adult. If you pass the test, I won’t argue with you anymore.”

Chapter 139 Stress Test

“Let’s do a physical test first.” Mans took out a bunch of things that looked like band-aids. “These contain microelectronic chips. Stick them on your muscles, and the data will be sent back to Norma’s central processing unit for analysis.”

"Where exactly should I put it?" Lu Mingfei picked up a band-aid with his fingers and gently rubbed it. He could feel a hard, square object in the center. It was very light, similar in weight and shape to a regular band-aid.

“You need to stick them on your chest muscles, waist muscles, arm muscles, thigh and calf muscles, and glutes,” Mans said. “Just tear off this white seal and stick it on your body.”

Mans demonstrated how to use it, sticking a special band-aid on the back of his hand.

"I understand." Lu Mingfei nodded. "Where is the changing room? I'll go put up the sign now."

“There is no changing room,” Mans said calmly. “This is the equipment department’s laboratory, not a clothing store in a department store.”

Lu Mingfei looked around and suddenly realized that the researchers were all staring at him: "Could it be... that I'm going to take my clothes off here?"

"Go to the restroom to change." Mans tossed over a set of black combat uniforms, a black fitted leather jacket paired with a tactical vest and belt. "Also, change into this outfit. In the practical classes in the second semester, we'll be making a combat uniform for each freshman. They'll all be this style, so you need to get used to it in advance."

...

Lu Mingfei stood in the bathroom mirror loosening his belt. This outfit was very cool, looking like the combat uniform of some special forces unit, but it didn't fit quite right. How to put it, it was too tight. It would be better if the belt were looser.

"Oh well, I'll just have to make do." Lu Mingfei buckled his belt, twisted his waist, struck a pose in front of the mirror, picked up his school uniform, and walked out of the restroom.

“I thought you fell into the toilet.” Mans glanced at his watch, his expression unfriendly. “A qualified executive officer should not take more than half a minute to change clothes. Even though you are a freshman, you should be able to change within three minutes, but you took a full eight minutes.”

"I'm sorry, Professor, these clothes don't fit quite right," Lu Mingfei said.

"Where does it not fit?" Mans asked.

"I feel like my pants are a little too tight in the crotch, but I don't know if it's just my imagination." Lu Mingfei pulled his belt up a bit.

Mans frowned, ran over, and reached straight for Lu Mingfei's crotch.

"Professor, what are you doing!" Lu Mingfei suddenly dodged.

"Don't move." Mans was ruthless and didn't say much, grabbing at her again.

Lu Mingfei nimbly stepped aside and dodged.

"Professor, I was mistaken just now. The belt fits perfectly. Let's continue with the physical test," Lu Mingfei said with a serious expression.

Mans glanced at him and said, "There's a button on the back of the belt. Press it to adjust the tightness. This combat suit is a test suit, designed for people of all body types."

Before handing the combat suit to Lu Mingfei, Mans had already adjusted the size based on visual measurements. Generally speaking, with his extensive experience, he wouldn't make a mistake, but unexpectedly, he messed up today.

This kid looks so skinny, does he really have the looks to back it up?

"Did you find it?" Mans couldn't help but ask, looking at Lu Mingfei who was fiddling around with his hands.

"Almost there!" Lu Mingfei touched the protrusion and tightened his fingers. His waist, which had been constricted, instantly loosened. The belt seemed to be released like a taut spring, becoming longer. However, his pants felt like they were about to slip down, so he quickly grabbed them.

“Once you get to the position you like, press it again,” Mans said.

Lu Mingfei did as instructed, tightening his belt and feeling much more comfortable.

"Put this on." Mans handed Lu Mingfei a solid black single-ear tactical headset. "Come with me."

The two entered the glass enclosure, where white alloy plates covered the ceiling and walls. There were mechanical arms extending from the corners, as well as many large, futuristic instruments and equipment, making it look like the secret base of a mad scientist.

Mans led Lu Mingfei to a cylindrical, streamlined, silver machine, about the size of a small truck. It was hollow in the middle, like a large concrete pipe, and the inside was pitch black. It was about 3 meters high and could completely accommodate a person.

Mans opened a small slot on the side of the machine and quickly pressed keys on the micro keypad with one hand. Then the entire inside of the instrument lit up with a faint blue fluorescence. Only then did Lu Mingfei see that it was a long conveyor belt with smooth metal walls all around and black plastic protrusions in the gaps. It seemed to be a high-end treadmill.

"This is our self-developed physical fitness testing device. It is 7.5 meters long and weighs 5.67 tons. It uses the most advanced laser scanning technology. The track can reach a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour. It can connect to the chip attached to your body to collect data such as your body temperature, heart rate, and blood flow rate."

"Today's testing consists of three phases: stress testing, load testing, and strength testing."

"The stress test is a test of your muscle stability and load-bearing capacity. This is the first stage, which will keep everything within your tolerance range, or rather, within the tolerance range of a typical mixed-race person. This stage lasts for ten minutes and is the easiest stage."

"Load testing will start to push you to your limits. It usually requires several tests, each under different extreme conditions, such as running for eight hours straight, or gradually increasing the speed until you can't keep up with the tracks and get thrown off. Due to time constraints, we only test your maximum speed."

"The intensity test is to determine your ability under the worst conditions. After measuring your maximum speed, you need to run at full speed for 5 minutes at a speed slightly below your maximum speed. This will exhaust your physical strength. Then, you will immediately undergo another 5-minute stress test. If you feel that you can't hold on, you can call for a stop at any time, and we will stop immediately."

“Don’t worry about being thrown out and getting hurt. The device has airbags inside. Once the chip detects that your condition is abnormal, the tracks will slow down instantly, and the airbags will deploy to support your body and ensure that you are not injured. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Mans asked.

"Got it, all I need to do is run, right?" Lu Mingfei nodded.

“That makes sense,” Mans replied. “I’ll communicate with you using a headset. Don’t push yourself; safety first.”

“Okay.” Lu Mingfei entered the large metal tube.

"Take two steps forward and get to the very center," Professor Mans' voice came through the earpiece.

Lu Mingfei followed the instructions and entered the center.

"Let's warm up."

Lu Mingfei began to stretch his body, doing chest expansion and stretching exercises to loosen his joints.

Mans returned to the outside of the glass enclosure, where eight researchers sat in swivel chairs looking at their own screens, which displayed various electrocardiograms, body temperature charts, and thermal imaging.

"The pulse rate is 65 beats per minute, and the heart rate is very stable and within the normal range."

"Chest temperature 36.6 degrees Celsius, leg temperature 36.5 degrees Celsius, arm temperature 36.6 degrees Celsius, blood supply normal."

"No sweat has been produced on the body surface, and the current water loss is 0."

"..."

The researchers reported to Professor Mans in turn.

Professor Mans nodded, standing with his hands behind his back in front of the glass dome. The holographic projection inside the testing device was projected onto the glass dome, showing Lu Mingfei, dressed in a black combat uniform, twisting his neck.

"Lu Mingfei, are you ready?" Mans spoke into his headset.

"Ready to go at any time." Lu Mingfei's voice came through the earpiece, without a trace of background noise.

“Okay, start the engine in 10 seconds,” Mans said.

A researcher suddenly pushed the lever down.

"The central transformer has begun outputting power."

"The voltage fluctuation range is not abnormal."

"Engine connection initiated, full power input."

"The power transmission voltage is maintained at its highest level, and the cooling system maintains normal power output operation."

"The superconducting energy storage system group has a charging rate of 76.8%."

"Pressure gauge confirmed, no abnormalities, flywheel begins to rotate."

"Start it," Mans ordered.

The engine roared, the tracks began to turn, and Lu Mingfei ran steadily on the tracks.

"Speed ​​maintained at 7 m/s, continuously accelerating, 8 m, 9 m, 10 m... has reached 12 m/s, stop accelerating."

"Lu Mingfei, how are you feeling?" Mans asked.

"I don't feel anything, Professor," Lu Mingfei replied.

Mans waved his hand and said, "Lift it up another 2 meters, to reach 14 meters per second."

“But Professor Mans, the normal range for stress testing should be kept within 13.3 meters per second,” said a researcher wearing glasses. “This is already the highest level that ordinary people can achieve. The world record for non-mixed-race individuals is only 12 to 13 meters per second during sprints. If the speed is increased to 14 meters per second, it should be considered a load test.”

“Lu Mingfei is S-class. You should all have seen the video on the forum of him jumping with a knife stuck in the air conditioner unit. His muscle strength is far greater than that of the average hybrid. You need to learn to adapt and increase your speed first. Unless he asks to slow down, the speed of this stress test will be maintained at 14 meters per second.”

"Received." The researcher stopped raising objections, tapped his fingers on the instrument, and increased the speed of the track to 14 meters per second.

Without using the power of words, this is already considered a high-load speed.

It's important to know that in the 100-meter sprint, the world record for an average person is 9.77 seconds, which averages about 10.5 meters per second. Only in the final sprint can the speed be increased to 12-13 meters per second.

For hybrid races, 12 meters per second is already a range that only a very few "A-level" individuals can achieve. To accelerate to 14 meters per second during the stress test phase is unheard of and a world first.

In running, every meter increase in speed brings a huge load. With an additional two meters, the researchers couldn't help but worry that Lu Mingfei might overexert himself during the stress test, since this was not a 100-meter race, but a long-distance run that would last for 10 minutes.

"Lu Mingfei, is the speed appropriate?" Mans pressed another button on the headset.

"I feel great, Professor."

“Okay, just keep running at a steady pace. The testing device will stop automatically when the time is up,” Mans said.

"Okay." Lu Mingfei continued running steadily.

The speed increase from 12 m/s to 14 m/s seems to have no effect on him at all.

Time passed gradually, and at the fifth minute, the researchers continued to analyze the data.

"His pulse increased to 80 beats per minute, but his heart rate remained stable. It's amazing! It's as if he's just warming up!"

"His chest temperature is 36.8 degrees Celsius, his leg temperature is 36.7 degrees Celsius, and his arm temperature is 36.9 degrees Celsius. Blood supply is normal. My God, his body temperature has hardly changed!"

"Slight sweating from the skin surface. Based on the collected data, it is estimated that the total water loss after starting to run is 0.126 liters, which is almost the same as jogging! That's incredible! Is this what 'S-level' means?!"

"..."

Every researcher was amazed by these data; as insiders, they understood their meaning better than anyone else.

The data collected today is constantly breaking records in the Norma database. Although the body composition analyzer has only been manufactured for less than 25 years, it has already been tested on hundreds of outstanding "A-level" specialists and thousands of "B-level" specialists.

Lu Mingfei's overall data gave him an overwhelming advantage in the stress test, securing first place. The second place was a name hidden in black characters. His stress test speed was 13 meters per second, but by the fifth minute, his heart rate had reached 90 beats per minute, his body temperature had risen by 0.5 degrees Celsius, and he had sweated 0.231 liters.

Although they may seem similar, their actual significance is worlds apart.

Based on current data, in terms of endurance alone, if Lu Mingfei were to participate in a marathon with the second-place finisher in a race with no restrictions on distance or time, he would at least run half again as far as the second-place finisher.

Perhaps only Principal Angers could possibly compete with Lu Mingfei. The principal has never participated in the test, and considering his age, even if he did, he wouldn't be able to break Lu Mingfei's record.

Mans listened to the researchers' report, stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "Increase the speed by 0.2 meters per minute for the next five minutes."

"Received." The researcher in charge of operating the testing equipment swallowed hard, his fingers trembling slightly as he typed on the keyboard and pressed Enter.

He wasn't scared; no one who dared to come to the Equipment Department was a coward. Explosions and accidents happened here every day. He was excited. With Lu Mingfei, many abandoned plans seemed to have a chance of being realized!

For example, he once wanted to create a combat suit that was fully equipped with missile launchers, with an alloy shell that covered the entire body, providing absolute protection, like a human tank, a weapon of mass destruction.

The idea was rejected in less than half a day because no one could move around in such a combat suit, and there would be no occasion to use it. Even if there was a real need, why not just drive a tank into battle?