124: Chapter 124: The End of Alchemy is Tightening a Screw
Sun Siyuan fainted and was hurriedly carried away by his fellow disciples, who were just as devastated as he was.
This highly anticipated "Alchemy Duel" came to an end in such a dramatic fashion.
There were no earth-shattering magical battles, nor were there any esoteric theoretical debates.
There was only the cold, cruel, and indisputable crushing force of data.
Jiang Ning used the most direct method to prove a principle to everyone:
In the face of absolute productivity, any sentiment or artistry appears pale and powerless.
In the live stream, the chat was going crazy.
"I'm falling apart! I'm seriously falling apart! 99.99% purity? Three-fifty a bottle? What kind of miracle potion is this?"
"Master Sun is so pathetic. I'd like to call this the 'Most Pathetic Backfire of the Year'!"
"Quit laughing, guys. I just checked the Kunlun Academy official website, and the 'Spirit Energy Supplement Liquid' is already up for pre-order! Limited to one box per person! I've been trying to snag some for ages and haven't gotten any!"
"Forget it, upstairs! I just asked a friend at the academy, and the entire first batch has been reserved internally by the national military and research units! For us ordinary people, we'll probably have to wait until those hundred factories are built to get a drink."
"Waaaah, I don't care! I want to drink it now! For a sip of this miracle potion, I'm willing to go to the factory and tighten screws!"
The clamor on the internet did not affect the venue in the slightest.
After Sun Siyuan was carried away, those "Alchemy Masters" who had come with him were still frozen in place, unable to recover from the massive shock they had just experienced.
They looked at the massive reactor that was still running continuously, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was shock, unwillingness, and confusion, but more than that, it was the panic of being abandoned by the times.
The "Alchemy Path" they had upheld their entire lives had been proven a dead end today.
An old alchemist with white hair walked shakily up to Jiang Ning and bowed deeply to her.
"Chief... Chief Engineer Jiang." His voice was hoarse, carrying an imperceptible tremor. "This old man... failed to recognize a true master. I have offended you in the past, and I hope you can be magnanimous."
"I dare to ask you a question."
Jiang Ning glanced at him and nodded: "Ask."
"Does the 'Alchemy Path' you walk... really not require any 'spirituality' or 'insight'?" The old alchemist asked the biggest question in the hearts of all traditional alchemists. "Could alchemy really be completely replicated and mass-produced, just like a machine?"
This was their final and most core pride.
They believed that machines were dead, while people were alive. Only people could imbue pills with "spirituality."
"Who said my machine lacks 'spirituality'?"
Jiang Ning's answer once again exceeded everyone's expectations.
She walked to the massive reactor, reached out, and gently placed her hand on the cold metal shell.
Following her action, a layer of arrays composed of countless tiny runes, almost invisible to the naked eye, slowly lit up between the dense pipes and circuits on the surface of the reactor.
"What you see is merely its shell, its 'physical body'."
"And its 'soul' is here."
Jiang Ning pointed to the glowing runes and explained to everyone: "The core of this reactor is not some gear or piston. It is a set of 'Automated Alchemy Composite Arrays' that I designed and inscribed myself."
"This array integrates tens of thousands of different functional modules: temperature control arrays, pressure arrays, purification arrays, catalytic arrays, Spirit Gathering Arrays..."
"It is like a top-tier Alchemy Master with tens of thousands of arms. It can simultaneously and precisely complete tens of thousands of different operations."
"You rely on personal feeling and experience to practice alchemy. It relies on big data and optimal algorithms."
"Before putting it into production, I had it simulate and calculate the alchemy process under more than a billion different ratios and environmental conditions to find the 'perfect path' with the highest success rate and optimal efficiency."
"Your so-called 'spirituality' and 'insight,' in my hands, can all be quantified into lines of code and individual parameters."
"So, tell me," Jiang Ning scanned the dumbfounded Alchemy Masters before her, "are your personal, uncertain 'insights' more reliable, or is the 'optimal solution' derived from my machine's billion simulations closer to the essence of the 'Alchemy Path'?"
The entire auditorium was dead silent.
Those Alchemy Masters watched the complex array flowing like a living thing on the surface of the reactor, feeling their worldview being turned upside down once again.
So... so this wasn't just some cold machine at all.
This was an... ultimate alchemy artifact endowed with "wisdom" and a "soul"!
The so-called "spirituality" they were so proud of was simply a joke in front of this "super brain" capable of performing a billion deductions.
"I... I understand..."
The old alchemist who had asked the question earlier bowed deeply to Jiang Ning again. This time, there was no longer any doubt in his eyes, only pure awe and... desire.
"This old man... wants to learn."
His voice was not loud, but in the quiet auditorium, it sounded exceptionally clear.
"Chief Engineer Jiang, this old man dares to implore you to allow us old fellows to stay at Kunlun Academy, starting as apprentices, to learn this... true 'Alchemy Path' of yours!"
His words were like lighting a fuse.
The other Alchemy Masters also reacted, scrambling to crowd around her.
"Yes! Chief Engineer Jiang! Please take us in!"
"We don't want any compensation! As long as we can audit! As long as we can go into the factory and take a look!"
"I am willing to donate all our family's secret alchemy recipes! I only ask to learn the basics of your technology!"
Watching this group of people with an average age of over seventy, who were all titans in their fields outside, now acting like elementary school students scrambling to "go to school," Director Zhao Lixin and Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo were stunned.
This scene was just too surreal.
Jiang Ning looked at them with no expression on her face.
She knew clearly in her heart that these people hadn't truly had an epiphany.
They had simply seen the immeasurable value and prospects behind this new "Alchemy Path."
However, that was not important.
What was important was that they were now willing to lower their heads and learn her rules.
That was enough.
"If you want to learn, you may." She nodded. "Kunlun Academy always welcomes any talent willing to contribute to the nation's construction."
"However, we do not keep idlers here."
"Starting tomorrow, all of you will report to the construction site of the 'Shennong No. 1' factory."
"Follow the construction team first, starting with tightening screws and welding pipes."
"When you have built this factory with your own hands, then you can come talk to me about how to use it."