Chapter 405: If NESTS can do it, why can't I, Hammond?
Hammond's Innovation Lab, with its background setting as an "Ancient Organism Gene Lab," has successfully integrated into the current King of Fighters '97 MUGEN worldview.
Truthfully, in terms of outlandishness, Cheng Tian's laboratory, specializing in the revival and incubation of ancient organisms, is far less absurd than the native King of Fighters organization, "NESTS," which theoretically existed in the mid-to-late 20th century and specialized in gene cloning research.
The conditions for establishing a portable laboratory are actually quite broad: as long as there are theoretically ancient organisms that can be collected, acquired, and used for gene research, and a normal human social order exists, then it can be built.
As for the ancient organisms in this King of Fighters worldview... could it be referring to the Orochi clan?
When selecting the site for construction, Cheng Tian hadn't thought much about it. But when he brought his people and the two cat spirits, who were no longer fighting amongst themselves, into the lab, a somewhat strange but upon closer thought, quite reasonable idea suddenly popped into his head.
As the lab completely occupied and was built in the park area, Utan also appeared along with it.
As for the two cat spirits, who were ostensibly still competing for the invitation letter, or more accurately, just Cat Princess, she had temporarily given up the idea of snatching Cheng Tian's invitation letter after their internal struggle.
In return, Cheng Tian needed to find her more entertainment.
This was Cheng Tian's initial reason for suddenly deciding to build the lab.
Although cat spirits act chaotically, are whimsical, and always prefer to approach everything with a mischievous attitude, they are not entirely unreasonable. As long as their conditions can be met, they are actually quite easy to deal with.
Take Nero Cat as an example; he simply felt good seeing Cat Princess get frustrated and unilaterally chose to issue a certificate to Cheng Tian.
It's just that he is one of the twenty-seven Ancestral Cats in the Cat Kingdom, holding a high status, and the honor he bestowed upon Cheng Tian wasn't so exaggerated that Cat Princess couldn't accept it, so it was issued.
Cheng Tian also incidentally acquired the title of "Honorary Cat Disciple."
Under the influence of the rules, most entities in this world, including players, regarded the temporarily constructed laboratory as something that had always existed in this world. However, the two cat spirits seemed to have broken through this rule to a certain extent; although also affected by the rule, they simultaneously witnessed the high-speed construction of the laboratory in the park.
And that's why Cat Princess sharply commented on Cheng Tian being "cartoony."
"Boss."
Utan, whose appearance hadn't changed much, spoke directly to Cheng Tian.
Yes, at this moment, Utan hadn't yet undergone extensive modifications to himself. He had merely implanted a small device in his throat, allowing him to speak directly, and he had certainly made similar small adjustments to himself, serving as a warm-up for his ultimate transformation.
"How many of the lab's functions have been retained?"
After instructing Bazett and the others to take the two cat spirits to see the dinosaur specimens, and also to hand the invitation letter to Irene, he found an opportunity to ask Utan.
Just as Cheng Tian asked, the laboratory was indeed successfully established, but it was also inevitably subjected to various restrictions.
Firstly, the incubation function was partially restricted; it couldn't incubate any live dinosaurs. The reason for this was the climate.
The oxygen content of the regular air in the King of Fighters world couldn't support the dinosaurs' oxygen consumption... which actually makes sense?
Considering the global warming, rising sea levels, and greatly increased oxygen levels caused by the climate catastrophe in the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs world, perhaps it was the humans in that world who truly underwent physical evolution.
However, while the function for dinosaurs and other ancient biological materials was restricted, the function for collecting materials was still retained. This means that there indeed exists some kind of "ancient organism" material in this world that can actually be collected.
"The Orochi blood within the Eight Chiyou of Orochi should count as a material that carries the bloodline of ancient super-powered organisms, right? And Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, their fire abilities are also inherited through bloodline; I wonder if those count."
"Also NESTS, at this point in time, they should already possess complete cloning technology. If I remember correctly, it was around the time the KOF '97 tournament ended that Kusanagi was captured and began to be mass-produced as clones."
Cheng Tian recalled and shared the information he knew with Utan.
As soon as Cheng Tian finished speaking, a series of side quests popped up in the space.
[You have obtained information about the hidden faction "NESTS" through unknown means.]
[Detected that you have successfully deployed and built "Hammond's Innovation Lab: KOF Branch" in the "King of Fighters '97 MUGEN" dungeon—]
[You have triggered the side quests—"Legacy of Superpowered Bloodlines" and "Laboratory Technology Upgrade"]
[Legacy of Superpowered Bloodlines — In the King of Fighters worldview, there are many humans who gain superpowers through bloodline inheritance. Among them, the blood of Kusanagi, the blood of Yagami, and the Orochi blood carrying 8 different powers are the most valuable special bloodlines for research. You can try to collect as many of these 10 types of blood as possible (0/10).
Side Quest Reward: For each special bloodline collected, the maximum capacity of the Genetic Gene Collection will increase by 1.]
[Laboratory Technology Upgrade — Hammond's Innovation Lab inherently possesses a wild, adventurous spirit. The simple revival of dinosaurs cannot satisfy the lab's desires. NESTS possesses complete cloning technology, which will push the lab's wildness completely towards a direction that violates human ethics. You can try to obtain relevant technology from NESTS, or you can let the lab remain focused solely on dinosaur research. The future development direction of the lab will be decided by you personally.
Side Quest Reward: Hammond's Innovation Lab will add the "Cloning" project/effect, and the execution mode of this project will be the same as "Incubating Ancient Organisms."]
[Detected that the main person in charge of the laboratory, Utan, possesses the special skill "Dragon-Human Fusion Gene Modification"—]
[When you simultaneously complete both "Legacy of Superpowered Bloodlines" and "Laboratory Technology Upgrade" side quests, the special item you hold, "Superpowered Dinosaur Original Genetic Genome Sample," will be upgraded to "Superpowered Original Genetic Genome Sample" as a side quest reward, and its applicable targets will expand from the original "Dinosaur Specialization" to "Dinosaur and Human Specialization."]
"Time to get to work~"
After imprinting the newly popped-up series of side quests in his mind, Cheng Tian took a deep breath, and his entire demeanor became more upright.
Vacation mode over! Activate side quest completion mode!
Indeed, as long as there are things to do, there will be endless things to do. There's no way he can be idle!
However, just then, a red-eyed crow, appearing from unknown origins, suddenly appeared in front of Cheng Tian, and as soon as it spoke, it was Nero Cat's deep baritone.
"Little brother, I'm Nero... Can I eat something here, meow?"
"No problem, what do you want to eat?"
"Dinosaur."
"No problem."
...Meow?
Nero Cat, on the other end of the crow, was unexpectedly stunned.