Chapter 84: Dragon Scales
Academician Ding couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned. Was Black Dragon experiencing some kind of mental disturbance, perhaps even accidental dissociation of personality? Yet, after a moment’s thought, he realized that this ability of Black Dragon’s was perhaps not so extraordinary after all. As long as the microscopic realm remained unlocked, given time, humanity would eventually master such abilities.
On the microscopic scale, the human body was undoubtedly an incredibly complex system, containing tens of trillions of cells and hundreds of billions of neurons. Clearly, such vast numbers of cells and neurons could never be controlled or managed by conscious will alone. In truth, not only cells and neurons, but even most organs in the body operated according to preprogrammed genetic instructions, functioning autonomously, with little interference from conscious thought.
In a way, this could be considered one of the great regrets of the human body. If the human brain could fully harness its subjective initiative, precisely governing every organ and every cell, then surely the human body would become immensely powerful. Immunity to disease and longevity would cease to be extravagant hopes and instead become standard features for everyone.
With the brain orchestrating the entirety, billions of devouring cells, white blood cells, and lymphocytes would respond as effortlessly as moving an arm. Faults within the body—bacterial infections, viral invasions, organ aging, cancer, and other longstanding challenges—would be swiftly resolved.
Of course, from the perspective of natural evolution, such abilities were no more than a beautiful vision, almost impossible to realize. The processing power of the human brain was, after all, quite limited; it couldn’t even manage common physiological phenomena like breathing or blinking, which had to be delegated to the subconscious, let alone exercise precise control over billions of minute cells.
Yet this beautiful vision, unattainable by the human body itself, was scientifically quite plausible! Once intelligent nanorobotic technology matured, implanting billions of medical nanobots into the body to replace the functions of key organs and cells would immediately establish the brain’s leadership, allowing conscious will to fully realize its potential.
At that point, not only could one force the stomach to take a vacation, but it wouldn’t be inconceivable to completely remove it from the body!
Black Dragon was a powerful extraordinary creature, possessing a mysterious super heart. The leadership and authority of its brain seemed clear, and granting the stomach high intelligence privileges was not entirely unreasonable.
Thinking along these lines, Ding Xuewen heard Black Dragon say, “By the way, Academician Ding, didn’t you mention last time that you were going to initiate a project to help me build a nuclear-powered heart? How’s that coming along?”
“Well…”
Academician Ding hesitated, then said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Huang. We went back and did some research, and found that with our current technology, building a nuclear-powered heart for you is rather difficult…”
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“Why?” Black Dragon asked, puzzled. “Aren’t our technologies in this field quite mature? We’ve even created artificial suns with temperatures in the hundreds of millions of degrees. Building a small nuclear fission reactor shouldn’t be that hard, right?”
Black Dragon had always wanted to modify its heart, aiming for a nuclear-powered backup, so it kept an eye on related information. It knew that the nuclear fission technology of the Xia Nation was already quite advanced.
With Xia’s current capabilities, a 10MW nuclear fission reactor could be built with a core as small as a cube with 10cm sides. Ten megawatts might not sound high—producing just about 10,000 kilowatt-hours per hour—but it would be more than sufficient for Black Dragon. And if it ever fell short, more reactors could simply be added.
“Constructing a small nuclear reactor is indeed not difficult,” Academician Ding replied. “But how to implant it into your body, Mr. Huang, and how to ensure it runs safely, is extremely challenging.”
“Mr. Huang, nuclear fission is among the most advanced technologies we have, yet it is highly susceptible to interference from magical elements. You, as a powerful magical creature…”
“No one can guarantee what kind of rejection reactions might occur if a nuclear reactor were implanted into your body.”
“I doubt it would be that serious…” Black Dragon paused, then said, “I can use my conscious will to forcibly control my organs and energy. That should suppress any rejection reactions.”
“In theory, yes,” Academician Ding shook his head, less optimistic. “But in practice, it will be far more complex and troublesome than you imagine.”
“Perhaps under the intervention of your powerful will, you could temporarily suppress your body’s rejection, but you can’t possibly devote your attention to this matter all the time—that’s simply unrealistic.”
“And if your focus slips and the reactor explodes, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
“That’s true…” Black Dragon considered this and found Ding’s concerns justified. Although it had a certain mysterious confidence in its bodily defenses, it wasn’t foolish enough to think it could withstand a nuclear explosion, especially one blossoming from within.
Black Dragon suddenly felt disheartened. “So, does this mean a nuclear-powered heart is impossible to create?”
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“Not necessarily.” Academician Ding smiled. “We just need to collect more data, accumulate more technology, and conduct more feasibility analyses and tests.”
“At the moment, we’ve noticed that your dragon scales, Mr. Huang, appear to be a nearly perfect anti-magic material. Their strength is also exceptional. Perhaps we could use them as the shell for the nuclear reactor, isolating the radioactive elements from magical interference.”
“Hmm… As long as you have a plan.” Black Dragon nodded, not quite catching on at first. But seeing Academician Ding hesitate several times, it finally understood and, half amused and half exasperated, said,
“Academician Ding, you know who I am—there’s no need to be so polite. Just say it: how many dragon scales do you need for your experiments?”
“Mr. Huang, it’s not about politeness—honestly, I’m a little embarrassed to ask.” Academician Ding looked awkward. “Our institute’s demand for your dragon scales is enormous. We’ll need at least thirty or forty square meters just to barely meet our experimental requirements.”
“No way… That much?” Black Dragon jumped, surprised that Academician Ding would dare make such a bold request. Thirty or forty square meters of dragon scales would probably strip its belly clean and still not be enough.
“Yes, besides using them as the shell for your nuclear-powered heart, we have another extremely important experiment that requires a large quantity of dragon scales,” Academician Ding said, face grave.
“What experiment?” Black Dragon asked, eyes wide with curiosity.