Chapter Ninety-Two: A Sip of Nuclear Wastewater

Black Dragon said he wanted to try some radioactive elements for fun, and of course that was no problem.

Weapon-grade uranium-235 was certainly out of the question, far too dangerous. For safety’s sake, Academician Ding had someone bring over some iridium-192 of relatively low abundance so Black Dragon could test the waters first.

Then Black Dragon’s reaction was...

He shot to his feet by reflex, as if he had seen a ghost, and leaped a long way back.

“Seriously... is it really this ridiculous?”

Before his mind had even caught up, his body’s protective instincts had already kicked in, bypassing the brain’s permission altogether and forcibly dragging him away from the radioactive material.

“It’s only a little iridium-192... is there really any need to react this strongly?”

Black Dragon found it utterly baffling. As the saying went, everything in the world gives off radiation; it was only a matter of strength. He had stayed within this realm before and seemed perfectly fine, which meant his body was already adapting to the rules and mechanisms of this place. Added to his own formidable physique, he should, in theory, have had at least some resistance to radioactive elements.

So why was he reacting like this now?

“You usually act so capable, so fearless—why do you turn into a coward the moment you meet a little radioactive material?”

Black Dragon looked at his trembling heart, whose beat seemed to have slowed by half a step, and felt, for some reason, a little disappointed. He could not help muttering, “Why don’t you toughen up a bit? At least taste it, try it. Maybe you’ll even find it delicious.”

“After all, if we really could eat radioactive elements, that would be incredible. You have to know that a kilogram of uranium-235 releases as much energy as 2,700 tons of coal, enough to generate 7.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity!”

“Such a high-energy substance... and you still can’t handle it, still don’t think of taking it in? You really are a disappointment to the mind.”

After a whole round of scolding, Black Dragon had originally still been torn: if his heart really could digest and absorb radioactive elements, then should he keep it or not? If he did keep it, he could achieve nuclear-powered freedom at once. Give it three to five tons of uranium-235, and he would be able to swagger through the mortal realm as he pleased, or even fly up into the heavens now and then to give a solid beating to some lesser gods without any trouble.

The only hidden danger was that, being too powerful, the heart might one day slip out of the brain’s control and take command itself.

But now that was settled. There was no need to wrestle with the question anymore—its capabilities were far below what he had imagined. It could not even master a fission reaction.

“...I had originally guessed that maybe the gods up in the heavens drew their energy from fusion reactions, while the devils and demons in hell and the abyss used fission as their core power.”

Black Dragon could not help sighing. “But now it seems I was clearly overthinking things. It is not that simple.”

“Ha. Mr. Huang, we at the National Academy of Sciences had that same guess before, too. Later we found out it was not the case at all.”

Academician Ding walked over and said with a smile, “Look at it from the bright side. This is actually a good thing. If those native gods really relied on fusion reactions for energy, then they would have long since tried every possible way to get their hands on the deuterium and tritium in our territory.”

“And the more they fear radioactive elements, the more it proves the power of our mushroom bomb.”

“That is true.”

Black Dragon thought it over, and that made sense. If those gods and demons truly lived on fusion and fission, then things would become difficult indeed, and the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons would certainly be greatly reduced.

It might even lead to something even worse, even more absurd: some powerful demon lord simply swallowing the nuclear missile you launched at him in one bite, then giving you a thumbs-up. That would be true despair.

So the fact that the powerful beings of this world could not master fusion or fission was entirely a good thing. On the contrary, it had become a major advantage that the nation could rely on.

“But thinking about it carefully, I still am a little unwilling to let it go...”

Black Dragon pondered for a moment, then suddenly said to Academician Ding, “I still want to try and see exactly what adverse reactions radioactive elements cause inside my body, so I can understand just how harmful and toxic they are to extraordinary beings.”

“If it really is a highly poisonous substance, then I can carry a bit with me for self-defense in the future and use it to bring down other extraordinary beings.”

“...”

Academician Ding was somewhat astonished by Black Dragon’s train of thought. He always managed to come up with something novel. Using radioactive elements as poison against other extraordinary beings—yes, that was indeed rather scientific.

“I wonder whether Mr. Huang has always been this way, or if he only became like this after turning into a dragon...” Academician Ding could not help muttering to himself.

The research team had actually had psychologists analyze this aspect before. According to Huang Ze’s parents and friends, the old Huang Ze had already had a rather odd and cheerful way of thinking. He would often have sudden flashes of inspiration and pull off antics that made people laugh and cry in equal measure.

Still, Academician Ding strongly suspected that after becoming a giant dragon, Mr. Huang’s condition in this regard had only worsened.

Considering that Black Dragon’s proposal did indeed have considerable research value and practical reference value, Academician Ding indulged him. He had the iridium-192 diluted another hundredfold, then brought it over for Black Dragon to drink.

At that concentration, the radioactive material was probably about as strong as the nuclear wastewater from Fukushima. Black Dragon ought to be able to handle it; otherwise, the extraordinary lives of this world would be far too fragile.

After all, any toxic substance only becomes a lethal threat to living things once it reaches a certain dose and concentration.

Faced with the iridium-192 diluted a hundred times, Black Dragon was clearly nowhere near as fearful or resistant as before. Curiosity and anticipation now outweighed his apprehension.

He leaned his head forward curiously, first sniffed it, then licked it, and finding that he seemed able to withstand it, he could not help gulping down several mouthfuls.

“...”

Everyone present, including Academician Ding and the other staff members, stared in dumbfounded silence. They were both worried and speechless. Hadn’t you just been trembling like a little rabbit a moment ago? How had you turned around and started drinking it?

“Mr. Huang, how do you feel?” Academician Ding asked with concern when he saw Black Dragon standing there with his eyes closed, smacking his lips and savoring the taste.

“How should I put it...” Black Dragon thought for a moment and replied, “A little bitter and numbing, then a moderate amount of spiciness, and a bit of a buzz... overall, it’s like strong liquor with a few Sichuan peppercorns and a spoonful of chili powder added. It’s pretty hard to drink, but not entirely unacceptable.”

This metaphor... unacceptable?

Academician Ding looked at Black Dragon with deep concern, seriously wondering whether he had food poisoning and eaten his own brain.

“Really, I’m not lying. I really can accept it,” Black Dragon explained. “My taste nerves are rather dull, and I haven’t felt sour, sweet, bitter, or spicy for a long time. This stuff may not taste very good, but at least it has a taste, doesn’t it?”

“...”

Academician Ding was silent for a moment, then said, “Mr. Huang, let’s not talk about that for now. Why don’t you tell us what exactly happened after these radioactive elements entered your body?”