Chapter 68: God Creation Plan |
As Chen Chu's team faced an attack, simultaneously, on the opposite end of the city, Li Hao and his team found themselves under assault as well. The assailants were also rebels collaborating with ordinary cultivators, catching the team off guard.
In the far-off urban skyline, at an altitude of ten thousand meters, an airship-like craft hovered. Several officers on board gazed down below.
Behind them, more than a dozen staff members were busy at computers, while some futuristic instruments emitted colorful lights that flickered continuously.
"Report, the energy detector has picked up two unfamiliar Fourth Heavenly Realm fluctuations. We haven’t been able to lock onto the sources yet."
"The fixed-point lightwave detection system has found several groups exhibiting suspicious movement in the southern part of the city. They have been placed under surveillance, and the Falcon Squad has been called in for tracking."
"Report, no suspicious targets were detected in the vicinity when Squads A1 and A5 were ambushed."
"A small group of rebel forces has been detected outside Ross Town, 47 kilometers east. Should a mixed ground-air battalion be dispatched to suppress them?"
"Continue monitoring; don't worry too much about the rebel forces. Our target is the main force of the Blood Cult that fled here. Let's not alert the enemy too soon."
“Yes sir.”
After a long silence, Hong Zeshan spoke in a deep voice, "These guys are hiding quite well. With so many geniuses arriving, I’m surprised they can all resist the urge to make a move."
The adjutant beside him nodded slightly and said, "The people from the demon cults have always excelled at concealing their traces. They’ve been causing trouble in the shadows for years, and have only stepped into the spotlight now. But with the strike from the Federation, most of the experts from the Blood and Giant Cults have been eliminated. The remaining few have become cowards and are now on edge.
"We’ve set multiple baits in the past two days, but we’ve only managed to lure out some ordinary followers. It’s proving a bit challenging to find the remaining experts in the short term. I also think that the high-level experts trailing behind the convoys might have been exposed; otherwise, more than two squads would have been attacked. After all, the demon cults despise the Federation's geniuses the most."
Hong Zeshan nodded slightly. "Your analysis makes sense. However, as long as they are unwilling to give up the Kyrola passage, they won't be able to hide for long. The higher-ups are considering using this location to lay the groundwork for the upcoming God Creation Plan.
"By the way, instruct the logistics department to equip the students with some additional weapons. We're in the civilized era, combat shouldn't be limited to simple melee exchanges."
***
Chen Chu and Xia Youhui stood on the off-road vehicle, their gaze occasionally sweeping over pedestrians on the roadside, who looked at them with awe. They remained vigilant for potential enemies.
Carrying his heavy shield, Xia Youhui said in a jealous tone, "Ah Chu, you've already killed three cultists, all of them at the Second Realm, right?"
According to the rewards provided by the school, slaying a Second Heavenly Realm cultist would earn Chen Chu three contribution points. In other words, Chen Chu had earned a total of nine points in just two days since his arrival. This was equivalent to an entire months’ worth of rewards at school with his current earn rate.
"Not bad, just lucky." Chen Chu smiled.
Nine contribution points seemed like a lot, but it was essentially equivalent to nine thousand yuan. On the black market, it could have been tens of thousands. And all this came from the lives of three Second Heavenly Realm cultivators. Converting it this way, the values on both sides were completely disproportionate.
On the other hand, the price couldn't really be calculated this way because contribution points could be exchanged for cultivation resources monopolized by the authorities, things that regular money couldn't buy, and contribution points could only be obtained through school or official channels. Money also couldn’t be converted into contribution points, so not even a billionaire tycoon could donate tens of millions to the authorities and receive tens of thousands of contribution points in return to casually waste.
On top of all of that, acquiring high-level resources required special permissions that ordinary cultivators didn’t automatically have. As a result, even if a rich individual managed to acquire some contribution points, they would still be restricted to low-level resources.
In the era of advanced martial arts, the wealthy were only wealthy. The true wielders of power and resources were the peak cultivators, the kind of individuals whose mere thought could make the heavens and earth change color, a king-level existence. This was one reason why Xia Youhui, Yi Rui, and others from wealthy families chose to come to school.
Xia Youhui rolled his eyes. "I knew you would say that. Every time it's 'just lucky,' 'not bad.' Lucky my foot; who would believe that?"
Facing Xia Youhui's sarcastic remarks, Chen Chu just smiled and then advised, "Alright, let's talk more when we get back. Keep an eye on our surroundings."
"Mhmm." Xia Youhui's expression became serious, and he also focused more intently.
Standing on the off-road vehicle might look cool, but it was actually quite dangerous. If the enemy had a sniper rifle, the first target would be them, not the soldiers inside the armored vehicle. It was evident that they were being used as another type of bait, and most of the freshmen had noticed this.
However, no more attacks occurred, and everyone returned to the hotel at noon to have lunch and rest.
According to the schedule, Chen Chu and the others had no missions in the afternoon. Everyone could either stay at the hotel to cultivate or form teams to actively search for traces of the cultists.
If they were back at school, these students would likely have taken a break after practicing for two hours. After experiencing continuous battles, however, everyone felt a sense of urgency; they were eager to become stronger.
Therefore, in the afternoon, Xia Youhui and the others went to the military base for cultivation, while Chen Chu headed down to the basement.
This hotel had been requisitioned as the lodging base for the students coming in from various schools, and the underground garage had been sealed off and transformed into a temporary logistics department.
Watching the young man emerge from the elevator, a female staff member behind the office desk greeted warmly, "Hello, may I help you with any exchanges?"
"I have a twenty percent discount at school. Can I use that here?" Chen Chu inquired.
The staff member smiled and said, "Certainly. Whether it's the school system or the military base here, both are connected to the Celestial Think Tank System, and the privileges are interchangeable."
Chen Chu nodded. "That's great. I'd like to exchange for two Level One Life Crystals, please."
"Sure, please enter your school and student ID on the computer for verification."
Chen Chu approached the computer and entered “Nantian Martial Arts High School” along with his student ID.
"Verification successful. Please wait a moment."
Soon, two small, multi-sided white crystals were placed in Chen Chu's hands.
"By the way, the military has prepared another set of combat assistance items for you all. Please check and collect them as well."
"Combat assistance items?" Chen Chu was slightly surprised, looking at the staff member as she retrieved a box about the size of a briefcase from a shelf behind her.
The staff member placed the briefcase on the table and reminded him, "The items inside are explosive, so please handle them with care. There's an instruction manual inside once you open it."
Explosive. Chen Chu's expression shifted, and he became more cautious, not daring to be careless. He carried the briefcase back to the hotel room, then decided to do the exchange first.
The invisible force silently enveloped the two life crystals, until they both turned into powder with a soft pop. This time, however, only 8 attribute points were converted.
After glancing at the attribute page, Chen Chu's attention shifted to the briefcase on the table. He was certainly curious about what was inside.
Crack!
The briefcase held nine differently shaped metal objects, including a futuristic handgun, along with an instruction manual.
"Contact high-explosive metal bomb, designed for long-range delivery. Detonates upon landing after disengaging the safety pin, with an effective blast radius of five meters and a shockwave coverage of ten meters.
"Adhesive time bomb, designed for special operations. Can be attached to the target with a choice of three, five, or ten seconds before explosion, and is capable of extreme explosive penetration.
"Induction shock bomb, designed for long-range delivery. Upon explosion, it will instantly generate a highly penetrative shockwave, and is extremely lethal to organisms below the Fourth Heavenly Realm.
"Black steel automatic pistol, caliber twenty millimeters, maximum magazine capacity of nine rounds. Bullets propelled by special metal explosives, strong recoil, capable of blowing up the skull of an ordinary mutated beast with one shot.
"These initial items are provided free of charge. Subsequent bombs and bullets can be purchased with contribution points."
After reading the manual, Chen Chu expressed some surprise. "A newcomer's kit from the military? Bombs, pistols…"
Chen Chu picked up the so-called gun, which was more like a hand cannon, and looked it over with great interest. With these in hand, they had a few more options in their combat tactics.
Both the bombs and the black steel pistol were compact, allowing for easy carry and quick switching during usage. It would be easy to land a hit with these on enemies that were caught off guard.
After studying it for a while, Chen Chu finally put down the gun and prepared to get down to business. As he looked at his battle armor placed in the corner, a hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes. He wasn’t sure whether to accumulate for a few more days, to gather enough points to strengthen the Dragon Elephant Art and break through to the Third Heavenly Realm, or to first enhance the defense of the battle armor.
After just a moment, his gaze became determined.