Fifty minutes after the mine was attacked;
76 Fortress confidential meeting.
Zhou Zhengde pushed open the door to the meeting room, and the other seven attendees looked over at him. He nodded lightly and hurried to the end of the long table.
In the center of the table sat the governor of 76 Fortress, a kind-looking man with gray hair and a sturdy build. He was the one that Kong Nu had described as being a bit muddled.
On the governor's left and right were two women. The slender woman on the left, who looked like Zhou Zhengde's sister, was Zhou Meiying, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Zhou Zhengde's mother.
The new Minister of Biology was not present; instead, there were two middle-aged men in military uniforms.
"Captain Zhou has arrived," the governor said in a deep voice. "Let's start the meeting. There are just two small matters to discuss."
Zhou Meiying spoke first:
"The fortress was suddenly attacked by Blade Beasts. After investigation, this small group of Blade Beasts was wandering underground. There are no signs of higher-ranking Blade Beasts. The frontline command has determined it to be an isolated incident and is strengthening the terrain surveys around the fortress.
"Thanks to Major Ling Tong, who is recuperating at the fortress, the Blade Beast attack was quickly suppressed.
"We lost sixty-two mine workers, and two soldiers were injured while moving through the tunnels. We are currently processing compensation for the families of the deceased."
The governor spoke seriously:
"First, we express our condolences to the deceased.
"Then, this attack has been properly handled. Since the number of Blade Beasts involved exceeds one hundred, should we publicize this within the fortress? Let's keep our comments brief."
The attendees spoke in turn:
"I think we don't need to announce it for now; it would cause unnecessary panic."
"Our position is in the rear of the Middle Basin war zone. Being attacked by Blade Beasts is a rare event; there's no need for publicity."
"There are no signs of large-scale movements of Blade Beasts, right?"
"None. This group of Blade Beasts has been active underground, likely sensing the human gathering point."
"Then no need for publicity."
The governor nodded: "Consensus reached, no publicity. The second matter is that the Thirteenth Institute has requested to enter the expanded C Zone for investigation. Do we agree?"
"Refuse!" Zhou Zhengde immediately raised his hand.
The representatives exchanged glances and nodded in agreement, while Minister Zhou Meiying chose to abstain.
"The meeting is adjourned," the governor gestured. "Zhou Zhengde, stay behind. The rest of you, return to your offices."
The others stood up to leave. Before Zhou Meiying left, she patted Zhou Zhengde on the shoulder and softly asked, "Shall we have dinner together later, dear?"
"If you’re not cooking, then I won’t eat."
"Then you can eat by yourself!"
Zhou Meiying playfully hit Zhou Zhengde on the head and quickly walked away.
Zhou Zhengde looked at the governor, confused, and asked, "What’s going on?"
"There’s a tricky issue," the governor took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Let Colonel Dongfang explain."
"Okay!"
Dongfang Zhenghong, the highest commander of the joint defense forces at 76 Fortress, was responsible for the fortress's defense. At forty-six years old, he had a square face and an upright demeanor, having previously served as the chief guard for the former commander.
His left arm was partially amputated, and he currently used a standard prosthetic, which did not hinder his command work.
Dongfang Zhenghong smiled at Zhou Zhengde and pushed a round, three-dimensional projector towards him, displaying several photos.
The photos showed the remains of two Blade Beasts.
The kind that had been opened up.
Zhou Zhengde frowned tightly.
"Interesting, right?"
Dongfang Zhenghong said seriously:
"A mysterious energy user has hunted down eight low-level basic Blade Beasts. Their causes of death are varied, but without exception, they have all been opened up, and there are clear signs of attempts to burn them. However, it seems the hunter ultimately couldn't burn them completely.
"And then, Zhou Zhengde, half an hour ago, you tried to destroy these photos on the military internal network."
Zhou Zhengde replied quietly, "Is that a problem? That hunter helped us."
"The energy cores of these Blade Beasts are missing."
Dongfang Zhenghong said:
"I've kept this matter under wraps and intentionally omitted these eight Blade Beasts in my report to the frontline, allowing them to be completely incinerated in a high-temperature furnace."
Zhou Zhengde nodded slowly, stroking his chin as he analyzed: "Uncle, are you saying that the hunter took the energy cores?"
"Yes," Dongfang Zhenghong asked, "I called you over to ask this question. What does the hunter want the energy cores for? Can he create energy users? This is important. The Thirteenth Institute has become a cancer in our human camp. If there’s a way to replace them, that would be great."
"The hunter took them to make weapons. Weapons to fight the Blade Beasts."
Zhou Zhengde explained:
"I'll talk to this hunter and see if he can share some alien technology... especially related to weapons."
Dongfang Zhenghong leaned back in his chair: "Is it really alien technology?"
"It’s very likely that a civilization associated with the Blade Beasts is helping us."
Zhou Zhengde said seriously:
"Of course, none of this is confirmed.
"Uncle, what I mean is, before he speaks up, we should try to maintain a good relationship with him.
"He’s helping us hunt Blade Beasts, opposing the corrupt Thirteenth Institute, and punishing the evil deeds of the undercity gangs. He has done more than we have in the past few years.
"If we make a big fuss about investigating him, it won’t escape the Thirteenth Institute's notice.
"Why don’t I dare to introduce him to my grandfather? It’s simple; I don’t trust that environment. The Thirteenth Institute has infiltrated everywhere, especially around my grandfather.
"We all know why; they fear my grandfather.
"At this stage, we can only keep a low profile regarding this hunter and guard against Qin Qin's probing and investigation. In fact, Qin Qin just caused some trouble, and Ling Tong has already taken care of one of her subordinates, Lu Dongjie."
"I know about that."
Dongfang Zhenghong rubbed his temples, leaning back in his chair, deep in thought.
The governor smiled and asked, "Zhengde, how’s your undercity reform plan coming along?"
"Thirty percent," Zhou Zhengde quickly replied. "I’ll draft a few proposals for you to review soon."
"Keep it up."
The governor stretched and stood up:
"I have a pile of work to handle. You all decide the direction of this matter.
"However, as a local official, let me say this:
"This is a time lacking hope. If, and I mean if, our 76 Fortress can truly give birth to new hope, even if it only increases the overall war situation by one percent, one thousandth, or one ten-thousandth, that would be extremely valuable.
"Be decisive, my dear soldiers. You are the main force protecting humanity."
Dongfang Zhenghong and Zhou Zhengde nodded with smiles.
After the governor left, Zhou Zhengde took out a text exchange device and sent a message.
[01: You really took down eight!]
[02: Yes.]
[01: Even C-level energy users don’t have that kind of strength!]
[02: Yes.]
[01: Ling Tong must be head over heels for you! So cool! By the way, are you sure you want the energy cores for weapons? Ling Tong messaged me earlier.]
After half a minute.
[02: Can you get more energy cores?]
[01: No, according to frontline laws, all energy cores must be submitted to the frontline command center and then transferred to the City of Energy. Otherwise, the energy users will explode, which is also a core interest between the Thirteenth Institute and the military. If this happens again, let me know in advance, and I’ll arrange for my people to destroy those Blade Beasts without energy cores while cleaning up the battlefield.]
[02: Okay.]
[01: Alright, I’ll continue with the follow-up events. Qin Qin might come looking for trouble since one of her subordinates was taken out. I’ll remind Ling Tong. What are you doing? Are you hurt?]
[02: Not hurt, just unconscious.]
[01: Huh?]
[02: I’m Ling Tong, taking care of him. The text exchange device suddenly went off. The startup password can’t stop me.]
Zhou Zhengde’s forehead was covered in black lines, and he froze in his seat.
Why doesn’t this thing have a recall function!
Zhou Zhengde raised his hand to support his forehead, put away the text exchange device, and looked at Dongfang Zhenghong seriously: "He took them down. The energy cores are for weapons. I’ll follow up with him about his new weapons."
Dongfang Zhenghong nodded, looking at the remains of the Blade Beasts, muttering:
"Is he really an E-level energy user?"
"The energy response indicates that," the adjutant beside him said softly.
"Incredible."
…
At the surface camp in C Zone, in Ling Tong's supply station, in Wang Zheng's room.
Daoist Wang lay on his bed, sound asleep, with beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
He was having a nightmare.
If Ling Tong were a cultivator, she might have noticed that Wang Jixuan was suffering from the residual power of those souls, which was the price of previously using demonic techniques. He needed some time to digest it.
But unfortunately, she wasn’t.
Daoist Wang could naturally endure it and even give his soul a little workout.
Ling Tong couldn’t help but recall several previous scenes. Her mechanical arm slowly lifted and touched her chest.
Hmm, it should be soft; this part is still normal human tissue.
That’s good.
A knock on the door sounded, and Ling Tong turned to go out and spoke softly with Sister Wan.
"Is it all taken care of?"
"It’s all taken care of," Sister Wan said gently. "All information sources have been blocked. The miners who saw Xiao Wang in action have been detained. I used the excuse of protecting their mental health to erase their memories from the past three months."
"That’s good. We can’t let the Thirteenth Institute keep an eye on him. I’ll take him to the frontline as soon as possible; it will be relatively safe there."
"Ling Tong, I watched you grow up. I want to ask you… Are you good to him because it’s a task, or do you really want to try to get along with him?"
"It’s a task."
"No, no, no, you can’t fool me."
"I don’t want to discuss this topic."
"Hey, don’t," Sister Wan laughed. "What I mean is, in this era, there’s really no need to worry about those extra things. If you like someone, you should express it because we can’t guarantee we’ll see tomorrow’s sun. Cherishing every moment is what matters most."
Ling Tong sighed softly: "Sister Wan, have you been stimulated by something?"
"This young man is willing to risk his life to support you."
Sister Wan praised:
"I saw genuine emotion in his eyes. In this era, that’s more dazzling than a laser cannon."
"Is that so?"
Ling Tong said softly:
"I thought he was just looking for an opportunity to fight the Blade Beasts to improve himself… Alright, keep an eye on the Thirteenth Institute’s reactions and report to adjust the detection satellites to lock onto our area."
"Yes, Commander!"
Ling Tong turned and walked back to her room.
She sat down by the bed, picked up a romance novel nearby, and quietly read.
Wang Jixuan had been changed into loose pajamas by Uncle Tai, and he was already clean, though he still had a bit of sweat on his forehead.
"Junior sister, don’t…"
Hmm?
Ling Tong looked up at him and found he seemed to be talking in his sleep.
After a while.
In Wang Jixuan’s thoughts, which Ling Tong couldn’t hear, Daoist Wang was continuously shouting.
"I’m really not a demonic cultivator… I explained it clearly…"
"You celestial soldiers from the Immortal Realm can’t be unreasonable! We need to talk reason!"
"I want to see the sect’s ancestor!"
He suddenly sat up, eyes wide open, with a buzzing in his ears and a bright light before him.
Ling Tong asked softly, "Are you okay?"
Wang Jixuan stared wide-eyed.
Did she hear what he just said?
What to do, silence him? Uh, that seems unnecessary, and he can’t win… It seems he was almost awake, not saying it out loud…
"Ling Tong, did you hear anything just now?"
(End of Chapter)