Seeing the surveillance footage, Wang Jixuan and Uncle Tai stood at the entrance, one on each side. Ling Tong felt a bit more at ease. Although she rarely saw Uncle Tai out and about, he had always been mature and steady. With this senior mechanic around, things shouldn't get too tense.
At the supply station's entrance, Uncle Tai had his hands on his hips, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "I'm a level five military talent, so I'm not afraid of you bunch of nobodies."
Wang Jixuan displayed a high-powered grenade launcher, aiming it at the crowd in front of him, ready to fire at any moment. And he didn't just look ready; he had already fired, leaving a crater on the ground.
The gunfire drew attention from all around. At least a hundred men and women in military uniforms were watching from a distance, glaring at the intruding psychics with unfriendly expressions.
The psychics reacted differently; most looked fierce, while a few appeared timid. The leader among them took out a communication device, and a half-body image of Qin Qin appeared on the palm-sized screen.
This researcher, dressed in a professional outfit, was sitting in her office, tiredly rubbing her forehead.
"Junior mechanic Wang Zheng? I thought it would be Major Ling Tong who came out."
Qin Qin looked helpless. "I want to ask if you've decided to fight alone and won't have any interaction with us at the Thirteenth Institute. Is that right? What’s the point of us being stationed at Fortress 76 then?"
Wang Jixuan was about to respond firmly with, "That's correct," when he suddenly heard a cold laugh beside him.
"Ha!" Uncle Tai raised his voice and started scolding, "Since when does our Battle Sister team need to report to you Thirteenth Institute? Are we giving you face?"
One psychic angrily said, "Old man, watch your words!"
"What? Want to fight? Major Ling Tong is right inside!" Uncle Tai shouted, glaring. "I've seen level beasts before! Am I scared of you softies who can only use beast energy? If you’re capable, go fight the beasts on the front lines instead of acting tough here! You even dare to question us? What, are the Thirteenth Institute's psychics bullying the future pilots of terrifying mechs? Everyone come over and judge! Bring your rocket launchers too!"
Wang Jixuan turned to look at Uncle Tai. He had never seen this side of him before. The important thing was that quite a few soldiers around had raised their weapons, eager to take action against the psychics.
In the video, Qin Qin took a deep breath, her collar trembling slightly, looking quite fierce. She struggled to keep her emotions in check.
"Very well, I will take this response as Major Ling Tong's stance. From now on, anything that happens in the extended C zone has nothing to do with us at the Thirteenth Institute! I have one more question, and then I'll let them leave. The number of beasts killed this time doesn't match the number of crystals collected. You're illegally gathering crystals!"
Uncle Tai frowned and said, "What crystals? I don’t know anything about that! This has nothing to do with our Battle Sister team! It must be your own people embezzling! Who else would need those things besides you trash?"
Wang Jixuan slowly said, "There was a psychic named Lü Dongjie who was suspected to be controlled by a beast. Major Ling Tong is preparing to submit a report to the Commander about how easily psychics can be influenced by the beasts."
Qin Qin's gaze sharpened as she stared at Wang Jixuan.
Wang Jixuan secretly chuckled. Just from her reaction, the Daoist could confirm many things.
Qin Qin didn’t say much more, just stated, "We understand your position. Moving forward, take care of yourselves."
With that, the screen went dark. The group of psychics glared fiercely at Uncle Tai and Wang Jixuan.
Uncle Tai put his hands on his hips and said, "What are you looking at? If you have the guts, come at me! If not, get lost!"
The psychics turned and got into their vehicles, speeding away.
Surrounding them were sounds of boos and whistles.
"Damn, a bunch of idiots!" Uncle Tai spat, then turned to Wang Jixuan, showing a friendly smile.
"Little Wang, let’s head back."
"Okay," Wang Jixuan quietly praised, "Uncle Tai has quite a way with words."
"Want to learn? I can teach you!" Uncle Tai laughed, giving advice to his young friend. "Generally, people with real skills tend to have big tempers. If you’re too nice, they’ll think you’re easy to bully and that you’re useless. As a mechanic, you should be a bit arrogant. Psychics and we aren’t in the same system. If it were a frontline officer, you’d see how I’d act!"
Wang Jixuan chuckled.
The two returned to their room, disarmed, and activated the alarm and protective shield.
Ling Tong had already equipped her right mechanical arm and was waiting for Wang Jixuan at the door.
"Wang Zheng, we need to talk business."
"Coming!"
Wang Jixuan quickly walked in with Ling Tong.
By the operating table, Sister Wan glared at Uncle Tai with a dark expression.
Uncle Tai rubbed his hands awkwardly, mumbling, "Wife, those psychics are too much. Little Wang looks like he wouldn’t even scold someone. If I didn’t scold, he might just go and hit them. I’m just trying to reduce the conflict."
"Get to work!"
"Sure thing."
Uncle Tai’s position at home was quite strong.
Wang Jixuan sat on the edge of Ling Tong's bed.
Ling Tong's fingers danced nimbly in front of a projection screen, pulling up several photos marked "Confidential."
"Is this the vertical pupil you saw?"
"Yes."
"Where did you see it?"
Wang Jixuan wasn’t sure how to explain the lingering soul in the crystal, as it involved his ability to absorb crystals to enhance his power. He simply recounted his encounter with the mutated beasts in detail, emphasizing the communication process with the beast and the vertical pupil that appeared after its death.
Ling Tong sat with her legs crossed, thinking quietly for a long time.
Wang Daoist asked, "Is there a problem?"
"It's not a problem; it's an enemy."
Ling Tong hugged her mechanical arm and softly said, "The owner of this vertical pupil is a special type of beast, usually called a Young King Bug. They are extremely tricky and good at hiding. Their fully evolved form is the King-level beast.
"Next-level beasts evolve from the basic level beasts. Their peak evolution is the next level, possessing destructive power comparable to King-level beasts but lacking the ruling power over beast groups that King-level beasts have.
"Our human fortress model mimics the beast group model. Beasts build nests on the land, and each nest can only have one King-level beast, commanding millions of various beasts.
"If we find a Young King Bug, it basically confirms that there’s a beast nest being built nearby. This is also a common tactic used by beasts to break through our outer defenses. Your discovery could potentially save the lives of tens of thousands of humans."
Wang Jixuan felt a slight sense of joy for some reason.
"Aren't you going to report this to the war zone commander?"
"I already reported it before our chat."
Ling Tong instructed, "Next, I will secretly allocate my core equipment here. Also, beasts are very smart, so don’t underestimate them.
"The social structure within the beasts is extremely complex. Some of their social relationships are similar to bees, but the breeding females are not queens; they are more like tools."
Wang Daoist nodded, "This Young King Bug might be after you."
"That seems to be the case."
Ling Tong smiled charmingly.
"Why do you seem happy about being targeted?"
"We have a ranking list internally."
Ling Tong raised her chin proudly, "I’ve always been at the top of the current half-mechanical kill list, but being first comes with a lot of pressure.
"Killing a Young King Bug earns points equivalent to killing a next-level beast."
Wang Jixuan: ... Should he compliment her with "You're amazing"?
Her expression seemed to be waiting for him to praise her.
"Ahem," Wang Daoist changed the topic, "There’s one more thing I’ll try later."
"What are you trying?"
"Forging a knife," Wang Jixuan said seriously. "I’ve been enjoying the military’s protection, so I naturally need to give some feedback. Also... don’t let ordinary soldiers wear pendants like Zheng Shiduo’s."
Ling Tong looked puzzled, "Why not?"
"The crystals themselves have issues."
"Can you explain the specific reason?"
"Intuition; I can’t explain it in detail," Wang Jixuan answered earnestly. "I might need to absorb more energy from the universe."
"Well... try not to use such deceptive nonsense on me in the future."
"You’re still observing me, and many things you need to report."
Ling Tong asked, "Don’t you trust the Commander and the others?"
Wang Jixuan just smiled at her, knowing she understood the complexities better than he did.
The two locked eyes, and the room fell silent.
"Okay."
Ling Tong looked down, breaking eye contact, her voice softening, "I understand you, but this kind of secrecy is better with a deadline... Want something to eat? I’ll cook tonight."
"You can cook?"
"Find a can, open it, heat it up, and serve it on a plate. Anyone can do that."
Suddenly, Uncle Tai's voice called from outside, "Commander! The military suddenly sent a bunch of supplies! There are a lot of stones and some frozen beast parts inside!"
Ling Tong winked at Wang Jixuan.
Wang Jixuan pointed to himself.
Ling Tong spoke into the workshop's intercom, "I asked them to send it over. Just find a corner to put it."
Wang Jixuan smiled happily.
He took the initiative to say, "After dinner, do you have time? I want to borrow three hours from you."
Ling Tong paused, turning her head to the side as if something on the wall caught her attention, quietly asking, "Just the two of us?"
"Yes, this matter is quite important to me."
"Okay," Ling Tong replied somewhat reluctantly.
So, an hour later.
Ling Tong, hugging her mechanical arm, sat on a chair in front of Wang Jixuan's door, having changed into a light blue dress, wearing white stockings, and lightly made up, her expression was serious to the point of being a bit frightening.
The air pressure around her seemed to drop slightly.
Uncle Tai's family on the second floor watched with the monitor, not daring to breathe.
Wang Daoist excitedly rubbed his hands in the room, taking out the formation plate, pressing the switch. With a soft humming sound, the formation activated, and pure spiritual energy flowed out.
Forging naturally had to be done after forming spiritual awareness!
With Ling Tong protecting him, it was simply delightful!
He had returned to the Spirit Gathering Realm!
...
In the laboratory of the Spirit Home on the third floor of Fortress 76.
Crash!
Qin Qin accidentally crushed a test tube.
The few psychics lying on the operating table, receiving new drugs, instinctively held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Lü Dongjie’s body was in a body bag nearby, his head and body already stitched together.
Qin Qin turned to the female psychic beside her and quietly asked, "You mean to say, my person died, and the military still wants me to report why he was there?"
The female psychic softly replied, "Yes, researcher. If we don’t retaliate, the military will likely escalate their actions. They want us dead; that's an undeniable fact. The death of Senior Researcher Kong Nu was extremely tragic. He reported the military's dark side but was shamelessly suppressed."
"Retaliate? How do we retaliate?"
Qin Qin said quickly, "The Battle Sister body is already incredibly powerful, and she has various configurations. The military has unlimited resources for Battle Sisters. Are you asking me to illegally mobilize B-level psychics? This is the D5 war zone; that devil commander could really swallow me whole."
The female psychic said softly, "I don’t intend to interfere with your thoughts."
Qin Qin huffed, turning to look at a corner where there was a transparent chamber containing a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy covered in sensors.
She hesitated, thinking, and within seconds made a decision.
Qin Qin lightly licked her lips, a charming smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
"Let’s leave this matter as it is. Lü Dongjie insisted on going; you all know the process... You can all leave now; I need to continue improving my paper."
The psychics stood up, quickly bowing their heads as they left with the researchers, closing the laboratory door behind them.
Qin Qin turned off most of the lights, unbuttoned her lab coat, and walked over to the transparent chamber with a cat-like grace.
By the time she reached the corner, she was only wearing lace underwear, simply operating next to the transparent chamber, as the boy slowly opened his eyes.
His weak voice came out, "Sister Qin... you came to see me again..."
"How are you? We’ve arrived at a new place, and I need you to help me with something."
"I'm still feeling very tired... What do you need me to do? Just tell me, Sister Qin."
"Can you sense if there are any beast groups nearby? It would be best if you could make contact with a mimic beast and give it simple commands."
"Okay, I’ll try."
"First, confirm the location, and then I’ll activate the directional amplifier for you."
(End of Chapter)