As the last trace of dark energy was drawn out, the boy's rapid breathing gradually slowed down.
Daoist Wang pointed his sword at various parts of the boy's body. The boy, still unconscious, let out a few painful groans, turned his head, and spat out a mouthful of black blood. Wang Jixuan caught it perfectly in a metal basin and burned it away with a true fire.
Done.
Although it took a lot of his spiritual energy, the root of the boy's illness had been removed.
Wang Jixuan took out two talismans. He placed the soul-reassuring talisman on the boy's forehead and the demon-sealing talisman on a piece of frozen meat, then carefully examined the frozen meat.
There was no solid remnant soul of a blade beast inside; instead, it was pure resentment power.
Calling it resentment wasn't quite right; it felt more like... a type of southern shamanic curse from the cultivation world?
Did the blade beast clan have this curse mechanism from the start? Or was it the resentment generated by the remnant souls in the crystal core when the Thirteen used it?
Wang Jixuan wasn't sure yet and needed to continue studying.
His own 'crystal core' artifact didn't need to worry about the remnant souls of blade beasts; if they dared to jump out, he would just eliminate them directly.
But the large sword he forged for Ling Tong required him to cleanse the remnant souls from the crystal core in advance.
"Keep studying; the sea of knowledge is boundless, and I don't have enough time to meditate."
After waiting a bit longer, the boy's complexion changed from pale to rosy.
Wang Jixuan retracted the soul-reassuring talisman, tidied up the area, and left the room.
The supply station was peaceful.
Ling Tong was curled up on the sofa next to the control panel, taking a nap.
Deep Sea and Red Snake, a couple of half-mechanical warriors, were playing a game in the corner, laughing and joking, clearly getting along well.
These two older siblings each had their own logistics teams and mobile supply stations. They had come over specifically to keep watch and enjoy some food and drink.
Not only them, but Zheng Shiduo also brought seven or eight of his own spiritual energy users to stay in a nearby tin house.
The defense army had deployed three hundred soldiers, setting up camp around the supply station.
A storm was brewing.
That old commissioner had clearly put a lot of pressure on the military.
Uncle Tai came over with two cups of industrial coffee and quietly asked, "How's the boy doing?"
Daoist Wang didn't like this stuff but took a cup anyway.
"He's fine now. He won't die without a nutrient pod; he can at least live another twenty or thirty years."
"That's great! He can influence the blade beast horde! He's a real weapon!"
Uncle Tai lowered his voice and muttered, "Why do I feel like you know everything, Teacher Wang? Is alien technology really that comprehensive?"
"Is it?"
Wang Jixuan replied seriously, "I just read a lot before. I still need to learn from you on the path of being a mechanic."
"You're too modest, cough!"
Uncle Tai straightened up, feeling proud.
He remembered something important and said seriously, "Ling Tong just fell asleep, so let's not disturb her for now. Can you take a look at this?"
"We installed a bunch of surveillance at the Spiritual Energy House, and they're having a meeting right now."
"As for matters outside logistics, my wife and I can't make decisions casually."
Daoist Wang immediately became interested.
Sister Wan jogged over and quietly asked, "Do you need me to do anything for this boy?"
"Prepare a few new clothes for him," Wang Jixuan said. "We need to expand the supply station and make him a cozier room. He is now a solid B-level spiritual energy user, a telekinetic type, and we need to take some preventive measures out of his sight."
Sister Wan immediately replied, "Got it. The three officers have already arranged shifts here. I'll have someone bring over two large containers to connect everything."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Um..."
Sister Wan pointed in Ling Tong's direction and quietly reminded, "She isn't in sentinel mode. You really don't need to cover her with a thin blanket or a manly outfit to gently and considerately keep her warm?"
"Uh..."
The aunt's gaze became sharp.
Daoist Wang leaned back slightly, "She won't catch a cold?"
Sister Wan narrowed her eyes, "The mechanical girl is quite fragile; only the mechanical parts are strong. She has a soft heart."
Uncle Tai chuckled to himself.
Daoist Wang felt defeated under Sister Wan's gaze.
Half a minute later, Ling Tong, who had fallen from a light nap into a deep sleep, instinctively wrapped herself in her thin blanket, curling up her long legs to better fit the width of the sofa.
In the corner of the supply station, the two half-mechanical warriors, Daoist Wang, Uncle Tai, and Wan Xiaoqi sat neatly in folding chairs, staring at the fixed screen in front of them, listening to the sounds coming from it.
The fixed screen displayed the meeting room of the Spiritual Energy House at that moment.
The old man, Commissioner Wei Lin, was sitting at the head of the conference table in gray clothing, steam rising from a thermos cup in front of him.
...
Wei Lin slowly took a sip of tea.
Unlike the harsh synthetic caffeine commonly found in fortresses, tea and tobacco were not rare in the Spiritual Energy City.
Wei Lin looked at the young spiritual energy users standing on either side, his mood visibly brightened. He called out, "Bang Jie?"
"Commissioner Wei," Uncle Feng, dressed in traditional attire, replied with a smile.
"Please sit down," Wei Lin said softly, "No need to be so formal; this is an internal closed-door meeting."
"Okay, okay," Uncle Feng sat on the left side, "Thank you, Commissioner."
Bang! Bang!
Wei Lin tapped the table with his fingers, and several spiritual energy users in the corner suddenly stood up, trembling with fear as they walked slowly to the right side of the conference table.
Bang.
Wei Lin's fingertips touched the table, and these people knelt down.
"You guys are the elders of this outpost?"
They nodded nervously.
"Good. I will ask, and you will answer. No unnecessary words; I hate inefficiency."
Wei Lin leaned back in his chair, speaking slowly, "Explain the death of Kong Nu. Tell me what you know."
The spiritual energy users hurriedly spoke, chattering about the events they knew, piecing together the story of Kong Nu's death.
Kong Nu's agreement with Professor Zhuang, the illegal laboratory set up underground in the Black Fire Gang's territory, the Black Fire Gang's business, Kong Nu's method of supplying large amounts of materials, and how he was framed by retired officials within the fortress...
Aside from what Wang Jixuan already knew, these spiritual energy users revealed some not-so-shocking details.
"Kong Minister got drunk with us and bragged about having backing in the Spiritual Energy City... a deputy leader named Pan."
"Pan? Deputy leader? No impression; there are just too many leaders and deputy leaders in the Spiritual Energy City."
Wei Lin showed dissatisfaction and said casually, "These ordinary human researchers love to form cliques and have no idea of their own positioning. The leaders of each fortress outpost and each war zone are just ordinary human researchers; it's a compromise we made with the defense army. Does Kong Nu really think they are in charge now?"
Uncle Feng nodded immediately, "Exactly! These researchers often can't figure out their own positions!"
Wei Lin didn't respond and asked them again, "Now tell me about the military's spiritual energy users."
Hearing this, Wang Jixuan in front of the monitoring screen became interested.
In the meeting room, the spiritual energy users spoke again.
They insisted that the black storm was a product of a secret military experiment, created by the D5 war zone. Their energy level was only E-level, but they had received good military training, making their overall combat power D-level, and so on.
There was nothing substantial in their claims.
It was all outdated information.
— Daoist Wang was currently pushing his energy to the D-level, and his overall combat power could match most C-level spiritual energy users.
Wei Lin nodded and didn't ask more, sitting there quietly thinking.
After about two minutes, Wei Lin looked at Uncle Feng beside him.
"Has that girl named Qin Qin ever entered the core-level laboratory?"
"No, no."
Uncle Feng quickly replied, "She was filtered out; otherwise, how could she be sent out? She just doesn't know and feels good about herself."
"That's good. Don't worry about her life or death; she isn't a bargaining chip for the military."
Wei Lin said indifferently, "Now listen carefully to the upcoming tasks.
"First, find Meng Caiyuan. This needs to be done quickly. Bang Jie, you will personally go find those three half-mechanical warriors and have a calm and equal conversation with them. Try to avoid conflict.
"It doesn't matter whether you bring back Meng Caiyuan's corpse or him alive. What matters is that we can't let such a precious B-level spiritual energy user fall into the hands of the local defense army!"
"Understood!"
Wei Lin nodded, looking at the spiritual energy users in the room, speaking gently, "I know you are just small spiritual energy users in these little outposts and don't have a concrete understanding of what it means to be a spiritual energy user.
"Due to political factors, you might feel these researchers are a leash around your neck.
"But they aren't important.
"D-level spiritual energy users already qualify to become normal citizens in the Spiritual Energy City, which means I can take you back to the Spiritual Energy City, allowing you to live with dignity and without constraints like normal spiritual energy users.
"But before that, you must prove your value to me."
The spiritual energy users looked at each other with newfound intensity.
Wei Lin simply stated, "Right now, this fortress is under threat from the blade beast horde. If the blade beasts attack the fortress again, you must actively join the fight against the blade beasts and cooperate fully with the human soldiers. Whether you are spiritual energy users or half-mechanical warriors, your job is to fight the blade beasts. Competing for power and profit is something only high-level spiritual energy users should think about. Do you understand? Your value lies in killing blade beasts."
"Understood!"
"Good. To reshape our deterrent power and influence in the D5 war zone, we must first prove that we still have positive value here!"
Wei Lin's voice became more passionate: "Don't think about enjoying the fruits of others' labor; the future relies on your own hard work! Bang Jie, you must also join the battle against the blade beasts later."
Uncle Feng immediately stood up and declared, "Willing to fight for the Spiritual City and the Commissioner, even if it means sacrificing my life!"
"It’s for humanity! For humanity, I’d sacrifice my life! Your mindset is the shackle that limits your progress."
Wei Lin looked at Uncle Feng with some disdain, then narrowed his eyes slightly, as if pondering some big issue.
Uncle Feng asked, "But Commissioner, is the military planning a counterattack against these blade beasts? Will they still attack the fortress?"
"They will."
Wei Lin replied decisively, "You still don't understand the blade beasts; they will definitely attack again. They are just gathering strength. Last time, they were interrupted by Meng Caiyuan; otherwise, they would have all died here.
"For king-level blade beasts, these blade beasts are just cannon fodder.
"Alright, Bang Jie, you go negotiate and find Meng Caiyuan. If you encounter military spiritual energy users, try to collect their samples; it’s just an E-level spiritual energy user, so it doesn’t matter if you kill him or not."
"Okay, I’ll go now."
"Remember to put away your misguided sense of superiority!"
Wei Lin reminded him with concern: "Raise your mindset, find your position, and stick to the human bottom line! This is the premise for us to compete with that old devil."
"Yes! Raise our mindset! We must raise our mindset!"
...
Inside the supply station, in front of the monitoring screen.
Wang Jixuan frowned in thought.
The half-mechanical warrior Deep Sea scratched his 'instant noodle curls' and muttered, "This old guy gives me a feeling that he's not easy to deal with."
"B-level spiritual energy user," the half-mechanical girl Red Snake said with a smile, "Has destructive power similar to what we have without gear!"
"Brother," Deep Sea looked at Daoist Wang, "Are you really E-level?"
"Officially, I declare myself E-level," Wang Jixuan smiled, "Should we prepare a bit? Uncle Feng will be here soon."
Red Snake stood up, "No need to be nervous; I’ll get ready with the gear specifically for spiritual energy users."
Deep Sea glanced at the sleeping Ling Tong and sighed softly.
"In the future, we three must leave two here. One person should go protect the military's reconnaissance team, just in time for an eight-hour shift... Is this Meng Caiyuan really okay? Can he live normally?"
"Should be fine; you can check his condition."
"Alright, when Ling Tong wakes up, let her scan him; that's her report card."
Deep Sea blinked and leaned closer to Wang Jixuan, whispering, "This boy has had a rough experience; I'm worried he might have some psychological issues. It’s better to keep him separated from Ling Tong for now. We half-mechanical warriors can't always stay alert; we also need to sleep and rest."
"You don’t need to worry about that."
Wang Jixuan said seriously, "Since I saved this boy, I will look after him."
Daoist Wang had his own plans in mind.
Once he reached the Nascent Soul stage, he would definitely need to open a cultivation cave, and this boy would be a good choice for a gatekeeper—pure-hearted and quick-witted.
The only regret for Wang Jixuan was that this boy's meridians had already been damaged by spiritual energy, binding his essence to spiritual energy and greatly diminishing his vitality, making it impossible for him to cultivate normally. He wouldn't even be able to be a named disciple in the future.
Deep Sea exclaimed, "If we keep him this time, we can get a B-level spiritual energy user from the Spiritual Energy City! This would have huge significance for our military's own research on spiritual energy!"
Wang Jixuan frowned and asked, "Is the military really researching spiritual energy users?"
"Small-scale experiments."
Deep Sea explained simply, "They usually use heavily injured soldiers near death but still conscious as experimental subjects, all with their consent. If successful, they can even save them, like Zheng Shiduo's experience... It's a pity our technology is far behind the Spiritual Energy City, and we haven't had any successful cases that I know of. Don't mention this outside."
"Alright."
Wang Jixuan sighed inwardly and didn't say much more.
Uncle Feng would arrive at the battlefield in half an hour.
Wang Jixuan also needed to make some arrangements and preparations, while Ling Tong could continue to sleep peacefully... just a bit longer...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A huge noise filled the air as an armed helicopter approached the supply station.
Ling Tong immediately woke up, sat up, looked around a few times, then lay back down to continue her nap.
Wan Xiaoqi received the order, opened the passage above the supply station, and a rope dropped down. A figure in military uniform coolly descended.
Wang Jixuan heard a familiar bubbly voice: "Haha! Wang Zheng! Your strong support has arrived! Look what I brought you! Hahaha!"
(End of Chapter)