–Less than half a month left.-
Inside the dormitory, Yang Zicang, after finishing his work, took out the sub-ether channel photograph, activated it, and stepped into the dark cube, appearing at the edge of the turbulent city.
Very few company employees could vacation here; at this moment, on the quiet beach, he was alone. After glancing around, Yang Zicang pulled out a silk scarf, spread it out, and sat on it, flying toward the depths of the desolate city shrouded in an atmosphere of despair.
Seeing Yang Zicang’s arrival, Li Sumei and a few other girls ran over.
–Master Zi Cang, look, this is our Void Zero Chronos war device — we finally succeeded once!-
–And it’s a fifty-year one.-
She handed Yang Zicang a half-arm-length short sword, a weapon of this size that could even be tucked directly into one’s clothing.
–Our Rose Creek finally has its own Void Zero weapon.-
–Hehe, that’s right, thanks to Mr. Yang’s blessings.-
Yang Zicang took the sword, whose surface bore faint ripple-like dark patterns, and examined it.
[I have obtained a 50N Void Zero Chronos war device, totaling 65N.]
Yang Zicang’s eyes brightened: –Very good. If it’s kept close to the body, it will protect its owner even better.-
–Of course, we’re going to give it to Sister Rose.-
Yang Zicang nodded and returned the sword. Smiling, he looked around the camp at the others who had gathered to greet him, then asked, –How was everyone’s harvest? Any good finds?-
–The success rate for good finds is too low.-
–But so far, we’ve only managed to get two decent Virtual Zero Chronos Armaments; the rest are just five or ten years.-
After everyone’s testing over the past few days, it turns out that the Virtual Zero Chronos Armaments are actually the result of the Spirit-Binding Core converting part of the fixed Chronos attack from a Chronos Armament into Virtual Zero Chronos.
As a result, the teams that have been able to enter during this time have already started doing everything they can to acquire high-Chronos weapons on the market.
Captain Qin walked over and said, –A weapon that inherently carries eighty years of Chronos attack, when infused with the energy from a Spirit-Binding Core, will undergo a proportional conversion of zero to eighty years. Right now, we’ve only had the opportunity to target ordinary Earthbound Spirits, so most of these cores can only convert about thirty to forty percent of a weapon’s Chronos.-
One person said, –But Mr. Wang’s team is strong—they’ve already successfully killed a high-bloodline Earthbound Spirit. That’s how they got this sword.-
–However, Brother Yang, your team’s Robin Lo has already obtained a Spirit-Binding Core containing a bloodline. So envious~-
When Robin Lo was mentioned, some of those who had entered by paying with pages showed envious looks. But at the same time, quite a few members of the team couldn’t help puffing out their chests.
–Just a lone one, got lucky, hahaha.- Robin Lo said, hands on his hips, very proud. –But this is also the result of everyone’s cooperation, especially those with Elemental Secret Arts.-
–Mm-hmm, Master Zizang, we’ve confirmed that secret arts like ‘Frostblade Art’ and ‘Blaze Sword Way,’ which come with elemental attacks, can also be used with weapons to damage those Earthbound Spirits!-
–We think the reason we have to attack these monsters with bare hands is that our bodies naturally carry various elements. Our ancestors also said that the human body is composed of the five elements. And these elemental secret arts carry similar five-element attributes like ‘fire’ and ‘water’.-
–Though the effect is greatly diminished, it’s much safer.-
The camp members began relating their summarized experiences and conjectures. Yang Zicang listened and found them quite plausible. He remembered the team leader’s earlier hint that dealing with the earth-bound spirits required ‘vitality’, and now the five elements only had a minor effect. There was likely some deep connection between them.
–Now that everyone is gaining experience, our camp’s chances of holding our ground here are increasing.-
–The problem is that solitary bloodline monsters are hard to find. Whenever you fight one, a whole gang shows up.-
That’s the difficulty here. Acquiring even one is extremely hard, let alone ten.
Most weapons converted from ‘ordinary bound spirit cores’ only achieve a conversion rate of twenty to thirty percent. Only cores with pronounced mottled ‘dark red’ and ‘gray-white’ hues can achieve high conversion rates.
And those earth-bound spirits are hard to attack. As soon as you touch them, their roar attracts a horde of muffled earth-bound spirits.
As the crowd’s discussion wound down and Ma Bin was about to start the meal, Wang Gongzi walked in with a smile, holding out a long sword with subtle, faint ripples.
–Brother Zicang, this sword is for you.-
The moment Yang Zicang took the sword, a mental voice rang out.
[I, the great Quadrilateral, am about to acquire a seventy-year void-zero Chronos warblade!]
–An eighty-five-year Chronos warblade?-
Yang Zicang looked up at the dandy before him. –Seventy of those years are from void-zero Chronos attacks. This sword is priceless—you’ve already paid the pages. There’s no need to give me the void-zero weapon.-
Just as he was about to hand it back, another young man with a similar face stepped out from behind Noble Scion Wang.
–Hello, Mr. Zicang. I am Wang Xiang, Wang Yue’s older brother.-
He extended his hand and shook Yang Zicang’s.
–As you must know, all our people who went out today have been frantically buying Chronos warblades.-
–I’ve heard as much.-
–Besides this sword, our family’s factory has acquired two ninety-year weapons,- Wang Xiang said. –Among them, though this one is only eighty-five years old, it luckily converted seventy years of void-zero Chronos attacks. The other two ninety-year blades—one only converted forty-five years. Tsk, it’s made us afraid to recast the last one.-
–That’s not necessarily the case. As long as you can get a decent spirit-binding core, another divine weapon should emerge.-
–True,- Wang Xiang replied amiably, withdrawing his hand before continuing:
–But that’s for later. For now, this sword is the best weapon in the camp. As they say, ‘a precious sword for a hero’—it’s our token of appreciation. Previously, Mr. Zicang gifted my younger brother and some members of our factory with proxy training contracts, which deeply moved and grateful us. We’ve been looking for a chance to repay your generosity. So please, accept this sword.-
Prince Wang also chimed in, –Even if you, Mr. Zicang, don’t think much of it, you could give it to someone close to you.-
–This…- Yang Zicang looked at them.
Robin Lo chuckled, –I think we’ll definitely get better weapons later. Zicang, since this sword is everyone’s goodwill, just take it. It is indeed the best for now.-
Yang Zicang shook the long sword in his hand, thought of Liang Xi’s covetous gaze when he once touched his Cent-Arms, and couldn’t help smiling.
–Alright, I won’t be coy. I’ll gladly accept this sword. My deepest thanks.-
–Haha, Mr. Zicang is truly straightforward.-
Some people stepped forward: –Besides the Soul-binding Core, we also found everything from the city—its items and data—but most are damaged. There are plenty of magic crystals, though.-
–We also found some buildings that look like otherworldly structures obtained by experts from City 11 in the past. If we dismantle them and move them back to the Lost Frequency Land, we should be able to build some decent Lost Thought Engines.-
–That’s great, but it might be a massive undertaking.-
–Yes, this can’t be done in a month. But as long as the Great Star is here, we have all the time we need.-
As Robin Lo uttered these words, several small teams made up of personnel from various cities around immediately volunteered eagerly to help dismantle the buildings.
These people were eager for the camp to keep going, and could use this as an excuse to bring in more hands.
A broken line flashed over, and Robin Lo said via Syn-Link:
{Zicang, come here. I have something to tell you.}
Yang Zicang walked aside with him, and Robin Lo continued via Syn-Link:
{I’ve seen people from other cities these past two days.}
–Isn’t that perfectly normal?-
{Not normal. I feel like someone is watching me.}
–Watching me?- Yang Zicang felt a slight tightness in his chest.
{So I’ve already investigated them several times through information extraction. Just now my Moxel finally dug up an important piece of intel: those suspected of spying on us are from City 23. Hey, these small fry — they must be here to collect data on our strength to prepare for the year-end.}
Yang Zicang pondered for a moment, then turned to look around, his eyes growing heavy.
A spiritual wave spread outward like a ripple.
Everyone immediately felt a flutter of panic, as if being rejected by everything around them, but the feeling vanished in an instant. With his increased spiritual power, Yang Zicang was no longer indiscriminately affecting both friend and foe as he did when first using Chime Night.
–Zicang, what’s the matter?-
Then everyone watched as Yang Zicang drew out his silk scarf, shook it open into a giant carpet, and leaped onto it.
It rapidly rose into the air and shot off in a certain direction.
Several hundred meters from the camp, a figure who had been hidden for who knows how long spotted the black shadow rising into the sky and immediately turned to flee.
The opponent darted nimbly left and right, vanishing behind buildings. Yang Zicang realized this person’s speed was even faster than his own flight.
[Grid expand, thousand positions!]
The giant carpet’s velocity soared, but it was still incomparable to Xingmiao’s control back then.
Seeing that huge blanket racing toward him like an airplane, the man on the ground was terrified. He crushed his ability ball and sprinted with gritted teeth, his body a blur of wind and afterimages.
In the Syn-Link, Robin Lo watched this scene with fire practically shooting from his nostrils.
{Damn, talk about daring—they’ve come right to our doorstep.}
–That guy must have a secret technique plus Moxel ability, along with a speed-boosting ability ball. Even I can’t easily catch him.-
{Looks like from now on I can’t just bring people with good fists and feet in here—I also need to watch out for these lowlifes aiming for the groin.}
The figure on the ground dashed rapidly to widen the gap, even leaving afterimages behind—worthy of someone selected from City 23. But his burst couldn’t last; soon, as the ability ball’s effect waned, his speed dropped, and Yang Zicang caught up again. The setting sun cast the giant carpet’s faint shadow over the already dark and deep urban landscape, like a storm cloud about to engulf the man.
–How can he be this fast!-
In the Syn-Link of the man on the ground, Wang Yunze watched the scene and said coldly:
{As expected of Yang Zicang. Wang Zhuo, faster, or else you will have to –disappear.-}
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