Chapter 1023: Fallen Angel
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jiang Feng looked at the six youngsters. Each had a look filled with confidence and steel. Youth was a wonderful thing. In their hearts, they must have felt that nothing in this world was impossible.
"The missions you will face are different from those before. Some cannot be solved with violence alone. But all of these missions have a commonality, which is that the death rate is 90%," Jiang Feng mildly stated. He looked at their carefree expressions and could not help smiling. This was youth.
"You can choose to back out now, but if you choose to continue, you must see it through. This has nothing to do with bravery. I hope you can make a rational decision," Jiang Feng said. He thought he had made it clear. No more emphasis was needed.
The six of them had no reason to back down. It was not that they had never been in danger, but that they had confidence in their abilities.
Jiang Feng wasted no more words. "Each of you will take a mission. It's all up to fate. Remember, each mission is confidential, and you cannot tell anybody. All of your mission details are logged in the archive. Of course, if you die, then it's all moot."
Each of them took turns to choose a number. Wang Zheng had Mission 5.
"Very well. The related details of the mission will be sent to your Skylinks. The arrangements will also follow. I wish all of you success," Jiang Feng said. "Oh yes. Do you know how heroes die?"
Wang Zheng and the rest were puzzled, but Jiang Feng did not seem to require an answer.
Seeing the six of them leave, Jiang Feng shook his head. In truth, he had hoped that some would back out, because these six were truly excellent. A pity that at this age, very few understood fear.
But on the flip side, if they came back alive, then they would be transformed, regardless of the mission outcome.
Only… these missions often changed a person. Many geniuses and elites had neither died nor completed the mission, but… they never returned to this world, forever plunged in the darkness.
All six knew that they were done with matters regarding Elite Academy X. It was time for them to look ahead.
School life had been safe and blissful, but they would have to face the world sooner or later.
In truth, Wang Zheng, Lear, and Olivios were unafraid of any challenge.
Pampas and Dendi could not pass up on this opportunity. Their next step was whether they would enter Earth-rank. And this mission was the deciding mission. If they completed it, their starting point would improve by leaps. If they backed out or failed, then it was a different matter. Clearly, Elite Academy X had nurtured their appetite for risk. Nobody was willing to begin at the bottom. Who would not want to be a hero in this world?
Wang Zheng's Skylink very quickly rang. His Mission 5 – Planet Maklou.
Maklou? Wang Zheng felt like the name rang a bell, but he was not clear. But checking information in Elite Academy X was a simple matter.
Planet Maklou, a famous Fallen Angel planet. One of the 10 great criminal planets. A criminal planet was a grey region that had emerged as a result of historical or political factors. These planets were linked to monopolies, military cliques, and even pirates. They were grey worlds that straddled the light and dark worlds.
Maklou was one of them. This planet was fairly harsh, but produced a rare mineral resource. In the beginning, an explorer had discovered it, but the mining environment was harsh, and the mineral resource's radiation and interference handicapped the efficiency of robots. Therefore, they had chosen to use criminals. As the numbers rose, all kinds of agents had gotten involved, and given rise to the Maklou of today.
Humanity's world was never only made up of absolute black and white. Maklou's existence solved many problems, but as it developed, it also brought many complications.
Everyone was familiar with such grey planets. They were already much better than pirate worlds. Violence was regulated, slavery was permitted. The Alliance's demand of Maklou was the mineral resource, while Maklou traded the mineral resource for the facilities and supplies it needed.
As for politics and other issues, of course Wang Zheng need not concern himself – even the Alliance council chairman could not solve the problem. But Wang Zheng's destination was this planet. But as far as he knew, this planet's customs check was even stricter than immigration. How would he enter?
What was his mission?
All Wang Zheng had was the destination. He did not even know the time.
But after receiving the mission, Wang Zheng was already prepared to leave at any time. After all, he did not have much to prepare.
Saruman Snake had won glory, and basking in the glory was not Wang Zheng's custom. His blood thirsted for challenge, and to become stronger. He could not compare to Marzu, Olivios, and even Achilles. These people had capital, and perhaps it was not a level competition in school. But once in society, whether they entered the military or otherwise, one would realize that results weren't worth a damned thing.
Wang Zheng was, of course, not naïve enough to believe that an Earth-rank warrior would be treated differently. Heaven had been the case study. But Wang Zheng did not feel that this was unfair. Fate was something that one changed themselves.
Yan Xiaosu and Ye Zisu had already made great strides forward, and he had his own things to do. He would begin from this mission.
The school's efficiency was higher than he expected. That night, Wang Zheng had virtually no time to bid farewell to anybody before someone took him away.
Two hours later, Wang Zheng was on the shuttle departing Roland Garros. On the entire journey, nobody spoke a word to him.
Wang Zheng was gloomy. It was a mission, he got it. But why did it seem like he was being sold? Would it kill them to tell him anything more about the mission?
Wang Zheng waited alone in the cabin. Panicking was useless. If he did not even have this amount of patience, then he would not have dared to be so confident in Jiang Feng's face.
This continued for about two more hours. The door opened, and a major of about 40 years old walked in. He looked at Wang Zheng's water on the table.
The major looked at Wang Zheng for a few seconds. "What follows is your mission details. Your name is now Sunday Zhao. Citizen of Earth, and then migrated to Mars. Imprisoned for arson, then you broke out of jail. Your mission is to confirm the Easter Plan's concrete details.
"Got that?"
Wang Zheng nodded. What was f*cking difficult to remember about that? The question was who had given him such a sh*tty mission name like Sunday Zhao…
"Major, what is the Easter Plan? And how will I get in? I…"
Suddenly, the major snapped his fingers, and Wang Zheng's vision blacked out. The world spun.
D*mn… to do this to one of their own…
Clearly, the good thing about it being done by one of their own meant that they understood Wang Zheng's body's limits, and could adjust the dosage accordingly.
Wang Zheng felt his body being moved, and then he did not feel anything anymore.
After who knew how long, Wang Zheng slowly came to his senses, but the scene he opened his eyes to left Wang Zheng thoroughly shocked…
Chapter 1024: Student Wang's Mining Career
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wang Zheng gradually came to his senses and smelled a stench that combined sweat and smoke, among other unpleasant things. Even if this was not the worst that Wang Zheng had ever smelled, it was close.
The light was dim. From the way it felt, he was in the cabin of a shuttle. There were many people around, in roughly the same state. Some were thronging about the leftovers.
There must have been about 50 or 60 people in the room. Each stood in their place. This had to be a warehouse… What kind of hellish place was this?
Wang Zheng regulated his body and let himself become alert.
He was wearing a suit that was a little stained. His Skylink was gone, replaced by a strange, black bracelet.
"Punk, you're up? You're real good at sleeping. We'll be at Heaven in a day." From nearby, a middle-aged guy carefully opened a box. After hesitating for a while, he handed Wang Zheng a stick.
Wang Zheng took it, and the middle-aged man lit his own, and then Wang Zheng's. Wang Zheng did not smoke, and the man laughed. "A cautious one, aren't you lad? Go on. It's a waste of money to poison you. Poison's more expensive than smokes nowadays."
Wang Zheng did not react. "Where are we?"
Wang Zheng's brain was responding quickly. Looked like the military had delivered him to his destination, although this method of entry was a little harsh. He did not particularly mind their ways, but they could have at least let him know. Why did they have to do it that way?
But such notions flashed by him. Once the mission begun, he would have to discard all notions of pride.
The unfortunates were divided into two extremes. Some were ranting, and some were brooding. This middle-aged guy belonged to the former. He did not have to get the other guy started. He was once a very successful manager, but a moment of greed had caused him to fail a shipment and incur a huge debt. Such luxury goods were not so easily paid back, and in the end he had decided to come to give Maklou a try.
Maklou produced rare minerals like high-magnetism ores. Even with protective gear, it would cause great harm to the body. There were two types of mining on Maklou. One type used slave labor. That's right. Slave labor. They came to Maklou with all kinds of reasons – no freedom, crimes, or debts they could not clear etc. This middle-aged uncle was rather fortunate. He had mostly settled his debt already. The other type were the desperates, either here to gamble, or to seek asylum. If one did not have enough money, mining was undoubtedly a good choice.
Free men could dig for diamonds. Although they could not take them away, they would receive ample compensation. One could make a fortune overnight. The important thing was that in this period, those outside could not bother you.
The middle-aged guy was still bragging about his past glory. If it were not for that error, he would be among the upper class.
He did not even care about how Wang Zheng came to be here. He just wanted to find a listener on this lonely journey.
Wang Zheng sorted out his thoughts. He was quite lucky not to be sold as a slave. Which meant that he would enter Maklou with the status of a poor miner.
Go with the flow. Wang Zheng did not have much of a plan either. More accurately, given his current situation, he could devise little. He could only take each step as it came.
The thing on his hand was a regulation bracelet. It was clipped to his wrist, and was rumored to be able to inhibit Ability X. Any newcomer to Maklou had to wear one, whether one was rich or poor. It was said to prevent the Alliance's special forces or other forces from entering.
Wang Zheng could feel that this toy pierced the skin. Whether it had any concrete use, Wang Zheng was not sure yet. But he was not willing to risk it. This mission was really something. It didn't leave him much room.
It was meal time. The cabin door opened, and a person entered bearing a huge cauldron. It was 1,000 coins for a spoonful. Wang Zheng took a look. It was swill, but it was also the only option.
Wang Zheng searched his whole body, but he had no money. He could only starve. The middle-aged man looked at the bowl in his own hand. After some indecision, he did not share it with Wang Zheng.
Wang Zheng sat back down in his corner, closing his eyes slightly, as though disinterested in his surroundings.
On the monitors in the cockpit, there were tens of these rooms.
"All quiet?"
"Tch, what could happen? A bunch of trash. Besides, even if there really was someone, with the manacles on, they could do nothing but slave their lives away in the mines. I'm hoping for some decent ones myself; at least they'll be good at their work. Haha."
"Boss is very concerned about this lately. We better watch more carefully."
"Got it. Not many problems with this batch. But then again, if there are issues, it ain't our turn to check. But some are of really bad quality. When the time comes, let's just get rid of them. They won't be able to work on the surface anyway."
"We took special care when we got this lot. They're all quite healthy. We'll lose 10% at most. Boss should be pleased."
"Two more days to wring these guys out."
"Relax. Old rules."
The two laughed. Regardless of their intentions in coming, everyone, save the plutocrats, would be pawed free of their wealth, whether they were those seeking asylum or free men. As for those whose bodies were in a poor state, or had no money, unless they had hearty constitutions, they would not make it to the surface.
Wang Zheng bided his time quietly, conserving energy. He had no food, but the circumstances were not that bad. He had been in much worse situations before. Jiang Feng had warned them, and Wang Zheng had been mentally prepared. In just a little more than an hour, Wang Zheng was already completely adjusted to his surroundings. All that was left to do was to wait for arrival.
After five or six hours, the cabin door opened. Everyone watched, eyes wide in fear. A bunch of armed men entered, hauling away a sickly guy. That person struggled weakly, but was knocked out by a rap from the gun. The cabin door shut again.
"Was he a slave?" Wang Zheng suddenly asked.
"Slave? That guy had no money, and is not as fit as a youngster like you. Even if you sent him down, he can't do the work. You think Fallen Paradise is a charity?" The middle-aged man smirked.
Eyeing Wang Zheng, the middle-aged man smiled. "Punk, you must have come from a decent background, from the looks of you. How did you come here?"
Wang Zheng did not say anything. Sunday Zhao? Arson and prison break? Wang Zheng thought it was all too childish. He wondered if they had even thought thoroughly about it.
The middle-aged man looked past it. "Youngster, Maklou is a dangerous place. It's not so easy to survive. You and me got some fate. What do you say we work together? When dinner comes in a while, I'll share it with ya!"
Wang Zheng eyed the man, and slightly shook his head. The middle-aged man did not press.
He retreated to his corner again, but at this moment, two people stood up and headed for the middle-aged man. And then two more people stood up.
Chapter 1025: Path of Darkness
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The middle-aged man seemed to sense the danger. He clutched his own bag and, feeling helpless, suddenly scampered over to Wang Zheng.
The five burly guys had crowded over.
"Give us the bag, or we'll beat you to death. Give us the bag." All five had malevolent looks on their faces. In this place, survival was paramount. But there was no real point here. Those who truly had money and use would not be huddled in this low class cabin.
"You… you can't do this. I'll shout."
The ear-stud wearing leader laughed. "Holler all you want. See if anyone responds."
"Punk, go away. This is none of your business."
Wang Zheng lifted his head. His face was expressionless, but he just said one word. "Scram!"
"Lookin…" The tattooed, ear-studded leader had just begun his sentence when his vision blacked. With a loud bang, he flew seven or eight meters, sprawled unmoving on the ground.
Wang Zheng slowly retracted his leg, looking at the other four. They started, and hurriedly dispersed. Wang Zheng sat down slowly.
"Back to your place. I've already paid you for that cigarette."
The middle-aged man started. "I can…"
Wang Zheng wagged a finger, and the middle-aged man could only return to his place. If he had known, he would have bought an additional meal just now. Then this guy would definitely protect him.
But after Wang Zheng acted, others looked over covetously, but no one moved.
There was not much of a logic to this place. The only way to avoid trouble was to set your own rules.
Wang Zheng closed his eyes and conserved his energy, waiting for their arrival.
This world was not that big. Although he had entered halfway, what was this Easter Project?
What did the military mean?
Was he here to gather information, or expose the plan? Would someone meet him? How was he supposed to extricate?
It seemed like nothing at all. Suddenly, the corner of Wang Zheng's mouth twitched. Since there was nothing at all, did that mean he could do as he wanted?
He liked a world with no rules.
Planet Maklou's biggest city, Fallen Paradise. Many who had never been here might have thought it backward and rustic. This thinking was entirely correct, because Maklou's environment was indeed harsh. There was no day, only eternal night. Everything was sustained by electricity. However, Fallen Paradise was one of the most affluent cities in the Milky Way. This place not only produced rare minerals, but was also strong, attracting many asylum seekers who brought enormous amounts of money and connections. A grey area often meant a confluence of destitution and wealth. Of course, the price was also high.
Compared to the affluence of the city, the other extreme was the slum and mines, which was concerned with the dangerous but important work.
The shuttle had arrived at its destination. Everyone had to accept decontamination first. The high pressure water was not comfortable, a little like pig washing. And on the other side was the VIP entrance. A few clusters of people had stepped down to the waiting red carpet and lights, and were received with fresh flowers and beautiful ladies.
"Mr. Qibin, Mr. Kulifa, I hope the journey has not been too arduous. Welcome, esteemed guests, to Fallen Paradise. Here, both of you will be treated like gods. Your wishes are our command."
A sexy beauty spoke. She wore a beige blouse, a white short skirt, and a pair of black high heels. Her neckline was just nice, barely revealing anything. From her aura, she was clearly from a high-class background, and carried herself with confidence.
The pair exchanged looks and smiled. They had finally arrived on the surface. Here, they were finally safe. Even the Federation people could not dream of entering. At most they could do it sneakily, but sneaks always met with a bad ending.
That was why this place had the name of Fallen Paradise.
Money was not the key. Money combined with guaranteed safety was the most important thing.
And on the other side, Wang Zheng and the rest were being shepherded off the shuttle by armed soldiers. They caught a fleeting glimpse of the luxurious city, but were very quickly packed into a box.
Although they were free men, at Fallen Paradise, this meant that they were low-class people only slightly better off than slaves.
Far away at Elite Academy X, Jiang Feng had just received intelligence that all six had already been dispatched to their mission destinations.
This mission's difficulty was extremely high. More accurately, these were missions that the Milky Way Alliance agonized over. Either it was not convenient to directly intervene, or the difficulty was too high. They had remained unsolved for a long time. Just as Jiang Feng said, these were missions that tested both brains and brawn. One could even say that luck played a very big role. Half died before they even reached the surface due to bad luck. Seemed like their six guys were pretty fortunate.
This time around, Wang Zheng, Olivios, and Lear had the most difficult missions. Of course, they did not have to complete them. The important thing was experiencing the process. As for the Milky Way, ability was not the most important, because ability was a double-edged sword. Once they abandoned the Milky Way Alliance, then they also posed the greatest threat. And there was no way to resolve that. At present, of the people they had nurtured on the straight and narrow, a third had fallen to the grey places, or even completely entered the underworld. These places often had a way to seek out one's weakness.
The mission this time was not centered around completion, but whether one could remain steadfast.
Zhang Shan and the rest were speechless. Wang Zheng had disappeared again like a ghost, while Lear and Olivios had also suddenly gone on missions. A pity. Zhang Shan had wanted to go see the world with Wang Zheng.
But that couldn't be helped. It simply meant that they were not at that level yet. Achilles could be close, but his own physical state had caused him to miss this opportunity. But perhaps it was all a blessing in disguise. Such missions were not always good things.
Compared to Wang Zheng's miserable state, opening his eyes and breathing the fresh air, Zhang Shan and the rest were luxuriating in their glory. It was blissful. This was heavenly.
The Greatest King Competition's first season was over, but this was not the end. The school had ordered the teams to prepare anew and recruit, in order for more to be able to participate. And the mecha aspect had been greatly revamped.
KO Group's mecha box had passed many inspections and was determined to be very suited to mecha usage. Many countries had already begun training with this new capability. And for Elite Academy X, who walked at the forefront, it was all the more so. This meant that mech pilots could use abilities similar to warping. To Zhang Shan, an extra short distance jump was no great advantage, but this was completely different for everyone else. Clearly, future battles would be harder, more complicated, and not simply limited to city terrain, but encompass all kinds of battle environments.
The school wished for everyone to be able to participate, rather than for a few to dominate the glory.
While Wang Zheng was not around, Achilles and the rest would have to shoulder the responsibility of defending Saruman Snake's glory.
The only team that remained intact was Imperial Glory, who was also the most pitiful. Because while Wang Zheng and the rest had gone into battle, Imperial Glory was still whole. This was a blow to Di Maria.
Of course, this was the guess from the uninformed. But in fact, it was Aslan who had rejected this mission. Aslan had their own training methods. At the same time, they understood the mission that Elite Academy X had this time. Clearly, such things were not suited to Di Maria's status.
The road to power could be walked by mastering oneself. At the same time, Di Maria needed to put down his needless pride.
Chapter 1026: No Pain, No Love
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wang Zheng had been in Fallen Paradise for a week now. Wang Zheng had not managed to enjoy how exactly how fallen the paradise was. He had spent the entire week mining, almost without seeing the light of day. But it was not as bad as it could have been. In this period of time, Wang Zheng could feel that they had categorized arrivals into a few classes. Even the freemen were divided into the physically strong and weak. Those whose bodies were weaker were just given a masturbation product. While those deemed young, strong, and suitable for long term use, like Wang Zheng, were given a day's holiday each month, where they could take a tenth of their wages to Fallen Paradise and enjoy themselves. As long as one had money, one could thoroughly enjoy being here.
Of course, the mine operators were not at all worried that people would escape. Those who escaped faced terrible fates. Besides, while their wrists were cuffed with that gadget, unless you cut off your hand with an axe, there was no game to play. And those with such determination would not be here.
Wang Zheng's job was simple. The work time was at least 10 hours, and no one cared if you did more. 10 people made a squad, and they were put in charge of a patch. Salary was pegged to the mining quantity and quality. Of course, quantity alone was not viable. If one was lucky and dug up some rare mineral, then there could be a chance to change one's fate, and make at least a small fortune.
It was rumored that someone had unearthed a huge sky crystal. Not only had they removed their bracelet, but had also received a reward which allowed them to find a job in Fallen Paradise and enjoy life.
Wang Zheng was not really interested in that. He was an excellent miner, because they used Hercules mecha here, fitted with drill bits and other mining tools.
He played no tricks, and did not consider killing his way out of there. Wang Zheng calmly did his share. In a week, his workload was multifold of others. After work, he rested without causing trouble.
Even the section head felt that this young man was a dependable one. Honest laborers were welcome anywhere, especially in mining. That was why Wang Zheng's group had better grub than others, with at least some meat.
Although there was not much time for chit chat, Wang Zheng quickly picked up news from others. A Manalasuo person who had quickly become familiar with Wang Zheng had been here for over a decade. He had forgotten why he had come here in the beginning, and he was too lazy to leave. It was familiar work, with three or four days of leave a month, and one could apply for leave. He had not saved money, basically spending it in the vault that was Fallen Paradise. People here called him Old Xiao. Perhaps to him, this was not a bad job.
Old Xiao was a very friendly person, but he loved to brag. He was so on and so forth outside, and got respect everywhere. He could do anything, and was familiar with the three bosses of Fallen Paradise. This guy's way of speaking was humorous and interesting. Listening to his rambles during break time always got people laughing. This guy could make a living as a speaker.
Naturally, no one gave much credence to his claim that he was familiar with the bosses. After all, he was not even a section head. But it was true that the section heads showed him some respect out of deference to his years.
After the meal, everyone returned to their own sections. Each person was in charge of one cave, much like a lord of a cave. In truth, the work here was exhausting. Besides Old Xiao, who enjoyed it, most of the others were not too willing to talk. After all, only Old Xiao genuinely treated this as a job.
Soon, everyone had left. Wang Zheng was not tired. Although their section was a little darker, murkier, and dirtier, it did not seem particularly dangerous. Seemed like his work was still credited, and he had been allocated to a better place.
Time seemed not to move. There was more than half a month before they could go out. Fallen Paradise was controlled by the three major powers. It was impossible to complete his mission here. And he had to find some way to get in touch with these three powers.
Gambling? Underground wrestling? Or something else?
The key was how to get close. Wang Zheng looked at himself in the mirror. He did not feel like he could hide who he was. If he did not show it, no one would notice him. But if he displayed uncommon ability, he did not think that everyone in this place would be completely vapid. But if he did not show it, how could he get close to those people?
Could it be that he had to mine well enough to become the mining MVP?
Wang Zheng was at a loss. Just as Jiang Feng had said, many things could not be resolved with violence alone. This had stumped even an Earth-rank warrior.
Wang Zheng also knew that not revealing his ability was impossible. The key was how to display it, and find an entry point.
Entry…
Student Wang was still thinking, when a huge, black shadow appeared in front of him. A severe figure…
D*mn!
Never around when it was needed, but always giving people a scare when it shouldn't be around!
Long time no see, Charcoal!
Wang Zheng was just about to tease Charcoal when he realized that this square Charcoal seemed to be in a morose state.
… Robots could be sad?
Charcoal stared at the mine unmoving, as though in a reverie. Even without intellectual limits, robots would not have Charcoal's expression. This was not a robot's nature, but it indeed conveyed the feeling.
It was a long time before Charcoal turned around to look at Wang Zheng. That mournful expression gave Wang Zheng the chills.
"Keke, Charcoal, long time no see. Can you… not look at me like that?"
He had initially planned to tease Charcoal. Wang Zheng guessed that it had seen something of the past. Besides, he and Bonehead were both enigmatic existences.
Charcoal nodded, expression unchanging.
"What, are you familiar with this place?" Wang Zheng asked.
Charcoal sighed in a very human fashion. "It's like the place I lived in with my master before…"
Wang Zheng was prepared to listen to a story. After all, what he had the most of here was time. Wang Zheng also wanted to know the history of legends.
But just as Wang Zheng had prepared his listening ear, Charcoal stopped.
"And then?" Wang Zheng could not resist prompting.
Charcoal's eyes became bright and then reverted to their normal state. "That's it."
D*mn, he must be joking. These guys. Bonehead liked to bully him, and Charcoal liked to prank him. Really… forget it. He couldn't do anything to them either. Besides, this was his biggest trump card in this world. It was what had made him.
"Charcoal, why did you disappear for so long? If it wasn't for Bonehead's help, I would have died," Wang Zheng said casually.
Charcoal's expression was grave. "There's something wrong with your body."
Wang Zheng shrugged carelessly. "I don't feel pain. It doesn't seem to be a problem; it's easier to fight as well."
Compared to his life, Wang Zheng indeed regarded losing his pain faculties as minor. At least Bonehead had been around then.
Charcoal shook his head slightly. "No pain, no love."
Wang Zheng shivered. "Charcoal, enough with the mushiness, okay? Have you lost your mind while cooped up recently?"
Charcoal continued without the slightest trace of humor. "Losing one's sense of pain will cause a human to become numb. As time passes, cognitive patterns will change. Pain is humanity's foundation to maintaining order."
Charcoal's words made Wang Zheng think. Wang Zheng was not stupid. Although he believed that he would not change, if he continued to be desensitized, and constantly be devoid of feeling, what would he become?
Chapter 1027: Demon King's Troops
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Charcoal continued to look at Wang Zheng, and continued nagging. "When your sense of pain disappears, your sense of feeling gradually disappears as well. Eventually, you don't feel anything anymore, and even basic human procreation…"
At this point, even the unshakable Wang Zheng paled. "Damn, that's an existence worse than death!"
Charcoal showed some satisfaction at Wang Zheng's response. ���Exactly. I've always been curious about the Rubik's Cube's existence. It seemed like a thing out of Li Feng's time. But the bloodthirst was too heavy. Now I understand. He must be a product of another dimension's civilization. His goal is not to nurture strong warriors, but to train super soldiers that don't die,"Charcoal said.
Wang Zheng naturally understood. He had heard much of the legend of Li Feng and Wang Dong. Compounded with these two strange things before his very eyes, this meant that this Li Feng was not that Li Feng in that legend. In this dimension, Li Feng was undoubtedly a hero, but in another dimension, Li Feng was probably a demon king who had used the Rubik's Cube to create super soldiers and dominate the universe.
D*mn… what a troublesome thing. But back to the important point!
"Keke, Charcoal. I always knew you were the best from the start. How do we solve this pain problem? Since you're so powerful, you must have a solution!"
Internally, Wang Zheng was screaming. He did not want to be doomed. Why hadn't he thought about this at the start… Well, even if he had, he had no choice.
Charcoal shook his head. "Master, I'm just a soul imprint. Besides, I must follow your path, and constantly be in contact. I have no more practical use."
BOOM…
The sky fell on him with Charcoal's casual words. He meant that he was f*cked?
To a man, this was too fatal. Wang Zheng was starting to despair. How would he live his life from now on? The world turned to grey, no, black.
Charcoal continued, "Luckily, I adjusted your Primordial Regression Technique a while back. A killing-type Primordial Regression Technique would be completely helpless in your current situation."
Wang Zheng was seized with a sudden urge to smash this blockhead on the floor and stomp on him. Would he die if he didn't brag?!
"You mean there's hope?"
Charcoal nodded. "The Rubik's Cube should be using this method to continually unearth the potential of the tested. At the same time, they will be lost in power, and lose their humanity, eventually becoming a war machine. But after I recalibrated your Regression Technique, its limits on you are only at the second stage of Primordial Regression Technique. If you elevate yourself to the third stage, the spell will be broken."
Wang Zheng hugged Charcoal, planting a kiss on its shiny, black skull. This guy was really his savior. For a while back there, he had contemplated asking Yan Xiaosu to give birth to a few more and let him adopt.
"But Master, Bonehead has no bad intentions. It simply has no way to defeat the principles of the Rubik's Cube. You must be cautious the next time you use its power. Each time you use it, the price you pay will only increase, even beyond the point where you can afford," Charcoal said.
Wang Zheng smiled and nodded. He did not really mind this. Bonehead had saved him countless times before. Even if he would one day be finished, he would surrender to it. Of course, if it could be helped, he would rather be a normal person.
He had chosen this path, and could not resent anyone. He would simply live on.
"Oh, Charcoal, come chat with me if you've nothing to do. It's boring being alone. Besides, I would still like to learn how to elevate my Primordial Regression Technique." Wang Zheng felt like he could not neglect this black blockhead.
"Master, my memory needs stimulation. I cannot give you too much help frequently," Charcoal said seriously.
This blockhead. Wang Zheng could do nothing about him. He did not put him in a hard spot, but seeing that Charcoal had just saved his manhood, he would reserve his comments.
Retrieving Charcoal, Wang Zheng was quiet for a while. He knew that the dangers of using the Skeleton mech were high, but he had not expected it to be this serious. Back then, the bloodthirst of the Primordial Regression Technique had been too great, and there had been no feedback. Ever since he changed to the current Primordial Regression Technique, things had been much better.
As for the parallel dimension thing, he would not dwell overlong on these painful things. He would tell Old Merchant the good news the next time he saw him. In the end, even Old Merchant had begun to be suspicious of the thing's origin.
In conclusion, this Rubik's Cube might very well have come from another dimension. Old Merchant had always said that the parallel dimensional theory was the highest law, specially used to counter "gods". No matter how advanced a civilization, it would always move towards death, but could not traverse the universe.
But the fact that the Rubik's Cube could come over meant that there had to be some rifts remaining, ones that had originated from the Little Golden Leaps from Li Feng's civilization. The chances that Old Merchant would stumble across it were billions to one.
He tapped his own head. Wang Zheng felt like he could think on this no longer. He was just a miner, a diligent miner.
Hopping into the Hercules, Wang Zheng started up the engine. Humming one of Huiyin's little tunes, he started work. Actually, this place was not as bad as the outside world imagined. But anyone who came here would be paying back dues from their past, so there was no need for resentment. Or they were on a mission like himself.
Zuckerberg was in a good mood in the last two days. This batch of newcomers was in good shape, especially that youngster Sunday Zhao. Not only did he work well, but he was always optimistic. He had given Old Xiao special privileges not only because of his experience, but because his optimistic attitude had spared him much trouble. That was why Zone D, which he was in charge of, always performed better, and made him look good in front of the boss.
It was work. You win, I win, everybody wins. As long as he had no trouble, he was happy. If he had free time, he would rather go into the city to enjoy himself.
This Sunday Zhao worked very well. Under his efforts, everyone's productive efficiency increased. It was just his name that was a joke. What were his parents thinking to give him such a name? But that was how it was. Otherwise, he would not be here mining.
Just like that, Wang Zheng hummed as he worked while practicing the Primordial Regression Technique. Ever since the end of the Greatest King Competition, Wang Zheng had not known such peace and quiet. Wang Zheng had this strength, which was to rid himself of stray thoughts. Since he could not help it, he would not think about it, but instead think about things he could change.
That was why he often switched methods during his mining. As long as one was in a good physical and mental condition, mining was also training. It was just that he ate a bit more than average. But seeing that he produced twice the average load, Zuckerberg was nonchalant about it. The able eating more was just. He again increased the supplies of section 16 as a reward.
Sustaining this for a day was easy. But for half a month, there needed to be some work-life balance. Zuckerberg decided to give Sunday Zhao a day to rest and find some work-life balance. He did not want this guy to tire himself out. In order to keep this guy out of trouble, he had sent Old Xiao with him.
Finally, Wang Zheng's first holiday in Fallen Paradise. He could breathe some of the fresher air outside. It was a thing to lift one's heart!
Chapter 1028: Lost in the Skies
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the beautiful but lonely night sky, a silver warship cruised silently. This was one of the most advanced explorer warships in the galaxy, designed to explore unknown planets.
Currently, it was on a planet far away from the human world.
Meng Tian rose from sleep. She took a deep breath and lightly waved her hand, awakening the lights in the bedroom and dissipating the dreams in her mind.
The Skylink, connected to the outside of the warship, repeatedly flashed, indicating the current situation.
Warship time: 23:30.
Simulated environment of late night.
Mission time: 24:00 cockpit.
Meng Tian came down from the bed. Her snow-white feet treaded on the icy floor, driving away the fuzziness of sleep.
She had been dreaming a lot lately. The further she was, the less composed she felt. Meng Tian smiled at herself mockingly.
Shedding the close-fitting battle armor, Meng Tian walked into a square bathroom that could only fit one. Even when sleeping, one had to maintain a state where one could enter battle, alert, at any moment. Only in the bath could one relax a little.
Water rolled down her nubile body, bringing true wakefulness.
Ship time: 23:55.
Meng Tian arrived in the cockpit punctually.
"Meng Tian." The ship captain Cameron nodded to her with a smile.
"Major General Cameron." Meng Tian saluted, pencil straight and without a hint of slack. In the military, if female commanders wanted to gain the status that they should be accorded, they had to be even stricter, even stronger than the men.
��At ease. From zero hours to five hours, you will pilot the warship. The course has already been entered into the automatic navigation system. Your mission is to adjust the fine controls according to real time circumstances." Cameron delegated the mission.
"Yes, Sir."
Meng Tian watched the time. Only when the second hand jumped exactly to zero hours did she step forward to commence the change of command with ship captain, Major General Cameron.
Standard checking procedure, confirmation of ship course, confirmation of the automatic navigation safety lock, emergency state authorization…
After the handover, Cameron confirmed everything again before leaving the cockpit.
Meng Tian sat down on the main pilot seat. She again confirmed the situation of the entire ship and then opened her planetary map. As a temporary captain's responsibility, she constantly recorded the prior course, as well as the interstellar landmarks and references.
Recording at the same time was the co-pilot Noam.
Each meticulously kept to their post.
Because this was a completely alien planet, and they were the first humans to set foot here.
Three weeks ago, an explorer troop had discovered a wormhole signal from this starfield. The warship that Meng Tian was on had been delegated to do the first reconnaissance.
Each wormhole was a major discovery. It was a shortcut that could traverse planets. In a matter of seconds, one could cross hundreds, even thousands, of light-years. Of course, this was if it was well-formed.
And travelling on a foreign planet, blackholes, interstellar magnetic explosions, etc. were all extremely dangerous.
Losing the course was the most terrifying thing that could happen. The moment there was an error in the recording pattern, and one was unable to confirm the original reference point on the stellar map, the entire universe would become an enemy. This was the same logic as when humanity had first lost their course in the ocean. Only, oceans had ends, the universe did not.
That was why the captain and vice-captain recorded at the same time, in addition to the warship's automatic records. This was the standard navigation procedure, but it was still not foolproof. A stellar storm could cause the crew to diverge from the course and throw off the stellar reference points. Many times, it depended on the captain's ability and experience.
Noam looked at Meng Tian with complex emotions. Normally, when Cameron rested, he was the one responsible for piloting.
But as Meng Tian displayed her ability more and more, Cameron had come to respect her ability more and more. As a captain, he admired Meng Tian's calm and undistracted mind. On such a dangerous voyage, only Meng Tian had always maintained her focus.
Noam was still uncomfortable. He felt that his own authority was severely threatened.
But she was an elite from the college, with no shortcomings in many aspects. And she was pretty, and popular. In a few simulations, she had far surpassed him in score.
Noam's only advantage was seniority. And clearly that had little use.
"Discovery of ER-type fixed star that can serve as a stellar reference mark. Preparing to raise energy panels. Level two shield test, results good. Raising shields to highest level…"
Meng Tian methodically recorded this fixed star's radioactivity's reference statistics.
Flitting pass the fixed star, the energy panels absorbed the radiation from the fixed star, converting it to standard energy and storing it to replenish the energy source. It was the insurance of a deep exploration flight. An exploration ship would not pass up on any opportunity to store energy.
After 10 minutes, the warship completed the stellar map record and began to pick up speed. The warship circled on a one-track orbit, trying to utilize the gravity of the fixed star to pick up speed.
"Approaching departure speed."
Everyone kept their eyes wide open and carefully completed their own missions. No one could confirm that this was a safe route. One must know that each safe route in deep space was formed through the blood and tears of countless explorers.
The warrant officer in charge of radar sweeps constantly wiped his forehead, which was already free of sweat. The motion helped him feel better.
The warship circled the gravitational line of the fixed star. Just as the warship was about to leave, the cockpit viewfinder flashed. The optical telescope captured some large mass. HUM-
A shrill alarm rang in the cockpit. "EXTREME DANGER! EXTREME DANGER!"
"Enlarge!"
Following the command, the captured image from the viewfinder became clear. A belt formed of debris barred the path in front of the warship. Caught by the sway of the fixed-star's gravity, the debris was flying towards the fixed star. And the warship had just accelerated in the opposite direction, towards this debris belt.
Kaneki jumped up and shouted, "How could such a huge belt of debris not have been detected?!"
"A blind spot caused by the hugeness of the fixed star!"
The warrant officer in charge of the radar sweeps paled upon seeing his screen. The whole thing was blank. He could not see the presence of the debris. In theory, he had done this countless times. But when seen for real, he still felt like it was a fatal disaster.
The warship continued to pick up speed. In one minute, the warship would collide with this debris field.
This was completely different from a normal debris belt. This debris field was high-velocity debris, attracted by the fixed star's gravity. Even the smallest piece at that speed would be like a cannon shot from one of the superpowers' warships' main guns.
Seeing this scene, the entire cockpit was stunned. Among the field, there was still high-damage debris. When close to the fixed star's unstable situation, these volatile debris would explode like bombs under the slightest shake.
They were finished. At this distance and this speed, they would definitely collide with this debris field charging towards the fixed star.
They could not avoid it! Given the defenses of a main god-tier warship, just high-velocity debris alone was fatal. In addition to the unstable energy debris…
The shadow of death numbed all their tongues.
"Alert the commander!" He had neither the time nor the effort to spare to reprimand the radar warrant officer. Noam immediately pressed the communication device of the commander, but all he heard was static from the receiver.
The fixed star storm had interfered with the sweep, as well as the transmission of the communicators.
"Commence standard evasion procedures. Circle the debris field, continue the orbit of the fixed star."
Noam's face was white. He gave the order. Only after the words had been spoken did he realize that he was sitting in the copilot chair, and did not have the authorization of the commander to complete it.
Seeing Noam unable to fulfil the command, everyone in the cockpit came to their senses and looked to Meng Tian, who should be taking control at this moment.
What was she doing? Was she petrified with fear? Besides her order to enlarge the image at the onset, she had not made any other sound. Was she just a bookworm from the college? She had become senseless when faced with real danger!
At this moment, Meng Tian was still frantically drawing on a screen…
The entire cockpit was in despair!
They were doomed. No way to contact the commander, and the only representative with the commander authorization was still doing math for her college homework.
Could this wench be depended on?
Chapter 1029: Substitute Commander
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"One minute left…"
The warrant officer's face turned green. He had already calculated the time until the warship collided with the debris belt.
Noam surged to his feet. "There is still time! Give me the control key! Each to your stations and prepare to execute standard evasive procedures…"
"Calm down." Meng Tian glanced at him with little feeling, making her last variable calculation.
How could one be calm!? If they did not act, they would definitely die! They would not even have the slightest chance of survival.
All they could hear was the warrant officer constantly counting down. "53…"
"Attention. Cut the autopilot and switch to manual."
Manual control? Everyone started. The room was starting to turn cold. Subconsciously, they were already turning to obey orders. Inaction meant they would be sitting ducks. In this instant, there was no time to dwell on it. Their instinctive choice was to obey. This was the reason why soldiers were drilled again and again. They should not use their brains in the critical moment.
"Autopilot disconnected. Manual control online. Complete."
KACHAK. Manual controls appeared in front of Meng Tian.
"Don't stop the countdown."
The radar officer started, then continued counting in a wavering voice.
47 seconds!
Noam's entire body was trembling. "You're crazy! There's still a chance to avoid it with autopilot…"
In the cockpit, more than half agreed with him. But at this moment, commands from the commander's seat were absolute orders. Even if it was a mistake, or ordering them to their death, disobedience would see them to an even worse end, even if they survived.
For soldiers, obeying orders was the first duty.
For a crew sailing into the unknown, deep space, this phrase was the most basic rule. The commander was king, live or die.
"Fire weapons systems. Charge the 12 supplementary cannons at the front of the ship." Meng Tian did not heed Noam's cries. Or rather, at this time, she tuned out all distracting noises. Her voice was calm and clear. Such composure was felt by everyone.
Her gaze was locked on the image frozen on the viewfinder telescope. Within her composure was calculation. Ability X light shone from her eyes.
"Fore, 12 supplementary cannons charging. Five, four, three, two, one, charging complete."
The weapons warrant officer confirmed.
"30…" The radar warrant officer's voice.
RUMBLE… The ship was shaking. This was the drawback of manual control. It could not maintain stability.
The entire warship shook. Troops who did not know the situation were promptly following training procedures, and strapping themselves down.
But in the cockpit, the mood was despair.
Because Meng Tian's next order was: accelerate!
Accelerate?
Given their current speed, if they hit a high speed rock, their outer energy shields would be unable to hold up. Accelerate? Wouldn't that cause them to die in an even worse fashion?
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
But in the end, they were trained warrant officers of quality. Meng Tian was the commander, and her orders were to be obeyed."
"Countdown accelerated: three… two…."
The radar officer recalculated the collision time after the acceleration.
Everyone shut their eyes. On the viewfinder, they could already see the debris. It looked far, but it would be the blink of an eye before collision.
BOOM…
At this moment, the 12 supplementary cannons on the fore were firing with a rhythm.
Everyone felt the ship tremble violently. The warship, accelerating forward, was actually nimbly flying a course!
Each time it fired, a piece of debris was blasted apart with a shockwave that swept away a shower of debris. It was dangerous, but it cleared a space without debris.
The warship was still accelerating. It fought through the space blasted by the highly volatile debris and slipped through before the debris behind had time to arrive…
But not all debris could be avoided.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM…
Each time they were hit, it was like being hit by a Zeus Shield level main cannon, causing the hull of the ship to creak.
At this moment, the cockpit was in disarray. Fortunately, they were all elites, and very quickly stabilized the core.
The shakes were unable to throw Meng Tian off in the slightest. Her hands were constantly piloting the manual controls. Shadows slipped past. Each time, her control was without hesitation…
Dodging, each high speed shift's trajectory was controlled to the fine details. The calculations took into consideration the fire. The 12 cannons fired each time to stave off a fatal rock. And the rest were unable to break past the energy shield.
In just 10 seconds, everyone calmed down. They knew what Meng Tian was trying to do. More importantly, they could feel the confidence and control over the ship that Meng Tian was radiating.
A mech pilot had a sense when piloting a mech, and a commander also had a sense for a ship. At that moment, Meng Tian was one with the warship. They charged towards the cluster of debris.
Faced with such a situation, they could choose to avoid it, but they might be crushed by the debris. They might also have been sucked into the fixed star. There was only one choice: to accelerate preemptively and fly to meet it.
Life or death!
Everyone held their breath and waited. At this moment, the slightest tremble in the hands would spell death.
Finally, the long charging main cannon fired, sweeping away all the debris in front of them. The last hurdle. Ahead was an even bigger cluster of debris, and the warship was unable to fire anymore.
"Deactivate energy shields!" Meng Tian ordered calmly.
From the side, the workers were infected by Meng Tian's aura. They responded without even processing the order.
The energy shields were switched off. All energy was concentrated in accelerating the ship. The last thrust. Relative to their speed, everyone could almost feel the huge rocks about to smash them to powder.
BOOM…
A gigantic tremor. Following which, the ship stabilized. The warship sounded. "Shuttle entering warp speed state."
At this moment, everyone's faces were a little pale, and Meng Tian forced herself to be calm. She was the stand-in commander. At this instant, she held the responsibility. Everyone could panic, save her.
"Each station, check the ship's damage. Congratulations everyone. We successfully made the great escape. Thank you!"
…
The corner of Meng Tian's mouth was upturned in a slight smile, and the warship's members were stunned. She actually knew how to smile… and so prettily…
"Engine capability light damage, controllable. Energy currently recovering."
"Port light damage. Recommended to repair within three hours."
…
Each worker on the ship was methodically assessing the situation. The commander was the ship's compass. As a commander, one needed to take responsibility for the whole ship.
In this instant, Noam finally realized why he was only suited to be a co-pilot, and not the commander.
"Lieutenant Colonel Noam, you have the command," Meng Tian said. The brave front she had put up aside, she was actually about to collapse.
"Yes, Commander." Noam saluted, and this time it was from the heart.
In space exploration, there was no method that was absolutely right or wrong. Only results that were absolutely right or wrong.
Chapter 1030: Hundred Bucks
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
To space explorers, this encounter was more persuasive than any test score. After the ship crew returned, the ship's inner circle had repeatedly investigated the commands during the entire process. In the end, the compiled performance for Milky Way Military College designated Meng Tian as the proxy commander of ship 12.
Even under the Milky Way Military College system, there had been no precedent of a student becoming a proxy commander. Without question, if Meng Tian could complete this mission alive, her life would fly at an unparalleled speed.
Planet Maklou. This star was quite overgrown. Besides Fallen Paradise, the rest was basically uninhabitable. It was either mining areas, or military forts. Besides a few ballsy thrill-seekers and refugees, no one would leave the city.
Fallen Paradise was like an oasis in the desert. It was not only safe, but also incomparably luxurious. On their way, Old Xiao was introducing the things around them to Wang Zheng with great gusto.
"The entire city's energy source is limitless, even called an infinite energy source. This is something that no other planet can do, and is also one of the boasts of Fallen Paradise."
This stemmed from the innate situation on Planet Maklou. It could be said that this planet could directly supply energy to human technologies, a bit similar to Tita Star. Just that they were different in make.
"Old Xiao, where are you bringing me? I hear this place is very exciting." Wang Zheng laughed. Since he was out, he had to use this one day of time well.
"Hehe, you little rascal. Relax. I'll definitely open your eyes today. But since you're out, you should know that the three great powers in Fallen Paradise are not to be messed with," Old Xiao said.
Wang Zheng shrugged. "Oh?"
"You won't be convinced with words alone. I know you have some ability. But both the shady and legal sides of Fallen Paradise are under the rule of these three great powers. Even those passing through must bend to their will," Old Xiao said.
Wang Zheng smiled. "They're that awesome? What the hell are they? I would like to find out."
Old Xiao smacked his lips and said, "As for that… I'm a little thirsty."
Wang Zheng nodded. "I got my salary just now. You find a place."
After about 10 minutes, both were chugging large mugs of beer. It was quite authentic, more so than many other places. The fragrance of the hops refreshed their spirits. After being cooped up and driven mad in the dark and stuffy mine without seeing the light of day, coming out for a large mug of beer was like heaven.
No wonder this was called a Fallen Paradise. Sometimes, it was the sheer contrast that left one in despair.
Old Xiao was clearly enjoying himself. After half a mug of beer, he was in the mood. "Let's skip the ancient history. The one ruling Maklou now is the Bill family. If you see someone wearing a curved knife on their chest, that's the one. The Bill family controls the gambling dens and underground fights. They are well connected to the underworld. They're the worst to mess with, don't say I didn't warn you. Second is the Hong Lirong family. Their current head is a woman, fiery and sexy. It's said that if you could sleep with her, death would be a worthy price," Old Xiao said longingly.
Seeing Wang Zheng's disbelieving smile, Old Xiao got grumpy. "You might not believe me, boy, but that Hong Lirong is a woman among women."
"Have you met her before, Old Xiao?"
"I haven't, and it's said that all those who have are dead. I haven't had enough of life yet. The Hong Lirong family controls the majority of Fallen Paradise's lifestyle and entertainment industries. Third is the Julian family. They control the port and also relations with the Milky Way Alliance. Each of the three families controls a third of the mining profits."
Old Xiao helped himself to the snacks. "Each year, they make astronomical amounts."
"I'm quite curious. Isn't there a military here? Why doesn't the Alliance take over and run it themselves?" Wang Zheng asked.
Old Xiao eyed Wang Zheng with a smirk. "Firstly, the factors in this place are quite complicated. Who's qualified to run it? Besides, although there's no military here, if the infinite energy source explodes, the whole planet will catch on fire."
Peng…
Old Xiao made an exaggerated hand gesture. "On such an energy-based planet, you can just imagine. Immediate energy collapse, forming a blackhole. You know the consequences."
Old Xiao need not explain further. Wang Zheng was an expert on this. It would create chaos in the nearby star field for an extremely long time. The Alliance would not want to involve innocents, and to the people here, a good death was better than a miserable existence. Unless they had no choice, no one wanted to kill the golden goose.
But what was his own Easter mission about?
Unless it was for him to infiltrate these three powers… Elite Academy X thought too highly of him. Perhaps if he had 100 lives.
"No wonder this place is so comfortable. Old Xiao, do they celebrate Easter Sunday here?" Wang Zheng asked casually.
Old Xiao smiled slightly. "Boy, I'll take it as the beer talking. Here's a suggestion. No matter where you're from, or what you do, living is the most important thing. Right, you enjoy the rest yourself. I'll go catch up with some old friends."
Wang Zheng rubbed his nose. Had he been too obvious? This special mission was a failure.
He had not gone too far when Old Xiao returned. "Lend me a hundred bucks."
Wang Zheng took out 200, and Old Xiao did not stand on ceremony. "Easter Sunday is the day of the dead. It's for dead people to celebrate."
Old Xiao took his money and walked off, leaving Wang Zheng alone. Wang Zheng rubbed his own face. D*mn, his aura was too awesome. It was really a case of gold shining anywhere.
But such a psychological victory could only comfort himself for a while. Wang Zheng could not keep drinking here. He could only come out once every half a month. If he swelled overlong, he had no idea what would happen to the fighting robots. Perhaps he would really become a miner.
Just as Wang Zheng was thinking about going to wreck the underground fighting, a kid walked over and craned his neck. "Big Brother, can you lend me a hundred bucks?"
Wang Zheng was gloomy. Did he look like he was rich???
He had only brought a total of 5,000 dollars. Subtracting the return transport, he had 4,000 left. He had already spent 1,000 on the beer, and Old Xiao had taken 200. He was a poor man.
Wang Zheng looked at this kid of about 10, and the boy sized Wang Zheng up cheekily as well.
"I can give you a hundred bucks, but what can you do for me?" Wang Zheng said.
"From one look, Brother is definitely a generous man. I'm a mafia boss. Anything you want to know, anything you want to get, I can do it," the kid said self-possessedly.
Wang Zheng gave the kid a hundred bucks. "Bring me to the best underground ring."
The kid smiled with dimples. Very cute. "You gave me a hundred bucks, so you're my Big Brother now. No problem. Wait a while, I need to go to the toilet."
Wang Zheng waved him off. The kid vanished in the crowd, and suddenly Wang Zheng realized a serious problem.
At the back door, the kid stuffed the hundred bucks in his pocket. Although he was a little filthy, his eyes were bright. "What a dumb guy. Sigh, I'm so charitable, to only take a hundred."
"My little friend, are you forcing me to rob you?" Wang Zheng said with a smile. The kids here were astray, to immediately take him for Passerby A.
Chapter 1031: Little Lackey
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The little brat panicked for a moment, but he very quickly recovered with an innocent smile. "Big Brother, I can tell you're a nice person. I'm doing it for your sake. That sort of place is dangerous, there are hooligans and mafia…"
Wang Zheng lifted up the little brat. He had no intention to quibble with the kid. Perhaps just shake him up a little. But when he looked at the kid up close, Wang Zheng realized an issue. For this guy to be cheating someone of a hundred bucks meant that his family had to be in dire straits. But although this guy was dirty, he was clean below the neck, and his eyes shone with the light of nobility. After all, Wang Zheng had seen many of his like at Elite Academy X. Although this kid was in a bad place, his past must have been good.
"Keke, little man, what's your name?" Wang Zheng decided to talk it out with this boy.
The kid said wretchedly, "Everyone calls me Piglet. I'll return the hundred bucks to you. Don't hit me, okay?"
"Are there pigs as skinny as this?" Wang Zheng patted the kid's head. He was full of his own doubts as well. What was he doing with this kid? "Sigh, here's another 200. Brother's a poor man as well. Take care now."
Wang Zheng smiled. He felt that he looked super cool at the moment he turned away. D*mn, he just couldn't quell his heroic heart.
He heard a yelp from behind him. Wang Zheng knew in his heart that it was because he had been too cool.
Closely following, a laser streaked past his head. From the other end of the street, a few people with laser guns were sweeping this way.
Wang Zheng scooped up the little kid and scrambled away.
F*ck, what the hell was going on? Even pros were afraid of boards and bricks, let alone laser guns.
"The window." At this moment, the kid was still calm.
Of course, Wang Zheng had no intention of leaving through the door. He directly launched through the window, closely followed by the kid.
This kid was still pretty calm. He must have been in many similar situations. He ordered Wang Zheng here and there, and they were soon free of the pursuit.
Wang Zheng wondered what sins he had committed. He had spent 300 bucks and almost lost his life as well.
After recovering their breath, he eyed the little guy. "Kid, you look like you're from fine stock. Smooth skin and good body. Say, do you owe the mafia, or are you a runaway slave?"
Although Wang Zheng put on a fierce countenance, the kid's reaction was pretty composed. He lightly moved Wang Zheng's foot aside, looking at him with puppy eyes.
And Wang Zheng's heart melted.
He knew that this was his own weakness. In such a ghastly place, he had a mission he could not talk about. This kid was of unknown background. Someone was chasing them, and it was an organized someone, from the looks of things. It was not looking good.
Wang Zheng had a good eye. Those chasing him were wearing blue curved sword symbols. Chances were, it was the Bill family that Old Xiao had mentioned. Who were the meanest of the mafia here. But… this was like an access point.
"Big Brother, they're the bad guys."
Wang Zheng laughed. "I'm no good guy either. Forget it. Take it as my good deed today. We can part now."
Wang Zheng said, straightening his clothes and preparing to leave. But this kid was following behind. Wang Zheng sweated. D*mn, he was good at attracting followers.
"What are you doing following me?" Wang Zheng hollered on purpose.
A pity that Wang Zheng was no actor. This boy was agile and unafraid. The moment Wang Zheng stopped, he clutched his clothes. And Wang Zheng really could not bear to shrug a kid off.
D*mn, it was said that undercover work needed cruelty. It was not a good fit for Wang Zheng.
"Kid, don't follow me, really. I'm a miner. Holiday today. I have to go back to continue mining real soon. I can't even feed myself, let alone you. And I can't afford to offend those guys."
Wang Zheng counselled him. But the kid was holding on even more tightly. Wang Zheng sighed deeply. He must have done something wrong in his past life.
Just like that, Wang Zheng returned early, and now with a little tail. Zuckerberg did not care. As long as Sunday Zhao's work was unaffected, he would turn a blind eye. Besides, a soft-hearted person was easy to control.
Those in Fallen Paradise were used to the rules of the place, but it did not mean that everyone was evil. Many times, people were just trying to survive. Of course, Zuckerberg did not let Wang Zheng off easy. He simply warned him that if Wang Zheng's work suffered, the kid would immediately go.
In Fallen Paradise, there were too many vagrants. Other aspects could be managed, but not this one. They would live or die on their own. These kids either never grew up, or entered the gangs. It was nothing new, and people's hearts slowly hardened.
Wang Zheng had come back, but Old Xiao had not. It looked like he was tangled up with his old buddies.
"Right, this is where I stay. You can see that it's not much better than the streets." Wang Zheng tossed a ragged blanket to the kid.
On the way back, the little guy had been quiet. He docilely received the blanket and found a corner. Before long, he was asleep.
Wang Zheng shook his head with a bitter smile. He could tell whether the kid was feigning sleep. He had gone a little overboard, to quibble with the kid.
He put the kid on the bed. He was just not cut out to be a bad guy.
Well, this trip had not been completely meaningless. Fallen Paradise had been volatile recently, and this possibly stemmed from the contention between the three great powers.
The three great powers had been very balanced. The Julian family dealt with the outside, the Bill family maintained order, and the Hong Lirong family was in charge of the city's business. But as the Bill family's power continued to grow, they were clearly not content being equal partners. Especially the current family head, who was full of ambition. After tolerating things for more than a decade, he was finally starting to flex, creating instability in Fallen Paradise.
From the perspective of the Milky Way Alliance Council, water that was too clear supported no fish. Whether in ancient times or today, or in the future, this would not change. Especially since mining stability was something the Alliance needed. This place was a cauldron that stood on its three legs stably, and in its stability was unquestionably in the interests of the Alliance. If the place was ruled by the Bill family's curved knives, then things were in question. Just looking at those louts, one knew how things would go.
The hot-blooded Bill family must definitely challenge the Alliance once they dominated. This was something the Alliance was unwilling to see. Crucially, the Alliance Council had to maintain regional security. Whether the Bill family ventured out to other planets was one thing, but to the Alliance Council, this could not be allowed to happen.
Suddenly, Wang Zheng was shocked. What he could think of, others could as well. Nobody was a fool. Which meant that there must have been undercover agents before him. Even now, this city had to be crawling with agents for various factors. And some might already have been eliminated.
What a headache. D*mn, this life was not easy to live. Sometimes tackling it head-on was, in fact, the easiest course of action. Wang Zheng was very good at dealing with those changes, even confident that he could find an opportunity to turn the tide. Back then, Hail Cloud Alliance had met with pirate attacks, and that was not as serious as this. Currently, the situation was not something that force alone could resolve. And seeing the gadget on his hand, he really wanted to think of a way to be rid of it. Otherwise, he would die without even knowing it.
On the bed, the little guy slept very peacefully. This dirty and dark hole was actually the most peaceful place around.
Wang Zheng smiled and walked out. He took two bottles of beer and went to find Zuckerberg. Perhaps he was just a section head, but in this place, he could secure him many conveniences. And what Wang Zheng wanted to know was if this mine belonged to the Bill family's purview.
Chapter 1032: Easter Sunday
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The little miner Wang Zheng propped two bottles of beer and went to send his greetings. He delivered the drinks, but didn't get much back. It was like hitting a dog with a meat bun – all loss. This Zuckerberg was a petty creature. You could see that he had the eye, which was why he would be assigned here. Wang Zheng felt that the moment he spoke of something sensitive, he would just change the topic. Wang Zheng also did not want to press. The other had given him some face. Saying more would be ruining their relationship. He was afraid that Zuckerberg was surmising that he was a problematic one as well.
Besides those who he did not care about, like Old Xiao and Zuckerberg, even the little lackey was privy to his situation. It was just that many of them were not confidantes. He really needed to consider his situation.
On the way back, Wang Zheng was really considering his own "holier than thou" aura. It was not completely his fault. He had just finished the Greatest King Competition at Elite Academy X. Wang Zheng could hide his aura, but not his style. He just did not seem like an unyielding guy. And those ace undercover agents not only needed to be capable, their disguises also needed to be up to par. They were professional and masterful in many areas. At least it did not look like he was an undercover agent in any way.
But the drink with Zuckerberg had not been in vain. At least he now knew the current situation. The three great powers were competing vigorously. Mainly, it seemed like the Bill family and the Julian family were already moving, and had gone public about it. While the Hong Lirong was content to watch them duke it out.
If the Bill family finished off the Julian family, Hong Lirong would be next on the list. But it seemed like Hong Lirong was in no hurry. Either they were biding their time, or they had some sort of agreement.
Besides, the current situation was precarious. It might become an uproar at any time. And as for what exactly his own Easter plan was, he had no clue. He seemed to be making no progress.
And on the flip side, the school had no reason to make things harder for him. Most of the time, all that came from the Alliance Council was just a name… Were they treating dead horses like live ones?
This mission was really something. No wonder Professor Jiang Feng had been so serious. And he had been a little overconfident as well. But this was not bad. At least it was an experience. And at least Charcoal had been lured out, to settle one of his life problems. Profit!
Back in his room, he realized that the little guy was awake. A pair of gleaming, black eyes looked back at him. At this moment, he realized that this guy's eyes were quite bright.
Eyes were the windows to the soul, and also a response to one's spiritual strength.
"Why not sleep a bit more?" Wang Zheng smiled slightly. He also knew that this young one might be troubled. But in terms of expecting anything from the kid, that would be asking too much. Children were children.
The youngster's eyes were a little red, but he quickly recovered, and he had an arrogant smirk. "You think that two bottles of drink can get you the information you want? Naivety is not a crime, but one as naïve as you surviving in such a job is pretty much a wonder."
Wang Zheng was surprised. Something was up with today. Ever since arriving at Fallen Paradise, he had been disdained from all sides. Even this urchin. He was really not cut out to be an undercover.
"I'm just a miner," Wang Zheng said without much feeling.
"Is that right? You don't have the bearing of a miner at all. In word and deed, you've had the highest education. You move well, have good reflexes, even dodging the laser. Fufu, if my guess is right, you must have been betrayed and sent here. Pitiful," the little guy said confidently.
Wang Zheng shook his head with exasperation. This little guy was conceited. He ate and lived on his dime, yet was still arrogant. Wang Zheng did not hold back. He grabbed the kid and began spanking him.
He let him yelp until his voice ran out.
Wang Zheng stared at him. This little guy was gritting his teeth and staring at him angrily.
"Little squirt, don't come and play all grown up with me. Out with it. Who are you and what's your purpose in getting close to me?"
Piglet stared daggers at Wang Zheng with an uncowed manner. "Who's interested in a poor miner like you?"
"If you don't say, I'll spank you till your bottom swells." Saying this, he raised a hand again. Against such a rebellious one, logic did not work. Perhaps violence would be a bit more effective.
"You only know how to bully kids!"
Wang Zheng was incensed now. "At least you know you're a kid. Say your name then."
"Piglet!"
"Pig? I asked for your real name. Don't give me all that. What's your dad called? What's your mom called? What do your parents do? Why are you acting pitiful and trying to ingratiate yourself with me? And why are people after you? Are you really not going to give me an explanation?" Wang Zheng demanded.
He had not pressed for answers, but that did not mean the questions were not asked.
Instantly, the little urchin's eyes were wet again. Wang Zheng felt troubled. He had heard that children were troublesome, and he did not know what had possessed him to bring the kid back. Well, he had taken him under his wing now.
"Alright, I won't ask anymore. You tell me what you can. It's about time now." Wang Zheng never knew what to do with girls and little kids.
The urchin took a while to soften up. "Just call me Piglet. Actually, I want to know what you do. Maybe I can help you, more so than you think."
"What do you think it is that I do?"
Peng…
"Undercover. The Council Alliance's undercover. I dare to bet that no one cares about you here on the lower levels, but if you dare to show your face, especially at the competition grounds, you'll die without a trace."
Ping…
Wang Zheng rapped Piglet's skull. "You little scum, how dare you curse your savior!"
Piglet rubbed his head indignantly. "Don't knock my head, I'll become stupid!"
"Then I'll beat your ass!"
"Childish! How could there be such an immature undercover agent who only knows how to bully kids!"
"Who says agents can't be immature? Who said undercover agents can't bully kids?" Wang Zheng laughed. For some reason, teasing this guy was pretty fun.
But he had also realized that his own situation was not too favorable. It was going to be difficult.
Peng…
"Fallen Paradise is in turmoil now. It might break out with trouble at any time. Do you want to succeed? Let's team up!"
Piglet was suddenly full of confidence.
Ping…
"Little squirt, why are you acting all big-headed for?"
Wang Zheng had to think of something. People had to find paths suited to themselves. Firstly, he had to get rid of this bracelet. He might have to pick the chestnuts out of the fire. Compared to acting, straight methods were his forte.
A city fight. In such a big area, he would be hard to deal with, no matter who the opponent was. And he did not believe that the Milky Way Alliance was counting on a newbie undercover agent like himself.
Just at this moment, the boy raised his head and said the words, "Easter Sunday."
Chapter 1033: He Turned Out to Be My Idol!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wang Zheng felt as though his heart was burning. To get results effortlessly after having exhausted all efforts, this little brat actually knew about Easter!
"Hehe, little kid." Wang Zheng adjusted his expression and felt that it was necessary to suck up to this little guy. "Ahem, little brother, what is this Easter?"
Piglet gazed at the ceiling, and said in a very handsome manner, "I am thirsty."
"No problem, I will pour something for you." Wang Zheng immediately poured a glass of water eagerly for Piglet. Wang Zheng was racking his brains, trying to find a way to break through, but he did not have a clue. He did not expect this little guy to actually know how to do it.
Piglet was very thirsty. He really drank a big cup of water. Then he looked at Wang Zheng in an imposing manner. "You whacked my butt and knocked my head just now!"
"Ahem, beating demonstrates closeness, scolding is love. This shows that we have a good relationship." After all, he was 21 years old. If Classmate Wang could not even win in a bicker with a little kid, he should just find a piece of tofu and knock himself dead.
"Tch, who wants to be close to you? You have no shame. Alright, if you want to know, you must tell me who you are first," Piglet said like a boss.
Wang Zheng smiled. "Sunday Zhao."
"Pei pei pei, who asked you this? I knew that you were a fraud. You were sold here by other people, right? They must have seen that you were honest, so they bullied you!" Piglet suddenly said indignantly.
Wang Zheng touched his nose. This… did he look like he was easy to bully?
"My name is Wang Zheng." The Primordial Regression Technique could greatly enhance Wang Zheng's spirituality. There had to be something fishy going on with this little guy, but intrinsically, Wang Zheng could feel the spiritual fit. This was a feeling.
"Wang… Zheng. It's very common. You are really stupid. You just answer when people ask. You are really not suited to be a special agent…"
Wang Zheng was speechless. Either way, it was his fault. He felt the urge to hit this little guy again.
Suddenly, Piglet stood up. "What did you say? You are Wang Zheng? Which Wang Zheng?"
"Wang with the three lines, Zheng from Tie Gu Zheng Zheng. Why, are you familiar with me?" Wang Zheng felt that his name was very common. He would not stand out in a crowd.
But Piglet became excited. "Are you from Earth?"
Wang Zheng nodded, and Piglet became even more excited. His eyes were shining. It was as if he had been hungry for three days and spotted a piece of sweet cake.
"Are you a mech warrior from Elite Academy X?"
This time, it was Wang Zheng's turn to be shocked. "How did you know, are you…"
Wang Zheng thought he had met a fellow agent. The Milky Way Alliance was too vicious. It was OK if it was just him, but how could they use child labor? This was too dangerous.
"Wow, you are the leader of the legendary Saruman Snake, the devil king Wang Zheng!" Piglet jumped up directly.
Wang Zheng was stunned for a while. "I don't know about the devil king, but I'm really the leader of Saruman Snake. How did you know?"
Wang Zheng was also surprised. When had he become so famous? He was in a difficult situation now, and even he could not recognize himself in the mirror. This was going to spoil his plan. Being famous was a good thing, but being famous as a special agent was like a snowball rolling onto burning charcoal. This was seeking death!
"Leader Wang Zheng, I am your idol, oh, no, you are my idol. I like you so much!" As Piglet was speaking, he was about to throw himself at Wang Zheng.
Wang Zheng grasped onto the collar of the little brat and put him down. "Calm down, calm down. We are in the same situation now. It is fate that we met. There is no point in dwelling on whether we knew each other previously. Sit properly, don't talk rubbish!"
There were stars in Piglet's eyes. It was indeed the strongest king. He had such good literary talent. Master of both the pen and the sword!
This time, Piglet sat down obediently. Even his face was flushed with glory. He kept muttering, this was too awesome, this was too awesome.
"How do you know me?Does it mean that I am really famous?" Wang Zheng had to confirm this matter. It might be very exciting for Piglet, but it was fatal to him. This was really depressing. Was the Greatest King Competition not only seen by military academies? How could it have spread to such a place?
Piglet desperately nodded his head. Wang Zheng looked up into the sky and sighed. What the heck, this was cheating students. No wonder the Elite Academy X was very low-key in the past. Why was it so high-profile this time?
It was OK to be high-profile, but he was asked to go on a mission. Even if he did not undergo cosmetic surgery, they should've at least taught him some camouflage skills. Was it possible that an Earth-rank warrior would be a match for ten thousand enemies?
He would be killed with one gunshot.
No, no, the Greatest King Competition was only for those special military academies. It should be strictly managed and could not be circulated. Although absolute non-circulation could not be accomplished, it would at least not spread so far, especially when only professionals would be interested in it. How could it be so wide-spread that people from Fallen Paradise had watched it? This was impossible, and people who liked underground fights liked bloody battles. They would not be interested in this kind of competition-style fight.
Piglet probably had some kind of background, so there were channels for him to watch this kind of competition, because only little kids like him would be interested in things like colleges.
"Piglet, I was very honest with you. Can you tell me who you are, how could you…"
To watch such a match, even the live broadcast, it showed that this little guy's situation was definitely good, and it was completely different now.
Just as Wang Zheng finished speaking, Piglet's eyes filled with tears, and the next second, he burst out crying. His tears were like a river flowing after the dam broke.
Wang Zheng knew how to do everything, but he was not very good at comforting people, especially children, and he was not an ordinary kid. He really could not just comfort him with some toy.
But after crying for a while, the little guy calmed down on his own. His teary eyes stared wide open at Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng shuddered. This little brat was too smart and cunning. It was worship just now, and this time, he was plotting against him.
"Big Brother, I don't want to lie to you, but there are some things I can't tell you now. I can help you with your business. We can form a special agent team!" Piglet said excitedly. He was really temperamental.
Wang Zheng laughed. "Then you have to tell me what is Easter first. Even if you want to form a team, you must be sincere."
"Easter is just Easter. So stupid, it's just a reason to have fun together," Piglet said in an eager voice.
"Classmate Piglet, don't you forget that we are a team!" Wang Zheng said very seriously.
Piglet clapped his hands quickly. "Yeah, I almost forgot the most important thing. Let's get a nickname. It should be outstanding. The Snake King special agent team? Not good, not good. Brothers team? Sounds a little unsophisticated…"
Wang Zheng covered his face with his hands. He was a fool. He had actually pinned his hopes on this little brat.
"We from Fallen Paradise don't celebrate Easter. This is a ghost festival, but people from the underworld like it very much, and some organizations like to do something with this festival as the code name. This time, the target is Fallen Paradise." Piglet suddenly became very serious again.
Wang Zheng frowned slightly. "I also often hear about the underworld. Does it refer to the mafia? It seems like it has a lot of power."
Piglet laughed. "Actually, I don't really understand it either. I just heard that the underworld does exist. It is not some lowly mafia. It is an order created by terrorist forces with influence all over the Milky Way Alliance. The day belongs to the Milky Way Alliance and the night belongs to the underworld. I am afraid that other than a limited number of countries, such as Aslan, all the other countries in the current Milky Way Alliance are inextricably linked with this power. As for us, Maklou, it is definitely impossible to get rid of these links. However, the people from the Bill family are responsible for the dealings, and they are not satisfied with the current division of resources. They want to enjoy it all by themselves."
Wang Zheng kept quiet and slowly processed all these things. So Easter should only be a point in time. The mission itself was still based on the accident in Fallen Paradise. Fallen Paradise was balanced between the three families. If the Bill family had more contacts with the underworld, then the Julian family should be closer to the Milky Way Alliance. With the addition of Hong Lirong's middleman effect, Fallen Paradise managed to maintain the current peace. But now the balance was broken. This was definitely not what the Milky Way Alliance wanted to see. However, this kind of thing could not be solved by sending an army in.
"Piglet, What connections do you have with the Julian family?" Wang Zheng would be a pig if he could not see it.
Piglet suddenly became depressed, but he said, as if to encourage himself, "I am the only one alive in the Julian family."
Wang Zheng was stunned for a moment, "How did it end up like this? It seems as though there were no big commotions in the city."
Chapter 1034: Resorting to Desperate Measures in Desperate Times
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"The time was not right, hence only Grandpa Mobo is hanging on in the family," Piglet said sadly.
It was probably because they had already started chatting, hence Piglet had nothing to hide anymore. The three powers were almost the same, and the best thing about having three pillars of power was balance. The three parties also maintained their distance from the Milky Way Alliance and the underworld. Until recently, this balance was broken. The Bill family had taken the lead in attacking. It was obviously a powerful person from the underworld. In just one night, all the immediate members of the Julian family, except for Piglet, were assassinated. This assassination skill was simply shocking.
Piglet was just right outside. When he came back, everything had already changed drastically. Fortunately, this little guy was clever and did not go back; otherwise, he would also be dead.
"Do you think that Grandpa Mobo is dependable? "Wang Zheng asked suddenly.
"In the past, he was dependable, but now I'm not sure." Piglet was a little sad. He also could not judge whether he was dependable or not. "But indeed, it was he who told me about the situation and said that I had to think of ways myself to live on. Now I can't go back and he is also unable to send people to protect me."
Wang Zheng frowned. "Then those killers chasing after you…"
"The Bill family is now looking for me everywhere. The people from the bottom ranks are even more fearless. If I'm just a homeless child, they will just kill me for the reward." Piglet was a little sad.
Wang Zheng pursed his lips. While he did not want to be a hero, no one would be able to resist caring about this matter.
"Piglet, we have to tidy our thoughts. Let's say your Grandpa Mobo is questionable. If true, then you would most likely be a corpse already. It is more likely that he does not have the power to protect you now. We should find a way to contact him first before thinking about the next step," Wang Zheng said.
Piglet nodded. Wang Zheng thought for a while. "I need a Skylink that can contact the outside world. Also, we have to get this thing down."
They had tidied their thoughts and were not afraid of hard work; they were only afraid of not knowing how to start.
No matter whether the people were from Milky Way Alliance or the underworld, they should be doing things secretly. People from the underworld had arrived, so there should not be a lack of people from the Milky Way Alliance either. Logically speaking, the Julian family had long been incapable of blocking the big disaster that fell on them. While there were political undercurrents now, the situation was still stable. It had to be because people from the Milky Way Alliance had gotten involved in this.
Thinking about that, it made sense. The Milky Way Alliance was sure to have a specific person in charge for such a case, and the Elite Academy had sent him here this time – that should be a variable factor. They did not expect him to complete the mission but rather hoped that he could cause some effect.
Except the unexpected thing was that the core person involved in this matter was beside him.
"Why did you look for me in the first place? Is it just a coincidence or…?" Wang Zheng asked curiously.
Piglet laughed. "That's… a secret."
Wang Zheng felt a little faint. A kid was a kid, why did he like to do these useless things? But he also did not need to know more. The most important thing at the moment was to prepare for a good battle!
It was, of course, better if they could take action for this matter soon, but they could not be careless. They still needed Piglet to contact his butler first. If not, any actions would likely still be useless. That Grandpa Mobo was still thinking of Piglet's safety. However, once the Julian family fell, there was no way to discuss a way to protect Piglet. This was simple logic. Besides, he also did not think that Mobo had the ability to block the assassins.
Most likely, if not for the fact that the Bill family had some considerations, or that the time was not ripe yet, they would have directly erased the powers of the Julian family long ago.
Granny's leg, these people from the Milky Way Alliance had to buck up and be of some help.
Originally, Wang Zheng wanted to accompany Piglet. After all, this was just a cover, but Piglet wanted to go on his own. It looked like his personal experiences during this period of time resulted in his growth. The most important thing was that this kid was smart enough and he was not the average child. Besides… he was also an Ability X user.
Piglet ran away with a gust. Zuckerberg would definitely be too lazy to care. It was fine as long as Wang Zheng was not running away.
Outside of Maklou, it was not as calm at the Milky Way Alliance. Actually, the Milky Way Alliance Council was very worried about the situation at Maklou.
Of course, the key point that caused the senator much worry was not on Maklou itself but the powers behind the problem of Maklou.
The powers of the underworld had grown too quickly. The Milky Way Alliance was having a headache. Unfortunately, being in the Milky Way Alliance did not mean that they could commandeer the whole universe. Powers were limited and there were boundaries. This was also the root cause of the speedy development of the dark powers. It rose especially quickly in the recent five to six years.
In the past, these powers still followed the rules. However, in recent years, they were carrying out activities around the Milky Way Alliance more frequently. Special agents of the Milky Way Alliance were also moving around. Other than the troubles caused by some small powers, the most important thing was the awakening of a huge power in the underworld. It was as though they had seen the head of the demonic dragon but not seen its tail. Many excellent special agents had already been sacrificed in the process.
The importance of Maklou was not in its mines. To the huge Milky Way Alliance, this type of thing was just a profit, and profits were not the main point under many circumstances. The reason Maklou could not be out of their control was because this planet was like a huge energy source bomb. It could provide energy, but if it were controlled by the wrong powers, then it could become a bomb.
The purpose of the existence of the Milky Way Alliance was peace. The destruction of a star meant nothing, but as the senator of the Milky Way Alliance, he was worried that this matter would just be the spark. It would lead to a series of chain reactions in the Milky Way Alliance. The unsteady dark powers, the rampage of the pirates, and even the ambitions of big empires like Arbiter and Aslan.
Hence, they had to think of all ways to suppress the unrest.
This was definitely a test by the other party. If the Milky Way Alliance had no reaction at all this time, then these powers would cause trouble everywhere in similar spaces, as well as to increase their control. This was the first battle. The Milky Way Alliance definitely could not withdraw.
The Julian family was more closely related to the Milky Way Alliance. The reason they were not totally annihilated was because of the protection of the Milky Way Alliance's special agent. But the problem was that the dark powers seemed to have been planning this for a long time, and were well prepared. Their sudden move caught the Milky Way Alliance unprepared. And now, when they wanted to provide emergency assistance, they were delayed by the Bill family. Any powerful individual would be useless wearing that bracelet. Once exposed, there would only be death. The sacrifices made during this period were very heavy.
In a peaceful era, to need such a sacrifice was too much. This had also caused the Milky Way Alliance a headache. If they could not resolve this issue, the head of the council could retire already.
Elite Academy X…
To be honest, the Milky Way Alliance had invested quite a lot in Elite Academy X, regardless of whether it was the passing of knowledge or development. But all along, the participation of Elite Academy X in such matters was minimized. This time, they were also just resorting to desperate measures in desperate times
But honestly, he did not think that these few students were capable of doing anything shocking. He still needed the council to come out with some ideas.
A certain Wang Zheng was sent there? He really did not know what to say about this rascal's luck. However, this name just flashed past in the Senator's mind. There were too many things that he needed to settle, and Maklou was just one of the many issues on his plate.