[Ultimate Limit Qi Gong]After practicing the entry level and condensing the ultimate true qi, Chen Chong's perception of the vital energy or the life field has greatly increased.
Having another close encounter with General Xue, he faintly felt that the man sitting in front of him exuded a strong life rhythm, giving him a strong sense of threat. It was as if the person in front of him was not a human, but a ferocious beast hiding its claws!
If the feeling that ordinary awakened individuals gave him at close range was like the lingering warmth of charcoal fire, then the feeling from General Xue undoubtedly equated to a burning furnace, exuding an oppressive aura with every move.
Seeing the stark contrast between ordinary awakeneds and General Xue, Chen Chong pondered for a moment and asked tentatively, "General, what are your plans? If you need me as a guide, I am willing to assist."
Currently, his greatest value to General Xue was to provide clearer information about the base and serve as a guide. Although he had already given the map of the base to General Xue, having an experienced guide like Chen Chong would undoubtedly reduce casualties during the process of going to and attacking the base.
"The time is not right yet. There will be a need for you later," General Xue casually tapped his finger on the table and said nonchalantly, "Let me ask you, since those prisoners are your cellmates, what is your relationship with them?"
"General, are you suggesting that Qiao Jun should make contact with them to obtain more accurate information?" Chen Chong understood General Xue's intention at once and pondered for a moment before replying, "I have little communication with my cellmates, and we don't have a deep relationship. It would be risky for Qiao Jun to make contact with them."
"I see..." General Xue showed no disappointment, nodded, and waved his hand, "In that case, you may leave. I will have Tieshan inform you when there is action."
Chen Chong slightly bowed and then left the workshop.
After Chen Chong left, Tieshan stared at his departing figure with a cynical smile and said, "General, this kid got into conflict with Li Bao and even dared to slap him in the face as soon as he arrived in the territory. I didn't expect him to be such a ruthless wolf cub."
"Of course, if he let Li Bao's subordinates take away his food without resistance, then even if he is an awakened, he would be of no value to cultivate. I would immediately send him to clean the toilets!" General Xue laughed heartily, his laughter dominant and filled with strong confidence. "What I need are daring and ruthless wolves under my command, not timid softies. The more merciless and ruthless he is, the more I appreciate him. Only sharp claws are worthy of working for me!"
Tieshan naturally agreed, "Of course, even the fiercest and untamed wolf will become a submissive loyal dog under the command of the General."
"Alright." General Xue waved his hand, still smiling, "Since there has been movement from the Dawn Gathering Place, keep an eye on them for me. I've been at odds with their leader, Longying, many times, and this time I'll give him a big surprise!"
The Dragon Eagle mentioned by General Xue was a figure on par with the leaders of the Dawn Gathering Place. He was also a powerful transcendent who had entered the first level of life field and unlocked the genetic lock. His combat power was equivalent to several battle squads.
In the current wasteland world with limited survival resources, as long as two gathering places discover each other's existence, they all want to swallow each other's population and resources to grow stronger. However, due to the dangers in the wild between gathering places, it is generally not cost-effective to mobilize forces and launch attacks on another gathering place unless the two gathering places are very close to each other and there is a significant power difference. Otherwise, they can barely maintain a state of peaceful coexistence.
The Dawn Gathering Place is the nearest survivor camp to General Xue's territory, and its overall strength is much stronger than the Scarlet Red Territory. The reason why it hasn't annexed the Scarlet Red Territory despite its superior strength is primarily because of the presence of General Xue.
Transcendents who have unlocked their genetic locks possess formidable and non-human capabilities, making them difficult to deal with. Although the Dawn Gathering Place has an advantage in overall strength and would have a chance of successfully conquering the Scarlet Red Territory at any cost, General Xue, with his abilities, has a high chance of escaping. If a transcendent harbors revenge and strategically ambushes them, it would be a disaster for any gathering place.
Although the two survivor gathering places have temporarily kept the peace, their scavenging and hunting teams frequently encounter each other in the wilderness, leading to conflicts. Even the leaders, General Xue and Longying, have clashed several times over the years. Most of the time, General Xue and his subordinates did not gain any advantages. This cruel, brutal, and arrogant man naturally resented this.
But now that the base has appeared, it has given him an opportunity...
In the room of the accommodation building, Chen Chong recalled the feeling that General Xue had given him earlier. His eyebrows slightly furrowed as he contemplated something.
It seemed that because he had condensed the ultimate true qi, Chen Chong felt distinctly different when he saw General Xue again. In the man's vigorous life field, he faintly sensed something similar to "qi!"
This feeling was quite vague. It was completely different from the vague sensation emitted by awakened individuals. It was as if the vitality of the other person had been transformed into a substantial energy, somewhat similar in nature to true qi.
"Could this be the mystery of the genetic lock?" Chen Chong pondered deeply. "Awakened individuals possess a much stronger life field than ordinary people, while transcendent individuals who have unlocked their genetic locks can condense and transform their life field into a certain type of internal energy, just like how I refine my essence and cultivate true qi?"
Thinking about it, this seemed to be the only explanation. Chen Chong's heart began to beat slightly faster. "In that case... my Ultimate Limit Qi Gong is actually similar to the unlocking method of the genetic lock. And now that I have condensed true qi, it is equivalent to unlocking my genetic lock?"
So far, he had only encountered two transcendent individuals, Derek and General Xue. According to Qiao Jun, the unlocking method for the genetic lock only circulates among the leaders of the gathering places or in other large gathering places. This suggests that in this world, the unlocking method for the genetic lock may be considered a supreme secret technique. Awakened individuals can only unleash exceptional power by learning such techniques.
"No, that's not right!" Chen Chong suddenly calmed down. "The systems are different, and they should not be compared in this way. Based on my previous experience, I am far from being a match for General Xue. I still need to focus on cultivation."
Setting aside unnecessary thoughts from his mind, Chen Chong cleared away distractions and focused his attention, adjusting his breathing and quickly entering a state of deep meditation to begin his practice.
Without the support of spirit fruits, Chen Chong's cultivation speed of true qi had returned to a normal level. Time flew by when he immersed himself in intensive training. Ten hours later, except for going out once to receive food, Chen Chong stayed indoors and only opened his eyes when the night fell completely, accompanied by the clamor of workers ending their shift.
It was time for his new job: guarding the power plant.
The night in the Red Territory was quiet and gloomy. Chen Chong chose not to take the shortcut through the laborers' residential area. Under the dim streetlights, he could occasionally feel lurking gazes in the dark corners, like hungry beasts seeking opportunities, restless and uneasy.
These were the hungry survivors who had no jobs and were barely surviving. However, Chen Chong held a sharp knife in his hand, reflecting a chilling light under the dim lights. These prying gazes quickly withdrew upon contact with his gaze. Chen Chong safely reached the power station.
Inside the power station, the lights were bright, and the rumbling sound of boilers and motors echoed in the factory. As soon as Chen Chong entered the boiler room, he noticed the thin old Xu waiting for him in front of the boiler.
"Foreman Xu," Chen Chong greeted with a smile, "I am here for night duty. What should I do now?"
"Call me Old Xu. Those lazy guys have just finished work. You came a bit early," Old Xu replied. His disheveled hair resembled a bird's nest, and his hazy eyes carefully sized up Chen Chong, apparently aware that he was an awakened one with a special status in the territory. He spoke politely, "You're the only one on night duty tonight. The job is simple. Have you seen this pile of coal?"
Old Xu pointed to a dark cart full of coal beside him and then gestured towards five small boilers behind him, saying, "Every hour, shovel some coal into the boilers. Don't add too little or too much at once. The coal reserves in the territory are almost depleted, and strict control is in place for how much coal to burn and how much electricity to generate. If we waste coal or run out of fuel causing the boilers to go out, both you and I will be in trouble, understand?"
Chen Chong nodded to indicate understanding. Old Xu picked up a shovel and demonstrated how to shovel a pile of coal into the boiler, explaining, "It's that simple. Have you got it? You seem like a smart person. Although night duty is easy, you still need to be careful and not careless. If the General's estate loses power, a whipping would be the least of our worries. I'm already too old to bear such punishment."
Seeing that Old Xu seemed straightforward and easy to get along with, Chen Chong chuckled and said, "Old Xu, don't worry. I won't mess up. By the way, can you show me the motor equipment? This is a power station after all, and I'm afraid I might accidentally touch something electric and end up in a sorry state."
Old Xu thought for a moment and seemed to find it reasonable. He nodded and said, "Come with me."
Leading Chen Chong around the boiler room and past the wooden fence to several small motors, Old Xu said, "I don't need to explain these, right? The generators are burned in order to generate electricity. If you feel impatient, you can touch them more, I guarantee they'll teach you a lesson."
Then he pointed to the tangled thick wires on the ground and said, "And these wires, some of the insulation has aged and hasn't been replaced yet. If you don't want to die, stay away from them."
Finally, Old Xu brought Chen Chong to the innermost part of the factory, in front of a tall electric box. He grinned and said, "This is the last thing, the transformer. It regulates the voltage for the power generated by the power station, and then it is transmitted to the General's estate and various factories through transmission lines. Don't touch this if there's nothing wrong. If any accidents cause a power outage in the territory, you won't even have a chance to receive a whipping. You'll be turned into a pile of cinder before that."
This was what he was looking for!
Knowing that this was the device from which he could draw out electricity, Chen Chong's eyes flashed with imperceptible joy, but he said, "Old Xu, can you handle something so dangerous?"
"What's so special about it?" Hearing Chen Chong's question, Old Xu's rough face instantly filled with pride. "It's not an exaggeration to say that I'm at least half responsible for the establishment of this power station! Did you see those motors just now? They were all dug out from the ground or other ruins and repaired by me. The establishment and maintenance of the power station and power grid in the territory are all under my control! If it weren't for this power station, more than half of the factories in the territory would be shut down!"
"So, you've made great contributions to the development of the territory, Old Xu," Chen Chong said, staring at Old Xu with admiration, as if he had found a treasure. "What did you do before? Were you an electrical engineer?"
"I used to..." When it came to this topic, Old Xu, who had just been proud, suddenly fell silent. A hint of reminiscence flashed in his hazy eyes, and he sighed, seemingly losing interest. He said to Chen Chong, "Alright, let's stop the small talk here. It's almost time for you to start your night duty. If anything happens, come to my room and find me."
Without waiting for Chen Chong to respond, Old Xu left.
This old man seemed to have a story.
Staring at Old Xu's hunchbacked figure, Chen Chong squinted his eyes. In this world turned wasteland, where civilization and order had collapsed, most of the people he had encountered had become gloomy and deranged due to the dark world, especially everyone in the Red Territory. But this Old Xu seemed different.
Regardless, this old man was easy to get along with and possessed the electrical knowledge that Chen Chong needed. It was a good thing for Chen Chong.
"Electric therapy..." Turning his head, Chen Chong's eyes focused on the transformer that supplied electricity to the entire territory. He felt excited and hopeful.
Now everything was ready, only the east wind was missing!
...
The first night of duty passed peacefully.
Guarding the boiler was extremely simple, without any technical difficulty. In the first half of the night, Chen Chong was cautious and did not practice qigong. After Old Xu seemed to be worried about the condition of the boilers and conducted a night inspection, Chen Chong began meditating and calculated that whenever his true qi completed approximately thirty cycles in his meridians, it was time to add coal to the boilers.
This seemingly exhausting job for ordinary people had no effect on Chen Chong. The meditation practice of the Ultimate Infinite Qi Gong was even better than deep sleep. During the long night, time seemed to pass quickly.
Moreover, in a transcendent state during meditation, Chen Chong's perception surpassed that of ordinary people. He immediately noticed any movement within several meters of his body. Combined with his secluded practice location, it was difficult for others to discover him.
According to Chen Chong's plan, he could engage in uninterrupted practice both day and night. He utilized the majority of his time, leaving no room for waste.
However, despite all this, Chen Chong's cultivation efficiency was relatively slow without the nourishment of spiritual fruits and with only two meals a day. He did not experience the rapid progress as before.
For the next two days, Chen Chong maintained this orderly routine, practicing during the day and guarding the power plant at night. During this time, he gradually built a closer relationship with Old Xu and finally became acquainted with him.