With over a decade of experience in eliminating traces and leaving no evidence behind, Xu Que had become an expert in such matters. However, just as he was preparing to forge a few more B-grade armors to offer his employees a bit more protection, Shen Mengchu's figure slowly emerged from the elevator.
Seeing her descend so quickly, Xu Que couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy inside. After all, this path he had chosen was nothing short of reckless...
At that moment, Xu Que almost wanted to say, "I'm not that kind of person." But his own actions had already proved otherwise—he was, indeed, the kind of scoundrel who followed his impulses!
"Damn Duan Jiude! I must have been infected by you in my previous life!" Xu Que cursed inwardly.
As he was melting ores, Shen Mengchu smiled and asked, "How's everything going? Is the plan progressing smoothly?"
"Yes, everything is going smoothly, and the other side has been quite generous," Xu Que replied, handing Shen Mengchu the note and resources that Lu Ang had given him.
Upon seeing the contents of the note and the resources that had been traded, Shen Mengchu was momentarily stunned.
"It seems that the Legendary Company is truly formidable," she commented.
"Indeed. It's a company founded by the Chasfield family, so its strength is substantial," Xu Que said with a smile.
"Should we report this?" Shen Mengchu asked with some concern.
"No need. It's best not to involve the state in matters like this. And this time, I don't want to drag the Z Kingdom into it. After all, our country is still too weak," Xu Que replied solemnly.
Seeing the seriousness on Xu Que's face, Shen Mengchu understood that his methods this time would be far more ruthless than anything he had done in Shangjing.
"And what about my father?" she asked again.
"As for your future father-in-law, it's best not to mention this. I don't want my personal matters to cloud his judgment," Xu Que said, referring to her father as his future father-in-law.
Hearing Xu Que call her father that way made Shen Mengchu blush slightly, though she didn't realize that Xu Que was speaking quite sincerely.
Though Blue Star had become much stronger than in his previous life, Xu Que was well aware of the military's perspective on matters. In his previous life, the first to take action was the military of Modu, and unfortunately, they perished in the fifth year of the Tianyuan battle. Shen Mengchu had been among them at the time.
This unfortunate event had occurred because foreign powers had infiltrated the southern region of Z Kingdom, which had caused a severe misjudgment within the military. The key piece of information had come from the military's intelligence department.
When Xu Que learned that Shen Tianhe was in charge of that department, he realized just how crucial he was in the previous life!
Thus, Xu Que understood that this matter needed to be kept a secret, for only by doing so could he provide the Modu military with vital information.
As for those foreign "monsters," he would take care of them himself.
This time, the tragedy would not repeat itself.
"By the way, shouldn't you contact Mr. Lu Ang?" Shen Mengchu reminded him.
"Yes, it's about time," Xu Que said, taking out his phone with a smile. "Although this small fish may not be important, it will at least help pave the way for our plan."
As Xu Que sent the message, Lu Ang, who was aboard a departing plane, smiled to himself.
"Look, Bell, the big fish has started to contact me," Lu Ang said proudly, holding up his phone.
"Not bad. I'll report to the family soon, and then you and I will be the heroes," Bell replied with a satisfied smile.
Hearing the word "heroes," Lu Ang couldn't hide his excitement.
He immediately began chatting with Xu Que. The conversation, as expected, was full of grand promises and flattering words.
Xu Que handed the phone to Shen Mengchu. "You speak with him. I'll forge a few more B-grade armors."
"Got it."
Shen Mengchu took the phone and, in Xu Que's voice, began to express her grievances.
As time passed, Xu Que's forging skill finally reached the hundred-point mark.
Seeing that only ten more stars were needed to level up, Xu Que decisively took out the [Nest Crystal] and began absorbing its energy.
When Shen Mengchu saw that Xu Que had entered a state of cultivation, she carefully placed the phone down and quietly left the third underground floor.
For her, aside from her father, Xu Que was the most important person. No matter what Xu Que decided, she would cooperate with him fully.
...
Two hours later, a series of sonic booms rang out from the third underground floor.
Xu Que slowly opened his eyes after breaking out of his cultivation state.
"Ah... luckily, I had this Nest Crystal, or I would have had to visit an A-grade rift," Xu Que thought to himself.
With ten stars now gathered, Xu Que immediately clicked to upgrade his forging skill.
As a faint blue light enveloped him, his forging skills began to undergo a transformation.
Just as he clicked to view the change, a series of images appeared in his mind.
Sensing the moment of enlightenment, Xu Que quickly closed his eyes and began to piece together the images in his mind.
Although the images were complex, Xu Que grasped the connection between them effortlessly.
As he finished examining the last image, a robotic female voice interrupted his concentration.
"Congratulations, human Xu Que! During your forging skill upgrade, you have comprehended [B-grade Forging, Xunter Armor]."
Xu Que leaped to his feet in excitement upon hearing that his first breakthrough was in B-grade armor forging.
[Name: Xunter Armor B-grade (Forging Skill Category)]
[Quality: Excellent (Purple)]
[Active: When used, grants powerful frontline defense, ignoring attacks below B-grade (lasts for 10 seconds, cooldown: 60 minutes)]
[Passive: Provides solid defense, reducing C-grade and lower physical damage and magic damage; also reduces attack and movement speed upon equipping.]
Note: A heavily weighted armor with astonishing defensive power. The creator must have been a brave human adventurer.
Upon seeing these attributes, Xu Que's eyes widened in disbelief. He could hardly believe that this was the armor he had managed to forge.
To be clear, the blueprints Lu Ang had provided were for B-grade armor, but the forged armor had no active effects. It was essentially like a regular C-grade armor, but with a boosted passive effect.
Even the B-grade water vine armor Xu Que had worn earlier lacked an active effect!
But just as Xu Que's excitement began to fade, he saw the materials required to forge the Xunter Armor—and they were absolutely brutal.
"C-grade Evil Toad Skin x4, B-grade Lingse Essence Ingots x4, C-grade Razor Claws x1."
Looking at the materials in the warehouse, Xu Que was speechless. Even with all their resources, the Exploding Sky Hunter Company could only produce four pieces of Xunter Armor.
Just as Xu Que was about to close the forging interface, he suddenly noticed a change in his skill!
[Forging Skill: Tempered Steel (Apprentice)]
[Experience Required: 0/150]
[Required Proficiency: 0/12 stars]
[Active: Each forging increases success rate by 30%.]
[Passive: Every item forged increases base strength by 1%. After forging ten pieces of armor or weapons, you will gain permanent fire resistance increased by 0.1%.]
"Whoa! The passive effect has gained a permanent fire resistance boost!"
"Nice! This is a huge win!"
Though Xu Que was dismayed that he could only forge four pieces of armor, he was ecstatic about the fire resistance bonus.
After all, fire resistance was a form of magical resistance. If he could reach 100% resistance, he could bathe in magma!
Closing the interface, Xu Que gathered the necessary materials.
Just as he was preparing to forge in earnest, his phone rang.
Seeing that it was Shen Mengchu calling, Xu Que smiled and quickly responded.
However, just as he put the phone down, it rang again.
Expecting it to be Shen Mengchu, he picked up the phone, only to find it was a message from Ye Gou.
He opened it immediately.
"Boss, of the three people you asked about, we've made progress on two of them."
"Zhao Kunpeng, male, 27 years old, originally from Guangshi, Fuyuan. Currently ranked 55th on the Heavenly Ranking. Alias: [Kunpeng Daxia]. He is the Vice President of the Dahu River Hunter Company and the leader of their elite strike team. He lives at a villa on Xialing Road, Guangshi, with four mistresses."