The national treasury is akin to a small relic.
The treasury houses a vast array of treasures from both ancient and modern times. These treasures are varied and strange—some were tributes from foreign lands in ancient times, others were excavated from ancient tombs, and some were even retrieved from space exploration. They are all classified as top-secret treasures, not to be disclosed in the media!
Chen Chao had heard that there is a very rare metal in the Yanhuang National Treasury, which was collected during the moon landing by a spaceship from outer space. The material is similar to that of his modified dragon wings, and it belongs to A-level materials, capable of creating A-level relic items.
Thinking about this, Chen Chao felt a stir of excitement. If he had two A-level relic items at his disposal right now, he could almost single-handedly take on an entire base!
After all, according to the classification of relic items, even tanks are only classified as D-level items.
...
On the training field, the factions of Commander He and Commander Xu were gathered at opposite sides, with the vast training ground resembling the dividing line of a chessboard.
Chen Chao and his group were with Commander Xu's faction.
The people from Commander Xu's faction were overjoyed by their arrival. Since the establishment of the base, all incoming ability users had been pulled over by Commander He's faction. Some of those who joined secretly disappeared, leading to the situation where all 100-plus ability users in their faction were former military veterans, with no outsiders like Chen Chao among them.
"I'm Old Tang. You can move in next to my dorm; those little brats won't dare to mess with you," one of the veterans said.
"You've got good judgment. Let me tell you, although we're only a hundred or so, we're all veterans. When it comes to fighting, one of us is worth two of them. They may outnumber us, but most of them were ordinary people before and don't have much combat ability."
"Yeah, joining us is definitely the right choice!"
The people from Commander Xu's faction surrounded Chen Chao and his group, speaking excitedly.
Chen Chao smiled slightly.
While these veterans may have strong combat abilities, the enemy outnumbered them by more than six to one. If a fight broke out, they would probably be overwhelmed in no time.
His decision to join Commander Xu's faction was not based on their numbers or strength, but because Chu Shanhe was a part of Commander Xu's faction. Despite his old age, Commander Xu was a man of great wisdom. According to later historical records, not only did he seize ultimate power, but he also drove Commander He's faction out of the base.
Meanwhile, within Commander He's faction, a few individuals were glaring coldly at Chen Chao and his group. One of the young men said, "Zeng Lao, those new people are no ordinary folks. Just now, Zhuo Qing used her Eye of Perception to observe them. She found that two of them have a physical capacity around three times that of normal humans, but that delicate girl in the black dress? Her physical strength is six times that of an ordinary person, matching the instructor's level! And that guy who spoke earlier, Zhuo Qing couldn't sense him at all, meaning his physical strength is likely above eight times!"
Zeng Feng's eyes narrowed as he coldly stared at Chen Chao and his group, saying, "It seems they must have someone big backing them, supplying them with enhanced gene drugs. Commander Xu's old man couldn't sit still, huh? He's sending some undercover soldiers. But even if that person has ten times the physical strength, so what? I'm going to request some gene enhancement drugs from above, and in two days' combat training, I'll take them all down!"
"Yeah, let these little clowns dance for a while longer."
"Zhou Xin was just unlucky, running into a few hidden thorns."
Zeng Feng said coldly, "Keep training hard and improve your combat skills."
"Yes," the others nodded obediently.
...
During lunch break, after Chen Chao finished eating, he saw Old Sun from Commander Xu's faction run over and say that a big shot wanted to meet him. His heart stirred, and a smile appeared on his face. He followed Old Sun out of the military camp and arrived at a leisure hotel.
In the designated private room, there were three people sitting inside. Two of them were familiar to Chen Chao—Chu Shanhe and his trusted subordinate, Officer Xiao Song. The other person seemed to be another young evolver, similar to Officer Xiao Song.
When Chu Shanhe saw Chen Chao, he immediately stood up to greet him with a hearty laugh, "Brother Chen, you've finally arrived. If I hadn't heard that several evolvers from the ability camp had disappeared, I wouldn't have known that the new members were you. How was your journey?"
Chen Chao nodded and casually sat down. "I joined the ability camp mainly to meet you. There's something I need your help with."
"Help?" Chu Shanhe gave him a curious look. Then, as if realizing something, his enthusiasm slightly waned. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, with your abilities, as long as I recommend you to Commander Xu, you'll definitely be promoted to a lieutenant colonel. Keep working hard, and with enough military achievements, you can even become a general."
Chen Chao glanced at him and said, "That's not what I came here for."
"Oh?" Chu Shanhe froze for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Then what is it?"
"I told you before," Chen Chao looked him in the eye. "I have an older sister, and I hope you can take care of her. I'm worried that when I go out hunting in the future, if I die, she'll be left with no one."
"Just that?" Chu Shanhe seemed to understand, a hint of guilt appearing on his face. "Sorry, Brother Chen, I misunderstood. I'll drink three cups, no—one bottle!" Saying that, he opened a bottle of white liquor and drank it down like water.
Chen Chao silently watched him finish drinking without stopping him. Officer Xiao Song also showed a hint of guilt and said, "I'll drink a bottle as well, to welcome Brother Chen!"
After finishing a bottle of white liquor, Chu Shanhe's face flushed slightly. He burped and smiled at Chen Chao, "With your skills, you'll be fine."
"Who says that? If you keep walking by the river, how can your shoes not get wet?" Chen Chao said calmly. "Can you promise me this?"
"Don't worry, it's on me!" Chu Shanhe slapped his chest confidently, his face full of bravado. "I'll make sure to protect her just like my own sister. You can rest assured!"
Chen Chao nodded slightly. Based on his understanding of Chu Shanhe, he should be someone who would keep his word. He then asked, "How's the situation in the base right now?"
Chu Shanhe was taken aback for a moment, and his smile immediately faded. He sat down and sighed. "When the disaster broke out, many of the big shots in the military died, and only a few survived. Their first thought wasn't to save people or kill monsters, but to fight for power!" He spoke with a hint of anger.
"Among them, some of the high-ups, who couldn't fight for power, left with their own troops and started to build their own bases, declaring themselves kings. Now there are only two big commanders left in the base: Commander Xu and Commander He. Commander He is cunning and treacherous, and he's recruited many evolvers to try to expel Commander Xu. The situation is not looking good."
Chen Chao nodded slightly. "What about the Science Institute? That's controlled by Commander Xu, right?"
"The Science Institute?" Chu Shanhe was startled, not expecting Chen Chao to ask about it. He looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know? The director of the Science Institute is an old friend of Commander Xu. But if Commander He comes at us with force, the Science Institute won't be much help. Since ancient times, those who seek power do so with their fists—only force is absolute. Everything else is just soft power, soft tactics."
Chen Chao calmly said, "What if I tell you there's a way to produce a lot of evolvers?"