Chapter 37: Speculations Regarding the Real World

As the actual person in charge of the Longyin Military Base, the second-largest military base in the country, Chu Xuan was certainly superior to others, but no matter how you looked at it, he was only second.

The first military base was named Longxing.

The civilizations that Chu Xuan had deduced were being hidden here by the state.

However, the civilizations here were not as extinct as Chu Xuan had imagined; instead, they had been circulating obscurely all this time.

Though the path was difficult, the fact that human heritage had never truly been severed was indisputable.

Stepping out of the main hall, the man in the Zhongshan suit looked down at the bound book in his hands.

He suddenly turned back and asked his follower

"Who did the Chen family send?"

"I think his name is something like Chen Zilong!"

Upon hearing this name, the man in the Zhongshan suit froze. He asked back in disbelief, "Chen Zilong?"

"That monster?"

As his square face finished speaking in the corridor, an extremely strange voice rang in their ears.

"Chen Qingtian, you still haven't fixed that habit of badmouthing people behind their backs, have you?"

"Compared to 'monster,' I prefer our old man's description of me: a martial arts prodigy!"

As the words fell, a figure appeared.

The man in the Zhongshan suit felt his hands go empty.

The booklet had somehow been snatched away by the suddenly arrived Chen Zilong.

"Oho! Is this an internal cultivation manual?"

"Seventh Uncle, you truly are working with the state; you actually managed to get your hands on such authentic, high-quality stuff!"

Seeing this, the man in the Zhongshan suit did not get angry, but instead said with a smile

"Since you've taken it, keep it. Practice it often, and in two days, write me a million-word reflection on your insights and hand it in!"

With that, he patted the petrified Chen Zilong and walked away.

"Wait, Seventh Uncle! This book is only a few thousand words total! How am I supposed to scrape together a million for you?"

"Ah!???"

His aura of a master vanished instantly as he wailed toward the retreating back of the man in the Zhongshan suit in a shrill, duck-like voice.

——

Twenty days after the maid cafe closed.

Inside a semi-circular room filled with a special magnetic field.

Two men, shirtless and drenched in sweat, were engaged in the most intense form of exercise.

"Bang! Bang!"

The primal sound of flesh colliding rang out continuously.

After five minutes of this high-intensity combat, they delivered one final strike and then separated.

Both men knelt on the metal floor, waiting for the side effects of the genetic lock to subside.

If not for the bulging veins on their arms and necks, they would look no different from ordinary people at this moment.

Li Xiao made a hand signal to the outside.

The room's magnetic field shut down instantly.

As the doors opened, two doctors rushed in immediately to perform physical examinations on them.

Their wounds were treated with the highest grade of medicinal agents.

This hemostatic spray was a brand-new product developed yesterday by the Academy of Engineering.

Although its effectiveness was only half that of products from the Main God Space, under the state's unlimited funding, it unexpectedly provided an additional effect of physical stamina replenishment.

Looking at the "beverage" brought to him again, Zheng Zha no longer had any objections.

After all, nothing captures the heart more effectively than powerful strength.

Before the doctors could even bandage Zheng Zha's wounds, the smaller ones began to heal at a visible speed.

In Li Xiao's words: "If you're too slow with the bandages, I'll just heal myself."

Compared to Zheng Zha, Li Xiao had it much worse.

He wasn't exactly bruised and swollen, but his "panda eyes" were quite prominent.

Zheng Zha touched the metal floor beneath him, filled with emotion

"The power of a nation is truly terrifying. In just a few days, according to the data Chu Xuan provided, they've already created a gravity chamber!"

"It's simply inconceivable."

"After these few days of training and the state's unsparing investment, I feel your internal energy might have already reached the D-rank level."

"You should know, in the Main God Space, D-rank internal energy requires a same-level side mission plus five hundred reward points to exchange for."

"It's absolutely incredible!"

Feeling the internal energy circulating in his dantian, Li Xiao said calmly

"If it weren't for the stimulation from the gravity chamber ten days ago, this internal energy probably wouldn't have reached this level."

"And Captain, this gravity chamber is no simple thing. Do you think it's possible to create a finished product in such a short time without a price to pay?"

"I heard from the experts in the Academy of Engineering's Energy Department that to supply power to this gravity chamber, they made temporary modifications to the largest hydroelectric dam, cutting off all other output operations."

"They are powering this single gravity chamber exclusively."

"In other words, our half-day of training is equivalent to the daily electricity consumption of seven or eight hundred million people!"

"That's energy on the scale of millions of kilowatts!"

"With them squandering it on us like this, it would be strange if our internal energy didn't increase!"

Zheng Zha was stunned for a long time after hearing these figures for the first first time.

He couldn't help but mutter

"As the saying goes, 'When you eat from someone's mouth, your mouth is short; when you take from someone's hand, your hand is soft.'"

"Between the food and the resources we've taken these past few days, I'm starting to feel a bit guilty!"

Li Xiao burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"It's fine, Captain. We've contributed quite a bit these past few days too. Setting everything else aside, that one tube of blood you give every day is worth a fortune."

"It wasn't easy for us to finally return to reality; we're selling blood just to survive!"

"Besides, cooperating with the state is a good thing. In the future, as long as they are recognized members of our team, their families will at least have no worries."

Zheng Zha nodded in agreement.

After all, he had already tasted the benefits of this arrangement firsthand.

Even without him around, Loli hadn't been idle these past two days; she had been happily busy all day long.

"That's true. It's just that taking so much makes me feel a bit uneasy."

After today's training ended.

Li Xiao asked a communications officer beside him

"How is the search for the Lost Artifacts going?"

Listening to the news in his earpiece, the officer replied quickly

"Domestic Lost Artifacts are about eighty to ninety percent gathered. Some scattered abroad have also been successfully negotiated for and are currently in transit."

"Destructive excavations have begun at the Terracotta Army and Sanxingdui sites; it may take a few more days!"

Li Xiao nodded and instructed

"Don't fear the excavation. True Lost Artifacts won't be easily damaged, and don't miss even a single fragment."

The communications officer quickly relayed Li Xiao's words and said: "Understood, sir."

"The General Staff conveys that you two should rest easy. It is expected that all known possible artifacts can be gathered before the Day of Restriction."

"As for how to distinguish them, we are at our wits' end!"

Li Xiao nodded

"It doesn't matter. Leave the remaining tasks to us when the time comes."

——

Actually, back when he saw that the Infinite Horror team battles were named after national territories, Li Xiao had wondered: could this also be a hint from the Main God?

Was it meant to let the nations behind each team serve as logistical support?

To bridge the gap between humans and gods or demons?

Having felt the comfort of having a nation as a backbone, Li Xiao was very glad he had chosen to cling to this "thigh."

*Oh no, oh no, oh my god.*

*I am sorry to inform all readers that the plot in the real world has been significantly reduced. We will soon return to the Main God Space and enter the next horror movie.*

*(A little secret for you: yesterday's two chapters almost didn't get posted!)*

*I finally understand why Z University gave up on the real-world setting foreshadowing.*

*It's my fault for being immature back then and complaining that these plot holes weren't being filled...*

(End of Chapter)