Chapter 129 - A Young Girl
The students from society did not have a high cultivation realm, but they were the pillars of strength of their professions or the military. They had a large circle of friends and were rather influential.
Meng Chao hoped that he could spread the ideals of the Ultimate Style as quickly as possible through them.
And just as he expected, while the group fell into deep through, the notification at the top corner of his eyes changed.
Not only did he get contribution points, his completion rate for the second segment of the Fight for the Ultimate Style went from 0/300 to 6/300.
After all, Meng Chao had not just defeated Ma Hong, but six other broken-star superhumans.
If he calculated things that way, the difficulty in completing the quest at the bare minimum was not high.
But if he were to only challenge broken-star superhumans and the freshman ranked at the bottom, even if he defeated three hundred people, he would only get a one-star achievement.
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If he wanted to get a five-star achievement, he had to fight against all the outstanding people in Spirit Tattoo Realm within the city.
Meng Chao smiled and said, “Big Brother Ma, everyone, you’ll be the ones who will play a major role in the next stage of the experiment. My main task will be to go for my practical test and gather data in fights.”
Ma Hong looked regretful. He shook his head and said, “Meng Chao, we’re really interested in the Ultimate Style, and we seriously want to stay and cultivate a little longer, but I just received orders from the squad to return to the army immediately. The Red Dragon Army has a major operation in the north, so my cultivation has to come to a halt for the time being.”
Meng Chao was slightly stunned. “Then, what about all of you?”
“We’re the same,” one of the students from society said with a grin. “The scale of the operation this time is the greatest in the past ten years. All the people from all professions have mobilized their forces. The Red Dragon Army and the Supernatural Tower aren’t the only ones involved.
“Broken-star superhumans are superhumans too. Compared to undergraduate students, we’re nothing, but in our units, we’re the pillars of strength. We have to participate in the fight, so we have to put a stop to the refresher course for now.”
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It made sense.
When Dragon City expanded, it would not just be the matter of the military alone.
As the Red Dragon Army pushed forward, the companies in charge of building communication towers had to set up signal towers behind them to ensure that the internet was smooth and faced no interference. Then, it would be possible for unmanned aerial vehicles to dance about under the guidance of the tactical data chains. The Supernatural Tower would also be able to get clear and concise reports. Hence, the humans in the fog would be able to have “ears” and “eyes”.
Similarly, the construction companies had to follow to smooth out the land, clear water channels, electricity channels, and spirit energy channels, thereby turning the uncultivated mountain range into a area suitable for humans to live.
There was not even a need to mention mining companies. They had to fight against monsters in bumpy, hot, and unstable mines. Their fights were even bloodier and more dangerous than the fights on the ground.
Most of the students from society had their fees for the refresher course paid by their companies, which was done to make them stronger.
Now, their companies sent them an order to go on an expedition, so they could not avoid their duties. They had to go back immediately.
Meng Chao thought about it for a moment. “Big Brother Ma, if that’s the case, we can talk about this after the fight. Big Brother Bo and I will make a small booklet that is easy to understand, so you can bring it to the military and your companies. Then, you can think together about ways to fight using the Ultimate Style.
“Also, over the past ten years, Dragon City has not done any large-scale expansions. Will this be very dangerous? What I mean is, over this period of time, I have been harvesting monsters in the resource course, and I noticed a lot of new mutated and evolved monsters. We can’t be careless. If things go bad, we might end up suffering a major loss.”
“Don’t worry, the military and Supernatural Tower have monster experts. Their data is shared with Agricultural University, and they know much more than we do. The higher-ups definitely have full confidence that we can win. As foot soldiers at the frontlines, we just need to fight with courage!” Ma Hong said with a smile.
The students from the society looked relaxed. In fact, they seemed to be eager to expand the land and become successful.
Meng Chao wanted to say more, but could not.
He knew that this was a battle that mobilized all forces from the military and various parties, which meant an unprecedented battle that involved tens of millions of people, along with hundreds of millions of resources. It was impossible for him to stop it with just a few words.
Besides, he did not know how the war had progressed in detail, so he could not change it nor stop it.
He had to go to the frontlines to gather more information. Only then could he plan his next step.
“Wait, what’s the date today?” he suddenly asked.
“The tenth. What’s wrong?” Ma Hong asked.
“Isn’t that the date for the tournament between the freshman of the martial arts course and the monster controller course?” Meng Chao’s expression changed drastically. “Oh no! It’s already eleven in the morning! The tournament began at nine! Even if it’s a 50 vs 50 continuous tournament, it would have almost ended!”
A few days ago, he had received the official notice from the course that even if he was not chosen to be in the tournament, he should go and observe, because this concerned the glory of the martial arts course.
He had also promised Xie Feng that he would go and cheer for him!
But it had been the crucial period for the Ultimate Style’s experiment. He and Gu Jianbo had not slept for three days and three nights, and they were so busy that they could not differentiate day and night. At such a time, there was no way they would remember something as “minor” as a tournament between freshmen.
“Big Brother Bo, what should I do?” Meng Chao scratched his head.
“It’s my fault. I’m your tutor. I should have reminded you.” Gu Jianbo smacked his head. “The matter of us betting on the monster controller course went way over the top last time. I was lectured sternly by Dean Zong, and he forbade me from causing any trouble.
“Since I wasn’t allowed to gamble, there was no need for me to pay attention to the tournament between courses. Anyway, regardless of whether it’s the Beast Soul Style or the monster controllers, they’re all… Ah, let’s not mention this. Ms. Li is going to be so angry and scold me for leading you astray!”
“Then, I should go and take a look. If the tournament hasn’t ended, I can sneak in through the backdoor and make everyone think that I have been there from the start,” Meng Chao said.
“Go, I need to go and report to Dean Zong about the latest development in Project 1024. It has been so many years, and now, I can finally stand tall and proud of myself!”
Gu Jianbo was happy. “By the way, if you find Ms. Li, please help me and check her mood. If it’s good, I’ll go to her later and let her now that I haven’t actually been derelict in my duties over all these years. I’ve just been hanging around to find the time to rise to the top in one shot!”
Meng Chao rolled his eyes three times at him.
“Big Brother Bo, don’t worry. You’ve contributed greatly to the Dragon Citizens, and the citizens won’t forget you. Just let me handle what’s next!” He patted his chest.
Gu Jianbo was stunned. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I have to go now. You should hurry up and get a makeover as well as gather your strength. Get your hair done, get a suit that looks better, and go to Ms. Li at night. Then, you can share your joy with her!” Meng Chao ran out of the underground lab like the wind.
The custom of the two fighting courses had it that the tournament between them would be held in turns between the cultivation centers of the two courses. This time, it was the martial arts course who was the host.
The old lecture building was in a diagonal line to the cultivation center that had just been built not long ago. If Meng Chao walked on the main path, he would pass the canteen, library, and two lecture buildings. It would be very easy for lecturers to spot him.
But Meng Chao knew an alley. He first had to move behind the canteen, then he could climb up to the fifth floor through the drainage pipes. After that, he had to jump to the grove beside it and use the bounce from the branches to fly above the trees. Once he was done, he could get to the backdoor of the cultivation center.
‘I wonder how many rounds Xie Feng has won? Are there any good students in the monster controller course?
‘I came late and even arrived in such a flashy manner. What sort of reason should I use to not appear to be offensive and as if I’m pretending to be awesome?’
Meng Chao jumped around while he thought about it.
Suddenly, he felt his eyelids twitch.
It was as if a fine needle of ice had just stabbed the center of his eyebrows.
Before his thoughts could flare, he instinctively stopped moving. All his muscle fibers were like sabers that had already accumulated power and could attack at any moment.
The dense branches ahead of him were swathed in darkness.
But his eyes were sharp, and he could see a black figure among them.
It was a monster.
No, its scent said it was a superbeast.
In fact, it was an incredibly dangerous superbeast.
It was an amalgamation of a lion, jackal, and panther.
Its pure black pelt shone brilliantly, and it gave off a shine that was a mix between a crystal and metal.
Its dark eyes were like man-eating black holes that absorbed Meng Chao’s soul.
Even though it had a spirit energy magnetic collar around its neck and a hoop-shaped receptor on its brain to show that it was a controlled biochemical beast, the spines of most new students who suddenly saw it in a quiet corner of the university would crawl. After all, it was a creature with a suffocating presence.
But Meng Chao licked his lips and smirked.
His professional habits came up.
Over the past month of so, he had harvested nearly one thousand monsters for the lecturers and students from the resource course. Now, he was surrounded by a murderous intent that monsters could clearly sense, but humans could not detect.
And he felt an urge. When he saw wild monsters or controllable biochemical beasts, he felt like he was looking at blank canvases and really wanted to spill ink on them. He wanted to turn them into beautiful pieces of art.
‘What a beautiful pelt. I really want to use a thin blade to cut into it and flesh beneath. The feeling of the blade moving smoothly through it is definitely going to be incredibly pleasurable!
‘Look at those nimble muscles. The tendons in its front paws are at least fifty centimeters long. It might even be more than fifty-five. It’s the best raw material to make tanned tactical back belts. It’s also very good to bind the handles of cold weapons.
‘The superbeast’s ability to stay hidden is very good. While lurking in the trees, it doesn’t release even the slightest bit of heat. This means that it has a unique organ that allows it to control its heat. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to solve the problem of releasing heat when it’s involved in a fierce battle.
‘I really want to cut this creature into pieces and examine its structure…’
Meng Chao gulped and smiled in a friendly manner to the biochemical creature.
The biochemical beast shuddered and shrank back into the branches.
Then, a dirty face showed up.
It belonged to a young girl.
She seemed to be only slightly older than Bai Jiacao and have pretty decent features. But she was a completely different type of girl compared to his sister.
His sister had a round face, and before she was corrupted, her cheeks were rosy-pink, so she looked like a really delectable red apple.
The young girl had an oval face. Her skin was tanned, and even if she pursed her lips, she could not hide her sharp canines.
Her gaze was also very strange. It was not friendly, but it contained no enmity either. There was only extreme hunger.
She was dressed in Agricultural University’s uniform, but there was a controller ring on a monster skull sewn on her chest.
It was the emblem of the monster controller course.
Meng Chao really wanted to smile.
This was because he finally noticed someone whose uniform was even more torn and wrinkled than his.
The girl was definitely not above 155 cm tall, but she wore the largest uniform possible.
A part of her sleeves and pants were ripped off, and what remained was bound tightly above her elbows and knees with rubber bands.
Her uniform was like a sack, and most of it had been torn, revealing her dark but smooth skin. It was also dyed in all sorts of strange colors, making it look like a multicolored camouflage uniform.
The uniform was really “cooling”, but she still looked really uncomfortable. She kept on scratching herself.
The displeasure on her face made her look like an angry black cat.