Chapter 280: The Arts Of An Advanced Civilization
“You have a way?”
Xie Feina looked at Lin Qi, feeling that Lin Qi had no idea how difficult this was, which was why he dared to boast like that. She took a deep breath and explained calmly, “That prisoner is not someone a group of ordinary Bone Forging Realm experts can handle. If you don’t have more than ten experts comparable to initial stage Blood Coagulation, plus two or three whose strength is not weaker than intermediate level Blood Condensation Realm, there is absolutely no chance at all. With that, are you still sure you have a way?”
Back then, she had been willing to cooperate with Lin Qi precisely because she saw that Lin Qi had killed Bert and felt that Lin Qi should have strength comparable to intermediate level Blood Condensation Realm.
That way, together with the other vice leader and herself, with three of them joining forces, plus two large teams and more than ten experts comparable to initial stage Blood Coagulation, they had sixty to seventy percent certainty of capturing that prisoner.
Now the other vice leader was gone, and the more than ten experts from Mist Mountain Domain City comparable to initial stage Blood Coagulation were also gone, so there was absolutely no chance.
After listening, Lin Qi thought for a moment and said, “If that’s the case, we should have about seventy to eighty percent certainty.”
“Seventy to eighty percent? Are you sure?” Xie Feina’s beautiful eyes fixed on Lin Qi, full of disbelief, feeling that Lin Qi was joking.
Even according to her original plan, her side only had sixty to seventy percent certainty. Now that the Mist Mountain Domain City team was missing, Lin Qi still claimed seventy to eighty percent certainty. No matter how she thought about it, it was impossible.
“I’m sure.” Lin Qi nodded and said with a smile, “I just don’t know if Miss Xie Feina is willing to cooperate.”
Now that his people were here, if the cooperation was canceled, the nine hundred quotas would be gone. Besides, he could not find anyone else who could produce so many prison quotas.
As for capturing the prisoner in the lower level area, this was actually not difficult for his side; it was only a matter of how much time it would take. After all, players had infinite resurrection, while the prisoner’s energy was limited, so they could always exhaust the prisoner’s energy.
The only problem was that he could not let others see too many player deaths, or the numbers would not match the entry quotas.
“If we can capture that prisoner, of course there is no problem.” Xie Feina looked at Lin Qi. She had not expected Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to have such a foundation and could not help but give a slight bitter smile. “I just don’t know what condition Hall Master Lin has. If you want me to completely stop Earth Star Pharmaceuticals from retaliating against Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, I still can’t do that. What I can do, I already said before: at most, I can prevent Earth Star Pharmaceuticals’ Blood Condensation Realm from stepping into the Wushan Region.”
In her view, Lin Qi’s new proposal for cooperation should be to permanently prevent Earth Star Pharmaceuticals’ retaliation. After all, facing a top tier major power like Earth Star Pharmaceuticals, apart from the domain cities, any top tier faction in the Four Regions would have a headache, let alone Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
“That won’t be necessary. As long as Miss Xie Feina follows the original agreement and forbids Earth Star Pharmaceuticals’ Blood Condensation Realm from entering the Wushan Region for a period of time, that is enough.” Lin Qi shook his head and went straight to the point. “For this cooperation, I only have one additional condition, and that is to have you provide me with machine tools for processing grade C alloy. I believe this shouldn’t be difficult for Miss Xie Feina.”
Machine tools for processing grade C alloy had always been restricted items of the Domain City. Only the major cities could purchase them in limited quantities to produce the most basic Tier 2 Battle Armor.
Now, Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was recruiting more and more disciples, and the number of players promoted to Bone Forging Realm would also keep increasing.
Although the players had looted quite a lot of Tier 2 Battle Armor from the battlefield, those sets of Tier 2 Battle Armor were consumables through and through. His side had no ability to repair them. It was not that the technology was lacking; they simply had no equipment.
In particular, for the Electromagnetic Weapon that Yi Ye Fu Yun had designed by imitating Ye Qinglu’s latest Ninefold Thunder Fang using energy crystals, a grade B alloy was not strong enough at all and would easily cause the barrel to explode. Grade C alloy was necessary to make it possible, so Yi Ye Fu Yun had repeatedly reported to him that they needed better machine tools to process grade C alloy.
He was actually quite helpless about this. Machine tools capable of processing grade C alloy were restricted goods; you could not just buy them because you wanted them.
However, Xie Feina’s status in the Domain City was clearly not low, so she should be able to get him a few.
“Machine tools for processing grade C alloy?” Xie Feina looked at Lin Qi in astonishment. “You are sure you only want this?”
At this moment, not only was Xie Feina a bit stunned, but even Precia at the side was looking at Lin Qi in utter surprise, not understanding what Lin Qi was thinking.
She had originally thought Lin Qi would ask for Sequence Transcendent Martial Skill, or a cultivation method above Blood Condensation, conditions of that level. After all, for a martial artist, cultivation always came first. She had not expected Lin Qi to make such a new demand.
Although machine tools for processing grade C alloy were precious, with one unit worth five thousand energy crystals, the city lords of each major city had the right to purchase them, and a city could buy ten. Compared with the conditions that could be discussed with this Sixth Senior Sister Xie Feina, this kind of thing was nothing at all.
“What else?” Lin Qi looked at Xie Feina in puzzlement.
“No problem. As long as we can capture that prisoner this time, I can directly have twenty machine tools for processing grade C alloy delivered to you.” Xie Feina replied without hesitation after hearing this.
She had originally been prepared for a major loss, but it turned out to be just this.
After that, Xie Feina reached a new cooperation agreement with Lin Qi and also joined Lin Qi’s large team, which drew quite a bit of envy from many teams present.
As someone who had entered Wushan Prison many times, Xie Feina was known to almost every faction’s team, especially after her clash of qi and blood with Palius just now, which had already made everyone aware of how formidable she was.
With Xie Feina and the others joining Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, the overall strength level of the entire team rose by a whole tier and was hardly inferior to those top tier teams.
“Still not giving up?” In the distance, Palius looked at Xie Feina, who had not left, and could not help but chuckle.
He had ordered a detailed investigation into Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Although the team’s strength was decent, compared with the top tier teams entering the prison, the overall strength was still far behind.
Although Xie Feina had broken through, by joining such a team, she would at best be able to stroll around a bit in the lower level area of the prison and would not be able to accomplish anything.
After all the major teams had waited two to three hours, as more teams gradually arrived at Wushan Prison, the mist shrouding the mountains suddenly thinned, and a mountain path leading straight into the depths of the range slowly revealed itself before everyone.
“The prison has opened. Everyone, enter!”
The various teams present saw this scene and all stepped onto the mountain path.
“Let’s go in as well. The prison is only open for three days. After three days, it will close again. That prisoner is in a rather remote place in the lower level area. If we want to find him, it will probably take quite some time.” Xie Feina looked at the opened prison, handed the agreed nine keys to Lin Qi, shared one with Precia, then glanced at the army of players behind Lin Qi and explained, “Only two thousand people can enter the lower level area. Once it is full, the entrance will automatically close. With so many of you, it is impossible for all of you to go in. The number that the various teams can tolerate is probably at most one hundred. If I form a hundred-person group, there should not be much problem.”
“In other words, you can bring at most 198 people into the lower level area. If there are more, not only the various teams but even those top tier teams will make a move against us. You need to quickly select the members of two teams on your side, and they will go in with me then.”
“Less than two hundred going in?” Lin Qi thought for a moment and asked, “If those in the lower level area die, can people from the middle level area still enter?”
“That is possible. In the past, many team members in the middle level area entered the lower level area in just that way.” Xie Feina nodded, roughly understanding what Lin Qi was thinking.
This time Lin Qi had a full one thousand people. With the reputation of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and herself, there would be no problem for them to enter the middle level area, but it was dreaming to have them all enter the lower level area. However, if those who entered the lower level area died, others could fill in, which was indeed an advantage.
“Alright, then I’m relieved.” Lin Qi could not help but smile.
He had previously been troubled over how to deal with the issue of too many player deaths, but if fewer than two hundred could enter, and the rest were dispersed in the middle level area, then as long as the players in the lower level area did not die in a way that looked too outrageous in front of others, no one would discover the secret of the players’ continuous resurrection.
Lin Qi immediately arranged for nearly two hundred of the strongest players to go. As for the others, they could later act freely in the middle level area, but absolutely could not take the initiative to provoke the teams of the major factions.
Although many players were dissatisfied, feeling that after finally entering a Super Dungeon, only a small number could go into the area where monsters were active, which was too unfair, Lin Qi, the NPC with the highest permissions, had spoken, and they had no choice but to obey. If they disobeyed the hall master’s orders, they could forget about playing this game.
Soon the players split into two large teams, following Lin Qi into Wushan Prison together. One group followed Lin Qi all the way towards the lower level area, while the other group, after binding the Resurrection Point in the upper level area, went into free exploration.
Wushan Prison, lower level area.
Deep underground, in a courtyard whose depth in meters was unknown, with various statues towering, small bridges over flowing water, and lush greenery in a vast space, before Xie Feina, Lin Qi, and the others had gotten within a kilometer, they saw in the distant courtyard a group of people besieging a tall figure, led by Palius and Bai Shou Kalad.
Under the suppression of Palius and Bai Shou Kalad, that humanoid Guard Robot more than three meters tall, its whole body made of mysterious metal, was retreating step by step, completely unable to break out.
“Damn it! We are still a step too late.” Xie Feina’s expression darkened as she looked at the besieged Guard Robot.
After entering the prison with Lin Qi and the others, although they had wasted a little time when Lin Qi said he had discovered something in the prison and stopped to investigate, only she knew the exact activity range of the prisoner and had never told a second person. Even charging straight here along the way, she had not expected to still be slower than leader Palius and the others.
“That Guard Robot is the prisoner you mentioned?” Lin Qi looked at the mechanical figure in the distance holding two life-sized greatswords and asked curiously.
The besieged Guard Robot was currently holding a pitch-black life-sized greatsword in one hand. Each swing of the sword seemed to suppress even the space itself, causing everyone within that space to react significantly slower, as if they had fallen into a mire with their movements severely restricted, able to exert at best half their strength.
If it were not for Palius and Bai Shou Kalad, one manifesting a monster in the form of a falcon and the other manifesting a five-headed Giant Snake, taking turns to launch fierce attacks with absolute strength to interfere with the Guard Robot’s attacks, those people with strength comparable to initial stage Blood Coagulation would have been killed one by one with a single sword strike long ago.
“That’s right, that is the prisoner.” Xie Feina nodded, her gaze full of fury.
Among the prisoners in the prison, strength varied. Although prisoners locked up here had generally all been at Blood Condensation Realm in life, the one she had discovered was a genuine existence Above Blood Condensation and thus extremely powerful.
It could be said that if not for the limitations of the mechanical body, an existence at this level, even if only at Bone Forging Realm, could crush them all.
But now, her hope of capturing this prisoner was gone.
Although she could charge in now, Palius and the others were not fools and would definitely prioritize dealing with them. Moreover, the various factions had long agreed that all teams were strictly forbidden to fight in the lower level area. Once discovered, regardless of which faction they belonged to, they would die.
So now she could only watch, unable to do anything, unless her side was confident they could keep everyone here and prevent anyone else from finding out. Otherwise, once they went out, they would be dead.
“I see. Then let’s wait here for a bit. That robot should not be captured so easily.” Lin Qi looked at the Guard Robot and could not help but smile.
“What do you mean?” Xie Feina looked at Lin Qi in confusion.
“That robot’s strength is extraordinary. Your leader should not be able to take him down.” Lin Qi said calmly.
“Extraordinary strength?” Xie Feina looked at Lin Qi, feeling even more puzzled, not understanding how Lin Qi could be so certain that the leader and the others could not capture him.
Lin Qi did not explain, only quietly watching the Guard Robot.
Others might not know what the Guard Robot and the prisoner really were, but on the way to the prison, Lin Qi was already basically certain.
The civilization that created this prison was the Star Energy Civilization.
The situation of the Star Energy Civilization was briefly introduced on the Inheritance Metal Plate, so he could be very sure that the prisoner’s strength was by no means easy to deal with.
In the Star Energy Civilization, existences that reached Above Blood Condensation could turn external energy into a domain, an Energy Domain. Within that domain, they could easily mobilize two to three times the energy, increasing the power of energy-type martial skills by two to three times.
And turning external energy into a domain was also the basic ability after cultivating a Mental Secret Technique to the Third Level.
The Guard Robot before them, although no longer a biological lifeform, still possessed the power of mental control after its spirit and will had been transferred. Otherwise, the martial skills it used would not manifest energy and suppress the surrounding space.
As Lin Qi waited quietly for a short while.
“Everyone give it your all. Force him to keep using martial skills and increase his energy consumption!” Palius, seeing the Guard Robot suddenly focus entirely on defense, shouted, ordering the others to launch a fierce attack.
The Guard Robot’s energy was limited, and the more martial skills it used, the more energy it consumed. Similarly, if its body was struck, in order to keep its internal systems from being affected, the Guard Robot would automatically open an energy barrier for protection, which also consumed a lot of energy. Because of this, the various teams had the possibility of capturing the Guard Robot.
Right now, as long as everyone continued their crazy assault, it would be impossible for the Guard Robot to simply hold its ground. Using martial skills to counterattack was its only choice.
Yet just as the two hundred people were about to launch a mad attack, the Guard Robot’s eyes flashed red.
“You little mice sneaking into my home, did you really think that just because I live in seclusion here, I would be weaker than those lowly ones?” The Guard Robot spoke in the Sub-demon Race language, its voice full of killing intent. “Now I will show you how weak you low-level civilizations are in front of a high-level civilization!”
As the Guard Robot finished speaking, within a radius of two hundred meters around it, the energy seemed to come alive, even developing hostility, and began frantically corroding everyone within the domain.
