Chapter 215: Metal Life? Mechanical Ascension?
Considering they still needed to find a place to refine steel, Lu Li and Yao Yifei decided to handle everything quickly.
The Shin Family wasn’t a major noble family; let alone compared to the Qu Family, even the Jin Family was stronger than the Shin Family.
“The Shin Family’s main lineage has always been sparsely populated, with almost every generation being a single heir. Compared to the collateral branches, it’s even more pathetic, so the Alliance’s bottom line is not to target the Shin Family’s collateral branches,” the clerk leading the way introduced the Shin Family’s main situation conscientiously.
“Where is the Shin Family’s manor?” Yao Yifei urged.
Small families like the Shin Family were not qualified to reside in secret realms; they usually lived in the suburbs, then acquired a large area for planting fruit trees or raising Pokémon.
Lu Li was now walking on this road.
To put it bluntly, it was about claiming land; powerful overlords occupied secret realms, while the weak fought for territory in the real world.
Although each alliance expressed it differently, the underlying logic was like this.
The group soon arrived at the Shin Family Ancestral Land.
Upon arriving at the Shin Family Ancestral Land, Yao Yifei and Lu Li were once again impressed.
Yao Yifei complained, “Forty square kilometers, the Shin Family’s territory is a bit large.”
“The Shin Family’s manor also encompasses two metal mines, which is why the area is so large. The actual planting area is not that big,” the clerk responsible for leading the way explained.
“My Gym is only three square kilometers,” Yao Yifei complained with a dark expression.
Lu Li didn’t know how to comfort Yao Yifei, so he could only persuade her from the side, “Let’s go, let’s head to the manor first.”
Yao Yifei nodded, and even the clerk beside her breathed a sigh of relief.
The Shin Family’s influence in Deep Gray City was indeed terrifyingly strong; this 40 square kilometers was the area after being squeezed by the Pewter Gym.
Before the Pewter Gym was established, the Shin Family’s land area was even larger, a full 50 square kilometers.
The group quickly arrived at the Shin Family residence, and Yao Yifei released Espeon.
Just as Yao Yifei was preparing to land, a transparent protective shield blocked some people from descending.
“Listen up, those in the sky! You have entered the airspace above my Shin Family residence. Please leave immediately.”
A female voice came from inside.
Lu Li’s lips curved slightly upwards.
He was too familiar with this protective shield; he had envied Jinling Center in the Ancient Capital for having such a protective shield before.
Following the shouts from below, Yao Yifei remained unfazed, “Espeon, break it!”
Espeon elegantly nodded.
Energy slowly gathered, and light particles condensed continuously.
The move Espeon used was Hyper Beam. In the anime, this move was called Giga Impact; it was a super powerful destructive move with a long charge-up and an even longer cooldown.
BOOM!!!
A Hyper Beam as thick as a water vat landed on the protective shield.
The clerk rode Lu Li’s Bidoof and then excitedly whispered, “According to the intel, the Shin Family’s energy protective shield is only Gym Level. They won’t last long.”
Lu Li nodded.
Energy protective shields were also divided by level. A Gym Level energy protective shield required much less energy to maintain, and this level of shield was indeed very suitable for the Shin Family.
If they truly encountered enemies at the Heavenly King Level or above, it wouldn’t matter whether the Shin Family had a protective shield or not.
Yao Yifei was not discouraged when the first strike failed to break through, as she had anticipated it.
“Continue!” Yao Yifei said.
If her goal wasn’t to ransack their home but merely to eliminate them, she would have used Meteor Storm instead of Giga Impact.
Espeon, having recovered, continued to gather energy.
Hyper Beam!
It was still fucking Hyper Beam!
After six Hyper Beams, the transparent energy protective shield finally ran out of energy.
Successfully landing in the yard, Yao Yifei narrowed her eyes, looking at two women standing nervously on the steps.
“The Shin Family is about to be ransacked. Your family’s foundation has also been depleted. If you want to live, cooperate,” Yao Yifei threatened with practiced ease.
Lu Li looked at Yao Yifei with some surprise.
How was this woman so familiar with this?
The clerk carefully explained from the side, “It is said that the Gym Leader of Linmu City has a monopoly because all the local tyrants in Linmu City were cleared out by the Gym Leader.”
As a woman and also a Coordinator, she understood Yao Yifei quite well, especially since Linmu City was not far from Deep Gray City.
Lu Li suddenly understood.
No wonder this woman was so proficient; she had practiced a few times before.
“You little bitch, how can the Shin Family’s 60-year foundation just disappear?” the oldest old woman cursed directly.
Yao Yifei ignored the old woman, who was acting like a clown, and simply nodded at Espeon beside her.
Psychic Power activated.
The old woman, who had been cursing profusely, instantly quieted down. She stared blankly ahead, like a soulless puppet.
Yao Yifei asked, “Where is your Shin Family’s treasury hidden?”
“In…”
The old woman honestly confessed the location of the family treasury.
After obtaining the information she wanted, Yao Yifei turned to the clerk beside her and ordered, “You can leave now.”
There was no longer any need for the clerk, and some matters were inconvenient for her to know. This was partly for secrecy and partly for her safety.
The female clerk naturally dared not object and left the Shin Family reluctantly.
Watching the female clerk’s retreating back, Lu Li hesitated and tentatively asked, “Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”
After all, she was a guide; shouldn’t she be given some benefits?
Guessing Lu Li’s thoughts, Yao Yifei said meaningfully, “Don’t worry, the benefits she gained from this operation are far greater than you imagine.”
Just as Yao Yifei had thought.
After the female clerk left the manor, she contacted her family using her phone.
“The Shin Family is confirmed to be on the verge of collapse. It’s time for us to make our move.”
After a brief explanation, the female clerk hung up the phone and flew towards the legion’s stationed point.
After the female clerk left, Yao Yifei coldly asked, “Do you know anything about the Divine Cult?”
“I know, the Divine Cult is at… Ah!”
Before the old woman could finish speaking, she suddenly let out a scream and then curled up on the ground, clutching her head in pain.
Bang~
The old woman’s head splattered everywhere like a crushed tomato.
Lu Li stared blankly at the bloody scene.
Yao Yifei, with a calm expression, explained the gruesome scene, “A Psychic has tampered with her brain.”
Lu Li: “…”
“Strange…”
Yao Yifei looked thoughtfully at the old woman’s corpse, puzzled why Young Master Shen had not been subjected to restrictions.
The others in the living room were already terrified.
The old madam, who was usually aloof, had died just like that, and in such a tragic manner.
“Take me to the treasury,” Yao Yifei coldly ordered the other, younger woman.
The beautiful woman Yao Yifei referred to was Shen Bao’s daughter-in-law, and also Young Master Shen’s biological mother.
Like her mother-in-law, this woman was also a venomous individual.
With her mother-in-law as a precedent, the beautiful woman, already pale with fright, dared not say any more and hurriedly led them with trembling steps.
“As for the rest of the people…”
Yao Yifei glanced at the servants in the room and then nodded at Espeon beside her.
Espeon, having handled many dirty and arduous tasks, immediately understood her trainer’s hint.
After Yao Yifei and Lu Li left the living room, a slaughter commenced.
Led by the beautiful woman, the two finally arrived at the Shin Family’s treasury.
The Shin Family, being just a small family, didn’t have many good items. Apart from some rare Berries, they mostly had various peculiar ores and golden beads.
Yao Yifei was not interested in these things.
However, Lu Li’s eyes were wide with desire.
Researching ores was beneficial for Artifact Refining Technique’s Pokémonfication, and as for rare fruits, the Speed Activation Pill had already demonstrated their importance.
Seeing Lu Li’s greedy expression, Yao Yifei said with a laugh, “Take them if you want; converting these things to cash would be too much trouble.”
Lu Li nodded eagerly.
Decided!
Lu Li looked at Yao Yifei solemnly.
When they returned, he would arrange a pill package for Yao Yifei; this woman was truly kind to him.
In addition to these materials, there were also some documents in the treasury. Yao Yifei curiously picked them up and took a look.
《 On Human Metallization 》, 《 The Possibility of Human Mechanical Ascension 》, 《 Steel Human Research Report 》, 《 Thought Imprint Research Project 》.
Looking at these unbelievable titles, Yao Yifei fell silent.
Throughout the entire world, apart from the Divine Cult, no other organization could produce such twisted and dark affairs.
Lu Li, full of curiosity, looked at these titles with an expression of inquiry.
“The Shin Family researched this too?” Lu Li exclaimed.
Setting aside the content for now, just the titles alone were impressive.
“These are research materials from the Divine Cult. It seems the Shin Family is deeply involved with the Divine Cult,” Yao Yifei sighed faintly.
Lu Li eagerly asked, “Can I take these materials? Or maybe make a copy.”
Compared to these materials, the previous materials had become unimportant.
Lu Li was extremely interested in these documents. Among the Cultivation Hundred Arts, there was a profession called Puppeteer.
Lu Li felt that he might find an opportunity to Pokémonfy a Puppeteer from these materials, and it might even help him better understand the Steel-type of this world.
“These materials are very evil. Are you sure you want them? I don’t want to see you go down the wrong path,” Yao Yifei instinctively objected.
It wasn’t that she was reluctant, but just from the titles, these materials seemed extremely anti-human. She truly didn’t want Lu Li to come into contact with such anti-human things.
Knowing what Yao Yifei was worried about, Lu Li quickly assured her, “Knowledge is not a sin. Besides, I’m just curious and won’t delve too deeply into research.”
Yao Yifei looked at Lu Li with deep eyes and then nodded, “Take them if you want.”
After receiving permission, Lu Li happily put away the documents.
While Lu Li was collecting the documents, Espeon silently appeared in the treasury.
“Trainer, I’ve received some unexpected intel. You’ll definitely be interested,” Espeon communicated via Telepathy.
Hearing this, Yao Yifei stopped looking at Lu Li and turned to ask, “What intel?”
“I discovered that the Divine Cult has a research base in Deep Gray City, and it’s a base where the Steel Saint Son has stayed,” Espeon replied.
“Steel Saint Son?”
Hearing this, Yao Yifei’s expression changed, and a flicker of fear even flashed in the depths of her eyes.
Yao Yifei whispered, “How could such an existence be attracted to a small city like Deep Gray City?”
What kind of existence was the Steel Saint Son?
If the Divine Cult’s hierarchy were a pyramid, the Saint Sons would be terrifying existences on the second tier, second only to the Pope.
More importantly, within the Divine Cult, each Saint Son was a powerful Psychic, and also a Heavenly King Level Trainer, or even a Champion Level Trainer.
Although the Steel Saint Son was only a Heavenly King Level Trainer in the Alliance’s intel, he was also a very wicked scientist, especially an anti-human scientist.
“It seems this matter should be handed over to Qu Suxin,” Yao Yifei now just wanted to pass the buck, at least to avoid attracting the Steel Saint Son’s attention.
Espeon, who was telepathically connected with Yao Yifei, quickly comforted her, “Trainer, you are worrying too much. The Steel Saint Son only stayed at that laboratory, and that was several years ago.”
Hearing this, Yao Yifei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“You might really need to go to that laboratory because it seems to be related to a Divine Item,” Espeon added.
Divine Item?
Hearing this, Yao Yifei couldn’t help but glance at Lu Li’s wrist. No matter what attribute the Divine Item had, it was worth her taking the risk.
“Do you know about the situation at that base?” Yao Yifei asked via Telepathy.
Yao Yifei decided to send Lu Li back and explore alone.
This was not because she wanted to keep it to herself, but because she was worried about Lu Li’s safety.
“The person in charge of the base is just a Gym Level Trainer, and I think you might need to call your little lover along,” Espeon advised.
Yao Yifei frowned and retorted, “Why?”
Espeon explained, “The ace Pokémon of the person in charge of that base is Poliwrath, and it’s at Gym Level Peak strength.”
Espeon earnestly advised, “Although I don’t know how your little lover dealt with that Gym Level Trainer last time, one thing is certain: Tropius can definitely display Gym Level strength. With his help, you’ll be safer.”
Seeing Yao Yifei hesitating, Espeon criticized her with frustration, “Trainer… you absolutely must not be love-struck!”
Yao Yifei: “…”
“Alright, alright… I’ll talk to Lu Li,” Yao Yifei quickly stopped Espeon’s long speech.
Espeon was one of her earliest Pokémon, and she understood her Pokémon too well. When she was indecisive, Espeon would turn into a chatterbox and persuade her with all her might.
To avoid being bombarded by Espeon’s telepathic speech, Yao Yifei had to forcibly interrupt her “spellcasting.”
“Lu Li, I have something I’d like your help with. I’ll say in advance that this is just a discussion,” Yao Yifei looked at Lu Li, who had just put all the documents back into his Storage Ring.
