Free Web NovelChapter 132: Chapter 125: Bystander Transformation Device
After the general meeting concluded, Gao Liangwei asked Dr. Zhang to stay behind.
The two discussed the fifth squad’s recent skirmish.
"According to the DNA results from the blood sample Dragon Soul brought back, it’s a match for a 21-year-old university student. He has no special background to speak of. He was likely recruited by that organization simply because of his high Psychic Power level."
After listening, Gao Liangwei asked, "The team that organization sent out was also gathering supplies, weren’t they?"
"It seems so. It was just a chance encounter," Dr. Zhang said after a pause. "However, because Gu Fei knows Xu You and the others, their squad was aware that the fifth squad was an Official Team."
"They knew they were an Official Team and still attacked." Gao Liangwei snorted. "They’re clearly staging a rebellion."
"What we can confirm is that the enemy squad’s leader is very strong and has the ability to absorb Psychic Power. However, based on Dragon Soul’s analysis, he believes there’s a limit to how much the enemy can absorb; it’s not infinite."
"I don’t care about that. I care about how to dispose of this team—and the organization behind it—as quickly as possible."
Gao Liangwei wasn’t interested in the personal abilities of hostile Ascenders. Whatever powers they had, once the government decided to strike with overwhelming force, they would be crushed.
After all, Ascenders aren’t like the monsters brought by the Fire Thieves. They’re still flesh and blood. No matter how powerful their abilities are, can they withstand a missile?
"For now, we could try using satellites to conduct a wide-area search of the wilderness. It’s just... that would require a lot of manpower."
Manpower was what society lacked most right now. In just over half a year, the country’s population had been cut by more than half. If it weren’t for industrial robots and lights-out factories propping things up, the supply chain would have collapsed long ago.
Even with things stabilized, it was a fragile stability. Every sector was severely short-staffed, and government departments were no exception.
This was especially true after entering the era of the Apocalypse Rules, which triggered a wave of resignations from government departments.
And a tedious job like reviewing satellite footage was particularly unpopular.
"If we’re short-staffed, have the relevant departments recruit," Gao Liangwei said. "Hasn’t a new policy been issued? Paying wages in Sublimation Coins."
Dr. Zhang nodded.
That was true. Some positions had now started paying wages in Sublimation Coins, which had, to some extent, effectively boosted employee morale and motivation.
"In any case, Dr. Zhang, we need to find this organization’s base of operations as soon as possible," Gao Liangwei said. "We’re already overwhelmed just dealing with the Apocalypse Rules and the Fire Thieves. We absolutely cannot allow a group of rebels to stir up trouble."
"Understood, Director. As the assessor for personnel selection, choosing a traitor like Gu Fei was my mistake. I will take full responsibility and find this organization’s base as quickly as possible."
...
「December 10th. Early morning.」
Guan Tong pushed open the door to his cabin and took a deep breath of the cold December air.
"The temperature’s dropped." frёewebnoѵēl.com
It felt like only 12 or 13 degrees out, a bit chilly.
Guan Tong was wearing his Giant Axe Warrior Hoodie under a gray, padded vest, with a pair of dusty, thick trousers on his lower half.
If it weren’t for his young, handsome face, his outfit would have made him look like some kind of quirky village watchman.
’But this is the mountain, my own little world. Who cares?’
"Coal Ball, come out and get some fresh air."
He turned and called into the room, but Coal Ball, sprawled on the bed, ignored him. Now that the weather was cold, it was reluctant to go outside.
Guan Tong didn’t mind. He stretched a little, then went through a set of Guiyun Health Boxing he’d learned from Shi Jingyi’s online course. His body warmed up quickly.
’I feel good today. I think I can try circulating my power.’
After ten days of aimlessly relaxing and clearing his mind since the last Rule Stage ended, Guan Tong felt he had more or less recovered.
He went out into the yard, sat cross-legged on a wooden stump, and focused his attention.
His Psychic Power soon manifested as a shimmer of light at his fingertip.
He was already very skilled at this step. The next was to guide that point of light to circulate through the acupoints in his body.
As he willed it, the shimmer of light began to move, slowly but steadily.
Although it started smoothly, by the time it traveled past his hand and up his arm to his shoulder and neck, the light flickered and dissipated. The whole process took about an hour.
Guan Tong opened his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow. ’Getting from my finger to my neck on the first try is pretty good.’
He wasn’t aiming for instant success; as long as he could see himself making progress, he was satisfied.
Once his Psychic Power was depleted, he took a morning walk along the mountainside, contemplating his plans for the next twenty-odd days.
He’d been monitoring the Ascender’s Home website, and it seemed the user experience had stabilized.
There still wasn’t much activity in trades or commissions. Most of the time, someone would post a commission, but no one would accept it because the conditions were too harsh or the reward was too small.
Meanwhile, the ones who could afford to post high-paying commissions were usually large groups and organizations. They generally had their own channels for acquiring things and weren’t necessarily willing to pay the platform’s 10% fee.
Guan Tong wasn’t bothered by this. He had already accumulated a fairly substantial sum by selling the Communication Secret Scroll, so he wasn’t in a rush to earn more Sublimation Coins.
’For the remaining twenty days, besides my daily training, I should probably browse the market for some items.’
Guan Tong was currently sitting on a fortune of over 400,000 Sublimation Coins. It was time to spend some of it on items.
Otherwise, just holding on to a huge sum of money without converting it into actual combat strength was useless.
But he couldn’t just blow it all at once, because he didn’t know what the eighth rule would be.
The Sublimation Store hadn’t listed any new products this time, making it impossible to predict anything about the upcoming eighth rule.
The smart move was to hold on to some of his Sublimation Coins. Then, once the eighth rule and its hidden conditions were announced, he could buy items from the market specifically tailored to help with the challenge.
So, over the next few days, whenever Guan Tong had free time, he would open the market on his terminal and browse the goods.
Many items had decent effects, but he wasn’t interested unless they were absolutely essential or offered a significant upgrade.
After five or six days of browsing, Guan Tong finally came across an item that caught his eye.
[Bystander Transformation Device]: Consumes 30 Psychic Power on use. Transforms the user’s appearance and body into that of a random bystander for 3 hours. Cooldown: 24 hours. Tradable.
[Price]: 200,000 Sublimation Coins
A disguise ability was exactly what Guan Tong needed, and this transformation device fit the bill perfectly.
While he could disguise himself by enveloping his body in shadows, it was inconvenient and consumed a lot of power.
This transformation device was different. It had a one-time activation cost instead of a continuous drain on his Psychic Power. Plus, a three-hour transformation was long enough to get a lot done.
As for the price tag of a whopping 200,000 Sublimation Coins—it wasn’t just expensive, it was exorbitant. That was probably why it hadn’t been snatched up by the dedicated buyers from the large organizations.
But since Guan Tong could afford it and needed it, there was no reason not to buy it.
He selected "Purchase," and a wave of satisfaction washed over him when he saw the "Purchase Successful" notification.
[You have acquired: Bystander Transformation Device]
Guan Tong retrieved the item from his storage. The transformation device looked like an Energy Bar with a round button on top.
He pressed the button, and his body changed rapidly. His frame seemed to shrink considerably; he could feel his viewpoint lower and his clothes suddenly felt a size too big.
He glanced down at his hands, which were now small and soft. He then pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the front-facing camera.
The screen showed the face of a plain, unremarkable boy who looked like he was in middle school.
’I wonder if it’s a fixed transformation, or if I’ll get a different look every time. I’ll try again tomorrow after the cooldown.’
Guan Tong naturally hoped it was the latter. The more forms he had, the better he could confuse people when needed.
’Does this form affect my ability to use my powers?’ ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Guan Tong tried summoning his Shadow and using Silver Hunter and found that they were unaffected.
He was very satisfied with the test results. Even though it had cost him half of his 400,000-coin savings, he didn’t regret it one bit.
Just as Guan Tong was about to head back to his shelter, he spotted Yu Hong and Zhao Yu coming up the mountain via his shadow surveillance.
The two of them hadn’t come up the mountain once during the entire Rule Stage. Now, two weeks after it had ended, they were suddenly heading up. He wondered what for.
’Good timing. I’m already in disguise, and I’ve still got over two hours left on the effect. Plenty of time.’
With that thought, Guan Tong started walking down the mountain, intercepting the pair halfway about twenty minutes later.
Yu Hong and Zhao Yu were a little startled when they saw Guan Tong. They hadn’t expected to find a middle schooler in the mountain camp, though they did notice his clothes didn’t seem to fit.
Guan Tong asked, "Are you coming up the mountain to find us?"
Zhao Yu said, "Hey, kid. We’d like to talk to the adults in your camp."
"You can tell me," Guan Tong said. "I’ll pass the message on to them when I get back."
"Well..."
Zhao Yu found it odd to be negotiating with a middle schooler, but Yu Hong was more direct. She spoke, looking a little embarrassed, "Listen, young man, it’s like this. We’re running out of food. If it’s possible, we were hoping to buy some from your camp. We can pay in Sublimation Coins."
Guan Tong feigned surprise. "Didn’t you guys send a lot of food up the mountain before? Why didn’t you keep more for yourselves?"
"The experts from your camp were the ones who eliminated those thugs, so the spoils naturally belong to you. It wouldn’t have been right for us to take more," Yu Hong said.
"I see." Guan Tong nodded. "Alright, I’ll let everyone know when I get back."
"Thanks, kid. We appreciate it."
After speaking, the two turned and headed down the mountain without further delay.
Guan Tong watched them go. ’They seem like decent people.’ Even so, he definitely wouldn’t give them food for free. It wasn’t that he was short on Sublimation Coins, but that professional, clear-cut relationships were the only ones that lasted.
’Otherwise, you might think you’re being generous, but over time, people will start to take you for granted and make unreasonable demands without even realizing it.’
The next day, as soon as the Bystander Transformation Device’s 24-hour cooldown was over, he used it again.
This time, he transformed into a burly, stubble-faced man in his thirties.
Guan Tong checked his appearance on his phone. He thought the look was quite intimidating, which was perfect for delivering the food.
But he still needed to get the details right. After changing into a different set of clothes, he summoned a few Living Dead and had them act as porters, carrying several boxes of food behind him.
He would take over from them when he got close to the foot of the mountain.
When Guan Tong arrived carrying the food boxes, he spotted Yu Hong and Zhao Yu’s camp right away.
The two of them had circled several jeeps to form an enclosure. Inside were two tents, with a campfire and some miscellaneous items in the middle. This was their camp; it was simple, but it served its purpose.
The two of them were sitting by the campfire chatting when they saw a burly man appear carrying several boxes. They immediately realized he was from the camp up on the mountain.
"Here’s the food you wanted. Three large boxes in total, enough to last the two of you for a while." Guan Tong, in his new form, stacked the boxes on the hood of a jeep. "Our leader said that since we’re neighbors, he won’t ask for much. Just 100 Sublimation Coins will do."
