Chapter Eighty-Two: Undercurrents Stir

Brick mm slowly removed her gas mask. “Not yet. This set has a rather interesting phenomenon.”

“Oh? What phenomenon?” Wu Hua asked curiously.

Brick mm replied, “The attributes give off a feeling—it doesn’t seem like it’s meant for a gunner, but rather for a Chip Warrior. If you pair it with that Divine Light Sword from earlier, I dare say that, among the three major southern cities, this warrior could definitely make it into the top five of the individual rankings.”

Now that she mentioned it, Wu Hua and Yu Jialing both felt the same.

“It’s just a pity it’s made for gunners like you, so the synthesized attributes are a bit altered. Listen carefully.” Brick mm spoke up, “If you wear the entire SEAL Team suit, you get an extra attribute: Ranged Specialization…”

She paused deliberately, and Wu Hua could feel his heart racing.

“Plus ten points,” she declared.

Wu Hua let out a breath. “Impressive.”

“There’s more,” Brick mm continued, “It comes with a basic camouflage skill.”

“Wahahaha, awesome!” Wu Hua laughed up at the ceiling.

Brick mm cautioned, “Don’t celebrate too soon. The requirements are extremely harsh. If you want to wear the full set, you need 35 points each in Constitution, Strength, and Agility Specialization. That’s something most gunners can’t reach. On the surface, it says level 27 is required, but I estimate you’ll need to be around level 40 to equip it. The added basic camouflage skill requires level 35 to use. But once you have it on, let’s put it this way: you could probably use your gun butt to bash a warrior. That’s the only flaw.”

Wu Hua nodded and made a decision in his heart. Once this mission was complete, he’d allocate all his attribute points and then equip this suit.

“A priceless treasure! Absolutely priceless!” Brick mm shook her head, chanting, “This is the best set I’ve ever seen.” She turned to Yu Jialing and added, “Xiaoxue, if you ask me, you should hurry up and date Baofeng. With him, you’ll have all the gear you’ll ever need.”

“Ahem, ahem…” Wu Hua and Yu Jialing both coughed violently at that.

The three of them chatted in the lab for a while longer. Finally, someone came through the main doors—a group of women, all in uniform.

“Rose!” Xiaoxue and Brick mm hurried over to greet them.

A tall woman smiled at Xiaoxue. “Heard you synthesized the SIG550 sniper rifle. Congratulations!”

Yu Jialing replied, “Thanks to everyone’s support, the mission went very smoothly this time.”

“And this is…?” Rose’s gaze landed on the tattered Wu Hua.

Yu Jialing introduced, “Let me introduce you. This is our studio’s team leader, Dark Night Rose. He’s my friend—his name is Baofeng.”

Dark Night Rose’s expression shifted slightly. “Bao as in explosion? Feng as in madness?”

Yu Jialing didn’t seem to notice the change in her leader’s face. “Big Sis, how did you know?”

Dark Night Rose sneered, “How could I not? News just came in today—a gunner named Baofeng single-handedly took down five members of Blue Company’s Seven Fairies. Now he’s the top name on Blue Company’s blacklist.”

At this, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Yu Jialing stared at Wu Hua in disbelief. She couldn’t believe it was true.

Dark Night Rose stepped forward, gazing quietly at Wu Hua. “Am I right?”

Wu Hua replied calmly, “You are.”

Dark Night Rose’s tone turned cold. “Leave. You’re not welcome here.”

Yu Jialing hadn’t expected this at all and panicked. “Big Sis, you—”

Wu Hua suddenly raised his hand to stop her. “I’ll leave right away.”

“You—” Yu Jialing was even more bewildered. She couldn’t understand—no matter what, Wu Hua had traveled a long way, and her leader had never even met him before. Why was she so quick to drive him out?

Wu Hua said nothing more and headed straight for the door.

Yu Jialing hurried after him.

Brick mm called out, “Xiaoxue…” But Yu Jialing was already far away.

Dark Night Rose said coolly, “Let her go. Some lessons can only be learned the hard way.”

The military vehicle rolled through the city streets. Yu Jialing couldn’t help but ask, “Do you and my big sister have a grudge?”

“No,” Wu Hua replied calmly.

“Then why did she make you leave?” Yu Jialing pressed.

Wu Hua said, “Why don’t you ask her?”

Yu Jialing was momentarily speechless. After a moment, she said, “You don’t seem angry at all.”

Wu Hua smiled. “Why should I be angry?”

Yu Jialing was at a loss for words. The mind of a legend was truly different.

“You might not know,” Wu Hua said, “but now that I’ve offended Blue Company, I doubt they’ll let me go. Your big sister doesn’t seem like an ordinary person—she heard the news so quickly. Clearly, she doesn’t want trouble brought to her doorstep, so it was best to have me leave early.”

Though Wu Hua was still smiling as he spoke, there was a hint of resignation in his expression. Just now, he had caught a glimpse of worry in Dark Night Rose’s eyes. She feared his presence at the research center might bring trouble to them. Blue Company might retaliate, making things difficult for them in the game. After all, they were just a studio and couldn’t compete with a major corporation.

He had once witnessed a similar scene himself—in the Ice Forest Plateau of Dream Star City. Several powerful parties were fighting over the snow leopard mini-boss at the mountaintop, struggling viciously for territory. In the end, one party cleared the field and took over. Their leader, a level 28 Gene Warrior and the highest-leveled, best-equipped among them, kicked everyone else from the group after securing the spot. The others then ganged up and killed him on the spot.

Even though everyone knew they’d be next to be kicked, they still mercilessly took it out on the latest victim. In the end, only the warrior was left grinding there alone.

This left a deep impression on Wu Hua. He didn’t think it was simply greed at play. It taught him a truth: The weak can never change the reality of being bullied. The weak are not worthy of sympathy—only the strong deserve to survive. This was why he had always insisted on solo training for so long.

“It’s the same in-game—the strong are respected. No one wants to offend a major power over a trivial matter.” Wu Hua gazed straight ahead, thinking of Long Zhan Xingye. “If you don’t want to be treated this way, you have to keep making yourself stronger.”

Yu Jialing was stunned. She’d rarely seen Wu Hua so deep in thought. “Please believe me, my big sister isn’t that kind of person.”

“You’re all just wage earners, making a few thousand a month.” Wu Hua smiled. “Honestly, I think she did the right thing. As the studio leader, she has to consider the bigger picture. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

Yu Jialing knew Wu Hua was trying to comfort her. After all, her big sister had just kicked out her friend with a single sentence. No matter how you looked at it, it was a bit disrespectful to her.

Yu Jialing felt a bit stifled and bit her lip. “Fine, let’s leave it at that. Where are you heading? I’ll come with you. I’ve got nothing to do these days anyway. Otherwise, if Ajie finds out, he’ll scold me for not being a good friend.”

Wu Hua couldn’t help but laugh. “Really? I’ve got a lot of places to go—the Exchange, the insurance company, the supply store, and out to the Blue Moon Mountains.”

Yu Jialing groaned. “Why so many places?”

Wu Hua replied, “I’m out of money. Need to make a withdrawal, deposit my gear at the insurance company, and buy some potions at the supply store.”

Yu Jialing said, “No problem. I’ll go with you.”

Wu Hua glanced at her and smiled. “If you come along, it’s probably going to take several days.”