Chapter Ninety-Five: The Secret Warehouse

What made Zhao Li a little perplexed was that this time the routine military region inspection seemed to carry a hint of playing for real. Not long after receiving the notification, another solemn notice arrived from above, stating that a VIP was coming.

A VIP? Zhao Li had no idea what was going on, but it was certain that strict security was required here. That was fine, too; at least no one would suspect that he would send people out to provoke the guerrillas at a time like this.

More than one hundred and eighty people, completely healthy and intact, stood in neat rows on the military camp's tarmac, watching the warship's hatch slowly open, anticipating the arrival of the unnamed VIP.

A few sharp and capable soldiers emerged from the inside first, briskly forming two rows. Judging by their moves and stances, Zhao Li believed they were the commander's bodyguards.

The officer who poked his head out next startled everyone. Although they knew a VIP was coming, it was the first time that a military region's commanding officer had personally visited such a small, dilapidated military camp.

"Salute!" Zhao Li stood at the very front, commanding all the soldiers to salute in unison. General Lucas returned the salute with great dignity.

After going through a round of passionate motivation and praise for the military bearing and discipline here, General Lucas and Zhao Li entered the underground conference room, leaving everyone else outside the underground fortifications.

Looking at the two neat stacks of amethysts, even a military region commander like General Lucas, who should have been well-traveled and knowledgeable, could not help but be stunned for a moment. In fact, among the people Zhao Li had seen, except for old man Kang, who seemed completely indifferent upon seeing this pile of amethysts, everyone else had lost their composure to varying degrees.

After a long while, General Lucas recovered, and his very first reaction upon turning around was a stern reprimand: "Why didn't you report this directly to the military region?" Zhao Li had bypassed him and gone straight to General Thomas, while he, the military region commander, only learned through others that his subordinate had done such a thing. No matter how one looked at it, he had reason to be displeased.

"Reporting to the General!" Zhao Li maintained his meticulous military habit, which was his consistent trump card when dealing with superiors. "I did not have the authority to report directly to you; I could only report step by step to my immediate superiors. According to normal channels, this news would have to pass through at least seven or more departments. The situation here is complex. Who knows, before the normal channels could reach your ears, I might have ceased to exist."

What Zhao Li said was the truth. Although this marginal planet was an assignment zone for the government forces, it was also a breeding ground for bureaucrats. Here, it was simply impossible not to have connections with various external factions. Just as Zhao Li said, if he had followed the rules to report it, there was no telling how many times he would have been sold out. By that time, let alone these amethysts, whether the military camp could even exist would have been a question.

Zhao Li had already thought up this excuse. When Zhao Li finished reporting to General Thomas, Kang Hongyuan had asked him this very question. No matter what, General Lucas was his direct superior, and bypassing one's superior to report to someone else was a major taboo, both in the military and in political circles, especially when trying to make a name for oneself here.

General Lucas stared fixedly into Zhao Li's eyes, seeing whether he was telling the truth or lying to brush him off. After staring for quite a while, the sternness in his gaze slowly softened. "Situations like this aren't created overnight. From now on, report directly to me, and I'll have my aide set up a secure line for you."

It seemed this issue was considered easily brushed past, and Zhao Li let out a long sigh of relief in his heart. Although he felt relieved inside, he did not dare to show it on his face.

Bending down, General Lucas reached out and picked up a square amethyst. The amethyst was very smooth and felt very comfortable to touch. Tapping it gently produced a low, unusual tone.

Listening to this faint tapping sound, neither of them seemed to have the appetite to speak.

"Tell me, what was the situation back then?" General Lucas personally hauled a chair over from the corner, sat down in front of the amethysts, stared at those two piles of immense wealth, and listened to Zhao Li's report.

Zhao Li did not dare to be as casual as General Lucas; he stood rigidly straight and reported the situation at the time. However, he did not emphasize Kang Hongyuan's prior intelligence, instead explaining it as a coincidence: during the live-fire drill, these people's transaction happened to be discovered, so Zhao Li ordered them to be dealt with on the fly. That was the whole story. Of course, the details inside were still described in full detail, and even the three eighth-rank experts were not concealed.

"You're saying that a combat department cadet who just graduated from a genius academy single-handedly eliminated three eighth-rank experts?" After hearing this, Lucas frowned directly, seeming somewhat surprised, and also seeming somewhat unconvinced.

This tiny action let Zhao Li realize that the military seemed to have a general aversion to the genius academy. General Thomas was like this, and General Lucas was the same. Although it could not be ruled out that they belonged to the same faction and shared the same mindset, even the prisoners in the prison had been like this before. This was clearly no longer just a factional issue.

Zhao Li did not dare to say much more on this matter, simply answering General Lucas's question affirmatively. Perhaps General Lucas also felt that there was no need to discuss these high-level matters in depth with a mere lieutenant, so he nonchalantly steered the topic back to the pile of amethysts.

"You've got some nerve. Seeing that there weren't many people, you dared to make a move without even figuring things out. Aren't you afraid that the two sides were engaged in a legitimate transaction?" Asking offhandedly, General Lucas successfully changed the subject.

"Reporting to the General!" Just as Zhao Li uttered these words, General Lucas waved his hand. "No need to be so restrained, relax."

"Yes, General!" Zhao Li was not foolish enough to dance to whatever tune was played at this moment. He still respectfully answered "yes," and then continued to explain, "A normal transaction wouldn't take place between two parties in such a remote rainforest, and both sides were under armed escort."

This question was merely a conversation starter; General Lucas had no intention of pursuing it deeply. Besides, what kind of place was this? No one was more familiar with it than the military region commander. Two groups of people trading furtively—need one ask? It was definitely not anything legitimate.

"Pity, only amethysts!" General Lucas's words fully reflected his sense of regret, which made Zhao Li feel somewhat ashamed. If there had been other things, weaponry would have been fine, but if it were drugs, how would they have even been handled?

"You really think drug dealers would use amethysts for transactions?" General Lucas said casually and abruptly, leaving no follow-up. Zhao Li broke out in a cold sweat, wondering if he had truly done something wrong.

"The weaponry you asked for hasn't been brought to you this time." The general spoke next, never mentioning the previous words again. Zhao Li listened carefully, feeling a slight disappointment upon hearing this news, yet he forcefully suppressed any change in his expression.

"Only three warships came, pure warships. Using them to carry weaponry is simply too conspicuous." General Lucas didn't look at Zhao Li's expression at all, simply reaching out to pull a password card from his person. "Follow me!"

There were only the two of them in the underground base. It seemed Zhao Li's familiarity with the place was inferior even to the general's, which made Zhao Li extremely curious.

They walked to a place that looked very much like an underground military camp dormitory. Inside were rows of crowded beds, still the old-fashioned bunk beds. Aside from the coded door lock at the entrance, there was not a single sign of a modern military camp. It was very cramped, presumably a place meant for soldiers to rest temporarily during wartime.

The password card was inserted into an interface of the electronic door lock, and then the general began pressing the numerical keypad one by one. Zhao Li counted silently—he pressed it at least thirty times before hearing a soft click from inside the dormitory.

Casually, the general handed the password card to Zhao Li, along with an electronic storage device. "The passwords are in here. Memorize them, then destroy it immediately. Don't let a second person know!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Li didn't know what this was, but since the general gave it to him, there had to be a reason.

Inside the dormitory, the bed closest to the middle moved silently away, revealing a flat wall. On the wall, there was only a tiny slot.

Under the general's instruction, Zhao Li inserted the password card into that slot, and then a strange sound was heard. When all the sounds quieted down, the general signaled Zhao Li to pull the password card out.

After pulling it out, the general said nothing and began to wait quietly. He waited for a full five minutes, making Zhao Li wonder if the general had remembered something wrong, before the wall emitted a slight sound, and a small opening split open on the surface, revealing something like a handle.

"Pull it out!" The general stood behind him and commanded. Without a second thought, Zhao Li reached out, grasped the metal handle, and began to pull with all his might.

"Use your true qi!" General Lucas, standing behind him, reminded him, and Zhao Li hurriedly complied with his instruction. However, what surprised Zhao Li somewhat was that even after exerting all his strength, he was unable to budge the handle by even a fraction of an inch.

The general's gaze from behind felt somewhat hot against his back. Zhao Li let go of the handle, moved around in place for a moment, grabbed the handle with both hands, and exerted force again.

Although the nameless true qi was overbearing and formidable, it did not seem particularly adept at increasing brute strength. Even with both hands gripping it, Zhao Li could not budge the handle at all. With a military region commander standing right behind him watching this performance of his, Zhao Li truly had no idea how to turn around and face the commanding officer's gaze.

A hand fell upon his shoulder, gently pushing him aside. Other than Zhao Li, there was only General Lucas here, and Zhao Li did not dare to disobey in the slightest, stepping aside along with the momentum. Then, he saw the general reach out and grasp the handle with a single hand.

To Zhao Li's astonishment, that very handle which he had been completely unable to budge was slowly pulled out under the force of the general's single hand. "This door is custom-made. Without the strength of an eighth-rank expert, you can't pull it open." The general pulled outward slowly while exerting force. Judging by his relaxed demeanor, if Zhao Li hadn't just tried pulling it for a long time without success, he wouldn't have dared to believe the general was such an expert.

Benefiting from the cultivation of ancient martial arts, high-ranking officers in the military also possessed formidable strength, especially those officers who had fought their way up from the ranks. This was also the first time Zhao Li realized that General Lucas, who usually looked like an old codger on the outside, was actually an unfathomable expert.

It seemed that none of the guys who managed to climb to high positions were mediocre. This was the first warning Zhao Li gave himself in his heart when seeing this scene unfold before his eyes. Thinking that he had accomplished so many things previously and even casually dealt with a few fake experts had made him a bit arrogant and ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. Now it seemed he was still far, far away.

The general pulled the handle and the attached door behind it outward by more than a meter, revealing a doorway wide enough for a person to walk through normally. The general did not seem the least bit surprised by his ability to easily open this door, acting as though it were only natural. With an unchanged expression and a relaxed demeanor, he took the lead and walked inside.

Zhao Li could only obediently follow him in, wondering what kind of surprises were still hidden behind this door. To be honest, up until now, Zhao Li had been repeatedly shocked several times and had yet to calm down. At least he had visited this underground base many times, and had even studied the blueprints of the underground base several times to see how to arrange modifications, yet he had never known that such a mechanism existed here, let alone that it seemingly hid a monumental secret.

The scene inside the door became crystal clear after the general turned on the lights. At that moment, Zhao Li was struck as if by a massive pleasant surprise, standing frozen in place, dumbfounded and slack-jawed. The sight before his eyes was simply indescribable.

It was a top-secret warehouse, roughly the size of a basketball court, supported by solid pillars every few meters. What stunned Zhao Li was not just the existence of this secret space, but the things placed within it.

Weaponry. Looking out across the entire expanse, aside from firearms and weaponry, there was ammunition, filling the entire space to the brim. Except for leaving narrow paths for people to walk on, almost everywhere else was stacked with ordnance. Of course, besides these, there were also other kinds of equipment; at a single glance, it was a gigantic combat readiness warehouse.

What surprised Zhao Li even more was that more than half of the weapons here were current standard-issue equipment for special operations soldiers, while the rest were standard-issue gear for regular soldiers. Judging from the shimmering light on them, this batch of weapons had been very well preserved.

Magnetic oscillation blades, particle cannons, and even something that looked like the legendary laser kinetic energy cannon—a device capable of destroying a small warship with a single shot. Was this the sort of thing that should belong in a military camp in a marginal region?

"Clatter." The general had already reached out and grabbed a rifle from the weapon rack beside him, pulling back the bolt. He inspected it carefully and nodded. "Maintained pretty well." With that, he handed it to Zhao Li while reaching out to grab another one for himself.

Zhao Li took it blankly, instinctively inspecting it, and then caught General Lucas's somewhat meaningful gaze. Not knowing what it meant, Zhao Li looked at these weapons: "General, what's the story with these weapons?"

"Just in case, and a supply depot specially built for certain personnel executing classified missions." The general placed the firearm he was holding back onto its original rack and answered casually.

The "96 New" Plan.

Needless to say, this must have been planned when the base was constructed. Such installations, given the surrounding environment here, could never have been built afterward. One had to admit that although the government forces faced many restrictions on this marginal planet, secretly, they still possessed all sorts of contingency measures.

Moreover, judging by the general's implications just now, special operations personnel would occasionally come here to execute missions. Come to think of it, the government could not possibly allow the situation here to develop completely unchecked; certain restrictions would certainly be enforced. It was simply that these activities could not be carried out openly and had to be done on the sly. One could imagine that those personnel executing missions would be psychologically prepared beforehand; once a mission failed, the military would deny everything.

Originally, he had felt a slight regret when the general said no weaponry had been brought, but now, Zhao Li lost that sentiment entirely. The general had already handed the password card and passwords over to him; the only issue was that he seemed incapable of opening this classified warehouse all by himself.

Closing the warehouse wasn't all that cumbersome. Walking out of the warehouse and inserting the password card back into the original interface caused everything to instantly revert to its original state—not only was it fast, but it was completely silent.

"These are handed over to you. You can mobilize the ammunition within them if needed," the general instructed Zhao Li as he turned and walked out of the dormitory. "Personally, though, I still hope you won't ever have to use them."

In reality, having gotten over the initial shock, Zhao Li was deeply attracted by the high-tech equipment prepared here. To be frank, if the prices of those equipment were truly calculated, they would be roughly equivalent to the value of the amethysts in those two boxes. Never had he expected their usage rights to be handed over to him so simply—this was an unexpected surprise.

The two metal boxes had been relocked and were carried by several of the general's bodyguards onto the general's warship. At this moment, everyone, including Zhao Li, stood in formation to listen to the general's speech once more.

Regarding the appearance of the base both inside and out, the general expressed his views. To be fair, leaving aside those amethysts, the general was extremely satisfied with Zhao Li's performance since coming here. Across the entire marginal planet, there were only three military camps that could still maintain regular drills, and this place was considered one of them.

The demeanor displayed by the soldiers in the base made the general even more satisfied. After offering continuous praise, the general finally boarded the warship for his return journey. Naturally, those two boxes of amethysts were not left behind.

Zhao Li noticed that among the general's entourage, there were two fellows whose strength was visibly inferior, with cameras pinned to their heads. They were clearly military journalists. It seemed that this act of concealment was realistic enough this time, even bringing journalists along. Upon returning, writing a report would further solidify the reality of the general's inspection here.

However, what made Zhao Li somewhat angry was what General Lucas had reminded him of in the secret armory. Would drug dealers use amethysts for transactions? If they weren't drug dealers, who on earth were those two groups of people? What kind of transaction would use amethysts?

Go find Kang Hongyuan in a fury? Zhao Li wasn't that foolish. Although he had already been utilized by him, Zhao Li believed that this fellow surely had another set of explanatory rhetoric, and furthermore, he could be certain that if he went to find him, he would be talked into submission without a single loophole being found. Rather than letting him feel smug, it was better not to ask. He would just keep this doubt buried in his heart and investigate it slowly later on.

Zhao Li was doing some introspection: had his series of changes since arriving at Golden Five Stars already deviated from his goals? Or perhaps his ambitions?

Although amethysts worth two billion would certainly make the higher-ups look at him differently, this kind of method was definitely unorthodox. So, what was the purpose of the information provided by old man Kang?

Carefully pondering his recent actions, Zhao Li broke out in a cold sweat. What was he doing? Having just come out of prison and been assigned here, was he already thinking about climbing upward by utilizing the resources of certain underground factions?

No, absolutely not! Zhao Li warned himself thusly. Although these forces were easy to grasp, what about after grasping them? Would he become some sort of underground faction figure for the rest of his life?

Zhao Li had always envied the old warden's detached status. Aside from this word, there was no other term that could describe it. It looked like a position that had stepped away from the center of power, yet still held a deterrent force in its hands that made many people fearful. Zhao Li's temporary goal was to become like the old warden.

If he wanted to become that kind of person, at least his own cultivation had to pass muster. Otherwise, if he casually ran into some accident, he might just get eliminated—something no one was willing to face.

General Lucas's "inspection" trip had also fundamentally resolved the trouble Zhao Li had been facing recently regarding the drastically altered appearance of the military camp. The base's training had basically entered a regular routine.

The military ruffians seemed to have a target now, especially when Zhao Li announced that in the near future, he would purchase massive war insurance policies for soldiers who performed exceptionally well. That enthusiasm for training immediately reached a peak, and even Zhao Li was infected by such enthusiasm. Ever since he was injured and his basic body-refining technique reached the realm of seven-nine cycles, he had made no further breakthroughs. What satisfied Zhao Li was that he could now clearly control the true qi of the basic body-refining technique to complete the seven-nine cycle exercises, rather than sinking into that state of meditative trance. Such a change allowed Zhao Li to clearly perceive the process of his own cultivation.

Aside from being able to fend off attacks targeting the chest and abdomen at critical moments, and stimulating the recovery of body tissues and meridians more effectively when healing, there was another point: it seemed to possess unique advantages in terms of recovering physical strength and fatigue. Beyond these, Zhao Li had no way of knowing what other uses the true qi of the basic body-refining technique might have.

The nameless true qi still maintained that rate of progress. The true qi generated through cultivation every day was not wasted at all; almost eighty percent of it was compressed and refined by the basic body-refining technique. It only left him with twenty percent of similarly compressed true qi—though lacking that degree of density—to be mobilized by the nameless mental technique.

According to Zhao Li's own estimation, considering both quality and quantity, his current true qi could at best reach the standard of the fifth rank. If he wanted to break through the bottleneck of the fifth rank, it seemed a certain degree of effort was still required.

Thinking of cultivation grades, Zhao Li couldn't help but think of Li Xiuyuan, who had already entered the genius academy and maintained a close relationship with Major Michael. This former recruit comrade-in-arms still seemed to harbor hatred toward him, constantly wanting to teach him a lesson and wash away his past humiliation. However, judging by the current situation, he shouldn't have any opportunities anytime soon. Although the marginal planet was chaotic, as military personnel, they couldn't just come and go as they pleased.

Since there were no quick-fix silver bullets for true qi cultivation, he could only brainstorm solutions through other avenues. For a long time, when Zhao Li was trained by those perverted instructors in the maximum-security prison, a large portion of the items could not be carried out due to limited training grounds, and what Zhao Li mastered was at most just armchair theorizing.

Especially subjects related to field combat, orienteering, and survival training—there was even less possibility of practicing them in prison. Now, however, it was an exceptional opportunity to find time to turn his theoretical knowledge into practically mastered skills.

Christine and Li Mengdie were not very supportive of Zhao Li's whimsical ideas. Although the training methods of regular military special forces could also forge a batch of special forces soldiers with outstanding skills and formidable strength, by comparison, the methods of the genius academy were much more capable of mass-producing powerhouses efficiently.

To this, Zhao Li was not repulsed; instead, he humbly sought guidance. The two women did not hold back either. Aside from the fact that Christine's certain expressions in face-to-face situations would cause Zhao Li to lose his composure somewhat, the rest of the guidance they offered Zhao Li was very enthusiastic.

One point was easy to understand: after all, every student's cultivation speed at the genius academy was much higher than that of ordinary people. Therefore, changing methods, adapting to local conditions, and teaching students in accordance with their aptitude were the most correct approaches—especially when cultivating those techniques that could rapidly enhance strength in a short time. With wholehearted dedication, very few people would turn out mediocre.

This was the first time Zhao Li listened in detail to Li Mengdie and Christine respectively recounting the cultivation methods of the combat and non-combat departments, and he listened very attentively.

"The foundational groundwork techniques were only practiced for half a year?" Zhao Li couldn't help raising an objection. Back then, he alone had spent nearly three and a half years practicing the basic body-refining technique in exchange for an extremely solid foundation; why was the genius academy so short-sighted instead?

"Our cadets have an average cultivation speed of 1.8!" Even when giving lectures to Zhao Li, Li Mengdie always maintained an icy expression, likely having long since grown accustomed to it. "Moreover, what we cultivate is not the basic body-refining technique, but a higher-tier groundwork technique with an efficiency three times that of the basic body-refining technique. Taken together, half a year of groundwork is at least equivalent to two and a half years of cultivation for an ordinary person. I suppose this isn't a problem."

Zhao Li held back and didn't answer, and in truth, he had no way to refute it. Although Zhao Li felt that his long period of practicing the basic body-refining technique had paid off, compared with the genius academy's experience of over a hundred years, his own haphazard groping was definitely deficient; he could certainly never win an argument over this with the genius academy. Furthermore, he didn't want to reveal his own physical condition to the two women.

Next, Zhao Li gained a further understanding of the genius academy's cultivation methods. Everyone underwent detailed testing to determine their own cultivation direction, and then appropriate techniques were cultivated based on each person's attributes.

These techniques were all cultivation techniques of senior experts collected from among the populace. Because their cultivation requirements were relatively high and they were unsuitable for ordinary people to practice, they could not be popularized. But for the cadets of the genius academy, they were excellent test subjects.

"Has anyone suffered injuries or disabilities due to problems with their cultivation?" Hearing this, Zhao Li once again sparked a bit of interest in this life of being a lab rat.

"Yes, but the probability is very low. Out of a hundred people, maybe two to three might encounter this problem." Li Mengdie's answer did not alter her tone in the slightest because of the nature of the question; it remained just as calm. "However, since it's exploration, sacrifice is inevitable. From the very first day each person enters the genius academy, they understand this principle."

Not only did they have to act as test subjects, but they also risked injury, disability, or even death due to failed cultivation. Zhao Li couldn't help muttering inwardly: "Good thing I didn't choose the genius academy back then." Regarding his past decision to die rather than be a lab rat, Zhao Li congratulated himself to the highest degree.

The genius academy's method involved determining matching attributes to cultivate matching techniques, which, combined with the cadets' inherently higher cultivation speeds compared to ordinary people, made it possible to forge experts in a short span of time.

"How do you guys break through the bottleneck of the eighth rank?" This was what Zhao Li cared about more; he was also facing a similar bottleneck, though it was the sixth rank rather than the eighth. But at a time like this, Zhao Li didn't want to tell the truth, fearing the two women would laugh at him.

"Combat department cadets, aside from daily cultivation, also have to undergo regular combat sparring training organized by instructors." Li Mengdie suspected nothing and didn't laugh at Zhao Li for hiding the truth, answering normally. "Every time, there are always three to five instructors attacking simultaneously. Under such circumstances, it's very easy to discover one's own weaknesses. Moreover, specialized personnel study each person's physical characteristics to formulate the most suitable conditioning plan, and at the appropriate time, they will pool the strength of several senior instructors to create opportunities for cadets to break through bottlenecks."

From this perspective, even Zhao Li couldn't help drooling with envy. Such extravagant training and cultivation methods simply could not be implemented on a large scale within the regular military, let alone among the general populace.

It required the concentrated efforts of countless people to forge a single genius expert. No wonder those military personnel felt dissatisfied with people from the genius academy; occasionally, discordant remarks would pop up. Now it seemed it wasn't necessarily hostility—Zhao Li figured jealousy was more likely. Calculated by this method, the resources consumed to graduate a single genius student could almost fund a special operations squad for ten years.

What Zhao Li urgently needed was to formulate a training plan for himself that could rapidly enhance his strength in a short time. The confrontation with three eighth-rank experts had let Zhao Li know his strengths, as well as his weaknesses.

The nameless true qi truly lived up to being something brought out by the old warden. Even with Zhao Li's current level of cultivation, he could sustain the attack characteristics of the nameless true qi and the Bone-Splitting and Tendon-Dislocating Hands during brief assaults. Even if the opponent was an eighth-rank expert, it had a temporary effect. The main gap was still his own insufficient cultivation. Still, being able to match an eighth-rank expert using a fifth-rank cultivation grade and pull off something like that was already quite remarkable, right?

The conditions here could not compare to those of the genius academy, so the methods provided by those perverted instructors seemed more suitable. Seeing that everything in the military camp had begun to operate according to plan, Zhao Li finally presented his training plan to the two women.

With no other choice, even Christine had broken through recently while Zhao Li, the commanding officer, showed no changes whatsoever—it truly made him feel rather guilty.

Becoming an expert might not necessarily mean seizing power, but even Lucas possessed that kind of strength, which also indicated that in the military, failing to become an expert meant being discarded!