Chapter 011
Chapter 11: The Hundred-Person Team
Wang Jie took a deep breath, his lips curling into a smile. “Now this is something else… doing exercises to heal. Why bother with cataclysm materials then?”
The injuries he had sustained were severe enough that even the legendary Hibiscus Tears only had a two in ten chance of healing them, yet after performing some simple exercises, he could already feel his body recovering. What would happen if he continued?
He chuckled inwardly. “Not stopping now.”
Though the exercises were torturous, they were effective. The only problem was not knowing when the next set of exercises would be required. If it happened during a fight, wouldn’t that just make him look crazy?
…
In the vast reaches of the starry sky, a handsome, domineering young man stood, deep in thought, gazing at a golden battle suit that lacked wristguards.
…
It was already late into the night, yet Wang Jie felt particularly alert. Perhaps the exercises were to thank for that.
He took out two cataclysm materials, both of which had been confirmed by the Four-Eyes Doctor as ineffective for healing injuries. Instead, he decided to absorb the imprint power within them for recovery.
Wang Jie had already used very little of his imprint power. If it weren’t for the constant battles, absorbing the free-floating imprint energy in the air would have been enough to replenish what he used. But with all the fighting recently, his reserves had been drained considerably.
He watched as the cataclysm materials slowly turned into ordinary materials and then crushed them without leaving a trace.
Since sleep was out of the question, he decided to go retrieve the egg.
Leaving Building 17, he made his way outside the base.
Golden Hill Base had implemented a curfew, and in these apocalyptic times, it wasn’t just mutated plants and beasts they had to fear; even petty criminals could strike at any moment. But Wang Jie knew the base like the back of his hand, and he didn’t need to scale any walls to get out.
Back and forth, by the time he brought the mutated eagle egg to Building 18, the first light of dawn was creeping across the eastern sky.
The Four-Eyes Doctor, looking much like Uncle Luo Po, took the mutated eagle egg with visible excitement. “This heartbeat, this feeling—this is definitely the mutated eagle’s egg. You actually brought it back.”
“I can feel it,” Wang Jie said. “This can heal your injuries.”
Wang Jie shook his head. “No, I need you to use this egg to heal brain injuries—the kind that leave someone in a coma. Do you think that’s possible?”
Four-Eyes was confused. “Who’s worth that much to you? Aside from Old Five and Old Nine, is there anyone else you want to heal?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
The Four-Eyes Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Kid, let me remind you, you can only do what you want once you heal yourself.”
“I know. Don’t worry.”
Seeing that Wang Jie was determined, Four-Eyes didn’t argue. Instead, he grabbed a glass vial from his cluttered desk and tossed it to Wang Jie, who caught it.
“Give this to Old Five. Tell that kid to stop coughing and disturbing my sleep.”
Wang Jie suppressed his excitement. “Thank you.” He turned and left.
Back at Building 17, he pulled Old Five out of bed. Old Five, annoyed, was about to protest, but Wang Jie shoved the glass vial into his mouth. “Medicine. Drink.”
Old Five stared in disbelief. “This is how you help someone heal? It looks more like you’re forcing me.”
He begrudgingly swallowed it, and Wang Jie released him.
Cough, cough… Boss, you’re too rough. Can’t you be a little gentler? Be careful. I might choke to death before my injuries heal.
Wang Jie didn’t respond, merely watching.
Old Five patted his chest, taking a deep breath. “Not to be rude, Boss, but you really…” He froze mid-sentence. Suddenly, he felt as though his lungs were pierced by a thousand needles. He started coughing violently, and each cough brought up black blood—pitch black.
Wang Jie’s fist clenched slowly.
Old Five coughed for nearly a minute before he could breathe normally again. He was utterly drained.
“How do you feel?”
Old Five blinked, took a deep breath again, and then looked at Wang Jie. “I think it’s working.”
Wang Jie let out a breath of relief.
He had considered teaching Old Five the exercises, but it was impossible. The exercises required a special kind of energy flow to connect the body, or else the body would be torn apart.
“Rest now.” Wang Jie returned to his room.
Old Five watched his retreating back and smiled. “Thank you, Boss.” Then he turned to glance at Old Nine’s room, the door firmly closed.
The base sent out an announcement: they were forming a Hundred-Person Team to encircle and kill the moon plant.
The news sent waves through the entire Golden Hill Base. Everywhere, people were discussing it.
Wang Jie pushed Old Nine in a wheelchair through the yard.
“Hong Jian has tried to kill the moon plant more than once, but failed each time. This time, it seems he’s more determined. Looks like he’s confident,” Old Nine said.
Wang Jie furrowed his brow. “It might not be his decision.”
“What do you mean?”
Wang Jie explained what he had learned from Feng Yu, and Old Nine’s eyes widened. “Is that so? If that’s the case, maybe the goal of encircling the moon plant is to obtain cataclysm materials. After all, this moon plant is the most powerful mutated plant around Golden Hill Base.”
Wang Jie thought the same.
The arrival of Yan Si was bound to make Golden Hill Base unstable. Hong Jian could no longer make decisions on his own.
But, no matter what, killing the moon plant would still be a good thing.
“Kid, something’s going on.” The voice of Four-Eyes came through the wall. Since Building 17 and Building 18 were connected, he had been disturbed by Old Five’s coughing and couldn’t sleep.
“The northwest corner of the base. The sandpit.”
Wang Jie stepped out.
Avoiding the crowds, he headed toward the northwest corner of the base, the sandpit. Feng Yu?
At the sandpit, he saw Feng Yu. Behind her was a man who had draped a cloak over his face, but Wang Jie immediately recognized him as a trial taker—his posture and weapon were unmistakable. Blue Star had nothing like it.
Even the cloak couldn’t conceal the luxurious robe he wore beneath.
It gave off a strange, mismatched feeling.
“He’s not here yet?” The man threw the cloak aside in disgust and dusted off his hands.
Feng Yu bowed slightly. “He’ll be here soon. It’s a bit tricky to avoid the people at the base.”
“Tch. If it were up to me, I’d just kill them all. Avoiding them is pointless.” The man sounded displeased.
Feng Yu’s eyes flashed with disdain as she silently waited. Not long after, Yan Si arrived.
The man’s eyes lit up as he saw Yan Si. A smile spread across his face. “So it’s really you. We’re quite fated. We both entered the outer sect of the sect, did odd jobs together, and trained in the martial hall. Now, the first batch of eighty disciples will be spread across Blue Star. Who would have thought we’d meet here?”
Yan Si smiled as he walked forward. “I didn’t expect to run into you here at Golden Hill Base. How about it? You and I, brothers, can team up and surpass the others. If we break through before the second batch of trial disciples arrives, we might just survive.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” the man nodded.
From a distance, Wang Jie squinted. The first batch, second batch—there were more trial disciples than he had expected. To survive, it seemed that the second batch of trial disciples was far stronger than they were. Their collection of cataclysm materials was all for breaking through.
Before he could contemplate further, something unexpected happened.
Feng Yu attacked the man, a poisoned dart striking his body. In that moment, Yan Si struck as well.
The man fought back fiercely, but the poison in Feng Yu’s dart had already taken its toll. He couldn’t escape and died under the joint attack of Yan Si and Feng Yu.
Yan Si sneered and stepped on the corpse. “What a wretch. He thought he could team up with me?” He looked at Feng Yu. “You did well. What do you want?”
Feng Yu bowed respectfully. “I’m just happy to help my lord. I don’t dare ask for anything more.”
Yan Si laughed, stepping closer to Feng Yu and gently wrapping his arm around her waist. “Once this trial is over, I’ll take you back to Yan Country. The universe is far bigger than you can imagine. Blue Star is just a tiny corner.”
Feng Yu’s eyes sparkled as she gave a flirtatious smile. “Thank you, my lord.”
As Wang Jie watched Yan Si and Feng Yu leave, the man’s body was burned.
So, the Armor One Sect trials were even more brutal than he had imagined. He thought it was just a struggle between trial takers, mutated plants, beasts, and the people of Blue Star, but it turned out the competition between trial takers was far more vicious.
Thank goodness Four-Eyes had installed mechanical eyes around the base; otherwise, he would never have known.
Four-Eyes was particularly skilled in mechanics.
The entire Golden Hill Base hadn’t noticed a single mechanical eye.
The Hundred-Person Team recruitment was in full swing, with high rewards for those who joined. Many cultivators were participating, but many were also eliminated as they didn’t meet the qualifications.
Wang Jie had no intention of joining—there were just too many familiar faces.
As he exited the sandpit, he saw the list for the Hundred-Person Team being updated constantly. Among the names was one—Lian Fei.
The hunting team from the southern base had joined.
He wondered when they had arrived at the base. Had Hu Guan stopped pursuing them?
The deadline for joining the Hundred-Person Team was tomorrow. It seemed urgent.
There was one more thing stirring up the base: the Leading Pillar Group was coming.
The Leading Pillar Group was the largest consortium after the apocalypse, responsible for transporting supplies to the five major bases and several smaller ones. It was rumored that nearly half of the Three Gods and Five Extremes had received assistance from the Leading Pillar Group. The establishment of the five major bases also relied on their support.
Every few months, the Leading Pillar Group arrived, bringing much-needed supplies, and each arrival stirred up a frenzy in the base. The shortage of various goods led to a consumption spree. Those who smoked or drank had been waiting for this day, and even cigarettes they usually saved were suddenly in full use.
Wang Jie’s expression turned complex. The Leading Pillar Group, huh?
He didn’t notice that he was being watched from afar. By the time he sensed it, it was too late.
Standing between the clean zone and the wastewater area, Wang Jie didn’t hesitate—he made his way directly toward his home in the wastewater zone.
Someone was watching him.
Who?
Feng Yu? Zhao Clan? Or someone from the southern base?
Soon, he reached his place, closed the door, and peeked through the window gap. The foul smell in the air made it hard for him to breathe, and it was getting worse as the temperature rose.
Not long after, a group of people arrived, one of whom was Grey Claw.
From the Zhao Clan.
Wang Jie pretended not to notice as the knock came. He opened the door to see an elderly man, his gaze unsettling.
“Are you the Weed?”
“Yes.”
“Why did the Zhao Clan’s people all die?”
Wang Jie frowned. “We just happened to be stationed where the moon plant appeared.”
The man pushed past Wang Jie and looked inside, followed by several others, including Grey Claw.
Grey Claw gave Wang Jie a helpless look.
The man glanced around but found nothing. The foul odor only worsened his expression. He fixed his eyes on Wang Jie. “You’re a guide. How come you just happened to be stationed where the moon plant appeared?”
Wang Jie’s voice grew low. “The location of the moon plant is random. Even the base can’t control it. You don’t think I can predict it, do you?”
The man narrowed his eyes. “Maybe not.”
Wang Jie chuckled and pointed at Grey Claw. “If I had that kind of ability, would he still be alive?”
Grey Claw’s face turned pale as he recalled that desperate escape. He had barely made it out alive.
The man kept questioning Wang Jie, but Wang Jie only had one answer: he hadn’t paid attention. He didn’t notice how Young Master Zhao died or how Uncle Ling died.
The man’s face darkened as he saw no progress.
Another wave of stench hit him. Annoyed, he walked out of the house without looking back. “Take him and have him join the Hundred-Person Team to encircle the moon plant.”
Wang Jie’s expression changed. “I’m not going.”
The man left, muttering, “You don’t get a choice. Young Master died at the moon plant’s mouth. Why should you live? Go accompany him. And Grey Claw.”
Grey Claw looked like he had just seen a ghost.