This place was to the west of the Halma Forest and had been known for its high rate of ore production. Nearly eight hundred years ago, the mine here had been completely emptied, causing the Western Smoke Peak to be abandoned. Now, it was a place that no one visited.
After a dayâs journey, the Heavenly Might Army came to this place and started fires to begin cooking.
They had been on the run for many months, and it was their first time in a long time eating a full meal.
âI never would have expected Prince Su to resolve this issue that was giving us such a bad headache,â Li Chongshan sighed as he gazed at the scene of his soldiers cooking.
No one expected Su Chen to have so many rations on him. Su Chen had brought enough to feed eight thousand soldiers for a few months; that would require at least hundreds if not thousands of Origin Rings, and more importantly it would require money!
A ton of money!
âThankfully, Instructor let me handle the money we earned from the secret techniques. Thatâs the main reason I was able to do it; at its roots, Instructor was still the one who enabled it,â Su Chen replied.
Shi Kaihuang harrumphed. âYou donât need to push your contributions onto me. I was just too lazy to bother with these troublesome matters, which was why I handed it over to you. Money is totally useless to me, but in your hands itâs incredibly valuable.â
âPlease, you two, can you stop being modest with each other? No matter what, the Heavenly Might Army owes you a favor today. Brother Su, if thereâs anything you need, please just say the word. Even if I must face incredible danger, I wonât shrink back!â Cheng Tianhai said as he pounded his chest.
He had a direct personality and would speak his mind. In Cheng Tianhaiâs mind, since the other party had saved his life, then now his life belonged to the other party.
The logic of a soldier was simple and direct, and it was very common to observe in a military setting.
The other people involved were the same.
At this point, they no longer called Su Chen Prince but Brother. Everyone selectively ignored the fact that Shi Kaihuan was now a tier higher than them because of it.
Su Chen laughed. âItâs still too early to say things like this. Letâs wait until we get out of here.â
Li Chongshan understood the meaning behind Su Chenâs words. âBrother Su, you seem to mean that you have a plan for leaving here?â
âI do have a plan, but the timing is not right yet. We need to make some preparations,â Su Chen replied.
No matter what the escape plan was, it wasnât going to be easy to pull off.
Jun Moxieâs plan had necessitated the gathering of a large quantity of resources for his land boats, and Su Chenâs plan would also need similar amounts of preparations. Everyone was prepared for this already.
However, when Su Chen explained his plan, everyone was still blown away by Su Chenâs thought process.
After recovering from a momentary daze, Li Chongshan said, âJunior brother truly has an uncommon spirit. This plan isnât worse than Jun Moxieâs plan to sneak past the Origin Beast at all.â
âThereâs still some differences,â Jun Moxie said. âIf my plan failed, then the entire battalion would be wiped out. However, our junior brotherâs plan will prove to be a headache for the Ferocious Race regardless of whether it fails or not. In this aspect, junior brotherâs experience is above my own.â
âGeneral Jun, you praise me too highly. Iâve done what I should have done, so the details of the plan and how to execute it will depend on you. My mission here is done,â Su Chen said.
âSo what are you planning on doing next?â Chu Yingwan asked. From his tone, it seemed as if he was quitting his responsibilities.
âOf course Iâm going to continue my experiments,â Su Chen replied. âI got quite a few rare research subjects recently but havenât had time to experiment on them yet because I was chasing after you guys. Now, I can finally slack off a bit and let you guys work out the details. Iâm just going to focus on my experiments.â
What?
Even when the enemy was all around, you still had the heart to do experiments?
Everyone stared at Shi Kaihuang in shock, who nodded his head. âHe truly is that kind of person.â
Su Chen had already flown away in his Cloud-Piercing Shuttle â he had come here in a hurry, so Reina and the other Ferocious Race soldiers were still hidden in the cave.
They had gone hungry these past few days; hopefully none of them had starved to death.
Summer Blaze City was a small city near the western region of Long Sang Country.
At the center of a city was a wine tavern. Iron Cliff was sitting there, drinking his ale wine.
The sky today was a bit hazy, reflecting Iron Cliffâs slightly dark and distressed state of mind.
The huge amount of pressure was subconsciously affecting him and making him feel out of sorts.
Master had given him a complicated and difficult task!
He couldnât help smile bitterly when he thought of the mission Su Chen had given him. Are you sure youâre treating me like Iâm a Cliff Race servant? Your mission might not even be possible for a human!
Even so, having followed Su Chen until now, the most important thing Iron Cliff had learned was to not give up easily.
If he thought about it long enough, he would be able to find a way to resolve the problem.
If he couldnât think of a way to resolve the problem on his own, he would find someone to help him!
After parting with Su Chen at Swallow River City, Iron Cliff had thought repeatedly, believing that he had to figure out a way to complete the mission on his own. His hopes were too distant, however, so he had gone to find reinforcements without hesitating.
His reinforcements were obviously Cloud Leopard, Yue Longsha, Ji Hanyan, Jiang Xishui, Wang Doushan, etc.
Su Chen hadnât told him to ask his old classmates for help, but Iron Cliff knew that this was one of the resources Su Chen had left him.
He needed to use his resources smartly!
This was another thing Iron Cliff had learned from Su Chen.
A researcherâs foundational attribute was that they utilized the resources available to them as best as possible and waste as few resources as possible. Iron Cliff had picked this up through the countless experiments he had performed.
Half a month ago, he had contacted Yue Longsha, who then passed along the information to everyone â the Secret Task Force was responsible for gathering intelligence across the entire human territory, so they were extremely suited for this kind of work.
Today was the day they were supposed to meet up, but he didnât know who would show.
This was a test of a personâs heart. It was probably normal for people to be scared away by the danger and gravity of the situation, right? Iron Cliff thought to himself.
Just as he was thinking over these things, he heard the floorboards creak behind him.
He glanced in that direction and saw Yue Longsha appear within the the tower. She was still dressed in pure white robes, giving her a fairy-like aura.
âIt seems like Iâm the first one here,â Yue Longsha laughed.
âThat might not be true.â Another voice echoed throughout the tower before a figure appeared outside of the window and swung in, carrying a gourd of wine with him.
âOld Pi, youâre here too?â Yue Longsha yelled as her eyes lit up.
That person was obviously Pi Yuanhong.
Pi Yuanhong and the others had left the institute not too long after returning from the Goldwater Ruins Expedition. However, they had fought alongside each other before, so they had remained in contact.
Yue Longsha had called as many people as possible, trying to get as many helpers as she could. She notified everyone who had a pretty good relationship with Su Chen, but after so many years it was hard to say if they would be willing to help or not. As such, Yue Longsha had no grasp on what would happen.
Yue Longshaâs tightened heart began to relax when she saw Pi Yuanhong.
Pi Yuanhong chuckled, âSu Chen saved my life before. Now that heâs in trouble, how could I not come?â
âYouâre not the only life he saved.â Another voice came through the window, followed shortly afterwards by a figure who floated into the tower. It was a woman, a faint smile on her face.
âSister Qi!â
This time, both Yue Longsha and Pi Yuanhong cried out.
The person who had just arrived was in fact Qi Weiyan.