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Star Association, in the dorms.
Zhou Chen was looking through the list of Forbidden Objects.
[D-003 · Drink More Hot Water: A seemingly ordinary water cup. No matter what liquid is placed inside, after covering the opening for three seconds, the liquid will transform into clean, drinkable water—and it will be hot.
Note: Drink more hot water, my dear friend.]
[D-012 · Stainless Steel Lighter: Windproof and waterproof, it can be lit even underwater. In one experint, it burned continuously for thirty-five days before going out. It can be relit twenty-four hours after being extinguished.
Note: An essential item for ho and travel.]
[D-074 · The Unbreakable Rope: As the na suggests, it is difficult to untie once bound. The more one struggles, the tighter it becos. Suitable for those skilled in special rope-tying techniques. Perhaps it could even enhance certain pleasures?
Note: Why can’t it automatically tie a Turtle Shell Binding?]
[D-145 · Fisherman’s Fishing Rod: When fishing with this rod, you can catch anything except for fish. Note: The Forbidden Object’s effect is nullified if the hook is visible.
Note 1: I often suspect this isn’t a Forbidden Object. As everyone knows, fishern can catch anything but fish.
Note 2: Okay, it definitely is a Forbidden Object. Even the most skilled fishern will co up empty-handed with it.]
[D-416 · Sleepyhead Pillow: After resting on this pillow, one will only want to get up after a full eight hours of sleep. If the rest ti is insufficient, even soone with superhuman willpower will want to keep sleeping. The pillow has the ability to quickly restore Physical Strength and energy.
Note: A healthy eight hours of sleep!]
[D-417 · Sleepyhead Comforter: Sa effect as D-416. Lying under it provides the most comfortable sleeping environnt, rapidly restoring Physical Strength and energy. The effect is more significant when used in conjunction with D-416.
Note: The comforter has sealed away!]
[...]
Zhou Chen couldn’t help but scratch his head. He had scrolled through the entire docunt, but out of nearly a hundred D-Level Forbidden Objects, not a single one was suitable for him.
Most Forbidden Objects classified as D-Level lacked any real offensive power. They were generally auxiliary artifacts with strange abilities. He, however, needed a Forbidden Object that could provide a significant advantage in combat, so none of these t his requirents.
Fortunately, the list also contained a small number of C-Level Forbidden Objects. After spending a long ti searching, comparing, and agonizing over his choices, Zhou Chen finally selected two C-Level Forbidden Objects with consecutive serial numbers, preparing for the classic choice between two appealing options.
[C-093·Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle: A brass whistle. When blown, it emits a sharp sound that shocks the Soul. All living beings who hear it, except for the blower, will experience a certain degree of dizziness.
Note: It’s best not to blow it.]
[C-094 · Screaming Chicken: A classic stress-relief toy. After fusing with Extraordinary Essence, its scream beca a weapon of mass destruction. Once squeezed, the scream attacks friend and foe alike.
Note: Dammit, this thing ruptured my eardrums! I’m going to eat ten family buckets to get my revenge!]
Zhou Chen looked at the descriptions of the two Forbidden Objects and quickly made his decision.
He chose C-093·Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle.
Comparatively, the Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle was easy to carry, and the user wouldn’t be affected by it. Unlike the Screaming Chicken, which could be accidentally triggered in his pocket—its scream was, after all, indiscriminate.
「An hour later.」
Zhou Chen was summoned to Jiang Che’s office. As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw a small tal box on the desk. If he wasn’t mistaken, the C-093 Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle was inside.
He opened the box, and sure enough, a brass-colored whistle lay inside, reeking of disinfectant. The Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle was a Forbidden Object that could be used without containnt and had no side effects.
After contentedly putting away the Copper Whistle, Zhou Chen asked, "How’s the investigation going?"
"We’ve caught a lot of smugglers. A few of them have secret ties to the Eternal Fire, but we haven’t been able to interrogate anything useful out of them."
Jiang Che took a sip of coffee and said, "The Eternal Fire deliberately exposed the smugglers’ movents. They probably want to use us to get rid of Fu Qing first. Then, when everyone is too busy to notice, they’ll fish in troubled waters.
"Honestly, if we were to make a move now, the intelligence we have is enough to deal a severe blow to the Eternal Fire in the Jinzhu Region, maybe even root them out completely. But I think it’s safer to wait until their festival. ’Cyan Whale’ and a group of other Deacon Level cultists will be participating then. We can catch them all in one fell swoop."
Zhou Chen thought for a mont. "Do we have enough manpower to move against both the Eternal Fire and Fu Qing at the sa ti?"
"Don’t worry. A single operation order will solve that," Jiang Che said calmly.
The Jinzhu Star Association has limited manpower, so a large-scale operation like this would definitely require support from above. As the behemoth organization that controls the workings of the World, the Star Association has five elite legions. Sending just a few elite squads to cooperate with the Jinzhu Star Association would be enough to complete the mission easily.
The only thing they lacked was the opportunity to wipe them all out at once.
That’s why it was so crucial for Zhou Chen to infiltrate the Eternal Fire’s festival.
·
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「The next morning.」
Zhou Chen left the Library and went to the Alchemy Laboratory.
He used the Alchemy Equipnt to try and fuse "Alloy No. 3." After several failures, he successfully fused it. Once he could skillfully fuse the tal using the equipnt, he began to try crafting it by hand.
Failure, failure, failure, failure, failure...
After failing more than twenty tis and using up over twenty Trial Version Conversion Arrays, Zhou Chen, his heart aching at the cost, crafted Alloy No. 3 by hand for the "first" ti. Then ca more failure, failure, failure...
Amidst constant failure, his success rate grew higher and higher. By evening, he could already skillfully fuse Alloy No. 3.
He then excitedly told Jiang Che about this and applied to have the Official Conversion Array implanted.
Through a series of flawless performances and preparations, he successfully convinced Jiang Che that he had managed to craft Alloy No. 3 by hand thanks to a sudden flash of inspiration.
Then, as expected, he was approved for the implantation of the Official Conversion Array. As a Star Association Operator, he didn’t need to go to the Alchemy Association; the Star Association’s own Alchemy Departnt could perform the minor surgery to implant the Transformation Array.
Painless, convenient, and done in twenty minutes.
When Zhou Chen ca out of the Alchemy Departnt, he felt a Matrix inside his Soul, one he could use as freely as an Essence Materialized Forbidden Object.
Before he could continue to bask in his joy, a ssage ca from Birdman on the dark web.
[Tomorrow night at ten, Blue Diamond Manor. Rember to be discreet. Don’t leave any traces.]
’It’s finally ti... Blue Diamond Manor. So that’s where the festival will be held...’ Zhou Chen let out a breath. After replying with an "Okay," he rushed to Jiang Che’s office.
"Blue Diamond Manor... Found it. The owner of the manor is a long-retired entrepreneur. He lives in North Arica year-round, and the manor was left to his son to live in and manage."
Jiang Che looked through the information in the database. "His son is a notorious Playboy who probably joined the Eternal Fire a long ti ago... Here are the blueprints for the manor. Take a look. There will definitely be a Folding Space inside, but you should at least familiarize yourself with the layout."
Zhou Chen nodded, morizing every detail of the manor’s layout.
The ti that followed was spent drafting an operation plan and making intense preparations.
Because sothing big was coming.
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