mynovelweb Chapter 55 Testing
Chapter 55 Testing
He Xi spent five days finally completing all fifty sets of armor.
As the last set of armor was taken off the testing platform, neatly stacked, and placed in a box in the corner of the cave, Zhao Chen was still carving the last batch of energy cores beside him. He used pure Yang True Fire to refine the ore into regular six-sided pillars, each with an energy capacity 30% higher than the workshop's mass-produced ones.
"Is that enough?" Zhao Chen asked.
He Xi nodded: "Fifty sets. Adding those we made before, that's enough to arm sixty people."
"Sixty people wouldn't be enough, would it?"
"We won't fight head-on." He Xi closed the box. "But at least we can ensure that more people who rush in come back alive."
Zhao Chen looked at her but didn't ask any further questions.
The news arrived on the fourth night. It was intelligence brought back by a female angel who had fled from the North—there were 300 troops stationed at Weapon Depot No. 3, commanded by a man named Valen, who possessed mid-second-generation strength. The depot contained standard armor and weapons sufficient to equip 2,000 men, and all of them were to be transported to Tiancheng Star in three days.
Keisha spread out the star map and pointed to the warehouse location: "Canyon terrain, with only one entrance, and defensive turrets on both sides of the cliff."
"A direct confrontation is definitely not going to work." Liang Bing lay down beside him, resting her chin on her hand. "There are only three hundred of them blocking the entrance; we don't have enough men to fill the gap."
"So we won't fight head-on." Keisha looked at Zhao Chen.
"Equipment for two thousand people," Zhao Chen said, looking at the markings on the star map. "It'll be enough for us for a long time."
"What are you planning to do?" Keisha asked.
"I can go underground," Zhao Chen said.
Keisha nodded.
"Let He Xi go with you," Keisha said.
He Xi sat by the engraving platform in the corner. Hearing this, she looked up, glanced at Keisha, and neither refused nor agreed.
"When?" Zhao Chen asked.
"Tomorrow night," Keisha said. "The transport team will arrive the day after tomorrow, and we have to take down the warehouse before then."
Liang Bing's eyes darted around, and she leaned close to Keisha's ear and whispered, "Sis, is it He Xi and her husband going again?"
Keisha glanced at her. "What would you do there?"
Liang Bing pursed her lips and immediately fell silent, but her gaze swept back and forth between Zhao Chen and He Xi twice.
---
The following night, Zhao Chen and He Xi set off from the camp.
The golden crow streaked across the night sky, leaving a thin golden trail before vanishing into the starry expanse. He Xi, her silver hair billowing in the air currents, was held close to Zhao Chen's waist. Unlike last time, she didn't cling to his arm; instead, she nestled quietly in his embrace, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
"We've arrived." Zhao Chen hovered high in the air, his sharp eyes scanning the canyon below.
He Xi took out a detector from his waist and scanned the data: "The detector has a coverage radius of 500 meters, but there is a blind spot directly above it, about 300 meters in diameter. Land in the blind spot and then approach on foot."
Zhao Chen didn't speak again, and with He Xi in his arms, they plummeted vertically from the sky. The wind howled sharply, and He Xi gently closed her eyes, her fingers tightly gripping Zhao Chen's clothes. The moment they hit the ground, Zhao Chen made almost no sound.
The rock platform was well-positioned, with the warehouse's back wall just thirty meters below. Zhao Chen pulled He Xi along, used earth magic, and the two silently sank into the rock strata.
Fifteen meters underground in the warehouse, a dense array of alloy frames were arranged in an interlocking pattern. Zhao Chen scanned the area with his senses, found a gap between the frames, and led He Xi through it, continuing upwards. After passing through another five meters, a thick metal base suddenly appeared above them.
Zhao Chen stopped and scanned the area above with his senses: "The warehouse is up there. There are two patrol teams, with a gap of about four minutes between each patrol."
Zhao Chen nodded and led her behind a row of armor racks.
The warehouse was enormous, even larger than the intelligence reports indicated. Neatly stacked armor stretched to the horizon, and longswords, spears, and other weapons on the racks gleamed coldly in the dim light. Dozens of crates filled with energy cores, piled in a corner, were enough to arm a small fleet.
There were few guards, only two patrol teams of six people each. Zhao Chen's divine sense covered the entire warehouse, and he would detect anyone who approached in advance.
He Xi crouched behind the armor racks, watching Zhao Chen begin his operation. With each wave of his right hand, rows of armor racks, weapon racks, and energy core boxes would vanish in droves.
About three minutes later, the warehouse was completely emptied.
"Let's go, let's blow up the spaceship." Zhao Chen pulled He Xi along, and used his earth magic again.
The two emerged from the underground warehouse and circled around to the direction of the canyon entrance. Three spaceships were parked on the open ground, with a dozen guards patrolling nearby.
Zhao Chen reached out and took the three homemade explosive packs that He Xi had taken from her waist. He silently cast an invisibility spell and they disappeared into thin air.
About two minutes later, Zhao Chen returned to He Xi's side: "All done."
The two immediately retraced their steps and returned to the rocky platform. Zhao Chen picked up He Xi, and the Golden Crow's escape light shot into the sky, hovering five thousand meters above the canyon.
Three minutes later, the patrol team in the canyon began their changing of the guard.
"Right now," Zhao Chen said.
He Xi suddenly pressed the detonator.
Three bursts of fire exploded simultaneously, sending spaceship debris flying everywhere. Alarms blared incessantly.
Warren rushed out of the barracks and led his men to the warehouse door. When the door opened, everyone was stunned.
empty.
"Block out the starry sky!" Valen roared.
Zhao Chen watched all this from high above, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Walk."
The Golden Crow's escape light was activated at full power, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the depths of the starry sky.
---
When Zhao Chen and He Xi returned to the camp, it was still dark.
Zhao Chen landed and walked to the center of the camp. With a wave of his right hand, the contents of his storage ring poured out, filling half of the camp.
Liang Bing was woken up by the noise, and her morning grumpiness instantly flared up. Who was it? Couldn't a person get some sleep in the middle of the night? But when she rubbed her eyes and saw the equipment, her sleepiness vanished instantly, and her eyes widened in disbelief: "Where did all these armors and longswords come from?"
"There are still 120 boxes of energy cores," Zhao Chen added.
Liang Bing collapsed onto a pile of armor, turning back to shout at Keisha, "Sister! We're rich!"
Keisha stared at the pile of supplies, paused for a moment without saying anything, nodded at Zhao Chen, and then turned to count them.
Liang Bing jumped down from the pile of armor, approached Zhao Chen, and deliberately lowered her voice: "Brother-in-law, can I ask you something?"
"explain."
"Every time you're alone with Sister Hexi, she keeps a huge distance from you when you come back—did you do something to her?"
Zhao Chen glanced at her.
Liang Bing chuckled: "Don't deny it, I can tell. The way you look at Sister He Xi is almost the same way you look at my sister. If you don't want me to tell my sister—"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Chen grabbed the back of her head and silenced her with a kiss.
Liang Bing froze instantly, her eyes wide open.
Zhao Chen kissed her forcefully, with an irresistible domineering touch. Liang Bing tried to push against his chest, but found she couldn't budge him at all; she opened her mouth to bite, but Zhao Chen grabbed her chin. It was an unknown amount of time before Zhao Chen released her. Liang Bing staggered back two steps, feeling her lips go numb, and her face flushed crimson.
"Are you crazy?!" she quickly lowered her voice, sounding both angry and anxious. "You—you actually kissed me?!"
Zhao Chen wiped his mouth, still somewhat unsatisfied: "Now you can't explain yourself. Go tell Keisha that I said you also seduced me. Who do you think she'll believe?"
Liang Bing trembled with rage at Zhao Chen: "You bastard!"
"Um."
Liang Bing stared intently at Zhao Chen, her chest heaving. She knew he was right—if she went to complain, who would Keisha believe? One was her own sister, and the other was her man. But the problem was, she couldn't produce any evidence to prove that Zhao Chen had initiated it. And… she had indeed been observing him and He Xi, hoping to use that to blackmail Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen looked at the changes in Liang Bing's expression and knew that she had figured it out.
"You're an accomplice now, so shut up or you won't escape either."
Liang Bing took a deep breath and tried to suppress her anger. She was a smart woman and knew that turning against him now would not do her any good.
"...Fine." Liang Bing said through gritted teeth, "But remember you owe me this."
"I don't owe you anything," Zhao Chen said shamelessly, then turned and left.
Liang Bing stood there, glaring fiercely at Zhao Chen's back. Then she reached out and touched her lips, which were numb from being kissed. She was both angry and annoyed, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Keisha then walked over and asked, "Why is your face so red?"
"It's hot," Liang Bing said.
Keisha gave her a puzzled look but didn't press the matter further.
---
In the royal palace on Tiancheng Star.
Hua Ye leaned back on the throne, listening to the guards' report.
Two thousand three hundred sets of equipment disappeared overnight, the transport ship was destroyed, but the warehouse foundation remained intact with no signs of intrusion.
Hua Ye sat up straight: "No signs of intrusion? The thing flew away on its own?"
The guard, sweat beading on his forehead, reported, "Commander Valen checked three times, and it's definitely not there."
Hua Ye remained silent for a moment.
"Sumali".
Sumari stepped out from the palace: "Your Majesty."
"Go to the Northern Frontier and find out exactly what it is," Hua Ye said.
Sumari nodded: "Yes."