Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“It’s finally dead. It’s finally dead…” In an underground base, an old general kept muttering to himself as he watched the scene unfold on a grimy screen.
Vengeance was finally his, but all he felt was a deep sense of loss.
He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. Finally, he let out a long sigh.
As he stood up, he started removing his military garb, piece by piece, before laying it neatly on the table in front of him.
After a moment of silence, he bowed deeply to his garments.
As he strode out of the room, there was already a group of people waiting silently for him.
“General.” A soldier to his left had an apologetic look on his face.”I hope you can understand.”
He nodded, a calm expression on his face. He had been preparing for this moment ever since he had given the order.
After a momentary pause, he said, “Please help me apologize to Yang Lin and the other heroes who conquered the desert. I owe it to them.”
“Roger that.”
“When I was younger, I had it all. Now, I’m left with nothing and no one. Maybe this is fate,” the old general mused sadly.
…
Already, crowds of people were surrounding the corpse of the Nuclear Ruler.
Most of them were apprehensively sizing up the corpse, trying to decide if it was safe to approach. Such was its presence that even in death, it struck a healthy amount of fear into those around it. As though fearing that the Nuclear Ruler was only taking a nap and could wake up at any moment, only a few brave souls actually stepped up to it.
“We had an agreement. I was supposed to have first rights of selection when it came to the spoils of war. You’re all the same. Lying, dishonest scoundrels who have no regard for the law at all.” Gao Peng shook his head disapprovingly. He threw himself onto the Nuclear Ruler and refused to let go.
The military representative didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Taking down the Nuclear Ruler had been a collaborative effort, after all.
“How about this? I have three Lord-tier familiars here, and you have one. That’s a three to one ratio. Let’s split the loot that way. I’ll take seventy-five percent, and the rest is yours. What do you think?” Gao Peng said rather magnanimously as he made a sweeping gesture with his arm.
Gao Peng could tell that the military representative was still uneasy. Winking at him, Gao Peng said, “I know what you people plan on doing with this corpse. You’re trying to figure out a way to revive it and harness the nuclear technology, right?”
The military representative paled. How had he known?
“Yes. The Chang’an military has numerous state-of the-art research facilities, as well as five high-level monster breeders working for us. We’re willing to share those resources with the Southern Sky Group and work on this together.” An olive branch was extended.
Honestly, Gao Peng didn’t really care much for the Nuclear Ruler’s corpse. It was too much effort for too little return. However, Gao Peng was just about to turn down the offer when he hesitated. Just because he knew about the Nuclear Ruler’s potential (or lack thereof) didn’t mean that other people did. One on one, not a single one of their familiars could take the Nuclear Ruler on.
Such immense power could be dangerous.
Ever since the Cataclysm, it felt as though human technology had hit a dead end. They could only turn to their familiars. The presence of the Nuclear Ruler could lead some of the more conservative into thinking that human technology wasn’t entire obsolete, that it was a still a viable option.
If he really insisted on taking the Nuclear Ruler’s corpse back with him as his right, it would be missed by quite a number of people.
He made up his mind. “You can have the corpse, but I want a cut of whatever research you derive from it.”
The eyes of the military representatives lit up with joy, as hard as they tried to hide it. Trying to look as reluctant as possible, one of them sighed. “You should know this… but we don’t really have the authority to promise you that right now.”
Another representative chimed in, “We’ll definitely try our best to get you those terms. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” The rep chuckled lightly.
Enough with the good cop, bad cop routine already! Gao Peng thought to himself. It might have worked on someone else, but not on his strengthened sixth sense.
“I do have two additional requests. If you agree to them, you can take this mid-level, Perfect-grade, Lord-tier creature away this very instant.”
“Name your terms.”
“I want the Nuclear Ruler’s core crystal. I’m also aware that you have two Flesh-Enhancing Tablets in your possession. I want one.”
Their expressions turned ugly. The core crystal alone held half the value of the entire creature. It wasn’t simply the concentrated essence of the creature. There was something else, something mysterious in there that was still beyond the comprehension of human technology. However, the fact that familiars could gain levels and grades by consuming other core crystals left no doubt as to their market value.
The Flesh Enhancing Tablet was a tool that could enhance the latent nutritional values of monster flesh to incredible levels… It was extremely valuable and belonged to a highly-ranked lab manager in the military.
“I’m only asking for one. That’s a fairly reasonable item to ask for in return for this magnificent corpse, no?” Gao Peng grinned widely.
The reps laughed bitterly. This gentleman had probably had his eye on these items the entire time. The corpse had merely been bait to reel them in.
In the end, they agreed to his terms. After collecting the two items, Gao Peng left for Yuzhou without much fanfare.
Gao Peng fiddled idly with the tablet, a foot-long slab of solid rock.
So, this was the Flesh Enhancing Tablet.
How had they gotten their hands on this item? If it hadn’t been for his conversation with Chen Xuehe, he would never have thought to search for such a priceless treasure in the military.
At first, he sent some men to negotiate with the Chang’an military, but they were soundly rejected, the reason being that the military didn’t actually own it. It was a personal item belonging to a high-level monster breeder working for the Chang’an military.
For the right to research the Nuclear Ruler’s corpse, that person had been willing to offer up this tablet.
Gao Peng put a piece of fresh meat on the the tablet. Instantly, the grayish tablet started absorbing the blood from the meat. As the blood slowly seeped into the stone tablet, the color of it slowly turned a pale red.
Something viscous started dripping out of the tablet. It was bloody and had the consistency of minced meat. Was this the processed meat?
The slab of meat he put on the tablet was the size of his palm, but after the process, he was left with a sliver of meat only the size of his thumbnail.
The moment he popped it into his mouth, his taste buds were overwhelmed by what tasted like the distilled essence of meat. The taste was incredibly powerful without being overly gamey. In fact, it had a refreshing hint of sweetness to it that Gao Peng quite enjoyed.
As he felt the meat gently settling into his belly, a surge of warmth suffused him that made him curl his toes in contentment.
“Finally, I have what I need to evolve the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture.” Gently stroking the tablet, he left the airport.
