Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Xu Ping, explain things clearly this time, so in case he achieves 50 cells, you won’t argue that it doesn’t count because he didn’t achieve it on the first try,” someone said, feeling it was unfair for Jiang Chen.
Xu Ping looked at the speaker in anger, but when he saw who it was, he managed to restrain himself instantly.
Jiang Chen looked over out of curiosity and saw a young man standing there who looked upright and resolute, seemingly a good person.
“As long as he can achieve 50 at once, he’ll win the bet!” said Xu Ping.
After a break, Jiang Chen made his second attempt.
Xu Ping opened the dark room again.
Unlike just before, although the bystanders were still waiting there and doing nothing after the start, most of them weren’t expecting to laugh at Jiang Chen anymore. Instead, they were interested in the process.
More people arrived. They were surprised after learning what was happening there and grew expectant.
Xu Ping, as an interested party, didn’t feel as calm as others. He was nervous, praying silently.
If Jiang Chen achieved one more cell each time, he would have 49 after his third try.
That would be enough to gain Jiang Chen fame, and he would lose.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. The lid opened again. Jiang Chen came back into people’s sights looking the same as he had earlier.
People looked towards the slot at almost the same time.
Like just before, the cells in the slot were illuminated one by one. The number reached more than 40 very quickly.
Xu Ping’s pupils dilated. When he realized that this wasn’t a good sign for him, there were already more than 50 illuminated cells.
And it wasn’t over. The cells didn’t stop lighting up until the number had reached more than 70.
“What a monster…”
The crowd looked towards Jiang Chen, feeling incredibly shocked, as did Xu Ping. He didn’t even have to go closer to count, since more than half of the cells were lit, and the situation was clear at a glance.
“It’s impossible. Something must have gone wrong!”
Then Xu Ping moved a dial and walked away from the dark room.
The crowd saw the dark room as if it had come alive. The ceiling was suddenly open so that they could see its interior, then the whole room was lifted up from the hulk. They could hear gears wheeling in its four darksteel walls.
Several minutes later, the walls started to move back and forth, and then they walled the space into a room again. The dark room went back down.
“Everything is fine. How could everything be fine…”
Seeing the dark room’s self-check report no errors, Xu Ping became desperate.
But still, he couldn’t believe it. He said, “There must be something wrong. I have to report this to my boss!”
“Xu Ping, don’t tarnish the reputation of the Flying Dragon Dynasty!” shouted the youngster who had spoken before unhappily.
As if a basin of cold water had been poured on him, Xu Ping suddenly became more clear-headed. He took Jiang Chen’s token unhappily and gave him 1,000 war merit points.
“Exchange them for some more herbs for me,” Jiang Chen asked him without taking the token back.
Xu Ping felt his heart ache, since he felt like Jiang Chen was wasting his money on purchasing the herbs. He didn’t want to stay there anymore, so he went away quickly.
“You still have one more chance. Don’t waste it. It’ll be a record if you achieve 100 cells,” the youngster said to Jiang Chen in an expectant tone after coming back up to him.
“I will.”
Jiang Chen went to where Xu Ping had reset the machine, intending to do just that.
“You don’t have to reset it. The results of each visit to the dark room by the same person can be accumulated. It counts if you achieve 100 after two consecutive entries,” said the youngster.
This was news to Jiang Chen. However, after a second thought, he still chose to reset the machine.
It would help him see his growth and improvement.
The youngster was surprised to see Jiang Chen not take his advice, but he didn’t get angry because of that. Instead, his eyes expressed approval.
Another 15 minutes passed, and Jiang Chen came out of the dark room. All of the 100 cells in the slot lit up.
Jiang Chen threw a look at the crowd, who had laughed at him. They were so petrified that they couldn’t even speak. He gave them a cold smile, then he nodded at the youngster who had spoken up for him. He took the herbs Xu Ping had brought and left.
“One hundred cells? Did he reset the machine? Did he?” Xu Ping shouted in a hoarse voice after seeing Jiang Chen’s third result. He found it incredible.
No one answered. All of the people present were muddle-headed.
Undoubtedly, the whole Third Legion soon heard about the dark room affair, and it caused many discussions and questions.
People tended to believe only what they were willing to believe. Those who hadn’t seen Jiang Chen reach the highest level of the dark room in three entries with their own eyes refused to believe it.
Although the witnesses guaranteed again and again that it was true, others still thought there must be another reason that he could have achieved it.
For example, maybe Jiang Chen’s fight doctrine level had been too low. In that case, it was feasible that he achieved 100 cells in the dark room following someone else’s instructions.
Some people even argued that this couldn’t just be a coincidence, that Jiang Chen had done it on purpose to gain fame.
Xu Ping was one of those who held this view. He claimed Jiang Chen had scammed him out of 1,000 war merit points!
It was said that Xu Ping was still trying to figure out how he could get the 1,000 points back.
However, Jiang Chen had given Xie Yan and Liu Yu a good beating on his first day here and achieved the highest level of the dark room on the second day. He had been a hot topic for two days in a row. The possibility that he had done these things to show off and gain fame couldn’t exactly be excluded.
But if it was really the case, he would have to pay the price two days after.
The news of the challenge letter that Zhang Tianyi had sent him spread all over the Third Legion.
People felt expectant that day. They were wondering how Jiang Chen would end up after making such a splash.
The members of the Red Flame Battalion felt uneasy. The soldiers had been senseless before, but at that moment, what they felt was fear.
After Jiang Chen’s return, Commander Wang Qiang came to his tent with some captains.
The captains minced their words. They wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to put it properly.
“What’s up?” Jiang Chen asked. He wanted to refine panaceas.
Finally gathering up the courage, a fine-featured energetic man said loudly, “We hope you can leave the Red Flame Battalion after you lose.”
“Yeah? Why is that?”
Jiang Chen came up to him. Glancing at him, he said, “If I remember correctly, I gave you acupuncture and saved you.”
“Treated me, not saved,” the man emphasized. He said, “I appreciate what you did, but you’ll bring harm to the Red Flame Battalion if you stay here.
Encouraged by the man’s voice, the others chimed in one by one.
“Xie Yan and Liu Yu are just good-for-nothing kids from wealthy families, but Zhang Tianyi is another story. He has great influence in the troop and a high position.”
“He has a say in decision making. He could send the Red Flame Battalion to the most dangerous places. It only takes an order from him to doom us.”
“What’s your name?” Jiang Chen was still gazing at the youngster who had spoken first.
“Tang Zhengyi. For the Red Flame Battalion’s sake, I can go to another battalion with you, or you can injure me again,” said the youngster.
