Section 518 Plan
It was 1.65 meters long and weighed 34 kilograms. Its sky-blue barrel was dotted with snow-white spots, and its slender body was compact in structure. The entire gun could be disassembled into several parts and reassembled into a small firearm that could be fixed to the arm, making it very convenient for shooting. The assembled small firearm weighed only eight kilograms, which could be considered very lightweight.
"Is there a place to test-fire the gun here?" the woman asked, her heart filled with intense anticipation. She had never seen this type of weapon before, yet it felt surprisingly comfortable in her hands. She was eager to test the weapon's power immediately. Every shooter always harbors immense enthusiasm and longing for their weapon.
Startled, Christine quickly nodded. "Yes, yes! Follow me."
Under Christine's lead, the group entered the basement.
Delve Light Book Plant Library Science
"This is the test-firing room, designed according to universal standards," Christine briefly explained before stepping aside. She, too, was full of curiosity about this peculiarly shaped weapon.
Without further ado, the woman raised the gun and fired.
A red beam as thick as a thumb accurately struck the center of the target. As she lowered the gun, Christine hurried to bring the target before everyone. The red dot at the center of the target was completely pierced, with obvious black burn marks surrounding the hole.
"So powerful!" Christine gasped, her face filled with astonishment. Her test-firing room was entirely designed according to universal standards, and without exception, targets like these were made of a material called Cloudstone. The characteristic of Cloudstone is its ability to absorb energy to a certain extent. However, due to its brittleness, it is unsuitable for making protective equipment but is perfect for targets. It is the most widely used material for testing weapon power.
The five-centimeter-thick target was completely penetrated, leaving an extremely regular circular hole.
Everyone was profoundly shocked.
Mr. Mo exclaimed in admiration, "Although I am a layman in weapons, even I can't help but feel fondness upon seeing this beam gun. It truly is a masterpiece that astonishes the world."
The woman lowered her head, gently caressing the uniquely shaped beam gun in her hands, unable to put it down.
Ban Meng stared dumbfounded at the beam gun in the woman's hand, completely unaware that his drool was dripping onto the ground, drip by drip.
Christine was equally stunned. This beam gun completely overturned her understanding of weapons over the years. A weapon made merely from ordinary Snow-Speckled Blue Fir actually managed to penetrate a five-centimeter-thick Cloudstone target. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.
Yet the fact was right before her eyes. She had witnessed every step of this beam gun's creation, but the doubts in her heart only grew. Why was its power so immense? What role did each of its structures play? How did its principles work?
She even remembered the shape of every component of this beam gun, but if she were asked to replicate such a beam gun, she believed she would undoubtedly fail.
Unprecedented techniques, never-before-seen structures, and incredible manufacturing methods—Christine suddenly realized she hadn't learned anything from the process. Immediately after, the woman demonstrated rapid firing.
Almost without thinking or aiming, the dazzling shots came like a storm, every one hitting its mark, mesmerizing the onlookers. Yet Ye Zhong was inwardly alarmed. A shooter with mental cultivation was indeed a formidable profession. If not for Chen, encountering such an opponent would be a very tricky problem. He was already contemplating how to respond if he ever faced such an enemy.
The woman put down the beam gun with satisfaction. She was extremely pleased with the weapon's performance, and it felt very comfortable to use, like an extension of her body.
"This is Turtle Grain Wood. Please accept it," the woman's voice remained hoarse and low, but it carried a tone of respect.
The piece of Turtle Grain Wood was only palm-sized, grayish-brown in color, and covered with patterns resembling a tortoise shell. Unlike the other types of wood Ye Zhong had seen, Turtle Grain Wood felt heavy to the touch. But aside from that, Ye Zhong didn't find anything particularly remarkable about it.
"Now, please allow me to formally introduce myself," the woman said with a solemn expression. "Shaya, an Eighth-Level Shooter!"
The room fell so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Ban Meng felt as if he were dreaming. A legendary figure like an Eighth-Level Shooter had actually appeared before him. He had the impulse to pinch himself.
Christine's pretty face turned pale. An Eighth-Level Shooter! Heavens, what a concept! Though she was someone who feared nothing, she couldn't help but feel a sense of retrospective fear. She had actually been disrespectful to an Eighth-Level Shooter earlier!
Ye Zhong stood there calmly. The concept of an Eighth-Level Shooter meant nothing to him.
Seeing that Ye Zhong showed no intention of speaking, Shaya wasn't angry. Instead, she took out a golden leaf from her bosom. "This golden leaf was picked from Dakness. I present it to you as a memento. I hope you won't find it unworthy."
"Golden Leaf!" This time, it wasn't just Christine who exclaimed in surprise—Mr. Mo did too.
The golden leaf shimmered brightly, every vein clearly visible, as if it were a leaf carved from gold. However, Ye Zhong, with his vast experience, could tell at a glance that it was not man-made but naturally grown.
"This should be a plant with an extremely high degree of metallization!"
"Thank you," Ye Zhong said, tucking the golden leaf into his robe. He was now slightly interested in the Darkneth that Shaya had mentioned.
"The one who should be thanking you is me," Shaya said gratefully. "I've been searching for a suitable weapon for a long time, and I never thought I'd get my wish today." Recalling the hardships she had endured in her search for a weapon, her tone unconsciously carried a touch of emotion.
"I must take my leave now. I live in Biselei City. If you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to send me a message." Shaya spoke calmly, and she certainly had the capability to back up her words.
Ban Meng looked at Ye Zhong with envy. Gaining the friendship of an eighth-level shooter was something countless people could only dream of.
After Shaya left, Ye Zhong handed the patterned wood to Christine and said calmly, "Let's make the exchange."
※※※※
Ye Zhong led Ban Meng back to his home. Ban Meng was now utterly in awe of this cold, aloof man. Earning a million Au in a single day and gaining the friendship of an eighth-level shooter—these were things most people wouldn't even dare to imagine.
"I need to buy a house—one that's large enough and in a remote location. Can you help me find one?" Ye Zhong suddenly asked.
"A house? Let me think," Ban Meng said, racking his brain. Although the cold, aloof man was impressive, he was also like a ticking time bomb. Who knew when he might explode? It would be better if he moved out of Ban Meng's home.
Soon, he thought of a place.
"What about this place?" Ban Meng asked. It perfectly met Ye Zhong's requirements: the house was very large, covering an area of 3,500 square meters including the courtyard, and it was extremely remote, located close to the Liang'an Forest, where few people ever went. Most importantly, the price was affordable—Ye Zhong bought it for just 100,000 Au.
"Very good," Ye Zhong nodded in satisfaction. The place perfectly matched his vision.
"Of course! My choices are never wrong," Ban Meng said proudly.
"Mm, but now you can leave," Ye Zhong issued his dismissal.
"Seriously? Burning bridges so soon?" Ban Meng said with a pained expression.
After Ban Meng left, the spacious house suddenly fell silent.
Apart from some basic furniture, the house was empty, with vast, open spaces everywhere. But this suited Ye Zhong just fine—if there were more things, he would have had to deal with them himself.
He summoned Chen. The solemn Chen stood firm and steady like a mountain. Entering Chen's cockpit, Ye Zhong first scanned the surrounding environment and found nothing unusual.
Sitting inside Chen's cockpit, Ye Zhong finally relaxed. Here, he was safe enough.
Now, he could calmly think about what he should do next.
What was his primary goal? To find Mursa! Where would Mursa be now? It must be in the Gray Valley.
To achieve this goal, he had to return to the Gray Valley or the He Yue Star Domain. Only then would he have a chance to find Mursa, or to locate the Sang Tribe and open a passage from the Gray Valley to the He Yue Star Domain, thereby finding Mursa.
In other words, his ultimate goal was to return to the He Yue Star Domain or the Gray Valley.
But how could he achieve this?
The first thing Ye Zhong thought of was the three chips Kui had given him. According to Kui, these three chips contained all the research achievements of the Science and Research Group in space science, mechanical science, and biological science. Ye Zhong focused on the chip related to space science, hoping to find answers from it.
He took out the chip on space science and inserted it into Chen's bio-processor.
"You can: 1. Read chip data; 2. Establish a database; 3. Perform simulation calculations."
Ye Zhong was stunned for a moment, then realized he had no foundation in space science. If he started learning from scratch, it would take who knows how long to find a solution—clearly, that wasn't a feasible approach.
"Perform simulation calculations," Ye Zhong immediately said.
"Sorry, please establish a database first," the bio-processor coldly rejected Ye Zhong's command.
Left with no choice, Ye Zhong said, "Establish a database."
"Executing command: Establishing database. Estimated time: five hours and thirty minutes." The bio-processor's voice was icy.
Five hours and thirty minutes later, Ye Zhong finally waited for the bio-processor to complete the database setup.
"Perform simulation calculations on how to return to the He Yue Star Domain." Even the usually calm and composed Ye Zhong felt a hint of tension.
"Creating simulation calculation project... Project created."
"Importing parameters... Parameters imported successfully."
...
"Estimated time: thirty-two years, five months, and twenty-three days." The projected time given by the bio-brain left Ye Zhong stunned.
Thirty-two years! This was absolutely unacceptable to him.
Despite the shock, Ye Chong didn’t panic. Instead, he quickly calmed down.
He asked, "How can the simulation time be shortened?"
After ten seconds, the bio-brain replied, "The following two methods can help shorten the calculation cycle: First, provide more detailed parameters. Second, supply greater computational power."
The first option was out of the question—Ye Chong was completely in the dark about everything here, let alone any specific parameters. The second option, however, seemed somewhat feasible.
Ye Chong asked again, "How can more computational power be provided?"
"Two methods can provide more computational power: First, improve my performance; second, use more bio-brains in a structural network."
Improve Chen’s bio-brain performance? Ye Chong dismissed this idea almost immediately. This advanced bio-brain was something he had never even seen before—where would he even begin to try and improve it?
The only option left was the second one: produce more bio-brains.
Although his knowledge was extensive, bio-brains happened to be his weak point.
"How are bio-brains made?" Ye Chong asked Chen.
"Insufficient data. Unable to provide an answer." Chen’s response left Ye Chong feeling somewhat disheartened.
Then, Ye Chong suddenly remembered the chip related to biotechnology. Since he knew nothing about making ordinary bio-brains, why not try making a bio-brain? That biotechnology chip must contain information about bio-brains.
He took out the biotechnology chip and inserted it into Chen’s bio-brain, then set up a corresponding database.
Once again, Ye Chong asked, "How do you make a bio-brain?"
This time, the bio-brain responded quickly: "The materials required to make a bio-brain are…"
But Ye Chong was dumbfounded. He realized that most of the materials listed by the bio-brain were not available here. Moreover, many of them required biological cultivation or other processing methods before they could be used.
It seemed he would have to first establish a biotechnology research laboratory, Ye Chong murmured to himself.
This was an extremely ambitious plan. But Ye Chong was determined to see it through. Never giving up on even the slightest hope was a belief he had held since childhood.
Fortunately, he had almost completely ransacked the core laboratory of the research group, bringing all the instruments with him. Otherwise, Ye Chong would truly have had to start from scratch.
Even with this foundation, however, there was still a lot of work ahead for Ye Chong.
Every planet and region had different species. Many of the materials previously used by the research group were unavailable here, especially certain biological specimens.
What Ye Chong needed to do now was test the characteristics of local organisms and build a database for them. This approach was more practical and feasible.
But before that, there was one more thing Ye Chong had to address immediately: security. He didn’t want his safety to be threatened before he could even produce a bio-brain.
Ye Chong first completed the testing of materials like Snow-Speckled Blue Fir. The results showed that these plants, such as Snow-Speckled Blue Fir, had an energy affinity three times that of metal, making them ideal for crafting energy-based weapons. Ye Chong also conducted detailed tests on their other properties.
The conclusions astonished him! These plants excelled in both physical properties and energy affinity, making them excellent materials for crafting various devices. Their only drawback was their poor compatibility with optical pathways—no wonder they hadn’t developed bio-brains here.
With a clear understanding of these material parameters, Ye Chong could now create weapons with greater power, more rational structures, and higher efficiency.
He purchased large quantities of wood like Snow-Speckled Blue Fir and began mass-producing weapons.
Inside this unremarkable house, various instruments were scattered everywhere. These instruments were top-of-the-line, freeing Ye Chong from having to rely solely on simple tools like daggers to craft weapons. His progress was rapid—within just seven days, he had produced over a hundred different types of weapons.
Next, Ye Chong placed these weapons in every corner of the courtyard. Combined with an advanced holographic scanning system, anyone or anything approaching the house without Ye Chong’s permission would face devastating attacks.
This was truly devastating firepower!
All firing points were meticulously arranged by Ye Chong, leaving no blind spots. The intensity of the firepower was absolutely terrifying. Most of it consisted of heavy firepower, which, while too cumbersome to carry, was perfect for fixed-point defense. For example, the coverage-style oval photon cannons could fire 160 rounds per volley, with three volleys per second, covering an area of four square kilometers.
But even more frightening were the precision strikes, which were hard to defend against. Hidden within the overwhelming heavy firepower, they were difficult to notice yet capable of delivering fatal blows. The energy beams they fired had far greater penetration power than the photon gun Ye Chong had made for Sha Ya at Christine’s place. Moreover, the advanced holographic scanning system ensured they hit their targets with pinpoint accuracy.
The only headache for Ye Chong was that this defense system required a bio-brain for overall control. Naturally, he didn’t dare use Chen’s bio-brain. As a last resort, he dismantled a bio-brain from an auxiliary bio-armor. Although this bio-brain wasn’t powerful, it was more than adequate for handling such a situation.
Now, Ye Chong’s residence was as secure as a fortress, allowing him to sleep soundly. Within a nine-kilometer radius centered on his home, everything was under his control.
But for Ye Chong, the work had only just begun.