Chapter 102: The Operation

The flight-oriented idea Ye Zhiqiu had proposed was impossible. It ran straight into the problem of this plane’s biosphere. The level of life here had already determined the limit: it was impossible to create anything that could go head-to-head with an army!

There were generally two ways to make mutant creatures. The first was to mutate native organisms, but this was not cost-effective. First of all, with the exception of humans, the intelligence of the other life forms in this plane was not high. Mutation here usually meant bodily alteration, and it would often cause the nervous system to fail to keep up with the body’s enhanced growth, leading to collapse. An intelligence that had never been very high in the first place would likely be reduced to nothing more than a mind that knew only slaughter, a mutant living on pure instinct, much like an ordinary zombie.

That created a very serious problem: uncontrollability. Unlike the shambling corpses strewn everywhere, the creatures made by the terrifying arsenal were not cheap. If the things you created could not be controlled, what was the point?

The second method was to use the human body as the embryo and strengthen it with genes from other species, producing a mutant that could evolve into a higher-order life form in a short time. As long as the original host’s intelligence could be preserved without dropping too much, a mental imprint could be planted, and then it could be controlled. But how exactly that was carried out, Guo Lang did not understand very well. By common sense, bodily mutation should also overwhelm the human nervous system, because unlike the orthodox gene potions of his own race, which represented normal evolution, this sort of thing belonged to abnormal mutation. The two were fundamentally different. Yet how the other side managed to keep mutated humans at a basic level of intelligence had remained an unsolved problem for the other races. That was also why the undead race’s terrifying arsenal could not be copied.

The flying creature idea Ye Zhiqiu had initially raised would not happen. Things like wyverns were, after all, only game models, though they were not impossible to make. But once made, what then? How many combat aircraft could they actually fight? Guo Lang had played that starborne game too; the swarms in it were indeed formidable, but the creatures produced by an arsenal obviously could not be made in endless packs like that.

Xie Lin seemed to have a certain obsession with unreasonable things. He always wanted to understand the why of them, and so he kept staring straight at Guo Lang, waiting for an answer.

Guo Lang scratched his head and, recalling the methods most necromancers had used in his previous life, said cautiously, “It probably isn’t about confronting them head-on. It’s probably about breaking them from within.”

“Break them from within?” Xie Lin looked even more puzzled. “How?”

“A creature with a very high reproduction rate, released directly inside their military zone. Have you ever heard of alien monsters?”

Xie Lin and the others all opened their mouths, finding it a little absurd, but Xie Lin still asked eagerly, “Th-that thing can work too? And even if you make it, how do you control it?”

“As long as you can control the mother body, that’s enough!”

At that, Xie Lin shook his head. “The mother body is not omnipotent. Many creatures are absolutely obedient to it by nature, but mutation itself is full of uncertainty and very easy to get out of hand. As a mage, if the other side is this sloppy, then I can only say he isn’t suited to being a mage. He may be much easier to deal with than we imagine.”

“So,” Guo Lang said with a grin, leaning on the table, “we won’t figure anything out by guessing here. If you don’t go and take a look, how can you know what’s really going on?”

“Do you have a plan?” Xie Lin asked.

“Yes. Time is short.” Guo Lang nodded, then unfolded the map Thomas had prepared. “We split up now. Xie Lin, Sister Cang, and I will go north to scout the military district and see whether the brass there lost their minds or whether they were truly wiped out.”

“Mm...” Alice pouted at the arrangement, clearly about to protest, but Guo Lang reached out first and gently stroked her head, smiling softly. “It’s not that Daddy doesn’t want to be with Alice. It’s just that we can’t divide the manpower any other way. When it comes to gathering intelligence, Sister Cang’s abilities are more suitable, and you and she aren’t exactly the best pairing...”

Everyone froze at that, their expressions turning a little strange as they thought, “Not exactly the best pairing? That’s putting it mildly...”

Guo Lang continued his arrangements. “The rest of you will split into three groups and enter the other three largest military districts. Jiang Liuying, Abel, and Kelly, you go to the southwestern district. Ye Zhiqiu and Thomas, you go to the southern maritime district. Alice and Wick, you head to the largest eastern district now.”

“I’m very curious what you intend to do,” Jiang Liuying asked in a cute voice.

“Use the power of the military districts to probe first. Take the Dark Night communicators with you. If possible, make contact with the top leadership of each district. Once Xie Lin and the others get intelligence, we’ll relay it to you immediately. If the northern district really was wiped out, then you’d better explain the stakes to them and urge them to launch a missile strike on that New Newton fellow directly!”

“You want to use the military districts to deal with him? Aren’t you afraid that after they finish off the undead, they’ll turn around and blast your little island to pieces?” Jiang Liuying said with an eye roll.

“No need to worry.” Guo Lang waved a hand. “If something like that really happens, they won’t be so rash. After all, I have something they want. But you’re probably overthinking it. I do have that lazy idea, yes, but to be honest, I think the chance of success is less than ten percent.”

“So you think those big shots will have ulterior motives and won’t act first?” Xie Lin frowned and shook his head. “Anyone who can rise to that position may have selfish interests, but their vision won’t be that narrow. If we can uncover a sufficiently great threat in the northern district, they’ll recognize the situation and launch missiles at New Newton at once.”

“I’ve never been worried about that...” Guo Lang said, wagging a finger. His expression then turned grave. “I’m worried that... that guy won’t give the military districts the chance.”

Another silence fell over the room. Guo Lang’s words were genuinely chilling!

“Then what are we waiting for?” Ye Zhiqiu stood up and rolled his shoulders, cracking them loudly. A spark of excitement showed on his face. To be honest, life had been far too leisurely these past few days. After dealing with those walking corpses, there was basically nothing to do each day, and someone as battle-hungry as him found that deeply uncomfortable.

“We need to plan the route...” Xie Lin murmured. “The military districts aren’t close to one another. The farthest is nearly three days by road, and we don’t have planes. We still need to plan the route...”

“Oh...” Jiang Liuying suddenly smiled. “I had the soldiers you sent out gathering intelligence mark the outside with my gemstones. There are teleport points for the closer southwestern district and southern maritime district, so we can go there directly... As for the rest of you, you’ll have to crawl over slowly.”

With that, she snapped her fingers. Dense runes appeared in the air behind her, and a purple gate of light materialized out of nowhere. The others froze, especially Thomas’s group, who marveled at the wondrous sight. Though they had already witnessed some of the strange abilities of this girl in classical dress in the past few days, it seemed each new spell she revealed still managed to surprise them.

“Mages really are convenient...” Ye Zhiqiu scratched his head enviously, then said, “Open a gate for me too, will you? Didn’t you say you had a marker in the southern maritime district as well?”

“Ah...” Jiang Liuying, with Kelly and Abel, walked up to the portal. Hearing Ye Zhiqiu’s words, she turned back and stuck out her tongue. “Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t open two gates at once... Anyway, see you all later!” She snapped her fingers again, space twisted, and the three of them vanished instantly before everyone’s eyes.

Ye Zhiqiu blinked. “Then... then why mention two marker points? Looking for a beating?”

“They’re already gone. They can’t hear you,” Guo Lang kindly reminded him from the side.

“It’s fine... we can go by ship. We’ll even get to enjoy the scenery!” Thomas patted Ye Zhiqiu’s broad shoulder. Over these past two months of acquaintance and cooperation, the man he had the best impression of was this big fellow: straightforward, powerful in combat, and with a fighting style that suited his tastes perfectly. A real man.

“I... actually get seasick pretty easily,” Ye Zhiqiu said, rubbing his bald head a little awkwardly...

Everyone: “...........”

Guo Lang sighed and stood up, feeling that this group really did create a great deal of trouble. He activated his bloodline, and his pupils turned a crystalline violet. The color was slightly different from before. Now Guo Lang’s eyes were more transparent than they had been, somewhat like icy violet jade—still purple, but clear and sparkling. Noticing his change, the others looked on in confusion, not knowing what he intended to do.

He, too, snapped his fingers as Jiang Liuying had done. Unexpectedly, a purple teleport gate reappeared right where Jiang Liuying and the others had vanished. The scene left everyone stunned.

They stood dumbly for a long time before Ye Zhiqiu broke the silence first. “You’re a mage now? No wonder it took so long!” Then he shook his head in disappointment. “That’s not the path a man should choose. I thought you were different from that guy!” As he spoke, he pointed at Xie Lin.

Xie Lin’s face twitched, but he ignored the man. Sister Cang, on the other hand, looked far from pleased.

“Let’s go, Thomas. The only real men left are the two of us!” With that, the two burly black giants entered the portal together and disappeared from view.

“Is Daddy a mage?” Alice’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Can he make cookies? Can that one throw fireballs?”

Guo Lang’s face twitched as well. “I can’t make cookies, and I certainly can’t throw fireballs!”

“You... aren’t a mage, are you?” Xie Lin asked expressionlessly from the side.

“Hmm? Second Brother Xie saw through it?” Guo Lang laughed.

“Mm.” Xie Lin said flatly, “When you cast just now, your spiritual power suddenly became very strong, but after the spell, that spiritual power disappeared for no reason. Also, I’ve read your Dark Night files. As far as I know, Dark Night doesn’t have a class called an Arcanist, does it? Could you tell me what your class is?”

“Heh...” Guo Lang scratched his head. “You’ll know soon enough. We have to leave something mysterious, after all...” Then he changed the subject. “We don’t have a teleport gate, and there’s no time to waste. Let’s set out now!” As he said that, he suddenly caught sight of Laura waiting outside with Alice, and after hesitating for a second or two, he finally coughed and said, “Uh... let’s leave tomorrow instead!”

Everyone: “.............”