Chapter 828

“Congratulations, you have succeeded the first step.”

This time, the GM’s voice was a real voice. “But I must remind you. Right now, almost all the power within you have been released following the earlier explosion.”

“It’s fine.” Chen Xiaolian waved off the remark weakly. “The seed of the power is still within me. I just need a short rest to recover. First, let me… rest a bit.”

Chen Xiaolian closed his eyes and he relaxed.

“However, the power from the Oddity will be lost forever. According to my calculations, even with a full recovery, your overall strength will drop to 60% of what it used to be, maybe more.”

“It’s fine.” Chen Xiaolian did not open his eyes.

In the future battle against Shen, pure power was no longer that important.

Determining victory or defeat was dependent on the understanding of this world’s fundamental laws.

As seen in the recently-concluded Los Angeles instance dungeon, Chen Xiaolian could change Aderick’s status as the BOSS, could extract the Species Lord’s embryo within his body and could change the outcome of Jiang Long’s skill. What he had relied on for all those was not his own power, but the ability to read this world’s source code.

Moreover, a functioning Oddity, a new Zero City, was indispensable in his future negotiations with Shen.

The GM stopped talking.

Chen Xiaolian rested for a moment. Only after he had recovered some of his strength did he slowly open his eyes. “Alright. Now, it’s time we set up this new Zero City. Just now, you controlled the Oddity’s explosion. Now, you should already possess the authority to control this space, right?”

“Yes. Tell me your request and I will execute it.”

“Then… let me act out that renowned scene!” Chen Xiaolian snickered. Straightening his body, he assumed a solemn tone and said loudly within the empty space.

“First, let there be light!”

Immediately, a dazzling light radiated out from the swirling stretch of chaos.

“The space where the Oddity is located must be hidden, just like in the Longevity Palace.” Pondering for a moment, Chen Xiaolian then continued.

The Oddity spun for a moment and disappeared, but the surrounding space remained the same.

“Land, and gravity.”

A vast stretch of white land appeared beneath Chen Xiaolian and he gently landed on the ground. Nodding in satisfaction, he said, “Alright. Let’s just leave it like this for now.”

“This is your new Zero City? A space with nothing?” the GM asked quizzically.

“Of course not.” Chen Xiaolian smiled. “For the layout inside, I plan on replicating the appearance of the original Zero City, but I can’t remember that much. So, I will leave this to Aderick and the others.”

“Aderick?” The GM sounded slightly surprised. “You rebuilt Zero City. Could it be for them to enter?”

“Why? Is that not possible?” Chen Xiaolian raised his eyebrows. “I built this place. I’ll let whoever I want here to enter! Forget Aderick, I have the authority to let even all the Awakened ones inside!”

“Let all the Awakened ones inside?” The GM was silent for a moment. “Chen Xiaolian, there’s something you are not telling me.”

“You figured it out.”

Chen Xiaolian chuckled. “Yes. I have a bigger plan. Moreover… I also know some things you don’t. To be honest, this feels really good.”

“What?”

“When I first became an Irregularity, almost everyone knew more than me. Furthermore, all of them like to throw riddles at me.” Chen Xiaolian smiled, his heart stirring. “You’re one, Mr San’s one… back then, in my eyes, you fellows are all big bosses. You practically knew everything about the truth. But you fellows just won’t say it to me directly. Instead, you want me to think, guess, search…

“But now, the tables have finally turned! My understanding of this world’s ‘truth’ has surpassed that of yours, GM. In addition, I can also choose to… not tell you the answer that you want to know. This just feels amazing!”

“Are you seriously putting on airs in front of me?” The GM snorted. “Are you not afraid that I would refuse to work with you?”

“You won’t. Once you know the truth, you will definitely not refuse,” Chen Xiaolian said confidently as he slowly shook his head.

“Chen Xiaolian, you’ve grown too big for your boots…”

…

Up high in the sky, a small aircraft was quickly flying forward.

The one piloting the plane was Theodore while Aderick sat in the rear cabin. His head was bowed, like a frozen statue.

Since getting on the plane, he had not said anything nor moved in the slightest.

The things that transpired in the instance dungeon earlier had exceeded his range of comprehension.

Just how did Chen Xiaolian come to possess such a terrifying power?

Additionally, he said… he wanted his help. What did he mean?

All this time, Aderick had been gripping the communication device in his hand, causing its entire surface to become wet with sweat.

“Guild Leader?”

Suddenly, Theodore’s voice rang within the silent cabin.

“Guild Leader, Bass just reported that the base’s supplies are almost gone.”

Aderick raised his head and saw Theodore’s worried face.

Zero City’s invasion had been too sudden. Although they did make some preparations before evacuating, the items kept in the storage gears of the evacuees were mainly equipment and other gears.

Although every one of them would bring some rations with them at all times, those rations could not last long. The evacuees, in particular, were mostly members of peripheral guilds. Their storage gears were not high-grade items, meaning a limited storage space. They could not store that many items.

In the snowy, ice-filled Antarctica, with enough energy, they could have a limitless amount of clean water. However, there were not many sources of food.

In recent days, the penguins around their temporary base had been eaten to the point of extinction.

“How long can it last?” Aderick nodded.

“Around… one week,” Theodore quickly replied. “When Bass was on the call earlier, he said that he had made two plans. The first is to send several men out, leaving the base to collect food. Their target objectives are South Africa and Argentina. The other plan is… to lift the prohibition of leaving the base. We’re now waiting for your decision.”

“For now, the second plan is still not possible.” Aderick shook his head. “Currently, we have not recovered enough of our strength. Lifting the prohibition now could very likely lead to other Awakened guilds or even Players finding our location.”

When he said that, Aderick found himself getting a headache again.

For the past six months, the survivors from Zero City had been – from time to time – selected by the system and forced to participate in instance dungeons. Each time, Aderick would personally head to battle, accompanying them in participating in the instance dungeons. His objective was to ensure that – regardless of victory or defeat in the instance dungeons – the other guilds do not discover the whereabouts of Zero City’s remnants.

Rather than protection, it was more like an escort.

At any rate, of those who managed to evacuate out of Zero City back then, not many were veterans with formidable combat power. Most of them were logistics personnel responsible for the management and maintenance of Zero City.

Although there were also Awakened ones who had undergone enhancement, given their numbers, it was clear that they absolutely could not withstand the attacks from the entire Awakened world.

If they had managed to preserve the alien genes obtained back in the Los Angeles instance dungeon… would they still need to worry about this?

“Yes. I think so too.” Theodore nodded. His hand moved to his bosom. “I have already prepared a list of names for those to send out to gather food…”

A burst of beeping sounds suddenly came from the communication device.

Aderick maintained an impassive look, but his eyes flickered slightly.

“Guild Leader?”

Looking at the communication device in Aderick’s hand, Theodore gulped nervously.

Pondering for a while, Aderick then raised the communication device and accepted the call.

“Aderick? I’m Chen Xiaolian. Long story short, I have a place for your people.”

Chen Xiaolian’s brief and straightforward voice came from the other end.

“Be more specific.” Aderick was silent for a moment. “What kind of place? Where? And most importantly, why should I trust you?”

“I know that you do not trust me just yet. That’s why I did not ask for your location nor did I plan to find you.” Chen Xiaolian chuckled. “I’ll send you an address. Come find me and I will let your see it with your own eyes.”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian gave him an address and ended the call.

Aderick put down the communication device. Slowly, he closed his eyes.

“Could this be… a trap?” Theodore gingerly asked.

“No.” After some consideration, Aderick shook his head. “Given Chen Xiaolian’s current level of strength, if he wants to kill me, he could have done so in the instance dungeon just now. There is no need to wait until now.”

“Alright… then.” Theodore hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Then, do we turn around now?”

“No.”

Aderick’s reply completely caught Theodore by surprise. “I’ll go alone. You stay on course and return to base alone.”

“What?” Theodore was stunned, but Aderick had already opened the cabin hatch.

Strong air currents immediately swept into the cabin.

“In case… I’m saying just in case something happens to me…” Aderick paused thoughtfully and turned towards Theodore. “You’ll be in charge of the base. In the future, no matter where, be it in instance dungeons or outside, stay away from Chen Xiaolian and his guild.”

“I understand.” Theodore slowly nodded and watched as Aderick jumped out the hatch.

Aderick then brought out a small aircraft and gently jumped into its cabin. Its engine came to life and it drew a sharp arc before flying in a different direction.

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