Chapter 352: Departure
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The next morning, Luo Yuan walked through the attacked zone again. The dawn sky was a light orange and a dark gray as sun rose over the horizon. He realized everything had returned to normal.
The carcasses on the street had been cleared and the damages to the factories were repaired as well. Everything was back to how it used to be. The only remaining impression from the night before was a light smell of smoke that still floated through the air.
Luo Yuan walked to the sword unit headquarters and told his secretary to prepare a cup of tea for him. The pros of having a superior who is very particular about documentation were that, fortunately, he did not have much paper work to do.
He switched on the computer and searched for the satellite map of Mushi County. Based on the satellite map, Mushi County was a forest. No signs of human life could be found and it had become the home of many different species of mutated beasts.
A few hundred kilometers away was the ocean. The entire world was different from what it used to be, due to the change in climate. The living environment for the humans became unsustainable and the surface area of the land became much smaller because of the rising ocean levels.
At the moment, the entire region of Hua Dong, Hua Nan and Hua Bei had disappeared off the map. Half the region of the ancient state of Shu had been sunken below sea level. A vast portion of the land in China was underwater. Even the North and South regions of the Americas suffered the same fate as well. The central region was still safe from the waters. However, the other regions were all lost underwater. The low lying European countries were long gone with a few small islands in the center of the ocean.
Luo Yuan looked very serious as he stared at the map which was completely different from the existing one.
Even if the humans succeeded and survived in the end, the land could never go back to how it used to be.
He tried to calm himself. He shut down the computer, sighed aloud and finished the tea on his desk. He walked down to the underground training hall. Since the last time he volunteered to help during the emergency operations, many of the team members from the Unit looked to him with a lot more respect. Many team members came forward to greet him when he was on the way to the training hall.
After helping Fang Peibin train for a while, Luo Yuan walked to a quiet corner. The entire level was the training hall. He backed away into the shadows for a moment of privacy.
Shortly after, he opened the system panel and assigned all five points of the previous upgrade to his saber skill. With that, his ability was upgraded to an expert level.
He was surprised. Perhaps, he had accumulated some experience points from his training earlier because the five points were sufficient for him to upgrade himself by two whole levels (three points is equivalent to one level). His saber skills were: Expert: 7. A warm feeling of new found power spread throughout his body.
The air around him began vibrating and the dust particles started rising into the air. The space where he was at immediately became another world. Luckily, Luo Yuan was standing in a quiet corner, otherwise, if anyone was around him, they might have been hurt.
The area around him seemed to have infused with his Will. He could turn the space into a dark hell or turn it into a bright heaven. He could set fire to the air around him and also freeze the particles around him in an instant. He could do anything he wanted in that particular space.
Of course, that was the misconception of his strength upgrades. His Will was still not on par with his level. He could only generate certain forces for combat. For example, it was possible for him to kill an ordinary human or low-level mutated beasts easily. However, he still needed weapons powered by his Will to kill stronger and more powerful mutated beasts.
He closed his eyes and did not dare to move. He was cherishing the moment, the good feeling of an upgrade. It slowly faded after awhile. However, the memory lingered in his mind.
His momentum slowly faded as the feeling faded as well.
He was slightly disappointed as it was getting more difficult for him to be upgraded since he chose to master his saber skills above all else. Even when he had the system to guide him, he was not able to completely master it without consistent training. However, training did not help much anymore at this stage as his saber expertise has reached its highest level.
It was believed that his skill had reached its optimal level. His Will had been upgraded and the saber had become more powerful as well. Besides that, the energy to manifest his Will had been reduced significantly. Training harder was not an option for chasing upgrades anymore as it would take much longer.
There was another way to make upgrades happen, he thought. His breakthrough idea was to risk his life and fight extremely dangerous battles. The difficulty and threats of death would be much more intense, which might be enough to help him gather his Will, and gain more experience. However, how could he know which battle might be his last?
Luo Yuan skipped his lunch to practice his saber skills again when the techniques were still fresh in his mind.
...
The next morning, Wang Shishi woke him up before sunrise. Luo Yuan looked at the clock and realized it was 3 a.m. He dragged himself out of the bed groggily, showered and had his breakfast, while still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. An hour later, he started his journey together with Wang Shishi, who brimmed over with excitement.
The moon was beautiful, and there were a few stars in the sky. They increased their pace after they exited from the Hope City.
Luo Yuan was surprised that Wang Shishi could keep up with him. Although he was not moving at full speed, his Agility was well over that of a normal person. He crossed 20 to 30 meters in a single step at speeds of about 50 to 60 meters per second.
At the moment, Wang Shishi was gliding a foot above the ground. She looked calm, and she moved much faster than before.
When they arrived at the reconstruction area, Luo Yuan was more relaxed as he mentored Wang Shishi. He offered her advice now and again, but in truth, he wanted her to take charge of her own actions.
Fortunately, Wang Shishi was truly passionate about her Telekinesis. She trained tirelessly since she entered the reconstruction area. She had not seemed hardworking when she first arrived, but she practiced, daily, whenever she could. To the untrained eye, she seemed to be walking normally, but her feet were not touching the ground. With missions she had completed with her Telekinesis technique, she would not even have to get her hands dirty to accomplish them.
Luo Yuan was impressed, and curious as he had no idea exactly how powerful she was at this point.
He realized he had underestimated Wang Shishi’s ability and he thought she was ready to join the Sword Unit.
...
An hour later, they finally arrived at the frontline border office. Luo Yuan showed his ID card to the security guards, who were immediately shocked at what they saw. They quickly greeted him respectfully and signaled the troops to allow them through. As an evolved human of Luo Yuan’s standing, his ID card from the Sword Unit was very useful.
"Brother Luo, why did the soldiers address you as a Vice-Captain?" Wang Shishi asked curiously after they walked through.
"The sword unit is a military regiment, what’s wrong with that?" Luo Yuan said.
"Vice-Captain, that’s Vice-Captain! A person of power! Why have you not mentioned it before?" Wang Shishi pouted, annoyed that Luo Yuan had not told her.
"That’s nothing special. The lowest rank in the bureau is Colonel. My military title is not valuable at all." Luo Yuan continued to say.
His title meant nothing to him but he did not realize it was deemed a powerful influence among ordinary people.
"But, but that’s Captain! You never mentioned it before! I would never have known if I had not come today!" Wang Shishi said, agitated.
"Alright, stop talking. We are entering the forest now." Luo Yuan shook his head and chuckled to himself.
Translators Note:
The Ancient state of Shu refers to the current region of the Sichuan Province in China.