"Open the door!"
The soldier on the city wall pulled the lever and waved to the soldiers below.
Both the inner and outer gates opened.
The car started and sped into the city, heading straight for the military's car wash.
Just thinking that everyone else could go home to sleep while he had to stay behind to wash the car made Li Shi sigh repeatedly.
Sigh!!!
Su Zi stopped the car and handed the more than ten crystals from the trunk to the logistics department, saying:
"Exchange all of them for military merit points and record them under the team's name."
"Yes! Captain Su!"
The logistics personnel took out a box, loaded all the crystals into it, and closed the lid.
Su Zi turned around and said to the team members:
"From now on, you can directly exchange the resources you need for military merit points at the military headquarters. However, I hope you don't misuse them to exchange for strange things."
"Strange things? What does that refer to?"
Zhang Ye asked, confused.
"For example,"
Su Zi's gaze drifted over to Li Shi,
"Barrett, Gatling."
Li Shi: "......"
"Ammunition from the military headquarters can be freely taken when executing assigned missions. However, if you want to go out on your own, you'll need to use military merit points to exchange for it.
Moreover, if you save up a certain amount, you can even use it to exchange for promotion potions."
Su Zi added.
"Potions!?"
The few people exclaimed in surprise.
"Completing the military's missions grants you the right to promote, isn't that natural?"
Su Zi raised her eyes and pondered:
"A potion for promoting to Sequence 8 probably costs about a thousand points."
Zhang Ye asked:
"How many points do we have now?"
"Thirteen points."
"No way! So little!?"
Li Shi's eyes widened like lanterns.
"One ghoul is one point, one bone wolf is three points, and one merman/mermaid is five points. These are probably the monsters you can handle in the Sequence 9 stage,"
Su Zi said.
"What's a merman/mermaid?"
Li Shi asked ignorantly.
"In simple terms, it's a 'mermaid'. But whether it's beautiful or not is another matter."
Su Zi tilted her head back, as if recalling something.
"Heh heh, I know this. Mermaids are beautiful on the surface but have sharp teeth in reality, specializing in luring sailors into the sea to eat them."
Li Shi finally found a topic he was good at and began to explain.
Su Zi smiled comfortingly and affirmed:
"You're right."
"Heh heh, when I see them, I'll beat them into dried fish."
Li Shi raised his fist and said confidently.
"That's not all. The exchange points for monsters are always limited. If you don't have large-scale destructive skills, you can only accumulate them slowly, bit by bit. But if you can kill a 'fallen one', you'll get a hundred point reward."
Su Zi frowned and added:
"However, given your current strength, it's best to run if you encounter a fallen one."
Once again, Li Shi entered a knowledge blind spot, and he asked:
"What is a 'fallen one'?"
"Fallen ones are transcendent beings who failed their promotion and are on the verge of losing control. They retain only a part of their human sanity and could turn into completely out-of-control monsters at any moment. But at this stage, they are no different from monsters."
Li Shi was shocked and said:
"So that's what it is. Does that mean that day in my current life, I was also almost..."
Li Shi looked at Luo Xi.
Luo Xi nodded.
"You should really thank him."
Su Zi glanced at the long saber at her waist and smiled:
"If it weren't for Luo Xi, I would have already thrust my blade."
Hearing Su Zi's words, Li Shi felt a chill run down his spine, and his body trembled involuntarily.
She could even say such things with a smile. This was a matter of life and death!!
"This is what transcendent beings are like,"
Su Zi closed her eyes and said,
"Gaining abilities beyond ordinary people and walking on the edge of death."
Suddenly, Luo Xi felt a sharp pain in his mind. Scraps of memory pieced together into a sentence:
"Embrace the gift of transcendence, until..."
"Embrace the gift of transcendence, until..."
"Embrace the gift of transcendence, until......"
The words that followed were vague and incomprehensible. Luo Xi frowned, trying to make out the subsequent words.
"Hey..."
"Hey!! Brother Luo!!!"
Luo Xi was pulled back to reality by a loud shout and abruptly opened his eyes.
Li Shi stood beside him and asked:
"What's wrong with you? You didn't even respond when I spoke to you."
"I heard a voice, but I couldn't make out what it was saying,"
Luo Xi explained.
"This must be the 'whispers/madness',"
Li Chunqiu said,
"Transcendent beings, due to heightened inspiration, can perceive certain hidden existences, and they might also use this to strengthen their connection with reality."
"Huh? Then Brother Luo won't lose control, right?!"
Li Shi quickly took two steps back.
Su Zi said:
"Occasional whispers are normal for transcendent beings. As long as you don't respond to them, there isn't much of a problem."
Li Shi asked:
"And if you do respond?"
"Either you reach some kind of agreement and become a servant of a god walking among mortals, or you lose your consciousness and become a distorted, berserk monster."
"The first one sounds pretty good."
Su Zi snorted and said:
"The number of people chosen by gods is very few. Out of a thousand transcendent beings who hear the 'whispers', a thousand end up becoming uncontrolled monsters."
"Huh? That's not 'very few', that's none at all!"
Li Shi exclaimed in surprise.
"Because, in City L, from beginning to end, there has never been anyone who, thinking they were favored by a god and responded to the whispers, ended up with a different outcome."
Su Zi said with a stern expression.
Hearing this, they all felt a chill down their spines.
While the abilities of transcendent beings were desirable, they also had to constantly face the danger of falling.
"Since there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Don't forget to gather at the camp tomorrow."
Su Zi turned and walked towards the door, saying:
"Remember, don't respond to the 'whispers'."
"Phew—"
Watching Su Zi's departing back, Li Shi let out a long sigh of relief and said:
"Finally, it's over."
"Over? You still have to wash the car,"
Zhang Ye squeezed to Li Shi's side with a mischievous grin and said.
His words were like a bolt from the blue, instantly sobering Li Shi.
"Holy crap—"
Li Shi cried, clutching his head,
"Why is it always me!"
"In that case, we won't wait for you."
Zhang Ye pulled Li Chunqiu towards the military mess hall.
"Ah, well... Goodbye, Li Shi."
Li Chunqiu said goodbye sheepishly.
"Brother Luo, you're the only one..."
Li Shi looked at Luo Xi beside him and wailed:
"Only you are willing to wait for me..."
"Huh?!"
"Where did he go!?"
Li Shi looked around in bewilderment. Apart from a few military staff, Luo Xi had long since disappeared.
"No—way—"
Li Shi took the rag handed to him by a staff member, his expression one of utter despair.