Chapter 193: A New Invitation

Chapter 193: A New Invitation

For some, the air across the vast ocean on the American continent is sweet.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, waking Alex Austin from his bed with a start, gasping for breath.

He had the same dream again, and subconsciously, he pressed his hand against his chest, where a sword had once been plunged, even exposing his lungs.

At that moment, a female agent in a business suit entered and said, "Captain Austin, you're waking up even later today than yesterday. This isn't a good sign."

Alex rubbed his face and exhaled, not responding to her.

During the last Abyssal Battlefield mission, he was the only one who returned alive; the other four members of his team had perished.

He also failed to retrieve what his superiors had requested, so this time, his superiors, the investors, and the consortium expecting a return on their investment were all dissatisfied. Even the families of his teammates were unhappy.

In short, he felt like the whole world, including himself, was dissatisfied.

During his special training in America, he had been invincible, with no one able to match him.

For a while, he even felt like a god in this world, able to easily crush anyone who displeased him.

Even the state senators who met with him had to treat him with respect.

But ever since returning from the Abyssal Battlefield, everything had changed.

He had changed too.

To become stronger, he trained relentlessly every day and even injected himself with a superpower serum that hadn't passed human trials in the lab.

This serum could enhance human muscles, increase cell activity, and unleash superhuman strength.

Muscles injected with the superpower serum would also appear larger than other muscle groups, exuding strength.

However, there were side effects, including hormonal imbalances.

One external manifestation was a disrupted biological clock, sometimes sleeping for over ten hours at a time, and at other times, sleeping very little.

The female agent continued, "Dr. Ralph reminded you to go for an experience, and Coach Jacob asked me to remind you that as soon as you wake up, you should report to him. The special training group has updated your training plan. And..."

"What else? Why are there so many damn things!"

Alex was getting impatient and glared at the female agent.

She wasn't afraid at all and pointed to an envelope on the table, saying, "This envelope was left at the door today. It's not signed, but it should be for you. I hope it's not a notice from the tax bureau."

She ended with a small joke.

If it were a notice from the tax bureau, there would be big trouble if it wasn't handled properly.

So, Alex reached out and took the envelope, opened it, and found that it wasn't a notice from any department but an invitation with only the word "Creator" printed on it.

Additionally, there was a faint watermark with the number "029."

He frowned, staring at the invitation in confusion.

The female agent continued, "Also, Mr. Raymond asked you to report to the Federal Intelligence Agency headquarters before this afternoon."

Although Alex was impatient, when he heard it was an order from the Federal Intelligence Agency, he had no choice but to get up. He casually threw the invitation into the trash can and then went to the bathroom to wash up.

...

An hour and a half later.

Alex Austin stood in the conference room of the Federal Intelligence Agency headquarters.

Over a dozen intelligence officers sat with stern expressions, making the meeting extremely serious.

"Recount what happened in the Abyssal Battlefield, especially the process and reasons for your comrades' deaths in battle."

This question again.

Alex held back his anger, "I've already said it before, and the time before that."

"Then say it again," the intelligence officer repeated without expression.

He took a deep breath and recounted the process of how those four idiots died.

The intelligence officer remained cold, questioning, "Are you saying that our elite warriors, carefully cultivated, were no match for those Eastern metahumans?"

"That's the truth," Alex admitted, though he didn't want to.

The intelligence officer continued to question, "In your description just now, you mentioned that Lisha and Calim were killed by the same Eastern metahuman in three seconds. When did our elite warriors become so weak?"

After this intelligence officer finished speaking, he looked at his colleagues with a mocking expression, and the officers beside him laughed, clearly not believing Alex's description.

Alex Austin had explained it numerous times, and he didn't want his team to be useless, but that was the reality.

He even clearly remembered the words of the Eastern Metahuman: "I'll give you three seconds to get back to defense, or your teammates will be gone."

He had found the statement laughable at the time, so he didn't listen, and within three seconds, two of his team members were dead.

The speed of that Eastern Metahuman was like lightning, and with each flash of lightning, his team suffered casualties.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.

This was the third time the Federal Intelligence Agency had asked him to recount the battle. He had truthfully described how those fools had died.

However, he concealed one thing—he didn't mention a word about how the Eastern Metahuman had pierced his chest with a sword at the end.

Facing the skepticism of the FIA officer, he could only shrug and respond, "I've truthfully recounted my experience in the Abyss Battlefield. If you find it unreasonable, you can record it however you like."

The FIA officer changed the topic: "Before entering the Abyss Battlefield, what task were you given? Do you remember?"

Alex Austin exhaled and replied, "I remember."

"What task? Repeat it."

"Enter the high-tech civilization and obtain technological data."

"So, did you complete it?"

"I was trying to complete it. If I could win the final battle, I could obtain technological data from the Sycis Descent Faction of the Sycis Civilization."

The FIA officer's tone turned cold: "In other words, you failed."

Failure.

This was the label Alex Austin received upon his return.

He hated this title, but he had no way to refute it.

His team's performance in the Sycis Civilization had been impressive at first.

Not only could they complete challenge tasks, but they could also accomplish hidden tasks.

Especially during the battle at Delimus 3 Research Facility, if they had managed to defend the base, they could have achieved a higher status within the Descent Faction.

Then, they would have been qualified to demand technological data from the higher-ups of the Descent Faction.

On Blue Planet, the arms race among the major powers had never ceased.

However, a balance between the economy and military needed to be maintained.

Technology was the cornerstone of the arms race, especially technology that surpassed the times.

Therefore.

When the nations of the world learned of the existence of the Cyber World in the Abyss Battlefield, they had been trying to obtain technological data from the Cyber World.

The first batch of Cyber weapons brought back by Metahumans mostly ended up in various countries' research institutions.

However, the technology of the Cyber World was vastly different from that of the human world.

Researching Cyber World weapons through disassembly was challenging and inefficient.

Consequently, a simpler and more effective approach was to retrieve technological data directly from the Cyber World.

Metahumans had succeeded before, but they had only obtained data in specific fields, aiding in individual technological breakthroughs but contributing little to overall technological progress.

...

The FIA officer's face twisted in mockery as he said, "You failed, but those Eastern Metahumans succeeded. We just received news that they obtained a top-secret piece of technological data."

Upon hearing this news, Alex Austin's expression froze.

He spoke in a low voice, "If it weren't for those strange reasons and the four useless members assigned to my team, I would never have lost."

From the very beginning of team formation, he had been dissatisfied with those team members.

The reasons for their inclusion were unacceptable to him, and it didn't help that there were men, women, and those of ambiguous gender.

The FIA officer laughed and said, "This time, you can choose your team. Go and retrieve that piece of technological data. With this data, the Federation can become great again."

Alex Austin narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, saying, "This time, no one is allowed to interfere with my team selection. Otherwise, I'll withdraw immediately."

This demand was not something an ordinary FIA officer could promise.

Sitting in the conference room, the one who had remained silent, Fisher Raymond, was the one who truly held the power to make decisions.

After listening to everyone's statements, he finally spoke:

"Agreed, but if your demands are met and you still fail, you know what the consequences will be."

Alex Austin raised his head with confidence, even with a hint of arrogance, and declared loudly, "As long as the team is assembled according to my requirements, the squad I lead will be the strongest on this planet. No matter who stands before me, I can crush them!"

...

As the eighth month of the Abyssal invasion began, the situation in the human world started to undergo tremendous changes.

The old era faded, and with it, the old powers fell silent. A new era emerged, giving rise to new forces.

The age of superhumans had become an inevitable reality.

Just a few months ago, there were still groups and powers who sought to "restore order" and research methods to remove the superhuman abilities of metahumans.

However, these forces and organizations, going against the tide of the times, were all swept away by the relentless waves of change, vanishing in the torrent of history.

New powers rose, and old ones embraced superhuman abilities, becoming the new rulers.

The tumultuous era of change became a frequent tale during the mid-period of the Abyssal Descent.

Amidst the revolutionary times, the financial nation, which only knew how to suck blood, was on the brink of collapse. Only an industrial nation could possess the strength to resist the Abyssal invasion.

And Great Xia was the largest industrial nation on Blue Planet.

Not only that, Great Xia had also obtained technological data from the Sykes Civilization, securing their future.

...

At this moment, in a training ground in the coastal region of Great Xia, Lu Heng was practicing his sword techniques.

Ever since he had broken through the speed limit and surpassed the speed of sound, the original training chamber was no longer sufficient.

So, he purchased a stadium and transformed it into a training ground for his team's regular practice.

Since reaching the Intentional Level in swordsmanship, his progress had slowed down significantly.

Sometimes, even after practicing for a long time, he wouldn't see any increase in his proficiency.

It was normal for the improvement of swordsmanship to become slower as one's skill level increased.

After several attempts, Lu Heng discovered that using the Windrunner Skill in conjunction with his sword practice could effectively enhance his progress in swordsmanship.

Therefore, Lu Heng's current method of sword training involved charging and striking, then charging and striking again, like a swift gust of wind flashing across the square, seeking the key to breaking through the bottleneck in his swordsmanship with each moment of stillness and motion.

As Lu Heng practiced, a spectator appeared in the audience, seemingly out of nowhere.

This spectator wore a cloak and a hood, beneath which shone two colorful irises.

As May arrived, the weather gradually heated up.

Lu Heng had already switched to short sleeves, and sometimes, after an intense training session, he would even take off his shirt, drenched in sweat.

After a round of practice, Lu Heng walked back to the sidelines, took a drink, and looked up at Agent 027, asking, "Aren't you hot?"

"I'm fine."

"Is there something you need?"

027 took out an envelope and flicked it towards Lu Heng.

Lu Heng caught it and, having a good idea of its contents, asked, "Another invitation?"

The last invitation had been for Nagakawa Tomo, whom Lu Heng had already dealt with.

So, this must be for a new target.

"I hope this time, the invitation will meet your requirements," 027 said with a hint of jest in his tone.

"Who is it?"

"The name is inside the envelope."

Lu Heng opened the envelope and glanced at the name card within, only to be stunned once again.

The name on the card was none other than "Alex Austin," whose English name, when translated phonetically, became "Alex Austin."

There was no mistake; the Creator Organization had set their sights on this Thunder War God from the American continent.

From a rational perspective, this invitation wasn't surprising.

After all, Alex Austin, in his previous life, was known as the "Thunder War God," and his power had indeed placed him at the pinnacle of the American continent.

From the Creator Organization's perspective, inviting Alex Austin was entirely reasonable.

However, the situation became a bit delicate when this invitation ended up in Lu Heng's hands.

Lu Heng held up the name card and asked, "This person is across the ocean. I don't take on such distant jobs."

027 calmly replied, "Soon, it won't be that far."

Lu Heng furrowed his brows, immediately understanding what he meant.

It was clear that he was implying Alex Austin would be coming to Great Xia.

This wasn't exactly exciting news.

What was he coming for? A top metahuman from the American continent wouldn't travel to Great Xia for a vacation.

Lu Heng put the invitation back into the envelope and held it up, saying, "I can't invite this person."

It would be a feat of self-control for them to meet without a fight, let alone invite him to join the organization.

"You can invite him," 027 emphasized.

Lu Heng frowned and asked, "With what? You didn't give me an invitation item."

According to the Creator Organization's custom, when they decided to invite someone, they would prepare an item or condition that the person couldn't refuse.

contrast was a seal card with a Soul Snatcher, which Nagakawa Tomo would never reject.

027 replied, "You have the invitation item, and only you do."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end