Chapter 227: The Summons, New Organization Task, and the Pursuit of 027

Chapter 227: The Summons, New Organization Task, and the Pursuit of 027

The news of the second Tempering Forge in the Western countries caused a significant stir.

This meant that Forge Castle was no longer the only channel for tempering, and it also indicated that the Western nations could rapidly enhance their metahuman combat power by relying on the Tempering Forge.

The international conglomerates that had been eyeing Coastal City now turned their attention to investing in the Lionheart Empire's tempering industry and cultivating Tempering Masters.

After acquiring the Tempering Forge, the Western world began an extensive media campaign, ensuring that the entire world knew about it within a day.

Lin Ze Yu handed a copy of an English newspaper to Lu Heng.

"Take a look. The foreign media is all over this news, as if only they possess the Tempering Forge," he said.

Lu Heng glanced at the newspaper and remarked, "It looks very similar to the one in Forge Castle."

He hadn't paid much attention before, but now, seeing the photograph of the Tempering Forge in the newspaper, he felt it was almost identical to the one in Forge Castle.

"It does look quite similar. Maybe all Tempering Forges are designed this way," Lin Ze Yu replied.

"Not necessarily. Tempering Forges come in all sorts of designs," Lu Heng countered, having seen various styles of Tempering Forges, not all of which were identical.

"That's not important. I wanted you to see this part here. They're slandering us, claiming that we control the Tempering Forge and are preventing them from accessing this enhancement method. They also boast about their relentless efforts finally breaking through our Tempering Forge blockade," Lin Ze Yu pointed to a section of the news article, his tone filled with indignation.

Lu Heng actually wished to impose such a blockade, but the real constraint on the Western nations' difficulty in obtaining weapon tempering was the scarcity of tempering materials.

As metahumans' levels increased, this situation would gradually improve.

Lu Heng had no interest in these verbal sparring news reports and casually set the newspaper aside.

Just then, Lu Heng and Lin Ze Yu's gazes simultaneously sharpened as they both noticed the same Abyss Battlefield prompt.

【Abyss Battlefield: Summons Countdown - 7 Days】

"A summons has been issued."

Immediately, Su Muyu sent a message in the team chat: "The summons has appeared. Should we gather now?"

"We're at Flame Emblem. Come over," Lu Heng replied.

It wasn't long before Su Muyu arrived at the Flame Emblem building. Nowadays, she hardly needed any transportation when going out.

With her invisibility and the wings of the Sky Lord, she could fly in the sky, faster than most vehicles.

The main reason for using invisibility was to avoid drawing too much attention while flying in the sky.

She didn't want to be seen by too many people.

After the three of them met, they held a meeting to discuss this new summons.

While Su Muyu was on her way, Lu Heng had already been pondering this issue.

He speculated on which Abyssal world the summons would be for at this point in time.

The inherent purpose of the Abyss Battlefield summons was to provide support to civilizations facing Abyssal invasions.

Following the development trajectories of these civilizations, aside from the Banseer Tribe, which had been significantly influenced by Lu Heng, the encounters of other civilizations should be similar to those in the previous life.

In other words, if a civilization required support at this time, there was a high possibility that the summons would bring them into that civilization.

Additionally, Lu Heng had discovered a pattern in the summons—within a certain period, the same Abyss Battlefield might have multiple summons.

The reason for this was simple.

If the metahumans summoned to the Abyss Battlefield failed to complete their task of eliminating the source of Abyssal pollution,

a second summons would occur shortly after.

For instance, the Banseer Tribe was summoned to deal with the Soulstealer Incident. According to the events of the previous life, the Banseer Tribe's mission should have failed.

This led to a second summons being issued a month later.

The Soulstealer Incident was likely exposed during the second summons.

However, in this life, things had changed.

Lu Heng's appearance helped the Banseer Tribe eliminate the Soulstealer and the Abyssal Gateway, completing the mission during the first summons.

Consequently, there would be no second summons for the Soulstealer Incident.

Lu Heng carefully recalled if there was any crucial information during the Abyssal Descent in November of the previous life.

However, after thinking it over, he couldn't recall anything significant.

The most impactful event at that time was the Lionheart Empire acquiring a Tempering Forge.

The White Eagle Federation and the Lionheart Empire were already allies, so the two nations jointly invested in the tempering industry, pouring money into cultivating Tempering Masters and competing for market share.

This caused the price of tempering materials to skyrocket once more, reaching a point where ordinary metahumans could no longer afford to temper their weapons.

Of course, if a metahuman obtained a tempering material in the Abyss Battlefield, they could immediately cash it in and earn a substantial sum, which they could use to purchase other resources.

...

As Lu Heng analyzed, he explained the patterns he observed regarding the Abyss Battlefield summons.

After hearing this pattern, Su Muyu contemplated and proposed an idea: "You mentioned that the Abyss Battlefield summons are related to significant events occurring in the target civilization.

"So, do you think this summons could be connected to the Lionheart Empire's Tempering Forge? This is probably the most significant event happening right now."

Lin Ze Yu waved his hand and said, "The reference is to major events happening in the target civilization, not here."

Su Muyu gave him a sidelong glance and emphasized, "Many events are interconnected."

Lu Heng agreed, "There's a possibility, but I'm not sure how likely it is. For now, let's focus on preparations. We need to get ready with weapons and survival supplies."

Lin Ze Yu snapped his fingers and said, "I'll take care of that. I'll ensure we have everything we need."

Lu Heng continued, "Also, we should strive to improve our combat power before the teleportation. A few days ago, when we resolved the bank robbery, they gave me a B-Class Forging Material. It's perfect for performing a second tempering on your crossbow."

Lin Ze Yu's face lit up with envy, "When will it be my turn?"

I want a high-level weapon too," Lin Zeyu said.

Lu Heng glanced at him and replied, "Sniper rifles can't be upgraded through forging. You'll have to find a way to get a higher-level one."

Lin Zeyu was speechless, "Then, aren't the tempering and spirit infusion materials for my current sniper rifle wasted?"

Lu Heng explained, "It won't be a complete waste. I can help you extract the materials, but there will be some loss."

Lin Zeyu sighed, "That's still a loss."

Lu Heng corrected him, "It's not a loss. You won't need to reforge the weapon, so you won't need forging materials. Forging materials are also extremely expensive and scarce right now."

Lin Zeyu considered this and nodded in agreement, "That's true. Losing some tempering materials is acceptable. How much will be lost?"

"Usually, more than half will be lost. The exact amount depends on the skill of the Tempered Master," Lu Heng said, unsure of the exact amount as he hadn't performed the process of extracting tempering materials before.

"The tempering materials aren't the most crucial part; the spirit infusion materials are key," Lin Zeyu said, taking out his SVD sniper rifle and caressing it.

In truth, he cherished this rifle, as it had accompanied him through countless life-and-death situations.

However, the base level was only Grade, and to further enhance it, he would need a higher-level sniper rifle.

"Also, try to improve your basic martial arts skills as much as possible in the next few days. This is hard power. Once you reach full proficiency, you won't need divine energy to master higher-level abilities," Lu Heng reminded him.

After their discussion, the three went their separate ways to prepare for the upcoming recruitment.

In the following days, while practicing his sword skills, Lu Heng also pondered a question.

It was about 027's desertion.

Lu Heng had been wondering what had caused 027 to defect.

Was it because the Creator Club had given him an unacceptable task?

This was a highly likely scenario.

In fact, the first official task Lu Heng received was to submit technology data from the Sekis Civilization.

Lu Heng himself had a hard time accepting this task, and he eventually resolved the matter with some minor tricks.

But it was only a temporary solution; it was a ticking time bomb.

As soon as someone in the Creator Club obtained genuine technology data from the Sekis Civilization, they would discover that the biological technology data with traps was fake.

At that point, Lu Heng's only choice would be to defect.

Previously, when Lu Heng saw 027 at the Coastal Commercial Bank, he had wanted to catch up and ask what was going on.

But 027 had disappeared in an instant.

Lu Heng had been thinking about this for the past few days, wondering if 027's appearance at the bank was related to the bank robbers. After careful consideration, Lu Heng didn't think 027 would be involved in a bank robbery.

With his abilities, there were far too many ways for him to make money; robbing a bank was too low-level.

Moreover, if he really wanted to rob a bank, he wouldn't need to use such violent methods.

With his ability to move without a trace, there were countless ways he could extract money from the bank whenever he wanted.

Lu Heng was in a similar situation.

If Lu Heng really wanted to take the gold bars from the bank's vault, he could simply use Shadow Traverse to enter.

However, Lu Heng didn't need those few gold bars now; he could earn back many small gold bars by taking on a single tempering order.

What he needed most now were high-level resources, which were difficult to buy with money.

After practicing his sword, Lu Heng lay on the training ground, watching as night gradually fell.

At that moment, a black crow flew across the sky.

Lu Heng furrowed his brows and said, "Don't fly above my head, or I'll shoot you down."

The black crow seemed to understand human language. It circled a few times and landed five meters in front of Lu Heng, its body began to swell, and in a moment, it transformed into a person wearing a black feathered cloak—none other than 013.

"What's the matter?" Lu Heng asked directly.

"The first member on the organization's roster, 031," 013, cloaked in black crow wings, threw a data card forward.

Lu Heng caught the card and glanced at the information on it, his expression immediately turning solemn.

There was a photo on the card, and it was of a black man.

"Do you want this black gorilla too?" Lu Heng asked, holding up the card, a bit speechless.

"This person has the strongest recovery ability at the current stage. His body can heal from bullet wounds in ten minutes. Moreover, he obtained a unique bloodline in the last Abyssal Battlefield and achieved the unique bloodline rank of Dark Werewolf. Do you think he's qualified?" 013 explained briefly.

Looking at the man's combat power alone, Lu Heng had to admit that this black man indeed had impressive combat power.

More importantly, he had a unique bloodline rank, the famous Dark Werewolf from the past, which was in the first tier of transformation-type ranks.

Combined with his super-regenerative ability, his combat power was indeed formidable.

013 continued, "I suggest you invite this Dark Werewolf to join your team."

Lu Heng's eyes turned cold, and he said, "You're forcing me to kill him."

013 didn't want to discuss this further and changed the topic, "Your new task is to capture 027. This Dark Werewolf's ability is specifically designed to counter 027. So, take 031 with you to capture 027, and bring him back alive."

"What about 027's data?" Lu Heng asked.

"There is none."

"How is that possible? Weren't you the ones who invited him to join?"

"No one has seen his true face, including me."

"Then how do you expect me to capture him? This is a joke, right?"

"The Dark Werewolf's sense of smell is very sensitive. He has memorized 027's scent, and with him, you can find 027."

013 finished speaking, spread his arms, transformed into a black crow, and flew into the sky, disappearing from sight.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end