Chapter 329: Psionic Special Forces

Chapter 329: Psionic Special Forces

The military had warriors who ventured into the Elf World and obtained Moonwell Water.

Therefore, Li Guining was no stranger to the effects of Moonwell Water, and the Staff Department had even discussed the feasibility of acquiring it in large quantities.

However, this plan ultimately remained on paper.

The Moonwell in the Quel'Thalas world was nearly depleted, and unless they declared war on the Elves, it was impossible to acquire Moonwell Water in bulk.

Among the various uses of Moonwell Water, upgrading skills was one of the more practical applications.

So far, humans had discovered three or four methods to upgrade skills, but the conditions for obtaining them were stringent.

Moonwell Water was one method, and another was through world mission rewards.

Additionally, the Abyssal World had some unique items that could upgrade skills, but most of them were difficult to replicate.

For example, the Master of Skills profession could add an extra skill slot and upgrade the skill within that slot.

Similar abilities were varied and unconventional, and none of them were standard methods for upgrading.

In fact, the only conventional path for skill upgrading was through world mission rewards; all other methods were considered fortuitous encounters.

Since humans had already witnessed three or four methods of skill upgrading, Lu Heng's claim of having a way to upgrade skills didn't surprise Li Guining too much.

Those who stood at the pinnacle of combat strength must have something extraordinary about them.

In fact, the military would gather all possible methods and means to enhance combat power and formulate warrior training plans.

Li Guining was aware of several skill-upgrading methods, and upon hearing Lu Heng's words, he believed it to be a similar approach.

After a moment's thought, he asked, "Can this method be used repeatedly?"

Lu Heng nodded and replied, "Yes, but it requires the consumption of Divine Energy."

Li Guining nodded thoughtfully and then asked, "How often can it be used?"

Divinity Evolution, which unlocks skill locks, requires the consumption of Source Energy. Therefore, theoretically, it couldn't be used infinitely.

However, skill upgrading itself also consumes Divine Energy, and with this restriction, Lu Heng would not likely deplete his Source Energy to that extent.

Of course, it was better to exercise some discretion in this matter.

Lu Heng's purpose in coming here was to form an elite Psionic Special Forces team that would follow his orders, not to reveal his secrets.

Therefore, there was no need to disclose the specific effects of Divinity Evolution in detail.

"Upgrading five or six skills a month shouldn't be a problem, and we can increase the frequency if we acquire more resources in the future," Lu Heng provided a rough estimate.

Upgrading five or six skills a month might not seem like much, but as a repeatable method of upgrading, its value was immeasurable.

Li Guining naturally understood the importance of this ability and asked, "How do you plan to organize it?"

Lu Heng had discussed this with his teammates before coming, so he directly shared his idea:

"I want to form a Psionic Special Forces team directly under the command of the Theater Command. All upgrade paths for this team will be decided by me alone, and I won't accept interference from others."

Li Guining fell into deep thought and didn't agree immediately.

This matter would have a significant impact, and establishing an independent Psionic Special Forces team would make it difficult to obtain approval for its formation.

Of course, as the Chief of the Southern Theater, he undoubtedly had the authority to do so in this chaotic era.

However, establishing such a team might be criticized by political opponents as building a private army.

If this matter caused any negative repercussions, it could jeopardize his position.

Li Guining chuckled and said, "Your idea is quite bold."

Lu Heng understood his concerns and smiled, "This plan would likely receive support if proposed to other theaters or mercenary organizations. Still, I'd rather return the favor."

'Returning the favor' referred to Li Guining's surname, Li.

When the Northwest Theater sent a Disciplinary Department instructor for questioning, Li Guining personally attended, and this trust should be reciprocated.

Li Guining was well aware that with Lu Heng's knowledge of skill-upgrading methods, gaining support from major powers would be effortless.

If Lu Heng chose non-state Psionic organizations, he could even acquire greater authority.

After careful consideration, Li Guining nodded in agreement, "Alright, I approve of this plan. I'll assign you a Special Forces unit number and select members from the Psionic Forces. I'll have a staff officer discuss the specifics with you."

...

This significant matter was settled between the two men.

A few days later, Long Wei established a Psionic Special Forces team under the code name "Hidden Dragon," which was directly under the command of the Southern Theater Command, bypassing the Long Wei Mercenary Corps.

Lu Heng's team of four took on the role of instructors for this Psionic Special Forces unit.

This meant that this Psionic Special Forces unit, code-named "Hidden Dragon," would only take orders from Li Guining and Lu Heng.

After the Psionic Special Forces unit was established, two Southern Theater staff officers arrived at the Longwei Headquarters with files and records.

The next step was to select members from the Psionic units to join the team.

Initially, Lu Heng had discussed with Li Guining that he would have the final say in team selection.

In practice, the Southern Theater would certainly have recommended candidates.

The two staff officers opened a square notebook, revealing the files of Psionic Warriors.

The files of Psionic Warriors within the unit were undoubtedly confidential, so Lu Heng couldn't access them directly; he could only view them from this notebook.

This notebook was a prototype, square-shaped like a briefcase, with a lock on the outside.

Forcing open such a military notebook would result in the data inside being destroyed by its internal program.

One of the staff officers, named Qi Jinghui, asked as he operated the notebook, "Do you want to project it onto the wall?"

"No need, I'll just take my time and look through it myself," Lu Heng pulled the notebook towards him and began browsing.

Qi Jinghui explained from the side, "These are the files of Psionic Warriors from our theater. Due to the large number of files, we've already pre-sorted them into groups based on their Energy Levels, forming forty groups."

"Additionally, within each group, they are further categorized into five subgroups based on different enhancement routes, such as strength and agility."

"If there are specific requirements, you can perform keyword searches in the system to directly find suitable candidates."

Lu Heng nodded and slowly flipped through the files.

The number of Psionic Warriors in the Southern Theater was indeed substantial, exceeding one hundred thousand if counting even the lowest-level ones.

If he had to review every file, it would take at least a month to go through them all.

However, it was already April of the second year after the Abyssal Descent, and those with still-low levels at this point could be ruled out.

Lu Heng didn't deny that among the low-level Psionic Warriors, there might be some with great potential, but he was forming a Psionic Special Forces unit, not a youth training squad.

Currently, recruiting warriors with Energy Levels in the mere teens would make them too low-level even for cannon fodder.

Therefore, Lu Heng only considered Psionic Warriors with levels above 30.

As for low-level Psionic Warriors with potential, they would need to demonstrate their abilities to stand out and earn the qualification to be noticed.

Of course, after Lu Heng finished reviewing the high-level Psionic Warriors, he would search for urgently needed abilities and proficiencies to see if there were suitable candidates.

If there were low-level Psionic Warriors with talents so powerful that they could ignore their levels and proficiencies, they too would be worthy of consideration.

The first group of files belonged to a level 40 Psionic Warrior.

Currently, Lu Heng's Energy Level was 41, and at this point, it was indeed the stage where the first wave of Psionic Warriors had reached level 40.

In fact, Lu Heng's Energy Level wasn't the highest on Bluesphere.

Some Psionic Warriors had talents closely tied to their Energy Levels, and their Energy Levels would increase faster than others, so it wasn't unusual for a few super-high-level Psionic Warriors to emerge.

Of course, with their talents focused on Energy Levels, their other abilities were relatively weaker, so their overall combat power wasn't necessarily the highest.

After all, there were many factors influencing combat power, not just Energy Levels.

Lu Heng opened the first group of files, skimmed through them, and quickly found a familiar name—Jane Qing.

Jane Qing's Energy Level had reached 40, likely achieved during her time in the Siks Civilization.

Lu Heng checked the update time on her file; the last update was two days ago.

In other words, this file was updated after her return from the Siks Civilization.

The file also retained multiple versions, allowing him to browse through the previous updates and see the changes in each iteration.

From the file, it was evident that before Jane Qing was summoned to the Siks Civilization, her Energy Level was 38, and she had five skill slots.

After returning from the Siks Civilization, her Energy Level increased to 40, and she gained a sixth skill slot, but the sixth slot remained empty.

In other words, during this summoning, she had leveled up twice and gained an additional skill slot.

During this summoning, she had destroyed the Metal Tumor experimental body, likely completing a world quest, and thus, she had drawn the reward of an additional skill slot.

Her luck seemed quite good.

After Lu Heng finished reviewing Jane Qing's file, he asked, "Can I freely choose from these candidates?"

Qijianghui nodded and replied, "We can select, but we need to talk to them and ask if they're willing to transfer."

The formation of this Psionic Special Forces team was unique, unlike any previous establishment.

Not every Ability User warrior would be willing to transfer.

Of course, Li Guining could directly issue transfer orders, but such forced commands were not what Lu Heng wanted to see.

If someone didn't want to join the Psionic Special Forces, forcing them to transfer could lead to disciplinary issues within the team, which would be counterproductive.

Lu Heng hoped to have one or two familiar faces in this Psionic Special Forces team to lead the group, and Captain Jane Qing was indeed an excellent choice.

The only question was whether she would be willing.

Lu Heng considered for a moment and said, "Captain Jane Qing is a good fit. Can you ask her to come over for a chat?"

"I'll check her work schedule and then arrange a time for her to come over," Qijianghui agreed and proceeded to make the contact.

Lu Heng continued reviewing the files, jotting down suitable candidates as he went, and would make a comprehensive decision after finishing all the files.

This task couldn't be completed in a day; on the first day, he only skimmed through the files of three groups before Qijianghui took the military notebook back.

The next morning, he continued reviewing the files.

On the second morning, Lu Heng resumed his file review. At 9:30 AM, a tall and graceful figure appeared at the door, standing at attention and saluting:

"Reporting for duty, Captain Jane Qing."

"Come in. No need for such formality," Lu Heng waved her in.

Half a month ago, Lu Heng was still under investigation by the Discipline Division as a special case, and it was Jane Qing who had come to take him away.

After two weeks of not seeing each other, Lu Heng had already started selecting members from the Ability User forces.

"You should know what this is about, right?" Lu Heng waved her over to sit down and asked casually.

"I have a general idea. A new Psionic Special Forces team is being formed, and you've set your sights on me?" Jane Qing sat down and, after putting away her serious expression, made a joke.

"The files are arranged by rank, and you're in the first group. I saw it yesterday. I'm hoping you'll come over to lead this team," Lu Heng directly expressed his thoughts.

Jane Qing fell silent and didn't immediately agree.

Lu Heng observed her expression and understood her hesitation.

The establishment of this Psionic Special Forces team was unique; while it was officially under the Southern War Zone Command, it was also placed under the Longwei Mercenary Corps' number.

In other words, this Psionic Special Forces team was akin to a military-affiliated mercenary group.

Strictly speaking, this Dragon Ascendant Special Operations Team was indeed a mercenary group.

Mercenaries often had more flexibility than regular troops in various operations.

For instance, when handling incidents abroad, employing mercenaries could save a lot of trouble.

Additionally, mercenaries could recruit members outside the regular military ranks.

Take Chen Zihan, for example; he was still a student at the National Defense Academy, and recruiting him into the Psionic Special Forces would be more convenient under the Longwei Mercenary Corps.

Longwei itself had a military background.

This dual nature of the team made it highly unique, so unique that its future might be uncertain.

Indeed, joining this Psionic Special Forces team could potentially lead to unforeseen issues that might hinder future promotions.

Jane Qing was already a Captain, and with one more meritorious service, she could aspire to become a Colonel.

Her future could be said to be full of promise.

In this situation, joining a Psionic Special Forces team with such a unique structure might not be the best choice.

This was also Jane Qing's concern.

She and Lu Heng were relatively close, even to the point of being friends, but that didn't mean she would give up her future.

Lu Heng took the initiative and asked, "What's your main concern?"

Jane Qing thought for a moment and asked, "I'm just not sure what the purpose of forming this team is."

Lu Heng smiled and replied, "The purpose can be as grand as you can imagine."

Jane Qing raised her eyebrows, a bit surprised.

She was quite familiar with Lu Heng and knew he wouldn't do anything meaningless.

The fact that he dared to say such a thing indicated his immense ambition.

Jane Qing stared at Lu Heng's eyes, curious, and asked, "How did you convince the War Zone Commander?"

She was even more curious about this question.

The team's structure was so unique that without a special reason, Li Guining would never agree to its formation.

So, when she heard about this, she wondered what method Lu Heng had used to persuade Li Guining.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end