Chapter 585: The Plan
Chapter 585: The Plan
On Qing Ding Mountain, Chu An had indeed captured several strands of pure essence, but they were all rather thin and weak.
Despite the benefits he gained, there was a gap between his expectations and reality.
The elder believed that it might be due to his insufficient psychic power, as capturing was one thing, but not even being able to sense it was another matter. It had to be his own fault.
He sighed and said, "It seems you are indeed lacking a bit. Perhaps this matter is a bit too early for you."
Chu An didn't think it was entirely his fault. He frowned and said, "Teacher, is it possible that someone is trying to snatch it from me? Since you had to buy the information, it suggests that others might know about this as well."
The elder said, "That possibility isn't out of the question, but to achieve such a level of snatching, one would have to be at the limit of physical and spiritual cultivation.
Such individuals often hold important positions in governments and companies across the world. What's the situation in Central City now? The Spider Queen has split, the former imperial court is amassing troops outside, mercenaries from various companies are rampant, and all the experts are either protecting high-ranking officials or resolving crises. They simply don't have the time to engage in such matters.
Not to mention that even if these individuals are employed by governments and companies, they are also strictly monitored. They regularly conduct field checks to ensure no abnormalities. In such a situation, even if they know about the existence of pure essence, would they dare to act on it? Even if there are such individuals, there would only be one or two of them. After consuming the pure essence, a small amount might be fine, but if it accumulates, it requires refining and transformation. No one can swallow all of it in one go. There will always be some that slip through."
Chu An was still a bit reluctant to accept this. He said, "Teacher, can't you capture it for me? If pure essence can be preserved, can't it be collected through other means?"
The elder shook his head. "Those that can be preserved are usually scattered and settled, or taken using special methods. If I were to capture it, it would only be absorbed by me, whether I like it or not.
At my age, my altered tissues have already entered a period of laziness. Consuming it would be of no use. As I said, pure essence is like bait. Once absorbed, it makes one more susceptible to being targeted by those entities. If one cannot reach a higher level, it will only exacerbate the crisis, making it a loss."
At this moment, he closed his eyes and sensed the vibrations of the rift weakening. "However, you don't need to worry. We still have plenty of time. Your spirit can also be trained through the process of capturing. The dissipation of pure essence is in stages. What you encountered was probably just the first stage. After this passes, there will likely be more in the second stage."
"How long will it take?"
"It could be ten minutes or an hour or two. It depends on the pure essence."
Chu An was puzzled. "How do you mean, 'how do the pure essence look'?"
The elder said, "You can think of pure essence as a form of active consciousness. Although it doesn't have its own independent consciousness, it has its own behavioral patterns. In fact, you can even consider it as a living entity."
Chu An thought for a moment and seemed to associate it with something, feeling a slight chill in his heart.
The elder looked at him and said, "Don't overthink it. There are some things you may not understand now, and I'm the same. But when you can understand it, you will naturally grasp it."
On the airship, Chen Chuan was continuously absorbing the pure essence leaking from the other world. His body was like a bottomless deep pool, dissolving and merging with the essence's essence.
Regarding the elder's mention of needing time to refine the pure essence after absorbing a large amount, Chen Chuan didn't feel it at all.
After merging with the Second Self, his physical qualities had improved to an extraordinary level. Pure essence could be absorbed into his body as soon as it entered, almost skipping the refinement process.
However, he now felt that the pure essence, which had initially appeared intermittently, was gradually becoming scarce.
Based on the instructions given to him by Chen Bitong, this substance might not arrive continuously but in stages, although the specific reason was unclear. Nevertheless, it didn't matter; he just had to wait.
While sitting quietly, he seemed to sense something. There were more unpleasant sounds in his ears, and they didn't come from the Vigorous Mind Body.
He pondered for a moment and understood the reason.
As his psychic power and physical qualities improved, his field's perception of the outside world became increasingly acute. At this moment, it seemed that he could sense the field information without relying on the Vigorous Mind Body.
He thought for a moment and then removed the Vigorous Mind Body from his ear. He looked outside and initially saw some blurry and flickering lights, but as he focused, the lights, shadows, and neon in some of the tall buildings below gradually became clearer.
At this moment, his senses seemed to be able to perceive things at a distance with the help of some external factors. However, along with it came numerous sounds and lights flooding in.
The information field contained a mix of various signals, which he accepted all at once. He couldn't accurately distinguish and sort out the information.
In theory, if he could overcome this and find a solution, he would be able to completely break free from the constraints of the Vigorous Mind Body. But he didn't need to do that. The Vigorous Mind Body was a useful tool, and by amplifying these signals, he could also see some things that were outside his field of perception.
He gazed at the massive fissure located at the zenith, visible only when under the influence of a special drug. It seemed as though gravel-like objects were leaking out from within. These ordinarily inaccessible entities began to descend upon his body as he observed them, and his second self also exhibited signs of distortion.
Thus, exceptional sensitivity wasn't necessarily a blessing. When one's strength hadn't reached a certain level, finding ways to shield oneself from these influences was extremely necessary.
So, he put on the intercom again, suppressing the outward projection of his field and mental energy. He adjusted his breathing and prepared to welcome the arrival of the pure substance.
However, after only a few minutes, a notification sounded on the intercom. He answered, and a voice said, "Captain Chen, this is Specialist Liang Guanghai."
Captain Chen replied, "Specialist Liang, what's the matter?"
Specialist Liang asked, "Captain Chen, where are you now?"
Captain Chen answered, "I'm on a Shark Airship from the Skywheel Company, located in the Deep Void Zone."
Specialist Liang was slightly surprised, "On a Shark Airship? That's convenient for communication. Captain Chen, the Defense Department has a plan that may require your cooperation."
Captain Chen said, "Please go ahead, Specialist Liang."
Specialist Liang said, "First, go to the information transfer station on the spaceship. There's something I want you to see first. I'll have the airship grant you access."
Captain Chen agreed, and after ending the call, he carefully sensed the situation. There was no movement from the other side yet, but even if the pure substance came over now, he had experience from his previous ingestion, and he could still capture it during the process.
As he came up from below, he saw two inspectors approaching him from the corridor. One of them stepped forward and said, "Captain Chen, we received a message from the Defense Department to fully cooperate with you. Please come with us."
Captain Chen nodded slightly and followed the two to the front end of the upper level of the airship, where the field creature for information transfer was placed.
Upon reaching this spot, he could clearly transmit and receive messages from all directions. However, what he was about to see required a significant amount of field information resources, so he had to interrupt some of the less important communication channels.
Since the two inspectors were not authorized to know the upcoming content, they arranged everything and saluted him before leaving, leaving him alone.
Captain Chen looked forward, and after a while, a light shone down, revealing a series of slightly blurry scenes. It was the current standoff between Xu Chan and others with Vigorous Mind Body.
He couldn't help but focus his gaze on Vigorous Mind Body. Was it an active consciousness entity? And this building seemed to be part of some company's interior...
He suddenly realized something.
Perhaps due to field interference and information transmission issues, the scenes he saw were not smooth. They were often blurry, jittery, and then quickly jumped to the next scene.
Despite this, he could still make out the general situation and infer the level of both sides from certain details.
After observing for a while, he contacted the other side again. Specialist Liang's voice sounded, "Captain Chen, did you see it?"
Captain Chen replied, "I did, Specialist Liang. What do you need me to do?"
Specialist Liang said, "The situation is complex. The active consciousness entity 'An-Shield' from the Handling Bureau detected some abnormal signals. The three departments and other departments jointly formulated a plan, and this plan requires a fighter with both strength and capabilities to execute it.
I originally thought that Captain Chen could continue resting, but other departments strongly recommended you as the most suitable candidate for this task.
So, before that, I want to ask, Captain Chen, can you handle it physically?"
Captain Chen answered, "No problem for now."
Specialist Liang said, "I'll send you some nourishing medicine. I'll send you the plan later, and I need an accurate response from you after you've reviewed it."
Captain Chen agreed.
After ending the call, he heard a notification sound from the intercom, indicating that the plan sheet had been sent over.
He took a look, his eyes flashing, and then he read it again. After reading it, he went through it from start to finish once more.
This plan, well, it was bold and risky. It required meticulous coordination, and if executed successfully, it could indeed be a permanent solution.
But if any link in the chain went wrong...
He thought for a while, then raised his head and tapped the intercom to contact Specialist Liang again. "Specialist Liang, I've reviewed the plan, and I'm willing to execute it."
Specialist Liang spoke in a deep voice, "Captain Chen, have you thought it through?"
Captain Chen's voice was firm without a hint of hesitation, "I have."
"Good, Captain Chen, considering that the execution of this plan requires cooperation from multiple departments, we'll give you two hours of rest and adjustment time.
It's currently... 9:25. Two hours later, we'll start. I'll arrange for someone to assist you. From this moment on, we'll maintain communication at all times. Captain Chen, please make sure to stay in good condition."
Captain Chen replied slowly, "I will."
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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