novelTele Chapter 116 The system is too expensive, Lu Sheng: I'll be the banker!
Chapter 116 The system is too expensive, Lu Sheng: I'll be the banker!
The main control room of the Blazing Flame.
Lu Sheng leaned back in his chair and casually swiped open the system panel.
The row of core skills—[Dragon's Might], [Dragon's Breath], and [Dragon's Scales]—all had a gray "+" sign lit up next to them.
[Ding! Consume 10 high-grade spirit cores to upgrade the skill to LV2?]
"Ten?"
Lu Sheng's eyelids twitched violently.
He risked his life to kill a level 6 sea beast, but only managed to smelt three of them.
Do I have to kill three and a half heads to advance one level?
This system is ripping people off!
Lu Sheng glanced at the pitiful three items he had in his storage space and felt the embarrassment of poverty for the first time in this apocalyptic world.
"If I kill them all by myself, I won't be able to support this crystal-devouring system even if I work myself to death."
Lu Sheng squinted, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest.
I need someone to work for me.
The All-Encompassing Furnace is an exclusive technology; only he can transform the corpses of sea beasts, teeming with viruses and violent factors, into pure spiritual crystal cores.
This is not just a technological barrier; it's a monopoly.
A vast business empire took shape in his mind—to establish a trading system that allowed people to exchange corpses for crystal cores and other resources.
I, Laozi, am the dealer, setting the exchange rate and taking a cut.
Want to become stronger?
Okay, bring the corpse in exchange.
Want to eat?
That works too, we'll exchange the corpse for it.
Just as they were plotting how to exploit all of humanity, the roar of an engine came from outside the window.
"Buzzing—"
Two assault boats cleaved through the waves and headed straight for the Blazing Flame.
The first boat was towing the already cold, armored black crocodile carcass, while on the second boat, Chen Yan, that old fox, had changed into a brand new military uniform, with his top button fastened all the way up, and he was even wearing white gloves.
Behind him, several soldiers were huffing and puffing as they carried several heavy metal boxes.
Su Li stood at the doorway, holding the Shura Blade, and glanced down below: "Major Lu, General Chen has arrived."
"Let him come up."
Lu Sheng didn't even flinch, remaining seated confidently in the main control position.
A moment later, the sound of military boots hitting the ground rang out.
Chen Yan strode into the control room, his imposing aura vanishing the moment he entered, replaced by a smile that he only wore when facing peers or even superiors.
"Brother Lu, congratulations on advancing to Level 6 Spirit Source Master!"
Chen Yan waved his hand, and the soldiers slammed the boxes down and opened the lids.
The high-purity fuel drums emitted a reassuring chemical smell, along with two boxes of bright yellow, shiny 30mm armor-piercing rounds for machine guns.
All of them are hard currency.
"That's the carcass of the Black Crocodile, I dragged it over for you too." Chen Yan pointed to the enormous creature hanging outside the window. "Plus these supplies, consider it a small token of my appreciation. If you hadn't intervened earlier, the battle probably wouldn't be over yet."
This posture is so humble, it's almost like being in the dust.
He didn't seem like a fleet commander leading tens of thousands of people at all; he seemed more like a gang leader coming to pay his respects.
Lu Sheng glanced at the supplies and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
That old fox has a good eye.
"General Chen, you're too kind." Lu Sheng stood up and slightly raised his hand. "Sit."
Chen Yan breathed a sigh of relief; this kid hadn't turned his back on him just because he leveled up.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, then took out a pack of special-supply cigarettes with a red star printed on them from his pocket. He handed one to Lu Sheng first before lighting it himself.
Smoke rose, obscuring half of their faces.
Chen Yan took a deep breath, staring intently at Lu Sheng, and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Lu, may I ask a question?"
"Your promotion speed... is there some special trick to it?"
His voice was low, tinged with a barely perceptible longing: "I've been in the army for thirty years, and even that Poseidon instructor didn't get promoted this fast. If there really is a shortcut, could you give me a heads-up? I can report it directly to the highest levels of the military. This achievement wouldn't be an exaggeration to even be considered a general!"
Lu Sheng took the cigarette and lit it with the light Chen Yan handed him.
The flames flickered, illuminating those golden, vertical pupils.
"There's no way to do it."
Lu Sheng exhaled a smoke ring, his expression calm: "Just good luck. When you've been on the verge of death a few times, if you don't want to die, your potential is naturally forced out."
system?
That was the trump card among trump cards; even if your own father came, you couldn't tell him, let alone this ally you'd only known for a short time.
Chen Yan stared at Lu Sheng for a few seconds, trying to find a flaw in that young face.
But he failed. That was absolute calmness and confidence.
"Indeed, there is great terror as well as great opportunity between life and death." Chen Yan smiled bitterly and stopped dwelling on the question.
The two smoked in silence.
This silence was not awkward, but a transfer of power—from this moment on, the fleet's voice had changed.
A cigarette burned out.
"General Chen."
Lu Sheng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said, "Since we're talking about the fleet, I have two requests."
"Go ahead," Chen Yan said, immediately straightening his back.
"First, I'll take these supplies and the black crocodile carcass."
"second."
Lu Sheng got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the sea.
Those refugee boats were like a swarm of slugs that couldn't be shaken off, clinging tightly to the rear of the fleet and even pushing forward.
His eyes suddenly turned cold.
"Starting tomorrow, all civilian vessels must sail 500 meters to the sides of the fleet."
"Do not approach, do not cross."
"Those who fall behind will not be rescued, those who block the way..." Lu Sheng turned his head, his voice devoid of any warmth, "Kill."
Chen Yan's heart skipped a beat.
Five hundred meters away?
Isn't that just using these tens of thousands of refugees as human shields to draw the firepower of sea monsters?
"This..." Chen Yan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then swallowed it back.
Looking into Lu Sheng's inhuman golden eyes, he suddenly understood a truth: in this young man's eyes, there was no such thing as the greater good of the common people, only whether he could live or whether he deserved to live.
A kind heart cannot command an army.
On this man-eating sea, this is the supreme law.
"Alright." Chen Yan stood up, straightened his collar, and solemnly extended his hand. "We'll still have to rely on Brother Lu for the road ahead."
"Mutual benefit." Lu Sheng reached out and shook hands.
Half an hour later.
The modified loudspeaker of the Zhenyuan ship broadcast its cold announcement across the entire sea.
"Notify the entire fleet! Effective immediately, civilian vessels must maintain a distance of 500 meters from the main fleet! Any vessel that disobeys will be sunk on the spot! Repeat this order, and any vessel that disobeys will be sunk on the spot!"
After the broadcast ended, the sea was briefly still for a few seconds.
What followed was even more chaotic and frenzied chaos.
In order to keep up with the fleet's speed, and in order not to be left behind the safety line known as the path to survival.
The overburdened refugee ships began frantically reducing their weight.
"Get off! What are you doing taking up space, you cripple!"
"Please...don't throw me...I'm your second uncle! I even held you when you were little!"
"Damn it, jump if you don't want to die!"
"Splash! Splash!"
Faced with the struggle for survival, the fig leaf of humanity is torn to shreds.
Countless elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people were pushed into the cold sea like trash by their relatives, neighbors, and companions.
The cries, curses, and splashes of drowning blended into a symphony of hell on earth.
Amidst this chaos, the Blazing Flame, like a black Grim Reaper, silently cuts through the waves.
Zhou Hai stood on the deck, watching the struggling figures floating on the sea not far away, unaware that the cigarette in his hand had burned his fingers.
"What are you looking at?" Lu Sheng's voice rang out behind him.
"Young Lu, isn't this a bit too cruel..." Zhou Hai shrank back.
"Cruel..." Lu Sheng looked at those humans who had become more cruel than wild beasts in order to survive, his eyes indifferent.
"Remember, we are the scalpels that clear the way, not a shelter, nor are we these people's caretakers."
P.S.: Today's update (2/4).