Book 5: Chapter 40: Taking Advantage of Schicksal
Although Chen Heng’s Demon-Subduing Lightning Dragon Ritual Array was formidable, characters with large-scale area-of-effect capabilities were often lacking in close combat skills. Cecilia was confident in herself; furthermore, she had not put away her Black Abyss White Flower.
“Do you realize that a simple application of gravity can destroy your Schicksal headquarters, a massive floating island cluster over the Mediterranean?” Chen Heng taunted. “I happen to possess the ability to control gravity. Would you like me to check for any issues?”
Cecilia narrowed her eyes slightly at this. “Mister Chen Heng, can I take this as you threatening Schicksal?”
“Absolutely. After all, I abhor Schicksal. Also, don’t think of using your Black Abyss White Flower in close combat with me. I’m not inexperienced in the art of swordsmanship,” Chen Heng retorted. Close combat? He was confident that he would not lose to anyone in close combat in this world, except perhaps Immortal Fu Hua.
As for why he had reservations about Fu Hua, it wasn’t that he was afraid. He simply didn’t know the extent of Fu Hua’s abilities. She had been alive for several millennia, and even if her strength had declined over time, he should not underestimate her. Who knew how strong her abilities would be after her ability second awakening?
“What do you propose, Mr. Chen Heng?” Cecilia asked after a few moments of silent confrontation. She hesitated to engage him because she was unsure of his true abilities.
Before she came, Otto, the Overseer of Schicksal, had advised her not to engage Chen Heng in combat unless she was absolutely certain of victory. While she didn’t know why Otto was so wary of Chen Heng, she trusted he had a good reason since she did not think he was a fool.
“Miss Cecilia,” Chen Heng began. “I am a researcher, and I’m currently researching some weapons, so I need some materials. Could Schicksal possibly sponsor them?”
Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Chen Heng’s response. Schicksal was never short of materials. After all, they had accumulated wealth over so many years. “What do you need, Mr. Chen Heng?”
“I believe 1,000 units of Soulium aren’t too much to ask?”
“Mr. Chen Heng, why don’t you just rob us? The most we can offer is 500.”
“Deal. I also need 100 units of Superconducting Metallic Hydrogen, nonnegotiable.” Chen Heng only required 300 units of Soulium. He hadn’t expected Schicksal to be so wealthy and willing to negotiate such high prices.
“Alright,” Cecilia replied. “Mister Chen Heng, is there anything else you need? Just tell us everything in one go.”
“Yes. Six Honkai Cubes, 20 Twin Sakura Wills, 30 Phase Shifters, 1,000 units of Spirit Jade, and 1,000 units of Nanoceramics. That’s all.” He listed the materials required for the fourth and fifth strengthening of the Electromagnetic Star Sniper Rifle, as listed in the Dimension Administrators Association’s store.
“…” Cecilia was silent. The items Chen Heng had mentioned were all rare, and he wanted a lot of them, especially the Honkai Cubes. Cecilia wanted to ask him what he intended to do with all these materials but held back. She had a feeling that asking would be futile.
“What’s wrong? Did I ask for too much?” Chen Heng added. “I was already generous enough not to demand a Divine Key from Schicksal. My sister is the 2nd Herrscher, the Herrscher of the Void. You know her ability based on her title. Pair those with my gravity ability, and Schicksal would face significant disruption.”
Chen Heng had hit Schicksal right where it hurt. The materials he asked for were more than enough for the construction of Babylon Labs.
All these materials were just for upgrading a single weapon, and he wasn’t aiming for a high upgrade level. He asked for all these materials, knowing Schicksal could handle the cost.
Cecilia took a deep breath. “…Please wait a moment. I need to consult Overseer Otto. You’re asking for quite a lot of materials. You don’t mind, do you?” She refused to entertain the thought of giving Chen Heng a Divine Key. Schicksal didn’t have many; they would never give one to him.
As the saint of the Schariac family, Cecilia had some insight into the wealth of the three major families of Schicksal. She knew that the materials, though costly, would only be a minor inconvenience for them. If providing them would resolve a problem, then it was a good choice.
However, she was simply a saint of her family; even as the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, she did not have the authority to decide for Schicksal whether to accept Chen Heng’s proposal. After all, this was tantamount to Schicksal making compensation. It was no longer an issue of the materials but of prestige.
“By all means, take your time.”
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After Chen Heng returned to Sirin’s side, Sirin looked at him in surprise, as she had never seen him deal with anything tech-related. “You do research too? I could not tell.”
Sirin even felt Chen Heng was one of those who would just attack at the slightest disagreement, ignoring life and death. After all, she had only seen him practice the sword.
“I’m not knowledgeable in research, but I know how to maximize the benefits of those materials.” Chen Heng hadn’t done any research. He was going to give those materials to the Dimension Administrators Association for processing.
They were enough to upgrade the Electromagnetic Star Sniper Rifle to +5. Anything more was out of the question. Putting aside whether the materials from the Honkai Impact 3rd’s world would work for further strengthening, even if they could, Schicksal might not be willing to part with such materials.
Chen Heng’s words about smashing up Schicksal’s headquarters were simply nonsense. He could not do something that would harm humanity like this. Right now, Schicksal was considered the strongest faction resisting the Honkai.
After about five minutes, Cecilia finished her call and returned to Chen Heng. “Mister Chen Heng, Overseer Otto has agreed to your conditions. Can we consider Miss Sirin’s issue resolved?”
“Miss Cecilia, you might have misunderstood. Sirin’s issue will never be over. The conditions I presented are for a separate transaction. Are you interested in the legacy of a previous civilization?”
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m