I Carry a Game World With Me

Chapter 177: Chapter 162: How Can There Be So Many Ability Users

’Are you kidding me?’

The next moment, Zheng Lin felt a sharp elbow strike, and his vision went black as he passed out.

"Take them back. Find out why they were spying on our Qingfeng Base," Lu Feng ordered, then got back into the hovercar.

Lin Jiao and her team took the four unconscious men back to Qingfeng Base. Upon returning to the base’s underground air-raid shelter, she brought them before the machine the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps had used to implant people with pulse-fission chips.

Although Qingfeng Base didn’t practice the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps’ methods of controlling people with pulse-fission chips, the device could still be useful at times, so they hadn’t discarded it.

This was a prime example.

’No matter who these four are, implanting them with pulse-fission chips will at least make them a little more compliant.’

Before long, Zheng Lin woke from a daze. He felt weak and sluggish, and his expression was grim. It was probably the after-effects of an anesthetic.

He hadn’t fully recovered from the anesthesia, and the faint stinging pain on the back of his head, along with the sight of the device and machinery before him, made his expression turn utterly grim.

’Pulse-fission chips!’

He knew what was happening. He recalled that the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps had been lucky enough to obtain this device; it was something even the people backing him coveted.

This device was far more effective than electric shackles.

His backers had offered Gray Wolf a trade for the device, but he had refused. Now, it seemed, it had fallen into these people’s hands.

’But who on earth are they? And why do they have so many Gifted?’

"You’re awake?"

As he was reeling from the shock, a voice sounded from behind him.

He turned to see a young man. Standing behind him were several others, the very same Gifted from before.

His eyes narrowed in disbelief.

This young man had been among the group of Gifted earlier, but now, all of them stood behind him, their posture deferential.

That could only mean one thing: this young man was even more terrifying than the other Gifted.

"What’s your name?" Lu Feng asked simply.

Hearing this, Zheng Lin answered reflexively, "Zheng Lin. I’m with the Qing City East Alliance."

"I know you’re from the City East Alliance," Lu Feng said, pointing to the insignia on the man’s uniform. "So, tell me why you were monitoring our Qingfeng Base. Don’t lie. I’ve already installed something in your head, and in the heads of your three companions."

"They’re being interrogated separately as we speak. One of you is bound to tell the truth. And for anyone who lies... well, I wouldn’t mind seeing their head turn into a smashed watermelon."

Zheng Lin’s expression grew even darker. He was well aware that the best way to interrogate someone was to question them separately. With no opportunity to get their stories straight, it would be obvious who was telling the truth and who was lying.

And since he and his three men had no chance to coordinate, lying was simply not an option.

Most importantly, his life was now in their hands.

"Talk," Lu Feng said calmly.

Zheng Lin frowned. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke. "I’m from the Li Family. Since you’ve taken over this place, you should know about the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps. The Li Family was their backer."

"The Li Family is the biggest slave trader in the City East Alliance, and the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps supplied most of those slaves. To support them, the Li Family even secretly gave the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps a small weapons production line."

"We came for the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps. We had no idea you’d already wiped them out."

"The Li Family," Lu Feng murmured. He seemed to recall seeing information about them on the game forums, though he had only skimmed it at the time.

With that thought, Lu Feng willed himself out of the game and vanished on the spot.

Xu Bin, Lin Jiao, and the others knew of Lu Feng’s ability, so they weren’t surprised. Zheng Lin, however, stared with wide eyes, his shock renewed.

’What kind of ability is that?’

Lu Feng returned to the real world, pulled out his phone, and logged into the "Post-Apocalypse" game forums to look up the Li Family of the City East Alliance.

There was indeed a great deal of information about the Li Family on the forums.

The current ruler of the City East Alliance was the Flame Emperor. However, many other wealthy individuals and families also held power within the alliance. Some of them had been powerful figures in the same military region as the Flame Emperor, while others had been absorbed into the alliance as it grew.

Many people liked to think that after the apocalypse, the old order would be shattered and everything reset, putting the rich, the powerful families, and the common folk all on the same starting line.

But that wasn’t true. While it might have been the case for some—after all, what good was money anymore?—for many of the wealthy, it wasn’t true at all. That was because many had become rich in the first place thanks to their intelligence, cunning, and foresight...

Such traits were incredibly important in the apocalypse. If they also had people and forces they could command, they could still rise to prominence in the new world.

This was even more true for the established families, who could call upon resources and manpower that ordinary people couldn’t even dream of.

Therefore, a large portion of the rich and powerful within the City East Alliance had been rich and powerful before the apocalypse; it was just that the wealth and power they now enjoyed were of a different kind.

And among the noble families of the City East Alliance, the Li Family was a force to be reckoned with. They were near the top, capable of mobilizing immense power.

More importantly, after the City East Alliance eventually collapsed and scattered, the Survivor Base built by the Li Family would become one of the most powerful strongholds in Celestial Sea City.

’I never would have guessed the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps was backed by the Li Family.’

With a thought, Lu Feng re-entered the game, appearing once more before Zheng Lin. "All right," he asked again, "what did the Li Family send you here for?"

Zheng Lin stared at the abruptly reappeared Lu Feng. Hearing the question, he answered reflexively, "There were two tasks. First, the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps hadn’t delivered any slaves to the Li Family for a long time, so they sent me to see what was going on."

"The second task was that the Li Family wanted the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps to help find a small squad from the Salvation Army. They supposedly have a holographic map that leads to some kind of weapon."

"The Li Family wants this weapon, but they can’t search for it openly. The teams they sent out previously all lost contact, so they had to ask the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps to do it."

Hearing this, Lu Feng instinctively glanced at Wang Cheng.

Wang Cheng’s brow furrowed as well.

They knew exactly what he was talking about: the Mecha weapon.

At the same time, Wang Cheng’s expression turned grim. The City East Alliance soldiers who had ambushed that Salvation Army squad had belonged to the Li Family.

Lu Feng could only marvel at the coincidence.

’If the Li Family finds out I wiped out their pet Mercenary Corps, killed their men, and stole the Mecha weapon, they’ll be absolutely livid and come straight for me, won’t they?’

Qingfeng Base was still under construction, and he had no desire to clash with the Li Family. They simply had too many resources and weapons.

Besides, if a conflict with the Li Family escalated into a war between Qingfeng Base and the City East Alliance, it would be a disaster.

With their current strength, they would be utterly crushed by the City East Alliance.

Qingfeng Base had just over 1,000 people. The exact population of the City East Alliance was unknown, but it occupied a massive portion of the city’s eastern side. If you counted the desperate survivors in the outer rings, it could number in the millions.

In other words, they could lose a wave of people and immediately press-gang another wave of cannon fodder to take their place.

As one of the noble powers in the City East Alliance, the Li Family would surely find a way to mobilize the Alliance against them.

So, he couldn’t confront the Li Family yet. He wondered if there was a way to string them along. After all, his base’s predecessor was the Gray Wolf Mercenary Corps.

Thinking of this, Lu Feng turned his gaze to Zheng Lin. Perhaps this man could be useful.

Zheng Lin felt Lu Feng’s stare on him and noticed something unsettling in his gaze. He had a very bad feeling.

’I shouldn’t have mentioned the Li Family! Now that they know I’m one of their people, won’t they kill me to tie up loose ends?’

Zheng Lin said hurriedly, "I have a way to help you placate the Li Family! You might even be able to get some benefits from them."