Chapter 840: Chapter 710: Sudden Upheaval
In fact, at the time when Qu Jianlei was wreaking havoc, Xiao Moshan initially did not recognize the opponent.
He was accustomed to being cautious, and his actions were very discreet, arriving at the battle site relatively late.
When he arrived, it was just as Qu Jianlei was about to face an A-level adversary, and the Clear Wind Shadowless Blade was too frightened to make a sound.
Seeing the opponent take down each A-level with one slash, this combat power made him ecstatic.
But even so, he didn’t think he could have any connection with this powerful entity.
It wasn’t until Qi Qiang, on his deathbed, uttered half a phrase "Electromagnetic Body Technique" that he began to ponder this matter.
He knew Qu Jianlei was attributeless and was aware that the other mastered Electromagnetic Technique, but this... was it a coincidence?
However, pondering didn’t reveal much, but thinking about it was a shock, as he vaguely found the opponent’s saber technique somewhat familiar.
Back then, Xiao Moshan knew that Jian Lei had a set of Thirteen Forms saber technique, which was also taught to Flower Scorpion.
But his nickname was Clear Wind Shadowless Blade, with his own saber technique, which he had made a name for himself with.
After Qu Jianlei left, Flower Scorpion suggested teaching him the Thirteen Forms saber technique to improve everyone’s combat power.
Xiao Moshan had his own pride, and when he tried it, he felt it didn’t fit his light and concealed style.
The best is what suits you! As a soldier, he cared most about practicality, so he ultimately did not learn it.
However, being someone who values real combat, he did not reject borrowing a bit.
So he is fairly familiar with the Tai Chi Thirteen Forms.
Even if Qu Jianlei’s current saber technique was more refined, Xiao Moshan, as someone who plays with swords, could feel some familiarity.
When the opponent began to hunt others, he observed for a period and found this wild combat style truly fit that person’s habits!
However, even then, he still could not be sure if the opponent had indeed left Jian Lei.
But that didn’t stop him from collecting the bodies, which were two A-level bodies!
Over the past ten years, their cultivation had also consumed many resources.
Although Qu Jianlei left a lot of resources when departing, they continued to dwindle with use.
Now they were persisting, far from being as desperate as Flower Scorpion showed, but who would complain about having too many resources?
Anyway, both the Awakened and City Guards ran off in fright, and his body technique was concealed, so he stealthily moved forward to collect the bodies.
After collecting the bodies, he sensed for a while, and the more he looked, the more it seemed like Jian Lei.
So he quietly slipped back to inform Flower Scorpion, who, upon hearing, followed him out again without a word.
She also saw that figure more and more familiar, but to be safe, both decided to each stake out a C-level Warrior.
No matter what, the opponent’s main targets were the Awakened, which aligned with their adversaries.
So staking out two Awakened could at least be seen as an offering of allegiance.
It wasn’t until Qu Jianlei uttered "The scourge lives for a thousand years" that Xiao Moshan could fully confirm the other was indeed Jian Lei.
Flower Scorpion didn’t need to say anything, as she could follow Xiao Moshan closely and see the saber technique at close range; how could she mistake it?
Qu Jianlei just paused for a bit, then casually waved his hand, "Whatever you collect is yours, as long as it wasn’t taken by others."
Flower Scorpion bit her lip, "Shall we continue killing?"
Just now she didn’t ask clearly, so she couldn’t speak directly, but now... we’ve all reached Supreme, what is there to fear?
The principles of being human in the Wasteland are an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Qu Jianlei pondered and then shook his head, "You better not participate."
"Why?" Flower Scorpion’s brow raised, clearly a bit unwilling.
Xiao Moshan didn’t speak, but his lack of rebuttal showed he also leaned towards revenge.
Qu Jianlei had some reasons, picking the most convincing one, "They have at least two Supremes."
Even with Xiao Moshan’s firm temperament, hearing this made him twitch his mouth, muttering under his breath, "Oh crud."
Flower Scorpion was also taken aback, then quietly asked, "Can you handle it?"
Qu Jianlei replied in a deep voice, "Not a big problem, but if you participate, I’ll undoubtedly be distracted."
Finally, Xiao Moshan spoke, "We’ll cooperate in the dark... for instance, collecting bodies, ensuring no added troubles for you."
Collecting bodies... Qu Jianlei’s lips twitched, won’t collecting bodies become my blemish?
But this didn’t matter much, at least judging by the situation just now, these two’s concealment skills are okay.
So he solemnly nodded, "Remember, caution is paramount. If I get distracted, it could be a real issue."
Flower Scorpion straightforwardly nodded, "Rest assured, we’re not ignorant."
"Let me catch my breath," Qu Jianlei took out an A-level Crystal, clinching it in his palm, "Tell me what’s happened since I left."
His Spiritual Qi was consumed less than ten percent, but since he was about to slaughter again, replenishing a bit wouldn’t hurt.
Flower Scorpion began to narrate; though she was a woman, her speech and actions were never dilly-dallying.
After Qu Jianlei left, the Limb Regeneration Potions he left were enough for everyone to restore their bodies.
In the fifth year after he left, Zheng Weifang returned from Zone Zhou Character, completing his rotation task.
Accompanying him to Central City was Claire.
Claire’s mother, Judy, was killed by a Hunter during an outing from the city.
Nothing could be done; that’s just how Zhou Six is. During the hunting season, things get particularly chaotic, and the killings are simply impossible to prevent.
The Hunter who killed had considerable backing and didn’t think it was a big deal at all. He didn’t even flee after the murder.
Zheng Weifang was shocked when he heard about it. He knew what kind of people this mother and daughter were connected to.
Let’s not even mention bigwigs like Jamaari; he couldn’t afford to provoke someone like Jian Lei, who had almost taken him down.
So he personally led a team to wipe out those people.
This incident had a profound impact on Claire. She didn’t blame Zheng Weifang for not caring enough; instead, she mainly hated her own weakness.
Later, when Jamaari was about to leave, he found her specifically—"I’m returning to Central City, what do you plan to do?"
Claire expressed that she too wanted to go along, and she just needed him to help her find them.
To Zheng Weifang, taking along a girl wasn’t a big deal at all, and bringing her over could also help him explain some things.
Flower Scorpion took her in after getting the news and didn’t complain about Zheng Weifang’s inadequate protection.
That’s just how the Wasteland is: people can protect you from bullying, but encountering unexpected harm is just bad luck.
Honestly, with Claire losing her mother and Zheng Weifang leaving, her situation would become very dangerous.
Flower Scorpion then explained why this incident happened.
Because Wei Wushuang had died—the former leader of the Central City Inspection Bureau, and the one who provided them the information about the Limb Regeneration Nutrition Pod.
At that time, Wei was at the peak of A-level, and he died accidentally while breaking through to Supreme.
The chances of dying unexpectedly during an A-level breakthrough to Supreme aren’t high; it’s usually more about a fall in cultivation level or total loss of cultivation level.
However, the possibility of death isn’t non-existent, though it’s considered rarer.
Jamaari and Wei Wushuang had a close relationship; Wei was his trusted lieutenant.
After Wei’s death, Jamaari’s situation became even more difficult and two years later, he died unexpectedly during a mission.
About the Modified Cultivation Technique given by Qu Jianlei, Jamaari’s confidant Xiao Qin once mentioned.
The general idea was that Jamaari was worried someone might steal the credit and wanted to personally bring it to the Empire after Wei advanced.
After all, Wei Wushuang was just someone from Central City, and he couldn’t always stop others from stealing credit, even serving infrequently at the Gorge.
Besides, a breakthrough to Supreme accompanied by a grand gift to the Empire would be a double blessing, and Wei would gain face, wouldn’t he?
Thus, even though some knew Jamaari had several improved techniques with different attributes, he wouldn’t easily let them out.
Subsequent events weren’t worth mentioning. The new leader of the Inspection Bureau discovered some situation and reported it immediately to the Military.
All these things sounded as if someone was orchestrating something from behind the scenes, but it could also just be a natural progression.
The Military’s response was somewhat slow, perhaps thinking nothing valuable could come from Garbage Star. They only sent people to investigate years later.
Then the new leader of the Inspection Bureau was reassigned, likely a reward, and the next leader was brought in from outside.
This new leader came in with a mandate to thoroughly investigate the origins of the technique, and eventually focused on Bentley and Flower Scorpion’s group.
In this process, Ma Long was tortured to death, and Black Panther went missing.
Flower Scorpion and three others were given advance warning by Black Panther, and promptly retreated back to the Celestial District.
However, they somewhat underestimated the situation, thinking hiding in the Celestial District would do, as it had in the past.
Yet, when they discovered a large batch of Awakened Ones arriving at the Celestial District, and even some heading towards the Profound Character District and Earth District, it was too late for regrets.
The great river leading to the Profound Character District had been reinforced with many personnel, making a secret crossing unrealistic.
These people were following leads, starting from the lowest Hong District, unraveling the threads and slowly tightening towards the higher districts.
The process took quite some time, but Bentley and the others did not slack off this time, putting all their effort into gathering information.
Unfortunately, though their enemy’s step-by-step tightening seemed slow, it was executed with great precision.
They had already abandoned the manor early on and silently hid in the wilderness.
It was all based on past experience, and they were confident they could outlast the opposition—after all, they had considerable supplies prepared.
However, more than a year earlier, their hiding spot was discovered.
According to Xiao Moshan and Flower Scorpion’s analysis afterward, it was likely because they frequently went out to gather information and inadvertently leaked their location.
But you really can’t blame them for that; hiding was important, but so was getting information from the outside world!
Then they fell into an ambush that was like the Celestial Net.
Flower Scorpion and Xiao Moshan were relatively lucky; both had Wind Attributes, and they led the efforts in gathering information outside.
When they got caught in the ambush, the two happened to be out gathering information and discovered the Secret Vault was surrounded when they returned.
They witnessed Bentley and Claire being captured with their own eyes; at that time, Bentley’s two hands and one leg were crippled.
As for rescuing them? That was impossible; the aura displayed at the scene indicated at least four A-levels!
Not to mention the large number of B-levels, C-levels, Modified Warriors, and City Guard.
