Chapter 57: Space Ripper

Space Ripper

Fu Guang followed Qing Feng to the Bloodthirsty Vine's location, passing through numerous strict and cumbersome procedures along the way; fully armed sentinels with icy gazes were everywhere.

Fu Guang shrouded her figure in a black cloak, its wide brim resting on the tip of her nose, revealing only her moist lips and lustrous chin.

The cloak is a defensive device; with a black base and silver tracings, it shields against most external attacks, is waterproof and fireproof, and also blocks detection of S-rank mental power.

With this cloak, the residual heat and radiation from the battlefield cannot harm her, and at the same time it does not impede Fu Guang's observation of the outside world.

Underfoot was dry red soil, not hard like normal earth but rather gritty, as if composed of sand and gravel.

On a nearly boundless, vast plain of ruins, not far from Fu Guang a sign was casually inserted, standing askew there.

The wind whistled, and the sign stood firm.

"Symbiosis" has been achieved; the newly sprouted plant and the Bloodthirsty Vine have reached a delicate balance." Qing Feng wore a long robe and long sleeves in an ancient style.

His clothing resembled a blue misty rain enveloping him; as he moved, a azure bird seemed to appear and disappear within the fabric, while the long sleeves became the bird's two wings, swaying as if about to take flight.

He stood half a body ahead of Fu Guang, his brows and eyes curved as he conversed with her, resembling a suave, talented gentleman.

"Compared to the Bloodthirsty Vine, this new S-rank plant is in no way inferior." Qing Feng's eyes darkened; that new plant was quite strange.

"But it's not so brutal; it seems to have little interest in flesh and blood."

Upon reaching the black sign, Fu Guang glanced sideways and read: "Forward forbidden zone, no entry; violators bear the consequences of life and death."

The sign's blood-red characters were wild and unconstrained; the last four words, with blood-colored traces winding downward, resembled bloodstains.

Fu Guang nodded, indicating she would be careful.

"Right, since this is something you created, after thinking it over we decided the name should still be yours to give."

"Don't refuse; if you, as its creator, don't name it, others have no right to do so."

"Then we could only call it one, two, or some string of numbers." Qing Feng said gently.

He stopped, and in the empty air various-colored mental power intertwined to form a barrier; a small emerald bell hung at a node, which Qing Feng struck.

Ding-ling, ding-ling.

The bell drove the mental silk threads to vibrate; after just two breaths, the bell fell to the ground, enlarged, vanished, leaving a hole the height of a person.

Several people passed through one after another.

A rich smell of blood, mixed with rot, rushed at her face, entering her nostrils and traveling down her trachea, as if her five viscera and six bowels were stained by that odor.

Fu Guang extended her hand from beneath the cloak to lower the brim; behind her, a large hand with distinct joints and cold white skin offered her a small white jade mask.

Fu Guang reached out, took it, and put it on; the bloody smell vanished instantly, leaving only a fresh, sun-like scent.

"Pleasure to meet you, Fu Li." The silver-haired, silver-eyed woman stared at Fu Guang for a moment before approaching the girl.

Fu Guang lifted her gaze, but everything before her was blurry; she could not see the woman's features clearly.

She quickly lowered her eyes, no longer daring to look directly at the woman called "Fu Li".

That woman's strength was immense, far beyond what she could match now; looking at her felt like gazing at a powerful mass of energy.

Aside from dizziness and blurred vision, she could obtain no further information.

"Fu Guang."

"I know." The woman replied with a meaningful remark, then vanished.

It seemed she had come here just to see Fu Guang's face.

"What are you doing standing there like an idiot?" Qing Feng called out to the dazed Fu Guang.

Fu Guang's eyes shifted, and she said directly, "I just seemed to have seen a woman named Fu Li."

Qing Feng paused his steps, then continued forward, merely saying, "I originally thought she was just an honorary title, but I didn't expect her to actually come for this mission."

"White Tower First Seat, SS-rank Guide Fu Li." Zhong He's eyelid twitched as he said, inwardly thinking, 'So she's still alive.'

"What then?" Qing Feng's gaze lost all gentleness from when speaking with Fu Guang, turning cold and fixed on Zhong He; of course she knew what he was thinking.

"Senior Fu Li has come; she's also likely curious about who created this new thing, so there's no need to be nervous."

He didn't want to say more, pointing to Zhong He to introduce him to Fu Guang: "Zhong He, Sentinel Sixth Seat, President of the Federal Military Court."

"If you have any grievances against the Sentinels, go to him; don't worry about bothering him, anyway that's his job." Although Qing Feng's attitude toward Zhong He wasn't good, she still spoke gently to Fu Guang.

"Senior Zhong He." Fu Guang nodded obediently and called out.

Her gaze was clear and sincere.

Before arriving, Senior Chan Yi told her she would meet Zhong He and could receive a gift from him.

"Zhong He, if he doesn't give you a gift, just say the name of Senior Yu Ran."

Because the age gap is truly huge, for simplicity Fu Guang uniformly addressed everyone as senior.

Zhong He took a silver sphere from space and threw it toward Fu Guang.

"Nice to meet you; this is my gift from me and Yu Ran."

The girl's rear, Xi Guang's eyes tightened; he teleported to Fu Guang's front, caught the seemingly small silver ball, and held it carefully in his hand.

Now the silver ball is only palm-sized, but once activated it can expand to the size of a basketball court, and upon activation it will annihilate everything around it, turning it to ash to fuel itself.

An SS-rank teleportation item, the best tool for escape; paired with the partner of spatial jumping, the Space Ripper, the stability of a spatial channel can be as low as fifty percent.

Qing Feng frowned, looking at Zhong He whose face was as big as the sky, and said, "Yu Ran's gift has already been sent; you didn't know?"

"Trying to steal away the White Tower's Guide? Not a chance, especially since he's still a military department Sentinel."

"That's not the same......" Zhong He said slowly and deliberately.

Fu Guang took their open and covert struggle as background noise; after listening to Xi Guang's explanation, she felt the trip was truly not in vain.

She stroked her chin, thinking, "The military department really has a lot of good stuff."

"Thank you, seniors, for the Space Ripper and Starship." Fu Guang expressed her gratitude very politely, her eyes nearly squinting shut.

Indeed, the gift Senior Yu Ran gave stands out among all the White Tower's presents: a luxurious starship equipped with weapons that meet the military's requirements.

She herself had only recently taken possession of it; this gift from a distant star system is a starship refitted from a warship.

Besides firepower, speed, stability and everything else were on par with warships.

Zhong He listened to Fu Guang's flawless words, and no longer compared himself to the junior Qing Feng.

"First, observe this new plant; we need to know its danger level, characteristics, and preferences."

Zhong He said to Fu Guang.

"If we cannot obtain it peacefully, we will resort to coercive measures to test it."

"This approach is highly likely to drive the situation into the abyss." Qing Feng added, pointing out its unsuitability.

"But it lies at the heart of the Federation; it must remain under control."