Chapter 2029: One Step to Heaven

Brother Lin, were your previous missions also like this...?

If it's always like this, does that mean we small civilizations only get to wait for death? Clearly those rewards are yours, Brother Lin!

Unwilling, powerless.

Gao Tian clenched his fists tightly; in his eyes, although Lin An had resolved the crisis, the rewards were all gone.

It seems the last mission was the same; no wonder Brother Lin has been stuck at Fourth Stage, forced to risk his life in such missions against a bunch of Fifth Stage opponents!

The hateful part is, they still got nothing!

Captain Lin... Old Zhang also feels terrible. I can tell these bastards look down on us. Though they speak nicely, those rewards are what you exchanged your life for! Clearly we're getting stronger, but why...

He choked off mid-sentence.

Zhang Tie gritted his teeth, watching those Fifth Stage preparing to return. In his eyes, they all seemed to thank Captain Lin, yet were being used as his spear.

But essentially, aside from Gusman having a bit of conscience, the other Fifth Stage basically regard them as ants. If Captain Lin dared to leave them even a little reward, these guys would instantly change faces and crush them without hesitation!

How many more times will this situation occur? What will we do if we encounter it again!?

Just thinking about it makes Xiong Hanzi feel somewhat out of breath!

Noticing the team members' emotions were somewhat off, Lin An opened his mouth, hesitated a moment, then still gave up speaking his true trump card.

The less they know, the more it's a protection for Zhang Tie and them.

Especially.

In the end, one must go through these...

Realizing how many strongers exist in the world isn't a bad thing for Xiong Hanzi and them. Earth is too small; truly treating an invincible on Earth as invincible would be trouble.

Lin An secretly sighed in his heart.

He could understand the team members' distress and confusion; in fact, if it weren't for No. 77 taking a liking to him and willing to cultivate him...

Lin An would have been dead long ago; even if he weren't dead, he'd have no chance to grow.

What counts as talent? What about steadfast will and firm belief?

Every Awakened One who reaches Fourth Stage, or even Third Stage, is considered an elite of their own civilization.

(Perhaps... this is also why No. 77 so despises the Alliance, despises these civilizations. Among these high-level civilizations and the Alliance, there must be many seeds; outstanding ones are as countless as the stars. And No. 77 looks down on them, instead choosing me... likely because he's utterly disappointed in them.)

(Pioneers who halt their progress, living weakly. Not only do they lose the courage to fight the Apocalypse, they may even strike at future generations.)

(Such a vicious cycle, layer upon layer of oppression and blood-sucking... perhaps half of the Apocalypse's difficulty lies in these so-called 'strongers'.)

"Don't worry, my things aren't that easy to take."

With the final three seconds of the countdown, Lin An turned his head to look at Gao Tian and the others.

Before the few could even react, the next second they heard several system prompts in succession.

"Ding, Player Lin An gifts you 500 Apocalypse Points! C-level Permit! *"

"Ding, Player Lin An gifts you..."

"This is!?"

Xiong Hanzi's eyes widened to ovals; seeing that besides Jiang Haochen only receiving points, he and Gao Tian actually each got five hundred points, plus a permit reward they'd never even heard of!

Even if his reaction was slow, he suddenly realized Lin An's rewards were far more than they imagined!

Moreover, as the transmission began, several people clearly found themselves enveloped in a white light. To outsiders it looked like a transmission, but in fact there was not the slightest transmission fluctuation.

Before Gao Tian could stare in shock at Lin An, Lin An's gentle voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Don't worry, just stay here to redeem the rewards."

"I still have some matters to handle; after you finish redeeming, we'll return together."

Only hearing his voice, not seeing his person.

Gao Tian's heart jolted; seeing that the surrounding Fifth Stage hadn't noticed their abnormality here, he suddenly thought of something.

Brother Lin... actually can control the end time, and even control transmission!?

Wait!

It's not Brother Lin, it's the Overseer!?

The Overseer isn't managing Brother Lin? So what just happened... was all an act!?

"Holy shit!? Gao Tian!?"

"What the hell is going on!? Where's Captain Lin!? Why didn't we return?"

Transmission ended; the exchange space originally packed with Fifth Stage was now empty enough to run a mouse.

Xiong Hanzi stared wide-eyed, at a loss as he looked at the light sphere above his head.

After receiving Lin An's gifted points and permit, he also got a flood of system notifications. Although he didn't understand what was going on, he also realized the things Lin An gave them were extremely valuable!

"Brother Lin... probably went to see the Overseer."

"Old Zhang, we probably 'underestimated' Brother Lin."

Gao Tian gave a bitter laugh, yet his heart also felt some excitement and joy. What's bitter is that everything is handled by Lin An himself; what's joyful is that Brother Lin truly lives up to his name—the situation is far not as bad as they imagined.

After a little mental filling-in, he figured out exactly what was going on.

"Looks like... Lin An should have performed very well on the mission? So the Overseer has been paying attention here?"

Like Gao Tian, the second to react, Jiang Haochen also thought of that.

Looking at the points Lin An gave him, his heart was even more shaken, clicking his tongue repeatedly!

Although he got one fewer permit than Zhang Tie and them, he knew just how valuable those 500 Apocalypse Points were! In fact, adding just one more could buy a Star Destroyer's life!

"Old Zhang! Stop sending messages to Captain Lin! Brother Lin has his own things to do, and we have ours."

No longer overthinking, Gao Tian took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, as if making a firm decision.

"I've figured it out; just now I also checked what the system can redeem!"

"Strength! Strength above all! You also saw that we not only face various high-difficulty missions, these Fifth Stage powerhouses of the great civilizations are also our enemies! Without strength, we can't even guard the rewards we earned by risking our lives!"

I looked at the exchange information, and there was something inside that was especially suitable for me. I think I don't need to hesitate any longer!

I don't need to pursue having no weaknesses; my strength is offense and killing!

After saying that, Gao Tian, as if letting go of the obsession in his heart, decisively pointed at the exchange orb.

He actually had something he never told Lin An: that his strength increase wasn't that fast, largely because he wanted to emulate Lin An and walk the path of dual cultivation!

He knew his talent was extremely adept at offense and killing, but other aspects were too weak!

He always felt that a true strong one should be like Lin An, having no weaknesses. Rather than him, his strengths and weaknesses are too obvious.

But after going through so much, he suddenly realized that perhaps he should learn to make trade-offs; not being Lin An, he couldn't be that perfect, and he couldn't keep dragging his feet!

"Gao Tian... you?"

"Alright, I know you brat are also arrogant, figuring it out is also a good thing. However, I don't give a damn; from now on I'll just carry you brat into fights!"

"All settled?"

"Yes, Your Excellency Overseer."

"You want me to enter the Stellar Radiance Battlefield, are you planning...?"

"Not planning to do anything."

"Lin An, have you heard a saying?"

"What saying?"

"One step..."

"Ascend to heaven!"