Chapter 225: Primal Armament

Looking at the swarm of ants blanketing the sky in the distance, Wu Chang clicked his tongue, thinking to himself that if it weren't for the fact that Disqualified Monsters had no consciousness and attacked indiscriminately based on instinct, Holy Song Company wouldn't need to develop any high-energy weapons—they could just sell Disqualified Monsters directly.

According to the records in the Disqualified Monster registry, the Glutton Ant has Vitality b, Attack c, Endurance a, Aggressiveness a, and Attack Range d.

Glutton Ant, as the name suggests, is characterized by its ability to eat.

It possesses an endless appetite and can devour everything it comes into contact with.

Regardless of whether something is soft or hard, cold or hot, with or without form, once it touches it, everything will be converted into pure energy and absorbed by it.

It can also condense this energy into ant swarms, disperse the swarms outward, and have them forage on its behalf.

Ant swarms that have consumed food will grow and reproduce, with individuals becoming larger and more numerous. When an individual's size reaches its limit, they will return to the vicinity of the Glutton Ant and become its food.

Speaking of Disqualified Monsters, their bodies and traits are secondary; the truly critical aspect is their unique Disqualified Domain.

Although the Glutton Ant's appearance resembles an ant, its Disqualified Domain is like a transparent spider web. Once anything enters its Disqualified Domain, all inanimate objects without will, or even creatures with weak wills, will become its food.

Just like the bullets currently swirling around it.

The Disqualified Domain sounds outrageous, and its actual effect is equally outrageous.

Because Wu Chang sensed a trace of divine power from within the Disqualified Domain.

Although that sensation was very faint, it was indeed divinity, and it was precisely this sliver of divinity that prevented players from resisting the Disqualified Monster's ability.

This discovery genuinely surprised Wu Chang.

Divinity is not something easily obtained, and it especially shouldn't appear in the Wasteland Realm.

Wu Chang had experienced many high-difficulty instances and seen quite a few things related to divinity, but most of that divinity was bestowed by evil gods, or obtained through earthly divine kingdoms from gods dwelling in deeper layers of the abyss.

The only time he had seen divinity natively born within the Wasteland Realm was the Sea God General from the Silent Voyage.

According to Xiao En's memories, the instance plane where Holy Song Company resides had no mysticism-related system, making earthly divine kingdom rituals difficult to complete, and bestowments from higher planes extremely difficult.

As for natural deities nurtured by local culture, the Federation's history books were as thick as a British cookbook; even if some local deity were truly summoned, it would probably be the scalp-less kind.

It would be good enough if it didn't cause trouble—how could it possibly cooperate with Holy Song Company?

Moreover, Holy Song Company's chairman Schultz was a steadfast atheist. From childhood onward, every time he saw anything related to deities, Schultz would display undisguised disgust and contempt.

Schultz's exact words were: nothing made him more uncomfortable than listening to charlatans preach, except perhaps talking to idiots.

He couldn't understand why, with technology having advanced to its current level, people still believed in the existence of gods and thought gods had created the world.

When Schultz attended world-class conferences and discussed Holy Song Company's vision, he would often mention a passage.

It was this: everything humanity possesses today was never obtained by relying on ethereal, elusive gods, but through humanity's own intelligence, wisdom, and diligent hands. Holy Song Company exists to let the world know that humanity doesn't need gods—humanity itself is the god.

At the cutting-edge technology exhibition one month ago, Schultz likewise mentioned this passage. In Wu Chang's view, the likelihood of Schultz collaborating with the Xieshen Sect was also slim.

The existence of evil god believers is to glorify the brilliance of the deities they worship—how could they spend every day antagonizing gods?

So the question arises: if Schultz isn't an evil god believer, the Federation's brief history cannot generate deities, and Holy Song Company's plane cannot connect to the deeper layers of the abyss—

Where did the divinity within the Disqualified Monster come from?

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes. Holy Song Company's secrets ran deeper than he had imagined.

Under the gnawing of the ant swarm, within less than three minutes, the first layer of automatic defensive armaments at Orens Manor was overwhelmed.

Within less than five minutes, the automatic weapons in the community's public areas were completely devoured.

The ant swarm, needing more food, smoothly shifted its target to the assembled manor security team and the private bodyguards hired by the wealthy.

The manor security team and private bodyguards, equipped with new-model high-energy weapons manufactured by Holy Song Company, protected the homeowners as they retreated indoors from outside, while simultaneously firing at the ant swarm and the Glutton Ant in the sky.

Compared to traditional firearms and older-model energy weapons, the high-energy weapons manufactured by Holy Song Company had greater power, smaller size, and more concentrated energy.

Bullets fired from high-energy weapons could pass through the Disqualified Domain surrounding the Glutton Ant, directly striking its main body and inflicting massive damage.

But they were all equipped with individual-soldier high-energy weapons, and greater power and smaller size also meant fewer shots available.

A single volley of concentrated fire from the security team and bodyguards nearly shattered a third of the Glutton Ant's body, but by the time they were changing energy blocks, the Glutton Ant had already repaired its physical form by devouring the ant swarm it had summoned.

Having suffered grievous damage, the Glutton Ant changed its strategy this time: it commanded the ant swarm to stop devouring the already-destroyed automatic weapons and prioritize attacking targets wielding high-energy weapons.

The security personnel and bodyguards wielding high-energy weapons were like high-damage but fragile ADCs—they could indeed deal damage to the Disqualified Monster, but without the protection of the automatic defensive systems, they were as fragile as paper when facing the Disqualified Monster's attacks.

Countless ants surged forth, and in the blink of an eye, they devoured the security team and bodyguards who had remained outside to resist the swarm.

The ant swarm consumed the scattered high-energy weapons as food, and the Glutton Ant's body grew once more.

The current Glutton Ant had already transformed from one that could originally be stuffed into a small box measuring one and a half meters per side into one with a body length exceeding four meters, its abdomen round as a ball, every wrinkle on its skin stretched taut.

On the Orens Manor side, the manor security and private bodyguards wielding high-energy weapons had drawn the ant swarm's attention. The wealthy took the opportunity to flee, and the moment their front foot entered the house, their back foot slammed the door shut.

Although it was somewhat unscrupulous, in a sense, they also prevented the ant swarm from entering indoors.

Every villa purchased by the wealthy had its own independent automatic defensive system, with both defensive capability and firepower exceeding that of Orens Manor's automatic defensive system.

As long as they hid inside, they could hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Everything went exactly as they had hoped. The usually exorbitant taxes and donations now unleashed powerful effects.

The Velldo City police department, with an average response time of 40 minutes, assembled its elite forces in just five minutes and, together with the nearby Holy Song Company patrol teams, charged into the community.

Wu Chang and the others, taking advantage of the chaos as cover, left Orens Manor, waited outside for ten minutes, and once they judged the timing was right, pretended to be passers-by, showed their Holy Song Company work IDs to the gate guards, and rushed into the manor through the front gate.

Returning to Orens Manor once more, the battle situation was not optimistic.

If the SWAT team and Holy Song patrol teams had appeared earlier, with their firepower, they really might have shattered the Glutton Ant in a single encounter.

Now the Glutton Ant had devoured the entire manor's public automatic defensive system, as well as a large quantity of high-energy weapons, and had already passed through its initial weakened state. Not only was its body robust, it had also split off tens of thousands of ants.

Facing the Disqualified Monster at its peak, the SWAT team and Holy Song patrol teams were also helpless, able only to fight while retreating.

The Glutton Ant, meanwhile, used the ant swarm to suppress the SWAT team and Holy Song patrol teams on one side. Having finished eating the food within its Disqualified Domain, it was now crouched atop the largest villa's roof, madly gnawing at it.

What a coincidence—the building it had set its sights on was precisely the Moretz family home.

When Wu Chang and the others arrived, the top floor of the Moretz mansion had already been eaten clean, and the Glutton Ant was eating its way down from the roof, having gnawed through a wall.

Through the broken wall, Wu Chang saw Moretz surrounded by bodyguards—that angular, completely un-rounded bald head was extremely conspicuous.

Seeing this, Feiguang whispered: "Boss, should we go help?"

Everything they had done tonight was to extract money from the wealthy of Orens Manor, and Moretz was the biggest target among these wealthy individuals.

If they accidentally kill the client, their business won't be easy to run anymore.

Wu Chang nodded and said, "Can you make it more discreet?"

Feiguang looked at Youwu, who nodded and said, "I can try." Just as they spoke, the sound of helicopter rotors echoed above the Orenes Estate.

Wu Chang looked up to see two armed helicopters bearing the Saint Song logo hovering above them.

As soon as the armed helicopters appeared, cheers erupted from the villa district.

"Perfect! It's the Emergency Mobile Unit—we're saved!"

The helicopter cabins opened, and two Saint Song employees, clad in full high-tech armor, wearing tactical visors and auxiliary faceplates, looked like futuristic warriors, appeared at the cabin doors.

Their chests bore golden Saint Song logos, marking them as Level Six Gold Employees of Saint Song.

The armed helicopters hovered directly above the Gluttonous Ant. After receiving a command, the two showed no hesitation and leapt out simultaneously.

As they leapt from the helicopters, they were hundreds of meters above ground, with no parachutes—upon exiting, they plunged headfirst, limbs drawn tight, bodies rigid, accelerating at maximum speed toward the Gluttonous Ant.

At a distance of dozens of meters from the Gluttonous Ant, they rolled into a tuck, then spread their limbs into a star shape to slow their descent, before drawing from their backs two-meter-long, palm-width black matte greatswords.

Their synchronization was so perfect, they could've piloted mechs in Pacific Rim.

Hum~

A violent humming erupted from the two black greatswords; large pale blue patterns glowed across their surfaces.

!

After activation, the two Gold Employees gained limited flight capability, able to maneuver in midair.

Wu Chang stared at the two black greatswords, and memories flooded his mind.

Prime Armaments—the ultimate masterpiece developed by Saint Song, built upon high-energy weapons.

Only those who have undergone Psychic Awakening can wield Prime Armaments; that's why only those who complete the Psychic Awakening surgery qualify as Gold Employees.

Three years ago, Saint Song announced the development plan for Prime Armaments, but after that, all news vanished; most people assumed the Prime Armaments were still in PPT stage, merely a stock-price gimmick.

Only a few high-ranking officials knew the Prime Armaments had been under continuous development and had already entered testing.

The vast majority present today—including the original owner of Wu Chang's body, Xiao En—were seeing Prime Armaments in action for the first time.

The two Gold Employees adjusted their posture, swinging the black greatswords left and right at the Gluttonous Ant; the slashes formed a giant X in midair.

When the Prime Armaments' black greatswords struck the Disqualified Field, it was like a hot knife through butter—the Gluttonous Ant's Disqualified Field could not affect the blades at all, and was instantly cleaved open.

Along with the Disqualified Field, the Gluttonous Ant itself was split apart.

As the two Gold Employees landed steadily, the Gluttonous Ant in midair split into four segments and plummeted to the ground.

With the death of the Gluttonous Ant, the ant swarm transformed by its ability died instantly; tens of thousands of ants rained from the sky like an insect storm.

The Disqualified Monster that had effortlessly overrun the Orenes Estate, leaving the Wildo City SWAT and Saint Song Patrols helpless, was effortlessly obliterated in a single strike by the Prime Armaments.

Looking at the Gold Employees standing beside the Gluttonous Ant's corpse, even Feiguang, who had seen great things, couldn't help blurting out a curse.

"Shit!"

Even if they unleashed their full power without holding back, they couldn't kill the Gluttonous Ant as effortlessly as the two Gold Employees had.

Feiguang glanced at Wu Chang and whispered, "Boss, if we became Gold Employees, could we get weapons like those?"

Feiguang voiced the unspoken thought of all Iron Armor Corps members; their eyes all turned to Wu Chang.

Coach, we really want to learn this.

Wu Chang dismissed it casually: "Just Prime Armaments. If you all work hard, after you complete the Psychic Awakening surgery, I'll at least secure three test slots for you."

At these words, Feiguang and the others' gazes instantly changed; if not for the crowd around them, they would've raised their hands and shouted "Loyalty!" on the spot.

Wu Chang turned his head calmly, continuing to watch the two Gold Employees.

Want, want, want—you want everything, but I want too!

Only a god can defeat a god; this holds true in most cases.

The strength of Disqualified Monsters lies in the faint divine essence contained within their Disqualified Fields.

Feiguang and the others thought the blades cleaving the Disqualified Field so easily were high-tech magic, but only Wu Chang saw the truth: the Prime Armaments themselves contained divine essence—at least twice as concentrated as that in the Disqualified Field!

Would I give you something this good, even if I could?

But since drawing pies doesn't require taxes, I'll just promise it for now; if Feiguang and the others get stuck at Level Five, I'll find ways to sabotage their performance ratings or make them wait a year or two for their Psychic Awakening surgery.

Wu Chang ignored the changes around him caused by the Disqualified Monster's death, and paid no attention to the wealthy individuals slowly emerging from their rooms; his eyes locked onto the two black greatswords.

On the two black greatswords, besides divine essence, he saw a streak of deep crimson resentment.

As he focused his gaze, the slender crimson resentment, like a blade scar, sliced open a crack in space; his consciousness followed the crack into the scene recorded within the resentment.

This time, Wu Chang did not enter the resentment from a first-person perspective, but from a surveillance viewpoint, looking down upon the scene within.

A woman dressed as a secretary, with a silver badge pinned to her chest, hurried into the office and called out:

"Zou Bo, Zou Yuan, this month's performance reports are in—you two are number one again! If nothing changes, next month you'll be promoted to Level Seven supervisors, congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

Cheers came from all sides, surrounding the two young men whose height and appearance were identical.

"Thank you all! Once my brother and I become supervisors, we'll keep working hard, raise everyone's performance, and keep our department's number-one spot!"

One of the youths smiled broadly to those around him; his expression bright and cheerful, he chatted easily with coworkers. From the golden name tag on his chest, it read: Zou Bo—the elder twin.

The other protagonist, the younger brother Zou Yuan, was far quieter than his brother; he simply stared at his computer screen, thinking about how to manage his duties after becoming a supervisor.

When greeted by others, he merely nodded with a faint smile, showing little expression.

The celebration lasted less than five minutes; when the department manager entered, voices gradually lowered as everyone returned to their desks.

The department manager scanned the room with a stern expression; just as everyone braced for a scolding, his face suddenly softened and he said:

"We've finally promoted two Level Seven supervisors—why are you all standing there? Celebrate! Tonight, premium beefsteak and seafood, unlimited—I'm treating everyone!"

"But let me be clear: celebration won't interfere with work. We're not going out to eat—I've brought the chef and kitchen here to cook live, so you all eat while you work! Only food, no alcohol!"

The crowd immediately burst into cheers.

"Long live the manager!"

The office atmosphere was harmonious; the young manager smiled warmly, celebrating together with everyone.

If nothing unexpected happened, the brothers Zou Bo and Zou Yuan were about to step into management in their careers, with a bright future ahead.

But Wu Chang knew that if nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected would definitely happen.

Because the name of the manager in the grudge was Farell.

(End of chapter)