Chapter 94: Chapter 89: Book Page Sanctuary Apocalypse Rules Strategy Research Room.
After the first Ascender Challenge Tournament ended, Director Gao Liangwei met with Dr. Zhang alone for a short meeting in his office.
"How did our five teams perform?"
"Quite well, I think," Dr. Zhang said. "The first team, Dragon Soul, took third place. The fourth team took fifth."
Gao Liangwei nodded. "With so many teams competing, having two of ours place is decent. Especially that little girl. I didn’t expect her one-person team to actually pull it off."
Dr. Zhang replied, "To be honest, I’ve never seen a Psychic Power item more powerful than her Mecha... If there’s any flaw, it’s that the child is young and not very mature. She’s also a loner and can’t get along with others, which is why we let her form a team by herself."
"Let’s put her aside for now. Tell me about the eliminated second, third, and fifth teams. How were they taken out?"
"I’ve already asked," Dr. Zhang said, going through them one by one. "The second team was just unlucky. They ran into the Tulip Federation’s Wolf Pack Team. They were outnumbered and had no choice but to be eliminated."
"The Wolf Pack Team?"
"Yes. The Federation’s teams all agreed on a meeting point before the competition. After entering the island, they all rushed there. Once they grouped up, they used their overwhelming numbers to eliminate teams from other countries."
Gao Liangwei said coldly, "Leave it to them to come up with something like that. But I have to admit, it’s an effective strategy."
"It is. If their ’Alpha Wolf’ hadn’t died, they definitely would have placed... In any case, the second team fell to them. The third team... the circumstances of their elimination were rather unusual."
Dr. Zhang recounted the events as he’d heard them from the team members. When he finished, Gao Liangwei’s expression was grim. "If that’s what happened, then as the captain, Gu Fei bears an undeniable responsibility!"
"I agree... I chose him as captain because he showed considerable talent in close-quarters combat, and he had a daring, aggressive spirit. It seems now that was the wrong choice. It was my mistake."
"What about the fifth team?"
"According to the report from the fifth team’s members, they were defeated by ’Shadow’ while trying to secure the hidden treasure, the ’Holy Grail.’ This ’Shadow’ also managed to survive until the end, taking first place and the hidden reward."
"Who in the world is this Shadow? Can we find out who he is as soon as possible?" Gao Liangwei asked.
Dr. Zhang thought for a moment. "Because he fought against multiple people, some of his powers have been exposed. First, he can summon the Living Dead that appeared in the fifth Apocalypse Rule. Second, he can create explosions and smoke in a small area. And third, he can manipulate shadow-like things to kill..."
Gao Liangwei immediately ordered, "Disseminate this intelligence to all relevant personnel. Tell them to keep a sharp lookout. If anyone with similar abilities is discovered, they are to report it immediately."
"Yes, I’ll get on it right away."
"Shadow was first, and Dragon Soul’s team was third. Who took second?"
"The second-place team was Adam’s team."
"Adam?" Gao Liangwei seemed to have heard the name before. "Could it be..."
"Yes. He is a member of the ’Eden Project’ initiated by the Soloma Empire. According to a covert investigation, all participants in the project were sent to an island called ’Eden Island.’ The process of gestating the ’Son of God’ is being conducted on that very island.
As for this person named ’Adam’... he’s supposedly the most favored candidate for the role of the ’father.’ His four teammates are apparently also his wives, and they will bear his children."
"..."
Gao Liangwei was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.
But this was a project of the Soloma Empire, after all, so it was out of his hands. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do we have a count of the participants in this tournament?"
Dr. Zhang shook his head. "No, we don’t. But there weren’t as many participants as we expected. Many qualified individuals in various countries chose to discard their Invitation Letters—after all, before the tournament began, no one knew what format it would take. If it turned out to be a real life-or-death battle, some people weren’t willing to take that risk."
Gao Liangwei could understand that.
It was as the old saying goes: "The son of a wealthy family does not sit under the eaves." Some people of high status and position were unwilling to participate in a competition with an unknown format. They preferred to deal with the Apocalypse Rules one by one in a methodical manner, backed by concentrated resources. That gave them a greater sense of security.
"In any case, the Ascenders who participated in the tournament are ultimately a minority. The majority of people don’t really care about this competition. They’re more concerned with whether they can survive the next rule, and that is also our primary mission."
With that, Gao Liangwei added, "Also, as of today, remove Gu Fei from the apocalypse team training program. His performance was too disappointing!"
"...Understood."
...
Guan Tong walked to the entrance of the sanctuary but didn’t rush inside. Instead, he first studied its exterior.
To be honest, it was a far cry from the sanctuary he had imagined. From the outside, it was just a small wooden cabin, not much larger than the property storage room he was currently living in.
"A sanctuary made of wood... How very ’reassuring.’"
Guan Tong muttered as he walked inside. The scene before him felt like stepping into a 30-yuan-a-night motel room.
Inside was a bed, a wardrobe, a wooden table with a stool, and a bathroom. There was nothing else.
’...Isn’t this a little too crude?’
Guan Tong picked up the [Wordless Book]. It definitely said "All-In-One Sanctuary." How did this even qualify as "all-in-one"?
’Could it be like what happened with the "Shadow Outline" at the beginning? Did I get a super-shrunken version?’
Guan Tong thought it was very likely.
However, he wasn’t completely disappointed.
Because Guan Tong quickly discovered a few bright spots.
There were outlets in the room that had power; the faucet in the bathroom had running water; the toilet flushed; and the shower worked.
But just as he finished testing everything, thinking the sanctuary had an unlimited supply of water and electricity, he noticed that his Psychic Power had silently dropped from 2 points to 1.
"...?"
Guan Tong froze for a second before it dawned on him. ’The sanctuary consumes Psychic Power while it’s active?’