ATDIWR Chapter 119

Chapter 119 Mecha’s First Appearance, Military Coercion

The united alliance formed by the alliance of more than a dozen bases like Happiness, Anhe, and Hope, was specifically intended to pressure the Jing Shi Base to achieve their ultimate goal. Therefore, to maximize the pressure, this video conference was made public. Any individual or base related to the Spiritual Spring could see it.

Guang Jia, Hao Rui, and others knew that relying solely on their few small bases to obtain the Spiritual Spring was unrealistic, which is why they took the populist route. With more people resisting, even someone as powerful as Gu Jinsheng would have to show some restraint.

This line of thinking was correct to some extent. After this video call concluded, the hearts of many bases or individuals were stirred. Scouts dispatched from other bases were restless, secretly causing trouble and unsettling many people. Almost the instant the video call was disconnected, countless video calls came in, attempting to join the alliance and get a share of the Spiritual Spring water.

Hao Rui, who received the communications, was red-faced with excitement, completely forgetting his previous worry about the Jing Shi Base potentially attacking. He said in a high, excited voice, “I’ve received so many applications to join us. Among them, there are five bases alone.”

Guang Jia was also beaming, his face ruddy with joy, his spirits high. He smiled, “I received a communication from a Tier 7 high-level Power User. The other party expressed willingness to join us. If the Jing Shi Base really attacks our alliance, they agree to lend a hand when necessary and advance or retreat together with us.”

“Really?” Shao Hao was pleasantly surprised. “That’s great! A Tier 7 Power User, that’s a top-tier Power User. I remember Gu Jinsheng is only Tier 7. I wonder who would be more powerful if they faced off.”

“No matter who is more powerful, the destruction and damage that a single Tier 7 Power User can cause is unimaginable. With the addition of this high-level Power User, even if the Jing Shi Base wants to attack us, they will still have to show some restraint.”

Guang Jia, Shao Hao, and Hao Rui exchanged glances and burst into laughter, feeling confident. The few of them seemed to already see the scene where the Jing Shi Base, unwilling but forced, had to hand over the Spiritual Spring water.

This seemingly insignificant alliance of dozens of small bases stirred up a storm in both the international community and within Xia Country that should not be underestimated. Many small bases were restless. They were unwilling to join the alliance formed by Guang Jia and the others, fearing that the small bases that joined later would have no voice in the alliance and only get some leftovers. However, they still wanted a share, so they secretly formed one alliance after another, just waiting to likewise adopt the form of a global public video call in the near future to pressure the Jing Shi Base and obtain the Spiritual Spring water.

Charles of M Base was currently sitting in his office, laughing hysterically, constantly slapping his thighs with a slapping sound.

Although Charles, a Tier 7 Power User, had some exaggeration to his power, his ability was stacked up by Zombie Crystal Cores and was far from the strength of a true Tier 7 Power User, he was still a Tier 7 Power User, and his ability should not be underestimated.

He slapped his thigh so hard that the assistant next to him secretly wondered if Charles’s thigh was being slapped bloody.

Has Commander Charles gone so crazy that he can’t even feel pain anymore?

He’s crazy, completely crazy! Commander Charles has gone utterly mad!

The assistant shrank his shoulders in fear. If reason hadn’t controlled him, he would have fled the place by now.

Charles laughed loudly and said to the other large bases in M Country on the other side of the video, “I told you long ago that Xia Country is a plate of scattered sand. As long as you find the right method, you don’t need us; they will start fighting among themselves first. Look, haven’t some bases already started protesting? Trust me, it won’t be long before war breaks out in that land of Xia Country. That will be a good time for us to make our move.”

The man in the video on the other side also smiled, “Isn’t this just like that ancient Xia Country saying, ‘When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman benefits’?”

Another man said, “Then let’s wait and see what happens next. And let me congratulate everyone in advance on achieving your goals and achieving victory.”

Within the Jing Shi Base, Gu Jinsheng looked at Ji An and casually asked, “Who should we send?”

His attitude showed he didn’t take the few small base alliances that were jumping around seriously at all, as if they were just ants that could be annihilated with a wave of his hand.

In reality, with the current strength of the Jing Shi Base, annihilating those few small bases would be easy. Those few small base alliances were not unaware of the vast difference in strength between the two sides; they were simply relying on the Jing Shi Base’s consistent show of mercy in not wanting to indiscriminately kill the innocent.

“I’ll go,” He Tao raised his hand and said, “It’s just a small matter, I’ll handle it. No need for the big bosses to make a move.”

However, Ji An shook his head. “Jinsheng, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to go personally this time.”

“Why?” He Tao didn’t understand. “Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? It’s just a few small bases.”

Kong Zhongcheng echoed, “Ji God, if you’re really worried, I can go. They’re just a few small fries, it’s too much to ask the boss to go personally.”

As someone who understood Ji An’s thoughts completely, Gu Jinsheng understood Ji An better than anyone else. “Mecha.”

This feeling of understanding everything about the other person with just a glance or a smile was particularly good. Ji An couldn’t help but smile with his eyes. “Yes. Since our mecha has been successfully developed, we naturally can’t leave it at home collecting dust. It’s time for it to go out and have a look around.”

Kong Zhongcheng and the others’ eyes lit up. “Military coercion.”

Zhou Qin clapped his hands hard. “Awesome! Who cares about reasoning with them? It’s the Apocalypse! Can’t they see that only the one with the hardest fist has reason?”

He Tao looked at Gu Jinsheng with envy. “No wonder the Commander has to go personally. We’re saying, that mecha, except for the Commander, none of us can mentally link with it or pilot it.”

The mecha developed by Ji An is divided into different levels based on mental strength. Mecha Unit One, which he personally built, has extremely high requirements for mental strength. So far, only he and Gu Jinsheng in the entire base can link with it.

Ji An wasn’t a battle pushover; on the contrary, he was very strong in actual combat. Although he had been focused on research recently, he hadn’t abandoned actual combat and trained whenever he had time.

It was just that Ji An was now a key protected person, so they tried not to let him get into dangerous situations if possible.

Kong Zhongcheng said with a flattering smile, “Ji God, do you have any way to quickly increase mental strength? I want a mecha too.”

Ji An said, “To increase your mental strength, you can train in holographic mental strength battles in your daily life, but that also takes time. As for mechas, we will produce mechas corresponding to different mental strength levels later to ensure that Power Users of any mental strength level can pilot a mecha.”

Wan Xueying’s eyes sparkled. “Ji God, are you planning to form a mecha troop?”

“I plan for all combat personnel in our base to be equipped with mechas,” Ji An said.

“Cool!” Zhou Qin was so excited that he jumped up from the ground. Due to his excessive excitement, Zhou Qin even audaciously reached out and patted his boss, Commander Gu, on the shoulder. “Boss, you are too lucky! You actually got to be Ji God’s partner.”

Gu Jinsheng’s gaze fell on Zhou Qin’s hand on his shoulder. Zhou Qin immediately felt his hand go cold and quickly retracted it sheepishly.

Gu Jinsheng’s gaze turned towards Ji An, his chilling eyes instantly filled with tenderness.

Gu Jinsheng nodded at Ji An. “I’m going. I’ll be back soon.”

It was as if he wasn’t going to battle, but just going out for a walk.

Kong Zhongcheng followed Gu Jinsheng’s steps, yelling, “Boss, I’ll go with you! How many teams are you taking?”

Gu Jinsheng’s voice, without inflection, rang out, “Just me.”

“Not taking a team?”

Gu Jinsheng didn’t answer, he just sneered, and anyone could understand what he meant – those small fries? Not worthy!

Meanwhile, Hao Rui, Shao Hao, Guang Jia, and the others were still discussing the day’s events in the base. The few of them naively believed that this time, no matter what, they would be able to get a share of the Spiritual Spring water, and even began fantasizing about how they would use it after getting it.

“I heard that Spiritual Spring water can cure zombification. Having more of this stuff is like having an extra life! When the time comes, I’ll store all the Spiritual Spring water in my storage space and sell it to the highest bidder,” Shao Hao mused.

“You actually have a storage item? That stuff is sold for a fortune outside. Your base is really rich,” Guang Jia said sourly.

He had wanted to buy one for a long time, but unfortunately, it was too expensive. Unless the entire base pooled its resources, he couldn’t afford it at all. But even though he was the base leader, if he wanted all the residents of the base to take out their savings just to buy him a storage item, it was absolutely impossible. It was more likely that they would overthrow him.

Shao Hao said carelessly, “Buy it? The Jing Shi Base sells it so expensively, how could us small bases afford it? But just because I don’t have one now doesn’t mean I won’t after I get the Spiritual Spring water. With the Spiritual Spring water in hand, people will naturally bring loads of storage items to trade for it. By then, maybe treatment pods and scanners will be available in abundance, enough to use and discard at will. Maybe we can even get a few hover cars to play with.”

Hao Rui, however, boasted proudly, “I do have a storage item. Didn’t the base I’m in submit to the Jing Shi Base? I bought it at an internal price, it’s alright, not expensive.”

Guang Jia and Shao Hao stared at Hao Rui with envy. Guang Jia said jealously, “That’s nothing great. When I get the Spiritual Spring water, what’s one storage item? Treatment pods and hover cars will be easily acquired.”

Shao Hao thought of such a scene and laughed loudly. “Yes, we’re going to be rich! Hahaha…”

They were completely consumed by greed, not considering whether they would have the strength to protect the rare treasure even if the Jing Shi Base truly backed down and let them get the Spiritual Spring water, given the immense benefits.

“Commander, this is bad! A steel giant has appeared outside…” A Power User stumbled in, his face panicked.

The three exchanged glances, quickly cooling down from their high excitement, their faces turning grim.

“Why are you so flustered!” Hao Rui snapped, then thought of a possibility and said with a grim expression, “Is it the Jing Shi Base’s hover car?”

Shao Hao gritted his teeth. “How dare they? Aren’t they afraid that the other bases in Xia Country will unite against them?”

The young assistant who had run in was still catching his breath. He panted, “It’s not a hover car. I’ve seen the Jing Shi Base’s hover car in videos, it’s not that. The big thing outside is over three meters tall, it looks like it’s made of steel. If I had to say what it looks like, it’s like Iron Man from movies before the Apocalypse.”

The three didn’t dare to delay and quickly ran outside. On the way, Guang Jia even held out hope, saying, “Could it be that the high-level Power User who contacted me online has arrived? Since he can become a high-level Power User, it’s not impossible that he has some extraordinary encounters or special treasures.”

Shao Hao, however, was more worried than hopeful. He had a strange sense of unease in his heart; he felt more strongly that someone from the Jing Shi Base had arrived.

But at this point, there was no use saying more. Shao Hao could only say, “Let’s hope so.”

The three quickly ran to the base plaza and saw a steel giant hovering in the sky above the base. Just as the assistant described, it was over three meters tall and looked like it was made of metal all over, yet it didn’t resemble any metal they had seen before. Seeing it up close, the sense of oppression was particularly strong.

At this moment, someone handed them a megaphone. Guang Jia took it and, feeling apprehensive, shouted at the steel giant in the air, “You are welcome here as guests. We have absolutely no ill will towards you. May I ask for your name, so we may know your distinguished name? If there is anything, please come in and we can discuss it slowly. Everything is negotiable.”

The base where Guang Jia and the others were located was a small base within Xia Country. In ordinary times, they would hide if they could and never dared to go against large bases. If they accidentally provoked a large base, they would bow and apologize. Whether it was ceding land and offering compensation, or gifting beauties, whatever it took to quell the other party’s anger, they would do it.

Logically speaking, they should not have dared to oppose a behemoth like the Jing Shi Base. Ultimately, it was greed that consumed them. The Jing Shi Base had recently been acting gently internally, providing beneficial things like nutrient solutions and holographic systems, and always upholding the principle of common development and mutual preservation internally, which had given these petty individuals greedy desires.

“Jing Shi Base,” Gu Jinsheng didn’t even bother to state his name. “Come to accept the challenge.”

Guang Jia’s face instantly became ashen. He hadn’t expected the Jing Shi Base to actually dare to accept the challenge.

Guang Jia said grimly, “Aren’t you afraid that by attacking us, the Jing Shi Base will provoke the dissatisfaction of more Power Users? We don’t have any excessive demands, just a little bit of Spiritual Spring water. That was originally a gift from nature, leaving a lifeline for all humanity. Doesn’t the Jing Shi Base feel any guilt for keeping it all to itself? When you dream at midnight, looking at the newly mutated zombies outside, don’t you feel ashamed? As long as you hand over the Spiritual Spring water, you can save thousands and thousands of people infected with the zombie virus.”

Guang Jia completely refused to believe what Ji An said during his speech about the Spiritual Spring water not being able to cure zombification.

While Guang Jia delayed for time, he secretly sent a plea for help message to the Tier 7 high-level Power User who had contacted him, sending one urgent request after another like a death knell to the high-level Power User’s communication device.

Shao Hao saw Guang Jia’s little actions and stepped forward to also delay for time. “The Jing Shi Base is selfish and self-serving. I’m sure a hero like yourself wouldn’t want to associate with them. You must have been deceived by them before. Why not join us now and turn over a new leaf? It’s better than becoming a sinner of humanity and being infamous for eternity.”

The few of them didn’t know that the person who had arrived was Gu Jinsheng and were still hoping to incite defection. If they had known it was Gu Jinsheng, there would definitely have been no such nonsense.

There were still some clear-headed individuals in the base who, seeing the enormous object in the sky outside, knew that their small base could never resist it and had already packed up their belongings and secretly slipped away.

The three didn’t know that the base behind them was already in chaos, with many people escaping amidst the confusion. Or perhaps, even if they knew, they couldn’t spare any thought for it at this moment.

Gu Jinsheng didn’t bother listening to their nonsense. He was just giving those who were adrift and helpless a chance to escape.

Gu Jinsheng looked at the time on the light screen in front of him and said, “Escape countdown, five minutes.”

Guang Jia’s face was red with anger. The other party was giving him no face at all and clearly didn’t take him seriously.

“Sir, don’t be too arrogant. Although I don’t know the origin of your equipment, I’m sure you wouldn’t disregard a Tier 7 high-level Power User, would you?”

Guang Jia held his head high, looking arrogant. “Our base is allied with a Tier 7 high-level Power User.”

In the small base where Guang Jia was located, as the commander-in-chief, he himself was only a Tier 4 peak Power User. This level of ability was unique in the base, which was why he became the commander-in-chief. The rest were Tier 3 Power Users and below.

They had never even seen a Tier 7 high-level Power User, only heard of them in legends, and therefore believed that a Tier 7 Power User was like a god, and everyone should be as afraid as he was.

In fact, most people were indeed like this. Tier 7 ability was already the peak ability level. But the problem was that was for others. For Gu Jinsheng, who was also a Tier 7 peak Power User, and one of the best among Tier 7 peak Power Users, they were all subordinates.

Gu Jinsheng didn’t reply at all. He swung his steel arm, and a countdown composed of a light screen appeared horizontally in the sky above the base.