booktalesy Chapter 7 is not about difficulty, it's about speed.
Chapter 7 is not about difficulty, it's about speed.
"arrive."
Lu Yan picked up his faded backpack and followed behind.
Descending the metal steps, what unfolds before you is not the concrete barracks of your conventional understanding. This is a city.
The towering gray-black alloy walls extend to both sides, their surfaces covered with a magic-resistant coating, and a high-level magic-powered railgun is erected every fifty meters.
Inside the fortress, the streets are laid out in a crisscross pattern.
It has everything from living quarters, training towers, and equipment smelting workshops to a massive, multi-functional logistics and trading center.
People on the street were all dressed in uniform tactical gear, hurrying along. Even at two in the morning, the chimneys of the forging area in the distance were still spewing flames.
Lu Yan glanced at it a couple more times.
An entire small, normally functioning city, entirely dedicated to war and logistics. This scale truly matches the configuration of "China's strongest awakened one".
He followed Xiao Qianyu onto an internal shuttle bus, heading straight for the hexagonal command building in the center.
The journey was smooth and unimpeded; the access card was swiped at seven doors in succession.
The rooftop, the leader's office.
There were no mahogany sofas, and no calligraphy or paintings by famous people.
The four walls are covered with dark-colored soundproof and energy-absorbing panels, and a large metal sand table is placed in the center of the room.
A middle-aged man in a dark blue casual suit stood with his back to the door. Hearing the door open, he turned around.
"They're here."
The middle-aged man had ordinary features, with graying temples, and a build that was neither fat nor thin. Standing there, he looked no different from the retired old men playing chess at the entrance of the alley. No energy fluctuations could be detected.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time." He pulled out a steel pipe chair next to the sand table, sat down, and pointed to the empty seat opposite him. "Sit."
Lu Yan walked over and saw the nameplate on the table: Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, Li Tianshan.
Level 50 Awakened One. National-level.
One of China's top-tier combat forces that are on the surface.
"You look at me like that, do you think I'm not a good fighter?" Li Tianshan chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
"It's quite restrained." Lu Yan pulled out a chair and sat down.
Before he could finish speaking, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and a real stinging pain shot through his skin.
In the shadow of the sand table stood another person. They had been there all along, yet remained completely silent.
It was a young man with a buzz cut and a lean build, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He had a long, sheathed sword clutched to his chest. The chilling aura emanated from that sword, or more precisely, from the hand that held it.
Pure killing intent. It was devoid of any personal emotions, merely the physiological pressure accumulated from years of killing.
Lu Yan didn't move.
"Don't be so serious." Li Tianshan tilted his head towards the corner of the wall. "His name is Jiu, no real name, his code name is just Jiu. He's my personal bodyguard. This kid just crawled out of an A-level frontline secret realm a while ago, and the smell of blood on him hasn't completely washed off yet. It's not directed at you."
Nine, who was called out, remained expressionless, only pulling his hand holding the knife further inside, which slightly warmed the room.
"I understand." Lu Yan rubbed his slightly stiff fingers, and without any pleasantries, went straight to the point, "Captain Xiao should have already reported all my information. You called me here in the middle of the night, so let's skip the small talk and get straight to business."
A hint of admiration flashed in Li Tianshan's eyes: "That's great. Then I'll lay it all out too."
He raised his hand and pointed, and the metal sand table burst into blue light, projecting a three-dimensional map of the distribution of the world's most secret places.
"This is the current resource inventory of Earth." His fingertip traced several bright red areas on the left hemisphere. "The White Eagle Empire. They control three normally open S-class secret realm entrances. Every year, they bring out enough mythical and legendary blueprints to arm two super-armored legions. They've always relied on this to monopolize high-end combat power and control the resource exchange rate. Our China, however, has a very weak foundation, with a gap in top-tier combat power. In recent years, to bridge this gap, countless young men have sacrificed their lives in pioneering endeavors."
The projection shrinks, focusing on the map of China.
"Without equipment, there's no margin for error. Trying to venture into an A-level secret realm often means risking lives." Li Tianshan leaned forward, his hands on the table, his gaze fixed on Lu Yan. "Qianyu reported on your abilities. Your abilities are immeasurable for us, and even for China."
As Lu Yan listened, his fingers unconsciously tapped the side of his thigh.
"I hope you will be admitted to the first echelon of the Dragon Guard."
Li Tianshan set out the terms: "As long as you're here, we can deploy top-tier equipment in an organized manner. We'll cultivate a truly elite elite force for China, with all members fully equipped, and use our accumulated strength to elevate the overall power of our awakened beings. We'll transform our offense and defense."
This is no easy task. The danger of high-level secret realms is so great that they can easily destroy the world. If he, a weakling, went in, he would die from even a scratch.
"I value my life very much."
"You have the right to cherish your life," Li Tianshan replied quickly.
Xiao Qianyu walked forward from behind and slammed a thick paper contract and an electronic authorization board onto the table.
"The Top Secret S01 Protection Plan for the National Guard." Her voice was crisp and clear. "When you enter any secret realm, you will be surrounded by seven top-tier protection paladins, priests, and shield warriors, forming an impenetrable fortress around you. We don't require speed of completion or efficiency in killing enemies. Our only requirement is that you simply need to keep your aura active. If they die, you don't need to worry about them. That's the right we're granting you."
Wait a minute. Lu Yan raised his hand, directly interrupting Li Tianshan's tragic suicide squad tactic.
Suddenly, silence fell.
In the corner, Jiu's fingers made a soft rubbing sound as they rubbed the scabbard.
Lu Yan ignored the faint sense of oppression, placed his hands on the edge of the metal sand table, and glanced at the glaring red high-star secret realm symbols on the holographic projection.
Commander Li, your military's conventional tactical thinking may not have yet recovered from the hardships of the past.
Using human lives to fill high-difficulty dungeons was a last resort when drop rates were low. But things have changed now.
Li Tianshan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he leaned forward: How so?
"You've forgotten the unique feature of my ability: it can upgrade dropped items by two tiers and significantly increase the drop rate. This means we only need to farm specific dungeons; it's not about difficulty, it's about speed."
He fiddled with the sand table for a bit, then dragged several secret realms marked as C-level and B-level to the center to enlarge them.
"The monsters in high-star dungeons have complex mechanics, often dealing full-screen AOE damage. Even if you set up a ten-layered impenetrable barrier for me, a stray bullet or spatial shock could easily wipe out a support character like me who has no self-defense capabilities. The risk is too great, and completely unnecessary."
Lu Yan pointed his finger at a C-level secret realm called "Corrupted Insect Nest".
"My strategy is simple. Abandon those high-difficulty elite boss battles and focus on medium-difficulty dungeons with extremely high monster density. For example, dungeons with insect swarm and beast tide mechanics."
He looked up at Li Tianshan.
Lu Yan tapped the table, the sound particularly clear in the quiet office.
Basic items dropped by C-rank monsters, after being baptized by my aura, become top-tier A-rank or even S-rank items upon landing.
With a 100x drop rate boost, killing 10,000 low-level monsters can bring back the equipment for dozens of heavy trucks.
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Qianyu beside him before returning to Li Tianshan.
"It's not easy for the country to cultivate a top-level awakened individual. In the future, we should avoid this kind of fighting style that risks death at every turn."
Li Tianshan fell silent.
Perhaps he really can change our Chinese military strategy?