Preparation

July 10th, 9:00 PM.

"Whew, this Five Hearts Towards Heaven Method is way too difficult. It's already been ten days, and I still haven't sensed any Cosmic Energy."

Qin Mu felt rather helpless.

"The gap between people is just too huge!"

Qin Mu remembered that Luo Feng had sensed Cosmic Energy on the very night he began cultivating.

Rather than forcing himself to sense it any longer, Qin Mu stood up and stretched in the living room.

After eating something, Qin Mu returned to his computer desk and turned on the computer.

Aside from cultivating the Five Hearts Towards Heaven Method, Qin Mu had not been idle these past few days. On the contrary, he had become even busier.

He had been preparing to enter the Wilderness Zone, and there were simply too many things to do.

He planned to enter the wilderness alone, so he certainly could not rely on his two legs to get around. Thus, Qin Mu found a driving school and got his driver's license.

With his status as a Pre-warrior, along with the generous payment, the driving school guaranteed that he could get his license within twenty days.

Besides learning to drive, Qin Mu also used Uncle Qing's connections to find a Shooting Club where he could learn how to shoot.

Although firearms dealt very little damage to High-level Beast Soldiers, they were still extremely effective against low-level monsters.

Ordinary Beast Soldier level monsters could not withstand firearm attacks. Although Qin Mu was going into the wilderness, he would not be venturing too far, so he was unlikely to encounter High-level Beast Soldiers.

Spending some time practicing with firearms could not hurt.

For the past ten days, Qin Mu had gone to the Limit Martial Arts School every morning to cultivate and spar with some advanced students. In the afternoon, he spent two hours learning to drive and two hours practicing shooting.

At night, he cultivated Gene Energy—the Five Hearts Towards Heaven Method.

Unfortunately, after ten days, he had made rapid progress with driving and shooting.

But the Five Hearts Towards Heaven Method had yielded nothing at all.

Qin Mu opened the HR Alliance Platform and entered his identity information.

This was an extremely special platform that only warriors could access.

The HR Alliance, also known among warriors as the Underground Alliance, was an alliance formed by the world's top super corporations and super families. It controlled more than half of the global economy and had infiltrated every industry.

Three days ago, Qin Mu's Pre-warrior information had been entered into his ID, allowing him to log into the HR Alliance Platform, though his access privileges were still very low.

As one of the most powerful forces on Earth, the HR Alliance Platform contained an abundance of information.

After three days, Qin Mu had gained some understanding of the platform. Using the information there, he had tentatively planned his route out of the city and the supplies he needed to purchase and prepare.

"To enter the wilderness, I can take a train out of Jiangnan Base City, then take an HR Alliance train to the military's supply base."

"The military patrols around the supply base and clears out any monsters they encounter."

"So, the area within fifty li of the base is basically a safe zone, where monsters rarely appear. Beyond a hundred li is a monster's paradise, where monsters can be found everywhere."

"The Zerg Hatchery Base I choose should preferably be between fifty and one hundred li from the military base."

"There are not many monsters within that range, and they are mostly Primary Beast Soldier level monsters. Mid Monster-level ones are rare, so it is relatively safe and convenient for the insect nest to expand outward after hatching."

"After repeated comparisons and confirmation over the past few days, this location is fairly suitable for breeding a Zerg base."

Qin Mu marked a point on a map. It was a Villa District from before the Great Cataclysm.

The Villa District was about seventy li from the military base. Part of the road had been severely damaged, making it inconvenient for vehicles to pass through, so the military rarely patrolled the area.

The location was excellent. Every villa had a basement and garage, making it convenient to conceal the Mother Nest.

Considering the many flying monsters in the sky and the ever-present satellite surveillance, Qin Mu's preliminary plan was to hatch the insect nest inside a villa. The building would block it from the sight of many monsters while also preventing satellites overhead from spying on it.

As he pondered, his phone suddenly gave a soft chime.

"Ding."

Qin Mu picked up his phone and saw a message.

"**Bank: Dear Qin Mu, your loan has passed review. 3 million Yuan has been successfully deposited into your account. Please withdraw and use the funds promptly, and make repayments on time."

Qin Mu opened his mobile banking app. Sure enough, the 3 million had arrived.

"The money is finally here. I can buy everything now."

A satisfied smile appeared on Qin Mu's face.

That was right. After passing the Pre-warrior assessment, Qin Mu had immediately applied for a loan. With his Pre-warrior status and a property under his name, he had easily borrowed 3 million from the bank.

If his plan succeeded and he returned safely from the wilderness, repaying the 3 million would be easy. If he did not return, then it did not matter anyway.

With these 3 million, things would be much easier.

Qin Mu needed to prepare many things before entering the wilderness.

The necessities included a Po Jun Series Spear, Combat Suit, Communication Watch, Combat Backpack, medicine, food, a light pickup truck for travel, an off-road motorcycle for emergency escapes, and a batch of spare firearms.

Besides those items, he also needed to buy a large amount of meat for the Worker Bugs to consume and accumulate energy.

Three million might seem like a lot, but once he started spending freely, it would not last long.

Qin Mu opened the weapons and equipment section of the HR Alliance Platform. Besides all kinds of cold weapons, there were also many firearms.

"Po Jun Spear Series 2, A1 model. Price: 100,000 Huaxia Coin."

"Po Jun Spear Series 2, A2 model. Price: 500,000 Huaxia Coin."

"Po Jun Spear Series 2, A3 model. Price: 1 million Huaxia Coin."

"Po Jun Spear Series 2, A5 model. Price: 6 million Huaxia Coin."

"Po Jun Spear Series 2, A6 model. Price: 20 million Huaxia Coin."

"So expensive!"

Qin Mu smacked his lips. Three million was not even enough to buy a decent weapon.

"I'll buy the A2 model. Most of the monsters at my destination are Primary Beast Soldier level, with only a few Mid Monsters. An A2-level weapon will be enough."

Qin Mu knew very well that dealing with Primary Beast Soldier level monsters was already difficult for him at his current strength. As for Mid Monster-level monsters, he could just run if he encountered one.

"As for the Combat Suit, it only needs to defend against Primary Beast Soldier level monsters. For the backpack and Communication Watch, I'll buy the cheapest ones. They're just for appearances anyway."

After picking through the options, Qin Mu selected some essential items. Even choosing the cheapest options, he still spent nearly 1 million.

Qin Mu had actually looked over these items many times already. He had only been waiting for the loan money to arrive.

"There's still another major expense: the Off-road Pickup Truck for travel, the off-road motorcycle for escaping in case of accidents, as well as firearms and enough ammunition."

"This Off-road Pickup Truck can't be too heavy. The Worker Bugs need to be able to lift it. If it gets stuck, they'll need to pull it out.

"The cheapest Off-road Pickup Truck that meets the requirements costs 500,000, but it comes with a machine gun and five thousand rounds of ammunition. Looking at it that way, it doesn't seem too expensive?"

With the speed of an Off-road Pickup Truck, he could easily shake off most Beast Soldier level monsters. It would be Qin Mu's greatest guarantee of safety after entering the wilderness, so he could not be careless.

"An off-road motorcycle for emergency escapes: 100,000."

"One rifle, three thousand rounds of ammunition, one quad-mounted rocket launcher, sixteen rockets, one crate of mines, Binoculars, Night Vision Goggles, as well as some grenades, medicine, Military Rations, and so on. Total cost: 500,000."

After training these past few days, Qin Mu could already use most firearms. Of course, he could only use them; there was no point expecting too much from his accuracy.

Unless absolutely necessary, Qin Mu would not use these firearms.

That was because the monsters in the wilderness were highly sensitive to firearms. Using them could easily attract a large number of monsters.

Of course, when it came to saving his life at a critical moment, he would not be able to worry about that.

Among all this weaponry and equipment, the most practical item might be that crate of mines.

That was because the insect nest required three hours to hatch, and it could not move during the hatching process. If it was discovered by monsters, he could only fight desperately.

With that crate of mines, the safety factor would increase considerably.

The quad-mounted rocket launcher, the most powerful of the firearms, could easily kill Primary Beast Soldier level and Mid Monster-level monsters, and severely injure High-level Beast Soldiers. It could be considered one of Qin Mu's trump cards.

Ordinary weapons and equipment could be delivered directly to his home, but the Off-road Pickup Truck, firearms, and similar items could only be delivered to the military camp.

With a few light taps, 2.1 million was gone.

Qin Mu let out a soft breath. He had basically bought everything he needed.

Of the remaining money, aside from some for basic expenses, all of it would be used to buy meat.

The energy provided by that meat would be enough for the Worker Bugs to accumulate sufficient energy to transform into an insect nest, with some left over to hatch Worker Bugs.

"I'll prepare for a few more days. At the latest, if I still haven't learned the Five Hearts Towards Heaven Method by the 20th, I'll have to set off."

Qin Mu thought to himself.

Since successfully cultivating Gene Energy for the first time would greatly increase his strength, it would naturally be best if he could succeed. If he truly could not, then there was nothing he could do.

But by the 20th at the latest, Qin Mu had to leave. Any later, and time would be too tight. He also needed to leave himself some buffer time.