Carrying On Under the Burden

Leaving the Mecha Upgrade Warehouse with a shrunken wallet, Luo Yan thought to himself, "I need to make some money!"

Well, after returning from the Grand Sports Meet, we'll go to the Silver Bay Base first and go with Yu Bai to take over Liu Xiao's assets in the Undercity.

Then he urged Yang Lixie to quickly set up the Forbidden Land Medicinal Materials plantation in Qingyang City.

That way, I can replenish the funds in my account.

Luo Yan thought for a moment.

There's quite a lot to do as the 'Red Demon'.

After taking over Liu Xiao's assets, they still need to purchase mecha simulators, and then have Chen Afei select and guide the first batch of trainees.

After acquiring trainees, we'll need to procure mechs, but new models are out of the question.

We can only buy some older models of mechs from the black market, which have been phased out by various Undercity, to make do for now.

In this case, there must be all sorts of supporting facilities, right?

Liu Xiao does have a similar facility at the Silver Bay Base, but the problem is that the Silver Bay Base is quite far from Guangling, so Luo Yan needs to build a surface facility that is closer to it.

His plan was to place the mech facilities at the Coyote Camp Coyote Camp, which was not far from the Undercity and less than two days' journey from Guangling.

Furthermore, in order to fight against 'Yellow Springs' in the future, he will also need a ground base, so it is very necessary to develop the Coyote Camp into the Coyote Base.

As for where to purchase the mechs, Luo Yan also had ideas.

' Dark Blood ' deals in black market mechs. Their attitude at the banquet that day was acceptable. Once Chen Afei arrives, he can contact Yue Zun to see if he can get one or two older model mechs from him.

Luo Yan exhaled softly.

Whether it's building supporting facilities for mechs, expanding camps, or even purchasing mechs.

All I see is money! Money! Money!

Upon entering the Training Hall, Luo Yan immediately spotted a figure.

He stood by the window, his back to the door, his posture upright, like a long sword pointing to the sky.

Di Zheng!

Hearing the door open, the new City Lord turned around. He seemed to have recovered from the injuries he had sustained in Misty Canyon, and was full of energy, with a rosy complexion and bright eyes.

"Not bad, you've already Advanced level."

"I heard from Feng Hua that you've even started cultivating the ' Blood Executioner.' You're much more capable than me."

"At least when I first started cultivating, I wasn't as courageous and diligent as you."

Di Zheng spoke in a loud, clear voice that made Luo Yan's ears ring. He asked in surprise, "Commander, you've broken through?"

Di Zheng laughed heartily, unusually devoid of his usual coldness, and nodded frankly. "I've made some progress recently."

Luo Yan said, "I heard from Teacher Wei that you were injured."

Di Zheng walked over. "Is the Boundary Erosion?"

"I heard you also encountered him during the Battle of Changping."

"That's right, I was corrupted back then, but I was lucky enough to still be able to pilot a mecha."

"It's a bit of a shame about Fenghua. To be honest, he preferred those heavy, rough machines even more than I did."

Luo Yan was taken aback. "Teacher Wei also encountered Boundary Erosion?"

Di Zheng glanced at him and said, "Our generation, unlike yours, didn't have various data to refer to or examples to follow."

"Many things require us to figure them out ourselves."

"We're considered lucky. Principal Pan Renfeng and his generation paid a much higher price in their exploration of the path of mechs fighting against giant beasts."

"That was a silent war. All the knowledge you have now, the examples and data you can refer to, were built up by generations of Mech Master risked their lives."

"Back then, in order to explore the limits of what humanity could withstand from the Boundary Erosion, Feng Hua risked pushing his mecha's empathy rate to 300%."

"This is the limit of human-machine empathy without losing our lives."

"We no longer need drivers to explore the depth of empathy, but no matter how we simulate it, we can't exceed this limit."

"The price Feng Hua paid for this was that he could never pilot a mecha again in his life; if he were to empathize with a mecha again, he would die."

"In addition, he developed a chronic illness and has to take medication almost every day to control his condition."

Hearing Di Zheng's words, Luo Yan's mood immediately turned heavy.

Di Zheng smiled and said, "There's no need to be sad. Someone always has to bear the burden so that our next generation can have a better life."

"Although Feng Hua can no longer go to the Battlefield, I still have him. I will bear his share as well."

"If one day, I collapse."

"Back then."

"It's your turn!"

A flame seemed to rise in Luo Yan's heart. He clenched his fist, his red eyes bright, and nodded vigorously.

Di Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "I've already heard about Gao Lin's actions in the old city."

"You're quite something, kid." "The old commander is no pushover either; his <Purple Extreme Gang Thunder> is among the most powerful and deadly of Mystic Mastery- level techniques."

"It's quite impressive that you managed to escape unscathed after running into him."

After making his assessment, Di Zheng sighed, "It's a pity that my disagreement with the old regimental commander led to this situation; it's truly regrettable."

He wouldn't kill you for no reason.

"It must be part of some kind of transaction."

"Now, Gao Lin is a guest of honor of Luo Tianyi. So, it must be that someone made some kind of deal with Luo Tianyi in exchange for Gao Lin's help."

Luo Yan let out a breath. "Then I understand."

He then told Di Zheng about the banquet.

Di Zheng nodded and asked, "So what are your plans next?"

Without hesitation, Luo Yan said, "To eliminate ' Black Owl,' Wan Cheng must die."

Di Zheng didn't object. "Alright, the ' Black Owl ' organization engages in all sorts of shady dealings, including special stimulants. The Security Department has wanted to take action against them for a long time, but for various reasons, it's been delayed until now."

"Go ahead and do it. I'll be going to visit the old town quite often these next few days."

"Let's see if we can run into some old friends and catch up."

With Di Zheng's words, Luo Yan's confidence increased greatly.

That night.

The "Red Gate" Jude Tower.

In the quiet room, a bowl lotus, formed from the condensation of smoke and rosy light, gradually took shape in the air. This lotus had round leaves like shields, and its pink petals resembled colorful clouds, with countless overlapping petals.

At that moment, Yang Tao let out a soft cry, and the lotus flower formed from the mist and clouds disappeared into the air.

The girl wiped the sweat from her face and looked at Luo Yan: "Teacher, is that so?"

Luo Yan nodded slightly. "This is a move from the Hundred Flower Kill Fist manual, called ' Pink Haze '. It looks incredibly delicate, but when the lotus flower hits an enemy, the petals will explode and fly out, killing the target."

"It's a fairly good Combat Skill."

"You've just advanced to the Primary Level Three, and you've already achieved a basic form; that's not bad."

"Next, you must practice diligently until you grasp the essence of this punch; then you will have mastered it."

Encouraged, the girl beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly.

Luo Yan then let her practice on her own and left the quiet room. Wen Zou came looking for her.

"Master, there's news from Jiufeng."