Active Skill Card: Rapid Memory (Blue)

On the plane, Hong Fei lounged at ease, studying the blue card before him.

The image on the front depicted Tony's Mark I Armor, which looked like a bulky hunk of iron.

The text on the back described the Skill Card.

Active Skill Card: Rapid Memory (Blue)

"Greatly enhances your memory capacity and speed when activated."

The first thing worth noting was, naturally, the color of the Skill Card.

Unlike the white card Frank had dropped, this card's main body was an exceptionally beautiful starry blue. The particle effects flowing along its edges resembled streams of tiny comets.

Judging by both its visual effects and function, this blue card was clearly of a higher grade than the white one.

Second, it was an active Skill Card. Hong Fei could turn it on and off whenever he wished.

Finally, how effective was this Rapid Memory skill?

After equipping the card in a Card Slot and activating the ability, Hong Fei casually picked up a magazine and began reading.

A minute later, when he sensed that nearly half the energy in his body had been consumed, Hong Fei deactivated Rapid Memory and closed his eyes to recall what he had read.

In an instant, countless fragments surfaced in his mind. They swiftly assembled themselves in perfect order, page by page, until entire magazine pages formed directly in his head. Not only were the words and punctuation clear, but even the details of the images and the texture of the paper were vividly preserved.

He opened the magazine and compared them one by one.

There was not the slightest discrepancy.

With a restrained smile, Hong Fei tossed aside the magazine and rose to stand before Frank.

Frank sat with his legs spread wide, repeatedly examining a Horizontal Blade in his hands. Its surface was pitted, while its edge was warped and chipped.

"Still looking at it?"

Without even raising his head, Frank said, "You're definitely not an ordinary person."

Hong Fei said, "I was born extraordinary."

"I suspect you're not even human."

"That's a bit much." Hong Fei curled his lip. "I'm an Earthling too, just a tiny bit stronger than ordinary people. And I can tell you clearly that there'll be even more discoveries that defy common sense in the future, like sudden downpours from the sky, endlessly battering ordinary people's worldview. You should start getting used to it now, so people won't laugh at you later."

As he spoke, he took the badly damaged Horizontal Blade from Frank's hand. His fingertips brushed over the edge covered in chips as he sighed. "Ordinary materials really are barely adequate. In the future, I'll have to use the best materials to make a good blade."

Frank sneered. "I don't think any material can withstand you using it to chop bullets traveling at an initial velocity of 850 meters per second, especially when you're chopping hundreds of them in such a short time."

Hong Fei tossed the blade aside and patiently said, "Look at you, thinking too small again. The universe is so vast—materials like that definitely exist, and Earth itself has them."

Frank clearly did not believe him. He simply leaned back and lay down, ignoring Hong Fei.

Sokovia in Eastern Europe was not far from Afghanistan in Central Asia, nowhere near as far as the distance from the northwest of their homeland to the southeastern coast.

The plane landed at the airport Hong Fei had departed from. The military officer in charge of the place had long been waiting on the ground. The moment he saw Hong Fei appear at the stairway, he spread his arms from afar and let out an exaggerated laugh.

Hong Fei's face instantly blossomed into a smile. At the same time, he slightly tilted his head toward Frank behind him and said, "That damned bastard took another million from me."

As he descended the stairway, Hong Fei spread his arms as well. After quickly approaching each other, the two men bumped chests, embraced tightly, and patted each other's backs. They looked exactly like a pair of inseparable brothers.

"Colonel Abu, my old friend, I'm delighted to see you again. But there was absolutely no need for you to come personally. You should know I'd already planned to pay you a visit myself."

Colonel Abu's bearded face crinkled with laughter until his eyes became narrow slits. In somewhat halting English, he said, "Hong, my dear brother, when such a distinguished guest as you arrives, how could I possibly sit peacefully at home? Only by personally welcoming you can I express my respect."

Hong Fei laughed loudly and walked out alongside Abu. They chatted and laughed boisterously the whole way, appearing remarkably harmonious.

Frank watched their backs with open disdain, while Numbers Three to Five carried Tony on a stretcher at the rear.

Outside the airport, Number One and Number Two, who had arrived in Afghanistan ahead of time, waited in separate vehicles. Reluctantly climbing into the cars, Abu remained outside, waving goodbye to Hong Fei.

Only after the vehicles had driven far away did Hong Fei turn around and rub his aching cheeks.

"If I can enter the country legally in the future, I'll never go through him again."

A million every visit—who could stand that?

Frank made a snide remark from beside him. "Didn't he respect you greatly? He even came to welcome you in person."

"Hmph, that wasn't a welcome. From the very first second I appeared, people were aiming guns at my head from afar."

His wariness was understandable, but Hong Fei's discomfort was equally understandable.

In short, the two men who had just been laughing and chatting each harbored their own schemes. Hong Fei had kept a smiling face because he might need to come here again in the future, while the other man wanted a steady stream of income without damaging his reputation with others. After all, as the man in charge of this airport, Hong Fei was far from his only source of illicit income.

Otherwise, the man would certainly have ordered his men to open fire directly, and Hong Fei would have snapped his neck at the first opportunity.

The two vehicles sped down the road. After entering the desert, they suddenly turned onto a narrow path. Following another four-plus hours of jolting travel, Hong Fei and the others arrived at a deserted valley littered with sand, rocks, and eggshells.

After getting out of the vehicles, everyone could not help stretching and loosening their stiff bodies. Frank said, "Number One and Number Two picked this place. I looked over the terrain map. It fits your requirements very well."

Hong Fei nodded, and the group entered the cave together.

Unlike the unbearable heat outside, the cave was quite cool. Many sandbags were piled near the entrance, and farther inside, the passage split into several branches. The paths crisscrossed like a maze.

However, there were single-person foxholes of various sizes everywhere inside and outside the cave. Clearly, a rather fierce battle had once taken place here.

Frank added, "This used to be a small militant stronghold, but after something happened, the US military swept it clean. No one should come here again anytime soon."

Hong Fei said, "It'll do. We only need it for one night. What about the escape route?"

"Further inside. There's a tunnel leading to the back of this rocky mountain."

"Good! Great place. How did you find it?" Hong Fei looked at Number One and Number Two.

After the two expressionless men exchanged a glance, Number One spoke. "Boss, while we were asking around the nearby villages and towns, we ran into a survivor who escaped during the US military sweep. He was very willing to sell us this place."

"Oh? How much did it cost?"

Number One grinned. "Nothing."

Hong Fei did not ask further, but he gave Number One a highly approving look.