Apocalypse · Lower City Base, Vanguard City · Outer Energy Reserve Center
The energy reserve center was jointly controlled by several powers on the outskirts and supplied energy to the entire outer city.
It stored both ordinary electricity and crystal core energy, so the most common sights here were all kinds of large storage tanks.
Two nights earlier, a scavenger from the outer city had used a few clever tricks to sneak into the energy reserve center and damage two storage tanks.
That had displeased the bosses of several powers, who had all sent additional men.
Over the past two days, patrols at the energy reserve center had increased. Besides the existing armed patrols, a small squad of ability users had been added as a precaution.
Of course, this was not because energy was particularly scarce. On the contrary, ever since the discovery of mutant beast crystal cores, energy had been relatively cheap in this apocalypse.
But no matter how cheap something was, it was not for the lowlifes of the outer city to dispose of.
With the arrival of the apocalypse, the environment across the entire Blue Star had become extremely harsh.
The days were unbearably hot, while the nights were unusually cold. Without an energy supply to regulate the temperature at the most basic level, more than half the lowlifes on the outskirts would freeze or roast to death in minutes.
The several powers on the outskirts had risen by securing the right to an allocation of energy from the inner city.
They sold cheap energy to the lowlifes on the outskirts at a hefty price.
In this way, they exploited and controlled them, making them labor in service of the upper classes and spend their entire lives as leeks at the bottom.
That night, a flash of white light swept through the energy reserve center.
Immediately afterward, Xu Xiao appeared inside.
"I'm back. But electricity really is slow for charging my golden finger. It took me a whole hour to fill it up."
He looked different from the ragged scavenger he had been when he left.
Though Xu Xiao was still skeletal and looked thoroughly decrepit upon his return, he now carried an intangible air of authority.
The hooded cloak that covered him from head to toe added a touch of mystery.
Looking at the towering storage tanks around him, Xu Xiao immediately began searching for a particular kind.
There were two kinds of energy storage here. One was the conventional electrical storage tank, essentially a giant battery.
A small portion of the electricity was supplied by the inner city, while most was generated conventionally by the major powers of the outer city using thermal or hydroelectric power.
The other kind was the latest technology developed since the apocalypse-the crystal core storage tank.
It used a mutant beast's crystal core as its power source, converting the biological energy within into various forms of energy through a series of complex guidance methods.
Yes, you heard that right: various forms of energy.
Though Xu Xiao did not understand the exact principles behind the conversion, crystal core energy could be directly converted into electricity, heat, and even basic water molecules. It could be called an all-purpose energy source.
It was said to be a raw material for a superpower serum that many mutants used to replenish their own expenditure and that could also awaken abilities in ordinary people.
But in the outer energy reserve area, one could only find basic storage tanks that could convert it into things like electricity, heat, and water atoms.
The techniques for using and converting the power of crystal cores had always been the technology by which the Human Federation controlled the entire apocalyptic world, and the higher-ups kept them under wraps.
All crystal core storage tanks in the city-states were uniformly distributed by the cities above them. The people below simply used them, without the slightest understanding of how they worked.
Xu Xiao did not have many thoughts on the matter. He only wanted to find a crystal core storage tank like the one he had found on his first infiltration.
A crystal core storage tank charged it much faster than ordinary electricity. The first time, he had needed only five minutes to finish charging and successfully cross over under the guards' gun barrels.
This time was no different. In the world of Chronicle, he had experienced how slowly ordinary electricity charged his golden finger.
With an hour of charging, his corpse would have gone cold by the time it was finished.
As for five minutes, he was confident he could hold out no matter what.
With those thoughts in mind, Xu Xiao used telekinesis to lift himself about ten centimeters off the ground and began searching while floating.
After nearly a week in the world of Chronicle, his telekinesis had reached the point where he could freely lift a five-hundred-kilogram object within twenty meters.
Though not especially strong, it could already be used in everyday life and combat.
He had not recklessly tested the limits of his telekinesis like the protagonist Andrew and the others.
Xu Xiao's withered body could not withstand that kind of strain, so he had focused entirely on developing his telekinesis in terms of technique.
A force of 500 kg, usable from any angle within twenty meters, was already a considerable power.
The crude methods used by Andrew and the others, who only knew how to move or squeeze objects with telekinesis, were nothing more than a beginner's clumsy performance.
Xu Xiao did not care for such cumbersome, crude methods.
All he needed were a few small, hard, sharp objects. They were light and swift, and just as deadly.
Suspending himself with telekinesis, Xu Xiao silently wandered through the energy reserve center and soon found his target.
Four enormous crystal core storage tanks stood there, each about ten meters tall.
There was just one problem: a five-man patrol, armed to the teeth, was walking back and forth near the tanks.
Of course, it was only a problem, nothing more!
Back then, Xu Xiao had dared to sneak in and steal energy as a scavenger from the outer city. Now, he regarded these people even less.
Five minutes. I only need five minutes. If I move quickly, I can cross over again before the other guards get here.
With that thought, Xu Xiao looked at the nearest patrolman.
His invisible telekinesis activated, and a thick cable not far from the man suddenly moved.
The next second, before the patrolman noticed anything, it caught him directly across the feet.
Thud.
The man immediately fell flat on his back.
"What happened?!"
The other patrolmen immediately racked their guns and gathered around warily.
"Captain, I'm fine. I accidentally stepped on a cable and tripped."
The fallen patrolman spoke with some embarrassment. He was just about to get up when he saw a figure in the shadows not far away.
"Cap-"
Splurt!
Splurt!
A series of sharp sounds rang out, followed by foul-smelling, wet liquid spraying across his face. At the same time, he felt a warm current surging from his neck.
He wanted to raise his arm and touch it to see what it was, but he no longer had any strength.
From Xu Xiao's position, the moment the patrolmen drew close just now, he had launched the sharp iron plates he carried with him at full force. He had obtained them while on the run.
Five hundred kilograms of force erupted in an instant, and five iron plates pierced the necks of the five patrolmen.
Within Xu Xiao's attack range, the iron plates flew faster than arrows. Ordinary people had no time to defend themselves.
"Return!"
With a thought, the five bloodstained iron plates flew back from the ground and landed in the spacious pocket of Xu Xiao's cloak.
After confirming that he had dealt with the five-man squad, Xu Xiao quickly floated over to a storage tank and pressed his palm against its surface.
"Heavens World-Crossing Gate, select a world to cross into."
[Please select the world the host wishes to cross into. Charging for the crossing can then begin.]
His golden finger's voice sounded in his mind.
Xu Xiao concentrated and clicked the gate of light in his mind.
The gate of light immediately burst apart, becoming several clusters of shining lights.
Xu Xiao's consciousness touched one of them, and the faint title of a story immediately appeared above it.
These were world coordinates. Xu Xiao's golden finger, the Heavens World-Crossing Gate, could use various films and television works as mediums to anchor those worlds somewhere beyond.
The USB drive Xu Xiao had picked up back then had contained more than just the movie Chronicle. There had also been several television series.
The Heavens World-Crossing Gate had anchored all of them as world coordinates for Xu Xiao to cross into later.
After he selected one of the worlds, his golden finger gave him a charging notification.
[World for crossing anchored. Energy detected. Beginning charging.] 1%... 2%... 5%
On the screen that only Xu Xiao could see, the charge percentage slowly rose.
Eight minutes later.
Footsteps came from nearby, but Xu Xiao's charge had also reached 100%.
That meant the Heavens World-Crossing Gate had stored enough energy to cross into the new world Xu Xiao had selected.
Since I'm leaving anyway, I'll see if I can take the crystal core used for charging with me too!
With the energy fully charged, Xu Xiao could run at any moment. He immediately set his sights on the crystal core inside the storage tank.
The world he had chosen this time had no electricity for replenishment. If he had to search on his own, it might take a long time to gather enough energy for the return trip.
His telekinesis activated at full force, and the components on another nearby crystal core storage tank began to creak as they were pulled.
"Quick! Quick, someone's destroying the storage tank! Stop him!"
Someone had already heard the teeth-grating sound of metal. Xu Xiao directed his telekinesis along the conversion device's connection points and tore the device mounted on the outside of the tank open.
A purple energy crystal core appeared inside the broken device, emitting a mysterious glow.
With a thought, the energy crystal core fell into Xu Xiao's hand. The next instant, several bullets struck near him.
"Die, damn thief!" Not far away, several people who looked entirely different from ordinary soldiers were racing over, as fast as galloping horses.
Ability users.
Xu Xiao's pupils contracted slightly, but he was not afraid. Instead, he pulled back his hood and smiled at them.
"You're too late. See you again if we get the chance!"
White light flashed, and Xu Xiao vanished in an instant.
Two seconds later, the figures came racing in. When they saw the corpses on the ground and the torn-apart device, all they could do was curse bitterly.
But none of that concerned Xu Xiao. He was beginning another adventure in a new world.
The next time he returned, he would not need to skulk around stealing things like this.