activa-t Chapter 80: Who will be the fisherman is still uncertain.
Chapter 80: Who will be the fisherman is still uncertain.
Chapter 80: Who will be the fisherman is still uncertain.
The detachment's base, the captain's office.
The light from outside filtered through the slats of the blinds, casting long, slanted streaks of light onto the dark desk.
Fine dust particles floated in the air.
Luo Du, Pan De, and Guo Wenzhou sat solemnly on one side of the conference table.
Opposite them stood a middle-aged man, around forty years old, with a square face and a calm, capable air about him.
That's the situation.
After Luo Du finished reporting on all of Tian Shi's recent actions in the North District, as well as the detailed process of Gangquan and Black Stone's destruction, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his gaze fell on Fan Zhenyue's face.
Fan Zhenyue did not speak immediately.
He looked thoughtful, as if he was processing this information.
The office was completely silent.
Pan De and Guo Wenzhou exchanged a glance but did not make a sound to disturb them.
After a long silence, Fan Zhenyue slowly spoke: "Awakening of Insects, Winter Solstice, Frost's Descent—three Level 6 professionals, and judging from your descriptions of their combat strength, they are probably not ordinary Level 6 professionals."
"Based on their current strength, apart from Cliff, there is probably no other guild in the entire Crimson Lotus City that can rival them."
Luo Du nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Advisor Fan, I think Tian Shi's strength is likely more than what is on the surface."
"Oh?" Fan Zhenyue looked up at him.
"Tian Shi's actions so far have been very precise." Luo Du organized his thoughts. "They have a thorough understanding of the industrial distribution, personnel movements, and stronghold locations of the major guilds in the Northern District. Such intelligence capabilities are something that a small group could never achieve."
"Furthermore, Tian Shi is suspected of having mastered the job change requirements for several new professions. The resources and connections required behind this are beyond the reach of ordinary forces."
"I suspect that behind the opportune moment, there may be an organizational structure that we are completely unaware of, and it may even be no less formidable than the precipice."
Both Pan De and Guo Wenzhou showed expressions of agreement.
During this period, they had witnessed all of Tian Shi's actions, which truly gave them a sense of being unable to understand him.
However, Fan Zhenyue just smiled wryly when he heard this.
"Captain Luo overestimates Tian Shi's abilities." He shook his head, his tone somewhat dismissive. "If Tian Shi truly possessed strength equal to Duan Ya, how could he have remained completely undetected before?"
The Cliff is a behemoth that controls the entire Southern District, with thousands of guild members, numerous experts, and more than one level 7 professional.
No matter how mysterious the timing, it could never compare to the scale of a precipice.
Luo Du's lips moved, but in the end he didn't say anything more.
After all, what he just said was just speculation, without any actual evidence to support it.
Seeing that the three of them had stopped talking, Fan Zhenyue changed the subject.
"Tell me about your next steps. What are you planning to do?"
Luo Du collected his thoughts and said in a deep voice, "I think now is a good time to clean up the guild forces. Currently, there is only one large-scale guild left in the North District, Blood Eagle. As long as we take them down, the guild forces in the North District will be basically eliminated."
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"I suggest concentrating all the force of the detachment and taking down their headquarters in one fell swoop!"
Luo Du spoke with absolute certainty.
Pan De and Guo Wenzhou also showed expressions of agreement.
This is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
However, Fan Zhenyue shook his head.
"no."
The two simple words left Luo Du and the other two stunned.
"Why?" Luo Du couldn't help but ask.
"The intelligence agency just sent this information this morning, which you probably don't know yet."
Fan Zhenyue took out a document, made three copies, and handed them to the three people respectively.
"The cliff has deployed a large number of people to the northern district, including a candidate for the highest-ranking officer and two officers, as well as at least fifty elite members. If they participate in the war, even if we win in the end, we will pay a heavy price."
Upon hearing this, Luo Du and the other two's expressions changed slightly.
They are the core leaders of the North District Detachment, and naturally have a good understanding of the personnel composition of the cliff.
The cadres at the cliff are generally level 5 professionals, while the highest-ranking officers are level 7 professionals.
The highest-ranking reserve officers fall between the two, typically at the peak of level 6, and are the core combat force that the Cliff focuses on cultivating.
By sending someone of this caliber to lead the team, Duan Ya clearly has grand ambitions.
The three of them took the document and quickly began to read it.
They frowned deeply after just one glance.
The document contains a list of personnel, along with brief information.
The highest-ranking cadre candidate from the cliff in the North District this time is named Qin Lie, a level 6 berserker.
Luo Du had heard of this person.
It is said that he has a ferocious and brutal fighting style. In one conflict, he successfully escaped from a level 7 expert in the legion. Although he was seriously injured, he became famous because of it.
The fact that he was able to survive against a level 7 professional is enough to demonstrate his strength.
The other two cadres are also senior Level 5 professionals.
The remaining elite members were all at level 3 or above.
Although this group has a small number of members, its overall strength is stronger than some small guilds.
Luo Du's expression immediately turned somewhat ugly.
If it were just Blood Eagle, it wouldn't be so bad, but with the addition of people like Cliff, the squad's combat strength suddenly becomes inferior.
If a real fight breaks out, even if we win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.
Pan De and Guo Wenzhou looked at each other, realizing the same thing at the same time.
"So what does Consultant Fan mean?" Pan Dechi asked doubtfully.
Fan Zhenyue leaned back in his chair, revealing a meaningful smile.
"What I mean is, hold back."
"Hold back?" Guo Wenzhou was taken aback.
"That's right." Fan Zhenyue nodded. "Tian Shi destroyed Gang Quan and Black Stone Society with the aim of taking over the North District. Now that Duan Ya has intervened and wants to snatch this piece of the pie from Tian Shi, Tian Shi will definitely not let it go. There will inevitably be friction, or even conflict, between the two sides."
"As long as the two sides fight, no matter which side wins in the end, they will be severely weakened."
"At that time, we can make a move and reap the benefits without lifting a finger, taking over the North District effortlessly."
Luo Du frowned, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
He always felt that Tian Shi's purpose was not so simple, and it was not just to occupy the North District as Fan Zhenyue said.
But he couldn't produce any evidence to refute it.
After all, he still hasn't figured out Tian Shi's true purpose.
Seeing Fan Zhenyue's confident expression, Luo Du sighed inwardly.
Perhaps—I'm just overthinking it?
Taking a deep breath, Luo Du suppressed his unease and nodded, saying, "Then let's do as Consultant Fan says."
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Pan De and Guo Wenzhou exchanged a glance, but neither raised any objections.
"Good." Fan Zhenyue nodded in satisfaction. "During this period, the detachment will activate wartime alert, but should not launch any offensives. The focus should be on gathering intelligence on weather conditions and the cliff."
After the meeting, Luo Du and the other two saw Fan Zhenyue off.
Watching Fan Zhenyue's departing figure, Luo Du stood still for a long time.
I hope everything goes well.
He said this silently to himself.
Time slips away quietly.
.
More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
Due to the detachment's wartime security order, Lin Ze basically stayed at the station during the day, and even at night he had to take turns on duty, only occasionally being able to return to the apartment.
Sun Youyu and Chen Han returned to their hometown in the North District after two days because they still had to attend school.
Lin Ze had made a special appointment with his sister that he would take a vacation to visit her in the central area once the situation stabilized, as a way to make up for the regret of this trip.
Despite his busy work schedule, Lin Ze's progress in improving his skills has not lagged behind at all.
While he was at work, his clones were also constantly grinding dungeons and training.
During this time, Lin Ze also entered the dungeon a few times.
As the name suggests, "Drilling Hive" is a huge honeycomb.
Its interior is divided into areas roughly the size of a standard football field, each with multiple entrances and exits that are interconnected, making the environment far more intricate and complex than the Blackthorn Tower.
The clones almost got lost the first few times they entered the dungeon.
It wasn't until I became familiar with the dungeon environment that I gradually became more proficient.
The monsters in the dungeon are giant peaks covered in huge, sharp diamonds.
There are also regular monsters and mini-bosses.
As for the BOSS, it is a queen bee.
It's worth mentioning that when a player's level exceeds the maximum level for dungeon challenges, the strength of the monsters will also increase accordingly.
Roughly speaking, the monster's strength will increase by the same number of levels above a certain threshold.
After two consecutive dungeons, Lin Ze had confirmed this.
It's fortunate that he and his clone can fight against opponents of higher levels; otherwise, it would have taken a lot of effort to clear lower-level dungeons.
As for the rewards for completing the level, unsurprisingly, they are pitifully low.
On average, you need to clear the dungeon twice to get one card, and they are all common cards.
This is still the reward for completing the level.
It's easy to imagine how low the card drop rate is for members of Gangquan on a regular basis.
Not to mention rare items, not a single one has been unearthed so far.
"No wonder that even with a dungeon in hand, Gangfist has still not been able to unify the North."
Lin Ze sighed inwardly.
Fortunately, he didn't care about cards and rare items, as long as the dungeons could reliably provide potential points.
In terms of talent training, with the foundation laid by the lower-level talents, the training progress of Dark Rhythm and Dark Sleep has indeed accelerated considerably.
Just ten days ago, Dongzhi successfully mastered the Dark Rhythm talent.
When Lin Ze woke up this morning, Dong Zhi had finally mastered the talent of Dark Sleep.
Without hesitation, he directly combined two talents.
[You have mastered the talent Shadow Affinity (Rare)] (You have an extremely high affinity for shadows, significantly enhancing the effects of all shadow-based skills. When in the shadows, all attributes are slightly increased, and stamina, energy, and injury recovery speed are significantly accelerated. Stealth skills are greatly enhanced.) Constitution +0.2, Spirit +0.8, Perception +0.4
"Finally done."
Lin Ze let out a long breath.
Although not as difficult to master as an exceptional talent, among the rare talents he possesses, Shadow Affinity is among the most difficult to acquire.
Fortunately, I've finally mastered it.
Lin Ze then summoned three clones, instantly removing Jingzhe's Extreme Slaughter Sword class, restoring him to a blank state, and then changing his class to Shadow Assassin.
The Shadow Striker's job advancement trial is relatively simple; you only need to cast 10 skills on the class while in stealth mode.
【你成功转职「影袭者」，力量+0.1、敏捷+0.2、体质+0.1、精神+0.2、感知+0.1】
[You have mastered the skill "Shadow Cloak L1 (Normal)" (allows short-distance movement through shadows; attacks cannot be launched while in shadow), Agility +0.1, Spirit +0.1]
You have mastered the skill "Backstab Lv1 (Normal)" (attack power is greatly increased when attacking from behind), Strength +0.1, Agility +0.1.
You have mastered the talent "Silent Steps (Normal)" (you make almost no sound when moving and attacking), Agility +0.1.
You have mastered the talent "Dagger Mastery (Normal)" (you are proficient in using dagger-type weapons), Agility +0.1.
As expected, after successfully changing jobs, Jingzhe unlocked the Shadow Escape skill.
Without saying a word, Lin Ze immediately upgraded Shadow Cloak and Blood Manipulation to the maximum level.
During this period of frantically grinding dungeons, he has accumulated more than 40 potential points, which he has not used yet.
【你的技能「鲜血操控Lv4「升至Lv10（Ma），体质+0.8、精神+1.6、感知+1.1】
Your skill Shadowmeld Lv1 has been upgraded to Lv10 (Ma), Agility +0.3, Spirit +0.5.
The moment both skills reached max level, dazzling golden text appeared out of thin air.
[You have met the advancement requirements for "Crimson Earl (Two Stars)". You can advance to Crimson Earl after passing the trial.]
【Crimson Earl】Advanced Trial: Drink the blood of 100 professionals within 24 hours, with each person's blood volume not less than 100 ml (blood removed from the body for no more than 10 minutes)
Similar to the Blood Walker's job advancement trial, the Crimson Earl's advancement trial is also related to blood drinking.
The only change is that the target has increased from one professional to a full 100, and there is now a 24-hour time limit.
Fortunately, the blood quantity requirement for a single person is not high; otherwise, the difficulty would be at least a level higher.
Lin Ze looked at the explanation that "the last blood left the body no more than 10 minutes ago," and seemed to be deep in thought.
In fact, he had suspected it before.
The blood that Blood Walkers can manipulate is very likely subject to some kind of limitation.
When he destroyed the Blackrock Weapon Factory after changing jobs at Winter Solstice, he collected the blood of all the dead, but afterwards found that he could not control it. At that time, he suspected that it was because the blood had been out of the body for too long.
Legend has it that vampires can increase their strength by drinking human blood, but if it's frozen blood from a hospital, no matter how much you drink, it will only fill your stomach.
The reason is that frozen blood bags have lost the essence and vitality of a person.
Only fresh blood taken from a human body possesses the special energy that allows vampires to grow.
The Blood Walker's professional characteristics are highly similar to those of the Vampire Clan, and it is very likely that they have inherited this trait.
Both the Blood Walker's job change trial and the Crimson Earl's advancement trial have strict requirements on the time blood has been out of the body, which also confirms this conjecture.
Lin Ze speculated that ten minutes should be the optimal duration for the special energy in the blood to survive.
Beyond this time, the energy will gradually be lost.
Once it has completely dissipated, the blood can no longer be controlled.
As for the specific maximum duration, we'll have to test it to find out.
However, based on past practical experience, it will take at least an hour.
"If there were no restrictions on blood manipulation, enough blood could be stored using storage marks and used directly during battle, which would boost the Blood Walker's combat power by at least several levels."
Lin Ze thought with some regret.
In that case, Bloodwalker would probably be even more overpowered than Blade of Despair and Martial Artist, and might even be comparable to some three-star classes.
Shaking his head, Lin Ze gathered his thoughts and focused his attention back on the control panel.
Upgrading Blood Manipulation and Shadow Cloak cost about 10 potential points in total, and I still have a little over 30 left.
Without hesitation, Lin Ze decisively invested his skill points into the Extreme Slaughter Sword skill.
【你的技能戮影Lv4」升至Lv8，敏捷+1.3、体质+1.0、感知+1.0】
【你的技能瞬步斩Lv4」升至Lv8，力量+1.3、敏捷+0.8、体质+0.6】
【你的技能戮影九闪Lv3」升至Lv8，力量+1.2、敏捷+1.2、感知+0.8】
As usual, Lin Ze did not upgrade the skills directly to the maximum level, but instead upgraded them all to Lv8 without exception.
On the one hand, it is anticipated that it will be difficult to advance to the level of the Infinite Sword Spirit in a short period of time, so space should be reserved for gaining experience points in the upcoming battles to avoid wasting potential points.
On the other hand, it's because the third soul baptism should be triggered soon, at which time all skills will be upgraded.
It's estimated that at least tens or hundreds of thousands of potential points can be saved.
After a series of upgrades, I've almost used up all my potential points.
However, Lin Ze was in a very good mood.
With the job change and skill upgrades, his attributes increased significantly.
In particular, the spirit attribute broke through the 20 mark, reaching 20.6.
With the addition of the 20% boost from Overclocking Soul, it soared to 24.7.
"The Overclocking Soul talent is still very powerful."
Lin Ze nodded secretly.
Although many talents can enhance a certain attribute, the extent of the enhancement is greatly affected by the player's own base attribute value.
The higher the base attribute value, the lower the enhancement level.
Unlike overclocked souls, the amplification effect is permanently fixed at 20%.
It might not seem like much in the early stages, but as his mental attributes increase, the effects of the Overclocked Soul talent will also rise accordingly.
In some ways, it can be considered a growth-oriented talent.
In addition, the multi-dimensional control of the clones also relies on the effects of overclocking.
Overall, the Overclocking Soul truly lives up to its legendary quality.
"Now, even without Ultimate Release and Blood Frenzy, I can easily defeat a regular level 6 professional."
"If I use Ultimate Release and Blood Frenzy simultaneously, defeating a seasoned Level 6 professional shouldn't be a problem. I just don't know if I can put up a fight against a Level 7 professional?"
A flicker of eagerness crossed Lin Ze's mind, but he quickly shook his head, suppressing the thought.
The most urgent task is to complete the Crimson Earl's advanced trial.
As for what to do, he already had a plan in mind.
For more than a month, he did not let his clone go out hunting. Besides being busy with dungeon runs and talent training, he also had the desire to watch the show.
Lin Ze had been watching the detachment's actions all day.
The day after the Blackrock Society was destroyed, the squad was supposed to take action, most likely targeting Blood Eagle.
However, the branch advisor's arrival subsequently canceled the action, and there has been no further activity since, only maintaining a wartime alert status, with everyone on standby 24 hours a day.
Lin Ze wasn't stupid; he could easily see through the detachment's plan.
Two dogs fight, play off.
This tactic is certainly effective, but it's uncertain who will ultimately benefit.