My Salvation Game Became true?!

Chapter 132: Chapter 131: The Training Course of the Torch

“This training base of Torchfire was reconstructed from the original Shui Lan Resort,”

“It might not have been established for a long time, but it’s far from simple.”

The speaker was Fu Feng, the strongest person in the Shuize State Bureau, known as the Thunderous Blade.

Initially, the Investigation Bureau had no clear understanding of the relationship between Pei Hongjing and Torchfire, assuming he was just a distinguished civilian Awakener looking to invite, with investigators even making a personal visit.

However, they didn’t even get to see the door and were instead circling around the mountain roads; of course, that was because they had not made an appointment, but this time they had.

Just as the convoy reached the foot of the mountain, they saw someone from Torchfire waiting there. They had already communicated before coming, and now, a guard from the Torchfire base was leading the way in a car. The Investigation Bureau’s several official vehicles slowly followed behind.

The single road leading from the base of the mountain to the resort up top was the only one, winding without any branches, from now still offering a distant view of some buildings between the mountains and this road stretching to its end.

But as the vehicle drives further in, the white mist gradually began to spread in the mountains, enveloping them and obscuring the view on both sides, so that one could only see a few meters ahead.

However, this winding road was not shrouded in mist, and the guiding signs ahead were still visible.

All these miraculous scenes had even the special-class investigators, who’ve gone through many mysterious incidents, exclaiming at the eye-opening experience.

Fu Feng watched from the window, “Today we have a guide; otherwise, according to the description of the two investigators from our branch, the entire road would be engulfed by white mist, with visibility reducing to a few meters.”

“What’s even more miraculous is that although the visibility is poor and one keeps circling in the fog, not reaching the end, there’s no risk of driving off the road and tumbling down the cliffs. Even when one turns the car around to head back, it doesn’t take long to return to the base of the mountain.”

“We used to find it incomprehensible, but seeing it today, as one of Torchfire’s bases, it suddenly feels quite reasonable.”

Because the fog was dense, the vehicles weren’t going fast.

The investigators weren’t in a hurry either. It was their first time on Torchfire’s turf, and everything around seemed fresh to them. They peered out at the thick white mist, which seemed to turn the surroundings into an Immortal Realm by the contrast.

As they went deeper, they even observed the white mist outside the road churning, now and then shaping into fierce beasts or birds, both dreamlike and mysterious.

This visit was indeed well-timed!

…

“We’re here!”

“This is Torchfire’s training base.”

“Are we finally about to get a glimpse of Torchfire’s true facade?”

Huang Hongtian took a deep breath and was the first to step off the official vehicle.

This was the entrance to the resort, where the sign once reading ‘Shui Lan Resort’ hung, but now, the original gate had been dismantled and replaced with a more majestic entrance guarded by two huge steles.

Written on them were the characters for ‘Torchfire.’

The characters blazed like flames, burning fiercely as they filled the investigators with a profound sense of excitement.

But they remembered to maintain their composure, not wanting to diminish the demeanor of the Investigation Bureau.

…

In the reception room,

The conversation proceeded smoothly. The Investigation Bureau brought many gifts on this trip, and Torchfire reciprocated with some special products, thereby establishing a real trade relationship with the Bureau.

There were the Awakened Weapons that the Bureau had previously purchased—swords, rifles, etc.—as well as newer models.

Special shields!

It’s tougher to make shields than weapons, because of the peculiarities of the Mysterious Evil; mere hardness and toughness are usually insufficient to block its claws and biting attacks.

The mass-produced weapons from the research institute, despite not being as efficient in life energy utilization as those from Torchfire, were still considered qualified products. But the shields were different and at best were considered defective goods.

If they could equip their special-class investigators with these shields, it would often mean an extra means for survival.

This time, the Investigation Bureau ordered a thousand pieces of several weapon types!

The quantity was enormous.

The number of Awakeners was limited, and doing business with Torchfire wasn’t just a matter of having money… Huang Hongtian also understood that making Awakened Weapons required many materials.

Mystical artifacts and mysterious crystals were needed.

For this transaction, they used the unit price of ‘one mystical material’, ‘one mysterious crystal’, and an adequate amount of Yuan as the trade currency.

There was another main item of trade, just as important as the Awakened Weapons and even more staggering in impact.

“This small bottle of potion can enhance a person’s physical constitution?”

“And it has no side effects,” added Pei Hongjing. “Of course, the degree of enhancement depends on the user’s original physique. The effect will certainly be much less on Awakeners than on ordinary people.”

Even so, it was still extremely impressive!

Since it was provided by Torchfire, Huang Hongtian had no doubts and immediately reserved a thousand bottles.

Of course, they would still need to verify and collect detailed data back home.

Just these alone made the trip very worthwhile.

Pei Hongjing felt the same way.

This pricing was based on the mentor’s guidance price, not much different from the original. He wasn’t aware that with the addition of the Forging Workshop and the medical facility, not only was the production efficiency greatly improved, but the production costs were further compressed.

For example, previously, a single standard weapon required ‘one mystical material’, ‘one mysterious crystal’, and a certain amount of alloy.

Torchfire mainly earned Yuan.

But with this method of forging, the utilization rate of materials was not perfect, until the addition of the Forging Workshop meant that ‘seven mystical materials’ and ‘seven mysterious crystals’ could produce ten weapons.

Aside from Yuan, Torchfire also profited from a 30% surplus of materials, which wasn’t much—greedy capitalists made 300%—but since the investigators were a group of respectable people fighting on the front lines, Fang You didn’t want to set the price too high.

This was enough.

There were plenty of other ways to make money.

Pei Hongjing was unclear about the intricacies, but this trade deal also established some major commodity transactions with the Investigation Bureau.

Cooperation with the Investigation Bureau meant that Huang Country would greenlight the procurement of rare materials, minerals, and medicinal herbs.

This was a win-win.

However, this was merely the prelude; Director Huang still had to have a face-to-face meeting with the instructor.

Pei Hongjing said, “Director Huang, this way, please. The instructor is already waiting for you.”

As Director Huang headed towards the small loft, Zhou Hai, Bai Xue, and other investigators were following An Jianyou around, visiting this training base of Xinhuo.

From a distance, they heard bursts of youthful shouts.

The Investigation Bureau also had its own training bases, mainly located in the capital cities of each state and the headquarters. All the investigators present had come up through the ranks as students and had experienced those days of training.

Looking back now, they couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

They were also curious and expectant about how Xinhuo’s training methods might differ from their own.

…

“This is…?”

The place they arrived at first was somewhat different from what they had imagined. It was not students sweating and training but… rather they were sitting in rows, sitting on the ground.

This scene looked like they were in class.

Xinhuo had academic lessons?

And, strangely, the teacher appeared to be a cat?

“This is our Mysterious Evil identification class, aimed at teaching the students to face Mysterious Evil, to adapt in advance to the shrieks of Mysterious Evil, and to enhance their mental resistance when facing its cognitive influence, among other things,” explained An Jianyou. “Look, it’s about to start.”

Not far away,

underneath the surface of reality, a change occurred. A Mysterious Evil creature, as if it had smelled something delicious, floated upwards, and suddenly, as if leaping from water, the scent became clearer.

The students couldn’t see this scene.

Mysterious Evil was invisible to ordinary people.

But at that moment, a ‘knock knock knock’ sound began to resonate in their ears, growing louder and faster, and it seemed as if their own hearts were also beating in response.

Fear surged within them.

Xu Tian, who was serving as an assistant instructor, said, “Stay calm! Remember, the most important thing when facing Mysterious Evil is to remain calm. Now, open your eyes wide.”

“Cat God, it’s your cue,” he called.

“Meow~” replied Black Pupil lazily, and then gave a fierce glance to the side.

In an instant, as if ripples had spread across a curtain of water, or a covering cloth was torn away, a hunched, pitch-black, fearsome monster appeared before everyone.

Crisp and clear, every single strand of hair visible.

It let out a roar at them, but it was as though it was bound in place, unable to move.

Holding a ruler, assistant instructor Xu Tian walked up close and pointed to this Mysterious Evil, “This is the Knocking Child, typically ranging in height from 0.9 to 1.1 meters. From its various physical characteristics, we can estimate its approximate strength and the mysteries it contains.”

“What you have just experienced is one of the Knocking Child’s hunting logics; the knocking sound that causes your heart to resonate.”

“Let’s talk about other characteristics of the Knocking Child…”

Xu Tian went on to describe each one, with several hundred words of detailed information.

The Knocking Child also had a detailed file within their Investigation Bureau, since it was common and frequently encountered, resulting in plentiful information. However, compared to what was taught in Xinhuo’s classroom, it was scant and rough.

And certainly, this direct exposure to Mysterious Evil provided the students with a unique experience.

Usually, facing Mysterious Evil would be enough to conclude the lesson.

But it wasn’t over yet.

In a nearby loft, a Xinhuo Awakener was tinkering with a faceless statue, casting mysterious items as bait, fishing.

Xu Tian paused for a moment and said, “Next, let’s welcome today’s second model, the ‘Head-Shaking Corpse’ Mysterious Evil.”

…

“Next is our third model for today, the ‘Cyclopean Ox’ Mysterious Evil.”

“Next is the fourth…”

“Next is the fifth…”

One by one, Mysterious Evils appeared, and even though they were held in stasis, they still emitted a terrible influence. Members of the Investigation Bureau’s team, who were not Awakeners, turned pale.

Upon looking at Xinhuo’s students, although they too were deathly pale and on the brink of collapsing, they all gritted their teeth and held on; none fell.

This level of resistance was at least on par with their second-level investigators, wasn’t it?

And here at Xinhuo, they were still only students.

Indeed strict.

“These students have undergone many sessions of Mysterious Evil resistance training, haven’t they?” Zhou Hai asked.

An Jianyou nodded, “This batch of students has already been through training for some time, not so new anymore, about… five days or so.”

The investigators: “???”