The Seventh Base

Chapter 177: Chapter 73 Crisis (Silver Alliance additional chapter)

After considering it, Lin Qingze decided to keep the matter hidden.

The talent that Xu Mo had already displayed was remarkable enough, any stronger and he feared he would arouse jealousy, for the tree that stands out in the woods is often blown down by the wind.

Xu Mo, however, didn’t mind these things; he was busy monetizing his skills.

After all, who knows when his points might be reset, causing a great loss? It was better to use them while he could.

Watching his account balance increase daily, Xu Mo found life at the academy immensely fulfilling and joyful.

When he had time, he would go buy clothes for Sister Butterfly.

...

Lots of them.

The more expensive, the better.

It was always the same few designs, and he was tired of seeing them.

If Ye Qingdie knew what Xu Mo was thinking, she might have fought him over it.

Besides that, Xu Mo also practiced his sword technique.

The Sky Arena rewarded him with an A-grade Sword Skill, the Overclocking Slash.

In the Ruins World, Xu Mo wielded the War Saber, a powerful energy causing the saber to hum loudly as if vibrating at a terrifyingly high speed. This vibration even formed a powerful energy wave, which spread around.

As the humming sound emanated, Xu Mo swept his War Saber across, and under the high-frequency vibration, the saber seemed to harbor a terrifying cutting power. It sliced straight through a monster’s neck, severing its head entirely, a B-grade monster at that.

Xu Mo sheathed his saber, quite satisfied with the effect.

The Combat Skill Overclocking Slash required Source Power to unleash its power and was a technique to enhance attack power. It was naturally useful for Xu Mo and would be even more terrifying if combined with a quadruple force.

Xu Mo kept practicing the sword, trying to merge the two sword techniques into one to strengthen his attack power.

With the trials Xu Mo underwent in the Ruins World over this period, he could now easily slay B-grade monsters.

Practice makes perfect, and Xu Mo had killed too many monsters.

In just one battle in the Sky Trial Field, countless had died at his hands.

Besides training in the Ruins World, Xu Mo also didn’t neglect practicing with Mechas. He used points to exchange for a Mecha trial in the Ruins World and often sparred with the Elder in the warehouse.

Even though he lost every time, Xu Mo faced defeat after defeat without weariness, enjoying the process thoroughly.

His Mecha control level was also gradually improving.

However, he hadn’t explored the Super God Arena yet; that would be for another time.

……

At the Noah Academy’s cafeteria, Xu Mo and his group of five gathered together.

With studies becoming busier, they didn’t have much time to see each other normally.

During this time, they all studied very seriously, even Xiao Qi did so.

Although he was lazy and found studying tedious, he understood the rarity of this opportunity. The academy had a comprehensive knowledge system, something he had lacked before. Over these days, he had learned a lot and had also operated different machines, gradually improving his skills.

Back in the Underworld, such opportunities were nonexistent.

Ye Qingdie also made significant progress. Her innate talent for firearms was quite good. In the Underworld, Xu Mo’s initial firearms training was taught by her, and her shooting was very precise. Given powerful firearms, she would definitely be an outstanding female warrior.

In terms of Source Power Level, Qingze was the fastest to progress, advancing to a B-minus level and catching up to Xu Mo.

He also spent the most time training in the Ruins World, often practicing extra hours.

“Xu Mo, have you not figured it out yet?” Ye Qing asked, while Elsa listened intently.

Although time had passed, it was clear they were both still concerned about the matter.

Without identifying the culprit behind the scenes, they were always somewhat uneasy, worried about similar incidents happening in the future.

“No, I’m afraid we might never find out,” Xu Mo replied.

The power mobilized by the two major colleges was astonishing. If they hadn’t found the mastermind a few days before the assassination, the chances of uncovering them later became increasingly slim.

Now that so much time had passed, it was essentially a cold case.

“Maybe the other party acted impulsively, which is why we can’t find them. They probably won’t strike a second time, so don’t worry,” Xu Mo said.

“Okay,” Ye Qing nodded, but being worry-free was impossible.

Xu Mo looked at Ye Qing.

Seeing that Xu Mo kept staring at her, Ye Qing looked somewhat awkwardly back at him and said, “What are you looking at?”

“Sister Butterfly, I’ve recently come into some money and was thinking about that promise I made to you,” Xu Mo replied, glancing down, seeing the same old style. It seemed urgent.

“The promise you made to me?”

Realization dawned on Ye Qing upon seeing Xu Mo’s expression; a faint blush appeared on her face, and she fiercely stomped on Xu Mo’s foot under the table.

Xu Mo’s mouth opened in pain, but he endured it.

It was his fault for looking again.

Even though it wasn’t intentional, he just genuinely wanted to get Sister Butterfly some new clothes.

“What are you two doing?” Xiao Qi asked weakly.

“Nothing,” Ye Qing replied.

Xiao Qi glanced down and then said, “Sister Butterfly, you stepped on Brother Xu’s foot.”

“Shut up,” Ye Qing snapped, causing Xiao Qi to shiver and quickly lower his head to eat.

Oh.

Sister Butterfly was indeed becoming fiercer.

It was just a small accident.

It wasn’t the first time, and everyone knew about their relationship anyway!

“How’s your study going lately?” Xu Mo asked Xiao Qi.

Xiao Qi shrank his head, looking up at Xu Mo and whispering, “Brother Xu, it’s going well; the teacher often praises me for being smart.”

“Good,” Xu Mo nodded. “Your teacher has mentioned it to me too. I’ll give him a call to have your department’s teachers take extra care of you. They’ll assign more engineering ‘homework’ regularly.”

“???”

Xiao Qi looked at Xu Mo, then at Ye Qingdie.

There were four words he didn’t know whether to speak or not.

……

Although the mastermind behind Xu Mo’s assassination attempt hadn’t been found, the incident had not quieted down.

The two colleges had not completely halted their investigations, but the activities had gradually become quieter.

However, in these last few days, public opinion suddenly focused on the assassination attempt.

Of course, their interest was not because Xu Mo had been assassinated.

It was because of the corruption behind the assassination.

An S-level phenomenal person was assassinated at Nanming Academy, and everything revealed by Xiao Li was astonishing.

This was just a student from the Extraordinary Academy, how many similar situations were there in the Eight Extraordinary Colleges? How many corrupt individuals?

If this was the situation with the students, what about the teachers and leaders at the Extraordinary Academy?

Media report.

In recent years, corruption had worsened rapidly, infecting every corner of Steel Dome City. Now, even the sanctified ground of the Extraordinary Academy had been tainted. If this continued, the Extraordinary Academy would only breed more corrupt individuals.

It was hoped that due to this incident, all the Extraordinary Colleges would thoroughly rectify themselves.

Following the public outcry, various media persistently reported and called for action, and the public deeply agreed.

The Steel Dome City Government discussed this matter.

And would hold a press conference after the results were in.

This made many people sense a conspiracy.

This of course wasn’t for Xu Mo.

These media outlets weren’t from the academy faction.

If it were for Xu Mo, they would have spoken out long ago. Why would they wait until now?

In the Elder’s courtyard.

Lin Qingze had arrived.

“Old Dean,” Lin Qingze called out.

“Sit down,” the Elder said.

Lin Qingze took a seat and said, “Is Xu Mo not here?”

The Elder shook his head, “Lately, he often goes to the academy side to practice.”

“This kid really is a monstrous talent. He took the top spot on the score board within a month. If we don’t remove him from the board, the Eight Extraordinary Colleges might be shaken once more,” Lin Qingze said.

“It’s good that he was removed, the attention he attracted was already a bit too high,” the Elder responded.

“Mm, how is his progress with the mecha?” Lin Qingze asked.

The Elder showed a puzzled expression upon hearing Lin Qingze’s question, he seemed to ponder for a moment, then said, “He is progressing phenomenally.”

Lin Qingze looked at the Elder with surprise. To receive such an evaluation, one could only imagine how high Xu Mo’s talent in mecha was.

Could it be no worse than his Source Power Fusion Degree?

He actually wanted to assess Xu Mo’s Mechanical Talent now.

“You didn’t come just to ask about Xu Mo’s situation,” the Elder said, looking at Lin Qingze.

“I can’t hide anything from you, Elder,” Lin Qingze responded with a smile, but then his expression turned serious, “Is it the company’s counterattack?”

The Elder shook his head, “Not just them.”

“Other forces?” Lin Qingze said.

“Mmm,” the Elder nodded, “They are just taking advantage of the situation.”

As he spoke, he sighed, continuing, “But those media, although their intentions are not pure, they are right. The level of corruption in Steel Dome City might already exceed our expectations.”

He had a bad premonition.

“The Federation Government was established just over three hundred years ago; has it really come to this point already? Have they forgotten past humiliations?” Lin Qingze was somewhat angry.

“Capitalists only see profit. They are pervasive. If the Federation really falls under their control, Byron Star might change hands,” the Elder sighed, perhaps Byron Star needed a war’s cleansing.

Just then, the Communicator in the Elder’s hand vibrated, and he looked down briefly.

Lin Qingze’s gaze turned to the Elder, seeing a sharp look in his eyes before he raised his head towards him and said, “The City Government has decided to send an investigative team to the Extraordinary Academy to probe into corruption.”

It seemed the academy faction had lost.

The City Government, composed of several factions, actually represented a struggle among them, maintaining a balance.

There was no absolute authority for anyone.

In recent years, the factional conflicts had been very intense.

Then, the Communicator vibrated again, the Elder answered it.

“How did they lose?” Lin Qingze asked.

The Elder looked at Lin Qingze and said, “The academy faction has been infiltrated as well, and it’s worse than we expected.”

Lin Qingze’s face looked troubled.

“It seems that those financial tycoons are no longer satisfied with merely infiltrating the academy but now, they want to seize direct control,” the Elder continued.

Lin Qingze didn’t dare to think of what it would be like if the academy also fell under the control of the financial tycoons.

It would likely serve to supply them with talent.

And the exported ideologies would change as well.

“Go back and prepare for the worst,” the Elder said to Lin Qingze, “These years, you have been busy dealing with the academy’s affairs, thank you for your hard work.”

Lin Qingze paused, then stood up, bowed deeply to the Elder, and left.

Could the outcome be the worst possible one?