Chapter Eighty: Ultra-Powerful Equipment – Seeking Votes and Support

Liang Jing halted all his movements, savoring the warm, soothing sensation coursing through his body—the very essence of life drawn from the Tu family’s fallen disciples he had just slain. Before returning, over a dozen Tu family members had been present; after his return, he had taken down two snipers and six more with precise headshots. His body, already on the brink of breaking through to a power level of 15 points, now surged beyond that threshold, with reserves still left over.

He could not afford to waste this!

Liang Jing was determined not to squander a single bit of this newfound strength. He had to rapidly strengthen himself; the events of today had placed tremendous psychological pressure on him.

Quickly, he duplicated a full set of warrior leather armor and stepped outside.

“How’s it looking?”

“The bloodstains on the corpses have all been cleaned up. We also encountered a few mutated creatures just now, but we dealt with them!” Jia Yujin replied.

“Right, we interrogated some of the prisoners earlier but didn’t get much useful information. It was much the same as what we learned from Huang Yanze’s group before. Zhang Bao was cooperative but knew nothing beyond the fact that the orders came directly from a superior, the ‘Political Commissar Gong.’ As for Lu Fengsheng, that guy seems to have realized his fate is grim. He’s both foul and stubborn, and tight-lipped to the extreme.”

“No worries. Lu Fengsheng is smart; he’ll soon figure out what to do,” Liang Jing said calmly, his voice brimming with confidence. “Leave these people to me. Consider them wasted resources. If nothing urgent comes up, don’t bother me.”

In truth, as long as Liang Jing had enough life essence, he could avoid the hassle of feeding himself. Yet, he was a man who enjoyed good food and drink, and having fought all his life, skipping meals felt uncomfortable and unsettling. But he had no mood to care about such matters now. Today’s blows had been heavy—especially the death of Liu Zhixiong. Had his rescue arrived any later, the consequences would have been far worse, unimaginable even. He dared not imagine what he’d do if his woman were violated by others. Would killing the perpetrators suffice? No. His possessiveness would never allow him to accept such defilement of someone he cherished. But then, what could he do? Kill his own woman? Even if he could bring himself to do it, that humiliation would never be erased.

This was something Liang Jing could never tolerate—and likely no normal man could.

Now, he was about to face ruthless retaliation and threats against those close to him. All of it crossed his bottom line, and he absolutely refused to allow it. He had to seize every moment to improve his strength. He had always preferred to take the initiative; he didn’t want, nor dare to accept, such passive battles as today’s encounter. If anything went wrong, it would be entirely his own fault. He never believed in cinematic luck or being the protagonist with fortune always favoring him. Liu Zhixiong’s death alone was unbearable; vengeance was inevitable. The Tu Turtle faction had to be wiped out, completely and utterly, before he could find peace.

In fact, Liang Jing was likely to face the military itself, just as Lu Fengsheng had said. At present, the Tu Turtle faction still trailed far behind the army, mainly lacking heavy, powerful firearms. Today’s attack, if it hadn’t involved the military, would have been little more than a bomb blast—uncertain who would have won. Liang Jing now prepared for the worst.

Those who had attacked him today would be repurposed as fuel to enhance his power. Once he advanced further, he would settle every problem. He would never allow a repeat of today’s ordeal.

“By the way, we gained quite a haul from these people today—two sniper rifles and plenty of assault rifles…”

Jia Yujin had no objections to Liang Jing’s demands. They had no intention of sparing these enemies. After all, they hated the Tu Turtle faction to their very bones. Had Liang Jing not arrived at the critical moment, their own fate would have been death, the simplest outcome. This was their chance to vent that anger and pay homage to Liu Zhixiong’s spirit. Though Liang Jing had his own reasons for wanting to handle it personally—less satisfying, perhaps, than doing it himself—the sight of these foes meeting a grim fate was a comfort.

As for the others, they had no complaints. In their eyes, Liang Jing had ascended to a godlike status. He had come to their rescue at the last moment, saving a group of formidable warriors who had nearly lost their lives. He dispatched their enemies with ease, effortlessly dodging bullets. This mysterious and powerful awakener reduced even the toughest adversaries to submission with mere gestures. Their admiration and reverence for him deepened, filling them with renewed confidence for the future. No one dared voice any dissent.

“Just take care of these weapons. No need to report back to me,” Liang Jing said firmly, cutting Jia Yujin off. He had no love for these firearms. They could do what he could now, but with less satisfaction. Worse, killing a target with these weapons was wasted effort for him, as he gained no life essence. There was no need to waste time and energy learning to use them.

Liang Jing’s skills were many and far from fully practiced or upgraded; he had no time to waste on things that were relatively useless or likely to become obsolete soon.

He understood that as time passed, awakener abilities would grow stronger. He was gaining confidence and no longer feared firearms as before. He could now rely on speed and perception to dodge ordinary bullets, so long as he wasn’t caught in a hailstorm of gunfire. His steel-spined beast armor provided good defense—a hopeful sign for the future. That armor was made from the fur of green S-class elite monsters; what if he could obtain armor made from blue or golden-class bosses? Wouldn’t scale-type monsters’ armor offer even greater protection?

Liang Jing believed that without rapid breakthroughs and improvements, firearms would soon be overtaken and rendered useless by increasingly powerful awakeners and mutated beasts. This was an inevitable trend.

“Liang Jing, come here for a moment,” Jia Yujin suddenly whispered, pulling Liang Jing aside into a corner.

“What is it?” Liang Jing asked, a bit puzzled. They had been through life-and-death struggles together, and trust among them was strong. Why the need for secrecy now?

“Um… well… it’s just that… could Mu Yuan, um, maybe stay behind? I mean…”

“Ah? Oh, that’s your personal business. You handle it yourself. Haha…” Liang Jing laughed.

Listening to Jia Yujin’s hesitant stammering, Liang Jing finally understood. Jia Yujin wanted to keep Mu Yuan as his woman. After all they had been through, Mu Yuan had no way back now. If she returned to the Tu Turtle faction, they would neither believe nor spare her. She would surely meet a terrible end. Besides, Mu Yuan had performed well in battle, helping Ling Qinghe and the others tend to the wounded—consider it a token of loyalty.

Liang Jing found Jia Yujin’s shy demeanor amusing, so different from his usual self. But as it was his private matter, Liang Jing didn’t interfere—so long as Mu Yuan had no ill intentions toward Jia Yujin. It was surprising to see such a macho man become bashful, mumbling and avoiding the others. Quite a novelty.

“By the way, do you still have any warrior leather armor sets left?” Jia Yujin asked.

That was the real point. Liang Jing shook his head and handed over the warrior leather armor he had just duplicated, originally intended for Su Yuting. Luckily, ‘the system’ made it adjustable to size, so it fit perfectly.

“Old Jia, you’re already learning how to win a woman’s heart? Did Mu Yuan slip something into your drink? Take it easy, alright?” Liang Jing teased. Jia Yujin lacked the ability to absorb the life essence from monsters like Liang Jing did, and relationships still had a strong physical impact. He was only reminding him because awakeners were just physically superior humans; overindulgence was harmful.

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll be careful,” Jia Yujin said, blushing and quickly running off, leaving Liang Jing shaking his head with a wry smile.

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