Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 1242: The Overseer Sent to Qinling [Bonus Chapter]

In order to help Zhang Yi research the sacrificial spirit, Lu Keran inevitably absorbed a portion of it herself.

She herself was unaware that this had produced some subtle effects on her.

Additionally, Zhang Yi had never been stingy with Lu Keran, always treating her as a precious Tech Tree to be carefully cultivated.

As a result, Lu Keran’s superhuman ability index skyrocketed all the way, only stopping at 9,500 points.

This rate of improvement even gave Zhang Yi a huge fright.

Because this indicated that Lu Keran’s own capacity had changed once more; perhaps it could be said that her potential upper limit had been raised.

When a superhuman reaches their own upper limit, it’s like a kettle filled with water. Continuing to absorb more origin energy will no longer lead to progress, or progress will be extremely slow.

Previously, if Zhang Yi hadn’t distributed some of the Divine Source to everyone, it might not have been so easy for them to even reach the 9,000-point threshold now.

As for Lu Keran, it was because of an accident that she came into contact with the even more mysterious sacrificial spirit.

Zhang Yi had considered this point, but if Lu Keran, who had absorbed a tiny amount of the sacrificial spirit, had undergone such an obvious change, then what about him?

Recalling the strange changes in his own body recently, Zhang Yi couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

Putting those aside for now.

The improvement in Lu Keran’s strength was extremely good news for Zhang Yi.

With the help of the two laborers, Old You and Fatty Xu, she built a massive furnace in the basement.

It could rapidly smelt the elemental ore, extracting the purest [Yuan] material.

This stuff was somewhat similar to coal, and also somewhat close to metal, but its method of releasing energy wasn’t through combustion.

Fortunately, the Shengjing Region had conducted research in advance and provided Zhang Yi with the method to use it.

Therefore, Lu Keran was soon able to extract the energy from the Elemental Stones and apply it in the industrial field.

She said to Zhang Yi with full confidence, ”Brother, give me at most two months, and I can forge the upgraded second-generation exoskeleton armor.”

”When the time comes, it will definitely give you even greater combat power!”

The young girl’s face was flushed red as she looked at Zhang Yi, as if she could already see him wearing the battle armor, soaring through the skies and traversing the earth.

Zhang Yi had seen the first-generation battle armor Lu Keran made; only Old You had worn it.

Overall, the exterior craftsmanship was already quite good.

It was primarily made of titanium alloy, weighing only about twenty kilograms. However, due to the need to carry compressed fuel and weapons, a full set weighed over sixty kilograms.

This obviously didn’t suit the Zhang Yi of the past.

But now, after Zhou Ke’er’s modifications to his body, wearing over sixty kilograms of battle armor wouldn’t put too much pressure on Zhang Yi.

However, it was clear that the lighter, tougher, and more flexible the joint movements, the better, naturally.

With Lu Keran’s improved strength and the acquisition of the new energy material, she would soon be able to forge the second-generation armor.

”Brother, I will meticulously craft the best set of battle armor for you. If it can be made entirely from the best Yi Metal and paired with new weapon systems, such a suit of armor would allow an ordinary person to possess strength comparable to a high-level Delta superhuman.”

”Worn by you, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.”

Zhang Yi’s eyes sparkled brightly as he listened.

”That would naturally be excellent.”

Men have an obsession with armor.

Especially Zhang Yi. While he is passionate about weapons, he likes full-body protective gear even more.

This way, his biggest concern regarding close-quarters combat defense would also be well resolved.

Unless he encountered a top-notch expert skilled in close-quarters combat, like a superhuman such as Liang Yue.

Ordinary superhumans would find it difficult to break through his defense.

It’s important to know that even the most top-tier combat suits from the major regions could hardly withstand the attacks of an Epsilon-level superhuman.

Lu Keran’s current abilities meant the exoskeleton armor she was forging was already progressing in that direction.

Perhaps one day, she could forge armor comparable to that of an Epsilon-level superhuman!

Zhang Yi looked at Lu Keran as if she were a vast, treasure trove with limitless potential.

He secretly thought to himself that he must find a way to obtain a portion of the Divine Source for Lu Keran in the future.

As for that sacrificial spirit, it also seemed to have the effect of enhancing potential. He just didn’t know how its effects compared to the Divine Source, and what connection existed between them?

...

In less than a month, Zhang Yi received news from Shengjing.

The excavation of the elemental ore had resumed.

The mysterious entity in the underground world remained quiet, so Shengjing sent many expendable miners to begin clearing the abyss area and conducting exploratory digging.

Only after confirming there were no incidents did they plan to proceed with large-scale mining.

And now, with the extermination of the Ground Centipede population, the mining progress could be accelerated even further.

The Jiangnan Region held thirty percent of the resources and had to dispatch personnel, both to oversee the distribution of the elemental ore and to send people down to work.

After much consideration, Zhang Yi called over Gao Tianwu, who had been training at the Dawn Rain Base.

Currently, Gao Tianwu’s superhuman ability index was still below 5,000 points, which counted as strong among ordinary people.

But to be honest, he could hardly even meet the threshold to enter an investigation team.

However, there was one thing that made Zhang Yi think highly of him.

That was his youth, ambition, and sense of responsibility.

Zhang Yi considered himself just an ordinary person, neither particularly good nor bad.

But Gao Tianwu had been willing to sacrifice some personal interests for the people of his village back then, so he could also be considered a good person.

Yes, people always like to use good people and are willing to trust some good people.

Yet it seems no one is willing to be the good person themselves, which is somewhat ironic.

Gao Tianwu had gone to the Dawn Rain Base and performed consistently well. While actively strengthening himself and developing some of his own subordinates, he handled Zhang Yi’s arrangements excellently and cooperated well with Lu Dahai and Chen Jingguan’s work.

Zhang Yi decided to give him a chance to independently manage a project.

So he decided to have Gao Tianwu take a few brothers to the Qinling Mountains to oversee the elemental ore collection.

Zhang Yi asked Gao Tianwu, ”Going to Shengjing isn’t a hardship assignment; there might even be some perks. However, once you go, it’s far from the emperor and the law. You’ll need to build good relationships with the local organizations, and Blizzard City will also send people over.”

”You are my man. Operating under my name there, they won’t make things too difficult for you. But after all, you are an outsider and might suffer some minor disadvantages or face exclusion.”

Zhang Yi said with a smile, ”If you encounter small troubles, you have to handle them yourself. Don’t report every trivial matter to me. I’m sending you there so you can do well on your own; the best outcome is you not causing me any trouble.”

”Of course, we don’t look for trouble, but we aren’t afraid of it either. If anyone dares to touch my interests, you tell me without hesitation. No matter who they are, I’ll make sure they regret it!”

Author’s Note