Chapter 223: Someone Above
The intense battle in the Panlong Mountain Range a few days ago had already passed. However, within the military outpost, a lingering aura of killing intent still remained, and the surrounding area within several miles was under extremely tight security.
Compared to the previous sneak attacks by the Foreign Races on Alliance outposts, this time the Shadow Cat Clan, as the main force behind the assault, had been exceptionally frenzied.
As for the reason, it was naturally because Zhou Ming had taken away the Catwoman of the Shadow Cat Clan.
Under the Shadow Cat Clan’s mad retaliation, the military’s Slaughterer Type-1 Heavy Artillery was rumored to have had more than a hundred units destroyed.
It should be known that the Slaughterer Type-1 Heavy Artillery was not only extremely difficult to manufacture, but the materials required were also exceptionally rare.
In a short period of time, there was simply no way to replenish them.
As for the Alliance military’s losses, Zhou Ming had no intention of offering compensation. After all, he could be considered to have helped the Alliance military uncover more of the Foreign Races’ secrets.
Inside the exchange hall of No. 3 Outpost, Zhou Ming, who had left the Panlong Mountain Range, came to exchange his Merit Points.
Inside a separate compartment, hideous heads with fear still lingering in their eyes were piled up like a hill, resembling a grisly mound of skulls after a battlefield massacre.
The pungent stench of blood, mixed with a nauseating odor of decay, immediately filled the room.
The staff member responsible for registration, though a soldier from the military, felt his hands and feet turn cold upon seeing the hundreds of heads before him.
“Two Giant Priest heads, five Giant Warrior heads, twenty-three High-tier Harpy heads, fifty-four Centaur Warrior heads, sixty-seven Werejackal Warrior heads.”
“In addition, there are seven Official Priest heads of the Foreign Races, and thirty-five Apprentice Priest heads.”
“Hurry up and verify them. I still need to exchange resources.”
Seeing that the staff member beside him remained motionless, Zhou Ming took the initiative to introduce his spoils of war while urging the other party to verify the data he had provided.
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Hearing Zhou Ming’s indifferent tone, even the soldier-staff member felt a faint sense of palpitations.
After all, this was the first time he had witnessed such a scene.
Because Zhou Ming had provided too many heads of the Foreign Races, the exchange hall staff had to call several colleagues to help with the counting. In the end, it took half an hour to finish tallying everything.
“Sir, a total of two hundred and eleven Merit Points have been credited.”
“This is the detailed list.”
Zhou Ming took the list from the staff member and gave it a brief glance.
One Giant Priest was worth four Merit Points. One Giant Warrior was worth two Merit Points. One lower-ranked Foreign Race Warrior was worth one Merit Point. One Priest was worth two Merit Points. One Apprentice Priest was worth one Merit Point.
After a quick calculation, it indeed totaled two hundred and eleven Merit Points.
“Help me exchange for the Shepherd and Legion Commander class advancements. I don’t need the accompanying resources.”
“In addition, I require the most complete research materials regarding Bloodline Will.”
Although Transcendent class advancements were valuable, they were still not as precious as the corresponding advancement materials, since those materials were consumables.
Moreover, the Transcendent class inheritance provided by the military consisted only of Temporary Scrolls that could be used three times.
Engraving the scrolls did not require permanent expenditure of Spiritual Power. With Zhou Ming’s current Merit Points, it was more than enough to exchange for them.
“Sir, the Shepherd and Legion Commander class inheritance require two hundred Merit Points, and the complete research materials on Bloodline Will require ten Merit Points. Would you like to proceed with the exchange?”
“Exchange.”
Upon receiving Zhou Ming’s confirmation, staff members immediately went to retrieve the class inheritance and materials he had exchanged for.
After obtaining what he needed, Zhou Ming left No. 3 Outpost without delay.
However, the news that he had exchanged Merit Points using over a hundred heads of the Foreign Races still reached the ears of Colonel Luo Yaoguang, the person in charge of No. 3 Outpost.
“Could the incident five days ago have been his doing?”
Inside the command room hidden within a cave at No. 3 Outpost, Luo Yaoguang, nearly fifty years old and possessing High-level Professional Rank as a Professional Beast Tamer, felt a faint suspicion rise in his heart.
After pondering for a long time, he immediately ordered his subordinates to look up Zhou Ming’s detailed information.
“Chief, Zhou Ming’s detailed information cannot be accessed.”
“What’s going on?”
Upon hearing that Zhou Ming’s detailed information could not be retrieved, Luo Yaoguang was visibly surprised. After all, the military’s authority level was quite high.
“According to system feedback, all of his records were requested to be sealed by the Alliance Academy of Sciences a year ago.”
“The reason for sealing: family member of a high-ranking official within the Academy of Sciences.”
“Unless approval is obtained from the Academy of Sciences or authorization from high-level Alliance leadership, his detailed information cannot be accessed.”
Hearing his subordinate’s response, Luo Yaoguang grew even more curious about Zhou Ming’s identity.
Curious though he was, he had no intention of continuing the investigation. He had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble upon himself.
Soon after, Luo Yaoguang issued a gag order, suppressing the news that Zhou Ming had exchanged Merit Points using more than a hundred heads of the Foreign Races.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ming, who had already left the outpost, originally thought he would attract the Alliance military’s attention. He did not expect that someone had already helped him resolve those issues.
At the same time, inside a secret research base constructed within a small underground world, Lei Yuan—now somewhat more mature—was dressed in a white lab coat, studying the data in her hands.
After being separated from Zhou Ming for several years, Lei Yuan had become even more beautiful than before. A refined, intellectual elegance filled with wisdom radiated from her.
Just as she was fully focused on analyzing the data, the phone placed beside her suddenly displayed a new message notification.
Hearing the ringtone, Lei Yuan immediately set down the documents in her hands and picked up her phone to check.
The phone she used was specially configured by the Academy of Sciences. Although she could not contact the outside world from within the research base, if any matter concerning her occurred outside, a designated person would send her a message.
“The military is checking Brother Zhou’s detailed information. Could it be that Brother Zhou has provoked the military?”
Luo Yaoguang’s act of querying Zhou Ming’s detailed information within the military system had triggered the attention of the Alliance Security Bureau, which was why the matter had been relayed to Lei Yuan.
Although Lei Yuan was no longer the young girl she once had been, anything concerning Zhou Ming still made her heart feel uneasy.
When she had reunited with Zhou Ming at Qinghui Scientific Research University, she had already sensed the cold aura emanating from him.
Therefore, Lei Yuan had long guessed that Zhou Ming carried some sort of secret.
Yet despite being a gifted scholar, Lei Yuan possessed a hopelessly romantic heart. After reconnecting with Zhou Ming, she had still fallen for him once more.
After officially becoming an apprentice under her mentor, she had directly requested her teacher, in the name of the Alliance Academy of Sciences, to seal Zhou Ming’s records, fearing that if Zhou Ming became entangled in trouble, others would investigate him.
As for Lei Yuan’s teacher, he was an academician of the Alliance Academy of Sciences and also a council member of the Academy.
The Alliance Academy of Sciences was managed in a manner similar to the council system within Alliance Bases.
Aside from the four council members dispatched by Alliance Headquarters, the other four council members and the council leader were academicians with even higher achievements in scientific research.
It was precisely because of such a pivotal status that Lei Yuan had been able to ask her teacher to help seal Zhou Ming’s records.
At this moment, Zhou Ming still did not know that someone was quietly thinking of him.